Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Memorial Day Weekend 2010 - Sonoma and Napa Valley

2010-06-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

Big chair

Plants and flowers

The fountain

The hotel

The vineyards

Us

Happy Andrew...

More...

Chateau St. Michelle

2009-08-04T16:29:00.001-07:00

Picnic lunch at Chateau St. Michelle
July 25th, 2009

Vashon Island

2009-08-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

Motorcycle day trip to Vashon Island
July 18th, 2009

Poulsbo

2009-07-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

Motorcycle day trip to Poulsbo
June 27th, 2009

From Poulsbo

San Francisco - Memorial Weekend 09

2009-06-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

Alcatraz

Napa

California Science Academy

Us

Chinatown

Bridges

Sights

More San Francisco Random Pics

Happy Easter / Feliz Pascoa

2009-04-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

Easter 2009

Easter brunch at Serafina's with girlfriends.

33

2009-01-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

Receita de Ano Novo

2008-12-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

Receita de ano novo

Para você ganhar belíssimo Ano Novo

cor do arco-íris, ou da cor da sua paz,

Ano Novo sem comparação com todo o tempo já vivido

(mal vivido talvez ou sem sentido)

para você ganhar um ano

não apenas pintado de novo, remendado às carreiras,

mas novo nas sementinhas do vir-a-ser;

novo

até no coração das coisas menos percebidas

(a começar pelo seu interior)

novo, espontâneo, que de tão perfeito nem se nota,

mas com ele se come, se passeia,

se ama, se compreende, se trabalha,

você não precisa beber champanha ou qualquer outra birita,

não precisa expedir nem receber mensagens

(planta recebe mensagens?

passa telegramas?)

Não precisa

fazer lista de boas intenções

para arquivá-las na gaveta.

Não precisa chorar arrependido

pelas besteiras consumidas

nem parvamente acreditar

que por decreto de esperança

a partir de janeiro as coisas mudem

e seja tudo claridade, recompensa,

justiça entre os homens e as nações,

liberdade com cheiro e gosto de pão matinal,

direitos respeitados, começando

pelo direito augusto de viver.

Para ganhar um Ano Novo

que mereça este nome,

você, meu caro, tem de merecê-lo,

tem de fazê-lo novo, eu sei que não é fácil,

mas tente, experimente, consciente.

É dentro de você que o Ano Novo

cochila e espera desde sempre.

Carlos Drummond de Andrade

Brazil

2008-11-25T14:40:00.000-08:00

We returned from out trip to Brazil with many memories, stories, a little suntan and lots of pictures. In my case, I can also add a sore throat and a homesick feeling that I always get when I leave my family behind after spending some time with them.

It was a great trip, there was beach time, family time, fun time and unfortunately lots of travel time as well....

We started our trip in Sao Paulo where we got to meet the youngest member of my family: Lucca, only 3 months old. What a cute baby! See it for yourself.

Nos voltamos da nossa primeira viagem juntos p Brasil com muitas fotos, presentes, historias, um bronzeadinho (bem inho), e muitas saudades. No meu caso, uma gripe tambem....

As ferias foram otimas, mas 2 semanas passaram tao rapido.

Primeiro passamos rapidamente por Sao Paulo (so um dia e meio...),mas deu p matar a saudade, rever o Je e a Mari e e claro conhecer o mais novo membro da famila, Lucca! Que nene mais lindo! Eu nao tinha reparado na semelhanca com o Je ate a Mari me mostrar fotos de Je nene.

After only a day and a half with my brother Je, his wife Mari and baby Lucca, we flew to Maceio, a beach town up in northeast of Brazil. The weather was great and aside from a light burn on the first day, we managed the hot sun pretty well. Our hotel wasn't the best on the strip, but it was on the waterfront so we just walked everywhere. I already miss our walks at night when we used to go for dinner, feeling the warm breeze in our hairs and watching the full moon (it was beautiful).

