Happy New Year

 

LMJ and mini Tommy wish you all a Happy New Year.

More importantly, we wish you an amazing 2012.

May this be our year!

::inspiring Mondays::

This is my last Monday of the year on the island. LMJ will be going home to Portugal this Thursday! Yay me! I have checked the weather forecast several times a day looking for the faintest sign of snow but the BBC assures me the area will be free from it. The travel nightmares of last year, which fortunately for LMJ were just a small delay really, should not happen again this year. All going according to plan, my dear Watson... I can almost breathe...!

I enjoy being a hostess and organising gatherings. One day, I will have a big house with tall windows where everyone is welcome at any time (well, most of the time!). I will have people over for dinner and Sunday lunches and Christmas and whatever other celebration takes our fancy. Until then, I will continue to have a few people over at a time (my place is not called the Matchbox for nothing!) and organise good gatherings with friends (preferably with gift swapping, really worked last time!) and cook bread with chorizo for them, with a few brigadeiros on request. It is good to be me on days like this :)

:: Thursday :D
:: little brother
:: home, almost there
:: squeezing mini Tommy up there
:: Mister Joey making me laugh so much I cannot stop
:: making my own bread. a dream comes true!
:: bread with chorizo, straight from the oven!
:: brigadeiros. lush!
:: did I mention home? home :D

How this Monday where you are? Filled with Christmas preparations? Calm and quiet? Tea and cookies? Enjoy it :)

Brazil vs UK

LMJ: Rio's postcard, Christ the Redeemer, peacefully watching over the whole of sourthern Rio. For me, Rio is this postcard and the beaches and the food and the people and the relaxed way of life in a charming chaos, but Rio is also much more. Rio is a city that smiles and inspires smiles. How not to love such a place?

EP: This is the nearest thing we have to an iconic building in my neck of the woods. Didcot Power Station. I didn't have to work too hard to get this photo, as this place dominates the landscape for miles around. There's a weird beauty about the cooling towers, especially at sunset. I used to think they were an eyesore. But now I really think I'll miss them when they get knocked down in a few years' time. They've become so closely associated with my local area; it won't be the same when they're gone.

***

This post ends the series Brazil vs UK, brought to you by yours truly and the Erratic Photographer. I had a great time photographing for the project and really enjoyed the post-production too. The Brazil vs UK series gave me some photographic focus, a few laughs, an amazing collaboration with my favourite photographic buddy, and a set of 10 contrasting images between my adoptive country and the amazing city of Rio de Janeiro. We hope you've enjoyed it too!

Brazil vs UK

LMJ: Watching the sunset from Arpoador is a wonderful experience and one I would recommend to all people visiting Rio. People gather on the rock waiting patiently for the moment it happens and then clap once the sun is gone. Walking back from Arpoador, the street lights along the beach make for another beautiful view of Rio. Out comes the gorillapod and a bit of imagination on where to attach it to, out comes night light photograph at Ipanema!

EP: On the evening of Day 9, I went to the Royal Albert Hall to see my niece perform in the Schools Prom concert along with hundreds of other talented young musicians. The audience were given glow sticks to wave during the concert, so what you can see here are the streaks of light coming from the sticks. I quite like the result because it captures the atmosphere well, but I wasn't trying to get this effect. A lot of my better photos are accidents and this is no exception!

Brazil vs UK

LMJ: Rio's choperias are for me the closest thing to a British pub. Like in a pub in the UK, one can choose from several different beers and other alcoholic beverages, people seem to feel very much like at home and tend to go their "local", and a few of the regulars really seem to be part of the furniture. In contrast with the UK, choperias have big open entrances (let the fresh air in!) and tile flooring (what's with the carpet, really?). Between you and I, they also seem slightly trapped in 1970s Portugal, but that just adds to the charm!

EP: Well I didn't venture to the pub, so the closest I got was this pub sign. An idyllic scene of someone leaning against an oak tree reading a book while the sun sets - quite a contrast from the raucous atmosphere inside this establishment while a big football match is being screened or a poker night is in full swing. I like the fact that British pubs have painted signs and unusual - often incongruous - names. This one is named after a famous old local tree which is still going (growing?) strong after many centuries.

Brazil vs UK

LMJ: Caipirinha! It's delicious, it's strong, it's refreshing, and it's green. Being the selective little miss that I am, my caipirinhas were carefully chosen for me by a panel of experts who not only ensured I tried different cachaças in the caipirinha, but also that these were the best around. Thank you, panel of experts, for you've made a cultured woman out of LMJ.
Small note to Nicky: think you could use with my green bit of Rio right now... hihihi!

EP: Day 7 and inspiration is running low. LMJ sets the theme as 'green' and the most interesting thing I can find is this pot plant in the lobby at work. Big news: earlier that day a new carpet has been laid in the lobby (which is soon covered with muddy footprints!) and the pot plant has mysteriously moved during the operation. What an exciting week I'm having - who needs Rio?

Brazil vs UK

LMJ: I am a lover of the ocean. My hometown is by the sea. While at university, I lived 5 minutes away from the sea. And let's not mention I have a degree in Marine Biology. Yes, I am a lover of the ocean and to be so close to it naturally makes me smile and feel all happy inside. Whilst I smiled away at my luck, poor Nicky back home was having some water problems... oh dear! No worries, Nicky, I had fun for both of us, that's how generous I am :D

EP: Day 6 saw an unwanted encounter with water, in the form of a broken plug hole in the kitchen sink at home. The clean-up operation is shown in full swing, water removed from the cupboard and a trusty bucket installed while I figured out what to do next. Hope LMJ was having more fun in Brazil...

