a rEfLeXiOn fOr tHe nEw sEaSon tO cOmE...

It's almost 2011 (for those who count that way), and it's nice to be in a warmer place :-)...
I just wanted to drop a line and wish everyone the chance to have a good time to reflect on this year that passed ... a time to remember...
I'm sure in the end there will be many things to give thanks for...
I also want to wish you in this coming season, all the rest and peace needed for each day... time to stop and simply wonder at the beauty around us... time to contemplate, and eyes to see and realize that beauty...

cAr tRiP ViDeO & mY oBsErVaTioNs iN aNgoLa...

This was my little trial to make a movie of my trip from Luanda to Benguela by car...

I went with my father, my brother Jorge and his 2 sons, Keanu and Eric... This was the first time I could make this trip by car cuz before the roads were not safe to drive...

It's been 6 years since I last came here and many things have changed... The war only ended in 2002 (after more than 40 years), and when I came here in 2005 there were still not many changes... 

5 dAyS, 3 AiRpOrTs, 5 cAnCeLeD fLiGhTs...

so, I will share my "saga" of my trip to Northern Ireland...
I was only going for a week , for Emma's birthday, to see her dad in Hospital and the rest of the family...
I end up having 5 flights canceled, in 3 different airports, and ended up arriving in Belfast on the same place the Titanic was built :-)... thankfully nothing compared to the Titanic story happened :-/...After all that it would be dreadful ...

rEfLeXiOnS oN LaSt cOupLE oF mOunThs...

It's been again a long time since I post anything...apart from my last note about my laptop keyboard... as you might presume, I do have a keyboard now :-)... i found a cheap one on ebay, only 12E...super!!! but that was not the only reason why I haven't got the opportunity to write...
the thing is that my days have been quite full and many things have happen...
Now I seat here in "my house" (the bus), the sun just set, I just lit a nice fire to warm up and made myself a cup of tea... the season of cold days (and specially nights) have started, and the olive harvest season is about to come to an end...
Somehow I feel as I haven't spent much time on my own for a long time, and maybe that's just what I needed to seat, relax , and write...

nO cOmPutEr...aNd oLiVe hArVeSt nEeDs hELp...

it s been few weeks now that i cant use my computer. only to connect my internet modem in order to use my phone for internet, as im doing now... :-)
My keyboard got few drops of rain and doesnt work anymore.but the rest is fine, fiiiiuu...but i can only use the mouse ...
Im using my phone now for access internet and check emails, so i just wanted to drop a line to let you know.
All my mail contacts are in my computer, so i ve been only replying to those who have been sending me emails recently.

sUmMeR tiMe...

This has been a reeeeally hot summer... one of my excuses not to write so often on my blog :-) eh, eh... but it's true, it's really discouraging to write during siesta when it's most hot, or in the evenings when I'm basically exhausted...
anyway, just wanted to catch up with the last month before I have another bunch of things to share...
After the time in USA I had lots of work to do here... mainly cutting grass/weeds to prepare the camping area for the permaculture course participants, and to open up the walking paths... at the same time I would use the same cuttings to mulch most of the trees...
I had to say that I had lovely visits who helped me on that...

aBoUt TimE...

it's about time I post something about my time in USA... I already came back 4 weeks ago, but I had so many little (and big) things to do here at the land that I was not so enthusiastic to be at the computer... It's also not so encouraging when we have between 35º and 40º ... really really hot... so, If I'm not working, I'm swimming :-)...
But anyway, I would really like to share some of my thoughts about the time at the camp... first because it's always a good way for me to process it all, and then because I would like to share it ...
of course this would be simply my personal experience...if you're interested in more you can also read great entries by Audrey on the camp's blog... click here ...
I chose this picture to start with (it was actually a post card Marcia gave me from Chiapas-Mexico), because that is the picture I have of this camp... building bridges, where once there were walls...

fACE 2 fAcE...fAiTh 2 fAiTh...hEre I gO...

Soon, me and Emma will be going to the Usa to participate in an inter-faith program called "Faith to Faith, Face to Face"... click here to find out more about it.
The program operates in four regions around the world, Belfast (Northern Ireland), Cape Town (South Africa), Jerusalem and United States. Emma is the leader of the Northern Ireland region and this is one of her jobs with the Corrymeela community that she's part of... so, this will not be new for her, but for me it will be the first time, both in this program and in the USA...
I'm really excited and looking forward for all the experiences that will await for us at this time...

hApPy hApPy dAy !!!!

