Tag: friends

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just life weeknotes

weeknotes, 34/24

the big news this week is that i got us an inflatable swimming pool. it was cheap, but it’s surprisingly roomy for a couple of adults. the boy is not a big fan of it, but i love it! taking a dip in the middle of a scorching day is just bliss!

this week we went to quinta do lago, to check out a trail our friends are fond of. we saw a lot of birds, including a few new species like little bitterns and black-headed weavers. our bird count is now up to 149 different species — not bad!

in turn, we took them to a local japanese place that opened this year that we really like, and they became fans of it as well. they do a bit of everything, but the bubble tea and the egg waffles in particular were a big hit.

also this week, our friend J discovered sugarless jello, a game changer for her as a diabetic. apparently, jello is not something kids eat in austria… who knew?! jello is so familiar to us, such a beloved childhood dessert, that it’s mind-boggling to think there are grown-ups out there that never tried it. so she went on a spree and bought all the flavors in the supermarket. 2024’s summer shall be known as the summer of the jello!

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just life weeknotes

weeknotes, 33/24

what a nice week. our friends and our dogs arrived, and they’ll be spending some weeks here with us. i’ve been stocking up on all the dog cuddling time!

our friends gifted me a pocket thermal printer — the cutest thing! i’ve been printing little pictures and to-do lists on it, and it gives me a lot of joy.

the boy had his first injection at home! after doing a few of these at the hospital, he can now pick them to do at home. soon he should be able to pick a few of them at a time, so that we don’t have to go to faro once a month.

the yearly outdoor cinema festival took place in tavira, and we saw 2 movies: miyazaki’s the boy and the heron, and nanni moretti’s a brighter tomorrow. the first was pretty, but also confusing and a bit unsettling… the latter was just a joy, a love letter to cinema itself, featuring all of moretti’s quirkinesses. note to self: make sure you have a nap before these night sessions… 😅

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one second everyday

one second everyday — july 2021

july was a slower month, a month spent catching up with friends, feeding deers, buying a house… a month to remind us to take a break and enjoy it. :)

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in thailand

the green up plant shop

so why were we on the mall? because our friend joy runs a network of plant vending machines which are super cool!

she and her partner started the whole thing a few years ago, and it’s been a wild success. they have several of them set up around bangkok and can barely keep them stocked, as there’s always people around, admiring the plants or buying them. thai people love plants, so these make the perfect gift.

i also like the fact that they’re on a mall, in a format where you don’t have to interact with (or dodge) the salesperson just to buy something simple. and as is now common in asia, the payment interaction is 100% phone-based: just scan a QR code, door opens and you can collect your plant. convenience is the keyword here.

besides, it’s just so cool, and in a way, so very “joy”!

it’s hard to believe we hadn’t seen each other in over 10 years. time goes by so fast, and we’re both different people now from when we first met in erasmus, back in 2005. her hair got shorter as mine got longer, and these days we’re both running around trying to keep a business going while living our lives. but some things stay the same too, and we slipped back into easy conversation as soon as we saw each other.

it’s so comforting to see old friends, and to know they’re doing ok. we should do this more often!

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one second everyday

one second everyday — november 2017

november was a quiet month, spent mostly at home.

we worked and did all the mundane little things that life is made of. william-the-black-cat slowly lost his fear of humans. the first rains came, but they were short-lived. our friend lynda came to visit too, and helped us test the new travel mode in postcrossing. i finally put some order on my photo backups. we helped neighbours move. and then, the battery on my phone went kaputt towards the end of the month… so we skipped a few days here and there.