O sOL dOs tRóPicOs ... Henrique Galvão

LINDO !!!! Acabei hoje de ler, a 25 de Abril..."O Sol dos Trópicos", de Henrique Galvão, de 1936, uma edição creio da minha avó. Este romance tem muito que se lhe diga. Um filho de camponês, deixa a aldeia da Beira sonhando n "a Riquesa ou a Glória, a Celebridade ou a Autoridade"...desiludido e falido vai para Angola para morrer...e é nos vales da Chela, entre o povo Mukubal, que encontra a razão de viver...vou transcrever uma breve passagem...fica aqui para pensar :

"...havia em mim um principio de felicidade simples que brotava como os rebentos verdes da massambala no meu arimo. Compreendia a vagabundagem dos mukubais - 

bAcK oN wRitTinG...mAybE...tALvEz mAiS Em pOrTugUêS...

A caminho do 25 de Abril,
e porque também hoje
muitas pessoas se lembram que Cristo ressuscitou,
e nisso venceu a morte de vez e para todos,
vamos ter Hoje um pouco mais de Esperança...
Do amanhã nada sabemos,
amanhã esperaremos.
Nós somos criaturas
que fácilmente nos esquecemos,
e por isso desesperamos.
Precisamos de festas,
rituais,
missas e carnavais
para nos fazer lembrar,
ou apenas parar...

"Deus Quer
o Homem Sonha,
a Obra Nasce" (F.Pessoa)

Precisamos sonhar alto,

2nd FeBrUaRy – "gOoD" or "eViL" ?

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There is a whole spiritual realm we don´t really know much about (if we are honest)...

All I´m going to share is based on personal experience and my own interpretation, I might be wrong, as I realize how little I know on the subject.

It´s sometimes easier to recognize “bad” things in the physical world than it is to recognize “bad” things in the spiritual world. I usually don´t like to classify things as “good” or “bad” as that can be so subjective and fruit of our dualistic mindset...

mOrNinG mEdiTaTiOnS fRom LaSt wEeK...

Finally it seems that I will make the time to write again on this blog... mainly because we have a solar panel which able us to charge the computer anytime... I will try to post some of my morning meditations... it´s more like what comes into my mind at that time... what my spirit is wandering or wondering about ...

Writing here it´s simply a way for me to process those times in the mornings...

30th January – God wants community not religion

Christmas Meditation ...

by Richard Rohr

 

"The rifts and chasms between good people today sometimes seem impossible to bridge. Let’s just name a few obvious ones: male versus female, rich versus poor, liberal versus conservative, Christian versus non-Christian, “Pro-Choice” versus “Pro-Life,” the overdeveloped world versus the underdeveloped world, renew-from-within versus change-from-without, straights versus gays, hierarchy versus laity, whites versus people of color—and every shade of every issue in between.

eXiLeS iN BaByLoN

(From Jeremiah 31:10-17 and Habakkuk 1:1-6)

Jeremiah speaks to the exiles in Babylon. People were scattered , made slaves throughout the vast and oppressing Empire of Babylon.
Here´s a song to bring Hope for those in captivity, for those who could see no way out, no hope for the future.
Jeremiah lived before the people of Israel were taken into captivity to Babylon. He was trying to tell people what was coming...but nobody seemed to want to listen.
Jeremiah was foretelling what could have happen to the people if they would not repent. Obviously they didn´t listen and kept living their lives as they wanted. They were eventually taken to Babylon...
Yet "There is Hope for the Future, says The Lord"

Who are the prophetic voices today?

tO bLoG oR NoT tO bLoG... ThaT iS mY qUeStiOn...

It´s been a while since I last posted here... (I should count how many times I started a post this way, eh, eh)
When I first started with this blog it was basically a matter of being practical, as I was traveling and it was the easiest way to share my journey with those who wanted to accompany me along The Way... Then, when I came to The Mount of Oaks, it became a weekly reflection for myself, and again, to share what was going on here with all those who were interested to know or those who passed by ...
Then I started a blog just for the Mount of Oaks, because I felt and still feel that the Mount of Oaks is not about me and I wanted to make that a bit more clearer... This blog became then for more personal sharing... reflections, thoughts, processing the week or season that passed, etc...
Now, I´m not so sure if people read blogs so much...

fiNaLLy LaSt viDeOs fRoM oUr rOaD tRiP...

