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| Having Brasilia Hot Chocolate! Quinn, age 5 yrs +3 mos with Me, Nana, Grandma. |
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| Summer Rains Flower in Brasilia |
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| Flower in Brasilia |
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| Sunday All You Can Eat: Chicken, Ribs, Salad, Pasta Varieties, Dessert was a Tapioca with Fruit and Clove-Flavored Sauce (think of Wassail, but cold) |
Saturday. 3. This morning our exercise was a more difficult routine called ‘Diamond Cutter Lite’. Darrell cut down the Diamond Cutter routine to a doable 40 minutes for us. Now we work it into our weekly rotation. We had our normal large breakfast with left-over homemade pancakes, cottage cheese, yogurt, fresh fruit and sausage. After breakfast, I played with Quinn through the morning while his parents went out for a walk. Anytime they or we go for a walk, we can be out for 1-3 hours. We all like to walk long distances. They came back around 10am and said that we could all go to their special chocolate shop and get hot chocolate. I suggested we go now, and we did. It’s a cooler morning than it has been and the walk of more than a mile was enjoyable. We arrived at LaBarre Chocolate and all ordered the same dark chocolate drink with sweetened cocoa nibs on top. It came with a spoon to help get the thick mass out of the cup and to enjoy it both by sipping and by spooning. This chocolate took my mind back to 10 years ago when I took my first trip to Rome and had hot chocolate there. I was with my 2 sisters and brother-in-law, Ron. We were out after dark and I ordered the hot chocolate. It came thick and dark, almost pudding-like! It was sweet and delicious! I had never had this kind of hot chocolate before. Before leaving Rome, I found the local hot chocolate mix and took a bag home to Alabama with me. It was made with Italian dark chocolate, sugar and corn starch. Once we had finished that bag of chocolate, I didn’t keep up eating it. It became a sweet memory of a newfound international treat. Now, today as I have this thick Brazilian hot chocolate, I have decided that between the two countries, Brazil has won the ‘best’ award from me! Lol. That is not saying that I don’t want Italian hot chocolate! This particular chocolate is sourced in Brazil and completely processed through this small company. There’s no cornstarch involved in this cup of chocolate. It has a pure, dark, mildly sweet and full fat satisfaction. I would go for another cup on another day, but I would definitely have to work it in between meals strategically. It’s filling and got a secure place in my happy-finding memory.
Today I read the final story to Quinn from a large James Herriot’s Children’s Animal Story Book. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these lovely, farm stories from almost 100 years ago in Yorkshire, England. The book is so heavy and I’m not sure who to pass it on to now, but I don’t want to keep it with it’s chunky weight.
I’m on my 4th day of resourcing and using videos on You Tube from EddieMoves. He teaches exercise moves for hip flexibility, spinal decompression and greater mobility. I’ve gotten good results and I want to keep following along to do about 15-20 minutes of his ‘moves.’ I have reduced all residual hip pains and most of my neck tension and pain.
