Cookie Factory

December 27, 2012

Happy Birthday sister Regina!

Baking chewy oatmeal chocolate chip (had to cut up a boycotting Hershey’s milk chocolate bar) cookies. Theo claims Tia Paula makes the “best cookies on the island!” Told him that when I lived here, I used to bake and sell them each week in the little market and Taelor placed them in a basket to sell individually to the neighbors. She was a very successful vendor and it probably helped to have Lilly the Rottweiler as her if looks could kill protector. Without fail, Taelor came home with more money in her pocket than the determined marked prices.

All of the guests including the children arrive in a flurry of kisses of welcome on the cheek for everyone like long-lost relatives and a prolonged dry kiss goodbye upon departure. It’s very sweet.

Yet another bbq party! Roasted fresh potatoes and limp carrots for my contribution and   decided to take advantage of a relatively cooler day setting up side tables and chairs in the freshly swept carport. Steamy platters of meat arrive on the cluttered table as each piece finishes cooking. Forks pierce the fatty chunks of meat in the middle of the rectangular table, serving grandma her favorites and the children (who adore the chicken hearts) first.

Determined ruling shameless kids attend the food table with their new video games, difficult to see their meat munching faces behind the miniature screens. Ethan’s blanket drops constantly as well as his invariable pacifier companion. Dono gobbled meat and potatoes like there was no tomorrow. Poor thing frequently chokes on her food and usually disappears from the table with her wrinkled little hand over her puckered mouth. Today she stayed insisting on cookies and cake for dessert. She can eat me under the table though we have to cut her food into tiny pieces ‘cause she’s a woofer!

Grocery shopping! Home with scads of overfilled plastic bags of goodies. Little crispy hard to resist pao de queijo balls, Nestle’s (gulp) ice cream, dark beer, sugary pop, horrendously expensive cake in a box, mayo and tomato sauce in a triangle stand up bag, off brand potato chips, tortillas (didn’t have those when I lived here last) luxurious jarred mushrooms, paper towels (hard time explaining why it is a downer to buy these) tinned something or other, bottles of juice concentrate…that we mix with water and sugar. Oh, what to make for dinner at 10:00pm! Getting accustomed to the eating schedule yet still tend to still suffer when famished.   

Day at the beach

December 26, 2012

A day at the beach! Swam laps in and around the swimming area, performed my physical therapy exercises and played with various multicolored plastic sand toys with a Gulliver from Gilligan’s Island hat Ethan in the cool, crisp calm water of Ribeirao da Isla.

Not quite as beastly hot today as yesterday so we won’t be constantly sweating and swatting blood sucking devils in the night. Joao had a bee sting scare this morning. Appeared at the back door wide-eyed and gesturing wildly, mouthing albelha (bee) and the chaos ensued since he is allergic and throat airway closing rapidly. De ran desperately to find the specified remedy and injection and everyone scrambled for alcohol, cotton balls and several buckets of fresh water to douse over his sweaty head. Joe plunged his finger down Joao’s throat to open the airway to accept the medication. Shaky and thirsty, Joao recovered and less than an hour later we were at the sunny and empty beach.

Arrived home to find the full freezer door cracked so it was a scramble to empty and wipe everything down. Dono admitted to searching for her frozen sweet chocolate cookie layered cake and inadvertently left the door ajar. OOPS!

Taking advantage of the defrosted meat, the bbq pit was loaded with stomach churning blocks of dripping red meat, chicken hearts on skewers (kids favorite) and herbed cheese sticks popped for a late dinner. I made a light lettuce and onion salad and roasted squash for my plate. No one wanted to sample the sliced squash…oh good, more for me!

Anderson is here, a close friend of Theo’s. He is the old housecleaner’s son who grew up with Theo. Conceita, Anderson’s mother has three kids and left Denise’s service after four years when she accepted employment at a local restaurant as a chef’s helper. A new uncompassionate chef was hired a few years ago and wanted her to read off the recipe cards he had organized for his special dishes. Despite her consistent attendance and excellent preparation skills she lost her well paying job since she is illiterate. Conceita replaced that position with another, lower salary and no benefits.

Tomorrow Joao Enrique arrives to spend time with his dad, brother and Denise along with the rest of the crew. We have run out of water in the house several times. Tonight close family members had to shower together to conserve what little was left in the tank. Just can’t take for granted when you turn the handle water will eject from the faucet.

