Brotherly Love

Nutty

Positively Grinchy

We got quite a bit of snow in the last 3 days! Most of my life a White Christmas was something that only happened on TV, well or the movies but you got my drift (bad pun, bad pun), and even after I moved here it was not that often that we got snow on the days before or around Christmas. Today there is no doubt we will have a very White Christmas by Wednesday.

It would be nice to have some of that Christmas spirit to go with it but I am afraid mine is still looking for me like a lost child in a Mall somewhere south of here.

We don’t go crazy with decorations around the house but He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed always makes sure we have a good size tree, one that takes advantage of our cathedral ceilings. Every year goes more or less the same way, does not matter if we go cut our own or just to a place to pick already cut ones: He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed says” Go choose which you want”, so I look around and choose a nice, not too fat, not to tall one, and he looks at it and says” You don’t want that one, is too small!” so we look some more and grab a big tree, maybe nothing to make the one at Rockefeller Center feel bad but still a sizable tree.

Instead of a nice Christmas spirit I found myself hostage to a nasty cold, one that includes a tiresome dry cough and a nose that could put Niagara Falls to shame. Last night no one got much sleep. He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed sleeps lightly and often will ask me if I called him, honestly, I was just moaning but even the dogs got restless with my tossing and turning, coughing and moaning routine.

I have a small, errr make it medium size Nutcracker army and a growing one of snowmen. This year the snowmen are on our mantle and the nutty men on our shallow shelves at the kitchen eating area. I keep looking at them and hoping the spirit will catch me but so far it did not happen. But I still have hope I will not be feeling so Grinchy in a couple of days!

Winter Wonderland

If you have a nice fireplace and the remote why bother with outside?

Curious George

This little fella is the newest addition to my small army of snowman. He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed got him last saturday, usually I don't name the snowmen, but somehow George needed a name, so we decided to use the store owner's name, he is a nice guy just like George here!

I do realize George is not a popular name now, but alas I never gone political on this blog and I am not about to start now, anyways this guy here does not look like Obama!

Honestly when we first thought about choosing George, the name being a result of where he was bought and the other reference to the children's book about a monkey were the only things that came to my mind. Later I thought about the headmaster from my high school years, but there is not even a dash of resemblance there and he was a Georges with an s at the end.

So cheers to this jolly fella, may he be happy amongst his chubby friends.

Blog Abandonment ends here

I needed time away to be able to lick my wounds in privacy. Sharing sometimes helps on the healing process and yet I was not ready for that. I can do with the forgiving but the forgetting will take a whole lot more time. That said I also discovered that now there is something called slow blogging, much the same way as slow food goes, meaning it is not because we are a bit too lazy to write something funny or witty, it is because we are adhering to a whole new trend. We take weeks to come up with something and we still get to look cool? How fun is that?

Plenty.

Since I have no desire to get all proustian and go in search of the time lost I decided to concentrate my attention on an American right: The pursue of Gorgeousness, well I know it was supposed to be Happiness but alas I will just trust that the second will come (even if temporary) right along when the first is acquired.

 Did you guess I have a party next weekend? Yes, sir, I sure do.

Thanks to my Special K friend now I even have a dress for said party, I must say it took a serious amount of looking to find something that fit reasonably well for an agreeable price. Special K being such a fantastic friend she even got me the shoes to go with the dress. Let me tell you how I love thee shoes. They are the prettiest, sexiest shoes I had in a long time. I did have a pair, bought for my school reunion that was pretty sweet, pointy little ones in very light grey suede. Now they live somewhere in Minnesota and hopefully they are making a niece happy. Actually the dress bought for that reunion is now in Rio and might make another niece happy at some party.

I am very thankful this week to be off Turkey duty, again was Special K doing, since she invited us to her house for Thanksgiving, her husband is the one with turkey on his hands, but I already had proof that he is a very good chef so I expect nothing less than a wonderful moist bird. All I need to make is a pumpkin pie and some lumpy cranberry sauce (special K is very particular about all things lumpy, she cannot stand them but He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed is also very particular about avoiding food stuff from cans so I will bring the one he likes and she will get her unlumpy one from a can). All in all everybody should be happy and of course thankful.

I cannot forget my very first Thanksgiving in this country, sure because we don’t have such a holiday where I come from or in any other countries where I lived so far. Suffice to say the experience can be called Turkey Spa Day, and involved a frozen turkey by Thanksgiving morning, a whole day turning the bird around in the bathtub in order to make it defrost in record time. Never done one before I did not realize I needed to get a fresh bird or get the frozen one earlier and let it thaw. It was close to midnight by the time the bird was roasted and we could sit for our very late Thanksgiving dinner. I think I even have pictures of it somewhere.

