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weeknotes

weeknotes, 38/25

we’ve had an eventful week with the bicycles. first, the electric bike started doing a weird noise when pedaling, so it went into the shop for maintenance, and ended up having the pedals replaced. when it came back, it was doing a different weird tinkling noise… turns out one of the spokes is broken, which is a more serious issue. 😩 we’ll have to deal with that next week. but on the better news, the boy managed to replace the tire of my other bike with a bit of brute force, which yay! i missed riding that bike — it’s amazing how much comfortable it is.

other than that, i reached inbox zero on my work emails, an event that happens maybe once a year. i tried an aqua fitness class and the boy ran a 10k race in town, and did well!

the week was also busy in terms of entertainment! we watched a few episodes of extraordinary attorney woo and also the thursday murder club movie, which i really enjoyed and felt like it did a good job bringing the book to life – i hope they’ll do the rest! we attended david fonseca’s concert in olhão too, always a sing-aloud, high energy affair with a bit of dancing thrown in. :) and we went to see an exhibition in town about some neighborhoods that were built by the population in the post-dictatorship years, but the exhibition was way too abstract and thus a bit disappointing. these newspapers from that time were one of the best parts about it:

we arranged a home swap for azores early next year, which is exciting! we’re always ready to visit the islands for hiking and birdwatching. although winter isn’t ideal, i hope we’ll still have some sunny days in between all the rain, so we can get out there and enjoy nature. maybe we’ll even see some whales!

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one second everyday

august 2025 — one second everyday

ah august, you magnificent beast!

the month started in the north for little niece’s birthday party, but the rest of it was very much spent at home and it was glorious. we spent time with friends who were in the area, fixed stuff around the house, fought the eternal battle against summer ants, attended a few concerts and movie nights, dipped in the pool, cooked new stuff, watched kleo and then welcomed my parents and small cousin just as the month was wrapping up. :)

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weeknotes

weeknotes, 37/25

another delightfully boring week, just getting work and life under control. the shelves have finally been filled with stuff and i can see my “table” again in the bathcraftsroom! i listed a few more things for sale, and have slowly been taking inventory of what else i want to get rid of. there’s quite a bit of stuff, but who will want to buy a 15 year old scanner whose drivers probably don’t even work anymore? we’re saddled with this old tech that still works, and it feels impossible to give it a good home. :(

finished reading the song of achilles, and oh, my poor heart. like someone wrote on the reviews, madeline miller could write a shopping list and i would give it five stars. and also, now i kinda want to visit greece, and connect the stories with the place, their cruel gods and their favors and revenges. appropriately, we cooked a lamb meatballs with tatziki recipe this week, and it also made me yearn for these fresh flavors straight from the source.

now i’m listening to tom lake (read by meryl streep!) and reading daisy jones and the six. i feel like i’m years late to all these popular books that everyone has already read, but it’s ok! we also started watching extraordinary attorney woo, which has been delightfully quirky so far.

i used a couple of the pumpkins my parents left us to make pumpkin jam, which is the best! i’m sure i’ve written about it before, but making jam always feels so gratifying — like i’m getting ready for whatever comes, like i’m bottling pieces of sunshine for when it’s not so bright outside. i don’t really know why i get this feeling, since i don’t even eat it myself…

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just life weeknotes

weeknotes, 36/25

a full week with the parents + the small cousin around! there was a lot of beach and a lot of “first times” for her: first time in the ocean, first time seeing jellyfish and crabs, first time on a boat, first time writing a postcard, first time using binoculars and seeing flamingos…

wanting company on her walks, my mom promised her an ice-cream for every 10k steps she did, and she had icre-cream every single day! 😂 to pass the hot hours, we played uno and she painted everyone’s nails, as if she were a professional nail technician. i hope she’ll keep fond memories of her time here, and that she’ll want to return someday. :)

i ordered some sturdy shelves and we put them up on the bathroom we use as crafts&storage room. they look huge, and i hope they’ll be a good place to put the stuff that has been spread a bit all over the house. this messy room has been making me anxious for a long time now – hopefully when things are tidier, it’ll be easier to use it.

on saturday, we drove north with the parents so we could attend the 25th anniversary dinner of our uni class! it was fun — everyone is older and telling stories about their kids now, but the faces and the voices are all so familiar. we all spent so much time together, and it feels like we slot right back into those times.

we also had a bit of time to squeeze little niece and cover her in kisses… before finding out she has lice. luckily, we don’t seem to have caught it!

Categories
just life weeknotes

weeknotes, 35/25

just a quiet week, filled with busy work days in which nothing else happened. we worked, and went to the gym, we ate and took care of things, preparing for september and its winds of change.

we finally received the samples of the new batch of commemorative postcards (they look good!) and then they were on their way to latvia, and off to the shop.

i listened to the martian, which was good, but not as good as project hail mary. super looking forward to the movie!

my old birkenstock were splitting apart in the back, and i macgyvered them with a bit of silicone. let’s see how long they’ll last!

on my getting-rid-of-stuff spree, i sold the old treadmill + a pair of new shoes. the shoes were bought in desperation for an event a few years ago, but they were too large for me and ended up staying in the cupboard, unused. it’s good to see them fly to another pair of feet!

and then on saturday, the parents and little cousin came, with their usual whirlwind of activity and energy. :) i can’t believe this kid has never seen the ocean… it’ll be the first thing on our list!