That's how A described my social life.... 2% LOL Hers is 1% more due to official engagements. She came over today - subject: padded butts and boob jobs
Weather was remarkably perfect today. Bright sunny skies, gentle breeze, occasional candy-floss clouds. Warm, not hot. Mild in the evening. And I'm going to get me a kettie and shoot that yapping dog!
Spent the evening on MSN messenger with T, who, btw, is sitting no more than 2 meters away from me. What fun. We had ovamaltine.
I'm off to wash the dishes and get to bed. Have another 'confrontation' with the law tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed (for that matter... everything crossed, even my eyes)
Monday, 30 May 2005
Sunday, 29 May 2005
A Saturday night
T and I are sitting at the pc's. She's on messenger and playing with graphics - manga, to be precise. She's just made us our nightly cup of coffee. Its just after midnight. I would love to put my headphones on the way she does, but then I miss the action in the street. There's a huge group of 'jovens' going around causing mischief. They seem to be associated with the crowd in the appartments across the road. I'm worried that they'll do something to the dogs. The were heading to the gate earlier when I showed my face. Then there was the idiot who had to stop his fancy car to go to the toilet against our post. I said something to the effect of, "hey dog, don't you have toilets in your house?" I was fortunate this time... he was suitably embarrassed and moved off after apologising profusely. They're not all like that. I have on occasion 'washed the filth off my sidewalk'. It frustrates me that we have to switch the water off at night, but its no good trying to sort out the leak under the house when we'll be moving in a few months.
A came over today. We listened to music and told stories of when we were kids and when our kids were little. It was pleasant. J went across to get beer and stayed there. He hates these all-female gatherings lol
I'm glad A came over. We were both, J and I, feeling very depressed today after yesterday's letdown. A makes me laugh... that is good
A came over today. We listened to music and told stories of when we were kids and when our kids were little. It was pleasant. J went across to get beer and stayed there. He hates these all-female gatherings lol
I'm glad A came over. We were both, J and I, feeling very depressed today after yesterday's letdown. A makes me laugh... that is good
Saturday, 28 May 2005
A brush with the law
Hm... I'll still get the hang of this darn blog thing. I had typed reams (felt like it) when I decided to do a spell check. All my typing was promptly wiped out *rolls eyes and would like to swear but good sense says it won't achieve anything*
We went to the Federal police today to get my Brazilian residency. To give them some credit, the whole place was clean and gave a good impression, unlike my 'fond' memories of Home Affairs. I wish their efficiency matched. J has been there countless times to check that the documents we are presenting are correct. A year ago, they said I need a police clearance certificate from SA. I have one, but its expired now. Apparently they're only valid for 2 years. After a year of really struggling to get that darn certificate and not succeeding (a very long subject for another day when I'm calmer about it), they tell us it isn't necessary. Ok... so we only delayed a year... what's the fuss??? *mutters a few choice words* This morning early, Jorge went in, presented the whole pile of documents and heard what we've been waiting for: "perfect". Woohoo! So we all traipse in looking like a picture of 'happy families' with smiles that would charm a dragon off its egg (gee, that's corny!). We present this 3 inch thick wad of papers. Everything is perfect. Then she asks for proof of payment and Lo! We're gonged out! The proof of payment is in J's name, not mine. I ask you.... ! Now we have to pay again (in my name, of course), then apply to the Federal police for a refund of the original payment, which is a process in itself requiring proof of address, proof of ID, proof of mother, father and grandparent's ID's, proof you wash your underwear regularly... and so on. Six months later, we might see the money. Hope we get it before we move on for greener pastures.
Can I say 'deflated'? I was so hyped up at finally getting this far, only to be stumped at the end. We got home, I thrashed the dog for digging, went into the bathroom and cried. Ok, so I'm soft, but 6 years of waiting has taken its toll.
More on documentation. My very dear friend is using her contact at Foreign affairs in SA to get the police clearance certs, which we need for Canada. I think we had better apply for local ones too - wonder how long that takes. I'll do it as soon as I have my RG in hand.
