Month: April 2018

Sunshine and Breeze in the Countryside

| Mairead

2018 4

(Sunset by the lake near the mining town)

We’ve moved on again, just 90 minutes south of the mining town to the middle of the countryside. There’s no town nearby just sheep, although they could be goats, they are very far away. Our neighbours have a binoculars but we don’t know them well enough yet and we don’t speak dutch… But I am incentivised.

2018 5

(Our view today)

Because in the distance I can see Spain again. It’s probably about twenty kilometres away but without the binoculars I won’t be able to patrol the border. I can just make out a line of small trees, possibly olive trees, very close to the Spanish side of the river bank so there may well be a Spanish man doing some gardening. How would I know for sure though without those binoculars?

2018 2

(That’s Spain way, way over on the left.You might be able to make out the river)

Our view from the door is just lovely again so I may just keep my attention on what’s right in front of me. I’ve been making more cards and painting the pages of a book to make it an art journal. It’s a tricky process because you can only paint two pages at a time and then you go off and do something else until they dry and then turn the next page over and start again. It takes days, weeks or months to cover even a small book. But here the pages dry really fast because of the combination of sun and heat.

2018 3

(The sheep (or goats) are out there somewhere)

That’s probably what put the washing into my head. I was on my fifth page of paint/dry/turn when a thought struck me – we are running out of clean clothes. Now I’m third in the queue behind two french ladies for the washing machine. I only hope I can get the unmentionables on the line before the sun sets… If we didn’t need to fill up our gas tank, I’d be happy to stay here for a long time. Unfortunately the nearest petrol station that sells gas (for cooking and heating water and the fridge when we’re not connected to electricity) is close to the coast. We will leave in the morning.

They’ve left the binoculars on the table outside their motorhome… Mairead.

The Mining Town

| Mairead

2018 9

(The lake near our car park)

It’s sunny! In fact it might be a little too sunny…. just joking! It’s just perfect, perfect. We have moved to a new location beside a very peaceful lake, it’s also near an old gold mine. Well, the gold mining was back in the day when the Romans were here. The most recent mining for copper ore ended in the 1960’s.

Untitled

(The resident stork at the old mine)

What we didn’t realise, when we were at the border post (watching my man from Spain) was that we were parked on the docks beside the site of the old mine train. The copper ore was transported from this town to the border town by train. Then it was loaded onto huge sailing ships bound for England.

2018 1 1

(Can you see the copper coloured water?)

We went for a walk to see some of the old buildings. The buildings are just walls and chimneys. The only occupants now are the storks. The earth has a deep red colour and weirdly so do the trees piled on the side of the road. As we got closer to the open mine we could also see other colours, yellows, white and even blue. This is our second day without electricity so we’ll have to move on tomorrow which is a pity because there’s a little museum in the town that’s closed on Mondays. Today is Monday.

2018 1

(The trees look red)

You know I suppose it’s obvious but no two towns are the same, they don’t look the same of course but they also don’t feel the same. It’s like the combination of all the people who live here, combined with all the actions and intentions of all the people who ever lived here, add up to a place. This place is very interesting.

From a lovely lakeside in south-east Portugal, Mairead.

You can see Spain from here…

| Mairead

2018 1

(The view today)

We finally moved on from Serpa. We’d been there ten days, the longest time we’ve spent anywhere on this trip. We were still missing it when we arrived at our new spot on the Spanish border… until we opened the door and saw our view. There are no facilities (no water, no dumping, no bins, no toilets) but it’s completely free and beautiful and the sun is shining. It is also really peaceful.

2018 2

(If you can see a road going up the side of the hill on the left… that’s a Spanish road.)

There could a problem with the internet and phones… but I spotted a cafe when we were winding our way down here, maybe they have wifi. It’s the weekend so one night without internet connection will be fine, right, Denis? I can hear hens crowing and pigeons cooing and tiny birds chirping. And just over the water is Spain. There’s a bridge, we could even visit.

2018 3

(What’s this?)

There’s a strange fruit growing at the far end of the car park. Could it be figs? Well, there’s another thing to imagine – figs growing in the car park by the river. The man in the yellow boat from the first pictures is working in his vegetable garden in Spain. He must have dropped over to Portugal earlier to have a coffee. I see he has a chair waiting for him when he’s finished work. Oh hang on he’s taking out a fishing rod. He’s moving the chair closer to the river bank. He’s taking a long time to sort out the fishing equipment.

2018 6

(There’s a rusty old winch machine near us)

I took my eyes off my man in Spain for a moment and he’s disappeared. I am feeling a strange sense of responsibility for him, no one else is watching him. What if he falls into the river? It’s ok, he’s back in the garden. Must have just been taking a break with the fishing rod.