Brazil vs UK

LMJ: Rio is fabulous and the beaches are fabulous and the walkways alongside the beach are fabulous, but true to her European heart LMJ needed old buildings and a bit of her beloved tall windows. For that, a little walk to Lapa. Although Lapa isn't prim and proper with a dash of posh, its old buildings and relaxed atmosphere (yes, even for Rio standards!), and let's not forget delicious caipirinhas, really made it to my list of favourite spots.

EP: The weekend, and a chance to take a photo in the daylight! This is a delightful old house tacked on to the medieval abbey buildings in Abingdon. It looks like an Elizabethan building; a newcomer compared with the abbey. The other side looks out over a mill stream on the River Thames. What a place to live. Only problem is all the annoying folk who keep taking pictures outside. Ah well, you can't have it all.

Brazil vs UK

LMJ: Friday night in Lapa, a bohemian neighbourhood in Rio famous for Arcos da Lapa, historical buildings and... you guessed, nightlife! LMJ encountered her first caipirinha here and let's say not all photos are as much in focus as this one. It felt a bit like home, people on the street chatting away over drinks having fun. We came back to Lapa. And I will go back to Lapa and have yet another delicious caipirinha!

EP: The kebab van: the traditional end to a Friday night out on the town in Britain. This is where the people go for sustenance as they begin their weary journey home from the pub, or on their merry way to the next watering hole. Sami's Kebabs are an institution in Abingdon. I personally can't stand doner kebabs, but things wouldn't be the same without Sami's van in the market place.

Brazil vs UK

LMJ: Blue skies. Blue skies everyday, all day, no matter what funny cariocas say! I'm a fan of skies and colour and Rio is the place to be for amazing pictures of both! As my fellow Speedy Bullets ran back in Oxford, I indulged in some awesome sky scenes followed by some sunbathing at Ipanema beach... because life can be that good!

EP: One good thing about this time of year is that we get fantastic sunsets. This was the scene in front of me when I walked out of the office after work on Day 3. This photo was taken just as our jogging group the Speedy Bullets were about to go for a training run - minus one member, who had a good excuse as she happened to be in Brazil.

Brazil vs UK

LMJ: Feet. Flip-flops. My feet in flip-flops. Not just any flip-flops, Havaianas flip-flops. In yellow. Some people are just too lucky, and LMJ is definitely one of them. These were a welcome gift so I'd feel right at home in Rio. It worked! At home, I'd be wearing warm boots and thick socks, much as the Erratic Photographer. Here, the warm temperatures ask for free feet and light clothing. And that's how I fell in love with Spring in Rio!

EP: Another day, another photo in the dark. The time difference between the UK and Brazil means that by the time LMJ and I have agreed on a theme for the day's photo, daylight hours are at a premium - and most days I am at work, restricting opportunities even further. It's late Autumn and the ground in Oxfordshire is a carpet of colourful decaying leaves. The time for flip-flops and sandals has passed and sturdy shoes are now the order of the day to navigate the cold, slippery streets.

Brazil vs UK

My dear friend, the Erratic Photographer and I set ourselves a little challenge whilst I was in Brazil; to take one photo a day, on the same theme, for 10 days, to show the contrast of LMJ's holiday in Brazil and his routine in the UK. Between you and I, I think he just feared he would miss LMJ too much and wanted an excuse to hear from her everyday, but we'll keep that a secret...! The photos are done and we can now bring them to you, side by side! We'll aim to tell you a little bit about each of them. Hope you enjoy it!

LMJ: I was so excited about my trip to sunny Rio I had not one moment to lose; I was out of the house at 6:20 to make it to Heathrow with more than enough time to spare for my 12:00 flight. That's keen, I know! I patiently sat on the plane for 11:30 hours, watched films and worked on some photographs. Occasionally, I did think of my dear Erratic Photographer back at home, working away and negotiating the early sunsets and very short daytime. That's until I had to change into flip-flops because we were about to land in Rio de Janeiro!

EP: While LMJ was flying over the Atlantic towards sunny Rio, I was stuck in traffic on the way home from work. The clocks had just gone forward so the journey is now being made in the dark. A depressing prospect. Although I'm lucky that it's not a bad commute, the boring daily routine is in stark contrast with the excitement of Joey's transatlantic voyage.

Pulga

September 1997 - March 2011

Even heroes part one day... Yesterday, was Pulga's day...

This is a sad post. One of longing and deep sadness for the goodbyes we say forever and for the goodbyes we sometimes don't have the chance to say. One of accepting nothing lasts forever. One better written in my nostalgic native language, Portuguese. And so I have.

Pulga means flea in Portuguese. It can be used to describe minuscule things of huge personality. Nothing could define Pulga better than this. We found her sitting on a wall, calmly, smaller than my hand (and believe me, my hands are small), eyes closed with mucus (one eye never fully recovered), ears rotting at the tips (the round ears you see are the result of that!). She required treatment, food and cuddles. And she got it all. She had to be given medication every 3 hours for 3 weeks; I got the night shift. She would climb up our legs and bite our hands to tell us she was there. She slept in the dog's bed, a little tiny thing bang in the middle, and the dog stared adoringly for she adopted her. She loved the dog more than she ever loved any of us, to be honest. She was funny and cute and feisty and sweet in the same measure. And I could go on like this in English, half translating what I've written before, and none of this feels mine, for my sadness is somehow still in a different language. I miss her. I did say goodbye and I still miss her. She made me happy and a better person and a happier person and she is no longer. And I have to live with it, and I do, but it hurts today.