grandma

althought yesterday started out perfect, with a trip to a place beyond beautiful, it ended in a truly sad note.

my mom phoned and told me my grandmother had a stroke. 

she failed to show up at my aunts house for lunch, who promtly went to her house to check on her and found her laying on the ground, paralised.

she's still in the hospital, and although partially paralised, she still remebers everyone is and is able to talk. 

i cried mysef to sleep yesterday, but today i was able to talk to her in the phone and that made me feel a little better. 

she's almost 90 and is a strong, witty, little woman. i just hope i can enjoy her company for a little longer...

 i really love my grandma!

a private concert

last night was quite surprinsing.

after a family dinner at tó's, we met some of his friends at a local restaurant. next to our table was luísa sobral, a lovely new portuguese singer,  antónio zambujo and a few other musicians / friends.

they were asked by the shameless owner (who's quite the character) to sing at the restaurant. 

i was completely stunned by luisa's voice. it's even softer and more beautiful than on the album.
everytime i hear her i feel just like when i travel. that quiet happiness invades my heart.

i also gained knowledge of antónio zamujo, whom i had never heard before...

the musical surprise combined with a good amount of cheap white wine made for a wonderful evening.

a proper way to celebrate this saturday :)

! ! !

i have graduated and i feel completely free!

it went surprisingly well, even though  i was so nervous i was giggling and shaking.

i got the highest grade attributed in college :)

tomorrow i'll drive to tó's hometown, guimarães, and on monday  we'll visit either gerês or the beautiful place from the photos.

a deserved break before going full force on sending portfolios...

two more days

next friday, before lunch, i will no longer be a student.

i will graduate from my masters, and be officially unemployed.

giving the current context i have been unsually relaxed. at least until yesterday... now i'm stressed and nervous.

i've got all the work done for the presentation, and i've read it enough time to be confortable on friday.. but i'm not. 

 just moments ago i started to recall all the fun we used to have while working at the college's atelier. it's sad that i only have these lousy double diana shots from those days. they're at least 3 or 4 years old.

that time will be what i'll miss from college.

*wish me luck*

it has been a good weekend. 

on saturday we went to the gardens of  'palácio de cristal' to walk around, see the romantic museum and then do a little work on the library.

we saw all the usual characers - lovely ducks, seaguls, and lots and lots of peacocks, but it was so sunny we didn't really make it to the library. instead we walked for hours thoughout the city like two turists. and it always feels so good :)

today's my dad's birthday. we went over to his house for lunch, i gave him two prints i made out of polly's scans, and he loved it. he had never seen those photos and he even recognized his grandmother's dog in them.

on the way back home we stopped at a beautiful location we had visited briefly before, but when we got ther it was already dark... we'll shall go again!

gerês

the sun has been blessing our days lately.

and suddently i can think of nothing but a quick road trip to gerês.

i've only been there twice, and it's so close... shame on me!

i'm guessing it won't be this sunny, or green, and the water won't be so irresistable... 

but i'm sure it will still be long overdue.

it will be the day after i get my masters :)

fat benny

benny  has been a great company these days.

he keeps me warm in these cold days, sleeping next to me while i work.

i love it when he dreams. he makes funny sounds and his wiskers move really fast.

he's been eating more than usual lately, and he's already chubby to begin with... i might have to put him on some sort of diet.

7kg of cat... that's a lot of benny to love :)

3 big waves

today the sky was dark and gloomy.

and althought it would be perfect to see some tempestuous waves, it was also the perfect condition to stay indoors, with a thick blaket, and the laptop on my lap, and to work and prepare my presentation.

i've also decided i want to go to marseille, badly. so i'll go shortly after i get my masters. 

besides, tó deserves his birthday and christmas present :)

i just don't understand how can it be more expensive to change dates or names on a flight than to buy one... damn you ryanair!!!

bye bye marseille

late last night my dreams of going to marseille were crushed.

i had already booked the flights for me and tó, several months ago, (after all ithe trip was his birthday present) for the 26th of january.

however, the university scheduled the presentation of my master's thesis for the 27th   :(

the thought of going to marseille warmed my heart even more than the trip to paris.

it was something brand new to me, a complete discovery... france by the sea!

i might have to hurt my savings again... 

p.s. - finding a letter from polly with the prints she made out of my old family negatives put a smile on my face! thank you ever so much dear polly :)

some cat characters

 one thing i love about my aunt's is that there are always new cats playing around in her backyard.

little and old, restless and calm, fat, fit, skinny, three legged and everything in between.

this christmas there were 8 she shelters and feeds, and some that  just came to play :)

 sometimes you forget what's in the film you just finnished. it usually happens when it takes you a long time to do so.

it was a nice surprise to see these photos from a quick trip to braga. i don't even know which month it was...

it's funny how ramdom photos make you remember the tiniest details. in the midst of those flights of stairs were the most gruesome statues that represented the different senses.

they were, however, completely overshadowed by the beauty surrounding it.

apparently i also forgot that on the minolta's viewfinder i can't see if there's any fingers in front of the lens...

 yesterday i took out my minolta after a very long time.

she usually sits in the cabinet with other forgotten cameras i don't use often. 

i almost forgot how long it takes me to focus on a rangefinder camera. but i'm so glad i finally used her!

 yesterday, was also the fisrt time i pet a little lamb :) they're amazingly (and unexpectedly) fluffy. 

it was funny to see them chase after sara and her flowers and then seeing her chase the little lambs.

blissful sunday

today was nothing short of blissful.

i woke up to a sunny day and decided to have a picnic on the gardens of serralves.

the sun was shinning strong (20ºC!!!), the sky was a strong blue and not a cloud in sight, just like ti was when i took these photos.

we ate, took pictures and strolled throught the many different gardens there.

coincidentally, beautiful sara was also there, with a friend, and in the midst of fondling two cute little lambs, she told us about the inside of the main house.

i'm thankfull i finally visited it. it was simply beautiful and majestic. giant windows with marvellous views to the gardens. mirrors and marble stone were a constant inside the house.

as i arrived home i saw polly had posted the photos of the old family negatives i had sent her!

thank you so much polly bird ♥

benny

in a couple of days i'll be taking benny to the vet for a scheduled vaccination.

i'll take advantage of the occasion to ask the vet what is needed to take benny abroad, since me and tó plan to start our working life outside of portugal, even though we still haven't found any job...

i really can't fathom the idea of leaving benny behind, specially since he's been my only companion (apart from tó) since i've started living by myself. he's been in my life for more than five years and i hope he does for many more.

has anyone ever taken a cat or any other pet to a different country? do you know what needs to be done before leaving?