I know it´s been a while , but it was not easy to find the time to put together all the footage from our road trip...
We´ve been busy since we´re back and without electricity it makes it harder to find the time... Winter is a time of reflection and introspection anyway... A time to plan and envision what is ahead...
But anyway... here´s a little something to remember our pilgrimage at the end of the summer... Believe me, it takes ages to make this little videos...it´s fun though... but exhausting at times, to go through all our pictures and video snaps, putting it all together, cutting here and there, choosing the songs, etc... not to mention the times I forgot to save and the program froze...
Enjoy !!! There are six of them :-)

From Chester to Peterborough ...

ChRiSt iS aLL, and is iN aLL...

One more meditation from Fr. Richard Rohr:

We are too tiny, too passing, too recent to imagine any eternal greatness within us, but the Biblical pattern of incarnation always has God disguised and hiding inside of littleness, particularity, ordinariness, and seeming insignificance. God seems to want us to do the desiring and all the discovering. No one finds God who is not looking for God and willing to go to the edges to find God. Unless we leave our comfort zone, we really do not meet God at all, but merely pull God inside of our own small sphere, and it is no longer God that we meet at all. Just religion.

tHeRe iS gOoD nEwS aT cHriStMaS...

Prayer: 

O Rising Sun, enlighten my darkness.

" Through the heartfelt mercies of God, 

      God's Rising Sun 

will break in upon us,

   Shining on those in the darkness,

      those sitting in the shadow of death,

   Then showing us the way, 

one foot at a time,
      down the path of peace."    (Luke 1:78-79)

Pre-industrial people were far more connected to the natural cosmos and seasons than we are today, and were very aware that the 21st of December is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere... not really the death of the sun—but its rebirth! The liturgical year was easily connected to the seasons of nature. 

here's a little review of our first 6 days on the road...
From Belfast, to Edinburgh/Scotland, then into England....firstly the Northumbrian coast to Lindisfarne on the Holy Island; Durham; Leeds and Manchester...

We had our last good-byes in Belfast with a lovely dinner and hang out time at Pádraig´s house. 

LoVe cELeBrAtIoN viDeO

for some reason, one of the songs I used in the video of our Love celebration has copyrights and is not possible to open in certain countries, like germany... odd...
If it´s restricted in your country, click here instead... 
not so good sound, but hey !!!

Shalom
Salaam
Peace
Paz

LoVe cELeBrAtiOn VidEo

check here for a youtube video...
If it´s restricted in your country, click here instead... for some reason, one of the songs I used has copyrights and is not possible to open in certain countries, like germany... odd...
when I find time I´ll post some more :-)
we´re just now packing the van to start the road trip back to the Mount of Oaks...through Scotland, England, North of Spain till Santiago and north of Portugal...

Shalom
Salaam
Peace
Paz

oN tHe rOaD...

Here's Emma and I starting our trip from the Mount of Oaks to Ireland... in our van that now has a name, "soraia"... it came with the wind-brake we got as you can see...
We left on sunday afternoon and on wednesday we were already in the north of France close to the place we'd take the ferry to Ireland... so we still had a day to rest from travelling and enjoyed the day at a beautiful beach in Normandy...
I'll just leave you with the pictures and some brief comments...

"cHuRcH aS pErMaCuLtUrE..." ?!!!

This is part of some daily meditations I get through e.mail from Fr. Richard Rohr, a Fransciscan monk living in the north of America... Obviously he's relating with the reality there, but we can see  the same issues in our part of the world...
He gave this tittle for the week "Church as Permaculture"... I had to laugh... and read..., specially because it was just the week before the Permaculture Course here...
so here goes:
"Mere beliefs do not necessarily change the way we live in this world.  What we have been calling “Emerging” Christianity or “Lifestyle Christianity” involves a real movement toward simplicity—at all levels.  A return to a simple lifestyle is the only way we are going to be able to respect this planet and create honest community instead of this social climbing we are involved in today.  

tHe sToRm cOmEs bEfOrE wE rEaCh tHe sHorE...

I was meditating this morning on a story writen in the gospel of Luke 8:22-25, when Jesus and his disciples got on the boat to reach the other side of the lake, and got stuck with a heavy storm...

I was quite familiar with the story, and the teaching of Jesus to his disciples (me included) of how little faith we have when we face different storms on the way...
Again I got confronted with the same question Jesus asked his disciples then : 

"- Where is your faith?"

