Oporto











Here's some photos that I took when Francisca and I went to Oporto to celebrate my 30th birthday :) a lovely city with great atmosphere.

Ginger cookies







How to make 300 ginger cookies :)
250 g butter
4 dl sugar
2 dl baking syrup
2 dl water
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardome spice
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp neilkkc
1 tsp baking soda
13 dl white flour

* In a pan add water, sugar and syrup and when it boils take it out of the heat
* In a bowl cut the butter, add the spices and the content of the pan and wait until 
   everything melts together
* Let it rest and cool until it reaches the temperature of the room around 22ºC
* When is ready add the flour and the baking powder
* Let it in the fridge covered during the night, the dough is going to grow and get stiff
* Next day stretch out the dough until 2-3 mm e cut with a form
* Take it to the oven 200 - 225º during 4-6 min

My first Swedish ginger cookies as a Christmas gift made with lots of love. 
Thank you Johanna * from Francisca

Happy Birthday









In the begging of December we went on a small journey to discover the city of Oporto and  celebrate Jens birthday. Even with grey and rainy skies we saw how beautiful and authentic the city Invita is. These photos are from Serralves museum gardens, just when the night and the rain started to come and my wet feet walked fast so my eyes cold absorb everything in the twilight, running from the dark night. Two days of happy happy birthday, I love you

Brocoli








Broccoli evolved from a wild cabbage plant on the continent of Europe. Indications point to the vegetable's being known 2,000 years ago. Since the Roman Empire, broccoli has been considered a uniquely valuable food among Italians. Broccoli was grown at Antwerp whence it was taken to England by the sculptor Peter Scheemakers, according to a biographical note by J. T. Smith. Broccoli was first introduced to the United States by Italian immigrants but did not become widely known until the 1920s. Broccoli is high in vitamin C, as well as dietary fiber; it also contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties, such as diindolylmethane and small amounts of selenium.

Photos by Jens Selin

Ana Barbosa


 





Photographs by Ana Barbosa

A couple of weeks ago the mother/queen cat Mia fell down into the deep well behind our house, we think because of the strong winds of a huge storm 3 days before. After trying to fish her up with a basket with food without any luck, finally we got the help from our strong minded lunch guests João, Ana, Nuno y Rebbeca. We started operation cat rescue with hero Francisca :) by tying two ladders together she managed to climb down the well (tied to a safety rope). Calmly putting Mia into her backpack Francisca climbed back up the ladder bringing Mia to safety. It was a very happy afternoon!!

Honi mun


 


Honi mun is the project of our dear friend Inma, a very talented artist with a huge heart, channeling her creativity in the creation of little treasures. Inma and her love Enrique visited us last October and we had so much fun being and creating!! Together we gave life to some of her arts and crafts in our first stop motion video, hoping to bring curious eyes into the world of Honi mun and see where imagination takes you… Among the precious treasures, hairbands, rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, magic boxes... you might find the perfect gift for someone close to your heart for this Christmas. Feel free to ask for what you’ve imagined! A present for you from Honi mun * with love *

LX







Last opportunity to see our group exhibition with Create Portugal at Lx Factory in Lisbon. The last day to see the show is Saturday, the show will be taken down Sunday morning.

Photos by Jens Selin

Pasosypedales


Last October we had the pleasure to have the visit of the loving couple Enrique and Inma, both living and creating in Barcelona. Enrique sent us these beautiful photographs and words describing his unique experience in Praias. We find him very talented, a man of many arts following his passions as a geographer, cyclist, photographer, adventurer... and you can too travel with him through his words of wisdom and images in his blog Pasosypedales. Thank you so much and we hope to see you soon!!











After being born in the Sierra de Albarracín mountain range and going across Spain from east to west, the river Tagus crosses the Portuguese frontier and turns slightly southwest, where it completes its passageway – o Tejo – as the largest fluvial course in the Iberian Peninsula reaching thousands of kilometers.

The compatriots of Magalhães and Saramago have the immense honor to give a way out to this giant in a calm and complacent estuary, the Mar da Palha, a landmark where wetlands, salterns and cultivations express themselves like a fado, with that slow and melancholic sadness at the end of the tract. Then come the seventeen thousand meters of Vasco da Gama bridge, the charming Lisbon and its filigree design, the 25th of April hanging bridge and the Belém Tower, epilogue and extraordinary. If this country can overflow from some place, Portugal does it from here, without a doubt.

In its final course, in some place in Ribatejo region, oriented to the slope of Santarém, Francisca, Jens, Whiskas, Doctor – among others - live in the tranquility hideout, in a place where the sun wakes in the morning injecting energy, the walls tell stories of free masons, the wood squeaks like a brigantine at high sea and the spiral of stars darkens while expanding in all directions.