Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
PIRATY AFTERNOON
I had a blast with my grandchildren Emily & Eric one afternoon. They wanted to make a pirate boat. Reesha's livingroom was transformed! Please note Eric's fish in the sea and Emily's island with the green palm tree and "pillowy" sand. Don't we look scary???
MAY FLOWER
The May flower is not a pun; it is the Brazilian name for the USA Christmas cactus. This year my peach variety can only be summed up in one word: glorious!!! It has never had so many blooms arranged with such sublime symmetry and grace. This year for the first time I have a white Christmas cactus with delicate pink. Dare I say they are almost divine?? I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
KEEPING UP THE TRADITION
Emily was brave and adventurous.
Eric was a bit more cautious, but loved it!
I come from a family of tree climbers; Grandma Dilly was still climbing trees just a few years ago. I felt it my duty to teach my two grandchildren the delights of tree climbing. We had a wonderful opportunity while visiting Neval's parents farm outside of Camaquã.Thursday, May 22, 2008
Amazed
Serenity Personified
My blood & bones
The fam: Julia at 1 weekI'm amazed at Julia's
tiny, teeny fingers and toes
rosebud mouth
blue eyes that search for mine
doll-sized head
black hair like her Daddy
little dimple on her right cheek like her Mommy
big soul tucked somewhere inside that little body
God who knew how to create her from nothing!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
MEET THE PRINCESS
This is Emily and Eric's hands next to Júlia's.
Tickled pink!--paternal grandparents
Here is Julia Joy Dugan Batista. She is reigning and everyone does her bidding. Nice life, huh?
A SHOWER WITHOUT THE GUEST OF HONOR
Patricia called me on the phone on Friday morning, May 9th, and after her opening question "Are you busy running around?"(I was getting ready for her baby shower that night) all I heard were sobs and more sobs. My mother's heart froze as I questioned her and only got sobs as an answer. When she got her emotions under control she said she had just been to the doctor's office and her ultrasound showed she was losing amniotic fluid. The doctor said the baby was fine, but he wanted her to come back in on Monday for another exam and if she was still losing fluid, she would have a C-section. Well, that was unsettling news, but Patricia assured me she was all right and the doctor had okayed her coming for the shower. Coming for the shower? That didn't sound like a good idea to me. She hung up and my mind was whirling with questions, fears, anxieties and an attempt to trust God in all this. After more phone calls it was decided that Patricia shouldn't come to her own baby shower...
My next quandry was if I should go ahead with the shower...and after weighing the pros and cons and asking God what I should do, my conclusion was that we walk by faith (which, by the very word, suggests we aren't absolutely sure about what we're doing) so I did what I thought was the Lord guiding me...and I'm so glad I did. My shower preparations were a bit jerky, meaning I ran hither and thither trying to do many things at once. I tried making a marshmallow filling for the cake, for example, but the Portuguese recipe didn't explain things clearly so I looked at a similar recipe in English and discovered the right temperature for the syrup was 242º (can one get any more exact than that?) so I whipped out my candy thermometer and started watching the needle rise, but it stopped at a certain point and only moved up very, very slowly. Unfortunately, I started beating the egg whites too soon, so I turned off the beater and when my syrup was ready to pour into the egg whites, the egg whites had dissipated! And, the syrup had gone OVER 242º and turned a nice amber color! What to do? I started over on the egg whites and went with the burnt syrup (later adding vanilla and almond flavoring to hide the taste--it maybe helped a little.) I spread it on my cake and popped it into the freezer for a while. When it was time to serve, however, the sticky marmallow was so "firm" (putting it mildly) that it stuck to the serving knife and made the layers fall apart on the plate (ufdah! as we Norweigans say), but everyone liked it anyway!!
To summarize this too-long account, the party was lots of fun and everyone seemed to have a good time. We called Patricia by skype so everyone could greet her and she could thank those who came. A friend prayed for her and as she prayed, baby Julie gave her Mommy some hard kicks (I think she was telling her to get ready cuz she was coming!).