De Sao Paulo nos voamos p Maceio para uma semana de sol e mar. Fomos ate a foz do Rio Sao Francisco, um lugar que de acordo com o nosso guia turistico, nao existira mais dentro de alguns anos. O mar esta "invadindo" o rio, foi o que ele explicou.

The last part of our trip was in my hometown, where Andrew met my mom, dad and gradma. Unfortunately we didn't see everyone there was to see. My uncle, aunt and cousins that live nearby couldn't come over since we didn't spend the weekend there. Everyone was really looking forward to meet Andrew, maybe next time.

Nossa ultima parada foi Londrina. Infelizmente nao deu p ver a turma de Astorga, ja que so ficamos 5 dias em Londrina, sem fim de semana. Fica pra proxima, ne?

Esse bolo foi um presente pra nos. Uma delicia de bolo de maca, que combinou com o sorvete de banana que a gente comprou. Huummm...

This cake was a gift from one of my mom's friends just for us. It was a delicious apple cake and we loved having it with banana ice cream, yum!

I put together the photos from our trip into 3 different slideshows.

Here are some of the faces & places we wanted to share with you.

Ai vao algumas fotos que tiramos na viagem.

These are a few pics of Andrew on his first Brazilian adventure.

Essas sao algumas fotos do Andrew em terras brasileiras.

Just the 2 of us...

Nos 2

And finally, the family! Iincluded the dog's pics here too, afterall, pets are family too, no?

E finalmente, as fotos com a familia. E cachorros, que tambem sao familia,ne?

White House, Black President

2008-11-04T22:31:00.000-08:00

Kudos for the American people, for bringing Dr. King's dream closer to reality. At least tonight.

Love arrived by UPS

2008-11-03T10:29:00.000-08:00

Thank you Marika, for the wonderful gifts you sent us!

For Lucca...

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

And for us!

The marzipan is already gone...
But the beautiful chinaware will last a long time.

Oh...I almost forgot...In order to test the new plates and cups, I had to bake us an apple crisp... Hopefully one day we will serve you some dessert on them!

Happy Anniversary to us!

2008-11-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

A special breakfast

On a very special day

A Special Day

2008-10-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is October 31st, Halloween. It's a pretty important day because 3 years ago Rita and I moved into our first home together... but there's something even more important than that...

Two years ago Rita and I flew down to Hawaii for a week or so of vacation... and our wedding... it was a very special day and one to remember for ever.

Happy second aniversary honey! I love you with all my heart.

Post Card / cartao Postal

2008-10-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hi pumpkin.....

Uma abobora na janela.......

Postcard / Cartao Postal

2008-10-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

Fall views from our window.

O outono da nossa janela.

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Comics / Tirinhas

2008-10-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

Post Card / Cartao Postal

2008-10-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

"Morreu o periquito

a gailola vazia

esconde um grito"

Paulo Leminski

Postcard / Cartao Postal

2008-10-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Postcard / Cartao Postal

2008-09-28T21:52:00.000-07:00

Seattle Train Tracks

Trilhos em Seattle

Post Card / Cartao Postal

2008-09-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

A Boat & A Bench

Um Barco e um Banco

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Os Estatutos do Homem - Artigo ll

2008-09-26T14:42:00.000-07:00

Fica decretado que todos os dias da semana,

inclusive as tercas-feiras mais cinzentas,

tem direito a converter-se em manhas de domingo.

Aurora

2008-09-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

Despite the name, Aurora is not a she, but a he. Aurora's family is large and three generations deep. His grandmother Grace is 48 and is the head of the family. His 2 uncles Gaia and Wave Walker are both 19 and 15 and they like to spend time together.
Aurora's mom is called Splash and she is 23. Aurora used to have an old brother, Luna, who lived alone for a while before he died in 2002. This family travels together.

Aurora is a male Orca. He was born in 2002. For the researches in the San Juan Island's Whale Museum, he is known as L-101, referring to his pod name L. The Whale Museum's Adoption Program allows people to "adopt" a whale for a year, in which time you get updates from your whale as well as others as they make appearances in the San Juan and Southern Vancouver islands.

