Tired and Happy

I am almost too tired to post, but have only 7 more minutes until Thanksgiving is over and I wanted to say how grateful I am! God has given me so many blessings this year. It has been a wonderful year and I am full to overflowing with gratitude. Today we celebrated Thanksgiving at my house with our family and one other family as well (our minister of music). I worked really hard preparing the food (all from scratch) and decorating the house as well. It was so worth the effort. We had lots of food and lots of visiting and a very nice worship time at the end. I enjoyed it all. It was nice to have children present, something I missed last year. Mia made her presence known passing under and around our feet and knees. She loved the children and adored all the cuddling and attention. So she too had a great Thanksgiving. I have so many blessings, that I would never finish this entry if I were to count them all. Tomorrow I will try to write about some of those blessings. For tonight it is a big thank-you, to the readers of my blog. Most of all it is thank you to God Eternal for my life and salvation. Happy Thanksgiving.

Feedback, please

The other day we had friends over for lunch. Sebastião was João's roomate in seminary, but they also grew up in the same town in Espírito
Santo. Sebastião and his wife, Rosali, were missionaries in South Africa, so now that they are back in Brazil, we try to get together when they are in Rio. We all have a lot in common and enjoy our visits. And in this photo you can see why I don't really consider myself all that short here in Brazil! I love being around people who make me feel a normal sized person.
I just discovered a new feature on blogger and since I love "new" things, I thought I'd try it out, in one more "desperate" attempt to get some feedback. Some of my readers (like you Donna - hey thanks) comment on the blog and some others send e-mails (thanks Carol and Marilois), but I know most people, for many reasons don't comment. I understand. I am a regular reader of several blogs and I myself never make a comment. Now, however, at the end of each entry is a place where you can check off your opinion of that particiular piece. It is anonymous and easy. Just click on the box that describes your reaction to what you have read. You'll notice I don't give you a chance to say anything unkind - I'm not that brave, but you do get to opine about whether you found it only ho-hum, somewhat interesting, or WOW! Try it out sometime. It won't hurt and it make help me as I decide what to include on my blog.

Scaredy Cat

Sadik was all comfy in my lap when my husband turned on the vacuum sweeper. Wow! What a reaction I got. Sadik was panic-stricken. He scrambled off my lap so quickly that he scratched me, something he never does. He was so startled and afraid that he totally disappeared for over an hour.

To tell the truth, most cats I know are afraid of noise. All you have to do is turn on a hair dyer, or the blender and Sadik, or most other cats, is hiding under the living room couch.

When I lived in Brazil, Baby and Dolly were terrified on December 31^st. Do you know why? On that night, at least in Rio de Janeiro, all kinds of fireworks go off. They are loud and long. Usually I didn't see the cats again until the afternoon of January 1^st and even then they were wary and their whiskers full of cobwebs. The two cats hid somewhere in the house that no one could find them at all.

Do you know why Sadik, and Baby and Dolly are so afraid of noise? I think it's because their mother taught them to be afraid. A loud noise could mean DANGER. It could mean an enemy was approaching or that they could be hurt by something. We know that a vacuum sweeper or a blender aren't going to hurt a cat and certainly are not the enemy, but Sadik doesn't know that. Early in his life he learned that a loud noise represented danger and so he runs from it. Poor little Sadik. I could explain things to him, but he wouldn't understand my words. He can't control his fear, so he lives being startled.

I surely am glad I am not a cat. Can you imagine how it would be to live being terrified everytime you heard a blender? Still, I must confess that there are things I am afraid of. I am afraid when I hear strange noises in the night. When that happens, do you know what I do? I pull the sheets up over my head I figure if I can't see anything it can't harm me. I act a lot like Sadik, don't I? I don't fit under the couch in the living room, but I do fit under the covers in my bed. I could act differently than Sadik, trying to stop and think a little bit about the noise. Even better than that, I could talk to God: “God, I don't know what that noise is, but it makes me afraid. You told me that whenever I am afraid, to trust in you, so I am asking you to help me to trust in you. Help me to remember that you will take care of me. Help me to give away my fear to you!” When I actually pray that way, do you know what happens? I go to sleep. Really. My panic goes away. I don't have to hide or feel such terrible panic. It is such a wonderful feeling knowing I can relax and trust God.

