FELIZ NAVIDAD AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

We have a light dusting of snow here in Ohio today, they say we are getting a bit more.....My husband and I are traveling to Connecticut where our oldest children live and where the grand kids are...
My younger boys joke that we abandon them for Christmas as they cannot take time off from work to go. But they understand....

I wish you all a wonderful time with family and friends...and when things don't turn out perfect, and someone's late or the cookies burnt, take time to think how lucky we are to have our families safe when so many do not....

Wishing you all a wonderful 2013 filled with peace.health and love...


Love

Gabriela

Origami anyone?????

In my trip to Brasil I met some great people...two special ones are Marcia and Newton.....They welcomed me into their home for a visit and a little origami class.....
Marcia had given my sister Daniela this absolutely beautiful lotus flower which is really a napkin holder and dispenser....I thought it was so wonderful to just take one petal at a time...Anyway, Marcia taught me how to do it..

.And many other things like cranes, flowers, stars.....

It wasn't long before I was hooked!I managed to remember some and some I still need to look up the instructions...
I am not a patient person but this really was a great exercise in patience...and the more I do it, the more I like it! Maybe you can try it for yourself!!!

Marcia made a beautiful lotus for me that I will never use and always treasure....a beautiful mobile and many flowers that remind me always of their kindness and love...

My nephew Dash also shared how to make a star...

Obrigada Marcia, Newton y Dash!

Sharing a little of my trip to Uruguay and Brasil...and Argentina too!

This past September I went on my yearly trip to Uruguay to visit my family and friends.My sister lives in Brasil so I make a stop in Montevideo for a few days, and then my parents and I go to Brasil to be with her and my nephews.
This year I was 'lucky' enough to be landing in Montevideo Sept. 19, a day in which they had  the storm of the century. When we were just about to land we were told we could not land and had to go to Buenos Aires, Argentina. A city I love and which once was my city also....but not a city I wanted to see when my family was expecting me in Montevideo.
Well, we spent almost 2 days there but didn't get to do much since they were constantly changing the time we were leaving so we had to stay close to the hotel.
It would have been a great time for me to visit my friend Sara Lechner (www.thefabricofmeditation.blogspot.com).
We have been blogging friends for many years and I adore her work and her too! and would have loved to meet her! But she was on vacation in Europe so we crossed paths... next time!!!
I hope you enjoy some of the pictures of my trip.......I am always inspired when I travel...and will later share some of the things I did there...

Me at Mariscal Beach, S. Catarina Brasil

Some beautiful and yummy candy we were given.....

Palm tree in bloom......

Beautiful round rocks at Canto Grande Beach, S. Catarina, Brasil

Canto Grande, Fisherman's Boats...

These are beautiful sand flowers that grow all along the sand..

One of my favorite places, Canto Garnde Brasil...

These are pictures around my parents' house in PortoBelo Brasil

A video from Canto Grande beach..................

Some views from my Montevideo, Uruguay....

I THINK I AM A ROBOT.....

The last two days I have been having the most difficult time leaving comments on my dear friends' blogs...
I do use reading glasses, and I am not the most patient person in the world......but 9 and 10 times I tried to decipher those little annoying numbers and words at no avail......

They say it is to prove you are not a robot.....well...I guess in my case it has been proven......

I AM A ROBOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


  So if you don't see my comments on your blog as often as usual...it doesn't mean I am not checking your blog...I am just having a hard time being human!!!!!!!!!!!!

What I did this last summer....

This summer was busy with gardening.......when my husband and I moved to Ohio we started a vegetable garden. Coming from the city and never having done it before, we went through many trials and errors...in fact we still do.....but growing our own food and cooking it and preserving it has been a pleasure and sometimes  a pain ....


This year we made spaghetti sauce for the first time....lots of grueling peeling, seeding, cooking down to after many hours end up with 4 cans of sauce......Oh well...the fact is that we will do it better next year and we will still thoroughly enjoy having the sauce this winter!

We canned peppers, pickles, tomato sauce, salsa!, peaches......so our summer was basically consumed with that! At times we said we will never do it again but I doubt that! I am sure we will be out there again next spring!Here are some pictures of our gardening.....and cooking....