::home is:: sunshine

Porto goes to the beach in Feb

Portugal. That is home. Back at home. Home is the sunshine and the sea and the smell of the sea. Home is strolls by the beach throughout the year. Yes, home is also bakeries, well done for remembering without any prompting.

In 21 days, I will go home. Yay me! The occasion is a beach holiday with the little brother, Mum and Dad. I'm really looking forward to these 10 days relaxing with them. And you will be too, when you see all the amazing photos I'm planning on taking and read my even wittier comments on the different shades of sunlight tanning me throughout the week. Yes, I'd be looking forward to that if I were you, because we all know how inspiring the sun can be for one's creative spirit. On day one, I will be a pretty pathetic yellow-ish emigrant returning home, but by the 10th day I expect to be a golden brown healthier looking version of my current self. Fingers crossed for moi, if you're not too jealous.

I'm counting the days to going home. And I'm counting the hours until M gets here. With a little bit of E with him. Home is Portugal and home is all the places where I've left a bit of myself... home is the people I love.

::cultural differences:: when Costa Coffee stopped making toast...

carnations&bread


... and nearly made Little Miss Joey cry.

In Portugal, you can go into any café and have toast. It's one of those things that you don't think about as a Portuguese person, it's just there, everywhere, and you have it, and you pick the bread you want in the nicer places and you ask for how much butter you want on it if you're a bit picky and life goes on. Toast in Portugal is a certainty of life. Like expresso and the sea. And bakeries in every corner.

On moving to the UK, I was surprised I couldn't have toast with pingo (an espresso size latte) at 17.30, nor 18.30 for that matter. Nope, not available. At this time, British people are either having dinner (named tea, mind you), therefore defeating the purpose of having a pre-dinner stomach comfort, or in the pub sampling beer. In Rome do as the Romans do, so I now go to the pub myself, but that's a different post.

So why am I on the verge of tears 4.5 years after moving here? Because I discovered toast, people, toast in a café! Costa Coffee! And not just any toast, this was a yummy toast in a good quality brown bread with superb jam in a little pot on the side. Yummy! A little piece of home and a good one too. I discovered this and it has been taken from me.

I used to indulge in toast at the Costa Coffee in Waterstones. One morning, one of those mornings where everything goes wrong and breakfast gets overlooked, I stopped at a different Costa's on my way to work and naturally asked for toast, to go please. We don't serve toast. *insert LMJ's puzzled look here*. Still confused, LMJ leaves the place politely and has a mini rant as she continues on her way to work on an empty stomach. Boo. Bad Costa. Waterstones's Costa is much better. Deliberately, for I now really wanted this toast, I went to Waterstone's Costa later on to put the world right and asked for... pause for suspense... toast! I'm half way through a smile of satisfaction when I hear we don't do toast. And I go *insert almost whinny voice here* yes, you do; I've had it before. We did; we don't now; it wasn't popular. Like me, she was foreign and looked at me knowing of my pain at the loss of toast. I didn't feel so alone (nor ridiculous!) but I felt sad nonetheless. It was popular with me! It was my little piece of home in the form of that simple thing that is good toast.


Little note 1: photo is not of Costa Coffee's toast; I never photographed it and now it is too late. This is a clever way of portraying two home things together, bread and carnations :) It was staged at the Matchbox (LMJ's home) and no carnations nor bread were harmed in this photoshoot.

Little note 2: if you're interested, this is the original image, before I played with photoshop colour filters.

::inspiring Mondays::

Sunday breakfast

My body woke up today thinking it was 5am! Oh wait, it was indeed 5am only now it's been changed to 6am. That explains why getting up was even more of a challenge! On the upside, I had a slow breakfast like if it were the weekend (I took the bus to allow for that, had to keep the body happy after the feels-like-5am-abuse!).

Robert de Niro is my favourite actor. There, that's my fact of the week. The man's an acting genius! He can play any genre equally well, he can direct, he can do anything. I have watched most of his films, but not all, so I'm setting myself the challenge to correct that (watch this space!, or not as I tend to take my time with these things)! And I like his voice; good voices are important, I dare say essential in fact!

