The Starlings.... Rooted in Small Domesticity....Lost in that Limbo Country

More beautiful Portugal... sunset over the lagoon...

a gift of oranges and lemons from  their neighbour's garden...

the beach all to ourselves ...too hot to walk far though...

there is a stork nesting on top of that chimney...

dinner in a fantastic Fusion Sushi restaurant one night...

 vegetarian platters of sushi rolls....including ones

 topped with fruit...sliced strawberries and mango bundles..who would have thought it would work ...but it was all mouth sensational.

Another regional speciality - hot buttered toast...great with soup...

exotic tree flower...a bit like a magnolia...

in another town....

meeting up with new friends in a lovely old park...

 and walking by the lagoon for the last time before the sun goes down. 

I'm sure we will return...

Today

I take my computer to the Apple Shop ...lovely young woman at the Genius Bar advises I buy more storage space.

Now I have a Terrabite - whatever that is..but it will last me a long time ...and maybe I need to stop taking so many photos....

especially of the new family of starlings which have taken up residence..

 devouring the fat balls in the bird feeders....but their antics are fascinating....I  watch them a lot today.. 

while I stand at the kitchen sink...

my hands in suds ....washing white garments...

and chopping up veggies for a wild garlic, spinach and pecan nut salad for my late lunch...

and  then washing up the dishes.

 There is a dishwasher which I bought with the house although I never use it...don't need it for one person's cups and plates....and I would miss all the drama going on outside the kitchen window.

The starlings are rather dominating though and I don't often see the woodpeckers... I think this may be a young female - she looks small...but I could be wrong. 

A few determined blue tits and 

 great tits, sparrows and blackbirds still get a look in which I'm glad about....

but the robins are a bit more cautious.

Nearly open...

Watering the garden...pulling up  snaking wands of convolvulus...wading in the stream....hanging sheets on the line...ironing pillowcases....baking sweet potatoes.for supper....writing down my spending at Waitrose/White Stuff/ Otter Nurseries...cleaning the bird feeders...reading my novel after lunch with a cup of tea....talking on the phone....writing this blog....it all helps to keep me grounded ...rooted in small domesticity.

So then I don't disappear... get lost in that limbo country which is never far away...waiting for house plans on paper to become real...waiting to feel like a widow when I still feel like a wife.