Home Again

It’s been a week since I’ve written, but what a week! I absolutely will NOT bore you with all the details, but now that I am home again and trying to settle back into a routine I thought I would say hi and fill you in on where I’ve been.

This week João and I have been in Águas de Lindoia in the state of São Paulo, roughly eight hours from Rio (by car) attending a theological conference. It was a terrific week. The speakers were great. Later this week, I hope to find some time to write some articles about some thoughts I had on what I heard. D.A. Carson (a Canadian who lives near Chicago) and Mark Dever (an American who lives in DC) were the main speakers, so it was a treat for me to hear English!

On the lighter side, look at my treats I got for my birthday. An orchid, a bromeliad (my very first in my life), and a fruit basket. It was nice to arrive home and find these treats. Actually, though, the bromeliad was waiting for me in my hotel room and I brought it home! In addition, one afternoon we drove over to a little town with a porcelain factory. About 26 years ago I had gone there and bought a pitcher I just loved. When I went to Canada, I sold it and had always been sorry, since I loved the pitcher. Anyway, we found the factory and I replaced my pitcher. João, generous as he is, also got me a teapot, cereal bowls and a vinegar and oil set. I just loved the blue and white dishes. They are artisan, so no two pieces are absolutely identical. If I ever go back there, I may decide to get a complete set of dishes. The the public square, there is a natural fount (this area is famous for the mineral water) flowing through this porcelain water bottle. The town is famous for these dishes.

While the conference was the main attraction, I just loved being there right next to Marilene in the hotel, as well as meeting up with my friend Roberta from my art classes and getting to know her husband. Everyday at meal time we all had lots to talk about and there was so much laughter. By the way, food was very good (and included with the hotel), so we all ate way too much – then spent the rest of the day sitting around listening to lectures. Not good for the waistline. Near our hotel was a “water” center, with the “radioactive” water for health treatments, as well as a natural mineral water spring, so one day we had to visit there and you can see Joel (Roberta’s husband) checking out the water. My friend Gabi (art teacher) was also there, but working so we didn’t have time together, except for a short time shopping and visiting a park.

It was a lovely little town tucked away in the mountains. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together there. It was hot when we arrived, but then it began raining and it was quite chilly. I ended up buying a red sweater, as the region is well known for the knits, that are really very inexpensive.  João, of course, brought home a trunkload of new books from the conference. Well… that’s an exaggeration, he only bought ten new books! But two of them are encyclopedias!

As you can tell, a good time was had by all, but as always, it’s also good to be home. We hit really horrible traffic as we arrived in Rio. since it’s a long holiday weekend. It took us two hours to travel 10 kilometers. Trust me, when I say our apartment surely looked grand to us when we got home.