I chose Aurora because of the name. My great grandmother's name, whom I never met, but heard a lot about.

There are 3 resident pods that normally spend the summer months here in the northwest. The L pod (Aurora's) is one of them.
This year though, Aurora did not return with his family. Orcas, just like humans, are not solitairy animals. They travel in family groups and help each other find food. We don't know what happened to Aurora, but it's most likely that he will not be seen again. Other orcas continue to give birth every season, and the circle of life moves on, though very slowly for this group of resident whales. I only hope that whatever happened to Aurora didn't have any human hands in it.

The issues affecting the Southern Resident Orcas today are the decline of the fish population; Toxic Exposure; Surface Impacts and Underwater Noise. All man made problems, and therefore, all require a man made solution.

Apesar do nome, Aurora e "ele", e nao "ela". A familia de Aurora tem 3 geracoes. Sua avo Grace tem 48 anos e a chefe da familia. Aurora tambem tem 2 tios, Gaia e Wave Walker, de 19 e 15 anos, respectivamente. A mae de Aurora se chama Splash e tem 23 anos. Aurora tambem ja teve um irmao, Luna, porem ele viveu sozinho por um tempo, e morreu em 2002 (ano em que Aurora nasceu). Essa familia sempre viaja junta.

Aurora e um abaleia orca e tem 6 anos. Para os pesquisadore da ilha de San Juan (aqui pertinho) ela e conhecida como L-101, em referencia ao nome de seu grupo, o L.
O Museu das Baleias (The Whale Museum) permite que pessoas "adotem" uma baleia por um periodo de um ano, durante o qual voce recebe noticias da sua baleia, assim como de todas as outras que migram anualmante para ca nos meses de verao.

Eu escolhi Aurora por causa o seu nome. Uma homenagem a minha bisavo, que eu nunca conheci, mas de quem sempre ouvi falar.

Existem 3 grupos de orcas que passam pelas ilhas San Juan durante o verao. O grupo L da Aurora e um deles. Esse ano, porem, Aurora nao apareceu com sua familia. Assim como nos humanos, as orcas nao sao animais solitarios e sempre viajam em grupo. Nao se sabe o que pode ter acontecido com Aurora, mas e provavel que nunc amais a vejamos de novo.
Outras orcas femeas continuam a gerar seus bebes-orcas todos os anos, dando continuidade a esse grupo de orcas que luta para sobriver a muitas adversidades. A unica coisa que eu desejo, e que o que quer que tenha acontecido com Aurora nao tenha tido nenhuma interferencia humana.

Os problemas que as Orcas dessa comunidade enfrentam hoje sao o declinio da populacao marinha (peixes); exposicao toxica; aguas congestionadas e barulho na agua. Todos problemas gerados pelo homem, e consequentemente, pedem uma solucao tambem gerada pelo homem.

Comics / Tirinhas

2008-09-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

Church Bench / Banco da Igreja

2008-09-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Burn After Reading - Queime Depois de Ler

2008-09-22T18:19:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we went to see Burn After Reading.The movie has Brad Pitt, George Clooney and John Malkovich in it, and it was directed by the Coen brothers. How bad could it be? Let's see:
I normally rate the movies I watch by the time I spend thinking about them after I left the theaters. A movie like Philadelphia for instance, took me days to leave my mind. The Departed was another movie that I kept thinking about for a while. No Country For Old Man (another one by the Coen brothers) too. More recently, I watched The Diving bell and The Butterfly and found myself thinking about the story for days.
Burn After Reading, however, was quite easy to forget. I didin't think it was a bad movie though. It was funny, I laughed a lot in the theater, but once it was over, that was it. By the time i went to sleep, I have already forgotten about the movie (except foe a few hilarious parts with George Clooney that were really, really good fun).
From the commercial I thought it was going to be a different kind of comedy, the silly type. Although it had many silly moments, the dark humor was what prevailed.

Rita's opinion: funny
Andrew's opinion: wouldn't watch it again.

So now it's your turn to make up your own opinion. And let us know later!

