“Could also be a handy tenant” I say to a friend, when we chat again, “one could combine the two. Then I’ll offer one or more months rent-free – depending on what we can agree.” She laughs out loud: “Yes, you can offer that, hahaha! I have no idea where you could find them though, […]
Wanted: new tenants and handy volunteers Read More »
The itinerary was there, the mood for it was certainly there, and so the reservation had been made. On a beautiful day in February, the following email arrived. Whether I could organize a fado evening as a surprise for her birthday “Hi Ellen,Would you like to do something for us?We will arrive at your place
Fado and in the King’s Sleeve in Coimbra Read More »
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, they say. And on the other end of the spectrum, there are people who practice intermittent fasting, so they don’t eat anything for 16 hours after their last meal of the day. They then do keto, and certainly not coffee with chocolate cake I’m in between.
A cup of coffee with a chocolate cake, or would you rather be keto? Read More »
We suddenly find ourselves without a Prime Minister since Tuesday! And perhaps with a CC, a Caretaker Cabinet, starting next week! (Does that sound familiar?) António Costa resigns after being accused of corruption over a lithium mine My son, who I texted about it, found it no surprise: “Portugal scores well on the corruption index”
A fallen head over lithium Read More »
You never think about it that much. About little things that make your life easier. Water for example. In combination with sponges that help to keep the healing water in the bath When we first got here, there were always a lot of people passing by. They had heard that there were people in the
Healing water, sponges and simple solutions Read More »
“Yeyes … look, there is someone hiding behind that parasol …” I hear a voice at the top of the stairs, and when I secretly peek in that direction from behind the parasol, I see a man with a little beard, who looks vaguely familiar. Son Broes and I were just discussing the to-do-list Another
To-do-list gets kicked out when a volunteer hits the stairs Read More »
It was a dream. Not so much from her husband, but from her. They liked to go on holiday to Portugal, but buying a house there was just a step too far for him. Why do you dream such a dream – your own house in Portugal? Why does one dream of such a thing,
Emigrants move heaven and earth Read More »
When I enter the store, a well groomed young man with a neatly trimmed beard is standing behind the computer/cash register doing his thing, singing softly along with the song coming out through the door of the workshop. I have to go to the car inspection, and some things need to be done A pair
Preparing for the anual car inspection Read More »
We are doing well, thank you. We’re doing the spring cleaning. Cleaning inside and out, throwing away, planting little flowery plants, pruning trees. Washing curtains. Cleaning walls with high pressure, paint, scratch, paste, mow. “Yes! Broes (my son), they went out! Come on, we can go!” Of course, there are guests in the meantime, and
Dark clouds above Termas-da-Azenha Read More »
All my theater clothing went, long ago, in that big truck that brought all our belongings to Portugal. It spent the first year in boxes, because it took a while before all those things could be distributed throughout our little village. The first occasion for using it was a colorful evening by the first group
All dolled up during the holiday Read More »