Natal no Brasil

Christmas Day 2012

Whew, feels like 120 degrees, according to the sweaty weather people. But what do they know…expected clouds and a more comfortable temperature. Ran the bomba (compressor) but the large public water tank did not fill up…great, have to conserve our water intake today and probably tomorrow too! May be drinking the swimming pool water-my reservation is the unidentifiable floaties I view in the direct sun and …I’d rather not go into details! Perhaps I can persuade the water delivery man to bring us a bottle though the street vendors have been quiet all day..

Last night Theo started complaining about how exhausted he was and insisted he open his gifts on Christmas Day. He howled and wailed until his parents relented. Uncle Joe brought his present consisting of a new Ipod upstairs to his locked room and …what do you know, he came racing down to throw his arms around his parents, kiss them and sat down to eat dinner with his new plethora of games in one hand, pastel made with linguisa and cheese dripping with ketchup in the other. Dono rattled off a prayer I didn’t catch and then each child blew out a candle to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Gift wrap flew and everyone oohed and aahed over the multitude of toys, clothes, watches, shoes, socks, jewelry and books not to mention a new laptop, speaker systems and a neighing horse on a stick. Dono paraded around the room with each new item of clothing to model them for us. She was clearly enamored with each outfit, donning necklaces and shoes to match each combination. Ethan circled the room, galloping with a tippy cup of guarana (soda) in his little hand until after 1:20am. “Coka, coka” he cried!

Today’s Lunch consisted of leftovers from last night, I ate the black rice salad I made with star fruit, tomatoes, walnuts, apples, onions and a mustard honey dressing. Skipped the turkey despite the question “I thought you didn’t eat meat, this is turkey!” Hm. The dessert of pineapple and whipped cream with strips of fresh coconut (took me ages to pry it from its stubborn shell) was delightful.

Everyone is working at staying cool, sauntering from one room to the next and guzzling whatever we can get our hot hands on. Bikinis, congas and swim trunks are the Christmas attire.

Close my eyes and think about snow, sitting by a fire and Christmas in the Midwest. Know all of you are in my thoughts, all 34 in my family!

XMAS EVE

December 24, 2012

Today is the time for baking delectables, cooking turkey and side dishes, chasing the rambunctious NO! Nathan toddler (takes a village I hear) tracking down the hurried and impatient gas man, water delivery man whohas to wait in relative calm while we empty the remaining liquid from the jug in various pots and pans, pitchers and vessels to make way for a new bottle, creating the space outdoors under the carport for infamous endless meat slabs on the bbq for Christmas day, caring for the infirm elder, sick adults whose illness transferred by the children, searching for Santa’s progress on-line. Where is he now and how many presents has he delivered? Get out the colorful globe and spin it around to point a finger on the little dot somewhere in the world.

At midnight we will scatter the scads of gloriously wrapped presents amongst the kids and grandma mostly and then have dinner at 2:00amish. Hm, may very well be armless by that time or fast asleep with my head in the unrecognizable unpronounceable majority meat-based hors d'oeuvre platters.

Suspect several adults have raided the cookie jar since the level has dropped considerably. May have to make another batch for the kids in the next few days. They have been gobbling Advent Calendar Santas, Elves, White chocolate balls, Snowmen, etc so they are not deprived of sugar. Everything from yoghurt, cereal, Nescal (chocolate powder) plastic bottle juices to combine with water, sodas and packaged cookies contain enough sugar to supply the entire community.

Need to find a chocolate cake pudding on-line…Merry Christmas Eve gente!

Merry Merry Christmas

December 23, 2012

Large fluffy burnt orange most likely male cat got trapped inside the fence causing a scandal late last night. The adults we were all roused and Joao had to secure the dog to allow the cat to leap the fence. Gathered in the kitchen to recount the electrifying events and ended up talking well into the night about secret Christmas presents, favorite cultural dishes to make in the next few days, stimulating plans for the collection of kids and cracked a few beers while polishing off the rest of the economical waxy chocolate bars.

Chocolate cookies are a hit, had to hide the delicious batch from the greedy roving hands. Shameless!

Hope everyone got to where they are going without any disasters. Tomorrow Joao and I are attempting to make a fruit cake…no, not one everyone grimaces and hopes they can pass it along to another unlucky recipient. This fruit cake is fluffy, melt in your mouth, wrapped in wax paper like a giant cupcake and everyone sneaks into the tin to rip off another piece in the night…that kind of fruit cake!