Sunday. 4. Our last time to meet with the Brasilia church that we’ve visited as English foreigners for the 3 separate months that we have come here. I’m grateful that they’ve been here and that they have welcomed us, as well as possible, with our language barriers. During worship, one of the men, Hobson, who is always greeting us, asked Jeremy if we could sit by the 4 English-speaking visitors and share our translation apps with them. The three of us got up and moved back and over a section to sit with the 4 visitors from Ghana. I was sitting in the middle between Debra and her uncle, who had google translate already going. Debra and I shared my device for translating the sermon and the songs. We talked briefly after the services. She was here with her family group and working as a maid. Her uncle introduced himself to me as the ambassador of Ghana. They have been here in Brasilia for a month or two. They will be here for 3-4 years. They expect to learn more Portuguese during their stay. The ambassador’s wife said they will be back next Sunday. Once they had left, Hobson kept thanking us for talking to them. Not only did we talk to them, but at least 2 others who could speak good English spoke to them too. Hobson took their picture, and got me in one. I gave Hobson a thank-you note that I had written just for him. He was so happy and hugged me and Darrell too. We said goodbye likely for our last time to this nice group and especially Hobson. Jeremy, Darrell and I walked back to the apartment. We all decided to go to a family style restaurant that Jeremy and Andrea had not been to yet. The food was brought on platters to the table. It was delicious. It was all you could eat and totalled about $20 usd per person and under age 5 was free. They took our drink orders, then brought tortellini soup and fried polenta sticks. Next they filled our table with grilled chicken and ribs, potato salad, green salad and a herb vinaigrette to pour over the meat. While we feasted, the servers brought around various pasta dishes of spaghetti with a choice of red sauce or four cheese sauce, chicken lasagne, and rice with sausage in it. After we had filled ourselves, three of us ordered dessert and one coffee. Dessert was different for us. It was a purple tapioca and runny jello-like texture with the flavor of fruit and clove. It was chilled and topped with some cream. It was very nice.  |
| Last Day in Brasilia and Uno with Quinn |
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| Cat Across at Next Apartment Building. It's Between the Open Window and the Safety Fencing, Like Our Window. |
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| One More Beautiful Tree in Brasilia! |
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| Quinn's Artwork We Used as the Cover to the Story We Wrote Together |
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| Story About Our Visit with Quinn, age 5 Christmas 2025 in Brasilia |
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| Next Pages of Visit with Quinn Story |
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| Visit with Quinn Story |
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| Visit with Quinn Story Conclusion |
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| Coming Into Miami, Florida at 5 am Eastern Time From Our Overnight Direct Flight on GOL Airlines. |
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| I Think that this is Our Final Mid-morning Pastry and Coffee in Brasilia (picture is out of order). |
Monday. 5. Our last day in Brasilia and with our kids and Quinn. Darrell and I walked 3 miles in one direction to go to Loma cafe and get a mid-morning pastry and cappuccino. We enjoyed our opportunity to walk and walk in the beautiful warm weather. We each had play times with Quinn. I wrote a story with Quinn today and I want to put pictures with it and give it to him printed up. For today, I wrote it on folded paper that I taped with painter’s tape. I hope he continues to enjoy our story. Andrea made us dinner. We had time to sit and visit after dinner, get showers and be ready for the Uber pick-up at 8pm. We got to the airport quite early enough for our 11pm flight. After getting settled onto our airplane, dinner was served about 1am. We both stayed awake to eat a little of it before falling asleep for a few hours on our way to Miami.
Tuesday. 6. After riding in an airplane all night, we arrived in Miami, Florida about 5 am eastern time. Getting off of the plane was quick and we waited about 20-30 minutes for our luggage. We collected our luggage and walked through customs, and a long way to get to the tri-rail ticket kiosk and then more walking to the actual train. We got to the train and got our seats with luggage in tow. We were headed to the Ft. Lauderdale airport stop. We arrived at that stop and left the train, walking a little way to the shuttle bus stop. We got onto the bus and were taken to the airport to our terminal. We stood in line after ticketing our luggage for its domestic journey. We went through security and arrived at the gate around 7:30 am. Our flight boards in 2 hours. We picked one of the 3 restaurants to eat a breakfast sandwich at and get a coffee. At this restaurant, I wore my headphones because the music was not to my liking! So like Ft. Lauderdale to me–loud, in-your-face and often abrasive. The sandwich was pretty tasty, but quite pricey at $10! The coffee also was pricey at $5. Our flight to Atlanta was easy, and our lunch choice at that airport was also less than mediocre. I was so full of cheese and salty meat, that I was wondering why I couldn’t have made better food choices today! Lol. I did get a bargain on a marked down $5 tee shirt with a Georgia skyline picture on it. We arrived to Huntsville airport around 2-3pm Central time. We got our luggage, found our truck in the long-term parking lot, went grocery shopping and then drove another 15 minutes to our airbnb in Limestone county off of East Limestone Road. It’s time for us to recover. Eric and Erin invited us for dinner, which we gladly accepted. We were able to unload our truck, put away groceries and drive about 15 minutes to their house off of Mooresville Rd, closer to Athens. We enjoyed visiting in person, especially with Owen (4 yrs) and Esther (2 yrs), our grandkids here.
