New... and Improved

I've been talking about it for a long time, but now I've gone and done it. Back to my natural color - sort of - for my hair. We tried matching, but it's hard to do, especially on the blond highlights. My highlights were never supposed to be so many or so blonde. They just kept getting lighter and brassier. So off with them. On to a new color! I asked for a trim and out came the razor and when I looked up, my hair was gone. But I loved the look, although it still kind of shocks me, as I don't look like myself at all. Fortunately the hair will grow out. I love the color, although I already know most people won't. I like being a brunette, like I was born. I say this is sort of my natural color, because this color definitely covered up the "grey". Shocking isn't it? I have greying hair. If I had more grey I would leave it, but I have here and there so that it looks odd. Anyway, here I am with a new look. If it's improved, well you'll have to judge. I feel younger and lighter (wish the latter part were true about more of me than my hair, alas...). Can't wait to see the reaction at church on Sunday. Hey, why don't you try something new and improved in your life this week? (Not necessarily a new hairdo, however.)

Move over Picasso!

One of the fun things I did on vacation was do some more drawing. I have been taking drawing lessons since March. I thought it was pretty hopeless, but discovered despite my lack of talent, with a good teacher, anything can be learned. To me it is amazing that I can produce anything that looks recognizable. I get all excited when I see my drawings, because I just can't believe I did anything that looks halfway decent.



I want to you look at the difference between the portrait of João I drew (albeit from memory) pre-instruction, with the portrait I drew on vacation. I think you can see pretty serious progress. The basic technique is to draw what you see and only what you see.

Of course there are some "tricks". For instance in the beginning we drew things upside down - Voilá this German horse (by some unknown artist). That is so you learn to draw what you really see, not what you think you see.



We also learned to draw using what is called "negative" space. That is, instead of drawing the flower in this Bromelia, I drew the spaces between the leaves and petals. That is to help with shape and size.



Ah.. perspective. That is so hard for me. In fact, I never finished those drawings. I hate drawing furniture, walls, still lifes. I have a lot of those unfinished drawings in my album. Maybe I hate the subject. Maybe I hate the fact that I just can't get it right. I don't know. I plan to start working on that some. You can see from the table drawing that this is not my strong suit. Trust me, it's a load better than my vases and chairs.



I do like, however, portrait drawing. I have tried my hand at animals, and so far so bad. Of course, haven't had any teaching in that area. So for now, will stick to people.



Next, I learned about proportion and measuring accurately. Don't do that so good either. We copied portraits of master artists for this step. This one is my best. It is Cranach's "Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Hat" (1600). I got him too fat in the face. I tend to just draw and forget to measure the sizing. Then I just hate to erase and fix it. In fact, probably my greatest enemy is my very short attention span and my hurry to finish up something.



Yesterday's class (a make-up class for me) was just a riot, as we worked on shading. The technique was so different. We darkened the paper and then we erased out the light sections. Oh so cool because I did it upside down and could see nothing until I turned it around and there was the guy. He's too skinny (there we go forgetting to measure again), but I just love it anyway. I think it's my best effort so far. Tomorrow we are going to work with charcoal to do another Picasso. I can hardly wait. I love doing new things. To accompany my learning in this area, I am reading all I can on art and drawing, including the fascinating "The Story of Art" by Gombrich (a definitive work in this area I understand). I am now doodling all the time to work on learning shading. Who would have "thunk" it? You can teach old dogs new tricks.



PS: Today, Friday, we worked in charcoal for the first time. That was really hard, but I loved it. So much fun doing another Picasso, one of my favorite artists. I ran out of time at the end, so he lacks detail work, but here is my portrait of Picasso as a young man.

Friendship

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, it is a rare thing to go on vacation and come home with so many new friends. We were blessed in our stay in Monte Verde. It was really wonderful. One of the very interesting moments was when the pastor's wife ran into us one day and invited us to eat pizza and attend a choir rehearsal. It's not the church choir, but rather a group that will be singing at the Latvian Baptist Convention. A large group of Latvians fled because of the communist persecution and some came to Brasil. Werner Grinberg was among this number. He eventually came to the mountains of Minas Gerais and established the village of Monte Verde (which is simply a portuguese translation of his name - Green Mount). Before constructing his permanent house, he built the Baptist Church. Certainly it is the only place in Brazil where a Baptist church is on the main street, prominent in the community. Some of the Latvian descendents of those who settled with him, are still members of the church. Together with Latvians from all over Brazil, they meet for an annual meeting. The group from Mt. Verde will be singing and so we were able to "practice" with them. I think music runs in the blood of the Latvians. Everyone I know is so very talented. I thought you would enjoy sharing in this special moment! Just listen in with us.

The Long and winding road

The Beatles sang to me in my youth:

"The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear"

That was definitely my hope as João and I began to make our way home from Monte Verde as our vacation began to wind down.