By the way... I mentioned www.sacanada.org... Its wonderful! The people are super and the help and support is invaluable!
Tomorrow morning, I'm going with A to do some shopping. She needs fencing to keep her dog from digging in the garden. Then I want to take her to a clothing shop I just heard of. She may be able to impress the new CG by taking her there lol Hope we don't get lost! hahaha!
We went to the Federal police today to get my Brazilian residency. To give them some credit, the whole place was clean and gave a good impression, unlike my 'fond' memories of Home Affairs. I wish their efficiency matched. J has been there countless times to check that the documents we are presenting are correct. A year ago, they said I need a police clearance certificate from SA. I have one, but its expired now. Apparently they're only valid for 2 years. After a year of really struggling to get that darn certificate and not succeeding (a very long subject for another day when I'm calmer about it), they tell us it isn't necessary. Ok... so we only delayed a year... what's the fuss??? *mutters a few choice words* This morning early, Jorge went in, presented the whole pile of documents and heard what we've been waiting for: "perfect". Woohoo! So we all traipse in looking like a picture of 'happy families' with smiles that would charm a dragon off its egg (gee, that's corny!). We present this 3 inch thick wad of papers. Everything is perfect. Then she asks for proof of payment and Lo! We're gonged out! The proof of payment is in J's name, not mine. I ask you.... ! Now we have to pay again (in my name, of course), then apply to the Federal police for a refund of the original payment, which is a process in itself requiring proof of address, proof of ID, proof of mother, father and grandparent's ID's, proof you wash your underwear regularly... and so on. Six months later, we might see the money. Hope we get it before we move on for greener pastures.
Can I say 'deflated'? I was so hyped up at finally getting this far, only to be stumped at the end. We got home, I thrashed the dog for digging, went into the bathroom and cried. Ok, so I'm soft, but 6 years of waiting has taken its toll.
More on documentation. My very dear friend is using her contact at Foreign affairs in SA to get the police clearance certs, which we need for Canada. I think we had better apply for local ones too - wonder how long that takes. I'll do it as soon as I have my RG in hand.
By the way... I mentioned www.sacanada.org... Its wonderful! The people are super and the help and support is invaluable!
Tomorrow morning, I'm going with A to do some shopping. She needs fencing to keep her dog from digging in the garden. Then I want to take her to a clothing shop I just heard of. She may be able to impress the new CG by taking her there lol Hope we don't get lost! hahaha!
Monday, 23 May 2005
Grey Day
Republishing an old'ish' post
Its been raining rather enthusiastically this afternoon. Every little pin-hole in the roof has decided to show its true colours by opening up to the heavens. I'm on bucket-rotation-and-mopup duty. Oh for a house that isn't falling apart!! How does the song go? "O-oh, oh no don't let the rain come down. My roof's got a hole in it and I might drown..."Seems I'm no better at blogging or online journalling than I am at keeping pen-and-paper diaries. Too bad. Here is a rather irregular instalment anyway.I found a really nifty site - http://www.sacanada.org/.
Loads of immigration info there! Might even meet a few worthy folk. Its reminded me again of my quest. I need to focus on our plans. We gave our copy of our police clearance certificate to Anne today. She's going to send it on to her contact. Hopefully, this time will make a difference. Considering I'm probably one of the most unpolitical people I know, our lives seem to be ruled by politics lately. I will not let politics ruin our dreams!!Seems everyone is affected by this grey weather. I'm loving it because its cooler (at last), but the mood around here is grey... all the way through. We're trying though.My current desktop:"To believe is to know that every day is a new beginning,It is to trust that miracles happen and dreams really do come true"I'm putting together quite a collection of desktops. I may even put them up on my site for download when I can work up the enthusiasm. Till tomorrow then... or whenever!
