I will wet my feet at midnight and welcome the new year

Tonight I want to believe in magic. In a few hours I´ll be watching the fireworks at Praia de Boa Viagem. I haven´t stayed up to wait for the new year in a very long time. I don´t really feel the need - it´s not like magic will happen if you wait for the clock to strike midnight. But this year, as I am here with my sibilings, we will walk to the beach together after 11pm and maybe even watch one of the free concerts and do the countdown to midnight.

Final dinner of 2014 - home made pizza 

Our final dinner of 2015 was a banquet of pizza that my brother made for us. I had a special pizza topped with lactose free cottage, sundried tomotoes and rocket. Yumm. My sister prepared the most delicious lactose free desert for me, consisting of home made strawberry ice-cream and sponge cake. I´m full and sleepy and wondering if it´s really worth waiting until midnight...

I am grateful for so much this year but specially for being alive and well and to be living in one of the safest places on earth. Both on christmas day and today, I thought of the mother of three that lost her life at the Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney and how her family must be feeling... life feels so fragile and random and with very few certainties.

So, tonight I want to wet my feet in the water and feel the gentle waves bring positive energy to me and to humanity in 2015 and beyond. I will say a prayer but I´ll not ask for magic to happen. I´ll ask for mindfulness to the world and for contentment; for more being and less doing; for more moments spent in nature and less time in shops. And I will pray that I´ll remember my prayer beyond 1 January. Maybe because I´m writing this down and sharing it, I´ll be more committed.

I´m not a big fan of new years resolutions as such but I will write up a list of things I would like to do or accomplish in 2015. I feel it gives me focus when I write them down. Last year I had ´running two half-marathons´ in my list but I ended up running a full one instead. That was one of the highlights of 2014. I will not write my list on day one as I am not sure yet what I want to get done in 2015. I hope the gentle waves tonight will bring some clarity :)

Another big highlight for me this year was seeing my sister cycling again after fighting breast cancer. The last 2 years so many people I know have been affected by this nasty disease. Seeing good human beeings fighting this type of fight makes me question my beliefs over and over and over.

Ana, you are a warrior, I admire you so much.

My friend Carla, beautiful, she kept sane by reading dozens of books during her treatment.

When we get up tomorrow it will be Thursday like so many other Thrusdays. There will still be wars, and hunger and pain around us. And like everyday there will also be hope and I hope that I remember to savour 2015 one day at a time and honour every moment. This year I failed most days but I will keep trying. New year´s greetings to everyone.

Au Naturel

I tend to straighten my hair or tie it up in a ponytail but yesterday I ended up running out of time and went to meet my friends with wet hair. I didn´t have any elastic bands with me. The end result you can see below: That 80s look... I dread it!

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Women are so dolled up here in Brazil that I make the effort to look more presentable, But as I was surrounded by girls with beautiful souls it didn´t really matter.

Feeling creative, looking for inspiration

I made this collage for my blog´s header last night. I flicked through a few magazines but couldn´t find images that expressed exactly how I feel about ´embracing the full catastrophe´. I´m uncertain of what I am looking for but I am sure I will know once I spot them.  I will keep trying.

Memory lane

Yesterday I spent four hours chatting to my high school ´besties´ that I haven´t seen in almost two decades. We were inseparable when we graduated from high school in 1989. Then, gradually, each one of us went separate ways with our careers, study choices and relationships. I could not contain my excitement to get the four of us together again. The emotional bond was still there and I think it will stay with us for eternity.

We shared the exciting things that happened in our lives but most of the time was spent on our challenges and tribulations. Tears and laughter - there is no better way to celebrate friendship. There was no space for gossiping or bitching. Ah women of middle age... not caring too much for what people think of us is liberating.

Life has changed so much in the last 20 years. We would have stayed in touch for sure if  back then we lived in a world of email, whatsapp, mobile phones, etc. I sometimes wonder what my life would have been if all this technology was available when I was a teenager. We lived such a rosy, cushioned, middle class life when we were growing up... I think we turned up quite well considering our unpreparedness for adult life. I hope we manage to catch up again soon.

Sweet Pineapple and Simple Things in Life

If it´s the simple things in life that make us happy, today is set out to be a joyful day. Thomas woke me up at 7:30am saying that he wanted my company - cute! I would have enjoyed one more hour in bed but never mind. We had a light breakfast and at around 10am walked to the beach with to grab some fresh air and morning tea: pineapple and coconut water. So fresh... it really feels energising - which is a good thing as I´m feeling a bit sniffly.

It´s going to be a lazy day with not much planned. In the afternoon, thanks to facebook, I will be catching up with high school friends that I haven´t seen for close to 20 years. Cannot wait!!!

 

We didn´t venture in the sand strip today as the beach is too crowded on Sunday, unless you go really early.  The pictures below show Lucas and Thomas with my twin brothers, Beto and Paulo.

 

There are so many people in bikes here. I really feel like hiring one and going for a ride. I will do that as soon as I feel well again.

Not so sweet life: Mr. Josias, in the pineapple photo above, has been selling pineapples for 25 years!! I tried to engage in a conversation with him but he wasn´t keen. It´s a hard life; pushing a cart loaded with pineapples under this oppressively hot whether is cruel. I am sure that he´s not accounted for in the unemployemnt rate in Brazil which at present is at around 5% - lower than Australia´s (6.3%). I doubt that he receives any welfare. By the way, one pineable costs R$4 (approx A$2). He is probably better off being self-employed anyway, considering that the daily mininal wage is less than A$12. We, the middle class, winge too much when there is so many people in the world living with so little. 

The Day Started Yesterday

Jet leg is a regular part of our trips to Brazil. It normally takes 2-3 days to adjust. This time it was no different. On our first day the kids crashed at 2pm. They had minimal sleep for 48 hours so I didn´t wake them up, I thought they would sleep until 3-4am next morning. I went to bed at 10:30pm and surprise, surprise, was woken up at 11pm by the kids, who did not sleep again until 7pm the following night. This time it took me 4 days to have a decent night of sleep. No wonder I'm feeling run down.

Despite the sleep deprivation it's been so nice to be here and be surrounded by family. We are also eating so well! On our second day we had lunch at a seafood restaurant by the water. The food was divine and well priced: A$140 for 4 adults and 2 kids. Garlic prawns were on special, a large plate for A$10. I don't eat crustaceans but it did look inviting.

Love being here. Feeling grateful.