sunny weekend

Do fim-de-semana há mais aqui.

Esta semana vou fazer uma pausa na escrita aqui. Este espaço será salpicado de imagens a cada dia e nada mais. Assim sobra mais tempo para escrever à mão, sem filtros. Tempo para a escrita "trapalhona" e para pensar. Sobra tempo para ver se me inspiro para pegar nos tecidos e agulhas, porque sinto que estou a precisar. Sobra tempo para olhar pela janela e beber chá ou chocolate quente, enquanto ouço Prokofiev até à exaustão e preparo actividades para os miúdos. Sobra mais tempo para as tarefas diárias.

:::Desejo-vos uma semana cheia de paz e lenta.:::

Vou ali observar e já volto.

.................................

Fom the weekend there's more here.

This week I'm taking a break from writting here. This space will be splashed with pictures each day, and nothing else. That way there's more time for handwritting, no filters. Time for "messy" writting and thinking. There's more time to see if I get inspired to pick up my fabrics and needles, becase I feel I'm needing that. There's more time to look out the window sipping tea or hot chocolate, listening to Prokofiev over and over again, while preparing activities for the kids. There's more time for daily chores.

:::Wishing you a peaceful and slow week.:::

I'll be right there observing, then I'll come back.

first readings of 2009 | primeiras leituras de 2009

ORTBERG, John (2003) Everybody's normal till you get to know them. Zondervan: Michigan

ONDJAKI (2005) E se amanhã o medo. Caminho: Mirandela

[compiled by] WUBBLES, Lance (1998) George Muller on Faith - a 30-day devotional treasury. Emerald Books: WA

Some favorite quotes so far from the first one...

"Everybody's weird."
"This is the Porcupine's Dilemma: How do you get close without getting hurt?"
"... imperfect people like you and me can pursue community with other imperfect people."
"There is no ideal community. Community is made up of people with all their richness, but also with their weekness and poverty, of people who accept and forgive each other. Humility and trust are more at the foundation of community than perfection."
"A family is a group which possesses and impliments an irracional commitment to the well-being of its members." [Urie Bronfenbrenner]

{very cold}

I'll let you in on a little secret...

I talk to my cat. She's a very good listener. Am I crazy? Am I going to become one of THOSE old ladies?

our cat has an alter ego...

A nossa gata tem um alter ego...

?

A casa hoje cheira-me a alfarroba.

Não faço ideia porquê.

Há tanto tempo que não sinto o aroma doce das alfarrobas.

Duvido que do 8º andar o olfacto consiga apanhar seja o que for lá de baixo.

Muito menos uma alfarrobeira.

Nenhuma à vista, sequer.

...

Receitas com alfarroba.

"Small Mediterranean tree belonging to the legume family. Its pods, 20 cm/8 in long, are used as an animal feed; they are also the source of a chocolate substitute. (Ceratonia siliqua, family Leguminosae.)"

"Able to survive extremely dry conditions once the tap-root is established, the carob can serve as a windbreak and source of food and timber for more than a hundred years. Fruit production will however will be poor under very severe conditions."

Getting ready for a new month at school

This month will be dedicated to Prokofiev and, more specifically his "Peter and the Wolf". I'll be using the latest animated version of the story in DVD as a visual aid. Just got it today! We'll use it to learn about the instruments in an orquestra. I hope the kids love it as much as I do :)

Each month will have a different composer featured and a different color combination. Prokofiev's is blue+red.

2 sets of 3 little pigs {an order}

Novidades...

Papá... os bolbos estão a querer ver a luz do dia :)

Christmas came and "went" so fast!

{Há fotos do almoço de Natal da Igreja, por aqui. Um tempo precioso num lugar muito bonito.}



{Da noite e dia de Natal, há algumas fotos por aqui.}


Our christmas tree is still up (indefinetly)...

Yesterday I had the company of a happy and wild batch of pre-teens from church. We shared about being grateful, each made a list of 12 things they were grateful for, we sang and played music, looked at some photos, laughed, prayed and ate homemade bread with jam :)
They remind me how I must go back to laughing and smilling about everything and anything, even if it's sometimes just plain silly.

Thanks guys! I'm thankful for you.

{logo traduzo}

snippets of Sammy's bday party

Happy sweet new year!!!

To remind myself this year:

::: Love always.

::: Trust Him always.

::: Be thankful always - you deserve nothing.

::: Forgive always.

::: Share and connect.

::: Dream.

::: Be passionate.

::: Be dilligent.

::: You are 3rd.

::: Journal, draw, photograph (document memories).

::: Smile.

Sammy turned 5 on the last day of '08!

