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| Bus Routes |
The past 2 weeks since General Conference the temple has been closed for it's semi-annual cleaning. The other two American couples invited us to go with them, traveling in a car, to several coastal cities and as far as Fortaleza up north. Although they are very beautiful places, and since we had already been there before, we opted to stay home and get re-acquainted with Recife. Our goal was to become acquainted with the routes of the buses that run by the streets surrounding the temple and see if some of our favorite restaurants still existed. It seems like the traffic within the city has doubled since we were here, 2005-2007. It is said that there are over 300 cars sold here each day. Anyway we are glad that we do not have to drive here.
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| Casa da Cultura |
The bus system is good once you figure out where they all go. So we got on and rode sometimes to the end of the line and back. To say the least, every trip was an "experience" but we did get acquainted with some of the routes and did find our favorite Chinese restaurant and had lunch there one day. I also found my favorite pastry shop and bought a piece of cake, chocolate mousse called "Seduction". On another day, we found the biggest shopping mall we have ever been to. It's only a year old and so beautiful. So anxious to see it decorated for Christmas. We visited an old prison that is now a cultural center. In the cells, artisans display their wares, including the beautiful lace made in the fishing villages of northern Brazil .
While shopping at a large grocery store about 6 blocks from the apartment, we found, miracle of miracles, some small cans of sliced jalapeno peppers. I would have liked to have bought the whole display but controlled myself and only bought 2 cans. Hope they are still available next time we go there. The best rule of thumb here is, if you see it, you had better buy it because you probably will not see it again.
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| Grandma's Cabinet |
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| A Thing of Beauty |
One of our great accomplishments during our break was to buy and put together, with the help of my trusty little screw driver kit, a pair of pliers and a borrowed hammer, a cabinet for the bedroom, pictures included. Dad did a super job as you can see. Another adventure we had was to get a haircut. You just never know what to expect the first time, except that it will be short and we surely weren't disappointed. Don's looked pretty good. Mine on the other hand was "SHORT"!! Denise said I could just let it grow out for the next 17 months and not have to worry about it again.
I guess these are just some of the reasons we keep coming back. Got to love the ADVENTURE in every day!! At the end of the day we are glad to come home to our garden paradise of peace and serenity out of the world and will be happy to return to our service in the temple this week.
Love you all and miss you.
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| Countdown to World Cup |
We had a single senior sister report yesterday on her mission to Nauvoo. She was FULL of enthusiasm and spoke of how rejuvenating it is to serve a mission. She said her granddaughter had asked why she goes on so many missions (she also was in Japan when the earthquake hit). She said her reply was, "Because it is fun!". But she also likened it to savoring the taste of your favorite food in your mouth. A sweet ripe peach, or in our case a piece of dark chocolate :-). She explained that mission experiences leave you craving more.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated her comments so much, because yes, sometimes I still need to understand "why you go on so many missions." I am grateful for your service and have seen mini tender mercies like this for me since you left. Thank you for your example and willingness to put all aside to be close to the Lord. I love you.
Denise