Just a couple of days after finishing our strawbale building workshop we had lots of friends and family for a "baby party"... (go to the other blog to see how it all went... it was great!!!)

This was definitely a happy day… a celebration day for many reasons…
For my twin nephews’ 3rd birthday, Nelson and Joshua, and also for Nolan’s 2nd birthday that would be later this month…
We also had little Diogo with us, only few months old, son of Pedro and Lisanne, my sister’s best friends…
And Kiara, Lua’s daughter was also with us…
so, a party with and for children… I think we all became a bit like children, except for the alcohol consumption ☺, but hey, it was a party !!!
Another big big reason for celebrating was that my mom came from Angola ☺ …

This is Lyna's Yurt floor finished...
Click here to know how the strawbale building workshop is going...
It's only the second day and we are ready to lift up the walls tomorrow :-)

hArD wOrK...

Check out here for our last weeks hard work...
I'm back in Belfast to visit Emma who got a viral meningitis... she's much better now, and I'll be back to the land on tuesday to get back to work...
We need to finish Lyna's Yurt floor, and get ready for our Strawbale building workshop... I'm looking forward for it...
IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE SOME MORE ATTENDANTS, SO, PLEASE PASS IT ON TO THOSE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED
it will be from the 27th May to the 3rd June...and costs 200E, food and camping place included...

tHe sHacK...

what an amazing book !!! I just finished this morning and I'm still so thrilled about it all... I highly recommend it ...lots of deep insights given with a nice sense of humour... you can check it out here on "the Shack" 's website.
It will definitely break down all your pre-conceived stereotype images you may have of God... :-)


Let me share just a little part that stood out to me, to give you a little taste :
(one of the many conversations between Mack, the main character, and Jesus)

wOnDeRs oF nAtUrE...

I just arrived from Dublin, after not being sure I was actually about to take the flight. All UK airports are closed because of a vulcano in south Iceland which erupted today...they say this ashes are really dangerous for the plain's engines so they are not risking to allow any plains to take off...
Even flights to Brussels were being canceled, I didn't understand...but I guess there was no danger to fly south to Portugal... Fiiiuuu...it was a bit chaotic at the airport, but I made it to the gate on time...
Thank God there are no major loses in Iceland, people are being evacuated, but no injuries nor deaths...just quickly read the news...

oNe mOrE suCceSsfUl PErMaCuLtUrE cOuRsE ...

we finished one more successful permaculture course at the land... with 13 participants, most of them Portuguese (which made me really glad), few Germans, one Dutch and a "multicultural" one (eh, eh, hard to define, but basically he's born in Holand, lives in Portugal for more than 10 years and his parents are both from America)... that's Chris Uhler for those who know, he's part of the "house" already...and he was also the youngest of the participants... It was a pleasure to know all of them... and it was a pleasure to spend some time again with Lesley who is such a delight... Most of the people who came were new for me, so it was nice to get to know them... all such beautiful people...
Marcia also came from Lisbon to help me and Lyna in the kitchen, and as she said, it was so nice to spend this time with
like-minded people, even though all different and unique in our own ways... it was soooo nice to be with Marcia again... I miss her so much...

wE hAvE hOt wAtEr aLrEaDy :-)

Me and Lyna were like children when the hot water came out of the solar water heater...this is how it looks , but check it here to see the last processes...
The permaculture course is coming soon and we still have to finish little things and make the shelter for the course cuz the forecast predicts rain... I'm still hoping that changes, but still, we have to be ready for what might come...
around 20 people will come and camp for 9 days for this intensive permaculture design course, but I'm looking forward to get to know them all... I do hope despite the weather, we will have a wonderful time together...
Me, Lyna and Marcia will be in the kitchen cooking and making sure there's always hot tea and coffee :-)

rain...rain..rain...

check out here for last week's news...
Thank God the sun will be shinning this week...and I hope for the next weeks too...we need to dry a bit... the soil is totally saturated with water...even in our kitchen and common place the water springs from the floor...
In this picture you can see that our upper pond is overflowing...actually, the other one below as well... and our road is being a bit more destroyed....it's amazing how much power water has...it doesn't look as strong as stone, but it does find its way through...
so, I'm looking forward for this next week...we've still lots to be done...
Have a good and pleasant week too
PAECE

wOrK iS gOinG wELL...

