João after the 7 km walk

Reflecting...

I suppose it is now time to make a reappearance! I have missed blogging and seeing what my bloggy friends are doing.The temperatures are quite a bit lower in Brazil now, so it is a little easier to sit at a computer without getting upset at the mosquitos that hide under my desk and worried that sitting on a cushioned chair in a damp swimsuit will ruin the fabric, or that sweat will damage the keyboard... It has been a very hot summer and although I like the heat, it has been very draining this year! This picture shows the temperature .... 42°C!!!
Autumn is coming for us  and it is a very nice season here, it tends to be drier and the temperatures are much more amenable!
This year I have a lot to look forward to, first of all, various family members will be coming out to Brazil to visit, my cousin and her family, then a month later, my uncle and his wife and maybe my sister will be able to make it from Portugal too! My eldest son will be taking his entrance exams to university too, which I am sure will be a great excitement!! I just hope he does his part.

I continue my quest to earn more money to tide us over and pay some of the loans off - oh, to be free of banks and credit cards!!! Also hoping that we can find a little more daily 'joie de vivre', kind of difficult when in the midst of the rat race. I really want to get back to sailing more often - at least we have had two weekends at the club and sailed! We didn't do too well because we lost our main sail fasteners during the storm that hit us on the first regatta, then we sailed on a friend´s boat the next day, which was great - the following weekend we had fixed the sail, but the outboard motor gave up on us halfway to the starting line, so we didn't get there in time to start... rather disappointing competition wise, but great sailing all the same.

Sailing is uphill sometimes!!

But we get beautiful views...

Captain, my captain!

Rambling on...

I haven't been here much recently - I am sure that Twitter, Facebook and Orkut have been taking up too much of my time! The heat here in Brazil, more specifically Rio de Janeiro, has been torrid! The newspapers announced this week that we were the second hottest place on the planet, we only lost to some remote place in Ghana, south of the Sahara!!! This alone makes you want to melt, and sitting at the computer is the last thing in mind, try holding a "warm" laptop on your lap, when the "thermal sensation" around you is 50ºC! As much as I appreciate the heat, this is getting to be a bit much....
We are now entering carnival in Rio, lots of excitement and revelry on the streets, but also, a lot o f peace and quiet for those, like us, who have decided to hole up at home - a five day holiday is always welcome!!
The eldest has gone off to his friend's beach house, north of Rio and the two youngest have just come home from a 20 day sojourn in the south of Brazil - I think enjoying the fact that they are home! On the 22nd, Monday week, they will all be going back to school, so the year begins in earnest, woohoo!

A new friend

This is a picture of a new friend - I have had her about a month now, she  is just about getting used to us! She is six years old (and a bit) and beautiful!! Her name is PRETA - that is black in Portuguese and her nickname is "Pe-pe" She still doesn't enjoy being squeezed, but will accept kisses on her adorabe snout, kind of! We love this breed and firmly believe that it is the owners' who make and break a dog - therefore we are delighted to see her settling in with an older Rottie and a younger Lab and her puppy. 4 dogs! what was I thinking??!!!!

Minus one, alas!

Well, c'est la vie, as they say in some parts - Candy managed to smother one of her pups during the night so the early morning saw some grave digging to my DH's disgust! It is a good thing dogs can't count, in fact I don't even think she noticed. We will have to keep a closer eye on her to avoid further 'accidents'! Here is a picture of her with the seven...

New arrivals

Well, they are here now - all eight of them!

I don't think Candy knew what was coming, however, they all seem to be thriving and she seems to be happy about them.

I guess I will have a busy forty five days ahead of me - cleaning out the kennel three times a day - I hope some of the teenage creatures around will come to my aid - wish me luck, my bloggy friends!

Odd things

I complained enough about August, that I felt guilty about posting in September I think! September, for me, is a lovely month, especially here in Brazil, as it is the beginning of spring. The weather begins to get nicer - clear blue skies, breezes and sunshine - it didn't work out exactly like that, though - we had some brilliantly summery days in the middle and I even dared put away the blanket, however I had to drag it out again last week. It is now October and everything is green and flowers galore - I enjoy watching the little monkeys gambol around on the branches in front of my office window, one of them has just had babies and it looks like a Notre Dame hunchback with two little ones almost soldered onto her back! even the tail seems to cling!! I didn't get to go sailing at all in September, much to my disappointment. We managed to sell the car and buy a (brand) new one and also settle up with the club, which means we can continue to go without the added embarassment of knowing that we owe a few monthly fees - it certainly does dampen one's spirits. I have also managed to start the process of renewing my visa and foreign ID card, so I am no longer at a danger of being deported to the UK! I now have concentrate my funds and efforts on renewing my driver's license and work permit. I hope I can get both done during this month of October. Our very pregnant Labrador is about to give birth any day now, I set up a lovely "nest" for her in the kennel, but she refuses to stay there, she insists on digging her own (in MY garden) and stubbornly laying there all night, the Rottweiler thinks that is fine, she can have a nest to herself in the dry - I suspect she has told Candy that "real" dogs do it in the wild, so she can have the kennel to herself! Candy, being the compliant feather head she is... It will be interesting to see what comes of this, as we have no idea who the father is - we have suspicions, but only wild guesses really.