Blogs

I am probably the only person on earth who is not on facebook.  I take that back, my husband isn't either.  I really find facebook to be a mindless waste of time.  No offense to my facebooking friends.  I have my other loves that many of you may think are a waste of time- such as my blogs.  I love blogs.  I love having my own blog and reading my friend's blogs.  I really wish all my friends had them.  Of the few friends who do have them I have come to find out some interesting and surprising things about them from their posts.  I find blogs to be quite personal and depending on how open the author decides to be blogs can be quite telling. Its nice to see people's pictures and to know what they've been up to but I especially like reading what my friends write.  I also read a very small handful of blogs from people I don't know.  My favorite stranger blog is Take Your Vitamin Z

So speaking of blogs I want to announce a few new ones.  My husband has recently started up a blog regarding one of his favorite things- cigars.  This new blog is called My Blue Heaven. I have also started up a blog in the last few months on one of my favorite things- food.  Its called The Traveler's Table. Feel free to drop in and look around.

And get off facebook and onto blogger, people!

Pancake Tuesday

My friend Sandra came over today and suggested we make pancakes for Pancake Tuesday. Pancake Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday in Ireland and Britain, is the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. 'Shrove' stems from old English word 'shrive', meaning 'confess all sins'. It is called Pancake Tuesday because it is the day traditionally for eating pancakes as pancake recipes were a way to use up any stocks of milk, butter and eggs which were forbidden during the abstinence of Lent. Neither of us observes Lent but we thought it was a fun idea to eat pancakes today with the rest of the country.

Portugal

Matt and I took a trip to Portugal near the end of last year.  While there we visited three towns; Evora, Sintra, and Lisbon.  I wanted to go to Evora to see the "Capela dos Ossos" which in English is "Chapel of Bones."  It was built by some Franciscan  monks who were worried about the materialistic and secular state of the people.  In order to get the people to think of the transitory nature of this life they built the chapel of bones.  There is a famous poem about the chapel written in Portugese by Fr. António da Ascenção .  Here is the English translation:

Where are you going in such a hurry traveler?
Stop … do not proceed;
You have no greater concern,
Than this one: that on which you focus your sight.
Recall how many have passed from this world,
Reflect on your similar end,
There is good reason to reflect
If only all did the same.
Ponder, you so influenced by fate,
Among all the many concerns of the world,
So little do you reflect on death;
If by chance you glance at this place,
Stop … for the sake of your journey,
The more you pause, the further on your journey you will be.

I really like this poem as it so true and the Chapel of Bones was my favorite site to visit in Portugal.  After spending a night in Evora we went to Sintra where we toured the Pena Palace which was a very beautiful castle.  While in Sintra we stayed at a hotel on the coast.  The waves of the Atlantic were crashing and magnificent.  The next day we headed to Lisbon where we visited the sites of Belem and the three famous neighborhoods of Lisbon, Chiado, Baixa, and the Alfama.  Portugal is a beautiful country, very green and lush.  I loved seeing the horned bulls in the countryside and the cork trees which when peeled of their cork have a rust red colored under-bark and so are easily identified.  The hand painted tiles all over Portugla were also beautiful and reminded me so much of Mexico.  I would like to go back again just eat some more queijadas and pasteis de natas!

(Slide show song "Pretty the World" by Matt Nathanson)