The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Last week there were rainbows. Three days in a row…big, full, double rainbows. They were glorious. There were also earthquakes…three in two days, none of which I felt, but my neighbors did.
I am loving my new home on Terceira. Bull season starts next week and I am surprised at how excited I am. There are friends, the ocean, great food, more and more beautiful days mixed in with the overcast and rainy ones. My looms have arrived. Slowly I am setting them up, finding yarn, making things.
Even the rough days are gentle.
But things move slowly and there have been issues to deal with. It’s easy to show you the beauty with careful cropping and the camera just at the perfect angle. Here’s a look behind the scenes.
I had hoped to open my weaving retreat center this summer. It had seemed reasonable, but time moves differently here. Everything is slow. In the winter, it’s hard to find clear days for work to get done. In the spring and summer, there are many festas (festivals) and bullfights. Multiple times a day. I didn’t think I would want to watch the bullfights, but they are different here. The bulls are held on ropes by Matadors…six per side. Most of them happen on the main streets of the small towns, and the bulls do not get hurt. I chose the video below out of many because it is filmed in Porto Judeu, my little town. A lot of explanation at the beginning and the bulls appear at 3:30.
My new home is lovely, but there are issues to deal with and there is an order for how it needs to happen. There has been a leak that appeared right after I moved in. I have had five different people come and try and seal up the roof better, but still, it persisted.
Finally I found Sergio. Sergio took the time to look at the whole system before diving in. It turns out there was an open pipe in the wall, in a place that makes no sense. Not much of this makes sense, but he sealed off the pipe and finally the house is dry, just in time for the electricians to come. I have been on their waiting list for five months and I am told that they can do the outside work soon, but the inside work will have to wait for at least another six months.
I am hopeful that I can proceed with other projects once the outside work is done, but I don’t know yet. On that list are repairing and painting the damage made by the leaky pipe, putting in a kitchenette for guests, and getting the hot tub working. There is also work that will need to get done for the third floor bedroom to be ready, but that can wait. One thing at a time.
A few weeks ago, a friend made a passing comment that I am the, “one who left”. I want you all to know that I am still here, and still planning on opening my weaving retreat bed and breakfast. Sometimes I believe that it will all happen, after all, so much has happened already. And sometimes, my belief skips a beat and I get scared that I won’t be able to pull it all together in my new country. I hope it is the first option, because there is so much magic to be made!
Happy weaving my friends!