Our tree decorated in the Party room of our apartment!


Scary Clouds approaching!



Puppets at the South American Museum in Sao Paulo

Indian headdress at the museum

Mary Cavese's favorite tree. They did not decorate it for Christmas this year.

They said the light's were harming it.

Hanging reindeer at Iguatemi Mall












Snowman family made from the bottoms of 2 liter cokes







Other decorations at the hippy market made with the same bottoms of the 2 liter cokes

Carrefour right by our apartment. Blue building behind is our apartment.

Christmas gift from the wonderful people that work with John

Last night I was laying in bed and I heard wonderful music coming from somewhere. I finally got curious and went to the window. There was a car driving through the streets playing Christmas Hymns at 9:00. They were in Portuguese but the tune was the same and very heart-warming. My favorite was Silent Night. I decorated the Party Room downstairs at our apartment for Christmas. Everyone seems to enjoy all I did. It was a lot of fun. The tree doesn't have lights but I may bring some back for next year. We also went to Iguatemi Mall last weekend and I took pictures of some of the decorations. They are just amazing. They had a parade last weekend that culminated with a concert and then afterwards there were the most wonderful fireworks and they were all green, red and gold. It was great to watch. I am putting a picture on the blog of tree ornaments from the park and the snowmen. They are made from 2 liter coke bottle bottoms and spray painted white or red. We thought this was brilliant.

The new Carrefour grocery store has opened and since it is 50 yards from our apartment it is very dangerous. John has already found some very good bread. We think it tastes like Shirley Reeves' homemade yeast rolls so many of know how dangerous that is. I'm putting a bunch of pictures on my blog as well as a picture of the gift we received from John's people. It is a treasure.

John and I visited our wonderful dentist, Rute. We were both in and out in 45 minutes. No bookkeeper, no receptionist, no hygienist and no air conditioner. We love her.

They have been putting new handicap ramps on all the sidewalks here in Cambui where we live. This has made it extra important for us to watch carefully where we are walking. You never know what is around the corner.

Some other news!
Reagan has said her first word. It is very symbolic as it is also Meredith's favorite food - CHEESE!
The people of Brazil use Hall's Menthol cough drops for candy.
Sandy and I fried our curling irons at the beach. Did not know the plug was 220 volts!!!!!

Sandy and me with her Santa made here!

Reagan with her new giraffe riding toy from Aunt Betsy & Uncle Alan.

John and Dale Walley a good friend from Clemson days
Reagan so precious

Katherine and Jim in their new den!

Well, we've been back in Brazil 11 days and this is the first time I've had a good chance to sit down and think about what we've done since November 1. It has been a really good 37 days. It was fun to travel with John instead of being by myself. We both survived it all and didn't kill each other.

We were #14 and #15 voting in the election. We thought the polls opened at 7:00 but they did not open until 8:00. We had good conversation while we waited. It is a real privilege to vote. We spent the next couple days in Texas tending to some business and seeing wonderful and forever friends. What a treasure. We were also treated to a wonderful homemade meal with the Rodgers' family in Texas. We LOVE their new home. They all seem to be adjusting quite well to being back in the United States. We certainly miss them in Brazil.

From there we went to South Carolina and visited with more old friends, went to our wonderful church and ate way too much good food. A BIG congratulations to Kevin and his family on his election. He is a good man! No visit to South Carolina is complete unless you drive through Clemson. I believe the campus gets prettier every time we go. We stopped in Columbia and shared a meal with John's sister, Katherine, and her husband Jim and then to North Carolina to see Meredith, John and Reagan. We were both shocked at how Reagan had changed. Walking and jabbering and just busy, busy, busy. What a joy she is. We got to see their beautiful new home and Aunt Betsy and Uncle Alan (they brought a new giraffe riding toy) and a good friend from John's Clemson years, Dale, came for a visit too. Wow! It was terribly hard to leave.

We returned to Tennessee to visit more with Mom and to get some things done to the house. We are both so proud of Mom. She stays busy with bingo and Bible Study and has made really good friends at her new home. It was very cold and you just aren't used to the cold after living in Brazil. It was quite an adjustment. I actually wore a coat. Many of you know I don't wear coats so it HAD to be cold.

My wonderful friend from childhood, Sandy, traveled back to Brazil with us. It was a real joy to show her all the places she has heard about. We made a short trip to the beach and even though it was cloudy and rained a lot we still had a relaxing time and enjoyed the beautiful view. It was hard to say good-bye. It was nice having someone to walk around town with. Thank you Sandy for coming!

We bought a new air conditioner yesterday. Lightning hit our TV, washer & dryer and air conditioner. John bought a new washer and got the rest fixed but the air conditioner started making noise last week. We did not want it to get hot without one so I am grateful we did it. John would have survived since the heat does not bother him like it does me but he knew I wouldn't.