Thursday, December 31, 2009
One Big Question
Monday, December 14, 2009
Merry Christmas, Do I Know You?
We do a little spiffing up in the living room and wait, wondering who it could be. The phone rings again. Alan answers, listens, hangs up and says, "I guess they want you to go down to get it." I like gifts so I said, "Sure, I'll go."
I head down. When I get out of the elevator, I look for a familiar face. I don't see one, but there is a smiling face and it is smiling right at me. A little lady starts speaking to me and hands me a package wrapped in Christmas paper. I try to ask her who she is and why she is giving me a gift and if she is sure I am the person for whom the gift is intended. I wonder if she is delivering it for someone else and is making a mistake. She keeps talking.
I understand some of what she is saying. I know Natal is Christmas. I know para voce means; for you. She wants me to open the package and read the card, which I notice is a "Congratulations on your marriage" card. On the inside of it she has written a Christmas greeting. The puzzled lines on my face deepen.
She asks me if I am Catholic. I answer , No. I am a member of A Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Ultimos Dias. That seems okay with her and she continues wishing me Feliz Natal. The gate man at the front of the building is also taking part in the conversation. He assures me that she means for me to take the gift. I like gifts, so I take it. I thank her and wish her a Merry Christmas too.
When I get back in the apartment I try to explain to Alan what just happened. We decide he should go down and talk to the man in front and try to clear things up a bit. In a few minutes he comes back about as confused as I was.
(Actually he is not a fan of covers for appliances. He says it's definitely an old lady thing.)
My personal favorite: The catholic charms and the St. Francis of Assisi, or possibly the Pope, key chain. We also got two apron/bibs for wine bottles and 3 nice dish towels, and a picture of the Helena, the gift giver.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Branching Out
There is a lot of cement involved and they do a lot of it one wheel barrow at a time.
This is the outside of the house/chapel itself. Elder Monteiro is one of the missionaries serving there. He goes home next week, so I wanted to get his picture. Every one of the missionaries serving there helped with the work on the building this week.
I don't think the chapel would have been ready without them working their tails off. They even got some cuts and blisters to show for it.
They rented a keyboard to use until we are able to get one. The only thing it was lacking was a stand for the book, but Elder Hirata filled in nicely. Elder Peterson plays very well and I didn't hear him miss a note, even if the book wasn't perfectly steady.
A group shot of the 6 missionaries, the branch president and wife, the district president and wife, Elder's Quorum president and some cute kids. There were 57 people there counting us. Too bad I didn't get a picture of everybody. Not bad for a little group that started out with about 6 people. Hopefully it will mature and grow and be strong. With a lot of faith and work, I'm sure it will come to pass.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
3D F.H.E.
We went with a family that is very good to us, the Cabrals. We had been to their house for dinner on Sunday. They had their Christmas tree up and decorated. I added "and decorated" since there have been some years when I got the tree up, but it took me a few weeks, okay, one year it took me until Christmas Eve, to actually get it decorated. ( It's always those dang lights that cause me grief! )
It took close to an hour to get to the theater. It's not so far away, but it was a really busy time of night and the traffic was crazy. I was afraid the traffic, especially the crazy motorcyclists and the road-hoggin buses, would cause a deep dip in the Christmas spirit we were in, but we passed a couple of our Elders on the street as we were going, and that brightened the mood again. We honked and waved, and a few minutes later they called us to see what we were doing in their neck of the 'hoods. I sort of felt bad telling them we were going to a movie, but I didn't want to lie, and besides that, we have a different rule book than they do.
The movie was really fun. It was the first time either of us had seen a movie in 3D and we were both pretty impressed. The movie has a lot of "flying through the air" scenes and "chase" scenes and "things jumping out at you" scenes, which were really great in 3D. The 3D falling snow was pretty fun too. I will caution you that it is dark and scary in a lot of the movie and I would not take little kids. I also watched it in Portuguese and didn't understand a lot of it so I don't know about language either, but I doubt they would take too many liberties with this classic Dicken's story. It was a good thing I was familiar with the story or I'm pretty sure I would have been lost. Andrea Bocelli sang a beautiful Christmas song during the credits at the end and it made it worth just sitting there for that part too, even though there wasn't any 3D action going on then. At least I don't think there was. Maybe I took my glasses off and missed it, I don't know.
Rotten Tomatoes only rated it 57% fresh, but I think I would give it a "thumbs up." But of course, I'm in Brazil and everything gets a "thumbs up" here.
It is probably a little early to say Merry Christmas, but Happy Thanksgiving and "God bless us, every one!"
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Fact or Fiction: The Man behind the Mystery
RUMOR: His bare feet have never touched the floor or ground. (See above picture.)