I enjoy Sadik, as my pet, but I am glad I am me and not him. I don't have to live my life running away from noises. I don't have to hide when I am started. I can run to God and He give me the peace and calm I need. With God's presence I am no “scaredy-cat”.

And Fun Was Had By All

Today is a holiday in our state of Rio, so our church had an outing at a farm about an hour out of town, at the foot of the mountains. Although yesterday was rainy and chilly, today there was actually sunshine, although the clouds did move in early afternoon. The temps were quite nice today. So João and I drove out to the "sítio"(farm) where are folks were and enjoyed ourselves immensely. It was a lovely spot, the company was good and nature cooperated. After leaving there, we drove a short distance to visit a church member who was at their weekend cottage. It was a surprise visit and we all had a lot of fun drinking coffee, eating (what else?) and just visiting. Since we are daylight savings time now, it doesn't get dark until about 7:30, so we got home a little before eight, not having to travel in rainy dark weather.
I took a lot of photos of flowers and even had time to do a sketch of one flower. I hope to draw it in graphite, colored pencils, pastels and water colors to show the difference of the various mediums. I put together some of my photos from the day, together with a hymn and thought you might enjoy watching/listening to it. I wish you a day as beautiful and as relaxing and as much fun as ours.

No Grandma Moses

As you can see, I am no budding Grandma Moses. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that watercolor will not be my specialty. But I am nothing if not stubborn. Believe it or not, it is very similar to the use of colored pencils, of which I am also not a great fan. Exactly for that reason, I just keep plugging away. I don’t think I like “exact” things. I love charcoal and pastels and graphite because they are very forgiving. You can smudge and smear and blur and still have a great effect. If you work too hard on colored pencils you bore a hole in your paper. (I am famous for having a heavy hand!) With water colors you just get a mess. Things tend to run. Also I am having a hard time mixing colors. I just can’t get the tones I want. So much to learn and such a little bitty brain!

Here are some of my latest efforts. The daisies were surprisingly easy. The boat was hard, but then I didn’t enjoy drawing a boat! Since I love flowers, I tried the tulip. It may look easy, but it was days of work, layer after layer of colors. I know I got the shadow too big on the flower, but that was because of a bleed – too much water on my brush.

If I ever get completely over my sinus infection, I’ll go back to doing pastels – with a dust mask, but I just don’t want to risk it right now. I bought a couple of great books the other day at the mall, so I am doing research on the subject right now. I also plan to do some more study on color theory. In the meantime, I have to work on some writing projects, so my paints will dry for a few days. Right now it’s time to go do my Leslie Sansone walking DVD. Three miles today!!!!

A Tropical Snowman?

Don’t you just love our creativity?

Today, our day off, we went to the mall and had lunch at Applebee. The mall is already decorated for Christmas and there was a line of mothers with their babies to take photos with Santa! But I got the biggest kick out of seeing the snowmen scattered around the mall. Wait? What country am I in? Oh yeah, I’m in Brazil. I am sweating (even in the air-conditioned mall) and there stands Frosty. By all rights he should be a little puddle of water. And I ask, what does this image have to do with Rio de Janeiro? (I should really be asking what it has to do with Christmas as well.) I know I have a collection of snowmen I decorate with, but after all I am an American with all my traditions. How do you think Brazilians relate to peppermint sticks (which don’t exist for consumption), evergreen wreaths (where no evergreen trees grow), and snowmen (in a city where 65 degrees is our COLD winter weather). Oh the joys of globalization. So I had to take a photo on my cell to let you know Frosty has come south.

Floating Away in the Music

Last night… well last night was SO special. The month of November is the month of music in Brazilian churches. Our music minister has promoted several concerts in our sanctuary. Last night was the inauguration of our grand piano (full) that had been in restoration for a long time. We have been using our baby grand (1/2 grand) in the sanctuary. They brought in the full and baby grand and put them head to head. A former member, who is an internal concert pianist, Patricia Bretas, gave a concert. She also played a couple of duets with a young man from our church, who is also an international pianist.

