Change is Good.

 July 30, Friday. Today we decided to change things up a bit and do things a little more to our schedule. We decided to walk before language class while the weather is cooler and there is less traffic. We decided to leave by 8 am giving us time to walk 2 hours and still have an hour to eat shower and walk to the church. We also decided to go to the farmers market but to go a different route than the one we always used which was off the google maps. We have been walking long enough here that we know the area if not all the streets and alleys really well. Right off we noticed that there were wider sidewalks, more gardens, lots more stores, and tourists. It was a lot more fun. We looked in a lot of store windows as most were not open yet.

We got to spend more time walking side by side instead of walking single file. We arrived at the market and bought only what we thought we could use in the next couple of days. On the way home we moved over one block for part of the way to see new things and then returned to our previous route to check out a store we wanted to see. We passed a store called casa de Brasíl,

we saw a store that wanted to buy your gold, silver, or jewelry,

lots of higher end clothing stores. One street had these stuffed girls pants and shoes with flowers. They reminded me of the antlers we saw in Santarém with the flowers on them.

We walked through parks and of course flowers again.

We arrived home all sweaty and a little tired but with plenty of time to shower, eat, and walk to the church. Afterwards we went home I cooked a really good stew one of my best ever for lunch. We had an appointment cancel on us so we spent some time in the apartment, then headed out. Since I have trouble shifting and manipulating the phone maps, I had written down the names and  addresses of 5 members who sort of lived by each other and with this list in hand we listened to the phone tell us where to go. (Still call it #$@& she who must not be named). We found all 5 plus I realized there was a sixth right by so we stopped there. Two didn’t answer. Two were different people living there although I am thinking one was lying as when they were talking on the intercom before they answered the door the man said he didn’t want to talk to us. One man said to come back tomorrow as his mom would be home then, and one was actually there. An older lady who talked fast and  was nice but said she hadn’t had contact with the church in 22 years. Her brother was a member and because of him she joined and attended for a while before he moved away. I asked if she would like us to visit once in a while and she said no she was not interested at all. I thanked her for her time and explained my poor language skills as talking Brasileiro she was kind and said I spoke very well (very kind) then I told her we were here for another year and she said if we were in the area to stop by. Okay. We were about a half mile from home so we walked back up the hill to the apartment. It really is uphill both ways as everywhere you go here is either headed up or down. Love you.

This boat is the only one I have seen parked so far. As the only place to use a boat is the ocean I imagine the weather has to be good. I realize the smaller motor is probably for fishing, but it does prove I am right thinking if I had a boat to visit the other islands I need one with two motors. Caleb knows I am right.

Garden and Lots of Walking

 

Thursday July 29. Since the start of português class at 11:00 our morning walk is often changed to an afternoon one. Time wise it’s not a problem but starting that late we end up dressing better and it’s so hot. We get to combine our walk with our attempt at locating members, but this is why we need to dress better. Down the road about a mile from the church is a large garden we have wanted to visit but it was always closed in th morning. Today we decided to check it out and then continue past to check out some addresses further along the way. We arrived at the garden and went in. The garden was started in the mid 1800’s and is fairly large. It consists mostly of trees from all over the world. There were a few varieties from the United States but I think the most impressive were from Australia. Another neat part is that the trees are all labeled. The gum trees are huge, but by far the largest and most impressive were the banyan trees. The two they have are the two oldest trees in the garden.

The one with me in the picture is by a cliff like rise and you get to walk a road around and out to it 30 or 40 feet up.

The branches up there are still several feet in diameter larger than the majority of the other trees in their trunk. I kept thinking of the movie in search of the cast aways. Which was filmed in part in a banyan tree. I would love to have one but I would need about an acre for it not to mention 100 years to grow this big. Probably just best to visit. The roots are still taller than most of the grandkids. 

I tried for some flowers.

There was a pond by the bathrooms with lots of frogs and these really red goldfish.

After a little over an hour in the garden we continued on following our google map to try and locate two members houses. We found the houses but one was boarded up and no one home at the other. Heading home we were close to the larger grocery store in the mall so we purchased food we find easiest to buy there. We have to limit our purchase to what fits in my backpack as it is still about a mile home. It is amazing how many people are out in the afternoon on a weekday. Mostly teenagers and women. We headed home again to get another late lunch. We had purchased produce to last only a couple of days due to our luck with produce here. It was really hot and humid. Grandma and I were both leg sore and since the closest visit to be made is over a mile away we stuck around the apartment and grandma studied português. She is making posters of verb conjugation. Good for her. One other note not only are they using the names of our grandkids and kids on their cars, now they stole my nickname for Hallie Jumper.

There are even chickens in the garden.

Life is good. Love you all.

Wednesday July 28. These 11 am language classes are taking a while to figure out. We decided to take a short walk this morning, planning for a longer one later. Since we have been in every direction from our apartment it’s harder to find new places to walk. We settled on walking up and down a couple of side streets less traveled. Grandma really likes sunflowers so a quick picture when we found some.

We were walking through sort of a nice area, nice homes, neat yards. It is strange to see two homes that are exactly alike even being attached together but one is really nice and the other is really going to rack and ruin. 