From my patrol station on the Portuguese/Spanish border, Mairead.

ps Linda (remember who gave me the craft kit?) is running a great workshop in Glendalough next weekend (21/04/18) called MindCraft. There’ll be mindfulness and stories, you’ll learn how to make pebble craft pictures and quilling and you get a lovely lunch. Find out more on MindCraft.ie (or on the Facebook page.) It’s a fun day and you go home with your very own work of art! Tell Linda I sent you and she might forgive me for swanning off to Portugal!

pps My man in Spain is safely sitting in his chair, fishing.

Inner Wellbeing

| Mairead

2018 1 5

(Flower seen on the indirect route)

The rain has stopped! I see the light! Well… not sunlight but light nonetheless. It’s time to get more input (I mean take more photos). So when I woke up this morning instead of turning over in the bed, I got up, had breakfast and did my meditation. It’s still fleece, hat and raincoat weather so I shoved everything on and waddled out the door. Then I took a different route to the old town. Made me realise it takes time to get familiar with a new place. A similar thing happened in Beja.

2018 2 4

(Can’t have too many flowers…)

Here in Serpa the old part of the town is very easy to navigate and it’s not really possible to get lost in there because if you keep walking very soon you’ll arrive at the wall. When you find the wall you won’t be lost anymore. We are parked in the campsite and the campsite is situated outside the wall, so normally I take the direct route to the old town and wander around safely inside the wall. Today I took an indirect route and found some pretty input (you know, pictures) outside the wall.

2018 4 3

(I think this is an orange flower bud! It was on a tree that looks like an orange tree)

There was a park getting a makeover, a little flower garden outside someone’s house, very, very old olive trees and a place to sit down for coffee. I was surprised to realise that it was warm enough to sit outside which is my very favourite thing to do at the moment. While I was sitting outside I wrote in my notebook. Writing always helps me understand what’s going on in my inner world and since this has been a frustrating week I was definitely looking forward to finding out what was going on in there.

2018 6 1

(Huge urns seen on the indirect route)

What was going on was craft related. I know how important crafting is to my general wellbeing but usually when I need it the most I don’t choose it. It’s like meditation is most useful when you’re feeling stressed or upset but that’s the one time you couldn’t be bothered doing it. Or going for a walk is great for clearing your head but it’s the last thing you want to do when your head is full of junk thoughts. We are our own worst enemies.

2018 8

(There it is! The Wall pops out to tell me I’m not lost! It gets sucked back into that house when I turn my back…)

So my inner world was grateful for the cards I made this week and told me to keep making them. I have often been dismissive of card making, wanting the time I put into making to yield something longer lasting. My inner world told me that it really doesn’t matter how long the thing you make lasts. It does it’s job during the making. (Like a Sand Mandala (google it) that takes a week to make and is then swept away.) What job does making do? It nourishes your inner world.

Nourish your inner world, people! Mairead.

Card Making Ninja

| Mairead

2018 1 4

(A selection of my Ninja work)

Ok, the situation is critical. I don’t want to complain… (no I actually do.) It’s raining again. I’m crafting like a Ninja, now. There’s steam coming out of my scissors. There won’t be enough occasions in the next 5 years to use all the cards I’ve made. On top of that there’s a small possibility I will run out of supplies. This is both a surprising and a happy turn of events.

2018 3 3

(We’ve eaten the spiced sardine paste…)

On top of the craft supplies running low, food is also running low. There’s plenty of porridge but we have started to eat gifts… Those of you who were formerly getting attractive paper covered tins of sardines will be disappointed. On the plus side I am using the attractive paper for crafts. So you’ll get a card – you just can’t eat it. Sorry.

2018 4 2

(More cards)

So, I’ll never have to buy another card and sardines are very high in Omega 3. Win Win.

Every cloud has a silver lining, Mairead.

A Question of Collage

| Mairead

2018 1 1

(Close close-up of Cherry (or Apple?) Blossom)

It’s been cold and wet here the last few days. Both of us are feeling less than 100% and the cracks are beginning to show! So I’ve returned to crafting and specifically to cutting and pasting but with scissors and magazine paper this time. Much more satisfying than the digital version! It is a bit messier, takes longer to dry and the glue might be dangerous in such a confined space, but otherwise, grand. (Note: just joking about the glue.)

2018 3

(The tools)

I thought while I’m doing a collage I might as well add some meditation and a little intention to it and it was a lovely experience. Chased away the grey clouds for a while. The thing about collage is that it introduces a whole different way of looking at things. When you start cutting images and words out of the magazine you have no idea what might turn up. Then it’s done and it has drawn out some of your own wisdom to answer the question you had when you started. I think it’s a great way to find out what you want when you don’t know what you want, if you know what I mean.