I have lots of news about last 2 weeks of work in the land... so, I better just put some pictures and write some comments about it...
Last sunday I went to Moses for a wee rest and I end up trapped by the snow...so I could only come back to the land on tuesday and then had lots to do...so not much time to blog...but I wrote a bit here on the MOunt of Oaks blog... I'm still trying to figure out what to write on my blog and on The Mount of Oaks blog...anyway, I'm not sure if it makes sense yet to have 2 blogs, but hopefully in a near future it will not only be me writing about the life in the land here...
As you can see, the bath roof is done...

After that I started to work on the the plumbing system for the washing station near the kitchen and the bath house...as you can see here on the same post I mentioned before...
I gave up on the idea to build a shower place before the permaculture course as I'm seeing the weeks flying by and I don't think I would have the time to finish all I wanted in the first place...

Willi is determined to fix our road down below cuz it keeps raining and it's getting almost impossible to go up with the cars... not so nice when we need to carry heavy material for the things we're working on...

As I said I went to visit the Winter's at Moses, and I end up getting trapped by the snow...they convinced (it was not so hard, eh, eh) to stay overnight and go monday morning...it was also Joshua's 13th birthday, so, another good excuse to spend some time with them all... we watched this movie "Avatar" online, and I have to say that I highly recommend it (if possible for you, go to a good theater and watch it 3D)...sooooo impressive... I was really touched by the story which, even though fiction, we could easily relate with our sad reality throughout history...when out of fear of the unknown people kill each other in the name of "peace" (or for the sake of money and good busyness)...it made me cry in few parts of the movie... I can say that after the Lord of the Rings, it's definitely my favorite movie...beautiful pictures too...
Anyway, monday morning I left, and I just needed to drive up hill to see this

Yep, snow again...and more was ahead...

I literally had to go around trees that were falling on the road with the weight of the snow... It was pretty exciting actually :-) and beautiful...but then I got trapped here

these were the tracks of my car wheels as I tried to drive up this hill...I got to a point where I lost traction and I had to go back...I was literally sliding to the edges, so every once in a while I had to go up a bit to straighten my wheels and slide back again... it was fun and exciting... I also knew I would be fine cuz I could just call the winters to pick me up if I was in trouble... but I did it :-)...
I was taking another way to go to Fundao, but then I thought the road could be worst ahead and I was not far at all from Moses... so I went back :-)... it was not snowing in Moses, so they were all surprised when I told them what happened... they had planned to go to Coimbra and watch a movie for Joshua's birthday, but they thought it wouldn't be a good idea if it was snowing... so we enjoyed one more day in each other's company which was great... not so great was the fact that the electricity from the city company was really weird and end up blowing up most of the transformers of computers, Josh's play-station, the internet modem and the washing machine...bummer!!!
But we did have a good time playing the guitar and me and Andy playing Djembes... Vonny end up falling asleep with the drums :-)
Tuesday morning I was again ready to leave...hoping I wouldn't get trapped with snow again...

well, I didn't... But looking at the road, I was glad I decided to stay one more night...the road must have been blocked with snow...
It was good to spend those days with the Winter's, but I also had my mind in all the things I had to get done this next weeks...

when I arrived, Willi and Sebastien were fixing the road below...such a good timing as I was just arriving with the back of my van filled with stones from Moses :-) I was already thinking we needed to put some more stones on our road...
but Willi was far ahead in his thoughts, and now he's determined to fix it properly... :-)

That's lots of hard work there as you can see...

nice pictures by Sebastien...



While Willi was busy with the road...I kept working on the plumbing... I fixed the taps on the washing station cuz they were leaking the first attempt...I opened a trench from the kitchen to the drums (next to the big bus), and dug the pipe...

