Real

I'm here in Villa Nova de Milfontes in Portugal. There is not a KFC, McPukes, Burger King or Waffle House in sight. Lovely little independent stores, coffee shops, bars, and wonderful restaurants that serve real food. No frozen french fries, processed non food and the food is all served on real plates by real servers that treat you right and clean up after you. Isn't that why you eat out? It is so you can get a break from doing it all. We went to the market today and being in civilization means you can have a nice chicken/pork sandwich and a beer. We went to the Atlantic Ocean for a long walk at the sea and to a bar for a beer overlooking the crashing waves. I have another couple of months of this suffering for the sake of Art. I couldn't sleep last night laying awake thinking about my class getting here from across the Atlantic. My bedroom wall is a complete sheet of sliding glass doors. I watched what seemed to be thousands of stars. I finally drifted off thinking how grateful I am for this life and this amazing place I have landed in. David made supper again tonight and I must say he is a superb cook. Trained as a pastry chef he has a way with materials in the kitchen and the studio hence the fitting name of his studio/school Claykitchenportugal. A week tomorrow my group of keener potters will be arriving to have me mess with their collective minds. Yesterday David, Nat a sha and moi picked 40 kilos of oranges. David insisted I make 36 test pots this morning before he would squeeze me some orange juice in his Hamilton Beach orange squeezer. The squeezer is made from my hood of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Eat real, be real, stay real. T