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| Our Athens, Alabama (off East Limestone Rd) Airbnb |
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| Making Ourselves at 'Home' |
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| Really Comfy, Quiet and Clean Airbnb. |
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| A Very Heavy Book. I Ordered This for Quinn for Christmas, but It's So Heavy! I Read All Eight Stories to Him Over the Month We Were in Brasilia. I Brought it Back With Me. Not Sure What's Next for this Book! lol. Maybe a Donation or a Friend with Kids. |
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| Airbnb Master Bedroom with Comfy Kingsized Bed |
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| Nice Master Bath and Closet. Our Second Bathroom on the Hall Has a Tub, which I Love! |
Wednesday. 7. Eric came over today with Owen and Esther. They brought toys and played in our living room while we visited with Eric and had some coffee. The weather is sunny and warm today. They left around lunch time. We had a quiet afternoon. I did laundry and unpacked some more things. At night we went to Bible class at Capshaw church in Harvest. We stayed and talked to many of our friends, catching up from the last month.
Thursday. 8. Today was Darrell’s eye treatment in Huntsville. He got a steroid put into his eye. To him, it looks like a pellet. The pellet gets smaller as it releases over the next several weeks. He got his next appointment in March, 8 weeks from now. Once we got that date on our calendar, we could decide on our trip to Gaithersburg, Maryland to see Jeremy’s family while they are in the US between state department assignments. In the afternoon, I went shopping for a couple of hours. When I returned, Darrell was doing well with all of his resting. I cooked dinner: pressure cooked green beans, rice and quinoa, chicken sausages with mushrooms, and sliced cucumber, tomatoes and feta. It was all delicious.
Friday. 9. All morning, after breakfast, I was looking at airbnb’s for our upcoming calendar. I applied to one airbnb in Texas, just prior to our housesit near there. I also texted our sister-in-law, Phoebe for some dates at their house in Kingsport, Tennessee in February and March. I did an extra exercise routine online today from Kim Vopni. After doing one of her two routines that I know and like, I’ve decided to rotate between my current favorite online coaches. I’ll do eddiemoves from youtube for my core and flexibility, and I also like to do Block Therapy routines I’ve learned from Canada. Lunch with Samuel today at Taco Mama’s. It’s warm enough to eat on the covered and heated patio. I forgot to hand Samuel some Brazil Baru nuts that I brought back for him. We talked mostly about our time in Brazil and some about what’s going on with Jeremy and Andrea. Samuel filled us in on his changing work roles that are good for him in his career. He works for a small company owned by long-time friends. The company seeks out who is best suited for the positions that they need to fill. Samuel also has a trip to Spain planned in May. We came back to our house.
Nomad Notes. I’m ready to go back to the US and get into our own space, place and routines. Neither Darrell or I are looking forward to our overnight flight, but we are ready to get through it and recover on the other side of our trip. Thanks to our God and Father for the protection, mercy, and opportunities to travel as we have had in Brazil to be with our children and grandson, Quinn.
Verses on my mind:
Ephesians 2:8-10. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Galatians 6:9. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
“Let us not grow weary of doing good…” makes me think of being tired or tired and hungry. I don’t often experience hunger, but having both together is referred to as ‘hangry’. It can cloud my ability to show up with kindness, goodness and gentleness. I am working on this more and more with my own self-tolerance and gratitude for what is so easily accessible for me. I also think often about the value that my life brings to Christ and to others. Especially my valuable input in small doses as we move quickly from place to place. I think about how I can show up with a smile, eager to help out, eager to see some good that I can do and do it with gratitude.
“...God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” shows me that walking this spiritual walk in ‘Christ Jesus for good works’, is who I am best suited to be. This is where I can shine in every situation in my life. Thank-you God for making me who I am in Christ and for knowing me and knowing before I was ever here, that I am created in Christ for good works! And you have prepared my way before me to walk in these good works.
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