Around the Neighborhood

Today I thought I'd just give you a glimpse of the things I see just about everyday. Gracie and I have been walking almost every day looking for things to capture!


Here it is REALLY difficult to capture a sunset or any skyline for that matter without either a satellite dish or power lines! So I was excited this particular one turned out well!


Did you know poinsettia's could grow into a pretty decent sized tree? I kid..I really have no idea what it is 'technically', but it looks like a poinsettia to me!


See what I mean about the power lines? If you look off in the distance, the tents you see are the traveling feira that comes to our neighborhood every Thursday! I really like going to see what all the vendors have set up. For the most part it is clothing, shoes, veggies, fruit, sweets...actually it has a lot. Just about any kind of thing you need for the kitchen, pots, pans, spices...Anyway you just have to be careful. It is a little walk way and all the considerate people of Ipatinga bring in bicycles, strollers, carts, etc. Better to go early and avoid the crowd...and the sticky fingers--if ya get what I'm sayin'. That later it gets, the stickier they are.


Just a beautiful red and yellow splash among all the colorless clay earth!

This is a sunset picture from my sister in law's kitchen window upstairs.


The moon is out just about every afternoon!


Looking down into the valley of our Bairro (the city is divided into different areas called bairros)


Same here..this afternoon was hot, you can tell by the "haziness" (or pollution, whichever way your glass is looking) The big strip of green you see is divided between the different blocks and is used on Saturdays by everyone to play soccer. I am always so impressed with how clean they are. In ipatinga the cleaning crews are out all day long picking up trash from houses and from the streets (though if people would just use a trashcan....anyway) and they do a really good job of keeping things clean..seriously. Because everyone litters here. It's really annoying. (not that they didn't back home, I just have more time to notice it now)


This is from our backyard looking up. We are surrounded by mountains and most likely when you look up, you always see this beautiful, rich, blue sky. And some days, the cows.


The moon rising


Different night, I believe this is what they refer to as 'blood around the moon' In any case, it looked really incredible live. The picture doesn't do it justice!


For now that's all I have. Not terribly exciting, but it is beautiful here in it's own right. I feel lucky to live in this particular area. We are not plagued with crime (like a lot of other bairros) and I feel safe. We live in an area where everyone has lived here forever and all the neighbors know each other. As far as I can tell, the same people (on our street) have been here 20 plus years! And for a city that's only 45 years old, that's pretty good!

It's a blogging miracle!

Of course after I published my post, and totally bad mouthed blogger and the Internet trying just one more time, everyone started cooperating and pictures started uploading...after WEEKS of not doing so!!

So expect a few good posts coming up soon! At the very least I'll try!

But first, my precious-es

All ten of them!




And Gracie, who has not 1, but 3 different beds now! Not to mention two soft sided carriers, a hard case carrier, a wire kennel, and her cute ceramic bowls with stand. And treats.



Who's spoiled?

Don't worry, I always try to convince myself I'm not one of THOSE dog owners. After opening boxes today...I so am.

I opened boxes!! It was so fun! It was like Christmas! Except Sidnei wasn't as excited as I was(he is glad to have his stuff, he was glad to see it after not having seen it for a year and a half...My guess is my attachment to my things(how terrible)is a little stronger than his)...talk about bah hum bug!..but who cares...I HAVE MY STUFF! Tomorrow we are going to try to organize all the boxes, take out what we need and pack everything again. Ugh. Let's hope we get a place of our own SOON! My kitchen aid mixer is in need of a home...and use! So many new shiny things just waiting to come to life!!..not like Brave Little Toaster Life...like banana cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies life... yummmmmmmmm

Oh Glorious Day!!!!!!!

Today is the day I have been waiting for since I have arrived here in Brasil!

This morning as I am laying in bed halfway in and out of slumber, a noise registers in my brain...a very large, loud, rumbling truck. (Which immediately puts my mind on high alert as it has been for several weeks now that I've been waiting...) The next thing I hear is the doorbell. I promptly jumped out of bed, threw my jacket on, and ran out the door.

In all it's glory was a shipping truck, two men that I was very excited to see, unloading my very heavy BOXES!

THEY ARE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was so excited!!

I am trying very hard to wait until Sidnei gets home from work tonight to open the boxes together never mind that I've already opened 3 .

I only have three more hours to wait.


I can't wait.




P.S. I have also been trying very hard to download pictures with this post. However, blogger and/or my Internet hates me. And refuses to download anything even after several thousand attempts.

P.P.S. But not that you care...because they are pictures of boxes. And you don't care about seeing boxes. But you might care about seeing how cute Gracie is in her bed that she was so excited to get back! She has been laying down in it alllll day!

P.P.S.S. One of the boxes that I couldn't wait to open had our Christmas ornaments in them...and them seem to have made it all in one piece! Amazing!! (Now I'm just waiting to find my dishes....)

P.P.P.S.S. I'm so excited!!

But I still hate my Internet connection.

Welcome to Ipatinga!!! (Purely FYI)

In Brazil, we are located in the southeast...see red states

Minas Gerais



This is a blown up Map of Minas Gerais, where we are located again, in the red. **Edited to add, you'll have to click on the picture to see the whole thing and the actual city Ipatinga highlighted in red**



So to answer the question I get asked most often...we are not close to the ocean. Though there is a very nice lake that we like to go to that I will blog about soon...

Also we are not close to Sao Paulo, Rio de Janiero, or the Amazon. (Please see map above) We are probably a good 8-9 hours in either direction from Sao Paulo or Rio. And I have no clue about the Amazon.