Only about three hours after the last guest left, Patricia was already at the hospital to have Julia. God knew she couldn't wait until Monday to have this baby. The doctor later said the baby was losing weight as well...but God was taking care of her and we praise Him for a healthy baby girl that was born at about 37 weeks.
Thank you, Lord, and welcome to our world, Julia! I love you.
My next quandry was if I should go ahead with the shower...and after weighing the pros and cons and asking God what I should do, my conclusion was that we walk by faith (which, by the very word, suggests we aren't absolutely sure about what we're doing) so I did what I thought was the Lord guiding me...and I'm so glad I did. My shower preparations were a bit jerky, meaning I ran hither and thither trying to do many things at once. I tried making a marshmallow filling for the cake, for example, but the Portuguese recipe didn't explain things clearly so I looked at a similar recipe in English and discovered the right temperature for the syrup was 242º (can one get any more exact than that?) so I whipped out my candy thermometer and started watching the needle rise, but it stopped at a certain point and only moved up very, very slowly. Unfortunately, I started beating the egg whites too soon, so I turned off the beater and when my syrup was ready to pour into the egg whites, the egg whites had dissipated! And, the syrup had gone OVER 242º and turned a nice amber color! What to do? I started over on the egg whites and went with the burnt syrup (later adding vanilla and almond flavoring to hide the taste--it maybe helped a little.) I spread it on my cake and popped it into the freezer for a while. When it was time to serve, however, the sticky marmallow was so "firm" (putting it mildly) that it stuck to the serving knife and made the layers fall apart on the plate (ufdah! as we Norweigans say), but everyone liked it anyway!!
To summarize this too-long account, the party was lots of fun and everyone seemed to have a good time. We called Patricia by skype so everyone could greet her and she could thank those who came. A friend prayed for her and as she prayed, baby Julie gave her Mommy some hard kicks (I think she was telling her to get ready cuz she was coming!).
Only about three hours after the last guest left, Patricia was already at the hospital to have Julia. God knew she couldn't wait until Monday to have this baby. The doctor later said the baby was losing weight as well...but God was taking care of her and we praise Him for a healthy baby girl that was born at about 37 weeks.
Thank you, Lord, and welcome to our world, Julia! I love you.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
A Tower and a Rock
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe." Pv.18:10
"...He will set me high upon a rock." Ps.27:5b
Friday, May 02, 2008
I found an artist walking the beach...
he was out for his morning walk (I think) and allowed me to capture a few seconds of his life.
Vacation at the Beach
Floripa (short for Florianópolis) has some of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil!!Not a blue ox, but brown is good, too!
After a week at the beach and busy times getting ready for baby Julia, I am back!
Pat and I arrived at vacationland coming from different directions--he from a meeting up north, and I driving myself from the south. We rendezvoused at the bus station in Floripa--how romantic!!
However, I had to stop at our favorite spot along the way -- Engenho Lanches-- to devour cheese bread They also serve freshly-squeezed sugar cane juice (which I don't particularly like), but which is their calling card and the charm of this restuarant. Here is Mr. Brown Ox at work making sugar cane juice.
Pat and I arrived at vacationland coming from different directions--he from a meeting up north, and I driving myself from the south. We rendezvoused at the bus station in Floripa--how romantic!!
However, I had to stop at our favorite spot along the way -- Engenho Lanches-- to devour cheese bread They also serve freshly-squeezed sugar cane juice (which I don't particularly like), but which is their calling card and the charm of this restuarant. Here is Mr. Brown Ox at work making sugar cane juice.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
27 VS. 55
as in 27 dogs vs. 55 people on my block. Sound crazy? I agree, but it's true. When a stray dog or cat or person walks down my street, there is a loud chorus of barking that accompanies the stranger. I want you to meet my neighbor's dog, Kiko. He has to be isolated in the back yard because of violent tendencies towards other dogs in his own yard. What you hear on this video is typical of his race. I guess they get lonely just like people.