Querido afilhado,

Espero que o teu dia tenha sido mesmo super! It's so much fun to be your godmother ;)

Luv ya, mas já te disse ou escrevi isto e mais hoje (perdão, ontem).

Sis e Tim, parabéns também para vocês! ;)

{Sweet Christmas}

The sweet smells of cinnamon, pumkin and cloves coming from my kitchen are making me slow down a bit and think of the sweet smell of God's love. A love so great and so beautiful, so beyond what my little insignificant mind can grasp. May the sweet smell of His love embrace you this Christmas in a very special way... no matter what your circumstances are. And may you carry it with you every day of the coming year. May the manger be the center, the core of your atention so that you can enjoy all else (family, friends, beautiful lights, sweet treats, ...) with renewed peace, gratefulness and understanding.

"You are my strong melody,
You are my dancing rhythm

You are my perfect rhyme

And I will sing of You forever
You poured out all Your blood
You died upon the cross
You are my Jesus who loves me"

Really cold...

It's late and I'm up preparing some things that should be ready for the weekend. It's freezing!!! And I'm reminded of something a dear friend said a while back. The cold weather is just a good excuse for giving more hugs. Is that lovely or what? Today I received some warm hugs from 3 little friends that I love.

So what are you waiting for? Go hug someone! Make someone's day! Oh, and for those of you who haven't heard about the Free Hugs Campain, just watch the video... I love it, I just love it. It warms my heart and makes me want to go out and do the same :)

There are a ton of free hug videos on youtube... just explore. I found this one I also had to share - made me miss Scotland. We walked through those streets just four months ago!

Goodies for the season

Hey, I'm thinking about starting a new tradition... give christmas gifts after the season! It might be a lame excuse for not having everything ready on time, but it might take some stress out of the equation. On the other hand, I could start planing and making gifts through the year.I've read on a Zine a crafter advicing not to plan too many handmade gifts because it can become quite overwhelming and stressful... I agree... it's very stressful! But still... I love the thought of making most of my gifts - it's special and gives me so much pleasure! Or buying handmade - a good option would be to buy from Etsy, Dawanda and so on throughout the year :)

There are some really cool items around there, just waiting for our *click*. I leave you with just some ideas. Might be too late for this year (or not!), but I think it's always good to know. They are either (or all) of these - eco-friendly, sustainable, handmade supportive, caring, original... And it doesn't have to be Christmas for giving any of these anyway, so... :)

- These cool bags. Such a great alternative to plastic bags. Do watch the video - it's hillarious!

- These canteens.

- A Kiva loan in name of the gift receiver. These are precious.

- Ashley's wonderful ilustrations.

- Emily's work. All of it! It's so delicious. (By the way, she has these free downloadable tags here.)

- Anything by Molly Chicken.

- These books by Keri Smith.

- These beautiful journals or these, or these.

- Fairtrade teas, chocolates, crafts and so on here.

Also, some ideas to make your own gifts or decorations... [most are video tutorials]

- A bag out of bags.

- Basic handmade notepads.

- My own simple recipe of handmade paper, that can have plenty of uses (journal cover, collage material, postcard, boxes...)

- A hardcover mini art journal.

- Seed Bombs. These are so great! And what about giving a green gift to your own street with a bit of guerilla gardening?

- Felting wool over soap or a purse.

- Garden Party's DYI's.

Just relax and... have fun ;)

cnstatação {leia-se constatação}

Com o cansaço e o sono fico disléxica.


{Pronto. Agora que já desabafei vou voltar às avaliações, aos sumários e às presenças.}

3-in-1

"cupcake"
pincushion
sweet lavender-smelling treat
:)

godson+godparents sleepover :)

fun! fun! fun!

{*pink*purple*red*}

The basic pattern for this tree is by Little Birds and can be found here. All you have to do is embelish (or not) to your heart's content. I love these loooong ones and these!

This one is filled with lavender and went to a special home ;)

oh dear... she has a new trick...

If you had to choose, would you rather...

... be super intelligent (like genius-type of intelligence) or just sensitive?

Why?

fast-food musical, não obrigada.

Hoje passei uma tarde absolutamente sofrível. Porquê?

Hum... vamos lá ver se percebem.

O cenário - uma "actividade de natal" promovida pela autarquia para as escolas do 1º ciclo do concelho.

Os ingredientes...

... um palhaço sem graça (Esperem. Há palhaços com graça?).

... um "avô" que veste jardineiras e canta, com movimentos que tanto podem ser resultado das dores nas ancas como pura palermíce.