For quite some time, I have been meaning to introduce to you where I live. First here are the wiki stats:
Ipatinga is a city and municipality located in eastern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The city was founded in 1962 and covers a total area of 166.5 km² (or 64.29 sq.mi.). Its population is 240,338 (IBGE 2001). It is part of the Vale do Aço Metropolitan Area (population 430,700).

Ipatinga is located at the site where the Piracicaba River flows into the Doce River, 217 km. (or 135 miles) from the state capital of Belo Horizonte. It is served by highway and railroad connections (Minas-Vitória). There is also a medium sized airport, Usiminas Airport [1] in the area of the neighbor city Santana do Paraíso, that serves the Steel Valley and can receive small and medium sized planes, including jets like the Boeing 737 and the Fokker 100.

Elevation: 220 mts. (or 721 ft.)
Climate: Tropical sub-hot and sub-dry
Average annual temperature: 23º C (or 73.4ºF)



Here is a video put out by Ipatinga's Tourism Board. You can see Ipatinga from an Aerial perspective. (It is only slightly less interesting than those movies they made you watch in biology of microorganisms.)



I am in process of trying to upload pictures that I have taken from where I actually am, to give you a glimpse of the neighborhood. However, I don't know if it is blogger or my Internet connection that doesn't want to play. But I promise they will be up soon!

I know, I know

I've been a bad blogger. There is so much I need and WANT to tell you. I've just not had much motivation. And I've been reading a really good book.

But I've had a really bad day.

And I just wanted to beg for some sympathy say hello and see if anyone is listening.

Gracie got hit by a car this morning. It was so damn scary. I was washing dishes, my MIL and nephew went out to greet the milk truck (they bring fresh milk daily) and Gracie must have followed. I didn't realize. The next thing I knew, she was yelping and ran in the house. An awful, horrible, yelp that was ear piercing. I was so scared, I didn't know what was wrong. Everyone was talking in portguese, my poor dog was hurting....

She is doing alright now, thank goodness. It looks like she is just banged up. The car just hit her it didn't run over her. No broken bones, just abrasions, and very sore. She has been laying on the bed all day. She did drink and eat a little much to my relief.

And on top of everything else, my families drama has followed me here to Brazil. Do they call and say, hello, we are thinking of you. We've missed you so much. Is there anything you need? NOPE. No. They call me to talk about the other and complain. And Im sorry, it's not really my style to air family grievances, but it's been a long day. And I want to complain.

Now I'm watching my poor baby lay there and I'm thanking God that she wasn't more seriously hurt. And I'm taking a deep breath, counting blessings, trying to be more grateful, and hoping that bed time comes really soon tonight.

Best Friends

Gracie has made a new best friend!!

This is our nephew, Israel. Which is pronounced here as Is-hi-el...or at least thats how I pronounce it. And Sidnei hasn't corrected me (which he does frequently, so I must be saying it correctly...)!

Israel fell in love with Gracie the minute he saw her! He was never afraid of her! And Gracie loves him too...except when he pulls on her hair. She in turn chews on his hand.


This picture below is my FAVORITE. How could you not love that?? Gracie keeps a watchful eye on the traffic outside, with Israel by her side!

This is Gracie and Israel playing. No doubt Israel pulled on Gracies hair and Gracie is attacking his hands. A favorite game of hers...

Me and Israel! My new buddy! My favorite is when he has just woken from his nap and wants to be held. He puts his little head on my shoulder, wraps his fingers in my hair and plays with it. He still calls me (and everyone else) Mae (portuguese for Mom)...we're working on titia (pronounced ch-chia, or aunt)!

Dear Self,

I just have a teeny little question...

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??!??


Let's review the last couple of days shall we?

Sister in law's birthday...great time to discover that we should not make ANYTHING when I feel like I am under pressure. Made a two layer strawberry cake. The top layer? Still too warm when I took it out. The cake ended up looking like a volcano, that erupted and then crumbled everywhere. It was grotesque.

Enter 1 hour later. Stephanie decides to make a smoothie with the leftover strawberries. Except apparently doesn't realize that she hasn't attached the blender on correctly, turns it on, and proceeds to break the blender. Thankfully we just needed to replace the piece that turns the blades, but my mother-in-law uses that blender EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. More than once a day. So now she is without blender. That coupled with my strawberry cake and I feel like an idiot. Thank you family for all coming to witness this momentous occasion. What? You're here for your sister's birthday? Oh, yes. Right. Carry on.

Fast Forward to the next morning. Washing Dishes. Take them out to dry. A bowl falls over the other side of the wall. BROKEN. Really? Seriously? Another broken something? So I'm thinking bad things happen in three's right? Okay, maybe that was the last of my breaking things streak.



Don't worry, it's getting better.



I spot my nephew yesterday with an egg in his hand that I am about to cook with. Except I'm washing the pan that I need. But since I didn't want to clean an egg covered nephew I run to take the egg from him. I take it and proceed to let it slip through my slippy, soapy, fingers, right onto the floor. YAY me!

Fast forward to 30 minutes later when I am washing ALL the dishes. One of the cups is sitting on a Tupperware top. I pull it forward, the glass goes backwards, over the side of the counter and SHATTERS all over the tile floor.

I swear, I am not touching anything else in this house. NOTHING. I'm the bull in the china shop here. I do not know what is the problem. BUT PLEASE. PLEASE. STOP. You are making me look like a clumsy, clumsy, American girl, who can not successfully complete anything..that is without breaking things first. You and your domestic goddess have NOT found each other. But here you will need her. Please seek her out, as your Mother-in-law's house will not survive unless she is found.

Hoping for some grace...Lovingly,

ME