To find out more about the movie, click here

Cheers

Semana passada nos fomos ao cinema ver o ultimo filme dos irmaos Coen - Queime Depois De Ler (Burn After Reading). Ao contrario do ultimo filmos dos Coen que assisti-Onde os Fracos Nao Tem Vez- esse nao ficou na minha cabeca por muito tempo. E esas tecnica, alias, que eu uso pra ver quanto gostei de um filme ou nao. Se penso nele por dias, e bom. Uns exemplos de filmes que ficaram na minha mente por dias depois de ter deixado o cinema sao Filadelfia, Os Infiltrados, emais recentemente, O Escafandro e a Borboleta (lindo).
Bom, Queime Depois de Ler nao ficou na minh acabeca por muito tempo, nao. Na verdade, fui dormir ja pensando em outras coisas. Mas issi nao quer dizer que nao e um filme bom. No elenco, John Malkovich, George Clooney e Brad Pitt. Eu nao me lembro de ter visto o Brad Pitt em nenhuma comedia, pelo menos recementemente. Outro que estava muito engracado foi o Clooney. Achei legal ver esses atores em papeis diferenets. Acho importante para o ator tambem, senao vira como um Nicholas Cage, muda a trama, mas o tipo e sempre o mesmo.
pra saber mais sobre o filme, esse e o site oficial.
Quando chegar no Brasil, eu recomendo assistr, desde que nao va esperando um "master piece"dos Coen Brothers...
Na opiniao da Rita: engracado
Na opiniao do Andrew: nao assistiria de novo

Um abraco e ate a proxima!

Os Estatutos do Homem - Artigo I

2008-09-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

Fica decretado que agora vale a verdade,
que agora vale a vida,
e que de maos dadas,

trabalharemos todos pela vida verdadeira.

Comics / Tirinhas

2008-09-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

Postcard / Cartao Postal

2008-09-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Puget Sound

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Labor Day Weekend Part 2 - The fair / Feriadao do dia do trabalho 2 - Exposicao

2008-09-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

We went to a fair in a little town about 30 minutes from Seattle. I didn't know what a fair was, but after seeing it I recognize it very well. We used to go every year in my hometown. First, when we were children we used to go with our parents and the highlights were seeing the animals (stinky cows, horses...), going on the rides and eating junk food fair.
Later, when I become a teenager, I used to go with my friends, and the highlights were watching the music concerts, drinking beer and singing along with the live bands at the beer gardens. It was so much fun. I had not been in a fair again since I left Brazil for the first time, which was 10 years ago (whaaaattt???)...
So this one was very nice, I believe there are larger ones, but this was the weekend we had the time to do it and Andrew had the disposition to take me.
It was really cute. The rides were pretty simple, although they had one that was just like a roller coaster, except it would only loop back and forth. I didn't have the guts to go on it... I am sure Andrew would have gone, he is crazy about roller coasters.
For me, the highlights were the wood carved bears, they were so cute, I added a photo of them. I also was very happy to get a couple of Obama signs I've been wanting to get for a while. That reminds me of a funny story... I got 2 signs from the Obama kiosk and had to carry them around the fair with me. Andrew had warned me that we were probably surrounded by middle-working class republicans, but I didn't care. After all, "it's a free country", no?
Anyway, I carried the signs around the entire fair and nobody said a thing. Then, at some point, I asked Andrew to hold the signs for me while I took a picture of something I saw. He must have had the signs on his hands for maybe 10 seconds, and sure enough there was somebody trying to make an argument with him about the sign...(Obama, really? Come here, I want to I ask you a question, bla bla bla....) The men kept going on and we kept walking away. If he only knew how uninterested Andrew is about all things politics. It was funny though!
Anyway, the fair was nice, the day was beautiful and we had fun. We hope you have fun enjoying some of our pictures.

