Viver com menos: 10 coisas que não me fazem falta / Living with less: 10 things that I don't miss

O texto em português foi publicado na revista Papel no dia 2 de Maio e pode ser lido aqui.

and now in English

 

Living with less when you already own very little can certainly be a problem. But deciding to live with less when you have way more than enough could mean living a better life. This is what this text is about.

Below is a list of things which I don't miss in my life and that in addition, I believe their absence makes me happier. I am in no way suggesting that owning these things is negative, only sharing the fact that I don't own them and have found – in some cases with surprise - that their absence brought me additional well-being. Some of them have gradually disappeared along the years, sometimes by accident and never came back, although at some point in the past I have considered them to be essential. Others have never been a part of my life.

Microwave: I used to have one, but apart from the first couple of years, when I tried out some recipes, its use quickly resumed to heating water for coffee and soup bowls. More recently, after reading some scary research papers about the microwave effects over food, it became restricted to heating water – after all, the possible recombinations of one oxygen and two hydrogen molecules didn't seem that dangerous. Once it broke down, I felt relived. I gained a lot of extra space in the kitchen counter and I had one thing less to clean up.

Iphone, ipad, ipod: I have a tendency to get absorbed in my own thoughts and become oblivious of the world around me (I know...). This is why I don't like to carry too many things around with me. I'm afraid I'll lose them, drop them on the floor and get them broken, or (when traveling) being robbed. In addition, when I am outdoors, I like to focus on whatever I went out to do instead of being (even more) distracted, either with gadgets or anything else.

Watch: I've always owned one and was constantly looking at it, until the day I lost it. I've got used to living without it and although meanwhile I've found it (at the bottom of the picnic basket), I never wanted it back. I was left thinking that someone who takes a watch to a picnic probably needs to rethink his priorities... And I found out that a watch is something superfluous in this world where the time is everywhere: on the mobile phone, the car's dashboard, the radio, on the TV in every coffee shop corner, on the numerous electronic outdoor ads... you name it. In fact, these days what is really difficult is not knowing what time it is. A picnic can - and should - be one of those rare occasions.

Cable TV (or satellite or similar): we don't watch that much TV around here. There are so many other cool things to do... And if we look closely, when you have internet access, TV becomes a little redundant.

A capsule coffee machine: I love coffee but as long as it keeps working, I won't trade my old filter coffeemaker (which is about to complete 20 years) by anything else. I couldn't possibly replace it by something that would make me throw away a piece of aluminum for each coffee I drank. I know capsules can be recycled, but I firmly believe that we should first reduce the amount of garbage we produce, and only when we can't avoid producing it, should we think about recycling.

Electrical kettle: I may be wrong, but it doesn't seem practical to have another kitchen utensil spending energy, taking up space and needing to be cleaned just to heat water once in a while.

Bimby (or any other kitchen robot): I like cooking and I like teaching my kids how to cook so, as in the case of the kettle, I gladly trade an additional household appliance by extra space, energy savings and less things to clean up.

Dental braces: OK, this one was just a joke (and it doesn't count towards the list of 10), but have you noticed the huge number of people of all ages that suddenly started wearing braces? I haven't yet figured out whether this is just the result of an extremely successful orthodontic marketing campaign, or if it actually corresponds to a sudden and genuine discontent of the Portuguese about their dental alignments.

GPS: is there anything better than playing detective and finding out the way on our own? Getting lost and because of that finding the most wonderful place we didn't even dream was around the corner? Or asking directions to someone and getting to know better not just the place we are in, but the people that live in it as well?

Curtains and carpets: I used to have curtains when lived in a flat in town. But now, apart from a rooster that likes to perch on my window-sill, I have no curious neighbors and the views from the house are so lovely that it would be a crime to hide them with curtains. Besides, I would have additional things catching dust and needing to get washed and ironed. The floor, on the other hand, is wooded. Wood is warm and beautiful. Some carpets are nice too, but they also catch dust, dust mites, occasionally stains and... you guessed... they would need to get regularly washed. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against cleaning – I actually really like clean environments and maybe because of that, I prefer to eliminate from the beginning the need to dedicate more time than strictly necessary to cleaning up and use the surplus for more pleasurable activities.