Only partially TRUE. They have never touched the floor or ground since we have lived here and never never in any hotel we've ever stayed in, even if we happen to stay in a really nice one.
RUMOR: He loves surprise parties.
FALSE: He threatens me every single year. And not to burst his bubble, but I don't even consider it anymore; haven't for years.
RUMOR: He can play the William Tell Overture.
TRUE: He plays it using his teeth and a pencil. He can play other tunes too, but the Overture is the most impressive.
RUMOR: He hates kids.
FALSE, even though he did actually say that he hated kids just last week. BUT, there was a really noisy one that needed a diaper change, for quite some time, in the seat directly behind ours when we were on a plane last week. I excused his comment because of our situation. I know he really loves kids and is already planning some "Grandpa projects."
RUMOR: He loves watermelon.
TRUE, absolutely true, and on almost any given day, we have the rinds to prove it.
RUMOR: He loves Christmas and the Blackfoot Fair.
TRUE, and I think the love for the two are about equal.
RUMOR: He doesn't enjoy talking on the phone.
FALSE, He is on the phone all the time and if it is a sheep friend he is talking too, definitely don't wait dinner.
RUMOR: He loves going to movies.
FALSE: It's a rare occasion that we go to a movie, but if he does happen on to one he likes, he will buy it on DVD and memorize it (at least his favorite parts). Cases in point: Cinderella Man, Rudy, Hoosiers, Sea Buscuit and more that I can't think of right now.
RUMOR: His favorite song is "Moon River".
NOT QUITE SURE: It was his favorite for years, but might be getting the bump by "The Dance." Yes, the Garth Brooks one. (I realize our kids are going to wish I hadn't mentioned that. For some reason they find that embarrassing.) Maybe it is embarrassing, but it's a little endearing too.
RUMOR: He is going to hate this post.
PROBABLY TRUE: But he banned the surprise parties, so what else was I supposed to do?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Beggin' for Bags
If anybody has luggage they are thinking of tossing, please toss it our way. We are trying to round up some luggage to give missionaries leaving from the stakes in Fortaleza. Good luggage is expensive here, and it is hard for them to afford it. If anybody has luggage you no longer use or want, we could put it to good use.
If you don't have any you are getting rid of, please keep your eyes open if you go to DI or garage sales or other second-hand places. All we need is sturdy luggage that has some good use left in it. It doesn't have to be up-to-date or fancy or anything other than functional. When parents come from the U. S. to pick up their missionaries they can bring the suitcases down to us. The bonus is that we can have our kids (Rebecca, being the project manager) fill them with stuff we want. Did I say want? I meant need. That way you can accomplish two acts of charity with one suitcase.
Two elders have parents coming the first of December and Mom and Ellen are coming at Christmas, so we already have some carriers lined up. Post a comment or let one of our kids know and we will be glad to take your old luggage off your hands.
Thanks for your support!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
I'd Love to See the Temple
Right now the members here travel to Recife to go to the temple. They hire buses and people go for about a week at a time. I have heard people say how grateful they are that they are only 12 hours away from a temple. (How spoiled did that make me feel?) On a really good day, you know one without any sheep or cows on the road, I'll bet I could have been to the Idaho Falls Temple in 12 minutes!
Anyway, it's exciting news and we just wanted to share it. The work is moving forward!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Killing Us Softly With His Song
Well, our latest sound drift has been a saxophone. Ever since this started, we have been trying to figure out just where the
As best we can tell, he is working on the melodic scale and the first two lines of "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess. (It's never been a real favorite anyway, and the addition of squeaks and flat notes don't help a bit.) Who would have ever imagined that "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" was not the most annoying song in the world for beginning musicians?
Last night the
Who knows? Maybe there is a budding Clarence Clemons right here in our neighborhood; or maybe we are going to have to start using the AC.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Hoe to the End of the Row
The title might make you think I am missing our garden and I am. Not that I really miss hoeing, but I do miss the great tasting veggies that are usually abundant this time of year. BUT that is not what this post is about.
It's about two of our missionaries that will be heading home in two days. They have been excellent missionaries: hard workers, obedient, got along with their companions, not obsessed with leadership positions, fun and friendly. The list could go on and on.
Tonight we attended a baptismal service for 2 families they have been working with the past little while. One couple has 4 children. The other family is a young couple without children. It was a very happy event. I was not only thrilled for the families, but proud of those two missionaries for working hard right up to the end of their missions. They knew how to hoe to the end of the row. If anybody out there is raising a prospective missionary, and I hope there are many that are, do him/her a favor and teach them that many times, the best harvests are at the end of the row, after you are already tired and tempted to quit. I hope I remember this myself.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Shopped 'til We Dropped
Just for the record, they weren't all for us. Some were gifts and some were "orders" Rebecca had taken. Really, that is the truth.