Mes passado durante o feriadao do dia do trabalho nos fomos a uma exposicao numa cidadezinha perto daqui de Seattle. Eu nunc atinha ido a nenhuma exposicao aqui nos EUA, na verdade acho que a ultima vez que fui a uma exposicao foi provavelmente em Londrina ha muuuuuitos anos atras (uns 10 ou mais...). Bom, descobri que elas sao todas iguais... Aqui tambem tinha bichos (vacas, calalos, etc...), parquinho de diversao, barraquinhas de comida, artesanato, est. So nao tem barraquinhas de cerveja, como no Brasil. O negocio e Coca-Cola mesmo, hehe... (argh!)

Pra mim a melhor parte foram as esclturas de madeira de ursos, tao lindas! Impressionante como eles fazem esculturas tao bonitas de um pedaco de madeira, usando uma serra eletrica...

Eu peguei umas placas da campanha do Obama pra colocar no nosso apartamento (mesmo nao podendo votar, nao custa dar apoio e mostrar a nossa opiniao, nao e mesmo?). Bom, o Andrew me sugeriu que eu virasse as placas de costas,pra ninguem ver. Ele disse que esse tipo de lugar e cheio de republicanos tipo Bush. Eu nao dei muita bola nao, afinal, como eles adoram falar por aqui : "It's a free country!". Nao recebi nenhum olhar feio, e ninguem fez comentario nehum a respeito da minha placa "pro-Obama"... Ate que eu precisei tirar uma foto e pedi pro Andrew segurar as placas p mim por um minuto. ( Detalhe que deve ser esclarecido, o Andrew nao da a minima pra politica, e e claro nao gosta de se envolver em debates politicos)
Como nao podia ser diferente, durante os 30 segundos que eu estava tirando foto e o Andrew segurando as placas, um vendedor quis comecar um "debate" com ele...(Ei, voce ai com a placa, vem aqui, quero te perguntar uma coisa.... Voce se preocupa com o sistema de saude? Voce sabe disso, daquilo, etc, etc, etc....) O homem continuou falando e nos comecamos a nos afastar... Que engracado.... Se ele soubesse que a gente nem vota!!!

Bom, alem disso, experimentei um sorvete feito com nitrogenio. Por que nitrogenio? E usado no processo de congelamento, entao o sorvete nao fica com pedacos de gelo, fica uma textura mais sedosa..huum...eu gostei, o Andrew disse que e truque de marketing e que eu cai em cheio....

Espero que gostem das fotos,e ate a proxima.

beijinhos

Candy Apple, fair food at its best!

Maca do Amor, comida de exposicao

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Guitars

Guitarras

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

We love Stewie!

Nosso desenho animado favorito (nao sei se tem no Brasil)

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Smart Bear!!

Urso engajado!

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Yes we can!

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

The famous sign...and the unhappy look...

A famosa placa...e a cara de quem nao esta feliz...

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Loooop....no thanks...

Eu hein...nem pensar...

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Postcard / Cartao Postal

2008-09-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Window

Janela da cozinha

Postcard / Cartao Postal

2008-09-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

Red Flowers

Flores Vermelhas

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

Labor Day Weekend I / Feriadao dia do Trabalho l

2008-09-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

After giving lots of thoughts and consideration, we decided to stay home for this Labor Day weekend. But that didn't mean we weren't going to have fun. We made a list of things we wanted to do around the Seattle are and picked a few to do this weekend.
So get ready to see a lot of pictures of animals......we went to the Zoo!!
Now, I have mixed feelings about zoos. In one hand, I think it's wonderful that we can see animals that we wouldn't be able to otherwise. On the other hand, I sometimes feel a little frustrated about their conditions. This zoo was really nice overall. Most animals seemed to have lots of space for themselves. Still, there is something about putting them on a window that doesn't seem right....Maybe it's just my vegetarian soul speaking.......Who knows...