Looking back I do think I have many reasons to celebrate a couple of weeks back and even more reasons to be thankful today.

just sad

I am beyond upset. I am feeling stupid and somehow redundant. I never thought life is perfect but I truly believe mine was not that bad.

I had always refrain from writing anything here when I was not feeling good, well sometimes I would post something about a bad cold, or a not so good day but mostly I filter my emotions and try to keep my blog light.

Today I feel quite different about it.

I am hurt and for once I don’t know how to deal with it. It crossed my mind calling one of my dear best friends and ask for their help. Ask them to make me feel better. I do know they both are capable of cheering me up but somehow if I do call them I would have to say stuff that right now I am not comfortable to say. Because it would mean I have to admit being wrong, or worse than that to admit I do not have what I thought I did.

I wish I could do what he does, just ignore it, just pretend nothing happened. Just pretend it does not change anything.

Unfortunately he does not believe in saying “I am sorry”, he probably does not even think he needs to say it.

If you take someone for granted it stops you from making the effort to be nice.  It also stops you for saying “I am sorry” when you are not nice.

I always have been big about celebrating special occasions. Next Monday it will be 8 years since I move here.

Now I found myself wondering if there is anything to celebrate about it?

Playdate

The day has been cloudy and not ideal for pictures but I could not resist!

Bring me da color

I never sing in the shower, and for that everybody that lives in this house should be considered lucky. I do blog inside my head while I am in the shower and today I got myself thinking about the pictures I took while on the road last weekend, and realizing that those gorgeous burning bushes are like prudish New England Victorian girls, blushing in anticipation of their nakedness.

Fall here is such an amazing season, not only because the colors are fantastic but after they are gone the season still appeals to the senses and the lightest breeze can cause a symphony of running leaves. It can get quite loud, like little marathon runners, they roll down the asphalt crackling happily wherever the wind takes them.

We did got the first serious frost yesterday morning, and I was sad to see the last of the poppies lose their delicate heads and yet surprised that my daisies  are valiant braving the low temperatures and still doing their very late bloom. I am considering taking a few inside and a have a small vase on my desk. Postponing the grey days of winter is not an easy battle.

The Future of Scotland

Far and Away

I warn you there will be a bit of an overload of photos here. If you are not in the mood for it go and find yourself a blog about politics, I will not be writing about it here.

Yesterday we had such a lovely time, driving around the picture perfect roads on a gorgeous fall day. On the agenda was the inauguration of the Kent Firehouse, a project we have reason to be very proud of, well mostly He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed has reasons to be proud since I was not that involved with the design itself. But alas I think he is in a good mood so I will indulge myself to a bit of the glory.

Kent is one of my favorite places in this neck of the woods, and not just because of the chocolate store (although I confess it does help the town to be on the top 5, what can I say I do love chocolate). The whole town is rather charming, both new and old places are full of character and often make my camera finger “trigger happy”.

The ceremony was short and sweet, first the parade from the old firehouse to the new building, I am quite sure I don’t have a drop of Scottish blood but I truly love to watch those bag pipers play. Mmmm’kay so I have a soft spot for men in uniforms, can you blame me, especially when it includes men in skirts?

The Governor was there and did a good job, maybe it was because it was such a gorgeous day, no one wanted to waste it so all the speeches were short and soon they were cutting the ribbon and letting people inside to tour the new building.

We went to lunch with the owner of the construction company, he was there with his wife and they just came back from 2 weeks in Italy so we had a great time talking about travels and also dogs.

Off we went to Danbury, was not very difficult to convince He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed to go search for the new Brazilian bakery but although we did buy the bread we were a bit disappointed to see the Brazilian grocery store now is reduced to two shelves. I was dreaming to get some Brazilian candy but now is seems they cannot import it anymore.

We detour to Southbury to make an inspection on a small job and decide to drive home by the lovely back roads, sometimes He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed has some inspired ideas like that!

The best day of Fall so far.

Litchfield Hills back roads

A Tale of Two Pleasures

First

I do miss my family in Rio, I truly wish we could go there every year for at least two weeks, mmm’kay make it twice a year for at least two weeks. (no mom not more than that cause I also miss my dogs and they usually are miserable at the kennel). Happy now?

Apart from people the things I miss are the silly ones, dishes we cannot find here, mostly because the ingredients are so foreign they don’t even have a name in English for them. 

Above all things I miss bread. Sure there is bread here. Even very good bread. But, and we all knew there was a but coming; somehow it is almost impossible to find Brazilian bread. The kind we eat in Brasil for breakfast, the kind we call “French” there although it has no real resemblance to a baguette. They are made fresh at least twice a day on every bakery.

 True I did not use to eat them that often for breakfast after I grown up, simply cause that would be a no-no in any diet. Every time I go visit my mom I do enjoy it every single morning, knowing too well it will not last forever.