Returning home we had a nice breakfast and then over to the church for class. The missionaries had located a member while walking two nights ago so we went to visit. Two women the daughter 61 and the mother 95. No records, no contact with the church lived in same place 5 years. I wonder how many more of the same are out there. On the way home I saw another version of the smart car. The normal version is those little 2 seater cars shorter than a motorcycle.  

The next size up is the same car with four doors, still kind of boxy and I see no reason I would have one.

But this one at least looks sharp. Made up to resemble a rear engine sports car I have no idea if it has more power (doubtful) or handles better. But it does look good.

Well we still were a way from home and we arrived and ate lunch at 3:30. A little about the food. Produce doesn’t last very long in the refrigerator. The lettuce turns to slime and when you peel that off it’s black in the middle. The carrots grow mold in the fridge. The potatoes sprout. The worst is the cheese they grow these blue things that spread out till they consume the whole package. Maybe there is a reason people shop every day here and the refrigerators are small. I spent a lot of time on the phone with the office elders and talked to the mission president about when or if to reopen the other branch. It was a nice day, just not too exciting. Called Megan as it is her birthday what a sweetheart. Thanks for the comments. Love you all.

The Road Less Traveled

 

Tuesday July 27. This morning we put on our walking clothes and headed out. We decided to head in a new direction even though it showed little promise of being interesting. Our route was straight up the hill on which we live. We decided to go for a half hour and then return. We passed the John Deere dealership and then we entered a different sort of section. At the start the only intersection we came to for the rest of our walk was a display case of a man dressed in old style clothes pulling a cart with milk cans, and a pouring picther to dispense milk at the houses. I guess he was supposed to represent the early form of milkman. There were a bunch of old antique, heavy, sort of crude farm tools also.

Continuing on straight one side of the road was filled up with nice maintained homes which kept grandma taking pictures almost nonstop.

The other side had an occasional nice home but usually was made up of old unmaintained buildings.

On occasion there were access points leading back in to farm areas. The whole area had a barnyard smell mostly of corn silage. We went a little over our time limit to see over the next bump but it just continued on with not end in sight. Looking back going down hill the ocean looked far away. Like a day of walking away. Grandma kept taking pictures of flowers. At this rate she will have to buy storage on google photos. Isn’t that good. I have to keep teasing her she still has over a year left. But maybe the flowers won’t always be in bloom. We had district meeting and then I had to contact the office and sign a paper to get a mission card. Finally we got to go home and eat. It was after 2 pm and since it was the first meal of the day we had hamburgers, french fries, (one of two things the french got right) and salad. It was good to eat and relax. We sat around til time to try and visit some more members. In Portugal you visit people in their homes after 5 pm. We were up and ready but looking out the window I could see a storm coming on the ocean and it started to rain. So plan b I called the branch president and tried to figure out the situation from the meeting of Sunday night. I need to think on that some more and get more input from grandma and others. It is interesting how many of the same problems encountered in larger wards are here only instead of groups being devided  it is individuals who have differences. Love you all.

Windmills

 

Monday July 26. One of the things listed as things interesting to see was windmills. I started looking for them and soon had several located to visit. Last week leaving the house of a neighbor I had noticed an old windmill in bad shape and to tell the truth I was surprised to see it as just at lunch that day I expressed a desire to find some.

So today we set out to find some with the elders it being p day. We visited one which has been made into a hotel.

When we were driving around we noticed another old remains on a hill top.

We set out to visit one called ruins of a windmill on historical registry but had to settle for a picture from far away.

Then while driving we found a really nice one.

We stopped at some nice places to look out over the ocean.

One was named the elephant trunk because it sort of looks like the head with trunk of an elephant what with the hole in the rocks.

Well we had tacos for lunch then a zoom meeting with the entire mission. It had turned off hot but was still cool in our apartment. Nice day for everyone. Love you.

Sunday its hot, humid, and busy

 July 25. This morning while eating and preparing for church a ship drifted by our kitchen window for almost an hour. Not something we usually see out the window in Pingree Idaho.

Today is supposed to be a nice relaxing day spent at church and at home. And in part it was. The temperature is such that even though I carry my suit jacket and a loosened tie I am really sweating by the time I arrive at church. One of the families we visited yesterday came and the kids act so happy to see us especially grandma. The meetings were good and I enjoyed talking to the members afterwards. A few are getting a little easier to understand. Maybe they just are being nice and speaking slower or clearer to help me. It still is good. We walked home slowly and it was so nice to be outside. The flowers just keep blooming here. I wonder if they ever go dormant? I cooked lunch and then read and just laid around for a couple of hours. As it turned out due to the time difference we had a zoom meeting just as we normally would have started calling all our family. We did get a short call from John before we had to change over to the meeting. Next we visited with everyone on messenger. Best part of the week. I spent a little time planning how to locate members and how to determine which ones to try for first. It was kind of interesting we ate alate supper and grandma and I took turns getting ready for bed while we were talking to everyone. Talk about your multitasking. The pretty purple tree we pass every time on our way to church.

One of the little girls gave grandma the flower in her hair. Doesn’t she look nice in this dress with the flower?

I will try to share a better variety of stuff while including pictures of grandma and telling of our adventures. We love you all.