Depois de pensar bastante nos decidimos ficar por aqui mesmo para o feriadao do dia do trabalho. Mas nao quis dizer que nao iamos fazer nada de divertido. Fizemos uma listinha de algumas coisas que gostariamos de fazer por aqui e escolhemos algumas. Portanto, preparem-se para ver fotos de bichos...nos fomos ao zoologico!!!
Eu gosto de zoos por umlado, acho que se nao fosse por eles muita gente nao teria a chance de ver e conhecer varios tipos de animais. Por outro lado, fico pensando se e errado por os bicinhos numa amostra, pra gente ver. Esse zoo parceu ser muito bom em termos de condicoes para os animais, alguns, como as girafas e zebras tinham espacos enormes, que eu mesma nunca tinha visto antes num zoo de cidade. Mesmo assim, fica aquela duvida etico-humana (Hum???)

Far relative...?

Parente distante...?

Zebras are so beautiful.......

As zebras sao tao lindas...

The King Sleeps

Soneca de Rei

Tucan in the "rain forest area"

Tucano na "floresta tropical" do zoo

Beauty comes in all sizes.....small....

Beleza em varios tamanhos....pequeno...

and large....
e grande....

Serious look from the hippo

Cara seria do hipopotamo

Love is beautiful !!

O amor e lindo !!

From Eternal Blog Of The Unspotless Mind

This was my favourite part, to see this little gorila drawing with pink chalk.

Minha parte favorita foi essa, ver esse gorilazinho desenhando com giz cor-de-rosa.

We hope you enjoyed the photos!

Espero que tenham gostado das fotos!

A Perfect Day For A Ballon Ride

2008-08-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

Many years ago when Rita first visited Canada I got her a special present. It was something that she always spoke about so I wanted to get it for her.

It wasn't a huge surprise or anything... in fact because of wind and weather, our special day was bumpped about 3 times. The last chance we had was a few days before we were due to head back to the M/S Disney Wonder for work.

Here is a photo of the special event.

Love you honey!

Postcard / Cartao Postal

2008-08-27T13:40:00.001-07:00

A bike ride on a sunny afternoon.
Um passeio de bicicleta numa tarde de sol.

A day at Mt Rainer / Um dia na montanha

2008-08-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we drove to Mount Rainer. It was so nice to hit the road and see new sights. The day was just perfect, sunny and warm. Unfortunately, we haven't really seen another day like that since...
The park and the mountain itself are beautiful, of course. But when something is as big as a mountain, one should know that the best way to appreciate its beauty if from the distance.
Getting there, however, was one of the best parts for me (not sure the driver can say the same...) We passed so many little towns.
Flags on the streets or front yards, late summer hydrangeas, home-made huckleberry pies, log cabins for rent (look honey, wouldn't it be nice to spend the night in one f those?) and lots of motorcycle riders.

Semana passada nos fomos ate o Parque Nacional de Mount Rainer, uma montanha/volcao que fica ha 2 horas daqui de Seattle. O dia estava lindo, quente e claro. Infelizmente, foi o ultimo dia bonito que tivemos desde entao...
O parque e a montanha em si sao lindos, e claro, porem, quando se trata de algo tao grande e majestoso como uma montanha, devemos saber que a melhor maneira de apreciar sua beleza e de longe.
A viagem ate la foi para mim uma das melhores partes do dia (nao sei se o "motorista concordaria"). Passamos varias cidadezinhas de beira de estrada, uma depois da outra, com suas bandeirinhas americanas penduradas, hortencias nos jardins, tortas caseiras, chales para alugar (- olha, honey! Nao seria legal passar a noite num lugar desses?).
O dia no parque foi otimo, meu tao esperado pique-nique, ja as 2 da tarde (ai que fome...) foi interrompido por uma cirurgia de emergencia para retirada de uma farpa enooooorme de dentro do meu dedo (ai que dor...)

On the road again.... / Pe na estrada...

Can we get the mountain in the photo?

Sera que cabe a montanha na foto?

A ponte do rio que cai....

Smile!!!

About

2006-12-11T21:00:00.000-08:00

Rita and Andrew:

We are a happy couple from two different parts of the world and living in yet another.

Rita is from Brasil and Andrew is from Canada. They met working on cruise ships almost a decade ago. After working together for many years, they finally married in 2006. They now live in Seattle where Andrew continues to work in the cruise industry.