Where we live, where we want to live, where we grew up, where we went to school or fell in love for the first time – these places shape us. The places we come from, escape from, love, loathe, long for, go searching for, unexpectedly end up: they define our lives. Place matters, and not […]
“. . . belonging is not a once-and-for-all condition, a static identity tattooed on our skin; it is a constant self-examination and dynamic revision of where we are, who we are, and where we want to be.” – Elif Shafak I don’t like roller coasters, and I don’t like cliches, yet I can find no […]
“I like to believe that life is half-light, half-shade.” – Fernando Pessoa Any big transition is filled with uncertainty and stress, but making one now currently has an added layer of ambiguity, as official rules can change in the blink of an eye. So, when the Immigration Lawyers strongly recommended, a week before my scheduled […]
“Some people will just go with the flow of things and sway in life, while others will fight against the currents and go upstream to reach their destiny.” – Anthony Liccione From the beginning we decided when it comes to official matters we will take the ‘flow with it’ approach. Our very first encounter with […]
“Even if you live your life engaged in full, frenetic, rumbustious activity, you cannot avoid coming into contact with others or stumbling over obstacles, however small, or feeling time pass. – from: The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa With the appropriate accompaniment of hand gestures to support his request in English, interspersed with a […]
“The important thing is never to let oneself be guided by the opinion of one’s contemporaries; to continue steadfastly on one’s way without letting oneself be either defeated by failure or diverted by applause.” – Gustav Mahler “So, what do you do, while Michael is working?” The question cracks like a cricket bat against my […]
“There are the places you wish to go, there are the places you desperately wish you never left, there are the places you imagine you should be, and there is the place called here.” – Padraig O Tuama from his beautiful book In the Shelter The Electrician promised us in an e-mail that he will […]
“Slow and steady wins the race.” – Aesop In November last year Michael installed the channels and studs for the bathroom wall, and hung the door. Instantly the space looked and felt different. Having had to make do with a temporary outside bathroom, this first step to build our indoor bathroom felt huge. To accommodate […]
“Happiness does not depend on outer things, but on the way we see them.” – Leo Tolstoy With our tickets booked for our June visit to the land, I’ve done some research to see what we can expect temperature wise, especially as none of the future comforts and conveniences are yet in place. It seems […]
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius- The most important thing we are learning with our project in Portugal is to cultivate patience. Not easy, but definitely crucial, as there is not much else we can do, living so far away. Since Michael’s visit in […]
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