And now I'm starting the second stage which is the solar water heater...here in the picture I was starting to build a small tower to put one more drum, which will fill the drum inside the insulated box next to it where our water will be heated... I have to build it with bricks, and that's why you can see a small foundation being prepared on the right side (facing the solar south)... I have to confess that this will be a great challenge for me, and I do hope that in the end of it, it will actually work :-)
we'll see...the tower is done now, so tomorrow I'll buy the bricks and start with it...
It's been a really exciting time for me to learn all this different things :-)

It's now 3 weeks for the permaculture course to start, when 20 people will come to stay for 9 days...
I do hope we'll have time to finish the bath house walls with a shower compartment (as I said, I gave up on building a whole shower place for now), the compost toilet and the shed for the course in case it rains... I feel the rain will stop for a while after the next full moon on the February 28th...but we never know really ...

Anyway, I hope you all have a good week...and time to process and rejoice for the week that is past...

miSiOn aLmOsT aCcoMpLiShEd..

I just posted about my last week work on the Mount of Oaks blog ... click on the link if that interest you...
Oh, and I just want to say that I changed my settings on both blogs to moderate any comment, cuz I was getting stupid ones from chinese blogs, probably trying to make publicity or sell useless stuff... sorry about that...

bUiLdiNg aGaiN...

just a quick note to say I 've just posted the last week news on the Mount of Oaks blog ... we're busy here building one more roof :-)

nEw sEaSoN...nEw sTaRt...

I´m really excited with this new season and new start that I´m entering here at the Mount of Oaks...
Lyna and baby Nolan already arrived and she´s full of energy for this new season of her life too... I´m really glad to have this sister back here...It´s time for community again, after the long and, I believe, needed time of solitude, rest and reflection...
As you can see here , the permaculture course in March is already full (Around 15 to 17)...and most of the participants this year will be portuguese...

It´s nice to be able to offer this course at a low cost so that much more people can have access... probably we don´t have the best conditions to offer, but people don´t seem to be bothered about it...
I still have loads of work to do in order to prepare better conditions for the course this year...like a shower place and easier warm water, a better compost toilet, fixing the things which the rain and snow damaged this winter, and also provide a shelter in case it rains (I do hope not)...

Since I came back from Christmas and New Year, I´ve been fixing the road, making trenches on the sides, carrying lots of stones and some gravel for the entry that flooded... I also made a better fence between us and Tia Adelina (mainly because the dogs run straight into her garden every time they hear something on the other side...and I know she´s not so happy about it...some fences can bring more peace as well...ones that are not hard to overcome...more to protect the neighbour from my dogs, rather than to separate me from her, or because of fear...but anyway, we could go totally out of the subject here...

I´m working on the bath roof now and it´s gonna be nice to have Lyna helping as well...Much easier and faster with 2 :-)... and she loves building too...
Me and Lyna also went today to Alpedrinha (the nearest bigger village) where they have a day-care centre with lots of kids... Lyna thought it was the best for Nolan to spend part of the day with some other kids his age, and I also think it´s gonna be great for his development both as a kid and also to learn the language ... with a french mom and a german dad who communicate in English, I think now with portuguese he will have a wide ranche of choices to communicate :-)
The place was nice, fun, joyful and people were really kind... They knew about us, so they will give us the cheapest rate to pay as well...around 30E a month, which is quite handy too, as Lyna is not receiving the mother´s support anymore... Anyone who would like to contribute for that is more than welcome :-)

Anyway, I´m really looking forward to what this new season will bring...
I´m excited about the permaculture course and also the possibility of making a strawbale building workshop in early June (only if there´s enough people interested to cover all the costs)

BY THE WAY, ANY ONE WHO COULD BE AVAILABLE TO COME AND HELP IN THE KITCHEN WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED... SPECIALLY FOR THE STRAWBALE WORKSHOP, AS I REALLY WANT TO TAKE IT MYSELF...
LET ME KNOW...

PEACE

rEpOrTs oF JumPEr wItH kUrDisH pEoPLe iN IrAquE...

