week 42.

Sunday, October 14^th

We're all about recycling old items in the Almeida house... so when I begged Luis to replace the nasty rusted shampoo holder in the shower for a newer, less rusty version, it promptly went to the balcony outside to be recycled with the glass/metal objects. We have a pretty bad habit of letting our recycling sit outside forEVER before taking it across the street to the recycling bins, so this thing sat out there for a good 2 months, even after we had taken the recycling, we forgot it! One day I discovered this fabulous organizing system for potatoes/fruit, and after finding them at the hardware store for 7€ a piece (no dice!), we decided we didn't really need our potatoes and outside of bags or off the pantry floor. Until, that is, I got the brilliant idea that perhaps we could de-rust the shower caddy and nail it to the wall.  (Amazing how much rust comes right off with a little scrubbing!) And look at that! New uses for old things, Almeida style!

 Monday, October 15^th

I was amazed by the stunning sunrise this morning…

Tuesday, October 16^th

Latest discovery from our local German grocery store, Lidl -- windmilll cookies! I grew up with a [slightly more bland] version of these cookies, and they are so delicious! I got all nostalgic seeing them here... 

 Wednesday, October 17^th

Putting some finishing touches on this today – it’s a banner for an Powerchair Football (i.e., wheelchair soccer) event we are hosting in two weeks. The “theme” of the week is “Train. Play. Experience.” – can you guess what made the tire tracks??

Thursday, October 18^th

Hello, gorgeous...

Friday, October 19th

New favorite photo!

Saturday, October 20th

We had a work meeting in Coimbra this morning, so as long as we were out and about, we decided to stop at a little local market to get some fresh veggies. Look who I found crawling around on the kitchen counter after I unloaded all the veggies! (Paperclip is there just to reference his size!)

week 41.

Sunday, October 7th

I would like to personally thank Uwe (from England) and Peter (from New Zealand) for finding the mysterious sweet corn that supposedly exists in Portugal but that no one ever sells. It is so delicious! Sadly, they only had 3 ears, but I bought all 3! High fives to the English boot sale for bringing me pleasant surprises once again!

 Monday, October 8^th

I don’t know how a person could choose any season as their favorite other than fall. The simple color change in the leaves is something to marvel at!

 Tuesday, October 9^th

Is it just me, or are there others out there who think it’s a little ridiculous that I am having to file taxes when I didn’t earn money in the US in the last 365 days?  So glad I didn’t have to pay – which would mean I was paying TWICE on money that I have earned here! Ridiculous!

Wednesday, October 10^th

Snail conference…

Thursday, October 11^th

Have I mentioned that I am completely in love with the English boot sale?!?!?  Look at this cute teapot that I got for 2€! It’s in great condition, and helps to add some yellow accents to our navy blue and white, floor-to-ceiling tiled kitchen. Just a happy little pop of color…

Friday, October 12^th

Just another Friday night, giving a concert in a 12^th century church…

(Listen to my favorite piece by Pedro Macedo Camacho here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MwFBQxg1eZM)

Saturday, October 13^th

We had the most beautiful fall day today, so we took a picnic to the park!  Knowing it was our last “free” Saturday until probably Christmas, we relaxed for a bit and walked around in a pretty semi-forested area with lots of small trails… so beautiful! Unfortunately, my instagram photo did not load because I didn't have internet (I thought they just saved to the camera roll on the phone???), so here you have a substitute photo. Do you think this piece of freezer paper that I randomly ripped off the roll looks like Minnesota?  I do. :)

week 40.

Sunday, September 30th
We took our Powerchair Football team to a disabled sports day run by an organization in Lisbon today, and I got to ride this great adapted hand-bike with my dear friend Adelaide! I would like to send out a personal thank-you to the lady who took this photo, who so kindly cut off the front wheel, which showed how the bike operated with the hand controls instead of pedals. Awesome.

Monday, October 1st
A beautiful blue (and slightly foggy) morning sky to welcome us into October, but the forecast says 75 and sunny for today. You won't hear me complaining about that forecast!

Tuesday, October 2nd
Had to pick something up at the mall tonight and decided that sundaes were also necessary. I can't remember the last time I had one... delish!

Wednesday, October 3rd
Our choir headed down to Lisbon tonight to sing at a prestigious Samsung product launch event. You're looking at the first choir to ever sing with tablets, and the first tablets to ever have an application using digital sheet music!

Thursday, October 4th
Last night, 4 new "sisters" arrived to add to our ever-growing volunteer "family"!  Meet Sonia (Spain), Palmira (Italy), Vilma (Lithuania), and Noémi (Hungary), who will be with us until April! Welcome to APCC, ladies!

Friday, October 5th
Happy Portuguese Republic Day to us! We didn't have to work today, so I spent the day organizing tax forms, responding to emails, unsubscribing to a lot of ridiculous American email lists that I am still on, and turned 977 unread e-mails into 603 after 4 hours. In the afternoon I worked on some to-do items on my Power Soccer Tournament list, as we have a big week-long international event coming soon!  Oh, and I made peanut butter cookies, which was the only thing worthy of taking a photo of today!

Saturday, October 6th
Luis brought back some lovely grapes from his family's vindima (traditional, seasonal grape harvest) -- they are gigantic and so, so delicious!