The Sun...

Hello, dear friends

Just a few snapshots to bring you some sunshine...

The boardwalk

The ocean ahead

A stroll by the ocean

Sunset--on the other side of the river, Spain, the setting sun is reflecting off of some windows

Sunrise in Alentejo

I can't get over all the beauties around me...

Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

XXX

Yes, everything is OK! :)

My dear friends,

It's over, the stress, the fear. Until my next checkup (yes, we all know what that's like even if we try to be rational, rationality has nothing to do with this atavic fear!!)

Everything is in fact OK :) and I'm smiling again and feel like a ton has lifted off from my shoulders!

So here are just a few little flowers... and my THANK YOU for all your positive thoughts (even though I only got to comment moderation after lunch I did read all of your sweet messages before my exam, to fill me up with positive vibes :) )

Have a wonderful week!

XXX

"Everything is OK"

It's that time again. 

Time for my checkup and especially time for the mammogram. 


The last time I got one I got the bad news. A year and half ago. Since then I had surgery, chemo, radiation and a long recovery time. Now I believe I'm back to health, in spite of slightly tight movements and aches especially on my arms and shoulders. I've lost most of my weight water gain but still need to lose a few pounds that I have piled up since then. And aside from that, I feel good. Sometimes blue, sometimes sunshiny, but heck, who isn't?!


But I'm scared. 
Super, mighty scared. 
Out of my wits scared. 
Anyone who's been there (or has a loved one who's been there) knows what I mean. 


It's a cold, clamping fear that tightens our throat and the opening of our stomach and won't go away until you hear those words "everything is OK" and then you know you'll have until the next checkup to let go of that fear. 


Fortunately I get to know right away. 
It's scary to look at the doctor's face trying to decypher what she's seeing on the ultrasonograph and any time she clicks and records the image on the screen you flinch. It doesn't hurt. It scares the heck out of you. 


But when she's done you pray to hear those magical words. 
"Everything is OK". Because she knows I need to know right then and there, no matter what the words are. And you know you'll fight like a gladiator for you life, if the veredict is bad. But you don't want it to be. Again.


Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to tell you those same words. With a smile.


Until then... XXX

Hoping this is now...

!!!

Hello dear friends,

I know, it's a nuisance and I don't like it either. I'm trying to figure this out so please, please let me know if it asks for word verification (I did activate comment moderation but maybe that'll change too...)

Thank you!

XXX

Pascoal part II

Much, much better in the daylight!

Pascoal came to work with me today and he's been quite active around here!

At lunch time decided to catch a bit of sunshine and enjoy the view...

Now tell me... who can resist this sweet little smile? :)

XXX

Meet Pascoal :)

Hello, dear friends!

Meet Pascoal :)

Pascoal is a cute little Easter bunny--less than 20cm tall, that is about 8" I believe. Easter in Portuguese is Páscoa, and that's where he got his name from--he's come here for Easter!

He's acqua and has cute green shiny eyes. And he's smiling at you.

Pascoal has a little turquoise coat with a white button because the days are nice but it's still chilly out! 

"See how tall I am? Thiiiiiiiiiiiiis big!" he says

And it's really hard to get a really good picture of him now, because his color is so much prettier than it looks here!

Pascoalito is looking forward to having a bigger family--'cos I've told him there will be others! And maybe some of them will move to other homes to live in little children's pockets or sit on their beds... but that's ok, because they'll always stay in touch!

You'll be able to find him here too...

Have a great week!

XXX

It's real!

Yes, my friends... it's real!

I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than starting something with LOVE... and that's what happened, without expecting it.

My colleague and friend Natacha recently started knitting with me. She hadn't done any knitting in a long time and wasn't very confident or experient. At first. Then she fell in love with it, just like me. And soon enough she was making beautiful things! 

The two of us happily knit along at lunch time, after munching down something really fast to be able to have a bit of time for ourselves. And whenever we can.

She was the main force behind my own will to start a little shop--nothing special, just trying to reach out and show our work and hopefully find some people interested in our love and work.

The name was chosen--Tarekices, what else?

The design for the "brand" was made. The color for the labels was chosen--a lovely silky beige / golden shade that will look pretty with everything, from men's to women or babies' accessories.

Why don't you stop by for a little visit? :) We'll love to see you there!

Here's where you can find us--and if you'd like any clarification, please let us know! 

Tarekices @ Facebook 

xxx

Colors that make me happy

Blues, pinks, greens...

...knitting once more...

Hope you're having a super duper week!

XXX

Blue moon

Hello, dear friends

Sometimes you look in the mirror and don't feel happy about what you see. More exactly, who you see there, looking back at you. It doesn't feel like you, for some reason. 

Is it the winter blues? The shorter days, the fewer hours of daylight that get to you? The cold, and it's nothing to compare to the cold that's been going around in the rest of Europe or the World?

It's here, though. The blues. And that feeling you don't want that person to be there looking at you. 

So this is what I do. I go out, for a brisk walk by the ocean, breathe in all that beauty and come back home full of energy. To do even the stuff I don't like to do like household chores (sorry, that's just the way I am... I'm really not one of those people who love to do laundry and tidy up and all that stuff, but I do love a nice and tidy home and all the laundry put away :) )

And decide that girl in the mirror's got to go. Along with the things that make me feel blue :) and get back in my green mode again :)

Or teal... what do you think of my (soon to be) new log cabin patchwork cushion? :)

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

xxx