Carnaval 2016

On Monday and Tuesday the office was closed for Carnaval. We stayed in our apartment and did taxes (now that is threatening). We actually didn't see or hear any signs of Carnaval in our neighborhood, just a little on TV.

The grocery store was still open on Monday so we were able to do our shopping. We had FHE in the evening where Elder Hart related the Fibonacci pattern to a talk of Elder Scott. On Tuesday we had a little pot luck activity at the Hart's for Carnaval. I presented a short PowerPoint on the musical aspects of Carnaval - more than just the Samba in Rio. There are actually good aspects about Carnaval, if you look for the good instead of seeing all the evil that surrounds it.

Returning from the Carnaval activity

An orchid in the courtyard

Wednesday we were back in the office. I have been working on an update of the stakes in Brazil and the distances from the stake center to the various chapels in the stake. this will help in prioritizing chapel upgrades for the new webcast. Diane has been going through emails, preparing a presentation for the Area Seventy meeting, making handouts for the Portuguese class, and doing indexing on the side. Wednesday was Hanna's 18th birthday. We tried to call her, but everyone was busy that day.

On Thursday we had an interview over WebEx with the Andersons who may be our replacements. It was good to know that someone is in the pipeline, even though they may not arrive until after we return home. 

Diane had been going through the tutorials for Family Search on line. There is a lot she would like to do in Family History.

Friday night we went to a theater on Ave Paulista to see "Brooklin". Afterward we went to a Pizza rodigio where they bring all types of pizza to your table. Needless to say, I didn't eat any. 

On Saturday we decided to take a walk. We haven't been walking a lot (except to the office and back) since Diane sprained her ankle. It was nice to see some of the graffiti (the good kind of wall art) on the walls.

Ship ahoy

A garage door

Playing at school

We walked to Capela do Morumbi (about 2 miles away from our apartment). It is an art gallery which represents an old church. There wasn't much there except the building.

Capela do Morumbi

At the church

Baptism of Jesus

 We decided to take a bus back. We just missed the right bus to take us back by our apartment, so we grabbed another bus that would at least take us toward the apartment. It did for a while before it veered off and crossed the river. Fortunately I was tracking it on the GPS on the iPhone. We got off at Faria-Lima street and started to walk toward Ave Rebouças where we could catch a bus to take us home. As we were walking we passed the Casa Brasilia Museum and decided to stop. It had a lot of old furniture for houses. They also had a restaurant so we decided to have our Valentine's Day lunch (expensive, but nice).

Casa Brasileira

Some furnishings

Buffet lunch

Pau Brasil tree in the garden
(Pau is the name of the tree)

Sculpture in the garden

No, she isn't actually playing - it says "Do Not Touch"

The Rameumptom

 We decided to take an old-style elevator back to the main floor.

This was scary!

 We continued to walk along the street and stopped at the big up-scale shopping center. In the courtyard was a big water clock that keeps time with flowing water.

The waterclock

We finally got to the bus stop and caught a bus to the candy store to get some items for Monday's FHE refreshments (yes, and candy too). We were hot and tired by the time we got home so we had a nap. 

It has been a busy, but good week.