A big amount of clothing: this is subjective, I know. I've never actually counted the number of clothes I own, but judging from some of my friends' wardrobes, I can say mine is quite modest. Not my merit, though. I am far from having a standard size, so I usually have trouble finding clothes that fit (they're usually either too short or too baggy) and on top of that, I don't really like shopping. Not everything is bad, though: apart from saving a lot of money, I rarely take more than 5 minutes to decide what to wear each morning – and believe it or not, this is a daily dilemma for many people.

Regardless of the personal circumstances of each of us, the consumption of non-essential goods is a matter of choice. It is possible to live with less and free up time and money for other things that we find more important – and these may not even be material possessions. But more important than this, and contrarily to what the consumerist society we live in tries to convince us every day, living with less doesn't necessarily mean failure. It can simply be an option and the starting point for a better life.

Quanto custa o seu tempo? / How much is your time worth?*

"Quanto custa o seu tempo?" Pode ser lido em português aqui.

* This is the translation of a text I published in Portuguese this week in the online magazine Papel. As far as I have the time to do it, I'll try to translate my new texts as I write them, as well as some of those that have been previously published. The translation will not be perfect (I'm not a translator), but at least my blog readers who can't handle Portuguese will be able to read them too.

For most people, money is the main yardstick when it comes to assess someone's success. It's no wonder, since it can be exchanged for almost anything: a big house, a luxury car, long holidays at exotic places... But if it is true that money is incredibly valuable, it is also generally agreed that it is not the most important thing on earth. Family, friendship, health and so many others usually come first on opinion survey results.

And yet... when we look at our daily lives, we see that we usually do not behave in accordance to these priorities.

When we work, we trade the result of our labor – and the time we dedicate to achieve it – by money. We can make a simple calculation and divide our monthly income (or annual income, for those working on their own like me) by the number of hours spent working. This way, we get an approximate idea of how much one hour of our time is worth.

Why would we want to do this? For me, once the threshold of basic housing, feeding, health insurance, education and comfort is met, time becomes a more valuable asset than money. Unlike money, I can use extra time and spend it with my family or friends or take better care of my health – by exercising, walking or spending more time cooking my own meals, for instance. This is why I find it useful to know how much one hour of my time is worth. And I have got used to evaluate potential new jobs not just in terms of how much more extra money or professional satisfaction they could bring me, but also in function of how much time they will take away from me.

At a certain point, I started making a similar exercise when I go shopping for non-essential items. To my surprise, I found that in more than one occasion my initial decision to buy something ends up radically changing. I don't need new clothes, but when I go through a storefront and see the most lovely dress on sale for half the original price, I feel really tempted to bring it home with me. But then I make a quick mental calculation and conclude this dress will cost me an afternoon's worth of my time. Suddenly, it doesn't look like such a big bargain anymore... Would I rather spend another afternoon – possibly on a weekend - sitting by my PC wearing a lovely new dress, or jump into my old jeans and head out with the kids to play some football? Or, if the weather doesn't allow it, make a batch of delicious cookies and savor them in front of the fireplace while playing a board game or reading a book? I don't need to think twice. I come back home empty handed but with an empowering sense of freedom...

Correio / Post goodies

Acabei de receber o primeiro esboço da Troca de Esboços em que participei no mês passado e veio nada menos do que do próprio organizador da troca, Tom Serrati. Como podem ver, vai muito além de um simples esboço. Os edifícios estão desenhados em grande pormenor e a aplicação das cores é muito bonita. Trata-se de dois dos 17 edifícios que sobreviveram à destruição da Segunda Guerra Mundial... As minhas filhas gostaram imenso do envelope, enviado da Estação de Correios do Pai Natal e endereçado em nome delas, bem como do postal com renas escrito em português, para que o pudessem entender, e eu gostei muito do postal com fantásticas imagens  de auroras boreais - obrigada, Tom!
I've just received my first sketch from the Sketch Swap I entered last month and the first one to arrive was this lovely watercolour by Tom Serrati himself. For me, this goes well beyond a sketch and is closer to a finished piece of art. The buildings are pictured in an extremely fine detail and the colours are beautiful. According to Tom, these are two of the 17 buildings that were left in the town of Rovaniemi after WWII destruction... My kids loved the envelope sent from Santa Claus' Main Post Office and addressed to them both and the lovely reindeer's postcard written in Portuguese, so they could understand and I loved the amazing lights of the north postcard - thank you Tom!