:: Sunday breakfast. love. photography. yumminess.
:: first run in a couple of weeks. scenic route covered in spring and light. good company. parfait.
:: de-cluttering success.
:: home-making success.
:: jam making fiasco, but sparked the interest. or how I'm going to call one of my aunts for advice.
:: half-gangster film with Robert de Niro. A Bronx's Tale. good.
:: iPlayer me likes.
:: knitting.
:: knitting club. nothing like a good chat over coffee and decor books.
:: photobox.
:: getting things done. oh the joy of simple things.
:: something to look forward to - M arrives on Thursday! He does! E is not coming (boo!) but he'll bring a bit of her with him. I just know! and F is coming too :)

This is a good Monday after all. It's the Monday of the week I see dear friends and if the price is waking up with a 5am feeling so be it, it's a very small price to pay for happiness!


Little note: photo is of Sunday breakfast. It was inspired by this lady and her food photos, I find her a huge inspiration (have to say I also love the fact she's Portuguese, national pride talking!). 

corners of my home

Corners of my home

As promised, a little snippet into a corner of my home, just because I like to keep my promises. If you were expecting chaos everywhere, I tell you... there's still a bit of it around but it's going to be one of those things I keep from you, a girl is entitled to have secrets! The de-cluttering has finished, if I get rid of anymore things I'll go around the world half naked covered in books and that is not a look I want to encourage being the fashion trend setter that I am!
All I can say now is that I've had enough of sorting. Enough! And although it is finished, the place could do with a cleaning. A girl's work never ends really. Except when she says ENOUGH! And tells the in-need-of-cleaning-bits she'll deal with it tomorrow. Oh yeah, who's the boss?
At the end of this wonderful process that is de-cluttering I have discovered something new about myself - I have become one of those annoying people who cannot sit still and is always working on something. My grandma always said that idle hands are a waste of time and I believed her and complied sweetly, but seriously, it is now a bit ridiculous! I should have spent my evening with the feet up, tea in hand and film on, but no; I spent my evening making lists (have I spoke of my love of lists?), sorting photos, writing, doing laundry (now that's one bit of cleaning that wins over me!), planning world domination through wittiness (or cuteness, cannot decide which!)...

You may have noticed the flowers in the photo; carnations, red carnations. These are important in Portuguese history, symbol of freedom in the Carnation Revolution. I chose them because they remind me of home and all that can be good at home when things aren't going so well over there. Sometimes, you just have to believe.  

it is Friday...

Spring is still here

... as you may or may not have noticed. I have. Fish and chips for lunch, battered not breaded, and I know the weekend is here. Spring is still with us (just because it has arrived doesn't mean it will stay, so better enjoy every single moment of it) and may even spend the weekend - lucky us!

So what are my grand weekend plans? Ah... easy... de-clutter! I have been de-cluttering and organising and sorting and tidying and styling and whatnot for 3 nights now. Keep in your heads the amount of stuff you think I had, I don't cope well with abuse! The key word here is had; I no longer have a whole gigantic wardrobe of fabric, oh no. Now it's only half of a gigantic wardrobe *insert proud smile here*. I've even parted with some wool. *more proud smiles here*. Books is a different matter; I cannot, I repeat, I cannot part with books. The problem is I have so many books now something needed to be done to address this, so I decided to be cunning and send a few books home to Portugal... *insert evil genius laughter here*! I may even show photos of the now de-cluttered corners of my home on Sunday, light permitting. Generous moi is.

Of course, I haven't just been sorting stuff. I have been very busy watching period dramas and catching up on inspirational photos all over Flickr and in particular here and making prints of 3 of my photos as gifts for dear friends. Yes, I'm feeling brave and confident in my ability. The new de-cluttered me is special like that and I like it!

benches

Stone bench

The Creative Challenge for the next two weeks has been set - benches! I like benches; they serve a purpose and add to the landscape, perfection as far as I'm concerned. I am therefore happy with the subject of the challenge. That said, it's best if I keep to myself how silly I looked yesterday morning when attempting at shooting benches from different angles... yes, a story better kept untold... as for the pictures of benches, only one survived my now ruthless eye (!). My softer heart for this photo may be because this bench tells a story, or a bit of my own story, one that was once as promising as the flower bud I couldn't help but show with the bench... until it was no longer a story worth telling... funny how life moves quickly, almost like the seasons... and it is now spring and one will be able to enjoy any bench one likes for the sun will be out all the time (wishful thinking?...). And Little Miss Joey shall stop speaking like the Queen... and referring to herself in the third person while she's at it.