Its been raining rather enthusiastically this afternoon. Every little pin-hole in the roof has decided to show its true colours by opening up to the heavens. I'm on bucket-rotation-and-mopup duty. Oh for a house that isn't falling apart!! How does the song go? "O-oh, oh no don't let the rain come down. My roof's got a hole in it and I might drown..."Seems I'm no better at blogging or online journalling than I am at keeping pen-and-paper diaries. Too bad. Here is a rather irregular instalment anyway.I found a really nifty site - http://www.sacanada.org/.
Loads of immigration info there! Might even meet a few worthy folk. Its reminded me again of my quest. I need to focus on our plans. We gave our copy of our police clearance certificate to Anne today. She's going to send it on to her contact. Hopefully, this time will make a difference. Considering I'm probably one of the most unpolitical people I know, our lives seem to be ruled by politics lately. I will not let politics ruin our dreams!!Seems everyone is affected by this grey weather. I'm loving it because its cooler (at last), but the mood around here is grey... all the way through. We're trying though.My current desktop:"To believe is to know that every day is a new beginning,It is to trust that miracles happen and dreams really do come true"I'm putting together quite a collection of desktops. I may even put them up on my site for download when I can work up the enthusiasm. Till tomorrow then... or whenever!
Tuesday, 29 March 2005
Ilhabela - or something like that
We were meant to leave this morning at 7:30am. Well.... Anne pitched up here at 10am. Good start lol Then we got lost trying to get out of São Paulo. Gee... this city is confusing!!! I'm so used to navigating from bus stop to bus stop and recognising places from my perch in the bus. Navigating around the intricacies of SP roads and rodovarios is... uh... somewhat beyond my skills lol especially with a friend who makes decisions on where to go long before the spot is found on the map. Well, unlike men (hehe) we asked directions and eventually found ourselves on the road to Santos (that's where she believed we were meant to be headed). Tunnels... tunnels.... The one was 4km long and there were about 5 of them. The on-the-road scenery would have been stunning if it weren't raining. Note here... the weather forcast said 26°C and clear skies over Ilhabela, which is why we persevered.
Blow me down if we didn't get lost in Santos too. We took a ferry (great fun) to Guarulhos (Brazilians out there... please excuse my spelling of these places), got lost in Guarulhos, made our way back and by 1:30pm, we were finally on our way to Ilhabela. The weather report didn't lie.... over Ilhabela - I think a spot of around 4 sq meters - the sky was clear! We took another ferry across to the island. I think I like ferries :) By the time we got onto the island, it was late afternoon and too late for decent exploring, but now we know (I think) where to go next time.
The road home. We took a different road, apparently very scenic. I think the 'powers that be' decided to 'water the garden' and they had one of those high pressure hoses. For most of the twisty-turny pass up the mountain and down the other side, we travelled at maximum 40km/hour as we couldn't see where we were going. Nail-biting stuff. Fortunately, the road itself was pretty good. I need to get the photos off my camera and uploaded still. Will deal with that tomorrow when I can think clearly again.
We arrived home to a closed up house. Jorge was snoring away, so I booted him 'awake' and asked him why he couldn't at least leave the place open for us. He muttered something about leaving a night light on for me (we don't have a night light - turned out to be the pc screen he'd left on). He then turned over and was muttering about fire-flies. Go figure! lol
Blow me down if we didn't get lost in Santos too. We took a ferry (great fun) to Guarulhos (Brazilians out there... please excuse my spelling of these places), got lost in Guarulhos, made our way back and by 1:30pm, we were finally on our way to Ilhabela. The weather report didn't lie.... over Ilhabela - I think a spot of around 4 sq meters - the sky was clear! We took another ferry across to the island. I think I like ferries :) By the time we got onto the island, it was late afternoon and too late for decent exploring, but now we know (I think) where to go next time.
The road home. We took a different road, apparently very scenic. I think the 'powers that be' decided to 'water the garden' and they had one of those high pressure hoses. For most of the twisty-turny pass up the mountain and down the other side, we travelled at maximum 40km/hour as we couldn't see where we were going. Nail-biting stuff. Fortunately, the road itself was pretty good. I need to get the photos off my camera and uploaded still. Will deal with that tomorrow when I can think clearly again.
