Far from the crowd As the expression goes, I took the whole day for myself today. What I mean by it probably differs a little in the detail to what is generally meant. To me, it means that all I do is work; and I work because I want to. Apart from showering and dressing... Continue Reading →
Sources of Joy – Day 16
Lawns and hosepipes Today's joy was derived mainly from feeling the sun on my back this morning while mowing the lawn and other gardening delights at the villa in Boliqueime where I still have a part-time job, which I do not really need, but I do enjoy. It was with a sense of liberation after... Continue Reading →
Sources of Joy – Days 14 and 15
Festa da São Faustino It does seem a bit of a cop-out to write about two days together, although it does appeal to the non-conformist part of me. I love seeing other people working in cooperation with one another, especially when creativity of an ordinary kind produces something beautiful and shared. It is what makes... Continue Reading →
Sources of Joy – Day 13
Acupuncture, singing, work, greenery, caterpillars, sky, and clothes Yesterday's third acupuncture treatment was wonderful. It gave me energy and calm; precisely the two things I needed last night to survive the choir practice - a slightly different group of singers from Tuesday night - for this Sunday's festival at São Faustino, the little chapel on... Continue Reading →
Sleep
Sources of Joy - Days 11 and 12 I love sleep. I especially love the rare occasion when I get 8.5 hours' sleep in a row. Last night's unusual headache had me retiring early. The real joy is experienced today: No headache, and a marked increase in concentration. This makes me a happy, efficient translator. So... Continue Reading →
Sources of Joy – Day 10
A good day's work always makes me extremely happy, and that is what I had today. With one urgent assignment thrown into the mix, I did not even have time to go out and buy another pack of cigarettes, and that will make quite a few other people happy. I am grateful for that little vapour... Continue Reading →
Sources of Joy – Day 9
The health centre The first joy is that of being able to report something fairly concrete. João and I arrived home roughly three hours after we left. During that time we spent about an hour both having bits of our lives fed into the Social Security's RNCCI system. RNCCI stands for National Network of Integrated... Continue Reading →
Sources of Joy – Day 8
Easter Sunday My day started in Australia just after midnight my time. I phoned my sister (the new mother-in-law) to wish her a happy Easter. What a lovely conversation that was! My subsequent hour-long conversation with my mother and father absolved me for not having written to them for three weeks. I went to sleep... Continue Reading →
Sources of Joy – Day 7
I am getting confused without subtitles to these joyful posts. So I have added a subtitle to each post in this series so far, as a kind of quick reference. Flowers and bicycles I had trouble with the joystick until mid-afternoon, by which time I had dealt with two loads of laundry and removing every... Continue Reading →
Sources of Joy – Day 6
Autographs, Shelley, and sacred music I lent my proofing copy of Scatterling to someone to read. We met for coffee today so that she could return the book. She wanted to buy it, instead of ordering her own online. I said that it had three errors marked in purple in it. She said she liked... Continue Reading →
That elusive pair of jeans 