Just a little post with a link to JUMPER s blog ...a friend of mine from Czech Republic...
so far he posted lots of pictures, and a post both in Czech and English... he really wants to share what he has been experiencing and seeing there... it's now his second visit with a CPT (Christian Peacemaker Teams) group and he totally loves it... I heard some nice stories from him when I met him at Juran and Ulli's wedding in Germany, and I want to keep his track...he also fell in love for the Kurdish cause... just thought you might be interested as well, so log on his blog... he wants to write as much as it will be possible for him... and he would also appreciate your prayers and support...
May you be an instrument of Peace and Reconciliation Jumper... you're not alone !!!
(on the picture, the second guy from right to left)

aFtEr sNoW...rAiN & fLoOds...

yep, the snow melted as it started to rain...lots of rain... so this was our entry road next morning as I went to check it out...
there was a water fall on the right side of the land and I presumed the stream of river must have been overflowing...
And that was the case... after one hour I manage to clean the stream taking out some eucalyptus' branches which were blocking the water flow and causing it to go over the edges straight into our land...

I also made some trenches so the water could flow away from the road and into the neighbour's land, and that helped a lot too...
But after fixing the river stream I could already see a major difference...
I also cut some "giestas" branches and laid it on top of the water where it was more muddy and less stones so the car could have some traction... I did manage to drive out of the land and parked the car outside (just in case) ...
Now I need to put some gravel that the village hall pilled on the road for people to use for that purpose... It's quiet a work to do it by hand, but hey...what to do ?!! :-)

...this will be my work for the week I guess... on the little brakes when it's not pouring rain...
I had other plans as I have lots of things I want to do before the permaculture course, but hey... that's life here... what else can I do?!! the natural forces are stronger and I can only wait for better conditions to come...
It's also nice for me to know for instance "how the water thinks", and what to do better to prevent such situations...or how to use that force for our benefit :-)... But I can't do everything at the same time , can I ?!! Shantii, Shantii...one step at a time ...
Oh well... the weather forces me to be more indoors, reading and resting (even though at this time it would not be tiring to be working outside either... sometimes is more restful for me than reading)... But I give thanks and enjoy !!! The ponds are filling which is really good to stand the next hot summer... that's what I have in mind actually !!!

And for those who live in the city, maybe the rain is just annoying, even though it might not even be affecting you much, unless your house leaks or some flood cut down the electricity... but give thanks and enjoy too, remembering that the land really needs more water to provide for the food we eat :-) , and definitely the springs need more water to provide the water we need to drink...

I don't like to think fatalistically, but if we keep wasting and polluting the natural resources as we are at the moment, maybe sooner than later, water will be more precious than petrol... a little thought for us to think about...

sNoW aT tHe MoUnT oF oAkS...

I wouldn't believe if I wouldn't see it...yes, all these pictures were taken yesterday and this morning...
I was making the trenches for the water to flow down the road cuz it has been raining quiet a lot and it's making some damages...
suddenly big flocks of snow started to fall and I was just marveling... I thought it would be like last year when it snowed for a while but soon the sun came out and it was all melted...so I tried to take as much pictures as I could, as it is so beautiful and special to see snow ...


I kept working as well...a good way to keep warm... when I realized I was getting a bit too wet... the snow kept falling all throughout the day and night...and now we have about 10cm high of snow on the ground... I had to make my way down to the kitchen this morning cuz the trees were all bent to the floor and blocked the way...
It's just beautiful to see... my only concern are the local farmers who have lots of things planted and the damages it might cause... I'm also hoping that birds and other wild life manage to get some food in this conditions...
Anyway, I'm not taking much longer here as my toes are getting freezed...

ok, here are some pictures with some comments:

I thought that was worth taking...I Could actually say there was snow...

But more was coming ...

I even made a little snow big foot man, while playing with Muxima throughing snow balls at her...she thought that was funny !!!

when I realized I was too wet to be working outside, I went in the bus, made some fire and read a nice book.. and the snow kept falling ...

This morning, as the sun was trying to rise :-), this was the beautiful view I had...

I had to make my way to the kitchen through the trees which were all bent to the ground so I could get through... there must be at least 10cm high of snow...

I was wowing all the time... so beautiful !!!
Poor olive trees, all bent down... I hope they do ok ...
I'm worried with Duma (the cat), she left in the night and didn't come back yet...she's not used to snow, so I'm hoping she's managing to deal with so much snow... :-/

so far the roofs are fine... except for the prayer shelter...yep, it collapsed :-(... one way to learn...green roofs need a really strong structure to hold on too... oh well, a good excuse to make something better to last longer...

eh, eh, eh...a good excuse not to use the car !!!

O.k, I might post some more later these days... now I better go to the bus and make some nice fire :-)