There is a popular song that says “My Soul Sang” and let me tell you, my soul really sang last night. I don’t even know how to explain how much I soared. The grand piano had so much sound and she really did make it ring. She gave technical intros to each piece that helped us to understand the structure, etc. At times I thought she must have had 20 fingers. She danced on keyboard and my heart and soul danced with her. I heard the pain and grieved with Lizst. I ran and jumped with fun with Rachmaninoff, I worshipped with Bach and appreciated Beethoven.

They ended the evening with a contemporary arrangement of “Ode to Joy” and it was so beautiful that I was sure I was going to levitate off the pew. I wasn’t sure I was still present, thinking perhaps I had floated off to heaven. Now I know why the piano has 88 keys. They are all to be played. And now I understand why someone would practice 8 hours a day. Surely made me want to run out and buy a piano and start studying again. Maybe I will one of these days.

A Book Worth Reading

I am reading, in fact close to finishing, a book that I find so compelling that I want to share it with you. I don’t do book reviews at all, but this is a book some of my friends may enjoy reading. It is called "Love to Eat, Hate to Eat", by Elyse Fitzpatrick. I can’t even remember where I read about and chose to buy it. In fact when I saw it in my pile of books that I had ordered while in the US, I was surprised. The last thing I want to read is a book on dieting. I know about diets. I know they don’t work. I know I haven’t been able to get a grip on what doctors usually call a creeping weight problem that goes along with middle-age/menopause. I don’t need anyone to tell me I need to lose weight. I am intelligent and I have mirror in my house. Nor do I need anyone to tell me to eat less exercise more or to eat more healthily. I know all that and even know how to do it. Despite my resistance, I opened the book and started reading. What do you know? No pep talks! (I went to one weight watchers meeting and all the cheery pep talk made me want to throw up.) No recipes. No weight goals.

I guess I would describe the book as a Bible study. A Bible study for all of us who struggle with food. It is not particularly a book for people who are overweight, but for those who feel that food is just too big of an issue in their life. From living with my husband I know that there really are people who just eat, and don’t give much thought to how much they eat, what they will eat or even when they will eat. It’s hard to imagine, since so much energy has gone into the whole subject of “food” in my own life. I think about it. I make plans about food. Whether it be about eating junk food or healthy food, I do tend to obsess! I am either joyful about the prospect of eating or down in the dumps because I have eaten. Guess that explains the title, huh?

And I even have rather a martyr syndrome, often complaining to God that I just don’t understand why I have to so short, with such greedy little genes that turn most things I eat into plump little fat cells. Trust me, God has gotten an earful in that area. Probably the most meaningful thing I have read is the chapter about slow steady growth in sanctification – learning to name your sin (and miraculously she does not think being overweight is a sin. The sin is letting anything, except God, to control your thoughts, actions, etc. It’s about idolatry. It’s about damaging your witness. It’s about preserving your life. It’s about being the Holy Spirit’s Temple. Well, you get the picture) and hating that sin just like God does. Me I want a quick fix and not a marathon in sanctification. I mean after so many years with this as an issue in my life you’d think it would be resolved by now, huh? God could fix this really fast, couldn’t He? Anyway, Elyse writes: “This struggle is used by God to increase your hatred of your sin and your love for Him’ it causes you to be humble and continue to rely on Him; it trains your hands for war. God has many uses for abiding sin, and we must resist the discouragement that would tempt us to seek after a different method (something quicker, easier!) than His own.” (Fitzpatrick, Elyse. “ Love to Eat, Hate to Eat” . Harvest House Publishers, 1999, pp 151-152.)

That alone would have made the book worth reading for me, but there is so much more. She has a very helpful acrostic based on the letters in D—I—S—C—I—P—L—I---N—E—D Eating, that has Bible verses to read. I especially love her emphasis on giving thanks. Frankly, a lot of what I eat doesn’t lead me to thank God, and if that is the case, I shouldn’t be eating it (like Pizza), or I need to ask Him to help me to be grateful (for boiled okra!). That really works, too.