I kept reading while I was trying to get familiarized with the context... that's when my perspective changed...

a LoNg wAy tO gO...

This is me next to Lesley a week ago during one more Permaculture Design Course we hosted. 

I sprained my wrist when I was tying a rope from the tarp in front of the kitchen. I was on a step ladder and wearing an african fabric tied around my waist as a skirt... not a good idea ! even though I lifted it and tied it up to my waist, as I was stepping down, the fabric untied itself and blocked my knee... so I was not able to step down, fell on my butt and landed on top of my hand... Ouch!!! it did hurt... Thank God it was not worse as I also had a knife on that hand... 

     This was just one of the many "incidents"/accidents I experienced last week... but there were many blessings too... I would suggest you would grab a big cup of tea to read the rest of this long post...I will try to sum up the last months but I can't promise it will be short 

3 mOrE dAyS iN aNgOLa...

      It's been a good time here visiting my parents...
the reason why I came so unexpectedly was due to my mum's health condition. She had broken 2 ribs and during the time of recovery she felt really bad...one night she almost couldn't breathe, she had high fevers and was cold as ice...  My dad said she was virtually dead... they went to the hospital and she was immediately looked after ... one of her broken ribs had punch one of her lungs, and they took out more than 1 liter of blood...

a rEfLeXiOn fOr tHe nEw sEaSon tO cOmE...

It's almost 2011 (for those who follow a Christian callender), 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 attempt to make a video of my trip from Luanda to Benguela by car...

I went with my father who drove us, my brother Jorge and his 2 sons, Keanu and Eric... This was the first time I was able to make this trip by car because the previous times the roads were not so 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 of colonial and then civil war), and when I came here in 2005 there were still not many changes... 

now I see building sites everywhere, lots of Chinese writings in the Industrial areas... the Chinese Companies are building the roads, taking control of  electricity and water distribution in the major cities ( most of their workers are ex-cons who will probably remain in the country after their "sentence" is over...interesting).

Luanda is still chaotic to me... but as we drove out of the capital city we would mostly see Forests, the sea and occasional villages of adobe brick houses and thatch roofs that I love so much... I much prefer those regions over the urban ones...

Just for the curious, Luanda is today the most expensive city in the whole world, as hard as it is to understand in a country where there is still so much "poverty"... 

For me to get my visa in the Angolan Consulate in Lisbon , I had to prove that I had 200 USD for each day I was staying in Angola (and I am Angolan and I have my parents living there)... I had to borrow 3500e from my cousin to have it in my bank account so I could present a statement from the bank and prove I had what I needed to stay for a month... even the bank was surprised with that... But the truth is that people easily spend that in Luanda if you don´t have family or friends to stay with... 50 USD  for a meal is not unusual in a restaurant, and I'm sure that accommodation is way more than 100 USD a day... you are lucky if you find a 3500 USD rent for a flat with 2 rooms, without sanitation nor elevator...

In contrast with Luanda's lifestyle, life expectancy in Angola is still 48 years, half of the population doesn't have access to running water, and 54,3% live under poverty levels...

Things are changing, because in 2003, one year after the end of the war, 70% of all Angolans were living with less than 1 USdollar a day... (with another "detail" that the Angolan President is one of the richest men in the world, and his daughter the richest woman who owns several companies in Portugal)...

Angola, the land of contrasts...

There is real "poverty" here, for sure, and a lot of destruction, on so many levels, of a generation that only knew war...

But there are also those that are called "poor", when they are not really so "poor"...let me see if I can explain myself... in my opinion, there is a sort of "poverty" that is more propaganda than reality... and then , there is real poverty... these 2 pictures above represent that... on the left we see two people who probably don't have their basic needs met, or maybe they were displaced from their land and roots because of the war and got stuck in the city, trying to make a living selling coal... they might have been caught in alcohol addiction, having no other support to deal with their traumas, and they are stuck in the system somehow...  

The other picture, on the right, is a normal Angolan village, where everyone lives in earthen huts, probably with a healthy community life where everyone has their role and they all help each other... they possibly plant their own food and there might be chickens and goats running around to become food on special occasions... some of them might go sporadically to the local town to sell their surplus products and bring things like oil, salt and sugar that they don´t produce, and they look after each other, because they are aware they need each other... children are precious and the elders are highly respected and cared for...