Oh, by the way, I've finished watching North and South! Go - watch - it! Now!

LMJ recommends



One of the things I love most about Britain is BBC. It is obviously a great British institution and all that, so I guess it's kind of an obvious one for a foreign little miss Joey to have a wee crush on. And she does! Having recently watched South Riding (which I absolutely recommend, especially if you like period dramas), I am now making my way through North and South. I've only watched episode one, but oh my is it addictive. Too bad I'm tired and have a blog post to write, otherwise I may have watch all four episodes in one go! As you can tell, reviewing tv series in great detail is not my thing, but I can assure you it is good, very good, for a number of important reasons that make series good (one of them being moi liking it!). So watch it if you can and make the time if you cannot :)

creative challenge

Oxford waiting for spring

Dobbin and I have decided to take up a creative challenge to improve our photography. We chose one on Flickr named... pause for emphasis... Creative challenge. I know! And we're hoping it does exactly what it says on the tin. Judging by all the great photos we can see there, we're coming out of this as amazing and creative photographers with a new sense of style and freshness. Oh wait, I've found my niche already, stuff. I'll just be more creative then. And fresh. And preferably unique, but we all know that's a hard one to achieve.

Watch this space!


Little note: obviously the photo is not related; we've only just joined the challenge, it would be cheating to have photos already, and I am no cheater! It shows Oxford just before spring, colourfully waiting for it.

Little note 2: The Creative Challenge was created by Simply Hue, who's now on a break and has passed it on to Twiggs (who incidentally or not (!) is the lady from whom I purchased the postcards on this photo). 

::inspiring Mondays::

post delights - twiggs

This Monday is no ordinary Monday. This Monday is the first day of spring! I was tempted to write "what are the odds?" but knowing my audience they'd probably calculate it... which may be rather good to know actually, but I still chose not to ask that rhetorical question...

Today's fact is that I love getting post. Love! It's just one of those things that will always make me smile! And today's photo is a reflection of a bit of my weekend that involved post. I had a great weekend, in great company, with great food and so chilled I didn't want it to end... nonetheless, opening these treats still made me beam with excitement. It was one of those moments where being Little Miss Joey really made sense!

:: spring. it is here. and noone can take it from us!
:: more spring, for a bit of repetitiveness never hurt anyone.
:: spending the weekend with a dear friend.
:: D's brownies, the best ever in the whole world.
:: learning to bake said brownies. and learning to ignore this little piece of wisdom.
:: sunshine.
:: leaving the scarf and arm warmers at home.
:: watching the rugby. even if England lost the match.
:: one mojito.
:: lazy sundays with films and food and chat and tea and sweet silence.
:: ice cream.
:: my camera. love. a little reminder of it.
:: photography, for I've seen so many inspiring images today my eyes are happy.
:: taking up this creative challenge with a friend.
:: oh, obviously getting post. chunky parcels that required the postman to knock and chat for a bit on how much post we get. I know! and I love it! and in case you are wondering, I got all these goodies here.
:: and spring.

Looking at this list, I'm sure I can live on it for at least two weeks. I am indeed one lucky Little Miss Joey :)

looking up

Looking up


Sometimes, it is hard. Just a little bit harder. Sometimes time flies standing still watching our every move on a photograph. Sometimes you look up and you see spring. The promise of new beginnings through the passing of time. Just that. No action needed. The natural motion of life. You look up. It's blue and pink and spring is right there and you can touch it and smell it and let it in you. And you hope everyone else is looking up like you. A moment in time offering them a smile wrapped in future. A brighter future.

*with Josh Ritter, Girl in War



playing with photoshop part II

Bike resting photoshop 2

Yes, you've seen this before only slightly different. Basically, it's same same but different

I continued my exploration of photoshop during my ill weekend. I confess I was getting nowhere until I came across this tutorial on this blog (thanks guys!). Regardless of the fact that my photos (or the light in my photos or anything in my photos, really!) look nothing like theirs, I followed the steps anyway. This gave me a nice starting point to figure out what did what to what; I played with different colours, hid layers, added layers and whatever else. When I finally got tired of it all, I settled for the version shown above (from this original and this first play). And you know what? Moi  it. How about you? [insert scared face here as moi wonders how sad it would look if none of my five readers were to comment on this... sigh]

little note: Dobbin likes it not. but it is ok. this time.

inspiring Mondays

summer

Some days are a bit more difficult than others to go by regardless of their ranking in the week. On that note,  this Monday flew by on the wings of endearing moments, good writing and good old rants with friends.