We had made plans to go shopping with Claudia, the lady sitting by her son, Jared. When we got to her place to pick her up, we found out 2 more sisters and Jared had joined the party. We did some crazy driving out to a nearby town, Maraponga, where they have a fashion market. Because of the lack of sleeves or backs in blouses, and an abundance of plunging necklines we didn't buy much, but it was fun anyway. Claudia is a crazy shopper, always excited for a sign that says LIQIDACAO or PROMOCAO.
And our favorites were the "man"niquins, as Rebecca called them, that we saw. They were so broad and the heads looked way too small for the bodies. The store wasn't for cross-dressers or even for plus sizes that we could tell. They just liked big mannequins. We saw quite few in other stores too.
The day before Becca left, she made me go to one more store and try to find the brown blouse I needed to go with this cute skirt she brought for me. I really liked the skirt and didn't want to send it back with her, so I was glad she didn't let me give up. I finally found one that had a back, some sleeves, and no plunging neckline and it was even on PROMOCAO!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Alan's newest YouTube fave
Monday, June 29, 2009
Poor Little Fella
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Mo' MoTab Please
I have liked gospel choir music ever since I was introduced to it in school choir at good ol' WJ. Back in the day, I think we could safely call the songs Negro spirituals. (I'm pretty sure that doesn't fly anymore.) Mr. Hansen must have liked "spirituals" too, because I think we performed at least one every year at the "Spring Concert." We really rocked the place with "Rocka My Soul."
I like American Folk music even more and Mack Wilberg is a genius at arranging, I think. The instrumental parts by the Orchestra at Temple Square really make some of the songs.
At first I thought there were a few outstanding favorites, but the more I listen to it, the more I like almost every song. There are a couple that have soloists that I am still getting used to. I like the singing of the male soloist quite well, but the shrieky soprano....well, let's just say I'm glad her parts aren't very long.
It is not enough of a problem not to buy the CD though. There is always the forward button and if you have to use it you are sure to find a great song just ahead.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!
From the tags and stamps on the package I think it got held up in some sort of inspection. It looks like it arrived in Brazil on the 17th of April, so it arrived in the country in the usual time of about a month but the inspection held it up. I don't get this inspection stuff, because I know not every package gets inspected. But what's done is done and I am just glad it arrived.
Thank you ,Lucy, for the Easter things. I am excited to use them next year. Thank you, Grace. for the apron. Now I have an apron just like all the other hen and chicks. It was worth the wait!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
It's War!
Lately I've been losing the battle against mildew during this rainy season. This pair of shoes is the latest victim. The light parts on these shoes are actually black. They are just covered with powdery light bluish /whitish mildew and yes, they stink.
Every few days when I walk in our closet I sniff out something else that reeks. Having never dealt with high humidity and mold before, I was caught unaware, but I'm fighting it now. I've been inspecting everything in the closet, even giving things the "sniff test." Gag!
The mofo, Portuguese for mildew, seems to strike rather randomly. An unaffected piece of clothing will be hanging right between two smelly ones. Shoes and leather belts are favorite targets for the mildew too.
I've washed clothes and taken clothes to the cleaner. I've tried fans, used lots of laundry soap and perfumed softener, and put things out in the sun (if it stays out long enough.)
Today Alan came home with some humidity absorbing packets, and I brought out the biggest gun I could think of....bleach. I'm wiping down every surface I possibly can. I only got through half the closet before I gave out today. There are a lot of shelves in there and when you do tops and bottoms and all the sides of drawers you can work up a sweat pretty fast.
But I will get back to it tomorrow. I have declared war and I plan to win.
P. S. If anybody has dealt with this enemy before and has any suggestions, I will gladly hear them. I need all the help I can get.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
I Am My Mother's Daughter, I Hope
I'm glad she taught me to try to make the most of a bad situation and to be thrifty, and I hope I am like my mom in more ways than trying to salvage near misses in the kitchen. She is a great mom and grandma and just what I want to be when I grow up. Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
While we are on the subject, I got a cute email I thought I would share parts of. These are questions about Moms that were answered by second graders. They made me smile. I hope you like them too.
Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.
What ingredients are mothers made of ?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.
What kind of little girl/boy was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.
What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair.. I'd diet, maybe blue.
If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Is it Just Me?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Okay, okay, I'll post something
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Is There a Nurse in the House?
