Sunday, and Suddenly I am Humming the Doxology

The choices we make daily make us who we are. As today opens in front of you, choose compassion.

Hersch Wilson

Lisboa offers me a bright Sunday morning today. Been raining a bit. Two huge storms passed north of us causing much damage in the region of France.  However, big wave surfers must be ecstatic.  Nazare waves are supposed to be 30 meters or more. Those 98-foot-tall waves are something I would love to see. Might grab a bus and head there tomorrow. 

 I said it has been raining for quite some time now.  Seeing the sun and comparing two different forecasting apps I decided to hang some laundry out on the line. First load is washed and hung out to dry. Second load is in the machine and will go out in about half an hour. The final load won’t hit the line until one.  If it doesn’t dry by sunset, I am off to a self-service lavendaria for 15 minutes of drying on the high cycle.

I opened the window when I sat down to type. I am listening to the bells of one of the igrejias ringing right now which means mass is about to begin.  Shortly I will hear the strains of old familiar protestant hymns coming from the evangelical Baptist church across the courtyard. I look forward to this. Hearing How Great Thou Art and In the Garden in Portuguese resets my body’s calendar and refreshes my soul. Amazing how a simple melody can carry you away and lift your spirits.

This week was filled with stuff we did or got done. On Monday morning we replaced Francie’s subway pass. We thought she dropped it at the Baxia-Chiado metro stop but it was not turned in. Luckily it had only two days left on it. Getting the replacement took about an hour and a half of waiting time, a fast turnaround by Portuguese bureaucratic standards. On Monday afternoon having found our correct health center we stopped by and applied for our national health numbers. We were told it might take a bit to process this.  I submitted our request at 4:30 pm and we had both cards by 11 am the next morning. Such a turnaround from what I have been told is extremely fast. 

On Thursday night we attended to the symphony in the Gulbenkian hall. The pieces performed were a short symphony by Mozart and his Great Mass. I was raised on rock n’ roll and it was only when my oldest was in an orchestra that I got exposure to the classical. The symphony was wonderful and the Great Mass was very enjoyable.  I am not an avid fan of operatic soprano voices and the mass had a great deal of that singing. I got tickets for a New Year’s Eve concert by the Gulbenkian choir at the Sao Roque church. Loren my youngest has agreed to accompany me to this.

On Friday we travelled to a Christmas bazaar held by the various diplomatic corps with embassies in Lisbon. The French, Chinese and Indians had the biggest booths. Lots of colorful wares. We picked up a tanjine from the Moroccans and a table runner from the Indians. The tanjine has a number of preparation steps before it can be used. Right now, it is soaking in water for twenty-four hours. The drying in the oven and the oiling will come later. The table runner can be seen above.

After the bazaar we had lunch at a mostly vegetarian place. I had lentil meatballs and Francie had grilled tuna salad. Thefood was delicious and the company, the folks who invited us to the bazaar, was absolutely fantastic.

Yesterday was low, low key. Hit the men’s coffee hour at another location. Taught someone how to use Google Translate'sphoto application. Last week I gave him instructions on how to renew his metro pass at a nearby ATM, well any nearby ATM. The highpoint of the rest of the day was buying a pitcher for my ice tea. We also bought our first real Christmas decorations, a garland and balls to go on the table where our router is. What am I saying? The real high point was Francie’s dinner preparation, osso buco made with ox tail. Really, really tasty. Low and slow is the way to go.

Francie said something on the phone last night to a friend. Moving to Lisboa has been like moving into the dormsfreshman year at university. Nobody knows anyone and nobody knows how anything works. So, when you hear someone who speaks the same way as you do, you talk to them. When you go out with people you learn their backstories and you share yours. This is in some ways, the most connected I have felt to people in years.