Today I ate Brazilian bread. It would be accurate to call it “American-Brazilian bread” since it was made here, but it had all the goodness from a true Brazilian bread. Thanks to my Brazilian friends, the ones that used to be our neighbors, the “almost impossible” became possible.

There is a town, I would say an hour from here, that has a huge Brazilian population and because of that they have a store that sells stuff from Brazil and even a bakery, now actually it seems there is yet another bakery to cater to the Brazilian need of true bread. Unfortunately we never drive even close to there. We have projects all over but not in that direction and it always seem too much to go there just for my cravings.

Last night our friend came by with a bag with half a dozen breads. I am in heaven. I have to confess it was hard not to have a second bread this morning, only the idea of making it last longer, of having one of those breads every morning this week made me stop.

Second

I never cease to marvel at He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed abilities.

Yesterday I climbed the stairs from the basement dreading to tell He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed that our dryer was dead. I just kept repeating inside my head “don’t kill the messenger”. It was not totally dead, as it still produces heat but the drum would not move.

Brazilian way to any dead appliances is “call a guy”. My people is not into DIY, maybe because there is always a “guy”, because labor in Brazil is not expensive like here, and even if usually “ a guy” will make you wait hours to show up one very seldom will try to solve the problem without “a guy”.

I have to say I am glad I have “my guy”. It did not took him long to diagnose the problem, a broken belt. He did some research online and figure the solution. After lunch he went and bought the new belt, I am proud to say I help figuring out how the belt was installed.

I must admit the actual process was not pleasant; He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed is very good at what he does but not very good about giving directions in a pleasant way, helping him is not always a smooth operation. It did take 3 times (a charm?) to get everything in the proper place but even if not painless it was not a long process.

Having a broken dryer: a pain

Buying a new belt for dryer: $20

Having my own DIY guy: priceless

Liberté, Equalité, Fraternité

We all spend 1/7 of our lives on Mondays so I try not to dwell on the cliché if I am having a bad Monday but alas yesterday took the cup!

I decided to get dinner done late morning, I knew the piece of meat I got the other day would require some 2 hours of slow cooking in order to taste good so I started the thing early. Braising is not on my top choices for cooking but once in a while I like to try something different. This is how I end up burning the meat, actually the whole pan!

He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed asked me across our desk, “Are you cooking something? Cause if you are I think it is burning!”

He was very, very right. I did manage to salvage most of the meat and scrap the bottom of my Dutch oven until it did not show any signs of the disaster. The house smell of burnt meat for the rest of the day but He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed was very nice about the whole incident.

How during the process I manage to break a tooth I still don’t know. Not just any tooth but one that will require a crown in the very near future. My only lucky break (no pun intended) was that they had someone calling sick and cancelling an appointment so I was able to go see my “miracle worker” dentist not even 3 hours after the tooth broke.

Sure it was not fun to spend an hour on that chair and I also don’t like the unplanned expense but I have to say my dentist is one of the nicest people I ever met here.

A Monday to remember was not complete before I made some American coffee; well sorry but this is how I call it. It is not necessarily bad coffee but it sure is weak. I like to leave the coffee machine ready for the next coffee, well to be exact half ready as I like to grind the grains just before I brew, but I do fill the water and place the filter ahead. Yesterday somehow I forgot I had already filled the water and did it again, never notice before I saw a weird amount of coffee ready and sure I did not use double the amount of coffee so end up with a big pot of American coffee.

He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed decide to make some changes in our household. We decided to reclaim our bed. Matisse is adorable but such a bed hog and lately it has been getting worse and worse, either one of both of us end up having a terrible night because our dog takes all the bed.

We knew it would not be easy but had to be done. We move the normal size crate to the bedroom, since Jack’s surgery a few months ago we gave him the extra large crate, wearing that cone around his head was terrible and the extra space made him more comfortable. The large one is so big we can fit both dogs there we think they like to have their own space. We move Jack back to the normal sized one and now we have Matisse sleeping in his crate too.

The first night was difficult; he was barking and crying a lot. The second night was a nightmare, he was barking even louder and more often. We take turns to tell him to go back to sleep, it felt a bit like being inside a movie, a bad movie. Last night he did complain a couple of times but I guess he finally is getting used to the idea. Was one of the best nights of sleep we both had in a long time.

He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed thinks it was a great way to start his birthday. That and the fluffy omelet I made him this morning.

I know Matisse miss his freedom, but we agree it is fairer, now both brothers sleep in their crates!

Liberté, Equalité, Fraternité.

Rainbows and Unicorns

I could blame it on Mia but that would be unfair, true she does keep me busier but the reason for not writing here for a week is a rather bad cold, one of those that makes your whole body ache and your brain turns to mush.