I am making changes. I may even be slightly less obsessed with food (ever so slightly) and learning just to be grateful, enjoy the good food God has given me, have fun exercising and not worry so much about what I look like (love this quote from the book: “God didn’t create me to find joy in my reflection in the mirror. Because I’d be living contrary to God’s truth, Id never find satisfaction in that pursuit.” – p. 41.)

Teaming this Bible study up with some of what I have learned from Dr. Oz’s book on health, is changing how I eat, how I think (or don’t think so much) about food, and even my exercise patterns. Have any of you ever heard of Leslie Sansone’s DVD’s for walking in your home? What fun they are! Not hard at all, but a quick way to building fitness.

The good news in all of this is new joy, more time in Bible study and prayer, more energy, better health and this week I was surprised to find when I stepped in the scales at the pool I have lost 12 lbs. Maybe an old dog can learn new tricks after all.

“Be holy because I am holy,” says the Lord.

CATS ARE COOL

NEW FRIENDS

I was SOOOOOOOO sad when I left Brazil and my cats, Dolly and Baby, went to live with Renata. They adjusted well to living in their new house, but I still missed them. As I moved the furniture and arranged things in my new house, I would check to make sure no cat was in the way. Whenever I saw a movement on the floor, I would think there was a cat running in the room. It was just hard to get used to the idea that I was “catless”.

After a few weeks of my sadness, my husband suggested they we adopt another cat. I wasn't sure at first, but finally decided to give it a chance. I was able to make contact with the Humane Society and find an older cat that very badly needed a home where he would be loved. He had been abandoned and was just recovering from pneumonia. He was about five years old and very very furry. When they brought him out for us to meet, we both thought he was the most beautiful, majestic cat we had ever seen. He was so sad because he had no home, just like I was sad to have no cat. I just knew that God had given me this new friend.

When we got home the cat just followed us around everywhere. His name was “Basil-Bottlebrush”, but we were not too fond of that name. My husband decided his name should be “Sadik” because that means friend in Arabic. Sadik hated being alone and want to be near me all the time. In the first couple of days he didn't want to eat anything and I was quite worried about him. Finally he accepted his new home and friends and starting acting much more perky. He would run around and then play with me. He would sit right beside when I was on the computer or watching television. He had become such a wonderful friend. He gave me hope that I would make many new friends in my new home in Canada.

This whole experience of moving to Canada and having to make new friends has served to remind me of the importance of praying for missionaries who are far from their family and friends. I have seen how hard it can be to live so far from the people and love and also how much I miss old friends. Being able to adopt Sadik also showed the importance of letting God help me make new friends. I hope you are remembering to prayer for missionaries as they adjust to living in a new place. Especially ask for God to send them friends to help them to adjust to their new home.

Back to my Art Lessons

While in the US, I invested in a few more art supplies. Few because the stuff is VERY expensive and even more so here. It's a nice hobby if you can afford it. I have learned, however, that I just don't seem to do well with the student quality (read: cheap) stuff. I got some fairly decent colored pencils (not dollar store quality) and I can work a little better, but for sure colored pencils will NOT be my specialty. They seem to require too much time and too many details and they are not forgiving in the least. The cat is a study on the eyes. I didn't finish it because I just got tired of working on it. I spent a lot of hours and wore down a lot of pencils. I used at least 7 different colors to try to achieve the calico effect. If and when I ever finish it, I'll put it up on a post.
Yesterday was our first lesson with watercolors and all of us were like a bunch of kids. It is a totally new thing to work with a brush and not a pencil. I, especially, had a hard time. Nevertheless I did produce something. Nothing to shout about, but a learning experience, nevertheless. I had a hard time with the strokes UNTIL I switched over to using the one sable brush ($44!) I have. It was like night and day. I used it on the cherries and I think you can see the difference. I could control what I was doing. Today I tried a monochromatic study of a goblet, just to try to learn a little about mixing the water and applying the layers. I feel like there is so much to learn - working with the brush, controlling the water, mixing the colors, layering, leaving some white on the paper for contrast, getting the tone/shadowing right. Wow. And as our teacher tells us, a little bit of color won't make the actual "drawing" look better, so you can't neglect the drawing part either. Certainly is challenging for me, but one thing can be said - I am not afraid of trying out and failing at the art stuff. I have nothing to lose. There are now some teenagers in our class and they are terrified of failing. Of course, they are really good, but lack the confidence. Me I just plunge in and take a stab at it. It's fun to me, not life and death. I am so glad not to be 14 again!!!!