Tame day in the hot sun. Started War and Peace by Tolstoy and hoping I don’t run out of books before I can find an American or Brit to borrow one.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

And a special message to my little peanut-though this is the first Christmas apart, I am certainly with you in spirit and heart. I love you and send a big hug from much too far away. I know our unique celebration of serving at a shelter with your Santa cap and heading to a movie before opening your whole host of presents will not be realized this year, we can make a plan to reenact our own X-MAS in March. Peace to you, sweet pea. I will be home before you know it!  

Kids Rule

December 22, 2012

Coca-Cola Company did a hideously fantastic job marketing in the developing country of Brasil. Soft drinks served at lunch and popular sweating red-banded plastic jugs stand tall in the middle of the table off and on during the day (distinctive fire engine red tops cracked at midnight as we divided massive chocolate bars between us) impressive advertising isn’t it?

As I write this, Joe (at 10:50 in the morning nonetheless) reaches into the recesses of the frig and pulls out..a familiar transparent bottle with a red and white lettered label!

Children surely rule the roost in the household. Theo, at nine, decides how (in)consistent each parent can be at mealtime. Chocolate milk with several teaspoons of organic sugar added or coke to escort a snack or meal, strips of snappish lettuce mixed with white clumped rice to hide the fact that there may be a vegetable on the plate, candy of any sort opened before or during the meal and pantry raids are not out of the question whenever the mood hits. Grandma makes up her own rules as well. As far as she and the kids are concerned the “restaurant” is always OPEN! The kitchen is a family zone and voraciously savored. Dishes pile up until someone gets motivated to wash and let them drip dry (of the four places I have stayed, only Cris had a dishwasher.)

Naps are also an encouraged and relished event. Children of an under-waist-high age and adults of no particular decade enjoy a bit of REM sleep. I am about to sit on one of the lumpy beds to read the last chapter of The Novel by James Michener and see if I can dose off for a bit. Many, too many nights of inconsistent mosquito-ridden evenings and I feel deprived, perhaps in empathy of Taelor’s mono symptoms.

I am finding myself grieving my daughter’s absence this holiday. We have never been apart this length of time, in all of her 19 ¾ years. When she confronted with great emotional or physical issues I undergo despair as well. Well aware that she is a capable and strong woman doesn’t take away from the fact that my princess is challenged. I want to be there to comfort her and bring her a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies loaded with walnuts and love.

Secret Family Recipe

December 21, 2012

Multitude of startling red, creepy black, fluttery winged, hairy sticks, insistent spiked, bigger than life, pesky waddlers, fearless fly in your nose bugs join us in the house thru the propped windows due to the excessive rain. Persistent boys secure wii handles and Play Station games hours on end. Took a break from the gaming to splash ‘round in the pool late this afternoon in the scorching sun. While I avoided the dreaded blue and yellow noodles whipped past my head, had difficulty keeping count to fulfill my PT requirements as the boys plunge and sideswipe at one another.

Ethan’s parents speak in spattered English with their young son. He is picking up expressions in Portuguese to everyone’s delight. I did chi chi in the toilet! I correct the parents’ grammar and improve their vocabulary by speaking directly to Ethan. I suspect Ethan stares up at me with a confused look on his face since I have such a different English speaking accent than his parents. Initially he would instantly stop whatever he was doing and gape up at my moving mouth.

Making bread tonight and tomorrow I will slave away baking chocolate chip cookies. The years I lived here I turned out various breads, giant cookies of several flavors and biscuits to sell and improve my financial status. One enterprising friend, Vera, lived across the street and owned a merceria (small convenience store the size of a one car garage.)  She parked a huge pickle jar of cookies on the front counter with a colorful sign designed by Taelor that included the detailed ingredients and ample prices. A good friend, Fabio adored the chocolate chip cookies and became one of my best (and chubby) customers. I generously shared the detailed recipe with Denise. She made Fabio a batch for his birthday one year and he flatly refused to share one cookie. Not long after that, the recipe disappeared. The sole copy was in Denise’s mother’s diary that she packed to visit her son in Calgary back in 2006 and inadvertently left behind. On the long drive from the airport Denise insisted I had to make my famous chocolate chip cookies for Christmas. Hope I can live up to the legend!

Tonight this family suddenly deals with grief of grave test results from the clinic, we prepare for a difficult process ahead. In an instant, everything changes perspective. Fresh memories of challenges after a startling diagnosis arise and the tumultuous emotional ups and downs cloud the holiday spirit yet it is a great relief to be together as a community.