... muitas músicas estupidificantes, com muitos "a-e-i-o-u's", "yes's", "inhos" e "inhas", "baril", generalizações descontextualizadas e uma dose de "lavagem cerebral".

... perguntas idióticas.

... décibeis acima do suportável.

... discursos demagógicos e paternalistas.

No decorrer do "espectáculo" distraí-me a observar os miúdos das minhas turmas... muitos estavam em êxtase, outros [diz ela com alívio] a apanhar uma seca descomunal. O Guilherme e o Pedro, de carapuço na cabeça mantinham-se sentados, pés em cima dos bancos da frente e uma expressão de desinteresse total. Não consegui deixar de lhes achar graça e de lhes dar mentalmente uma palmadinha nas costas, bem como ao Gil. São poucos os que remam contra a maré. Em qualquer área.

Fiquei a pensar. Mas porque é que não dão a conhecer aos miúdos coisas realmente interessantes? Com conteúdo. Imprevisíveis. Pedagógicas. Palermas e tontas sem serem estúpidas. Inteligentes. Com cenários e props bem construídos. Ficam alguns exemplos aqui e aqui e mais aqui e por aí afora...

Ontem estava a ouvir os mais recentes CDs que adquiri e a pensar... "Boa. Ainda se faz boa música infantil em português". Infantil sem ser infantilizante, se é que me faço entender. Que apela à imaginação. Que aposta na qualidade e variedade de instrumentos e sonoridades. Que é "ouvível" tanto pelos miúdos quanto pelos graúdos. Trocadilhar, dos BuscaPólos e Ao contrário, de Madalena Correia de Matos. A estes junto, por exemplo, um outro, do Júlio Pereira - Faz de Conta.

E esta é a letra da música que vou partilhar com algumas turmas amanhã...

Depois de Dezembro
vem um mês chamado Onzembro,
com trinta e dois dias
a pôr nas mãos vazias
ponteiros de hora e meia
que fazem da luz cheia
um espelho de espelhar as caretas do luar...

[letra: José Jorge Letria / música: BuscaPólos]

first christmas as 1...

a happy bunny...

... that was part of sis' bday gift :)

Alice's kiss

{A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.}

Ernest Hemingway

a little friend under the tree :)

We had the help of Sammy and Jojo to start trimming our first xmas tree. It was fun listening to christmas songs, playing with garlands, singing and playing istruments while staring at the lights, looking at the tree lying on the floor, watching old cartoons...

what a neat idea :)

Esta é uma ideia genial e sustentável que conhecei há uns meses através do blog da Clara e hoje voltei a dar com o video. Amei!

....................

This is a genious , sustainable idea I got to know through Clara's blog and today I bumped into it again. I love it!

Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm

And the winner is... / E o vencedor é...

First of all, I have to say this was super fun and I've been anxious to find out the winner myself! It was inspiring to read all of your comments and see what you are thankful for - always keep those in mind! I'll definetly host regular give-aways, so keep checking :)

Okay... so I went to random.org and the number generated was this one:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:65
Timestamp: 2008-12-05 23:59:53 UTC

... which corresponds to this comment:

by shana.. said...
Hi, I'm Susana from Austin - US and I'm thankful for my family and friends like you that brighten up my day!
7:03 PM

This is pretty amazing, because in all these 169 comments (!) only 5 people I know entered. And one of them got to be the winner! That's so crazy, uh? Shana is actually almost coming back home to Portugal from Austin, where she has been living for a year. You can look trought her lovely blog here.

Shana, sim, és tu! E agora... envio para aí ou para aqui?

Time's up!

Dear participants - TIME'S UP!

I'll announce the winner tomorrow at 11.00 am :)

Give-away day is here :)

Some of you have seen her before, and since I had zero time to make something absolutely new, here she is, from my series "Girls with cats". All you have to do is post a comment and wait for the random draw. I'll anounce the winer saturday at 11 am. You can enter wherever you live. Could you please state your country and one thing you are thankful for on your comment? That would be fun :) Besides this illustration, I'll be sending a little something extra which is a surprise...

Oh, and don't forget to se all other participants on this give-away day here.

.................................

Alguns já a viram antes e, já que não tive tempo de preparar algo completamente novo, cá está ela - da série "Meninas com gatos". Tudo o que tens a fazer é deixar um comentário e esperar pelo sorteio. Vou anunciar o vencedor no sábado por volta das 11h da manhã. Podes concorrer onde quer que vivas. Podes escrever no comentário o teu país e uma coisa pela qual estás grato? Isso seria interessante :) Além desta ilustração, vou enviar uma pequena surpresa extra...

Ah, e não se esqueçam de ver a lista inteira dos participantes deste dia, aqui.