Since I last wrote on Monday, we have had delightful and adventuresome experiences!
Monday night, as I returned from the LAN House, I felt colder than usual and as the evening wore on, I was uncomfortably cold and began to long for the heat of Rio. (That in and of itself should tell you how cold I was). That evening we built the hottest fire we could, pulled the mattresses next to the fire and put on just about every piece of clothes we had with us and I snuggled under 4 blankets and was still cold! We learned it had hit a low of -4 degrees C, which is roughly 24 F. It was the same temp inside as out. With the roaring fire, we got the temp up to about 6 (C) or 42 (F) in the house. Wow.

Fortunately the sun popped out the next day and it warmed up to 15 (C), which is about 59 (F). Big relief. Since it was still cool, we decided we would finally indulge in one of the specialties of Monte Verde, which is fondue. Unfortunately it is only served at night and we had an evening engagement. But because we had made friends with the owner of the restaurant, he made an exception and served us our long awaited cheese fondue. What fun we had eating that. I broke down and bought a fondue pot and hope very soon to make it with friends and family, since they even shared the recipe with us.

We spent Tuesday evening at the Pastor's home and really delighted in spending the time with such a wonderful family. The pastoral couple is just absolutely outstanding. It's unusual to make so many friends and feel so much a part of a community after just 3 weeks.

I was sad come Wednesday morning, as we packed the car to begin our trip home.

We decided to drive to another resort town, via the "scenic route", which is being generous. It's called the farm route, since it is actually no road (is not on any maps), but a way to connect the farms and ranches. They told us to always choose the wider path and vear to the right at any fork in the road. But to our surprise there actually was a sign along the way, which was encouraging. To give you a notion of the road condition, in the first four hours we travelled 45 quilometers (or about 24 miles). No we did not stop along the way, except occasionally to make sure our car would ford the stream, clear the rocks, not fall through the wooden bridge, or be run over by the cows, dogs, chickens, sheep that shared the road with us. It was never scary, but it was worrisome if we were going to ruin the car or if we were ever, ever going to arrive anywhere. The views were spectacular, the sky blue, the air cool and crisp and my company was excellent. We climbed and dropped alternatively in the highest mountain range in Brazil (although not the highest peek).

Eventually, after four hours, we actually hit a real road, although unpaved, was of excellent quality. Then after another 40 minutes we hit the asphalt. And after 5 ½ hours of driving we finally arrived in Campos do Jordão! It is also a gorgeous mountain resort. We didn't have a lot of time to explore, but I was just happy to see civilization. But the town was very nice and I hope to return someday. I especially enjoyed seeing the maple leaves that were turning colors (it is almost winter here) and the cherry trees in full blossom at the very same time. Seasons can get confused in the tropics. After a good meal and lots of oohing and ahing as we drove down the mountains, back to the main highway, we finally arrived, that evening at my friend, Marilene's, home.

That was to be the very last stage of our vacation. Lots of late night talking and visiting and eating and sharing and sleeping took place as we tried to catch up on old times. We are the kind of friends that always pick up where we left off, no matter where that was! After a year of being far from one another, with just occasional visits, the friendship is firm, which is a great victory.

On our last day in Mount Verde, we happened along the farm near our house and the new lambs were actually outside feeding. We stopped the car to look and listen. I am a city kid, so I still get a kick out of farm animals. The owner came over and offered to let me hold a lamb. I had never down that, so he placed her in my arms. She was so sweet and calm and soft. Just irresistably adorable. Course I love animals, especially the cuddly kind. Her mother, however, was not so fluffy and sweet. The caretaker, a young boy, was terrified of her. Momma sheep was smelly and dirty and rather cross. She lacked a loving shepherd to stay by her side and bathe her and care for her and make her feel like her babies were safe. That, my friends, is why our vacation draws to a close. We have sheep, we have lambs who need us to protect them, to care for them, to help them to feel safe. João and I joyfully, willingly return to our shepherding duties. There is a flock to be fed, a flock to be cared for, lambs to be nurtured, sheep to be protected and lots of love to be shared!

