The Return of the Radish

Short post today. The Radish is back at home, breathing, and being cared for by The Bear. We are staying clear to provide a chaos free environment. Things left out on counters are annoying her so that means she is on the mend.
We are lunching at the Space Needle [...]

Passing Evil

The night before we left Brazil Mr. Understanding and I dined with the O’Leary’s and Gamamae and her Harvard bound husband, a former teacher to several of our children. Mr. Hah-vahd is on sabbatical until he starts next year. Let me tell you, dishing over caipiroskas with good friends and former teachers [...]

Positively Bubonic

There’s something in the air. And it’s bad. The last time it was this bad was 1977 when my entire family, minus my mother, contracted viral pneumonia.
Apparently, the Radish has contracted Sunshine’s cold. She could not breathe this a.m. so Mr. Style drove her to the ER; they stopped at [...]

I Call Donkey

Today, after watching Evan Almighty en famille, Nilda, Sunshine and I motored over to the chique grocery store where we purchased airbrushed orange and green Shrek 3 cupcakes with character toothpick adornments for the kids’ dessert.
“I call Donkey!” my nephew Cal yelled when the sludge bombs entered the house.
ONLY IN AMERICA.

Oh, the Irony

In 1978, when I graduated from 8th grade, Annie Hall was the movie of the day and Diane Keaton‘s clothes were trendsetting. Or so my mother told me - I was too young to see the movie. In any event, my mother, a.k.a. the Radish, a woman with a degree in Apparel [...]

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy Jig

I am so bleary eyed that I cannot write, let alone think straight, so this will be mini post, a reminder to myself of all the things to write about. No, have not made it to Starbucks but we are on native soil after 24 hours and a ridiculous (but hilarious) exit from the [...]

40/20 Hindsight

When we came to Brazil five and half years ago, our possessions were shipped in two containers, a forty and a twenty footer. When they came to estimate our household goods in February they told me we would be leaving in two forty footers. Horrified, this is when all the purging, pitching, and [...]

Screwed in Brazil, Twice Over

(this is not my xray, but looks alarmingly similar - apologies for the size of the photo)
God really does have a sense of humor. We are book ending our 5+ year stay in Brazil with orthopedic surgeries. Talk about pushing the envelope. Or socket, as the case may be. Mr. [...]

I Have an Army

When I was in high school I took a (free) Army aptitude test. The only thing it determined I was qualified for was general. Since I share my birthday with former President and General Dwight D. Eisenhower, I laughed and took it in stride. This meant that I was not qualified for [...]

Birthday Candles

Yesterday the good people of Serviço Social Nova Jerusalem came to pick up bags of clothes, Christmas decorations, and our freezer. On a holiday no less. I did not think they would get it all in the van and the VW Gol but they did.
As they drove away I wondered why [...]

Vagner & I Part Ways, Sort of

I am knee deep in my Glenfiddich, since I cannot move scotch to China and tomorrow is a holiday here in Brazil. The only thing I have to look forward to for the next few days is cleaning closets. I have already cleaned out the pantry and my bathroom, steadfastly ignoring a [...]

Tristedida

Katpat wrote me an email a few weeks ago saying that she thought the friends who were leaving her should throw her a “tristedida” since she is losing so many amigas. So yesterday a small group gathered at Mrs. O’Leary’s for a celebration of food, friendship, and belly laughs. One of Katpat’s favorite [...]

Rip & Tear

Gift giving overseas is always a risky business. The advent of the internet and online shopping, of course, have eased this burden greatly if you are shopping for someone living in the US. A gift recipient living in a foreign country, though, learns not to trust the foreign [...]

Pippi Pop Quiz

Sunshine has been dishing out pop quizs on Pippi Longstocking from the back seat of the car lately. She watched the movie with a friend last week and was inspired to read the book. Pippi has long been a fave of mine but since I had not read any of Astrid Lindgren works [...]