Monthly Archives: September 2024

Waiting for Helene

26 Thursday Sep 2024

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“There’s no such thing as safety. Only degrees of risk.”
― Christopher Paolini

This is my first hurricane since I started living in Florida (about 1 month).
Hurricane Helene should be arriving in a couple of hours.
I am not sure what to expect. For now we have just heavy winds.

We are not in its path.  I think that the area I am in, in Eastern Florida, we will get more of a tropical storm.  Or so I hope. 

I am a bit concerned, since this is what my building looks like: 



We thought that by the time we got back from Brazil, all the construction would be completed, but of course more damage was found.  so that means more time and money needed. Oh well, fingers crossed we are done by the end of the year.

I feel safe, just apprehensive.  I have so much work to do, that is keeping my mind from overthinking.  I pray for the safety of everyone in the hurricane’s path.

“Security is not having things; it’s handling things.”
― Susan Jeffers

Update: I walked outside just now 6:30pm, Thursday.  The workers reinforced our temporary walls.

Also, there are heavy winds at this moments, but not much,.

Aleijadinho, Brazilian sculptor

25 Wednesday Sep 2024

Posted by in Daily Life, Mosaic and other crafts, travels

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Antonio Francisco Lisboa, better known as Aleijadinho, was a famous sculptor in colonial Brazil. He got the nickname Aleijadinho, which means “little cripple” because of a degenerative disease that caused immense pain,  and his body to be deformed. He lost some fingers and his feet.

His work can be found in many churches around Ouro Preto and the neighboring towns.  The churches that I was able to visit are gorgeous.  Unfortunately, some of the main ones that I wanted to visit were closed.  

Santuario do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matosinho

Santuario do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matosinho – an UNESCO recognized construction

In front of the church there are 6 chapels, and inside each there are sculpures describing the Passion Walk. The sculpures are done by he famous Aleijadinho and his team. at Santuario do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matosinho

In front of the church there are 6 chapels, and inside of each there are sculptures describing the Passion of Jesus Walk.

The Last Supper by Aleijadinho, inside one of the chapels

The Last Supper by Aleijadinho, inside one of the chapels

Church of Saint Francis

Church of Saint Francis

Churches in Mariana

Churches in Mariana

Tiradentes and Ouro Preto, sights and tastes

23 Monday Sep 2024

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“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

Posada Casa da Tuta

Posada Casa da Tuta

In Tiradentes we stayed at Pousada Casa da Tuta. Cozy room, delicious breakfast. I would go back there for the chocolate cake alone.

a store in Tiradentes

a store in Tiradentes

In Tiradentes we had a delicious dinner in a restaurant that I cannot remember the name. It had a back patio with a jazz group playing great Brazilian jazz. I remember most the black rice risotto that I had, with fish and vegetables.

Pousada do Arcanjo

Pousada do Arcanjo

In Ouro Preto we stayed at Pousada do Arcanjo – a historical themed bed and breakfast. Great breakfast, comfortable rooms, but I would have prefered a more central location.

Pousada do Arcanjo

Pousada do Arcanjo

We ate at Tropea Cantina Armazen https://www.opassopizzajazz.com.br/tropea and Bene Flauta http://www.benedaflauta.com.br/. Both great restaurants, but I don’t recall exactly what we had. In one Michael had pizza and I had the chicken fried steak with pasta. In the other I had cod fish cakes and salad, and I cannot remember what Michael had.

Bene da Flauta Restaurant

Bene da Flauta Restaurant

Everywhere I went I would choose a drink of passion fruit and cachaça, but at Tropea I tried a drink with gin, passion fruit and ginger foam.  It was delicious.

Tropea Restaurant

Tropea Restaurant

Downtown Ouro Preto

Downtown Ouro Preto

“We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink.” ― Epicurus

Visiting Ouro Preto and the surrounding towns in Minas Gerais, Brazil

19 Thursday Sep 2024

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“It’s a road trip! It’s about adventure! . . . It’s not like we have somewhere to go.” ― John Green

While in Brazil, juggling work, and personal issues, Michael and I managed to take one week off to take a road trip through some towns in the state of Minas Gerais.

One town I want to make sure to visit was Ouro Preto (Black Gold). I was there with my mom and sister when I was14 years old. I wanted to return and show Michael that area.

Ouro Preto is a charming colonial mining town, full of history, beautiful baroque churches, cobblestone streets, and so much more. It was funded in the 17th century, and it was the center of the gold rush at that time.

Besides staying a couple of nights in Ouro Preto, we stayed 1 night in Tiradentes, spent a day in Mariana and Congonhas.  We also stayed at a remote bed and breakfast in Brumadinho for a couple of nights.

We wanted to be near Instituto Inhotim, and also spend time quiet time in nature.  Inhotim is a gorgeous open air museum with beautiful gardens, galleries and installations.

On the way home we spent 1 night in Varginha. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to see all the UFO related tourism. Varginha supposedly had an UFO sighting in 1996.

And lastly, we spent a day in Pocos de Caldas, a town that is just is just 35 minutes away from my parent’s home. We took the cable car to Christ at the top of a mountain and enjoyed the view.

We had an amazing time and cannot wait to embark in more road trips in Brazil. I will post some photos of this trip here and in the next few posts.

The search for office space in Florida continues

13 Friday Sep 2024

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I have always said: I am never moving to Florida! And look at me now, moving to Florida!

