Heathrow airport on a gloomy afternoon…and a lot of aliens hovering above.

Several airplanes are parked at an airport terminal on a cloudy day.


Changing tires.

Workers in high-visibility vests are moving stacks of tires using an orange cart outside a garage.


I love how little kids, totally oblivious to the chaos around them at a busy airport, will play, stop to pull up socks and take their time (as it is so very important to do properly). Meanwhile stressed adults run sweating and read faced, moving from line to line, looking for gates, where next?


Adeus Portugal. Até à próxima. 🇵🇹


Playing with the camera.

A dramatic black-and-white scene features a cloudy sky above a modern, angular building with the outline of a bridge visible in the distance.


Current weather in Lisbon. MAAT

A cloudy, overcast sky looms over a cobblestone walkway beside a calm body of water.


Sometimes I find that for no reason at all, or at least no reason that I can put my finger on, a song gives me a strong sense of empowerment.

This morning I was listening to a random playlist and the song Technicolor Beat by Oh Wonder came on. I was familiar with this song as I have played this playlist before, but I know no more of Oh Wonder’s music.

As I sat there listening, I brought up the lyrics on my phone and quietly sung along. I’m not sure that I was completely engaging with what the lyrics were saying. I could ’hear’ some of the meaning, but I was mainly being carried along by the tempo and beat of the song.

Technicolor Beat finished and I felt uplifted. Any feelings of being downbeat from earlier in the day were erased. Will that feeling stay with me? Probably not, at least as the song fades from my mind. For all of that though, I am pleased that some tunes can take me to that place. I believe that being able to tap into that place is only possible because such states of mind are valid, possible, and exist within us. Being reminded of them makes them a stronger part of me. After all, that is a part of what meditation is about. Reinforcing, familiarizing (what the Tibetan word for meditation, gom, means) ourselves with positive states of mind.


We started watching the second series of The Diplomat on Netflix last night. We managed two episodes before sleep curtailed any further watching. If I had been wider awake, I could have watched more. I’m enjoying it because of great acting and the storyline pulling me in. Where will it go?

I’ve just read that it has been renewed for a third season. I’ll reserve judgement on that decision when I have finished this series, but at this stage I could see myself wanting more.


We went looking for Pink Flamingos this morning. If I understood this page correctly from the Alcácer do Sal municipal website, Pink Flamingos have recently returned to the area. If this is so, we were either unable to see them - the rice fields stretch a long way from the road - or they had moved on.

Of course we could have been looking in the wrong area, but I think not going by previous sightings.


We are back in Alcácer do Sal after two nights in the Serra da Estrela, the highest mountain range in Portugal. I love the mountains and during a brief hike, looking out over these hills, I was reminded of The Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons in South Wales. I use to go hiking in those hills and lived for almost two decades looking out towards The Black Mountains. The mountains of the Serra da Estrela took me back to there.

A vast, open landscape with rolling hills under a cloudy sky.


I could sit and watch this movie all day.

Two empty modern chairs and a small table are positioned on a terrace overlooking a foggy landscape surrounded by trees.


Waking up to this, this morning, I don’t have much enthusiasm for getting out of bed and driving home today.

Looking out of a window with rain drops all over it, to a balcony that is wet and beyond that trees and think cloud mist.


I am thinking that it has been almost a decade since I have been amongst trees in autumn, and I am so appreciating it. The colours, the damp smell, the cool air. It all takes me back to what I grew up with and spent so many years around.

A small road with trees on either side, changing autumnal colours and many already on the ground.


Quiet, silence and stillness this morning. Visiting the Serra da Estrela here in Portugal for a couple of nights. Up in the mountains and appreciating the fresh air here. We are sitting at an elevation of just below 2,000m (6,562ft). Sun out, cool, cloud slowly drifting in.


Phew! Just got home. A late night drive back to Alcácer from Lisbon, not my favourite thing to do…though the bed at the end of the drive is very welcome.

A day of meeting up with friends. Dinner with a couple who we know from our time living in the US Pacific Northwest who are in Europe, though my wife has known her since high school days in New York. And earlier, catching up with @maique over a few drinks in the autumn sun.

It was very good to see them all.


A calm River Sado hosts a flock of young seagulls on a Sunday morning.

Young seagulls rest on a calm River Sado, with fields on both sides and some small buildings on the right side. The sky is blue, the sun is out.


🛌 My bed had an iron grip on me this morning. It was quite a fight to get out. I gave into the struggle a couple of times, but eventually won through. Coffee is now being made.


For some reason I redownloaded Ulysses just now. I have not used it for a long time. I have been getting along just fine with my two workhorses - Drafts and iA Writer. Tot has also been a part of the mix. But not Ulysses. Not for a long time…until now. I am writing this with Ulysses.

Maybe it is because my subscription will expire in three weeks. I’m just checking back, you know, just in case. I guess time will tell where this itch scratching will take me?


I’ve now heard back from Hawaii Elections.

Your ballot has been accepted

This message is from your County Elections Division. Your 2024 General Election ballot has been received, validated, and accepted for counting. Mahalo for voting!

🇺🇸🗳️

A green and white digital sticker to say that I have voted in Hawaii for the 2024 Presidential Election.


🏁 A first this morning. I drove from Alcácer do Sal to where we usually park in Lisbon without using GPS (Apple Maps). I’ll need it to get out this evening, but I’ll chalk that up as a win for familiarity and knowing my way round.