The fact of today is I may regret having said I'd always tell something about me on inspiring Mondays, but because I'm feeling generous today I'll throw in another one: I didn't wear perfume until I was 30 and randomly came across Chance by Chanel; I've since changed to Coco Mademoiselle also by Chanel. It's love.

:: Parents. Mum's descriptions of life at home. Dad's audible smile when I said I would like to go on holiday with them for Easter, could he sort something out?
:: Little brother. knowing we will always have each other.
:: still sunshine, bright and clear.
:: people smiling at me
:: getting the later train back in good company
:: dinner with friends. what a nice night it was.
:: M's cute panic at a spider. but she wasn't loud, oh no, that's for wimps.
:: lying in bed so very tired but still writing inspiring Mondays.

Photo: oh how I miss those long summers at home of reading and watching time go by at the beach

playing with photoshop

for easy comparison

In my ill and iddle moments, I've been aiming for some productivity namely by having a go on yesterday's decision - photoshop. This is my first go! Original on the left, played with on the right! 

Oh so much to learn...! *sigh*

keeping calm

keeping calm

So I'm ill. And therefore sensibly (newly acquired quality) at home. I was also bored. But not anymore, for I found photography things to play with and read about.

A little chronological insight into my day, if your curiosity begs for it...

:: woke up at 3am shivering and with what must have been the world sitting on my neck. the world is heavy, people, really heavy.
:: managed to go back to sleep at 5am. must be magic.
:: woke up at 6am with alarm. it hates me. and I hate it. it's official. the world was still sitting on my neck, it's rude now.
:: could not move so waited to text boss at decent hour. even made a joke. his phone is not working properly so joke was lost. 
:: M cooked breakfast. dragged myself from bed and the world, that bugger, followed me.
:: had a paracetamol and went back to bed.
:: by 9am I was feeling alive and in control of myself. may write a little thank you note to those lovely paracetamol people.
:: had a shower and got back into the pj's. I am ill and I will enjoy it.
:: sat on the sofa looking at photos.
:: played with the new frame and flowers which I got yesterday. They're keeping me happy and calm and whatnot.
:: had lunch. on the sofa.
:: looked at more photos.
:: made a decision (!): learn photoshop.
:: purchased some postcards from this lady. look so pretty. and now I have to wait for the post.

Important update: Only half the world sits on my neck now. Progress!


Little note: every task throughout the day has been performed in 10 minutes max followed by 50 min rest. definitely learning how to be productive here!

dinner challenge

Dinner

Mushroom and red pepper risotto. With rocket.*

Good people of the world, believe me when I say... it was yummy! Oh - so - very - yummy! The photo is not the best though, highlighting a few things for me:
1. need to improve on my food photography - importance: high
2. need not to succumb to challenges with Dobbin as the light will not always be what I wish for - importance: extremely high

Oh, and so you all know, I win. I posted the dinner photo first :)

*I love rocket. and green on the plate.

two to come

Path

I have to say I'm really enjoying this little adventure with Little Miss Joey. I'm photographing more, and hopefully better, I'm discovering things about moi and my alter ego (what a grand thought!), I'm improving my writing skills in English (or so I like to believe), and let's not forget the successful world domination through wittiness, possibly the very single reason I write this blog.

As with most things one enjoys, one likes to get better at them. The Queen's English is next on my list, but back to topic now... To write a better blog, the world of google tells me I have to think of my audience. Now that seems like an easy enough thing to do; I have 5 readers and I know them all = success. And it gets even easier if you conduct a poll. So I have. I asked Dobbin what he wanted to read about. And he told me. Park this thought.

I'm a great fan of reading/writing columns. Why? Because they are usually about nothing (my speciality) and they tend to come out on a specific day (keeps the I-love-some-routine bit of me happy).

