Creamy Potato Soup

 

Safeway delivered 4 Diced Russet Potatoes huge russet potatoes a couple of days ago.  They look like they are this year’s crop, at least.  I decided with one I would make a soup.  With another I will be making Colcannon (Irish mashed potatoes) and the other two I am going to dice up and dehydrate for the coming winter.  We can’t eat four huge potatoes before they go off so drying is my go-to method for preservation (although freezing comes in second, only due to space in the freezer which is full to the brim from our summer gardening bounty).  I admit I am looking forward to just cooking with all the yum-licious foods I have been preserving since last Spring. However, I am growing weary of the preservation jobs. Continue reading “Creamy Potato Soup”

Retirement leads to more questions than answers

Social Security StatementA few years back we started discussing the retirement options. We decided I should take social security at 62 while Mike continued to work.  After he reached 66, we began to revisit the questions again. Since most of his work is performed as a contractor (i.e., not FTE) in 6 to 60 month gigs, it is easy to put off the retirement decision each time a contract expires and a new one starts. Continue reading “Retirement leads to more questions than answers”

Possessions – positively memorable or evil reminders?

I used to sell our possessions on Ebay when we either grew tired of them or they no longer were useful. I had an excellent online reputation and sold an amazing number of items of technology, tools, clothing, bric-a-brac, nostalgia, antiques – you name it nothing was sacred. If we were tired of a possession, I sold it so we could buy a new item. I won’t say I made a profit but the way we looked at it, we had the use of an item until it no longer was useful.  Then someone else got the joy of owning it. Continue reading “Possessions – positively memorable or evil reminders?”

Sabot Lucky Burgers – an afternoon in Sintra

For Sale in SintraWhen we went to Sintra, not long after our arrival in Portugal, we wandered the village, looking at the houses, homes, Airbnb and shops near the train station. I was not as on top of my game as I would have liked in order to be able to enjoy the town.  But I was hungry and thirsty. We had a late start on the day as well. Continue reading “Sabot Lucky Burgers – an afternoon in Sintra”

Cascais – a day trip

At the top of my bucket list for this trip was a visit to Cascais.  It is fairly simple to get to, but we took the long way to the train station (on foot via the cobblestone sidewalks – a tough one for my sense of balance). We got sort of lost a couple of times. The easy way was to go to the Rossio subway station and take the green line to Cais do Sodre where we switch to the train to Cascais.  But we walked. Eventually we reached the western waterfront of downtown. Google and the GPS said we were there, but we could not seem to find it.

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Lisbon’s Sardine Festival- June 12-13

Festival setup on side streetThis whole time of our vacation, all the festivities seem to be leading up to the 12th of June – St. Anthony’s day of honor. I have been reading up on this since we came here not knowing about it. St. Anthony of Padua (12 th Century) is the patron saint of Lisbon. He was originally from Portugal but spent most of his life in Italy. However, the Portuguese are proud of his heritage.

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A weekend in Lisboa

We decided to stay in town and eat at our favorite Tapas restaurant. The festival would go on until the wee hours of Sunday morning though it would not bother us.  We could hear it and feel the thump of the music in our apartment, but when we close our windows they are very tight against sound.

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Tram #28, the Lisboa experience

Queueing Up for Tram 28Saturday we queued up for Remodelado Tram #28 at Martim Moniz to Campo Ourique (Prazeres). The route goes through Graca and Alfama, as well as connects Baixa to the Estrela District. We took it both ways. Fortunately there are trams every 15 minutes and sometimes more frequently. Seating will accommodate about 30 people, but there are people constantly getting on and off, so at times the tram probably held twice that many people standing as well as sitting.  We timed our entry into a tram to be one of the first 12 people on so we got great seats.

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2 more tips for visiting Portugal (Lisboa)

Every day is a learning experience, as it should be.  Visiting a city like Lisboa will kick one right out of one’s rut.  Certainly it has mine. More tips are offered to help make your transition as painless as possible.

  1.   Weather: June is a great time to be here. the temperature rarely gets to the mid-70s. Nights are cool, days are comfortable.  A light rain jacket is all you will need to stay dry (an occasional rain shower here and there). In checking the weather, Accuweather wanted me to pay for the privilege of learning the day’s weather, but the BBC weather was always there for me. It even has a radar screen to watch the day’s weather. It is nice to be prepared for the day with clothing. Yesterday was sunny, warm (low 70s) but the breeze was rather cool. Being prepared equals comfort.
  2.  I found a free app (Android) for translation of words from Portuguese to English. It is called All Language Translator. It has hundreds of languages. Rated 4.5 with 53,657 reviews. It also has a voice translation so you can learn how to say words.