3 Dec 17 was a Supermoon, aka a Hunters’ Moon and a Beaver Moon. Allegedly because under such moons hunters would set traps for beavers. This sound highly unlikely, as Supermoons are rare, but it is a nice story. More on Supermoons later.
MICRO-PORTUGUESE
De (pronounced day) means ‘of’ or ‘from’.
It combines with other words to make do, da, dos, das, which all mean ‘of the’ or ‘from the’, but don’t worry about those for micro-Portuguese.
De is extremely common in Portuguese, because Portuguese does not have an apostrophe (‘). English uses an ‘ as a shortcut all the time – John’s book, Maria’s baby, Bert’s café. Portuguese has no ‘, so it has to use the word ‘of’ very frequently – book of John, baby of Maria, café of Bert.
The layer on top of this is ‘from’. Where are you from? I’m from Portelas.
So you see ‘de’ meaning ‘of’ or ‘from’ is one of the most common words in Portuguese.
RECIPE OF THE DAY
Portuguese Christmas tree.
Take 2 pancakes (tortillas). Spread one with pesto, then sprinkle grated cheese on top. Plonk the other tortilla on top to seal the filling. Then cut out a tree shape, and a star or two. Discard the excess.
Next, slit the branches on either side, but leave the trunk intact. Then curl each branch to make it look festive. Brush the tree and star with egg, and bake it in the oven at 190°C for 10 to 12 minutes, until it is golden.
Decorate with a few cherry tomato halves for red, and a sprig or two of basil for the green.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
It was a Supermoon on 3 Dec 2017. That is a combination of a full moon, and the time at which the moon is closest to the Earth, so it looks larger than normal. It seems we will get another Supermoon in a month from now, and that is going to be it for decades. It will not return for years on end.
Here is my photo of the Supermoon rising near Portelas.
If you are unimpressed by this , so am I. The night sky here is wonderfully clear. What is your sign of the Zodiac? I am Aquarius, and I hope over the coming year to get a decent view of all of the constellations. My current camera skills are just not up to this challenge, so I need to find a way of doing better. In 2018, I want to bring you every sign of the Zodiac.
Shining In Luz 