Hard work pays off

Working at a large company has its benefits, like discounts (from the bank, stores, and hotels), a retirement program and... well, it does not happen often, but we had a training program at a nice hotel!

Leaving the roads

Innovative and eco-friendly. My new flip-flops are comfortable, water-repelling and slip-resistant on wet surfaces. What else? They are hand-crafted and made from recycled car tires and... they were so cheap! Besides, I think they are cute and I can't get them off my feet now that Summer is here.

Simple things

May your year be filled with beautiful and bright colors.

Simple delights as simple as country flowers, simple smiles that brighten a day...
I believe in simple things...

Born again

Hope you all had a great Christmas. I really want to keep this blog going next year and I thank you for visiting. A friend of mine painted this Nativity scene and when I looked at Mary the first thing that came to my mind was that she looked hopeless and scared. I can relate to her, first child, away from family, looking at the baby and thinking "Will I be able to take care of this baby?" Joseph, on the other hand, looks so happy, like my husband did when he first laid eyes on our children. How beautiful it is to think that one child changed the world and gave us hope of eternal life with Him, a lesson of faith, hope and love. My best wishes for a Happy New Year!

"God loved the people of this world so much that He gave His only son, so that everyone who has faith in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

It's beginning to look like Christmas...

Every year the Christmas decoration around town has little surprises. This year they decided to use recycled PET (soda) plastic bottles and thousands of electric poles have an unusual decor. At night, the ornaments are lit and create a beautiful and colorful effect.

What can we do to make happy green holidays? Let's try to use our creativity and limit the impact on the environment this holiday season.
- Recycle... Old Christmas cards into gift tags, bookmarks, decoupage boxes...
- Avoid unnecessary packaging and accept only the bags you need.
- Buy food and drink packaged in materials that can be recycled.

- Use a reusable shopping bag or reuse your plastic bags!
- Buy recycled... Or look for alternatives, there are pretty gifts that are made from recycled materials.
- Make decorations from scrap materials.
- Make a resolution to recycle in 2008!

A thankful heart

I spotted this large white heron, the Great Egret, during a walk in the park with a friend. It was a sunny Saturday morning, a perfect time to just enjoy nature, chat and take pictures. I believe this bird is found across much of the world but I felt it was worth sharing with you.

As Thanksgiving approaches I want to give thanks for being given so much each day. A simple walk reveals so many wonderful things. It is a time to smile, look around and appreciate the things that we have.

Kelli is hosting a Thanksgiving event called "Giving thanks" with prizes! She'll be sharing decorating ideas, crafts, poems, prayers, games, table settings, activities for children and a daily cleaning schedule (with before and after pictures). If you would like to join, please go here for all the details, including pictures of the giveaway prizes!

So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Ge 1:21

Just like the old days

- Honey stop the car!
- What? Here? It's a highway!
- But the steam train is coming! Here, a dead-end roaaaaad! Pleaaaaase.
This dialog seems to have taken an eternity. We were on the road on the way back from church exactly at the same time as the steam train was coming! It only takes tourists on weekends and I was going to miss the chance to take pictures? Luckily, right after the bridge there is a dead-end road and I was able to photograph "Smokey Mary" or the steam locomotive-hauled train. The train rides about 16 miles (25 km) to a nearby town. School field trips have taken my kids to ride the train and they learned all about old train cars and wagons in a very amusing way.

Grab some coffee

If you are a coffee drinker and ever wondered how that steaming coffee you grab every morning gets to your table, here's how it is processed. After the coffee beans are harvested, they are typically sun-dried on large patios made of asphalt or cement, where they are shifted at regular periods of time for several days to prevent mildew and fermentation while they dry. Then they are transferred to mechanical dryers. This method is widely used in Brazil. Additional processes include: sorting and grading; polishing, storaging and aging. Roasting is the last step, and it can be done either at the roasting companies or at home. I used to roast coffee for our family when I was a teenager, it was one of those chores my brother and I did not enjoy much, but I can tell you, I can distinguish a good coffee from a distance today.

The coffee farm: Chic Coffee (English) and Café Pessegueiro (Portuguese)


More pictures related to coffee on my previous posts:
1) Guesses anyone?
2) How would you like your coffee?

And that's my dad waving on the first picture...

Colonial Blue

More farm pictures, the white and blue were popular in Colonial Brazil during the 17th and 18th centuries. This is a coffee farm, the owner was a kid when my dad was growing up and it was so nice to see them talking about old times. The farm is well-taken care of. Their oldest employee, who is over 80 years old, moved there as a kid, raised his family there and still likes to help out around the farm, taking care of flowers.

Landscaping ideas

Last time I showed you my Great grandparents cottage. This time, I want to show you this creative touch I found on the same farm, near the hard ground where they dry coffee beans. Not long ago, Geraldo posted a different view of the same basket.

Update: Many of you have asked questions about the basket fountain. The basket is made of bamboo, the fountain uses running water, no pumps. As far as I know, bamboo is a very resistant material, and I don't know how long the basket lasts when used as fountain. The use of bamboo goes beyond landscaping and crafts, it is a very good green construction material and it can be used to make furniture too.

During a storm, the resilient bamboo simply bends every way the wind blows and after the storm is over it goes back to its original position.

Back in time

My Great grandparents Virginia and Francisco lived here and they had 16 kids... Some of them were married already when they moved in, probably about 80 years ago. My mom first visited them in 1953, when one of my grandmother's brother got married and my mom was introduced to the family. My parents got married the year after that. Mom and dad say the house remains exactly the same. I have more pictures of this farm and I plan to show them soon.

Seasons come and go

While the northern hemisphere is getting ready for Fall and saying goodbye to Summer, at the same time the southern hemisphere is heading into Spring and different colors of "Tabepuia" tree show their glory everywhere in our city. First the pink and white trees, and then the yellow trees make their appearance. I did not have a chance to photograph any white ones.

On a sad note, just as the seasons that come and go, my husband just forwarded me an e-mail from a dear friend in Boulder who has been sick for the past six years and his condition is worsening. I cried as I read the e-mail for two reasons. First, because he is losing his battle and second, because his beautiful words touched me in such a way. He talks about the gift of eternal life, how he places his hope in God, in the person of Jesus who heals our brokenness and brings us back into relationship with God and ends his e-mail with this question: Where is your hope? And I pass it on to you.

Banana republic

Since both my family and my husband's live out of town, and we come from different states, when we visit family we like to surprise each other with little trips to the countryside to share a different part of our corner. This time my husband took me to see a banana plantation on the hills. All you see on first picture are banana trees, even going to the top of the hill and, if you enlarge, you will see the houses so small compared to the plantation. We look forward to these trips, the kids stay home with their grandparents and we are able to enjoy each other's company and stories.

Cars and trucks of yesteryear

These cars certainly wouldn't make it to a car show. They are all in such bad shape and they have been there on the same spot for years! My guess is that these cars are considered Classic, and were built long before pollution control, fuel economy and safety regulations became issues. I am sure they were very popular and expensive at the time and were once considered the best car of the year...

Where the wild flowers grow

Wild flowers grow everywhere, and what a beautiful view when they bloom along the highways and in the wild. One of the things I enjoy most is to grab my camera and just shoot many pictures at once, and then be amazed with results later on my computer. And now... they remind me of one simple thing, that is to look around and consider all our blessings and give thanks with a grateful heart to the Holy One... and all the Lord has done for us.

"And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you." Matthew 6:30