THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF OUR MOVING TO PORTUGAL

 

I know I haven't posted lately, but time has slipped away for so many reasons: I have been gathering blurbs for my new book, which will come out in April or May (more about that later.) I also polished up my poetry collection about Galicia and sent it to a publisher here in Portugal. I should know soon if they are interested—and I've been gathering blurbs for that. In addition, I've been jotting down ideas for mystery #3, and planning more book reviews for mysteries I've read and enjoyed. 

BUT . . . .

Monday was exactly one year after our arrival in Portugal. It was our first anniversary in our new home. Which felt big to us. On February 21, 2021, we arrived in Porto with two suitcases and a carry on, each. Our immigration attorney picked us up and drove us to Braga—first to our apartment (which was not ready to move into yet, but we dropped off our luggage) and then to a hotel we had reserved online (where we were treated so kindly, I'm still sentimental about that hotel).

So, this Monday evening we celebrated the anniversary by going out to dinner at the Centurium, a restaurant here in Braga that plays an important role in the new mystery, I've been mentioning. The owner has been a wonderful consultant for information about hotel remodels, and in general, he is a warm, generous person, who makes restaurant clients feel welcome and at home, taking time to chat with them. The Centurium is also part of the Hotel Bracara Augusta (thus, my interview with him about hotel remodels.)

Dinner was delicious, and we were joined by a special friend who is also our language teacher. The evening simply flew with great food and great conversation in a mix of Portuguese and English—flowing in both languages from her. A few brave stabs at Portuguese from us. 😋

As for the past year: What a wonderful year it has been. Heartwarming. We were excited to come, of course, and yet there is always a little twinge of trepidation about such a huge move. Well the year has flown by, and already we have a collection of happy times, thanks to the help of friends who made the transition and adjustment easy for us. I don't know what we would have done without them.

So, above is a picture of our "Braga Anniversary."

Meanwhile, we continue to settle in, and have started keeping succulents in pots, as they don't require watering so often. (Our herbs all died during a trip to Galicia.) Once our travel days are over, we will try herbs again. Until then, here is an example of our succulents (all with unpronounceable names). The bottom one is just starting to bloom with tiny yellow flowers.

Sorry it is a bit dark. When the light comes in that window, they practically glow like stained glass.

How about you? Do you keep potted plants? If so, what kind. Do you have special anniversaries besides wedding and birthday? If so, please share what they are.

I'm Back -- Sort Of . . .

The foot is progressing, thanks to the good care I'm getting from my wonderful hubby -- ice packs, great meals, juice, my stack of books I've saved for this period, bringing them to me on request. I've felt like a queen. So, last night I knighted him. (I tapped him on the shoulder with my hand, since we don't have swords and shields lying around the house.)

I've been reading like crazy, and in a day or two I'll start reporting on them. But today I want to pass on two nice awards Richard Hughes gave me. (what a nice thing to come back to!)  Mosey on ovr to his site and enjoy his posts.  He writes about Paris, reviews e-books, shares some of his stories and has an all around interesting blog.  Meanwhile, thank you, Richard, I really appreciate it.

Here are the awards.

 I am supposed to thank the sender and refer readers back to him/her,
then pass it on to five or more others, and then tell seven things about myself that others might not know.

So, here are my five new candidates (but, oh, there are really so many
good bloggers out there.  It's hard to choose!)

1.  Lia Keyes, the founder of Scribblerati (a wonderful writer site; come join) and an all around whirlwind wonder, whose blog keeps you informed about the writing world, tips on writing all kinds of fiction, although her specialty is Steampunk, and who manages to write a trilogy, while hosting chats . . . Oh, it just goes on and on.  Go check out her site.

2.  Hope Clark, a writer with an interesting blog who also has a fabulous newsletter, Funds For Writers, that posts new markets, new contests, new conferences, retreats, grants; you name it.  Visit her blog and subscribe to her newsletter.  I always find something of value at both sites.

3.  Michelle Fayard, blog hostess at Bird's Eye View and pre-published author, who interviews authors, reviews books, and greets the writing world with infectious enthusiasm -- and also had an agent request to see more pages of her work.

4.  J. L. Campbell, who has three different blogs, but my favorite one is The Character Depot, where she raises interesting issues that arise during a WIP, invites guest authors to address issues writers worry over, and always provides food for that.  once you are at her site above, you can explore the other two blogs as well.  (One is devoted to book reviews.)  I had the good fortune to win a copy of her e-book, Dissolution, a good read that I'll be addressing later this week.

5.  Rosi Hollinbeck, who does it all:  shares the ups and downs and angst of the writing life, passes on good articles and contests (and has been winning some of those contests as well), and writes some great reviews.

I am going to stop at these five for now, saving some others for the future.  But check them out; you won't be disappointed.  Meanwhile here are seven new things about me:

1.  This first will only be new to those who have met me online.  I'm a vegetarian.  I do eat fish and seafood and also dairy products, but nothing that runs on four legs or flies.  I was never a big meat eater to begin with, but when I started cooking for my vegetarian husband, a truly wonderful food world awaited me.  Trust me when I say "Yum!"

2.  One of the great triumphs of my life was learning to cook a wonderful South Indian rice cake called iddli.  (My husband is from India.)  You'll never know how many years that took, even with help and demos from my sisters-in-law and numerous nieces.  It's not an easy treat to make, and when it started coming out consistently right I knew that . . . I'll find an agent and a commercial publisher yet!

3.  I'm getting ambitious in my Spanish lessons: my goal is to be able eventually to read a novel in Spanish.  Well . . . maybe a novella.

4.  I confess to never having read The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings.  They are on my "someday" list, but (a second confession) other books are on the "sooner than someday" list.  (I'm sure when I get to Hobbit and Ring I'll kick myself for taking so long.)

5.  I love my Mac.  I'm saying this now, because when I first got it, I had to make a complete adjustment from so many years of working on Microsoft, and I often ranted about how everything as located in different places.

6.  I have menioned before that I'm not a dessert person, but once in a blue moon, I love coffee ice cream.  I think I'm a coffee person.  I love cafe con leche, too.

7.  I wrote a poem to a spider this week.  It was traveling aross my ceiling as I lay captive in bed -- my foot elevated on four pillows -- and prayed fervently that the critter would make it to the far wall before losing traction and falling on me.

That's it for today.  Happy blog-hopping.