seasonal adjustment

It's been a bit of a strange time of adjustment, with R going to England for the Autumn and Laura and Isabella off to Bristol for two weeks, and Nuno working on making the ruin habitable and me whirling around having days off, days out and yoga and a women's group meeting.

First day out, I went and had lunch with Simone.  Deliscious sardines at Choupanas.

Second day out Monica and I went to Santa Clara to have lunch with Carol.  Home baked brown bread and salad from the garden and vinho verde.  Later we went down to the barragem and swam to an old oak tree that must have been growing before the barragem was built.  Huge, dead, sculpture in the water.

 This is one of Carol's views.  Cool.  It was actually so hot that we were indoors until four, when it started to cool.

These are some knitting needles I whittled from olive tree prunings.  They make lovely needles.  Smooth, light and strong.

This is what I've been doing during the days of work (as opposed to network).  Using builder;s cling fim and feed sack to insulate the roof. Then today I covered it in split cane. Begining to look better, even if I look worse, covered in dust and sweat.  It is so hot and the sun is lower down so it always seems to find a way into your eyes.

I went to an old abandoned farm that I used to pass often, and picked some sweet white grapes, and got some cuttings of vine, pomegranite and Swiss cheese plant (Monstera?). The wild red grapes are hanging out of the hedgerows.  They are so good.  They are called morangeiras due to there strawberry flavour.  They are good to eat and good to drink later :)

The women's group is a new thing.  I went there, dirty and tired, but curious and was happy I went. They usually bring food and share a meal after having a session. I didn't stay for that as I was dying to get home and shower.

Now it's friday night and something is biting my legs.