Saturday 31 May 2014

Birthday and presents


It was in February that my son turned 8 and it was on that day that I also received some presents! Like this pink bougainvillea, gorgeous.


And this little gardening shovel.


I think it was lovely to be spoiled this way on a day dedicated to my son.


But as life is not so pinky like that plant I was not feeling so good on that day for several reasons. And so I went outside to the middle of nature and picked some wildflowers to put in a jar that I once decorated. This way I surrounded myself with color. Bliss.


Sun rays were a little shy in this harsh winter but even though they touched everything with their life. Myself included.


And life happens outside. Wise and caring hands take care of the land and the plants and I watch, enchanted.


I believe that within a year everything is over grown and developed, with color and joy to give.


Even the apple tree, so small, maybe born from some seed brought by a passing birdie was unearthed in the woods and released to the hope of the open air, the sun and the rain, according to nature's will. And with the apple tree we have hope and renewal.


We receive the dusk sun rays with our arms wide open in gratitude. Oh it is so good trying to guess which are the birdies that are singing on the trees turning our ears according to the sound. I admit that I'm not trained in the art of recognizing all the birds, but I'll get there I'm sure. To prove it I could see by myself  a blackbird on a branch swinging in the wind and singing a beautiful melody so glad to have company near him.


There was water everywhere by this time, begining of March. The earth was soaked and we could hear the water running through the brooks and stones and also could hear the frogs croaking in an almost deafening noise in the silence of the dusk. Water, so much water around us this winter.


We enjoyed it all. And give thanks in everything because all that nature gives us is for us to take part in it. We let the land rest and produce its fruit in silence and wisdom. And also let the tools rest and rest our bodies between patchwork quilts, tea and cookies. Not everything is pinky it's true, but with the inner strength that defines us, it is possible to give color to everything we do.
And thank you to those who remember to congratulate the mothers for giving birth to the fruit of the celebrated birthday.

Tuesday 27 May 2014

I could easily get used to this life


Oh yes, I could! Sitting on the chair on a chlly winter day, embroidering the name of my beauty (Flor - Flower) and observing my farmer baker boy making the ladder which will allow us to reach the roof of the caravan as well as some other higher places. He is so gifted...





I love these quiet moments we spend by the caravan, each one focused on their work, talking from time to time, smiling and hearing the birds. Yes, I could easily get used to this kind of life!

Sunday 18 May 2014

More from our weekends


I love watching kids playing around.


And I also love to watch the result of our commitment to rebuild this old caravan at the same we rebuild our lives.



Nothing like the air of the countryside to whet your appetite, your imagination and to strengthen ties between people. The contact with the earth is like returning to the place where we belong and where everything remains on track regardless of all deviations arising. And I thank God for all this.

Saturday 17 May 2014

Different weekends


I love to look outside through the window and watch the dusk while the sun sets behind the trees. I feel so quiet and peaceful.


During our rainy winter it was a great blessing to notice the sun light and we did everything to enjoy it outdoors and indoors. Even the granny quilts seem more colourful in the sunlight. I love it. So cozy.


See the cross stitch flowers that I embroidered? I love doing cross stitch, it's so relaxing as it is everything you do with your hands. The wall was originally white but I covered it with flower paper to embelish it. Decorating our caravan is a continuing process, as I said before.


This is a magpie that my sister in law crocheted for the caravan. She would like me to use it but I have no courage because I am afraid of burning it. I prefer to exhibit it in the entrance.


So quiet to seat on the sofa with the window open and let the fresh air and the sunlight to get inside and bathe every corner and my hands while they embroider a dish towel. Sigh...


Never forgetting that we were still in the winter and that the rain was almost continuous this year. We couldn't stand it anymore but we seldom remembered that this boring rain was useful to fullfill the brooks, streams and springs for the coming months of drought.


My beauty, my new girl shining under the sun. We intend to paint it blue. One side is already sanded but each piece at a time and we still have much work to do until we paint it all. But I can't wait to see it in my favourite colour.


