Sundays for the past couple of months

Often Sunday afternoon has a touch of melancholy to it. Is that cultural or is it just me?

Today I was thinking about the past Sundays since September. Not much time for sweet sadness.

Nov. 9 (today)
I went with my sister Mary to hear the Soweto Gospel Choir. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful it was. Here, listen:



Nov. 2
I worked on my Nanowrimo novel and on other projects. Just a bit melancholy.

October 26
Came home from Brazil. Real sadness at leaving so soon, combined with exhaustion from the 26-hour trip.

October 19
Walked in the park with Pati, found kittens! In case you missed that post, here's the picture of Charlie and his sister:


October 12
I went to a concert in Sao Paulo, heard Thomas Rohrer (Swiss but he lives in Brazil), Chris Stout (Scottish) and two Brazilian musicians--dang, can't remember their names. Afterwards, we went to eat lunch and then went to a park that overlooks the city. Here's a picture of Pati, Carlos (Chris' brother-in-law), Chris and Sarah (Chris' sister):


October 5
I rode the bus from Rio to Sao Paulo.

September 28
Went to the Botanical Gardens in Rio with Pati. Here's a waterfall in the Gardens:



September 21
Worked on the dragonfly program and anticipated an amazing trip to Brazil.

The next time I have a melancholy Sunday, maybe I'll look back at this post.

Surprise in the park

Yesterday Pati and I went to a large city park for a walk. Gray day, but not rainy, so it was pleasant. I find that sometimes the colors on a gray day are even more vibrant than on a sunny one. We wandered around the nursery of this park, which was fascinating. Once again I was struck by the plants growing in the ground that I've only seen in pots at home (many on my own windowsills). Rows of spider plants, for example.

This tree and the plants covering it seem to have a symbiotic relationship.


Pati stood next to this one for perspective on these enormous leaves.

I love the shape of this palm surrounded by other trees.

As we were moseying along, at the same time we both saw something unidentifiable in the road. A bit of trash? Leaves? Something dead? Fur? Fur! 

At first we thought one of them might not still be alive, but it moved. Both had gunky eyes, though the more alert one cleaned his off. 

Pati went to ask the gatekeeper nearby if these cats lived here, or if there was a mother around. No. Somebody had abandoned them. We sat down to consider what to do. The weaker one got up and came over to me. She let us pat her. The other one wouldn't let us get near. He hissed at us and jumped away. Both were scared and meowing piteously.

Pati called her friend Paulo who lives nearby and who loves cats. He and his partner Estela came right over. In the meantime, Pati got a cardboard box from the gatekeeper and we managed to put the weaker kitten in it. The other kitten escaped into the brush, but he couldn't stand to hear his sister crying, so he came back. Paulo was able to catch him and put both of them in a cloth cat hutch they'd brought. Whew! We walked back to Paulo and Estela's apartment, where the kittens had a little milk and got their eyes cleaned off. 

We left them there, in very good care. Today they went to the vet for antibiotics. This is how I know that one is a girl and one is a boy. The kittens will stay together for the week, and then Pati will take Charlie (the feisty one) home. 

Isn't this an interesting life? A simple walk in the park can so easily turn into an adventure.