Simple thoughts

To anybody in the world who's gonna be partying tonight....... Happy Halloween......

Well, I took two days off, and considering that next wednesday here it's holiday, it's a very loooong weekend! This morning I had errands to do, visit some offices, make little shoppings, and even if the day was a little foggy, I decided I wanted to walk. To go from one place to another, I took a stroll through our biggest city park. It was early, just a few joggers, the fog was evaporating from the little lake with ducks and swans, the grass was smelling really good, and the leaves had all these beautiful colors, brown, orange and yellow. I sat on a very cold marble bench and just closed my eyes and smelled this little world. It was a very peaceful and relaxing moment. Sometimes you just need to take a break, right?

This is from Kelli Blog oct. 23

I’ve been spending a fair bit of time lately thinking about Darfur and how I feel hopeless. Rarely do I feel hopeless. I’ve written my congressmen. I’ve talked about this with anyone who will listen and a fair number of kind friends who don’t want to listen. I’ve watched the news reports, I’ve read the books, I’ve sat on my hands and done nothing more than pray for the last three years. Now, there are 2 million people living in refugee camps and the Janjaweed are firing on neutral forces — including the medics. I watched a 60 Minutes special on Darfur yesterday and cried for an hour, shaking in anger. Hitler similarly closed the borders and killed in destructive swaths. Where is the international force when we need it? They need it. Please, may someone hear my little voice and do something about this tragedy. I don’t know what else to do, and yet, I know I cannot live with myself if we don’t work to do something.
Do you have any ideas?

And oct. 24

It was a hell of a night! A sore back, a little stiffness, my throat is hurting as a fire was in it, and this morning I have a very bad headache. And I really don't have time to get ill, I have so many things to do! We have a little party tomorrow morning at work, coz a collegue is leaving us to open his own private office. Friday I'll have lunch with two collegues planned so long ago, and I don't wanna miss it. Saturday night we have dinner with friends long time no see, if we miss it, I don't know when another appointment will be set! And next week, I've planned to take two days off to finish some house stuff. And I have errands to do, and going to our courthouse for some papers I have to fill-up for dad. So, I really don't need to feel this way, not right now, please!!!!

Exactly as I thought it would be! Only exception it was saturday night, we went out for dinner with a couple of friends, to a restaurant we visit often, coz of  the low prices and the good kitchen, and I had time ro relax a little.

Saturday morning was for groceries shopping, then it was dad time for a bath (and it was a very hard job, trust me!) then cooking lunch, washing dishes, cleaning the kitchen, then out with hubby to buy some new bike gloves (yesterday was his birthday). Just the time for a quick shower and out for dinner.

Sunday morning from 8.30 till lunch, I had the best time of my life sorting out the wardrobe all of my summer clothes, put some to wash, cleaning the wardrobe itself, putting out the winter clothes, iron them an put them on the racks. And I'm not done with it, coz now I have to do it all again in hubby's half of the wardrobe! And then to the closet too!

At 4.00pm I said ENOUGH and went out with Marty and her best friend. It's the second year my town guests some european market about foods and crafts. It means that there're stands from others european countries selling wines, cheeses, salami, cookies, cakes, breads, beers, spirits, as well as sweaters, bags, books, flowers, cd's and some handmade crafts. It was really nice and interesting but it seemed that all my town fellows had my own idea about the time to show up! It was almost impossible to move and see all. I still managed to buy some dried mushrooms, cheese, chocolate and cookies. Back home I was almost dead, my feet were hurting like hell! Time for a quick dinner and I was in bed before anyone could say........

Another boring and full week at work is finishing, just in time to begin another boring weekend at home doing domestic stuff! Last saturday after groceries shopping in the morning, some house cleaning and clothing shopping in the afternoon with my daughter (only positive note, for the first time ever we agreed to every item bought, and I can tell you THIS IS an event!) I just dropped dead in bed at 9.30pm (talking about my social life). Sunday hubby went to the football game in the afternoon leaving me dealing with summer/winter shoes turnover, and I didn't like it! And from tomorrow all this will start again, house cleaning, wardrobes re-arranging with some serious-ironing-of-the-winter-clothes, groceries shopping, cooking, and dropping dead in bed at children time! At least, I hope some friends will be available for a pizza tomorrow night, just to have the feeling to be still alive!

I whish I really could reach it!

In the waiting, yesterday night I had my second lesson of my 7th years of practicing. I was very happy to start it again and to see all my classmates, they're very nice people. This year we have two nice additions, we're ten now, and even if I'd like a more intimate group, (in yoga lessons, the fewer the better), I always like to meet new people. So I'm really looking forward a new year of new experiences, with my body and my mind.

I'm always saying that in my city nothing really happens (nothing good at least, coz the bad and the worse have already found their way here), but I'm glad sometimes the events just spoil me. Last saturday Patch Adams and some of his team came to my town for a full-day meeting with docs and youngs helping our local Hospital of the Children. This hospital is a pretty new project going on for almost three years now, a new structure for ill children and their families. Do you remember that movie starring Robin Williams? If not, take a look http://www.patchadams.com/ . Well, I knew about this incredible doc thanks to this movie, and then a few years later, I met a girl who spent her free time helping healing people with her smile and tenderness, and I started to make little donations to the hospital for Christmas. So, obviously I wanted to be at that meeting, but unfortunately the admittance was free but only if you made a reservation in advance, and when I tried, all the place was sold out! At least, our local tv covered the event all day long, so I spent part of the morning and all the afternoon watching the tv. It was very interesting with a lot of hilarious moments and some very touching as well. If you wanna know more about it, check the official site http://www.patchadams.org/home.htm

And talking about helping others, do you remember our friend's oldest son, who's helping in a mission in Brasil? If not, take a look at my post "Twins on the way" of the 23 january. Well, it came out it was only one boy, not twins, Ernesto was born the 3 of august, and our friends stayed there for more than a month to see him. Saturday night finally we went to dinner to their home and we got the chance to see a lot of pics of that little boy, along with lots of pics of the olther children of the mission, and the beautiful land that's Mato Grosso. They're really making the difference for the little poor village of Poxoréu, building a school, teaching the grown ups how to use a pc and a little english, and the basics of medecine. You can donate if you want, be sure that the money will arrive to them, contact the association at partilhar.poxoreu@hotmail.com  Thanks.

No, I didn't go crazy (well, at least no more than I usually am). It's only that this morning, before work, I took a stroll at our local weekly market, and I choose three and 1/2 gifts for Xmas (the fourth one is half done) for 4 friends of mine, and I got the idea for a fifth one!! I'm really happy about it, coz if I will buy the others I have to in a short time, I will be able to enjoy the true Christmas feeling without worries.......

Following my last post, yesterday we arranged things with a couple of friends for the last (at least for us, the women) bike ride of the season. But saturday night it rained, and in the morning there was a very cold wind. Just minutes before we leaved, the sun came out, but we didn't trust the weather, so we decided for the car. And glad we did, coz the restaurant we choose is in the mountain, and the more we rose along the way, the colder it was! We had a tipical autumn meal, with mushrooms, polenta (corn purea), roasted pork and potatoes, with a very good red wine. All that, with the fire on, while outside the wind was blowing, and the fog was surrounding everything. Nice start, I'm wondering how it will be in mid-november???