When a Saturday feels like a Sunday, and then I realize that Sunday is still to come. Long weekend in disguise 🥸
😶🌫️ It’s a cool, misty morning, with a beautiful freshness in the air. The sort of coolness that only comes during spring and summer, as a precursor to warmer weather later in the day.
🐰 I’ve said it before, but will say it again, “where do all of these dust bunnies come from?” I vacuum in the morning, and they appear to be waiting for me again by the evening or next morning!! They are more prolific than the real thing.
April 2023 Newsletter letter
Monday, May 1, 2023
April 2023 I write this at the end of April in a small church square, Largo de São Mamede, on the edge of the Príncipe Real area of Lisbon. Tomorrow will be the end of our forth week in Portugal, the longest period of time that I have spent in this country, and we still have five and a half weeks to go. This has been a busy month, time spent working on the house.
🏳️ I’m giving in to the third coffee of the morning.
🥱 Waking up to a quiet Sunday morning. This is so much appreciated, my big gratitude for the day. I don’t have to get in a car, navigate city traffic and load up. It was a fun two days, but happy to be home.
I spotted a Micro.blog sticker in Lisbon today. That brought a smile to my face. 😊 @jean
We are back in Lisbon. An overnight stay. With the city only being an hour from Alcácer do Sal, it is very convenient whether we need to get things done, or a cultural visit.
We arrived yesterday, and will be leaving later today. This is a “getting things done” visit, and I am looking forward to dialing down the activity tomorrow.
I am writing this in a small church square, Largo de São, while Melissa is busy elsewhere. I feel as though I am slowly connecting the dots in Lisbon, at least in this part of the city. Since my earliest days of travel, I have enjoyed just people watching. Observing the city in action, sitting and watching what is going on, people going about their business. In it, and apart from it.
No Micro meetup on this visit.
Keeping an eye on you, in Lisbon.
🥵 Phew! The temperature started at 16°C/60°F today. By 3:00pm it is forecast to be 35°C/95°F. Wilting slowly.
🧓 I'm either showing my age, or my disconnect from modern parlance…or both?This week I have had to look up a couple of acronyms that I had no idea what they stood for, but appeared to be being used quite liberally.
A lunchtime well spent.
What an insane range of temperatures we are going to be facing here today. Depending on which side of the Atlantic you are on, it will be going from 12°C/53°F this morning, up to 32°C/89°F by late afternoon.
And more to follow in the coming week.
☕ There’s that coffee that I was looking forward to as I went to bed.
🙃 It’s one of those nights when I go to bed looking forward to tomorrow morning’s coffee.
Freedom Day Celebrations
Monday, April 24, 2023
Today, 25th April, is Freedom Day here in Portugal. Last night Alcácer do Sal held a concert with Marisa Liz, a fireworks display at midnight, and then a DJ after that. We showed up for Marisa’s concert, but her music wasn’t to our taste and so we walked back home and got into bed (the concert had started about 10:30pm). Just before midnight, I went back out and waited by the river for the fireworks.
I’ve been giving Apple Maps the benefit of the doubt, despite warnings to the contrary - thank you @maique. I prefer its layout to Google Maps and Waze, and it’s working in CarPlay. However, after being directed kilometers in the wrong direction yesterday, and not being able to find a place today, Google Maps has now earned a place on my phone.
When I first opened my Mastodon account, I enabled cross posting from Micro.blog. Within a week, I had disabled it. Lack of familiarity with Mastodon was the reason. A few months have passed, and I have decided to re-enable cross posting…for now. My Mastodon posts still disappear after a month.
☕ Oh dear, coffee number 4 this morning. I very rarely get this far…
🤫 I’m appreciating some quiet time this morning. Recharging and reflecting.