What a way to start the morning! What a way to start the morning! Before I got on the train the mosquitoes decided I would make a great breakfast buffet, along with everyone else standing around the platform. It is actually quite hilarious to watch several dozen people swatting around like mad simultaneously. At some point it began to look like a break dance party gone wrong. I don’t think any movie director could have directed the scene any better. Anyway, yesterday I experimented smearing one of essential oil mixes on my sandaled feet to see whether that would ward off any of these pesky invaders. Lo and behold, my motivation booster mix worked like a charm! Forget citronella! The mix of grapefruit, lemon, sweet orange and peppermint left my feet untouched. With that in mind, I repeated the procedure this morning, but smeared more oil on my hands, neck, rolled it on my sleeves and scarf. People thought I was quite mad for simply sitting on the bench without a care in the world, but I kid you not, the mosquitos left me in peace. I was painfully aware that my scent was a tad overpowering for whoever sat beside me on the train, but hey, at least it is a pleasant citrus aroma that engulfed them! And whatever stowaway mosquitos that borded the train left me alone as well.
It was a strange light for the first 10 minutes of the train ride, but that didn’t matter because I was busy on the phone, celebrating vicariously with a buddy in Manila who received wonderful news this morning! Much as I try to avoid texting during the morning train ride into Lisbon, today was the exception. There was just too much going on with the different chat groups, very good reasons to be grateful for family and friends in my life.
Once I put the phone down and switched on my music, I opted for the Barbara Streisand essential playlist. I have no idea what led me to Streisand, perhaps it was the photo of my daughter that I shot last week Caparica, but there is something timeless about the moment that only Streisand’s music could rise up to. As the various villages rolled by and the morning light slowly broke through the clouds, Barbara serenaded me and opened up a floodgate of memories. It was like being visited by an old friend who came bearing gifts of the good old days, especially when she belted out “Tell Him” and “Memory”. Oh my, sentimental on a Tuesday morning, and it isn’t even 09:00!
FrogDiva Thoughts 