I was trying to avoid a post that would consist mostly of some serious moaning and complaining about how bad I have been feeling for days! As you can see the dreadful post is already happening and you cannot do anything about it, complete with exclamation point and all that jazz (I could stop here and save you the pain but alas I am bad, why should I suffer alone?).

He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed told me last night that we should get flu shots this year, we have never done it, and well I have never done it, mostly because every year he says it is a waste of time. I am not quite sure why he changed his mind but I agree with the whole idea even if I was never fond of having any part of my body poked with needles. Mmm’kay there has been some acupuncture sessions years ago, they were not pleasant but the results seemed worthy at the time.

……..

Well it has been a while, and I wrote the paragraphs above last week, then I could not make myself post it because it was just so blah!

I am almost over my cold, have been sleeping much better even if not really well (not that I ever did sleep well even when I am healthy). I have been preoccupied with Mia, since last Tuesday night her dad came by and asked me to go take a look because she was acting strange. Sure she was not herself, and I could feel she was running a fever, was definitively not her perky self. After some examination I notice she had a sore back, she yelped when I touch a spot right center on her spine. So I end up telling her dad to take her to the emergency vet since it was almost 9PM and she was clearly in pain. The next day he stopped by to say she does have a spinal infection, was on pain killers and antibiotics and looking really miserable.

I went to visit her a few times, Wednesday she was a sorry looking pup, would not even get up, her tail was trying to tell me she appreciated my visit but the pain was draining her of any energy.

Yesterday she seemed much better by night time; maybe the meds are doing the magic. She was able to walk a bit around her yard and came by me for a belly rub even if she was uncomfortable to get her belly in the upward position.

I do know that I have been writing about Mia a lot, call it my Mia Mania, but this past week went by so fast I never had time for much more than the regular work load so bear with me if I cannot write about rainbows and unicorns!

Missing Mia

Nip and Tuck

I was always fascinated by how different dog’s personalities can be. It has been very interesting to see how Mia develops her relationships with my boys. We still have problems inside the house, Jack simply will not accept her presence, he barks like he is insane and pants all the time, circling her and making sure she does not move a step away from this tight circle, the limits he establish for her . Matisse is relaxed and even will lie down and let her sniff at him. True now she really is trying to engage him into playing so she nips and teases, well she is a girl!

Every visit I try to let them have time inside, after 7 minutes I give up and take them all to the backyard where things are much nicer.

Luckily the weather has been great and she spends most of her time running after one of the boys, she does not show any interest in their balls, but as soon as they are running to catch she is running after them. Hey it is still great exercise and she does look like she is having fun.

She got mildly interested in an empty soda bottle and some twigs but her attention span is about 2 seconds’ tops and anyway the boys are way more interesting. I am amazed that Matisse let her steal his stones, I mean Jack never did but if he tries to steal Matisse’s ball the big guy just goes and gets it back from Jack’s mouth. Not so with the lady!

After an hour of running around I can take her back to her house and she is happy to go to her crate, when I get back home I can see the boys are ready for a nice nap, and I swear they both look like they have a content smile.

The only problem so far is that Mia shows a tendency to nip. At first I thought was ok, since she was not doing the boys any harm but now she has been trying to nip at the back of my legs if I don’t pay her 100% attention. Of course those small teeth don’t hurt much but I think it is a very bad idea and should be stopped early or it can develop into a nasty habit.

For now when she nips I tuck her into a sitting, let’s hope she is a fast learner.

The Lady and the Bug

Miss Mia

Top Model Material

I knew it would take a bit of getting used to but I did not expect Jack to react so badly to his new “sister”. I am in charge of Mia for the next 10 days. She belongs to a neighbor and I was the one to offer to take care of her cute puppyness. It is very hard to resist the charms of a young Golden Retriever. 

Today I started with her first visit to our house and our boys. I knew it worked well when Princess came to visit two weeks ago, it took a while but they all had a great time outside. Not to happen today since it has been raining buckets!

I cannot say it was totally unpredicted since whenever we take the boys for a walk and Mia is out at her backyard my boys had shown this same behavior, Matisse is very eager to go check her out, very gentle, sniffing her but not being over interested. Jack on the other hand has always barked like mad and usually He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed ends up taking Jack home and I stay with Matisse to visit.

She is very young, under 4 months old, and thankfully also very calm even when facing a non-stop barking reception from Jack. Matisse was curious about her, I was quite happy with my old boy reaction; he would let her sniff him and even kiss him a bit. He totally kept his cool, and also a bit of smug look, like “oh well she is just a kid” attitude.

Initially my idea was to keep her here for a couple of hours but I decided an hour was enough for this first visit.  He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed even took Jack with him and kept him in the office for a while, let Matisse and Mia have some private time away from the barking machine.