Feliz / Happy

Um dos meus cartões (Sunflower Moving Announcement with cowgirl and wood fence Card - PID#1095264) foi escolhido pela equipa do Greeting Card Universe como Design do Dia, ficando em destaque na página internet do GCU durante 24 horas e sendo automaticamente registado no Concurso Mensal Design do Mês no Facebook.

I'm so happy! One of my cards (Sunflower Moving Announcement with cowgirl and wood fence Card - PID#1095264) has been chosen as today's Design of the Day by Greeting Card Universe staff, and will be featured on the GCU homepage for 24 hours and be automatically entered into their Design of the Month Contest on Facebook!

Carvalho-alvarinho / English Oak Card

Na sequência do post anterior, aqui fica mais um cartão feito recentemente para o GCU a partir de uma das minhas ilustrações botânicas favoritas, de um carvalho-alvarinho (Quercus robur). Este cartão está disponível em duas versões (Parabéns e Dia da Árvore).

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Following my previous post, here is another recent card made for GCU using one of my favourite botanical illustrations of an English Oak (Quercus robur). This card is available in two different versions (Happy Birthday and Happy Arbor Day).

Cartão novo / New Card

Tenho mais um cartão à venda no GCU (Greeting Card Universe). Fi-lo utilizando uma série de ilustrações individuais de plantas da nossa flora. Não me tinha dado conta que as aprovações estavam a demorar tanto tempo ultimamente por isso o tema da Páscoa já está desactualizado. Vendo as coisas pelo lado positivo, é trabalho adiantado para o ano que vem!

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I have a new card on sale at GCU (Greeting Card Universe). I made it using a series of individual illustrations of plants native to Portugal. I wasn't aware card approvals were taking so long these days, so the Easter subject is now outdated, but, well, it's work in advance for next year!

Jacinto-das-searas / Tassel Hyacinth

Os jacintos-das-searas (Muscari comosum) estão agora em flor. É uma planta curiosa, com o seu tufo de flores estéreis violetas, a lembrar uma coroa, sobre as flores férteis, localizadas mais abaixo. São plantas bolbosas, e não crescem em maciços compactos como o rosmaninho. Pelo contrário, encontramo-los dispersos, aqui e ali, ao longo de caminhos pedregosos ou campos abertos (olivais, vinhas, etc.). Esta foi desenhada no campo, com caneta preta à prova de água e aguarelas.

Tassel hyacinths are now blooming. I've always found this plant a very curious one, with its tuft of violet sterile flowers over the fertile ones down below. They grow from bulbs and do not occur in tight patches like lavender, but instead we spot one here and there along rocky paths and near open fields. This one was drawn on site, using a black waterproof pen and watercolours.

Papel outra vez

Mais dois textos publicados na Papel:

Dentes-de-leão de todas as cores
e
Viver numa área repulsiva - uma declaração de amor

A nossa casa / Our house

Este desenho mostra a nossa casa vista da horta, que fica mais abaixo. Vê-se apenas parcialmente, escondida pela vegetação, incluindo um grande lilás que começou há pouco tempo a florir.

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This sketch shows our house as seen from the vegetable garden, below. It is half hidden by the vegetation, including the big lilac that has just started blooming.

Motoenxada / Motor hoe

Os desenhos para a Troca de Esboços já estão todos prontos, mas o hábito de desenhar diariamente (ou quase) tem-se mantido. Este foi o desenho de ontem, e posso dizer que a nossa motoenxada é bastante mais complexa do que parece à primeira vista...

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The sketches for the Sketch Swap are done, but the habit remained and this was yesterday's sketch. Our motor hoe is way more intricate than it looks at first sight...