We arrived home to a closed up house. Jorge was snoring away, so I booted him 'awake' and asked him why he couldn't at least leave the place open for us. He muttered something about leaving a night light on for me (we don't have a night light - turned out to be the pc screen he'd left on). He then turned over and was muttering about fire-flies. Go figure! lol
Monday, 28 March 2005
Sunday - March 27th
We went to Anne's today for lunch and her traditional Easter egg hunt. We actually had hot cross buns and chocolate coated marshmallow easter eggs!! Wow!! She got G to bring them to Brazil when he came over on Thursday. Poor Anne fell on Thursday too and is very obviously sore. For lunch, we had chicken she had baked in a sauce of mayonnaise and chutney. Deeevine! Of course, Jorge was horrified because its sweet and sour and had raisins in to boot lol but he ate without complaining. The Mousse de maracujá and milk tart went over well, except for the kiddo that insisted on mushing his milk tart, mousse (two totally different flavours) together with, of all things, spring onion flavoured crisps!! Eeew!! All in all, it was a lovely day. We paid a fortune in taxi fare though because 'certain people' refuse to use maps... ugh!
Ah... on yesterday's 'entertainment'. I made the Winter pasta recipe. I liked it, but it wasn't rave review stuff. We found out afterwards that Tat's boyfriend was horrified because they've gone vegetarian at home and then to find no meat in his pasta here lol He seemed to enjoy the milk tart, but then who doesn't enjoy milk tart??
Enough for today. In the morning, if the weather is fine, we'll be going to Ilhabela. Better make sure my camera batteries are charged and the memory is clear :)
Ah... on yesterday's 'entertainment'. I made the Winter pasta recipe. I liked it, but it wasn't rave review stuff. We found out afterwards that Tat's boyfriend was horrified because they've gone vegetarian at home and then to find no meat in his pasta here lol He seemed to enjoy the milk tart, but then who doesn't enjoy milk tart??
Enough for today. In the morning, if the weather is fine, we'll be going to Ilhabela. Better make sure my camera batteries are charged and the memory is clear :)
Saturday, 26 March 2005
Quiet Saturday
Tat's boyfriend is coming over and I'm serving Winter pasta - its part of my menu mailer and sounds delish. I'll check in later to give a report. For desert, we'll have milk tart - yummy! I need to make the desert for tomorrow when we go to Anne's for the easter egg hunt. I'll make double milk tart and take the second one with and I'm making Mousse de maracujá or Grenadella mousse. Its delish and so easy to make. You just take a can of condensed milk, same quantity of cream and grenadella (passion fruit) pulp (without the pips) and beat them together in the liquidiser. Pop it into the fridge to set and you're done.
House is tidy... Tat is busy with origami and Jorge is burning cd's. The dogs are sleeping, Maluco is out hunting - or whatever it is that he goes off to do lol and Specs is curled up in her box. Kind of Saturday I like :)
House is tidy... Tat is busy with origami and Jorge is burning cd's. The dogs are sleeping, Maluco is out hunting - or whatever it is that he goes off to do lol and Specs is curled up in her box. Kind of Saturday I like :)
Friday, 25 March 2005
Brazil - 05 March 2005
Good a time as any to have a blog lol
We're starting to clear out the house in preparation for the big move. We got rid of the clothe's horse today and a lot of Tatiana's clothes that she's... uh... grown out of. I need to get my websites updated, but got sidetracked by Pete's blog... thus this entry.
We're full of plans for the future today. Life is good.... barring my aching back and Tat's sprained finger LOL
Hugz
Tint~
We're starting to clear out the house in preparation for the big move. We got rid of the clothe's horse today and a lot of Tatiana's clothes that she's... uh... grown out of. I need to get my websites updated, but got sidetracked by Pete's blog... thus this entry.
We're full of plans for the future today. Life is good.... barring my aching back and Tat's sprained finger LOL
Hugz
Tint~
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