By then she was trying to engage Matisse into playing, she barked at him a couple of times but the big old guy just look at her, turn his head to the side and I almost could read his thoughts as in: “she is kinda of amusing but I am too old for that”.

She already lost her baby fat, although still very much a puppy one can already see the potential for beauty there. The gorgeous blonde/red hair and long legs that will make her Gisele Bundchen of the canine world!

Actually she even has a very fashionable name: MIA! 

Dirty Job

Last Saturday the Historical Society held their “Under the Stars & Stripes Dinner”. We actually did not see any stars as Hanna hit here and it was pouring monkeys. I am not kidding. I'm exaggerating, but that's different. They end up having to transfer the event, which was to be held under tents at the Society gardens, to a Ballroom in town.

I had plans to go in costume, but alas I never manage to make an appointment to check the costumes at the Theater in town, they had a good deal to encourage the guests to attend the party properly attired. Some of our friends did and I was envy.

The dinner was provided by a catering service in town, and she followed a menu from the period. It was maybe the best dinner we had at a party; even He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed was impressed.

I have been planning to go there for a cooking class for months. He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed gave me a gift certificate for the place for Christmas last year but their website is not updated and I keep meaning to stop there to see what they are offering, but since they are located at a part of town not in our regular route, I never did.

Sunday was spent on much needed home improvement projects, He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed decided to clean the roof. There were all sorts of green things growing on it. If there is any upside on loosing the big tree is that the roof will not be covered with sap leaking stuff. He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed said he would hose the green things down but when I looked he was on the roof!

The day was one of those picture perfect days, not uncommon after a big storm. The sky was an intense blue; the sun was shining, the temperature was just about right, enough to warm up the skin but not enough to make a person hot.

When he decides to do something there is very little I can do to make him change his mind (more like nothing at all) so I knew the best thing was to get busy with something else. I have been planning to take down my giant sunflowers, they are like small trees. They are way passed their prime and there have been a couple of accidents, like cars hitting their giant heads. It is always a bit sad to cut them down but there always be next year.

After lunch He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed asked me: “Do you want to clean the grill?”

I went all like: “No! Do you see these manicured nails? I intend them to last at least a week”

I don’t get my nails done that often so when I do I try to preserve them as long as possible.

Of course his mind was set on doing it so he spent the next 3 hours doing a fantastic job. It does disturb me a little, as in I feel guilty for not being the one doing it but guess what? I got over the guilt feelings and let him do the job. I still have grease free nails. (yes I have heard about rubber gloves but I am useless wearing them)

I had cleaned the grill before but it cannot compare to the degree to which he does it.

Now I almost feel like not using the grill evah!

It will be such a shame to make it all dirty again.

A happy lady was out last night

This time it did not even hurt getting old!

I had a fabulous birthday. Before we left for dinner we got a visit from our Brazilian friends and their precious princess, I cannot believe how much she had grown and I don’t think I ever met a happiest kid. They got me a gorgeous gerbera and a cake, I am telling you I felt celebrated like never before. I miss having them as neighbors because although they still live in town we had hardly been together since they moved. I know how hard they work and how busy they are so it did move me that they came to wish me a happy birthday.

Later we went to da Capo for dinner, He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed was in an extra nice mood and I had a fantastic time, with good friends, good food and plenty of reasons to feel lucky.

Older and Happier

I feel Grrrrrrreat!

I have been having a sensational birthday!

It has been beyond my expectations, and yeah I said I was trying to keep them low but alas, I am bad about that.

My day started at 6:00AM with my friends from Canada singing me happy birthday, not just any happy birthday song but a tradition from Guatemala, they are supposed to wake you up, as early as possible and sing this cute song! How cool is that?

I got a truly romantic card from He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, one of those you can see he took his time to choose carefully.

Before I had time to get ready to go out for special girl time with special K my mom called, she did make me feel very loved, and was dying to tell me she had sent me flowers, she manage to refrain herself, just tried the enigmatic approach with a  “you will hear from me later”. Just an hour ago I got the longest stem pink roses I ever seen in my life, I actually did not knew roses could have stems that long! (I will post pics later).

I tried to call my twin sister but she was already at her gym so she was the one to call me back, it is not a competition but we always try to beat each other to say Happy Birthday first!

Even my stepfather called me, it was a complete surprise.

Yesterday I got a lovely card from my mother-in-law with a check (hey I already spend it on that haircut today) and today my sister-in-law sent me a truly sweet e-card.

Off I went to have hair done and a great time with special K, we always have the best time, and Jane is a genius with scissors!