Join the previous paragraph with the parked thought and voilá! you have two new columns to look forward to.


Photo: Porto, beach, a path... Little Miss Joey is on a path to something...

while I write...

More on pretty

... you can drool. The cutest wellies ever. I want. I . I don't even like wellies. But I like these ones. And the yellow bag just goes perfectly too.
Oh, on second thought... I'd remove those pink labels. Why ruin beauty with those pinky thingies? Maybe I don't want them anymore. Boo.

::inspiring Mondays::

Fair isle hat for the weekend

Unfortunate Monday fact: I forgot to set the weekly alarm. That meant 30 minutes of a very relaxing extra sleep, a 2 minute panic after I woke up relaxed and happy and wondered why as it should be Monday and should be feeling it, followed by the most productive 28 minutes of my life so I could get out the door on time and looking decent. I guess this morning hiccup begs the question of why the hell I need the other 30 minutes in the morning... Think it is to keep my stress levels low, but I'll revisit that thought...

:: a relaxing plan-free weekend
:: sunshine. sunshine. sunshine. even if it is cold.
:: knitting club and seeing the fair isle hat growing. and a bit more at home over more coffee.
:: 37 minute run. 5k. only need to go to 10k now. progress.
:: sunshine.
:: new bathroom towel sets, one red, one torquoise. simple. happy.
:: sorted photos from September. and February. and this weekend. almost there now.
:: sunshine.
:: played with a 70-300mm lens, only to decide it's not for me. it was very useful though. and good fun.
:: 21 minute run. 3k. keeping at it.
:: sunshine.
:: no rain.
:: it is no longer last week.
:: ending with sunshine.

And those are the things that made this Monday worthwhile. Carefully selected happy memories sprinkled with the promise of a better week than the last one. For sometimes that's all happiness is... hope.

a photographic style

Stuff

Little Miss Joey the blog is proving an interesting place to find myself, or bits of myself rather. It started with my inability to define a style or focus for the place and learning to embrace the gentle drift that best describes my writing. Not that I have abandoned my grand plans of world domination through wittiness and overall funniness, but I've learned to accept that that is not all LMJ will write about, for she is a slightly more complex little bugger. And this finding of LMJ the alter ego is now spilling onto my photography (or should I say "that thing I do with my camera", without any hint of false modesty?).

I've been looking at my photos, and looking some more (and there's where I stop, thank you!), in search of a style that defines them and by association moi. What am I good at? What would you think of when you think of my little miss photographic self?

Failing in finding an answer, I moaned at Dobbin (quite typical) and he promptly came to my rescue (also quite typical, with varied degrees of (in)success):
"You are good at... stuff!"
I certainly had to pause a bit with this one to better absorb the depth of the answer. Stuff. A few more moments to get this right in my head... so... I am good at... inhale, exhale... stuff. Ok, got that. And there I go through my photostream on Flickr to produce a convincing "I'm upset" moan when I realise the boy is right. Just this once, but right. Boo. It is what I do best, stuff. Little snippets of life, more commonly known as stuff.

What a journey of self discovery this has been, I tell you! If only more people knew...

Little note: this thing of embracing and accepting yourself is all very well and lovely and oh, how cute, I'm good at stuff, but when it comes to deciding what lens to buy next this stuff business is quite the pain!

Pulga

Pulga

September 1997 - March 2011


Even heroes part one day... Yesterday, was Pulga's day...

This is a sad post. One of longing and deep sadness for the goodbyes we say forever and for the goodbyes we sometimes don't have the chance to say. One of accepting nothing lasts forever. One better written in my nostalgic native language, Portuguese. And so I have.