Monday, April 14, 2008
STAR FRUIT
One of the blessings of living in the subtropics is the variety of delicious fruit. The star fruit is not real common in Brazil and is expensive to buy in the supermarkets. However, my neighbor has a star fruit tree in his back yard and shares its fruit with us when in season--which is NOW! For those who have never seen a star fruit on the tree, I went to my neighbors just so you could see how it grows. By the way, star fruit tastes delicious in a cabbage salad together with other fruit.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
SHOES ANYONE??
This is not the typical place to keep one's tennies, but it's certainly original. I came across this scene on one of my walks several weeks ago, and when I returned the other day to take the picture, no one had disturbed them. Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
C.S. Lewis' Monopods
For those who've read the Narnia series, you will remember the monopods--those curious creatures who always said the obvious. My husband's unique sense of humor does seem to resemble Lewis' monopods at times. Therefore, once in a while I will be posting one of his "monopodisms" for my readers...
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Linda tagged me!
Okay...here’s my list of 10 Things You May Not Know About Me
1. I went to a one-room country school from 1st grade through the middle of 5th grade, then graduated from 8th grade in a much larger school ( It had two rooms: upper and lower grades).
2. I was a cheer leader for the Nash Ramblers, our grade school basketball team and I loved it!!!!!! (Give me an "N" clap, clap, Give me an "A"....)
3. My sister Cyndee and I would sing duets in church and sometimes get the giggles so badly we couldn’t finish the song.
4. I got my driver’s permit when I was 12 years old and my license at 13. Sometimes I drove the neighbor kids home from school. Scary???
5. I fell into the river that ran behind our house while trying to walk my puppy Posie across a large tree that had fallen across the river. My puppy quickly swam to shore while I stood up, bawling, and walked out of the river with the help of my mother. Fortunately, the water only came up to my chest.
6. I love to collect stamps, salt & pepper shakers and spoons!
7. My childhood dream is to see the redwood trees in California.
8. I love country music.
9. My first airplane ride was in Mexico with missionary Danny Ost piloting a small plane. Pat was told to throw tracts out the window as we circled low over a village. I gave my approval from the back seat. The missionary was pamphleting the whole country this way.
10. I attended a summer conference at Bethany in the 60s when they ran out of water and had to bring in a water truck. I discovered later that my future father-in-law was also present that year and we may have been at the water truck at the same time!!! Think about those implications!
1. I went to a one-room country school from 1st grade through the middle of 5th grade, then graduated from 8th grade in a much larger school ( It had two rooms: upper and lower grades).
2. I was a cheer leader for the Nash Ramblers, our grade school basketball team and I loved it!!!!!! (Give me an "N" clap, clap, Give me an "A"....)
3. My sister Cyndee and I would sing duets in church and sometimes get the giggles so badly we couldn’t finish the song.
4. I got my driver’s permit when I was 12 years old and my license at 13. Sometimes I drove the neighbor kids home from school. Scary???
5. I fell into the river that ran behind our house while trying to walk my puppy Posie across a large tree that had fallen across the river. My puppy quickly swam to shore while I stood up, bawling, and walked out of the river with the help of my mother. Fortunately, the water only came up to my chest.
6. I love to collect stamps, salt & pepper shakers and spoons!
7. My childhood dream is to see the redwood trees in California.
8. I love country music.
9. My first airplane ride was in Mexico with missionary Danny Ost piloting a small plane. Pat was told to throw tracts out the window as we circled low over a village. I gave my approval from the back seat. The missionary was pamphleting the whole country this way.
10. I attended a summer conference at Bethany in the 60s when they ran out of water and had to bring in a water truck. I discovered later that my future father-in-law was also present that year and we may have been at the water truck at the same time!!! Think about those implications!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)