Special K took me to lunch at the country club, and it was great since it feels like summer again so we sat at the patio with the view to the golf course! She did use her iphone to take pics of me, and I got her new look too, so now she has to email me them so I can show off here!( yeah I am envy of her i-phone but I truly don’t use a cell phone that often to justify having one)

I got back home to find another card from a friend and a cute smiley mug filled with flowers and big box of Swiss chocolate truffles from my “family” in Montreal.

I tell you this birthday has been blowing my mind with so many surprises and feel good moments!

I am off to get all dolled up for dinner with He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed at my favorite restaurant…

…To be continued

and I think I should!

This weekend has been exceeding any of my expectations!

He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed was in a great mood Saturday morning and proposed breakfast at George’s, seems like we have doing it a lot more often and I assure you no one here is complaining.

We had a lovely breakfast and when we were leaving George’s I mentioned that I was disappointed my fried Gail had to work because I wanted to take advantage of a $20.00 I got from Kohl’s and get a new pair of sneakers, since I got back to the gym and mine are showing some serious signs of wear and tear.

He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed turned to me and said: “If you want I can take you there right now”, I had to look closer to be sure it was my husband, I almost asked him what have him done to the guy I am married, the one that has an extreme allergy to all things connected with shopping. I thought better of it and just accepted the offer graciously, promising not to take advantage of such nice offer.

I have to say for the past 3 days he has been in some sort of let’s start celebrating your birthday in advance mode, which pleases me to no end.

Later on the same day we did some grocery shopping and I dare to indulge myself to a lobster, got it steamed right there at the grocery store and made sure to buy He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed a nice steak since he is not into any seafood stuff. We had a delicious dinner and watched a movie, felt like dating with the advantage of not having to drive to different houses.

Yesterday we had a surprise visit that made my boys extraordinarily happy. It was the very first time they had a “girl” come play with them. Megan was in town and she brought Princess to play with the boys. She had been here once before but it was a 15 minutes visit, sure included sniffing around all parts but it was raining so we never made to the backyard. Princess is an adorable bulldog around 7 or 8 months old, very used to being around other dogs since she goes to dog-camp.

Matisse was adorable around her, very gentle, interested but not annoying, Jack took his time to accept the visitor, he was not so sure what was that about but after 15 minutes they were all playing nicely on our backyard. We had a couple of hours of fun; I just love to see them all interact.

He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed accepted an invitation for us to go to da Capo for dinner and keep Megan company since her hubby is busy at their kitchen, him being the restaurant chef. I was almost in shock since I did not think he would like to go so soon, we have been there last Thursday, but again I suspect it has to be connected with celebrating my birthday in advance mode.

Today there were some plans to go with Megan to the Country Fair but she decided to spend more time with her husband before she has to head back to Pennsylvania.

Did I mention that the weather is just about spectacular? I am almost afraid to brag in case the gods might get jealous and think I have been having too much fun.

I know Gustav will do some damage down south but around here it has been the best weekend of all summer. Today I spent most of my time just doing stuff that needed to be done, including weeding the front garden and ironing tons of clothes but I even made it to the gym and got my 4 miles of exercise, so all in all I  FEEL GOOD!

Passion fruit

Not the actual passion fruit, maracuja, I hate that stuff. In general I don’t miss much any of the tropical fruits, sure I could enjoy a manga (I never understood why when translated to English they changed the name of the original fruit from manga to mango) but most of what is considered exotic here and pretty easy to find in Rio are not my cup of tea (or sorbet). My passion is for figs.  Peaches and blackberries come in a close second place; fruit-wise I live on the wrong coast.

He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed show his love for me by going into the only place we know that sells them, it is not a place we drive by in a regular basis, quite the opposite but he was driving by it going from one job meeting to another and for my surprise, and ecstatic pleasure, he went inside said grocery store and ask about figs. He got me the biggest box of figs I ever saw in my life.

Of course I already ate 5 of them! Yes, not just one or two, so big is my hunger for this strange fruit. Not strange from where I come from but very rare here. The season for figs is very short, I believe even at the west coast, where you can find them in every market, here in New England it is a whole different story. In almost 8 years I only saw them in a store twice, and they were not in good shape, and until today I only got to eat them twice, once on my birthday, on a salad I order at a restaurant and the second time at the opening of a photo exhibit a friend did.

Figs remind me of my father, he was awfully fond of them too and also of my grandfather, in his case the favorite was not the raw fruit but when it was turned into a hard paste to be eaten with a special cheese not found around here.

It feels like I am already celebrating my birthday. Thanks to He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, figs and sweet memories.

Plenty, if you ask me.

I have been posting inside my head but somehow when I try to write the stuff down it all sounds a bit boring. I am not promising this post will not be boring, I guess I am just trying to explain why I abandon this place for so long.

