George!!

Well, just when we'd all given up hope, the cat came back.

Three and 1/2 weeks later, skinny, dirty and with a pitifully hoarse meow. Our friends that had been cat-sitting him when he escaped called last night at midnight, to let us know that he's just sauntered right into their house, and that their oldest daughter was holding him. Matt went over and picked him up and brought him back home. He meowed and meowed (but that's not really anything new), ate a ton of food, and I attempted to clean him up. He pooped all over the floor in the middle of the night, and threw up, but he seems very happy to see us. A changed cat, and for the better. He was so strange, pretty much just doing whatever he wanted to do, and did NOT like to be touched or petted. But now he won't go away: he sat by Matt at lunch, he keeps rubbing up against our legs, and even seems like he likes us. I gave him a real bath this morning. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, thanks to our Box Blindex (I think that's what they are called). Many apartments here have showers called "blindex", which just means that they are kind of big and they have big glass doors. No bathtub. So I just shut myself in there with him and sponged him off. The kids don't seem near as excited as I thought they'd be. And I just wonder what the heck he had been doing...sounds like a good idea for a kids book....

Still here!

Don't worry--I'm still here! We made it back safe and from our adventure to the beach. It was wonderful. I will write about it. But now I'm trying to deal with several things:

1. We have a leak in our bathroom. It's been going on for some time, and now Miguel finally wants to do something about it. Which involves tearing the wall apart. Ugh.

2. We are starting to look for another apartment. Our rent and condominium went up, and we are not so happy about just how much of our budget is going towards housing. We thought we had a place, but then found out that the rental agency wouldn't accept the Orquestra's letter which would serve as a guarantee (fiador). There is an interesting system of making sure that property owners get their rent payments, involving lots of paperwork, promises, official signatures, and signing over your first born child. The Orquestra pretty much takes care of this with the letter, essentially guaranteeing that they will pay everything. But for some reason, some companies don't accept it. Boo.

3. Rashes. Bea has got some crazy rash. She woke up last Wednesday morning covered with bumps. They got better, and then yesterday she got more. I took a trip to the hospital this morning (that's what you do when you need urgent care) and the doctor thinks she is just having an allergic reaction to bug bites. But she looks so pitiful, all splotchy. And Matt's got some strange skin thing around his ankles.

4. George. We had some wonderful friends offer to watch George at their house while we were gone last week. Somehow, he managed to escape. They've spent countless hours looking for him, and Dora and I spent about an hour yelling and searching for him. Dora is so sad, and it makes me feel bad that we didn't just have someone come here, and guilty that she has to go through this. Humph.

Not your average to do list. But you know, writing it all down makes it seem not so bad. Bad, but not crisis. And in reality, there are so many good things:

1. Samuel, the neighborhood barber has blessed us with 3 HUGE avocados. Avocado smoothies, yum.

2. My worst music class at the Canadian school yesterday was really fun! Not necessarily well behaved, but the kids gave my Easter presents, hugs, kisses, and I even got a few, "You are the best teacher ever Miss Shelley," and "I love you Miss Shelley."

3. Our iron broke, and it's getting fixed for a mere R$25 (new cord). This would be practically impossible to take care of the states, but thanks to the abundance of appliance repair shops around, and Brazilian's value for repairing things rather than throwing them out, our wonderful iron is getting fixed!

4. We've been having Sebastian go downstairs and practice soccer/futsal before he plays on the computer, and it's paying off. He's getting much better!

I could go on, but Beatrice is complaining about itching. I'll hopefully write more soon, especially about the beach!

Thankfulness #4

I'm thankful that the cat is not dead.



Seriously, this morning I thought George was going to die because he was making red xixi in the bidet. After the 2nd trip to the vet, we've now got him on antibiotics, and a special healing diet to get him all better. As much as he is a crazy, un-affectionate, early morning meower, he is a part of our family.

Tired, but don't think I'll be sleeping soon...

due to the fact that there are TWO rowdy parties happening within our "general" neighborhood. General neighborhood meaning within one mile radius. When we were walking home from Mangebeiras Park, we heard the first one. I've heard that Brazilians enjoy loud music, and parties provide the perfect opportunity for loud music and enjoying people (two of Brazilians favorite things). But it sounds like there is a concert happening right outside our window--crazy!

Kitty is here, a little traumatized by leaving mom and dad, but not meowing incessantly. He doesn't have a name yet, but hopefully by tomorrow. Beatrice is just diving right into pet ownership, smothering him with love. Sebastian likes to watch him in his little travel "cage", and Dora, well, Dora is giving him lots of space. I'm kinda surprised at Dora's apparent lack of interest, but I'll take it as obeying my wishes (I gave them a "talk" before the kitty arrived). He's cute, and Matt really likes him. I don't know if he's eaten or peed since he arrived, but he hasn't jumped out the window yet. And the wonderful thing is that his previous owner said that we have to come over to her house sometime, and she said that she would give me any new English students that come her way (she's an English teacher). She also said that she'd be willing to help us out on the school front--hooray! Matt posted pix on Facebook, but I might try to throw some pictures up here tomorrow. Boa noite.

School saga continues, kitty, and what we're up to...

Matt's friend Michelle from the Orchestra came over today, and accompanied me to the Public School that is right behind our apartment. Unfortunately, we were told that there is a waiting list, and we can come back the first week of April and put our kids on the list for the chance to be enrolled. We were told that it is more hopeful to get Dora and Sebastian in than Bea (we weren't really thinking about enrolling her, but hey...). I guess it is very popular because it is one of the few schools in the area that has all day instruction. So I'm feeling a little disappointed, but trying to look on the bright side, and realize that at least we know more now! Michelle offered to call a few other schools and see if there are openings.

Tomorrow the kitty arrives, and we have most of what we need. It is very popular in our neighborhood to have pets (especially cute lap dogs), so there are LOTS of veterinarians and pet supply stores within walking distance. It will be a little boy kitty, which makes Sebastian happy: we will have an equal male to female ratio in our household.

Matt is searching online for an oven thermometer. Our gas oven does not have any indication of what the temperature is, so we're pretty much guessing the temperature. I've been looking online at information on Cruziero. We're completely oblivious to soccer, and realizing it might help us relate to folks if we have a little knowledge. Plus the other night, in a game of "What's that noise?" I realized that there HAD to be a soccer game, because everyone outside our apartment started yelling, and fireworks went off. Kinda like when we were in Arizona our first year, watching Shrek on our computer and we heard all our neighbors freaking out when the Diamondbacks won the World Series....Might be helpful here to pay attention to soccer.

That's all for now!