Este é o último desenho que fiz para a Troca de Esboços de que tenho vindo a falar nos últimos dias. Desta vez a minha filha mais nova quis vir comigo, trazendo o seu próprio caderno de desenhos e caixa de aguarelas. Como ela queria desenhar o mesmo que eu, procurámos juntas uma planta para servir de modelo. Depois de termos decidido que seria um gerânio (bico-de-pomba-menor), foi ela quem encontrou a planta perfeita, bonita e direitinha e à sombra de uma ginjeira, pois ao sol estava muito calor. Foi engraçado desenhar com ela e a verdade é que foi muito paciente, enquanto esperava que eu acabasse. Só perguntou uma vez "Porque é que tu demoras tanto?", depois de ter acabado o dela, feito mais dois desenhos e apanhado algumas cenouras, e pareceu-me mais curiosa do que aborrecida. Mas finalmente, eu lá acabei, e pudémos ir para casa lanchar, que já eram horas.

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This is the last sketch for the Sketch Swap and this time my 8 year old came with me, her own sketchbook and watercolour pad in hand. She wanted to sketch the same thing as I did, so we searched together for a plant to draw. After we settled for the Crane's-bill (also known as Dove's foot) Geranium, it was she who found the right one to draw - all nice and straight, under the shadow of a wild cherry tree, for it was hot under the sun. It was fun sketching in her company and she was really patient, waiting for me to finish. She only asked "Why do you take so long?" after she finished hers, made another two drawings and picked up some carrots, but more out of curiosity than boredom. And then I finally finished and we went home for it was time for a snack.

Desenhar no chuveiro / Sketching in the shower

Mais um desenho para a Troca de Esboços. E este não foi fácil... Desta vez fui mesmo para a horta, com o objectivo de desenhar a soagem, só que, quando lá cheguei... ela tinha desaparecido! Imagino que tenham sido os coelhos... De qualquer forma, estava outra vez uma tarde ventosa e pensei que seria agradável ir para dentro da estufa, onde estaria quentinho e abrigado. Lembrei-me logo que seria interessante desenhar as cenouras, a espreitar, cor de laranja, por entre os torrões de terra. A parte mais difícil, ao contrário do que seria de esperar, acabou por não ser o desenho da rama verde finamente recortada, mas sim os constantes chuveiros que me caíam em cima, cada vez que o vento abanava a cobertura da estufa e fazia caír as gotas aí acumuladas durante a noite devido à condensação... E porque eu estava a trabalhar com aguarelas, um simples pingo de água poderia arruinar o meu desenho, quanto mais um chuveiro. Foi preciso estar em constante modo de alerta, e inclinar-me para cima do papel, cada vez que pressentia nova rajada de vento - uma sessão de desenho atribulada, portanto!

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Another sketch for the Sketch Swap. I had a really hard time with this one... This time I did head to the vegetable garden to draw the Blueweeds, but... they were gone! I guess the rabbits ate them... Anyway, it was a bit windy again, so I thought it would be a good idea to go into the greenhouse, where it was nice and warm. I immediately thought about the carrots, for they look so "sketchable", with their orange tops showing above the soil and the lacy greenery heading upwards. The intricate pattern of the leaves wasn't the hardest part, though. The hard part were the constant water showers each time a wind gust made the greenhouse covering shake and pour all the water droplets accumulated there from overnight condensation... Because I worked with watercoulours, a shower could completely ruin my sketch, so I had to be in alert mode all the time and bend over my sketch each time a shower came - as you might guess, it was the most active sketching session!

Troca de Esboços - actualização / Sketch Swap Update

Este é o desenho de ontem para a Troca de Esboços do Tom Serrati. Foi mais uma tarde solarenga, mas com bastante vento, pelo que não se tornava tão confortável estar na rua. Saí em direcção ao vale, à procura de um sítio abrigado com alguma coisa interessante para desenhar. Ainda continuo com vontade de desenhar plantas, e queria ver se lá mais para baixo já haveria alguma esteva em flor, mas não tive sorte. Depois lembrei-me que tinha visto algumas soagens perto da horta e dirigi-me para lá. Mas, pelo caminho encontrei um maciço de eufórbias num canto cheio de sol e foi aí que fiquei. O resultado foi este.