I don't see these latter ones as poor, at all... maybe they don't live the same lifestyle as europeans or americans live (good for them), maybe they don't have the same "stuff", and definitely not the same amount of "stuff"... but is that poverty?

Some "westerners" will think they are... possibly the ones who are too blind to see their own poverty...

 
Basic things are still needed in many places throughout Angola, this I agree... like access to drinking water, sanitation, health care and education... but in terms of natural resources, we can say that all Angolans are rich (or they should be) ...  

I'm not speaking here about petrol, diamonds and other minerals...this is what many people and big companies are coming here to exploit and in a way steal... 

All these resources were the main reason that kept a bloody war going for so many years (if you ever watched "Bloody Diamond", here is pretty much the same sad reality), while many filled their pockets with millions of dollars a day...

this is what the leaders (Government and  the Army) are still holding on to...

I'm talking about the land, the sea, the climate and the many natural building resources... it's simply rich !!! 

I also found out that most of the land belongs to the ex- high rank army officers, interesting, isn't it? I remember when I was living there and the war was over because Jonas Savimbi (the leader of the resistant movement against the government) was killed. It´s a long story. I will not share it here, but I was hitchhiking from Catumbela to Benguela and the son of some “big chief commander” gave me a ride… When he said that I said he must be so happy and relieved this brutal war was finally over… His answer was a shock to me when he said “ It could have lasted a few more years”, with a certain interest in his mind… This is sad…

Many foreigners are coming to make looooooots of money now as there is a whole country to be re-built and there are not many Angolans with education to run a lot of the good businesses... And unfortunately that´s what business people found out for many years... War is very profitable, at any time, for many businesses...

Things have improved a bit for the locals and natives, as there are now many more opportunities for everyone to make a living... I don't see the usual beggars and street kids as before... there are lots of people walking around in the cities selling all sorts of things to make a living, and every little business makes some money... 

My mum cooks at home and sells for other people and their parties, mostly friends, and friends of friends... A lot of people, especially women, can make a living this way... she doesn't need to work much to make a living, but she´s always busy and people really like her cooking ... 

These kinds of entrepreneurial ideas would be impossible in Europe, with so many rules and regulations, but I always liked that about Angola and other "poorer" countries because it´s actually a good way for people to make a living with their own skills without needing to open a shop or a company... There are opportunities for the "little" ones too...

Of course the big businesses are suffering from the global financial crises, like everywhere in the world, but still, I believe it's nothing compared to what we see in Europe or the USA... A conversation that involves speaking about billions of US dollars is still normal around here... unfortunately there is still much corruption, but I hope that will change too... I can see people want change... how that change will look like in some years, we will see... 

I do see "the american dream" and a society of consumerism arising, which concerns me, but I also see many good parts of the Angolan culture being preserved and developed, not only in Luanda and Benguela, but throughout the country... we will see...

I have to say... it's a beautiful country with really beautiful people ! I´ve always been proud to say I was born in these lands, in the region of the Ciokwe people, now northeast of Angola, close to Congo.

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

I will share my "saga" of my trip to the North of Ireland...

I know I shouldn't be flying so much as it´s really bad when everyone does it all the time as if it´s not bad for the planet in so many aspects, but it is not easy to have a fiancé so distant and going through a stage in life when she really needs support...

I was only going for a week, for Emma's birthday, to see her dad in the Hospital and the rest of the family...
I ended 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 a long time since I last posted anything, apart from my last note about my laptop´s keyboard... as you might presume, I do have a keyboard now as I found a cheap one on ebay, only 12e... perfect! 

That was not the only reason why I haven't got the opportunity to write...
As I keep mentioning, my days on the farm are quite full and many things happen all the time...

Now I sit here in "my house" (the big 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 especially nights) have started, and the olive harvest season is about to come to an end...
Somehow I feel I haven't spent much time on my own for a long time, and maybe this is just what I needed, to sit, relax , and write...

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

it's been a few weeks now that I can't use my computer, only to connect my internet modem in order to use my phone for the internet, as i´m doing now...

My keyboard got a few drops of rain and doesnt work anymore, but the rest is fine... I can only use the mouse ...

I´m using my phone now for accessing the internet and checking emails, so i just wanted to drop a line to let you know.

All my mail contacts are on my computer, so i ve only been replying to those who have been sending me emails recently.

I found a good deal for a MacBook pro and I´m going to sell the one I have now, an. iBook g4 14", after replacing the keyboard (I just found a good deal yesterday for a used one)

I have lots of news... Good and not so good, but you´ll have to wait until december when i get my "new" laptop.

