Laundry, Scouting 101, and Big Changes Coming
How will you step out of your comfort zone in 2026?
As I write from the kitchen-slash-mini-office of my apartment in Portugal, the sun is shining, so laundry is hanging on the balcony drying rack. Delivery trucks rumble down the cobbled streets like they’re auditioning for a Fast & Furious sequel. It’s been a week of national strikes that have halted education, airports, hospitals, police services, and fire crews. Add to that some notable winds and rain, and the simple task of clothes drying becomes more indulgent than Christmas peppermint fudge.
With no insulation in Portuguese housing (which is normal here), my apartment is often colder inside than it is outside. So today, the doors are open, coaxing air to circulate in a proactive attempt to keep mildew at bay. So far, so good.
As an immigrant, it’s been another year of change, adjustment, and growth. I moved to a new town. There have been health challenges and the all-too-familiar Portugal immigration process (which never really ends). Currently, I’m on what we call “immigration lockdown,” which is a nice way of saying I can’t leave the country. Add the minor detail that I mailed off my passport for renewal last week, and I’m on double-trouble lockdown.
This year has brought explosive growth for Go Silver Oyster, which I’m really digging, allowing me to contribute to food and lifestyle publications and, thanks to you, grow a committed audience. Looking ahead, I will focus on writing more for me, including an announcement below.
A well-lived life happens in chapters, which brings us to 2026. A shiny new blank page. What are some of your travel goals for the new year — or your life goals, for that matter?
Stepping out of your comfort zone
Is this the year you take your first solo trip? I can’t recommend solo travel enough. It opens parts of your soul that may have lain dormant for years, like that treadmill in the garage. It challenges you to think for yourself without a helpful partner or a gaggle of girlfriends. It can be quiet, really quiet. And my favorite part: it’s a time to reconnect with yourself, your Maker, and — frankly — decide what, where, and when you want to do anything. Or nothing.
Is this the year you stare down fears and doubts and check off that Life List destination?
Will 2026 find you exploring your own backyard — road trips, tiny villages, off-the-beaten-path discoveries, and pushing your comfort zone? I´d love to hear about your travel plans.
Or will next year find you planning a scouting trip to a country of interest? Straight from the horse’s mouth, I can attest that moving abroad is the equivalent of blowing the doors (and walls) off your life. It’s jaw-droppingly beautiful and terrifying. It will show you just how courageous you are and expand your life so much that you may ask yourself, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”
What’s on the horizon?
Speaking of scouting trips, a new Scouting 101 guide is in the works. Utilizing boots-on-the-ground experience from many immigrants, this must-have guide will help you move abroad or relocate within your native country. Scouting 101 will provide the right suggestions you wouldn´t know unless you’ve walked this path, ensuring you have a positive (and clarifying) scouting trip for your future home. With over 5.5 million Americans living abroad, I figure it´s about time someone lends a helping hand to future wide-eyed immigrants, or to someone you may know who is moving from, say, California to Alabama.
Okay… I’m letting the cat out of the bag. (She’s been clawing at it for months anyway.) In 2026, I will be writing my first book. Countless people have encouraged me to put pen to paper and share my stories. It’s a step of faith — I have no clue how to do this. But isn’t that where the good stuff is? I´m all ears for any information on book writing, editing, or publishing.
There are a few more big changes coming in 2026, but you´ll just have to patiently wait.
What are your dreams and aspirations for 2026? As an American, I can’t quite shake the goal-setting exercise — followed by a systematic action plan — that gets pounded into our entrepreneurial brains. I encourage you to take a few days to decide where you want to invest your time in 2026. Write it down. Then look for ways to make it happen. It´s amazing how the universe, God, a higher power responds when we open our mental doors and speak what we want. (Sometimes I have to take my own advice.)
In closing, I express my deepest gratitude to each of you who read, subscribe to, and share this site with your sphere of influence. Thank you for your positive encouragement to keep writing. Some days, that encouragement is what gets me back to the keyboard when life comes at me like a happy, drooling, out-of-control Golden Retriever. Your stories, friendship, comments, and love are felt — even across the pond.
As the final post for 2026, I wish you a blessed and joyful holiday season. Together, let’s look forward to new chapters, embrace the unknown, and celebrate life uninhibited.
Sandi