I have been busy with this and that, including an overdue visit from a dear friend. Usually he drives down from Montreal a few times a year but this has been the first time this year. He always brings delicious stuff, yeah, he does spoil my attempt to diet but I compensate it by having so many laughs together it is well worth it. He is such a brave friend he even let me drive his pick-up truck around the cemetery.  I guess it is a bit reassuring that there is hardly anyone walking around, even if I did manage to scare a couple of squirrels.

It is hard to believe Labor Day is less than a week away. Oh sure, also that other very important holyday MY BIRTHDAY! Mmm’kay, so what if it is not an official holyday?

To be honest I have been less enthusiastic about my birthday than I used to be. I remember the time, not so long ago; I used to start warning people a month ahead. It was not just because being a twin makes a birthday doubly special but I truly enjoy mine. I counted the days to the day; I made special plans, not really being into big parties but separate celebrations, so I could enjoy it with all the important people in my life. Now not so much.

I do have plans to get hair cut and color with Special K, which is always a treat, and there is a possibility we will have lunch together since the whole hair ordeal will take the best part of 3 hours.

 I do have plans to have a special dinner with Gail, Mark and He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, so we can celebrate both birthdays, hers and mine. I guess I can count myself lucky it does not fall on a Monday.

I could make  He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed life easy if only I could decide what I want as a gift, at the moment I am torn between what I need ( as in a new winter coat, the kind for everyday specially on those  snowy days) and what I want (as in a new camera even if the old one is not broken). I always like myself for being practical and yet I still cannot commit to the reasonable decision of buying something I know I need and will use often. How silly is that?

How silly is that?

PS: The photo on the post bellow was given to me by a friend, his grandma used to live at the house behind ours and he found this precious picture of his aunt with our house as a background. Hey the tree is standing there, much smaller than it was by the time it was cut down but looking proud.

Once upon a time

Mamma Mia! (not the musical)

I just talk with my mom on the phone, for about 1.5 minutes, it is almost funny how by now I know by her tone of voice (saying simply:“hi honey” or actually “oi minha querida” because she speaks Portuguese not English) that she is in a hurry, most probably at the door on her way to something she is already a bit late to go.

I did not mind at all, specially because this call was mostly to tell her I will go out to dinner with a BFF (more on that later), you see she is always worried that I don’t go out much, that I don’t have much fun, so I make a point to tell her when my days have a potential for awesomeness. All she had time to say was that her cruise to the Greek Islands was cancelled and she had to go get her money back, she said she will call later with the details.

Whoever you are if you read some of my very early posts you will know that mom is into belly-dancing, which I find amazing, actually I would love to have the courage to try it out. Anyways, she is into it and was planning to get a new costume during the trip, apart from glorious Greek Islands she was also going to Turkey. Yeah, mmmm’kay I was a bit jealous, come on it is just human, right?

My mom has a very peculiar way of thinking and she actually had mentioned in a previous call that she was feeling extra good about this trip because for once she would not feel bad about not being with both my sister and I on our birthday. True to be told last year I end making a last minute trip to Rio and all 3 of us spend the b-day, the day I arrive there, together. This year she would be traveling 2 days before the birthday and would be gone for 2 blissful weeks. Not happening anymore. I await what will be her next adventure.

There is a point to this little story but I cannot remember why I started to write it. Maybe it is ADD or an early onset of Alzheimer’s, and I am not even joking, my grandmother did suffer from dementia, by now we think it was Alzheimer’s, but at the time the difference between cortical and subcortical dementias were not clear, or at least her doctors did not go into it.

Oh well now that the point is lost I might as well just tell you about how happy I am that tonight is a Girl’s Night OUT  with a very amazing woman that happens to be one of my favorite friends. We had promise each other to get back on track, meaning getting together at least once a month and we did it! The last time we went to da Capo for dinner and it happened on the 16 so hey we are making it happen.

We are even going back to da Capo, since we both agree that a place that treat us as queens, pampers us to no end, from the owners to the chefs and wait staff, what is NOT TO LIKE? There is that minor aspect of breaking a recent decision to get back on a diet, but I trust myself to make the exception for the night and getting back on the horse (most probably the treadmill) tomorrow morning.

Did I forget to tell you internet? Yeah baby, I am back to the gym.

I have postponed the decision way too long, with really bad consequences which include a huge allergy to look at myself at any mirrors, but since not witnessing the crime does not mean it is not happening I finally commit and got my act together and started yesterday.

I know not to expect miracles, it will take time and effort and tons of discipline to get back in some sort of shape, the goal is to get down at least two sizes, 3 would be fantastic but also so unrealistic I agree with myself 2 will make me a happier enough person.

