week 13.

Sunday, March 25th
Strawberries on sale... summer is coming!

Monday, March 26th
Waiting outside before choir rehearsal... 8.30 pm and still a little light in the sky... This photo barely does it justice, but the transition of colors and the slight ombre effect was spectacular!

Tuesday, March 27th
Dress rehearsal for our choir concert at the Sé Nova, a 17th church here in Coimbra where we are preparing to sing the first requiem written to honor Inês de Castro.  Singing in cathedrals like these make every other weekly rehearsal worth it!

Wednesday, March 28th
My dear friend Cristi, along with my sweet husband and various colleagues, came to support me and our choir and orchestra for the concert this week. (PS - who are these people who plan a concert at 9.30 pm on a Wednesday?!?!  Just sayin'...)  What an amazing, spectacular opportunity I had to sing in this space with this group, and moreover, with the composer present!  (Photo stolen from courtesy of my friend Pedro!)

Thursday, March 29th
Somebody needs a car wash...  Apparently there was a large dust cloud that originated in the Sahara desert and moved toward Europe last week, making the little rain we had seem "dirty" and making allergen levels skyrocket.  Welcome, spring!
 

Friday, March 30th
These breathtaking flowers are blooming right outside the front door of the building where we work!

Saturday, March 31st
Lunch with a few of our favorite couples led to an afternoon out at the movies... and an hourly countdown since Wednesday of the time remaining before The Hunger Games began!  Both Cristi and I read the books, and I must say that the movie really lived up to first book's storyline!  Even when I knew how the story would end, I was at various times sweating, crying, and desperately clutching the kleenex in my hand.  Not sure if I would have found it too harsh had I not read the books (most likely)... I mean... it is kids-killing-kids gladiator style, after all... but after reading all three books in one weekend, I couldn't NOT go see it.  Consider yourself advised to read the books first, which I do believe should be a general rule of life... and I digress.  Here's our cute group, photo courtesy of our sweet Brazilian friend, Nathália.  We are so blessed to have these people in our lives!