I will still have an apartment in NY, but it is mostly because my sister is still there and she will use the it.

This weekend I am leaving the Airbnb and moving into our new condo. We are starting from scratch. We have to buy everything. But at this moment we are just getting the bare minimum, a mattress on the floor and a couple of plates.

We have to paint and want to make some other changes, but we won’t/can’t do anything until the outside renovation is completed.

With my move to Florida, my office is officially moving with me. I have not been having much luck looking for office space. Today was not different. Some are too small or too big, some are not in great condition or it is just too far.

I want to be able to walk or bike to the office. I may have to rethink that, and expand my search to longer than 15 minutes from home.

In the meantime, I have a signed contract for my other condo in NY. Finally, after so many misses, it looks like this sale will go through. Fingers crossed.

I want a simpler life, but right at this moment, it doesn’t seem that way. I am juggling so many things. I am not complaining though. I am immensely blessed and grateful.

I have always wanted to meet someone and start a life together. I am doing that. Michael and I definitely make each other’s life better.

“And suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” ― Meister Eckhart

A successful visit to the DMV

11 Wednesday Sep 2024

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I could not have made it this far had there not been angels along the way. – Della Reese

I am now the proud owner of a Florida Driver’s License.

I am happy to say that the trip to the DMV was better than expected. I expected to be turned away because I didn’t have my Social Security card and didn’t have anything else to prove my number. All the documentation I had, such as a 1099, only showed the last 4 digits.

It turns out it was a non-issue, I only had to sign a paper attesting that I know my number. 

Michael had a later appointment at 2pm, to get car registration and plates. I asked if they could see him earlier and they agreed to get his items done along with mine.

While being helped, Michael pointed out to me all the angel figurines that the clerk that was helping me had on her booth. He, quietly, said to me: Look at all your angels! Even though he professes not to believe in such things, he has heard me, time and time again, mentioning that I always encounter angels in my way.  They always help me out.  I think he is becoming a believer!

Angels appear in many different forms to hold your hand through the difficult times.- Doreen Virtue

I was not able to see any office spaces today. I hope to be able to see a few tomorrow. I am eager to get a lot things resolved, and stop feeling in limbo.

Floppy in Florida

10 Tuesday Sep 2024

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“Disruption of our mental construct can be deeply disorienting. Still, it may also provide an opportunity for growth and reevaluation, prompting us to rebuild our mental frameworks perhaps more resiliently than before. (“Then everything was capsizing.”)”― Erik Pevernagie

Even though we have closed on our new condo in June, we are only now returning to Florida.

We chose to stay at an Airbnb for a couple of reasons. First, we have no furniture, linen, silverware, anything at all; and second and more important, we didn’t know how the work being performed on the exterior would be affecting the interior.  

In Florida, every building that is 3 stories and higher must undergo a Milestone Inspection to assess the health of the building. This building failed miserably and it resulted in major work to be done. And major assessments.

While the seller had paid for all the assessments by June, it turns out that there will be more assessments necessary, as the work continues. We expected that.

We just didn’t expect that the work in the balcony would be coming into the living room.   The doors, windows and wall facing the ocean have been all taken down.  At this moment, our beautiful ocean view is blocked by sheet rock.

Michael and I were a bit startled by the amount of work that needs to be done, and how dismantled the whole front of the building is. But we are trying to remain positive that in the end we will have a perfect structurally sound place.

 Fingers crossed that the work will go fast and be done correctly; and that there will not be tons of extra assessments. 

Tomorrow, I will be going to DMV to get a Florida Drivers License and will also be continuing my search for office space.  Wish me luck 🙂

“Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” ― Roy T. Bennett

Here and there, and everywhere

09 Monday Sep 2024

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Hi Friends,

I am not sure what happened to my last post. Al I see is one quote.  I am guessing that when I hit edit after it had been published, I somehow accidently deleted all of it, except for that 1 quote.

In that post I was talking about being back from Brazil after being there for 2 months, and all I did there. My time there flew by, and yet it felt like time stood still.

After 2 months in Brazil, I was in NY for one week, and now I am in Florida, working out of an Airbnb.

In the next few posts, I will be expanding on my time in Brazil, and will be posting pictures of a road trip that Michael and I took. I will also be giving you an update of my life now, in NY and FL.

I am also hoping to reconnect with my friends here. I have been catching up on your blog, and hope to have a chance to leave comments, as I cannot leave likes (thank you WP!)

Love, light and blessings to all!

“I come home—and I have a feeling of returning like a ghost to its haunt.”― Virginia Woolf

Absence makes the heart grow fonder :-)

03 Tuesday Sep 2024

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“For a moment I felt the quiet hungering thing that comes inside when you return to the place of your origins, and then the ache of mis-belonging. It was beautiful, this place, and it was savage. It swallowed you and made you a part of itself, or it you proved too inassimilable, it spit you out like the pit of a plum.
I’d left here of my own will, and yet it seemed the city had banished in much the same way I’d banished it. Seeing it now after so long, seeing the marsh grass pitching wildly around the edges of the city, the rooftops hunkered together with their ship watches and widow walks, and behind them, the steeples of St Philip’s and St Michael’s lifted like dark fingers, I was not sorry for loving Charleston or for leaving it. Geography had made me who I was.”
― Sue Monk Kidd, The Invention of Wings