I just remember why I wrote the first part of this post, I have to get very serious on that diet and exercise combo because there is a chance, not a big one but still in the realm of possibilities, mom will consider a visit. HERE. 

Now you can use a fork on me, I am done.

I was having a not-so-bad kind a day until half an hour ago.

We are in dire need to buy groceries and that means the choices for lunch were on the sad side. He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed got a tuna sandwich with the last can and I got a rather sad looking ham sandwich but neither got to enjoy it at all.

The moment I sat down a pick-up truck parked in front of the house to go to the Subway next door, blocking one walk-way, He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed had his first half of his tuna when he suddenly jump out of his chair and run outside because a woman in a SVU was on top of our lawn in the process of parking to also join her –as-bad-her-half for a snack. She did manage to block the other walk-way.

Everything happened so fast I did not react to He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed leaving the table so Matisse grab the chance and took possession of the second half of He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed tuna. He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed got back inside to find his lunch gone and it totally spoiled it for me too. He actually did not say anything to the woman, he told me he thought I would get upset if he did.

I clean the dishes away and went out for a cigarette also fuming about their lack of consideration. At first I was not planning a confrontation, was more like “I cannot believe this people”. I got back inside and sat here and just realize I simply could not let it go (guess I did not let it go yet but it will happen soon) without saying something to these people. I had to wait a good 20 minutes until they came back, this time all the “happy family” together so I ask them what was wrong with Subway parking lot, they claim it was full, which I checked and it WAS NOT , so I told them the next time to at least not block both walk-ways. I cannot say I was surprised about “you don’t-own –the-street” answer.

All I can hope is that I got the full week doses of “encounter with JERKS” done by now.

Maybe we can get him in the movies?

Mondays are hard on my dogs. No we don’t send them to work on a factory in order to earn their keep (although from time to time we wonder if they could do anything to help pay for the superior dog food we give them, being the only brand that their fragile stomachs don’t complain about).

Mondays are difficult because after a couple of days of open-door-to-the-backyard-police we are back to the scheduled times. No we don’t think it is cruel, specially because we don’t own enough clothes to change 5 times a day because their muddy paws are all over our pants and also because Jack does not stay out there by himself, he needs human company and he makes it clear with some very loud barks.

COME PLAY BALL! NOW!

HOW ABOUT NOW!

COME! COME! COME!

Sometimes I swear I hear a “momyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy” at the end of those barks.

Sure enough he will bring the muddy ball (yes due to the enormous amount of rain all we have out there is tons of muddy mud, and of course one really large tree in many pieces, not small enough to move… but I digress, which happens often when I look at that tree, hummm not so much a tree now being in the horizontal position it is. He does bring the ball inside if I leave the door open and of course I had just sweep and mop the whole house and I am not very happy that no one can believe I did it not half an hour ago.

Last weekend He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed got the gate to the tomato patch working, for what I am graciously thankful, even if our tomatoes are doing poorly I wanted to be able to pick the very few ripe enough now. He had a hard time to get the hinges in place, because everything is so wet, especially the wood posts.

He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed also split some wood, I found that rather attractive, a very manly thing, but alas he does not let me stand close since one cannot predict the way those split pieces are going to fly. He was super nice to move the stack of wood close to the fence, instead of the edge of the deck, that was too precarious a place and Matisse already managed to dislodge a couple of pieces.

I did some weeding, halfheartedly I confess, and pick the last 6 blueberries my bushes produce; there are none to come, a very disappointing crop this year, you do the math, 3 bushes=1 cup of blueberries for the whole season. On the other hand I have so much tarragon, oregano and thyme I am looking for new recipes, and also getting slightly sick every time I open the fridge since it smell like way too much tarragon drying in there. When too much of a smell becomes a stink?

He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed was in a mood to please me so he decided to give Matisse a bath, Jack had his the day before but we did not have time to do both. They are both blowing out their summer coats, I thought that happens only with winter coats but He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed had enough hair in his hands to prove it. He brushed Matisse while he was still dry and came up with enough for a third dog. I do know giving the dogs a bath is hard work, but even if he will never admit it I think he likes it. He is always talking with the dogs, while they are in the bathtub; it is a very daddy like thing, and he comes up with the funniest ideas. This is why now we call Matisse by a new nickname: “Hey hon, don’t you think Matisse looks just like Pierce Brosnan?”

Cuteness overload

The neighbor down the street got a new puppy, she is a Golden Retriever called Mia.

Matisse is very interested in making friends with her, in a cute gentle way, not normal Matisse approach but alas I am very happy about that. Jack on the other hand is unsure what to think about this small furry friend. SO far he gets very agitated around her, barks his head off and scares her. I truly hope it gets better with time.

Because Mia is such a cute puppy I end up looking at old pictures of Jack and decided I should share some of them here.