2018 5

(The result)

Fortunately, other people can’t read your collage, only you can because it comes from your unique wisdom and creativity. That means it’s possible to hang it up in full view and no one will know what your thinking!! Also, the resulting collage can be a very long answer that most people aren’t interested in reading about someone else anyway. It has been fun in the making and in the reading. I think I’ll do more of this.

And the sun is back, Mairead.

Cut and Paste

| Mairead

2018 4

(Very close up of ice on the bike seat, northern Spain)

Well wouldn’t you know it, I talk about taking photographs and then I completely stop taking them (it’s cold out…) Instead I’m doing something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time. Cut and paste photos together. Not sure how to do it yet. Well I can do it with a scissors but I’m not sure how to do it digitally. So I’ll give that a go and add the results here.

Cut and Paste Picture

(Motorway services restaurant in Spain😳)

Hmmm, I find technology very frustrating… Probably shouldn’t blame technology though. I expect it to work a certain way and am disappointed and frustrated when it doesn’t. In this case I don’t have the right software to do the thing that would be a doddle with a scissors and paper… If I had a colour printer here I could do that. I always expect technology to work faster too. Learning how to use it is not part of the plan. So I’ll try something else…

2018 5

(Fuzzy close up of seagull feathers, northern Spain)

This is not very satisfying, I must admit. Maybe I’m going too extreme. On the next one I’ve moved the balance dial just a little and now it’s possible to see the house lights in the distance. So maybe that’s the trick – small balanced changes.

2018 3

(Sunrise at the lighthouse northern Spain)

Might be time for us to move on, the pigeons are starting to think we’re a fixture here. There’s one looking in the window at me and another tap dancing on the roof.

From the pigeon fields of Serpa, Mairead.

Crafting Sunday

| Mairead

2018 6

(Surely no one would attempt to drive up this lane?)

Today is an indoor day. The rain came back so it’s become Crafting Sunday. I brought a cupboard full of craft materials from Ireland. Not a big cupboard by house standards but we could have fitted a small washing machine in there… Fortunately we don’t need a small washing machine because more and more of the supermarkets have laundry facilities. Lucky.

2018 7

(Love these balconies)

But the problem with bringing so much kit is I have to sort through it all to work out what I will make. That’s why Linda’s craft kit was so useful. It had enough but not too much. Too much of a good thing isn’t better… it’s clutter. The great thing about living in the camper is there’s no room for clutter. At home I’m always tempted to leave things hanging around until tomorrow or the next day or next week. After a month of that you can gather a lot of clutter. If we did that here there’d be no room to sleep or eat or cook… or drive away.

2018 8

(Walking through Serpa)

So I tidy after each activity. One thing that used to stop me even starting a craft session was that I’d never get it finished before it was time to tidy up. Today I really needed to make something. You know that feeling? The need for colour or paper or glue or scissors? Maybe it’s not being able to take pictures in the rain. Whatever it is I had to unpack the craft cupboard.

2018 9

(No idea)

I uncovered some supplies and worked away until it was time to go for a walk. Exercise is important, even in the rain. Then it was time for writing. Writing is important even when there’s glue on your fingers. And soon it’ll be time for dinner. Dinner is important… it just is. Anyway I got about an hour of play and I haven’t tidied it away yet but when I do I’ll have a kit of half-finished cards to work on next time and that will make it easier to get back to crafting even when there is very little time.

Happy Crafting Sunday, Mairead.

Are you feeling me?

| Mairead

2018 5 1

(This feels sort of happy sad with spikes and magic)

The reason I first started taking pictures was because at a workshop once we had to pick something we’d do in the following year. I didn’t know what to pick. I’d seen a programme on television about six months previously where some famous photographer was giving tips on taking better photographs. There was one photograph of railings and their shadow that I was mesmerised by… I was in awe because I didn’t know it was possible to do that. To press a button and out comes magic.

2018 3

(This feels wonder curious)

When I had to pick something for that long ago workshop I remembered the magic. Funny enough Denis had a camera he wasn’t using so I started using it. I didn’t care about the switches and dials on the camera, I just wanted to find a railing and press the button that makes me feel magic.

2018 2

(This feels sparkly cuddly)

Of all the creative things I’ve done taking photographs is the easiest. It might be because I don’t care how many hundreds I have to take before I feel a magic one. Or it might be because it’s the one area in my life I don’t feel I have to be good. It’s just for me. Or it might be because I don’t even see the pictures.

Favorites 3 of 3

(This feels like love)

You would think that taking pictures is a visual thing. For me it’s not just visual. My favourite way of “seeing” the world is kinaesthetically, I mean, my favourite way of seeing the world is feeling the world. That’s why pictures make me feel magic. I’m not interested in seeing magic I want to feel it.

There’s been 2,130 photograph/feelings (so far) on this trip, Mairead.