Going Up?

We don't seem to be going to the sidewalk by the beach as often as we used to, so I have been walking the stairs in our apartment building for exercise lately. The stairs are right by our back door.

Yesterday morning when I came back and headed for the door, I saw a sudden movement that, of course, startled me. It wasn't a mouse, thank goodness, but it was a gecko/liazard/thing that was about 6 inches long. I let out a little yelp, my heart rate went back up, and I wondered how I was going to get past the thing to get back in the apartment. It had stopped right smack in front of the door and if I opened the door, I was afraid it would run in.

I went around the hall to the front door and rang the doorbell a number of times in rapid succession, as only a family member would do. I figured that even if Alan was in the shower or bathroom he would hear it and know it was me. I kept checking to see if the critter was still there and he was, so I kept ringing. When Alan got to the door I told him what was up. We just shut the door, went on with the morning and hoped the lizard would go away.

A little while later, Irene came to work. She usually just slips in quietly and goes right to work so sometimes we don't even know she is here. When we noticed her Alan told her about the lizard. She said she knew. It had run in the apartment when she went out the back to take out the garbage. She said, " It's right there." We looked to the corner she was pointing to and sure enough, there it was, all 6 inches of it.

We were both wondering why Irene didn't say anything to us or if she ever would have. Maybe it isn't a big deal, but we weren't that comfortable with the idea. While I was looking around for something to trap a lizard in, Alan opened the back door and headed in the direction of the lizard. I guess all those years of herding sheep paid off because that lizard headed right out the door and into the service elevator. I thought that was great, but I really wanted a little more assurance that I wouldn't see that lizard again soon. I ran down the two flights of stairs to the ground level so I could push the button and give Mr. Lizard a ride to somewhere besides the second floor. I really don't know if he was actually in the elevator or just clinging to the wall in the shaft somewhere. All I know is that I haven't seen him again and I have been watching very closely.

The elections are over!

It has been pretty quiet here since the elections are over. It was just local elections, but we thought they went all out. Here are some of the ways they try to get the attention of the voters.

This is the election wagon that Moroni had going around town for weeks. He had some pretty music coming from it, but the volume was usually tuned up to "blast". You could hear that thing way before it ever got to your block. There were usually 4 to 6 people in it waving banners. Moroni is a member of the church, in case his name had made you wonder. He was running for mayor of Fortaleza, but he didn't win, dang it.

Mozart was also on the ballot. From this picture, you can't really tell, but this isn't just a banner hung on a wall. Signs like these were painted all over the walls that surround peoples homes. Out in the country some of the houses along the road were actually painted like billboards for candidates. You would hope that the candidates came back and repainted them after the elections, but I guess we'll find out the next time we're out in the country.

One method we saw often was the plastering of walls with small posters. I think one big one would have been more Feng Shui but this did have a certain amount of impact.

Vehicles of every kind are used for advertising. Here is a buggy (pronounced boo-gee) with banners flapping in the wind and speakers blaring. He's out getting votes for somebody.

Why have just a bumper sticker when you can get huge stick-ons like this?

Or how about this?

Check out all the speakers behind the mesh. I think we were lucky this one was just parked. It would have been an ear drum buster for sure.

This may have been the granddaddy of them all though. I think that is a semi full of speakers!

One Sunday on our way home from church we saw this in our rear view mirror. Talk about Bigfoot being scary!

We decided to let him pass us.

We noticed this guy in the lane beside us one day. His Santa hat caught our eye. Then we noticed he had painted numbers and stuff on his car windows like the candidates had. We think he was just making fun of the whole political process and having a good time. It looks like the election process is as ridiculous here as it is at home.

Food Dreams

Last night I had a food dream. I dreamed I ate an entire cake by myself. It was an almond poppy seed bundt cake with the drizzled icing and it was so delicious I couldn't stop myself. I was supposed to bring it to a family picnic. When I got there people started asking about the cake and didn't have it. I was just trying to think of how to admit that I had eaten it when I woke up. Whew! I was relieved to realize: a) I hadn't eaten a whole cake by myself, and b) I didn't have to explain what happened to the cake.

I can't remember having a food dream before. I've had dreams about tornadoes and flying monkeys. That explains why I don't like "The Wizard of Oz." I've had dreams about not being fully dressed, being unprepared for classes, and about being able to fly. I don't know what all that means and probably don't want to.

It's possible that the food dream could have something to do with the fact that food is what my life is all about now. I am always thinking what to feed missionaries, buying food for dinners, e-mailing family for recipes, hoping my recipes and other stuff soon get here, looking up equivalents and definitions on the Internet , and shopping for hard to find ingredients. I did find powdered sugar this week that has the same consistency as the powdered sugar I am used to. I was excited about that. I still haven't found buttermilk, sour cream, maple flavoring, marshmallows, dill pickles, black olives, garlic salt and other things.

In my search I have come across some things that are new to me(lots of fruits I don't know), some things that have surprised me (sushi is everywhere), some things that seem weird to me ( the boxed milk), some things that make me hold my breath so I don't have to smell them(the slabs of sun dried meat stacked in the stores). But yesterday I think I found the most amazing thing I've seen so far...beet flavored rice in Sponge Bob packaging, and yes, it was purple. What I'm trying to understand is could there really be a bigger market for beet flavored rice than say...chocolate chips or tortilla chips or any of the other things I look for?

I'm not complaining. Actually the hunt for familiar food is sort of fun in a weird way. And now, since the dream I can add few other things to my list of stuff I am looking for...almond flavoring and poppy seed. Wish me luck!