Easter Reflections...

With OUR EYES

we see

The beauty of Easter

as the earth awakens once more...

With OUR EARS we hear

The birds sing sweetly

to tell us Spring again is here...

With OUR HANDS

we pick the golden daffodils

and the fragrant hyacinths...

But only with OUR HEART Scan

we feel the MIRACLE of GOD'S LOVE

which redeems all men...

And only with OUR SOUL

can we make our 'pilgrimage to God'

and inherit

His Easter Gift of ETERNAL LIFE.

by Helen Steiner Rice

Mateus Palace...

The Mateus Palace in Vila Real, in the North of Portugal, dates from the beginning of the XVIII and was built by António José Alvares Botelho Mourão.

The palace is today known as one of the most beautiful and magnificent baroque style palaces in Portugal.

In 1911, the palace has been classified as a National Monument and its architecture is attributed to Nicolau Nazoni, the well-known author of many other monuments in the North of Portugal.

Take some time, this Easter, to visit the palace and its fabulous gardens as well as the surroundings, in Vila Real.

Books III ...

Maeve Binchy is an Irish writer. She was born in Dublin in 1940 and was educated in a convent, in Killiney.

Later, she graduated in History at the Dublin University and has taught in several girls' colleges.

In 1969, she worked as a journalist for The Irish Times.In 1999, she got the prize " Lifetime Achievement"

" Uma Casa na Irlanda " , whose original name is Tara Road, reveals the readers the lives of two women, separated by the Atlantic Ocean. Both women have very different lives and realities. One in Dublin, the other in New England ( USA).

The book is centred in their existance and ideals, however, there comes the day when both need a total change to save themselves from despair, from the suffering...They arrange switching homes and with it neighbours, gossips...
Until a story which began with loss and suffering grows into a story of discovery, unexpected friendship and new hope. By the time Ria and Marilyn eventually meet, they find that they have altered the course of each other's lives for ever.
That is the change of their lives, the one that is going to transform their existance.

I read the book last Summer holidays, and not even the bright sun and the heat, have been enough to make me stop reading its six hundred pages.

Easter Holidays...

Today, the second term ends. Another important stage is over and for students a period of a well deserved holiday starts. However, school isn't over. We, the teachers, still have some days of work.

For you all, I wish a Happy Easter Holiday and a great time.

Have fun...for the future will have to be of hard work and discipline so that in the end we may all celebrate "our" success. Yes, I really mean "our", because teachers get involved and work to your success.

See you soon!...

At its best...

Nature is a mysterious, fascinating universe.

We should follow its ways and use whatever we have got to show our love and affecttion.

Nevertheless, we tend to forget the importance some words might have because we're obssessed with our own small worlds.

And I too, don't always say what I should.

So, the image is worth a million words...

We and them...

To Fathers!

Because we need them...

Father...

Father is a beautiful word. So small and so easy to say, yet so full of meaning.

This is dedicated to all the men in the world that have children, a family of their own.

For they are very important in our lives, throughout our lives and forever.

I'm grateful for having a wonderful and loving Father.

I love you, and I'll always will!! Thank you...

Books II...

Isabel Allende is for sure one my favourite authors. To prove that ,I can tell you I have got all her published books and I simply devour them. Reading Allende is so captivating that I almost forget my regular duties as a housewife, mother... what I want is peace and quiet to read non-stop.

Isabel Aleende was born in Lima, Peru in 1942, however , she is a citizen from Chile.

She worked as a journalist and writer since she was seventeen.

Her first novel "A casa dos Espíritos", was published in 1982, in exile , after the military coup of Pinochet.

Her books are translated in 27 different languages and this proves her literary talent and success.

She now lives in the USA, where she got married to an american and where also live her children and grandchildren.

"Inés da Minha Alma" is a fantastic book that tells the story of a spanish woman, Inés Suarez, from Extremadura, who sails into the New World to look for her husband, lost in his dreams to find gold and glory.

She is an unusual woman, that fights against the stigma of fragility and quietness all women had to devote themselves to, in the XVI century.

In America, she doesn't find her husband but her passion: Pedro de Valdivia and she participates in the conquest and fundation of Chile.

In this epic novel, romance has the capacity to take the place of cruelty and violence . Tragic moments are lived but she faces them all with great courage and strength.

A memorable book that tells us about real facts in an unmistakable style.

Woman...

Because women are delicate, fragile and beautiful in all forms and shapes.

Because they need to be admired for all the good things they're able to do.

Because they're as strong as willows even when the storm comes.

Because I am a woman.

This is for all women...for my mother and all the other women anywhere.

TheBiodiversity code...

Watch the parody of the Da Vincy Code. Another fantastic animation film from the Free Range Studios.

http://www.daversitycode.com/

Enjoy...

A Challenge...

This is a series of questions running through the net.

I'm supposed to answer the questions and then challenge others to do it as well.

Let's see ...
1 - Altura? 1,58m
2 - Que sapatos estás a usar? Botas pretas.
3 - Medo? De morrer enquanto o meu filho é pequeno.
4 - Objectivos a alcançar? Ser titular.
5 - Frase que mais usas no messenger? Não gosto de falar no messenger.
6 - Melhor parte do corpo? As mãos.
7 - Palavrões? Não uso o palavrão.
8 - Lado da cama? Sempre à direita.
9 - Tomas banho todos os dias? Claro.
10- Gostas de toalhas quentes? Que estejam secas.
11- Ursinhos de pelúcia? Nunca.
12- Acreditas em ti mesmo? Com toda a força.
13- Dás-te bem com os teus pais? Adoro-os.
14- Gostas de tempestades? Adoro estar na cama e ouvir a chuva e o vento.

15- Desporto? Ginástica todas as semanas e várias vezes por semana

16- Passatempos e hobbies? Ler, ler...

17- Fobias e manias? Fobias não tenho, manias algumas...usar sempre perfume é uma delas.

18- Quantas vezes o teu nome apareceu nos jornais? Acho que apenas uma.

19- Cicatrizes no corpo? Uma, no joelho.

20- De que te arrependes de ter feito? Do que ficou por fazer

21- Cor favorita? Preto

22- Um lugar em que nunca estiveste e gostarias de ir? Veneza, Florença...

23- Manhãs ou noite? Noites.

24- O que tens nos bolsos? Nada. Coloco todos os objectos na carteira

25- O que farias se fosses Primeiro Ministro? Demitia a Ministra da Educação.

26- Se ganhasses o Euro Milhões que farias ao dinheiro? Cometia alguns excessos e dividia parte por aqueles que amo muito.

27- Se te caísse a lâmpada de Aladino o que farias? Que desejos pedirias? Amor, Saúde ,Dinheiro

28- Se o mundo acabasse hoje às 23h59m que farias até lá? Telefonava/procurava a todas as pessoas importantes na minha vida e dizia-lhes o quanto as amava.
29- Se tivesses um filho sem saber como, sem razão nenhuma, que farias? Nada. No meu caso seria sempre a primeira a saber.

Here are my guests: Patrícia More than Words, Sofia Sofia's World and Glória Mota Englishes

The World Around Us...

In one of my journeys through the net sites, I found out an interesting webquest.
So here it is:
http://www.netprof.pt/ingles/mathtype/THEWORLDAROUNDUS.htm

Pena Palace...

Pena Palace located in Sintra represents one of the best expressions of Romanticism in the XIX century in Portugal.

It was built by D. Fernando de Saxe Coburgo-Gotha, who was married to D. Maria II