Special Blog GIVEAWAY

Hello all!

Did you know Giveaways are the new blog trend? Lately I've seen it here and there and I thought it was a fabulous idea. It brings a little excitement to the blogosphere and it makes me remember that giving is the best thing in the World.

Let's call it a giveaway on behalf on the blog's 3rd anniversary last month. Or it can be a special giveaway to launch the future selling of my photos on my Etsy shop (it's going to happen soon). Or we can call it a giveaway just because I feel like it.

So, for a chance to win this photograph I took in 15x20 cm format (that's more or less 6x8 in inches) all you have to do is leave a comment below, with an appropriate appreciation of the image (meaning: what does it remind you of? how does it make you feel? can you pick up a song to go with the mood?...whatever you'd like to say.)

You don't have to be a regular commenter to participate but you will have to provide personal data if you win, remember that. In a week's time I will randomly select the winner and announce it here.

Good luck!!

Good things in pairs

If you look at the sidebar on the right, you'll notice a link to an Etsy Shop. It's MY Etsy Shop. You didn't see that one coming, did you? ;)

It all happened when my birds flew away. As you know, I'm a Sagittarius and you've probably seen the symbol for this sign - it's a centaur (half-man, half-horse) holding an arch and aiming high. Well, last week I felt like I had lost my arch and arrows. I wasn't aiming at anything and it was driving me insane. I was just a horse. And worse, I had a human heart and brain. Gah. So I thought: well, perhaps I should take myself to a mental institution...OR (it occured to me) I could start an Etsy Shop! lol

And the store was born. It is a collaboration with my mother, so we're selling things we both make. My speciality is the knitting department. My mother's more versatile and also makes jewelry and fox terrier booties. The store hasn't got many items yet but we'll be adding more gradually. It's been keeping me busy!

As I was saying to PS the other day, good news usually come in pairs, so I'll leave you, not only with the Etsy store, but also with my playlist. It's a small selection of the songs that have been part of my days lately. You can launch it [pop-up player] and listen to it while you're online doing whatever you have to do. I can't listen to it in a row because I get too unsettled. lol But I hope you enjoy it.

January, huh?

No, today wasn't January.

It was May, perhaps April. Glorious sun shining everywhere you went. And it wasn't even cold. It was the kind of Sun that needs you to take off the Winter garments and use a strong hat.

It was the kind of Sun that takes you to a new season in your mind; you feel different, yesterday was ages ago. It almost smelled of Spring.

Love you, Tony

On why I love the Sopranos and Tony in particular...

I watched the last episode of the Sopranos last night. I was expecting something big, as there had been a lot of speculation about how it would end. I had avoided any peek into the ending before it was my time to stare at the TV. I won't get into details, in case you haven't seen it and plan to, but let's just say it didn't disappoint.

I'm a serial series addict. I don't watch everything but I've watched many, many shows in my lifetime. I have to say that the Sopranos is, by far, the greatest drama show ever made. Nothing compares to it. And the last episode provided an explanation to why it is so fantastic. It stays with you long after the show has ended. There are so many meanings behind everything that goes on in the show, there is so much to ponder about, so much that is said in silences and little actions, objects even...everything is deeply meaningful and sometimes deeply silly because those characters are human, they fail, they can be silly, immature, weak, pathetic.

The show wasn't always pleasant to watch, at times it was truly uncomfortable. You could either be enchanted by the normality of the family life, or completely disgusted and shocked at the characters' behaviour. It was like that with the main character, Tony Soprano. He did some very very bad things in the final season. Throughout the show, you could never count on him to behave in a particular way, you just never knew, because he was so human...but he was also a sociopath...And yet he could be so endearing. It'll be hard for me to forget about Tony Soprano, I'll still believe that he's out there, that he exists, he just doesn't come to my house every Monday anymore...

friends

A quick hello to say Happy Birthday to my friend Niall. If you haven't seen his blog, you don't know what you're missing. I'm not one to feature propaganda in my blog usually but Niall is a true artist and this should definitely be taken as a compliment. Plus he is a great friend and extremely funny. And his work hasn't received nearly as recognition as it should, in my opinion.

This seems to be the time for birthdays, as it was Maddie's birthday yesterday too. Maddie is another true artist, with her magical words and her fabulous pictures - I mean, look at those cups in the rain! She is the most poetical person in the world :)

Music for the weekend - Happiness is...

the commitments "try a little tenderness
Colocado por nicobus

Happiness is singing in the choir of a soul band. No, really! Fast forward to the 2:30 minute and you'll see. Those women are happy. They are ecstatic!

This is a scene from one of my favourite films, The Commitments. If you haven't seen it, it's about a group of people from Dublin that are struggling to make something out of their lives, until they come together, or they're forced together in some cases, to form a soul band.
Things aren't easy in the beginning, as you'd expect. They don't get along, they hate each other's guts. They think about quitting the band. They search for better jobs. But, in the end, their manager 'manages' (excuse me) to make them forget about their own little dramas and give their best to the band. And they are a success, as you can see.

Those women are empowered there. Of course, you can say they are being sexually exploited because they're all dolled up and moving seductively. They're the only women there and they're the choir! Of course. But look at them, they are happy there. They regained their confidence in the band, every time they left their lousy jobs behind at the end of the day and became...soul singers. That's the magic of music. Of soul music.

Good stuff

Last week my eyes were glued to the screen watching The Tudors - you know how I love a good historical story, even if the facts have been changed to make a better adaptation to television.

At first I thought this was a mini-series, as there have been a few about Kings and Queens in the past, but at that point I had watched 5 episodes and King Henry VIII still hadn't divorced his FIRST wife. lol Then I realized it was a series, with seasons; season two is coming up but Henry has not been able to marry Anne Boleyn yet.

Portuguese television was kind to present us with all eleven episodes in four days, sometimes up to the three hours watching this...I was beginning to talk like anyone in the Court, your Grace, my Lady, my Lord ;)

Even though the plot is a little slow to develop, I enjoyed it very much. If I had to choose a word to describe the show, it would be: sexy haha.

Love in motion

I've been watching bits of the European Championships of Figure Skating in Warsaw, in utter amazement - in fact, you could find me sitting on the sofa either smiling like a lunatic or with my mouth ajar in disbelief.

The most fascinating event is when they dance in pairs. This has to be the most romantic sport in the world! Until now I hadn't quite grasped the beauty of ballet or any sort of dance but I noticed that 'this beauty' was in ice-skating too and, for the first time, I saw it ...

- the constant movement, the dramatic expression in the dancers' faces and their every gesture, the way they seem to be in a constant chase of each other, never ceasing to touch one another, in what seems like a race against time. And that is the time they have to express their emotions, with the help of a song that most of the times fits everything so perfectly.

I was truly mesmerized. Still am. Figure Skating - the sport of lovers - with the glitter of fairy dreams.