If anyone would like to send a donation to help on the costs, or buy my old iBook g4, let me know.

The OLIVE HARVEST is about to begin, so I have no time for the internet anyway.

If anyone would like to come and help from now until the end of the month, you are more than welcome...

I was going to start today, but the weather is really not good for that... There is a soft rain and a really crazy wind...

ok , that s it

PEACE TO ALL

sUmMeR tiMe...

It has been a really hot summer... one of my excuses not to write so often on my blog... it's really discouraging to write during siesta when it's too hot (that´s why siesta is practiced here), or in the evenings when I'm basically exhausted...

I just wanted to catch up with the last month before I have another bunch of things to share...
After my time in the USA I had lots of work to do here... mainly cutting grass to prepare the camping area for the permaculture course participants, and to open up the walking paths... I will use the same cuttings to mulch most of the trees...
I had lovely visits who helped me with that...

aBoUt TimE...

it's about time I post something about my time in USA at the "Faith to Faith, Face to Face"

 

I already came back 4 weeks ago, but I had so many little (and big) things to do here on 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 celsius...It´s been really really hot... so, If I'm not working, I'm swimming ...

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 the United States of America. 

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 to all the experiences that will await 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 MoO blog to see how the course went... it was great!!!)

This was definitely a happy day… a celebration day for many reasons…
My twin nephews, Nelson and Joshua, turned 3, and we also celebrated Nolan’s 2nd birthday that would be later this month…

We also had baby Diogo with us, only a few months old, son of Pedro and Lisanne, my sister’s best friend…
And Kiara, Lua’s daughter was also with us…

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 reason for celebrating was that my mum 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 ...There are 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 volcano in south Iceland which erupted today...they say these ashes are really dangerous for the plane's engines so they are not taking any risk allowing any planes to take off...
Even flights to Brussels were being canceled, I didn't understand...but I guess there was no danger of flying south to Portugal...it was a bit chaotic at the airport, but I made it to the gate on time...
Thank God there are no major losses in Iceland, people are being evacuated, but no injuries nor deaths...I 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 happy), a few Germans, one Dutch and a "multicultural" one ( he was 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 family 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...  such a beautiful bunch of 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 Marciaagain... I miss her here 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 the last 2 weeks of work in the land... 

Last sunday I went to Moses for some rest and I ended up trapped by the snow...so I could only come back to the land on tuesday and then had lots to do...

 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...I'm not sure if it makes sense yet to have 2 blogs, but hopefully in the near future it will not only be me writing about life on the land here...

As you can see, the bath roof is done...

After that I started to work on 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 because it keeps raining and it's getting almost impossible to go up with the cars... it´s 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 ended up getting trapped by the snow...they convinced (it was not so hard) 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)... It´s so 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 a 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 the hill to see this...

Yes, 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 actually quite exciting 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 because 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 worse 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...

we enjoyed one more day in each other's company which was great... But not so great was the fact that the electricity was "acting" weird and ended up damaging most of the computer chargers, Josh's play-station, the internet modem and the washing machine... shit!

We did have a good time playing the guitar and me and Andy playing Djembes... Vonny ends 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 these 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 a lot of hard work there as you can see... Thank you Willi...

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 because they were leaking from my first attempt...I opened a trench from the kitchen to the drums (next to the big bus), and dug the pipe in the ground...

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 (between 15 to 17 people attending)...and most of the participants will be portuguese this time...

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 pray and hope it will 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... 

fences that are not hard to cross and are mostly to protect the neighbour´s garden from my dogs, rather than to separate me from her, or because of fear...

I´m working on the bath roof now and it´s great that I will have Lyna helping as well... It´s much easier and faster with 2 and she also loves building...

Lyna and I went today to Alpedrinha... This is another village not so far from us, in the opposite direction from Póvoa de Atalaia, and it sits on the Gardunha Mountains that surround us...

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 going to be great for his development both as a kid and also to learn the language ... with a french mum and a german dad who communicate in English between them, I think now with portuguese he will have a wide range 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 her mother´s support anymore... Anyone who would like to contribute for that is more than welcome, just get in touch...

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 this coming  June (only if there´s enough people interested to cover all the costs)

If anyone wants to offer HELP in the kitchen during the Building workshop, it would be much appreciated so I can take part of it myself...

PEACE