My Cat Devotionals Are Back!

For those of who haven't followed this part of my blog, I have been sharing chapters from a book, I am writing, of devotionals for children. They are all about my cats and are written in chronological order. I started the stories back in 1988 with my cat Princess. Today I finish up telling about my two cats in Brazil, Dolly and Baby. (1992-2001). I had taken a break during the month of October and even though there has been no "popular demand", the devotionals are back! Enjoy.

Why Do Things Always Have to Change?

I was crying. I had Baby in my lap and was stroking his far ever so slowly. I talked to Dolly who was at my side. Then I placed Dolly in one cage and Baby in another one. I took them both out to the car. We drove over to the house of our good friends Maria and Renata. I took Baby and Dolly into their house, and Renata gave a great big smile. She was so happy to have her very first pet. Now Baby and Dolly would be her cats, not mine. After many years of living with me Baby and Dolly had a new home. Renata had spent much time in my home and she already loved them both. She was so happy, but I was so sad. This change was wonderful for her, but so sad for me. What was going on?
I was moving very far away. I was leaving Brazil and moving to Canada and although I wanted very much to take Baby and Dolly with me, it was extremely complicated and expensive. Besides that, I knew it would be a traumatic and even dangerous trip for my cats. This way they would be in the same neighborhood, with friends they already knew and with very little change in their lives. It was best for them, but so hard for me. So I gave them a big hug, said good-bye and went home crying the whole time.
It was so hard for me, that I just had to ask why things have to change. I wasn't sure I really wanted to move anyway, and this made it even harder. I just didn't know what to do with my deep deep sadness.
I could only find one solution. I needed to talk to God about his. I needed to tell him how very hard this was for me and how sad I was. I loved my cats and my friends and my home and didn't want to leave them. I didn't want change. God reminded me of something really important. He had said these words in the Bible and it seemed like they were written just for me: "I am the LORD, and I do not change.”(Malachi 3: 6) People and places can change. I might change where I live, but God would always be with me, no matter where I go. Being with him is possible anywhere. I can always count on Him. Those words from God helped me get through such a hard time for me.
My tears have dried and I am learning to enjoy God's presence. God even gave me a very special new friend. I'll tell you more about him the next time. Just wait!

Done

Today I put the final touches on the pastel I've been working on for about a week and applied the fixative. Sometimes you just need to stop, although you know there is a lot you could still do. Enough is enough. Especially since I think I AM allergic to the pastels, because I am coughing a lot. I plan on getting a dust mask if I do anymore work on pastels. I really love working with them. This week we are moving on to watercolors and I hope I enjoy them as much, as I am sure they won't give me the bad reaction I've had with pastels. It's been a learning process, that's for sure. I am glad I will never need to make my living at this. It's very time consuming.
Today is the date most Americans vote. I see on my tiny little poll that my readers do NOT agree with the official pollsters. I think it will be a long night of tabulating votes and probably only tomorrow will we really know. But I've been fooled before. I remember back in 1980 Mom and I went out to shop around 7PM and by the time we got back Dad told us that Reagan had already been declared the winner. No one saw that happening, I don't think. Seems like yesterday and yet so much has changed in the world since then. So let's just sit back and see what happens today.
Oh and hey, I am a needy (emotional) artist. Do you like my lilacs, daisies, roses and eucalyptis leaves vase?

Just for fun look at this video

Look to my left column and you'll see a poll. There is no significance to the poll, other than my curiosity as to who you think will win the elections on Tuesday, regardless of how you plan to vote (or even if you vote!). Let's see how good our prediction power is. Remember: No wishful thinking!
Secondly, I watched the following video this morning and got such a kick out of, that I had to pass it along. It shows how to fold a t-shirt in just 2 seconds. It's is Japanese, so there is no explanation! Watch it and SMILE!

Now if you want to try this out at home (remember no t-shirts were destroyed making the video), try watching an English version that explains what is happening.