At first I felt totally lost when the missionaries would call. I really didn't know much about health and medicine to begin with and I really didn't know the Portuguese names for such things. But then the first mission secretary put together a sweet little binder for me with answers to common problems that he got from the web md website. He thought he was so funny when he titled it, "How to Save a Missionary's Life." A few weeks later I got a really good information packet from the Church doctors in Sao Paulo that had even more info and the names of things in Portuguese. I use it all the time.
Now we have two doctors, instead of just one, that work out of Sao Paulo and help with health problems in all the missions in Brazil. One of them even speaks Portuguese and will call the Brazilian elders if I need him too. They are great. Their reports back to me even supply us with quite a bit of confusion and a little humor.
We have received quite a few reports addressed to our mission, but about missionaries that are serving in some other mission. Or we get reports with one of our missionary's names on it with a diagnosis for a problem he doesn't have. Last week I had to call one of our missionaries to see if he really had cut his finger and had stitches and needed pain medication. I hadn't heard a word about it before the email report came and I figured it was for an elder in another mission with the same last name. But the fact that the elder's first, middle, and last name were exactly the same as our elder's, I decided I'd better check. Our elder was fine. He hadn't been cut, or had stitches or need pain medication and didn't have a clue how his name got mixed up in it. I don't know what happened either. I didn't want to call the doctor and embarrass him.
We got one today that was ours though. All the information on it was even right. It was the "doctor talk" that made us laugh. Poor Elder X.....He has a small bean shaped lesion on the upper portion of his leg near the buttock...... We must be easily entertained or just a little sick, but the word buttock, gets us everytime.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Street Shopping: A Thing of the Past
I have bought things from street vendors 4 times and been disappointed every time. I don't like getting "taken." I have learned my lesson. I'm officially through buying things in the street....unless something really good comes by.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Been there, Done that
1. Started your own blog (Becca had to help me)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (only a rhythm band and I got the sticks instead of the tambourine and I'm still a little bitter about it)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (Maybe just more than I thought we could afford)
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain(if Table Rock counts and I think it should if Lucy is counting the Rexburg butte)
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (No, but considered putting some up for adoption, back in the day.)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Been to the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
20. Slept on a train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.....back in high school. (Yes, but only once. Haaaaaa)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (see Lucy's blog for details)
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language(Working on it)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Cooked over a open fire
47. Had your portrait painted....sketched actually
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (We were too cheap)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China (truly amazing, I thought)
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (No, but have eaten more than my share.)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Tied a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a Bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (only from an airplane, but it was a clear day)
80. Published a book(I'm not sure Parties from Scratch counts)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club (and vowed never to do it again at least twice.)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy
101. Fed chickens (I think Lucy added this one.)
102. Attended a sheep show (my addition)
I tag Myrna and Mardi and Merlene and Nancy ( I went with 4 because I don't know if Merlene and Nancy are still on the planet. It has been a while since they posted and the world wants to hear from them.)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Patience is a Virtue
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Freaking Dang it!
But today I'm using it and I am not laughing because I have been waiting on the telephone for over an hour. It might be an hour and a half by now. I just had a simple question for someone about why Norton Internet Protection keeps sending me pop up things that say my subscription protection has expired and it doesn't expire until June 2009.
I really hate being on hold. This has gone on so long I feel like they put me on "mold." The "music" they have for you to enjoy while you pass the time is really getting on my nerves. It just isn't that enjoyable. The really sad part is that I decided to do the dishes and a few other things while waiting so I pushed the speakerphone button so I could hear it as I was working. I didn't want to miss it when the agent came on the line. Now I can't get the darn thing off speakerphone and the music is starting to bug Alan too.
So why don't I just hang up? Everytime I think I can't stand it anymore and I am going to hang up, a voice interupts the music to say, "We appreciate your patience. Please don't hang up. If you hang up now, it will increase your wait time as all calls are answered in the order they were placed."
Yes, I have it memorized, word for word.
I don't want to start over with this thing. I had already spoken to an agent in India who asked me all the initial questions before giving me this customer service number. Even though I had to ask her to repeat a lot of things I tried to be patient and nice because I understand a little about trying to be understood while speaking a different language and how frustrating it is when people don't really even try to understand.
Well, my patience is exhausted. The music track is cycling again and I just heard a really horrible instrumental rendition of "A Time for Us" for at least the 3rd time. I am through waiting. If a virus gets me, it gets me. I just can't take it anymore, freaking dang it!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Party is Over...Way Over
The tables were turned this year. We were opening all the gifts......
We had to stay out of the sun for a day or so after all day at the beach. Let's just say most of us got a little pink. So we played games, mostly a variation of Clue that Lee and Kim brought.
It probably doesn't look all that exciting to anyone else, but we had a really great time. I'm pretty sure it will be a Christmas we will all remember.