Trivialities

A couple of days ago, Tat went with me to the dermatologist. We were running late and didn't know where we were going. The bus took us to about a mile away from the clinic. There was so much to photograph, but Tat kept me in check and I only managed one photograph. So sad. We were told to be there at 9:30am, but only got in some time after 11am. I was ravenous. We hadn't eaten yet. We stopped off at a 'coffee shop' afterwards for some very stale, dry, heartburn-promoting coxinha, which we washed down with passable cappuccino.

We were dying to try out a Christmas shop we saw, which turned out to be an unusually well-decorated dollar store. They had a life-size Santa doll dancing and singing in the window. My rather exhuberant daughter soon got into the Christmas spirit and nearly took the shop down with her. She has a cut to show for it on her hand. Naturally, it was the tinsel that jumped out and attacked her.

We went into a cafe so she could wash her hand, then started tramping up and down this very long commercial road trying to find our way home. The honey sellers, beyond thinking we were a little 'touched', tried very hard to sell us their bottles of honey. I refuse to buy unless it has a corn cob stopper, purely because I'm dying to photograph this phenomenon. These feeble honey sellers had cork stoppers in their bottles. Don't they know anything? They did tell Tat that pretty ladies don't pay though. We should have taken them up on their offer.

It took us a while, but we eventually found our way to the bus stop, courtesy of the first helpful police man I have encountered here. The bus ride was uneventful and we got home early enough, so we stopped off at the post office. Christmas!! I got a book I had ordered, Green Pharmacy and Tat got some postcards from Harieta in Romania (sweet girl). Then our package finally arrived from Anne. She had mailed our Christmas gifts in September in the face of her move to Holland. She sent me a shopping bag (what's with that??). Tat got a teddy-related bag and keyring and Jorge got a gorgeous clock. The clock was really a family gift, but she knew Jorge would have to put it together ; ) Then there was the pig...
A pink flying pig! Now Anne hates pink as much as I do. She bought us each one of these pigs, so we could 'connect' across the miles. Uh... yes, Anne... definitely. Its a perfect example of her humour though and the fact that she knew I'd get a laugh out of it. The whole thing is so absurd and totally crazy.... but so funny! Someone please tell me what the hook on the end of its snout is for!

After a supper of leftover mac 'n cheese - always better the next night, Jorge headed off to bed. He likes to go to bed shortly after the sparrows do. Tat and I were clearing up the kitchen when I scrunched up the paper bag from the bread rolls, ready to toss it, except, it didn't go into the rubbish bin, but at Tat! She tossed it back and the war was on. It wouldn't have been so bad if we both lacked the usual large motor co-ordination skills required for ball play (I was always the last to be chosen for school teams), but we were laughing so hard, that throwing the 'ball' with any reasonable form of aim was well nigh impossible. I can't remember how long we kept that up. Yesterday, a random shot with the paper ball started us off again. Today, we both felt the 'ball' needed to be memorialised for posterity, so here it is ; )

Ah... the simple joys...