Pulga means flea in Portuguese. It can be used to describe minuscule things of huge personality. Nothing could define Pulga better than this. We found her sitting on a wall, calmly, smaller than my hand (and believe me, my hands are small), eyes closed with mucus (one eye never fully recovered), ears rotting at the tips (the round ears you see are the result of that!). She required treatment, food and cuddles. And she got it all. She had to be given medication every 3 hours for 3 weeks; I got the night shift. She would climb up our legs and bite our hands to tell us she was there. She slept in the dog's bed, a little tiny thing bang in the middle, and the dog stared adoringly for she adopted her. She loved the dog more than she ever loved any of us, to be honest. She was funny and cute and feisty and sweet in the same measure. And I could go on like this in English, half translating what I've written before, and none of this feels mine, for my sadness is somehow still in a different language. I miss her. I did say goodbye and I still miss her. She made me happy and a better person and a happier person and she is no longer. And I have to live with it, and I do, but it hurts today.  

of goodbyes

Goodbyes

Oxford has a cyclic nature... People here come and go, a lot more than in other places I've lived. I find that one of the hardest things about living here. I guess you may think it's the gloomy winter and the lack of summer (although one cannot complain after June-July 2010) what ruins it for me here, but I can just about cope with that if I make sure I go home for my sun fix...

I don't make friends easily. I can talk to a lot of people, but friends are a different story. Friendship requires time and effort and dedication and quite frankly I don't give those out lightly. Friendships need to be nourished and looked after and that is not something everyone deserves of everyone else, me in this case. I invest in people and naturally I get attached. When they go I can be happy for them if that was their choice, but oh my do I become sad and blue and quiet inside (which admittedly can be a good thing for my sanity but it's so out of character I can't but worry!). 

M from Italy was the first to go; I still miss him, but his parting was quite sheltered by the fact it had been just him at that point. I didn't really realise then how much a part of Oxford goodbyes really are. Not a year later P from France left, followed by E from France (indeed I have learned to love the French and I'm sticking to it now!) and M from Holland; R from England (the only girl to part so far) left shortly after that. Big bang on Little Miss Joey's head. And then the heavens fell completely on the already fragile Little Miss Joey - M from Belgium went back home too. I am still happy for my boys and girl, but I have to say I miss them dearly. Even when I'm rubbish at emailing and contact is sparse. I miss them. 

You'd think I'd be used to it by now, with all the goodbyes I've done in such a short time, and a few more recently, namely S from Germany at the end of last year, but no. Oh no, it's still drama in my little heart every time it happens. I don't take it well. I'm learning to cope with it in a less harsh manner, but a lot of work needs to be done.

Only this week, D from England (a nation also represented in the group!) went back home. It's only London, just over there. And yet I'm experiencing that all too familiar feeling of emptiness and vague nostalgia for all the things you gain from seeing people all the time. Not to say friendship cannot be looked after from a distance, it can, and I have, with dear dear friends, but at the moment you give that final hug before geography joins you, I cry a little. And there you go, another fact and it's not even Monday!



little note: yes, I know new people arrive too, but this is a post about goodbyes and I'm focussing on that. if you wouldn't mind. I think I'm doing pretty well at this focus business, if I may say so myself!

life is...


A reminder to all those planners and readers of the future out there... life is indeed about not knowing but taking the chance anyway. because it is worth it. more often than not.

::inspiring Mondays:: (on a Tuesday)

Porto Sunset


I went home for four days. Home is Porto, Portugal. Also home to Port wine, old houses by the river, Francesinhas and tripas (I leave you to figure out what those are, some work is necessary to better appreciate gifts). Amongst other things! And that is why I missed "inspiring Mondays" on the Monday. But Tuesday is my Monday this week, so for me this is just as good...

So, the fact. I actually wrote down in my MK I should always reveal a fact about moi on inspiring Mondays. And that is today's fact! Quite simple, but a fact nonetheless.

:: home. being home. feeling home.
:: sunshine. sunshine. sunshine.
:: little brother.
:: Mum and Dad.
:: squeezing Tommy (my cat).
:: getting to see Pulga before I left (our oldest cat... she spent a few days in hospital with no visits... she came home a few hours before I left... she's sweet and feisty still in equal measure and has the cutest cat expression ever!)

I'm back on the island now. That's the UK if you just appeared here from nowhere and are incredibly curious to know where I live. I've been back less than 24 hours and looking at the photo above I'm wondering what I'm doing here. Seriously. That's Porto in February... I'm still wondering... nope, no answer as of yet. I'll work on it. While I think of lemon drizzle cake, even if I cannot have it just now...!

Little note: inspiring Mondays' hearts started to annoy me; a bit too 8 year old girl for my liking, all those hearts in a column. I prefer them in moderation.
Another little note: this :: means I really like it. these likes are not in order of importance.

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