...and the living is easy

Ah, what a wonderful vacation we are having here in Monte Verde. It is a charming little town of about 7,000 people, that swells to about 12,000 on the weekends. To the left is the entrance to the city. I thought I would hate the weekends, but I find it fascinating to see how the town comes to life and so many more stores open on Saturday and Sunday. There are even traffic jams on the one main street. On the right you can see main street and me indulging in chocolate covered strawberries!
Most other streets are dirt and many run up into the mountains. We have taken some treks up into the mountain... and our poor car and my poor nerves. But the view is well worth it. To the left is the gateway into the mountains. Isn´t it cool? Here is a view on the right with João taking in the sights at the top. Actually we never made it to the top, as you have to hike up. We tried hiking, but I am too old and fat and you can see in the photo to the left, I just pooped up with the steep upward climb. Actually I might have insisted, but my poor Achilles tendons really starting hurting and my knee as well, and I didn´t want to ruin the rest of my vacation trying to do what I am not in shape to do. But it has been fun seeing something beautiful everyday. I have had a riot just photographing the flowers and trees here. There is something new to do every day. One day we took the trail from the airport to the city and to our suprise it was not a bad hike at all. And it seemed we were in some kind of primeval forest, with 200 year old pine trees. It was a very quiet experience.
Last Thursday was Sweetheart´s Day here in Brazil and the Baptist Church here had a fabulous banquet. I have never seen so much wonderful food in my life. They invited us and so we had a great time. The folks here are so very
friendly. We have made so many new friends. When can go into the restaurants here and call the waiters and owners by their first name. We have made friends with about 15 people at the church as well. That has been a plus we just didn´t expect here.
We both continue our reading and our writing, and I continue sketching. As the book recommends copying some old masters, I decided to try my hand at a Picasso, finally working up the courage to add some color to my work. See the results! Not great, but a lot of fun to work on with my new colored pencils.
I am sure I have bored you with my easy living details, but hope you at least enjoyed the photos. I close out my entry by sharing this last photo of me with the flowers up on a mountaintop, just give you a feel of the beauty here.

Just Lovin´ It

We continue to enjoy our stay here in the mountains. I don´t have tons of exciting news, but wanted to post some pictures, although the internet here is interminably slow, so I am not too sure how many I will succeed in uploading before my time is up.

The other night it was quite chilly (8º C) and with the fireplace going full blast we were still cool. But what fun we had roasting cheese on sticks, letting it melt onto fresh bread (our neighbor bakes) and enjoying fresh grape juice (you didn´t really think a Baptist pastor would have wine, did you?). It was so delicious and felt to very decadent. I felt in the very lap of luxury. Our little chalé is really quite lovely and comfortable. It has everything we need. The only really hard thing is working up the courage to take a shower. The water is warm, of course, but the bathroom isn´t!

The view from our backporch is really beautiful! And there are trees and flowers in our back yard. I look like a babushka or something, but anything to stay warm on a cool morning.

Just across the street is the airstrip and yesterday we went talking along the land strip, as it is one of the highest points in the city. We had a great view of the city and mountains around us. In addition we got to run to the side of the runway and watch a plane land right in front of us. What a hoot. Here I am on the airstrip, in front of one of the native pine trees that are just so very beautiful here. We don´t get many pine trees in our area of Brazil, so we are fascinated with them.

The photo of João is also from the airstrip and shows some of the mountains in the background. You have to admit it is different from Rio.

The food here is outstanding. Everyday we have had something different. We couldn´t resist taking a photo of this restaurant where the food is cooked over ovens made of termite hills. Isn´t just a riot?

All and all, you can see we are having a wonderful time. Oh, and I continue to draw some. Look at my drawing and see who is growing a beard during his vacation... can you guess who it is? Well that´s the news for now.

Vacation time

I am on vacation. And lovin' it. Life is good, although now and then I catch myself feeling guilty because I not doing anything productive. Silly me. That' s the whole point of vacation, isn´t it?

We left on vacation on Wednesday much later than we had planned, but still found time to stop and visit over lunch with Marilene and Franklin, as it was on the way.

The last hour of our trip lasted about 5 hours! It was very dark, very mountainous and a curvy dirt road. However, there was no chance of making any mistakes as this road only takes you to Mount Verde! We breathed a sigh of relief when we arrived. We even found the energy to unpack the car and make the bed and then we slept very well. It was only moderately cool the first night, so we were fine.

On Thursday we had glorious sunshine and enjoyed walking around town to see the sights. We even found a Cyber-cafe and so I am not totally isolated from the "world", although we aren't staying that close to town, we do get in by car. It's a charming village and I do promise to send some photos later.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday we had rain and it became quite chilly. Sunday it was about 40 degrees and with no heat, trust me you feel it. I was glad for the firewood we bought and for our cheery little fire to warm us.

I have found a little time to draw and you will see I have managed to finish my sketch of my art teacher. I am very happy with my very first portrait and you'll note it is vastly improved over my initial sketch.

Yesterday, on Sunday, we visited the little Baptist church here in town and discovered our inn-keeper is a member there too. We enjoyed the services, and although were concerned we might feeze to death, even without heat, the church was cozy. The services were lovely and in the evening we even heard a missionary who was a fantastic speaker.

We have enjoyed the delicious mountain trout with almonds here. Also bought cheese on skewers to melt over the fireplace and eat on the homemade bread our neighbor bakes. What fun.

The shops here are wonderful, especially the chocolate shops that are a great temptation (that so far we have resisted). The apple strudel with capuccino was beyond our ability to resist and we thoroughly enjoyed every bite!

Try not to envy us too much... I do have a sore back and am still recovering from a severe sinus infection, but even that can't put a damper on our wonderful time here.

To everything there is a season... and this is our season of rest.