Since I didn't shoot a photo today, I'm highlighting one from yesterday, when we had a really fun dinner with couples from Luis Miguel's soccer team. I love this group, especially how the couples are always holding hands, showing affection, etc, though most have been married for 10+ years. They are really fun people, and one of them had a colleague who transformed a type of "garden house" that they own into a small dining room that they use as a "restaurant" of sorts for private parties. It was so charming and fun, since it was just our group, so the service was just for us, and they had really great homemade food, not to mention it was appetizers, soup, main entree, drinks, and dessert for just 10€! I took this photo of the traditional, old-fashioned Portuguese pottery design that is so very well known here: terra cotta ceramic painted with pretty white designs. And of course, I had to take a photo of the soup, because without soup, it wouldn't be a Portuguese meal!
Monday, August 6th
So thankful that my personal translator decided that he would work today, even when he only had clients at his part time and not at the Rehab Center with me. Thankfully they are only about a mile apart and he could swing by after work to correct my Portuguese on an important document. :)
Tuesday, August 7th
We went on a long walk just outside of our neighborhood yesterday and discovered lots of blackberry bushes, so we decided to walk the same way today, but with baggies and tupperware containers. :) They were pretty hard to reach and the bush was crazy thorny, but we managed to pick about 3 cups of berries! As blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are super expensive in Portugal, Luis thought it was wise to calculate how much we "made" by picking them off the side of the road. I think he came up with about 10€, but after already sampling them in some yogurt tonight, all I can think about is how delicious they are going to be in a cobbler tomorrow!
Wednesday, August 8th
What's up, giraffe neck?!?! That would be mine, not that of my sweet friend Marisa, who sits next to me in choir and kindly invited me for coffee today. It was great to have some girl-time, something that I crave, but is a bit hard to come by here (as you may imagine, making friends takes quite a bit of time in a foreign culture, let alone really great girlfriends)... but more importantly, it was great to find out about a fabulous second-hand store here in Coimbra, since I have pretty much combed the entire country looking for them and the only one with women's clothes and/or jewelry in Coimbra recently closed, as you may remember from this post. This store has very little clothing, as they just recently opened, but they also buy used clothes, which is great news! To top it all off, the owner is fabulous, loves helping people, and has a space in the front of the store to display local artist's work, and told me we could get together to talk about putting some of my photography or handmade jewelry and art there! So grateful for girlfriends, and for a new second-hand store 2 minutes from my office!
Thursday, August 9th
CAN . NOT . BELIEVE that the Queen of Sunscreen actually got a little burned at the beach today! I reapplied 2.5 times, and I guess not covering my entire body on that 3rd application and falling asleep with my hand in the sun resulted in this. Bummer! I'm in shock. It's been so long since I've had a sunburn that I have become quite a wimp and easily annoyed with the sting and itch. Never again! As many of you know, I had a mole that turned into basil cell carcinoma 3 years ago, and I wasn't what one might call a sun-worshipper. It was something that happened to me as it could pretty much happen to anyone, so I have become a bit of a tyrant about the daily application of sunscreen, and a bit of a nazi when on the beach. But really... who burns their HAND? Yeah. This girl.
Friday, August 10th
Favorite summer meal... mom's chicken pasta salad!
Saturday, August 11th
Happy birthday, Matias! We love you and wish you a great year! (Fun cakes like this are becoming quite the rage in Portugal right now!)
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