Ainda me estou a debater com o tamanho diminuto dos postais. Os meus cadernos são normalmente tamanho A5, alguns maiores (embora prefira os A5, por serem mais fáceis de transportar para qualquer lado) e estes postais têm metade desse tamanho, o que me tem dificultado um pouco a vida. Para tornar as coisas mais complicadas, esqueci-me do lápis em casa, por isso tive que desenhar directamente com a caneta. Na verdade, isto é o que faço habitualmente no meu caderno, para me obrigar a ser mais espontânea (afinal, é para isso mesmo que servem os esboços e os cadernos). Mas como recebi exactamente cinco postais para enviar a outras tantas pessoas, e não consegui encontrar material semelhante aqui na cidade para substituir algum que inadvertidamente possa estragar , tinha pensado começar com o lápis. Não pôde ser assim, e ainda bem, porque acabei por desenhar como se no meu caderno fosse - alguns enganos aqui e ali, mas um resultado final não excessivamente trabalhado, que me agradou.

Agora já só faltam dois cartões. Assim que os terminar, mostro-os aqui.

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This is yesterday's sketch for Tom Serrati's Sketch Swap. It was another sunny afternoon, but quite windy, so being outside was not so comfortable. I left home and headed to the valley, in search of a sheltered spot with something nice to sketch. I'm still in a plant mood and I wanted to see if I could find some blooming Gum rockroses in a warmer place, but I had no luck. Then I remembered I had seen a few blooming Blueweed near my vegetable garden and headed that way, but before I reached it, I found a nice clump of Euphorbia in a sunny spot and that's what I ended up sketching. This is the result. 

I am still struggling with the small size of the postcards. My sketchbooks are usually A5 size (some even larger, although I prefer the smaller ones, for they are easier to carry around). These postcards are approximately half that size, so I'm having a bit of a hard time to adjust. To make things worse, I forgot to take a pencil with me, so I had to use the pen. That's what I usually do in my own sketchbook, actually, in order to force myself to be more spontaneous (that's what sketches are for, after all). But because I received exactly five postcards to send to five people and I can't find similar ones in my small town to replace them in case I ruin one of them, I wanted to take a pencil. Well, that didn't happen and in the end I was glad it didn't, because I was finally able to start sketching as if I was doing it on my sketchbook – a few mistakes here and there, but a satisfying result in the end.

Now there are only two more cards to go. I'll be posting them here as soon as I finish.

Sketching again

Graças ao EVERYDAYMATTERS, um grupo de artistas (desde completos novatos até profissionais), voltei a desenhar (quase) todos os dias no meu caderno.
Aderi a uma Troca de Esboços lançada pelo Tom Serrati, um dos membros do grupo e depois de ter recebido um belo conjunto de cinco Postais de Papel de Aguarela Daler-Rowney, fiquei mesmo com vontade de desenhar a sério. É que estes esboços serão enviados a outros membros do grupo, que também se inscreveram nesta troca, e que, por sua vez, me irão mandar desenhos seus. Não é mesmo uma bela ideia?
Até ao momento, fiz dois esboços: o primeiro é um conjunto de flores silvestres que começaram agora a desabrochar e o outro é uma vista do caminho que passa em frente a minha casa. Ainda não decidi a quem irei mandar qual, penso que vou primeiro terminá-los toos e depois fazer um sorteio.
Ah! Haverá coisa melhor do que ir para a rua desenhar, nestes primeiros dias quentes de Primavera?

Thanks to EVERYDAYMATTERS, a friendly community of artists (from total novices to professional ones), I'm sketching again (almost) every day on my journal.
I've also joined a Sketch Swap launched by Tom Serrati, one of the group's members and after getting a nice pack of five Daler-Rowney Watercolour Postcards, I really felt like doing some serious sketching. Yes, because these sketches will be sent to other members of the group, who in turn will send me theirs. Isn't this the coolest idea?
So far I've done two: the first one is a collection of wild flowers that have just started blooming and the other is a view from the path that runs past my house. I haven't yet decided who I will send them to, I guess I'll finish the whole collection first and then run a raffle.
Ah! it's so good to spend time outside sketching on these first warm spring days!

Ilustração científica e educação ambiental / Scientific illustration and environmental education

Amanhã estarei no 5º Encontro de Educação Ambiental organizado pela Escola Superior de Educação de Bragança, onde vou falar sobre ilustração científica e educação ambiental. Se estiverem por perto, apareçam por lá.

Just to let you know that tomorrow I'll be giving a talk about scientific illustration and environmental education in the 5th Meeting on Environmental Education organised by my town's Escola Superior de Educação.