Different life, different weekends. There is no doubt: enjoying nature, knowing it, learning from it, realizing that it may be hard to work it but it's also worth it, there's nothing better than this. This is what fullfills us. This way I believe in miracles.
Have a great weekend lovelies!


Wednesday 14 May 2014

A different life



We were two (my son and I), we are three now. We lived only in the town, we wear part time wellies now. It was a hopeless caravan, it is a living home now. It was an impassable land, it is much cleaner and greener now. It was an empty space without resources, it is a space full of ideas and projects now. It was a place where nothing happened but everybody who passes by observes us and talk about that strange people who live in a caravan now. Life is a circle and we circulate with it. It's a blessing finding peace in this whirl.


Anyway, everytime we go to the caravan we enjoy it to the most. After the biggest repairs were made (the rotten floor, the broken door, the gas installation, etc.) and all the interior was cleaned I started to embelish it. I used my grandmother's quilts to cover the sofas, hang cross stitch pictures on the walls, covered some walls with floral paper, packed some clothes in the closets and what an amazing job it was. It gave the caravan a bigger sense of home, care and love.
















But as I love nature so much I couldn't miss the opportunity to walk around and admire the views with my little boy. He loves to follow her mother in these adventures because we always find new treasures to keep in our memory or to bring home. Even with gray days like those we had in the winter, it was a real blessing to take photos to the nature and keep the smells and the sounds for us.
This is a different kind of life but it is a good life for its simplicity, practicity and reward we find in our hearts!

Tuesday 13 May 2014

May all your dreams come true


Hello lovelies!
I live on the 3rd floor of an old building in one of the most beautiful and historical towns of Portugal. But I've dreamt of living in the country side for many years and that has been my main goal for more than two years now. I will cut the long story that leads to this caravan but I have to say that I chose to have a caravan as a cottage not only because it's nice to restore something old, but mainly because my money is very short. So my main objective was to occupy my own piece of land and have a roof and four walls, no matter of what material they could be made of, to shelter me. This would be my basis to start and this way I could decorate it gradually according to my rythm, budget and taste.
This old caravan was a real miracle since Î found it near my town and this way it was cheaper to transport it to my piece of land. We all can see that it's in bad conditions but this was not a problem for me, specially because it only costed 200€. I could see its potential and I was very happy to negotiate with such a nice ex-owner. The objective was simply to clean the field, clean the caravan and repair the worst problems with the less money possible.
The other two things that would turn this into an adventure in living the simplest of lives are that this field has no water or electricity! Not even this was a dissuasive factor. I may seem insane, but I'm not. I just know what I want and how to get there and will wait the necessary time to get there. Because I understand that the best part of this process is planning, dreaming and achieving a small goal at a time. Owning a caravan was a dream, but living there is a dream continually under construction! This is adorable.





Remember my first post? The photos showed a rotten entrance floor. But my farmer baker boy repaired it with planks that he had saved from previous works, screws and a hammer. Thankfully he had the needed tools - some electrical - to cut the planks and so on and for that he used a power generator.


See? Not that bad for an amateur cheap work. I covered it with adhesive paper similar to the rest of the floor and if I put a rug over it nobody will notice the difference, I assure you.





My main job was to clean meticulously all the interior of the caravan. I washed, scrubed and cleaned every corner. It was a lonely job the best part of the time, since my boy was outside fixing something or in the field and it was good to be all by myself in the inside. This way I could talk to God and be thankfull for this blessing.



We will keep these rusted old hooks. Aren't they simply wonderful?




This was our source of water until the begining of this month: a small brook. We carried it in buckets and used it mainly to wash and water the garden and kitchen garden we started to make. And as the days are shorter in the winter and it got darker soon, we had to light our gas lamp to give us the light we needed to work and to relax a little bit inside the caravan while we ate our snacks. Delicious!


This was a rainy winter. But it was on a sunny day when I was cleaning inside and my farmer baker boy was cutting the bushes outside that suddenly came to my mind something that I had read when I was a teenager and had forgotten until that day: a dream you dream alone is only a dream you dream alone but a dream you dream together is reality!
May all your dreams come true.