November is a rather slack month at Shell, especially for us Americans. This last week, Rio de Janeiro celebrated Zumby (pronounced ZOOM-bee). I understand that Zumby was a rebel leader in the 18th or 19th century, but I can find little else about him. The only group that takes the day off are the Cariocas (CA-hree-O-kahs) here in Rio (a Carioca is a person from the city of Rio de Janeiro). I tried to google Zumby to link a site to this page, but I couldn't even find a Brazilian page that described it. There aren't many holidays in September and October, so I have a feeling, this day is more about not having to work than anything people actually care about. The nice thing is that Brazilians don't believe in taking Thursday off and working on a Friday, so I got a four day weekend (a long explanation for the final six words that were all that mattered).

Vic and the kids are leaving December 12 for the States, so we decided to get the tree up now so the kids could enjoy it for a little while before leaving; otherwise, what's the point? This meant that I had to enter the attic to locate and drag down all the boxes, ornaments and decorations down. To add to the moment, Spring decided to make a last ditch effort and it is actually cold outside here. Ansley, who has been peeing her pants since last Tuesday she's so excited to decorate, was not disappointed. While Vic and I went through that magical holiday process of assembling the tree, Ansley rifled through every box we had planning where the items should be placed. Sawyer was completely unimpressed until the lights started going up on the tree, at which he got off the couch, walked up to the tree with his mouth slightly open, slowly turned to Vic and said "Wow."

Both children have been struggling with the concept of "don't touch" the last couple of days. I believe for different reasons. Ansley is all ready better than me at most crafting activities, and I believe, in her mind, the Christmas tree is the epitome of "Craft". Its a beacon to her. We told her as we were decorating the tree that there are people in Brazil that don't do anything this time of year, except decorate other people's houses for this season. I'm pretty sure I now know what she wants to do with the rest of her life. Last night, Ansley chose to stay up 15 minutes later to look at the tree rather than have the treat she normally gets before bed.

Sawyer's motives are a little more base than Ansley's. That tree is bright, shiny and new and covered with small things that resemble toys. It needs to be touched, grabbed, throttled and played with until it is no longer any of these things. There are three ornaments in particular that call to him: a wooden clock that my parents gave me when I was a kid, a wooden train that was also a gift when I was a kid, and a Tigger Jack-in-the-Box that Ella and Carl gave Sawyer last year. If he is in the room by himself, it's a certainty that he has grabbed one of these ornaments and is playing with it. When you come in the room, there is a flurry of activity. He generally throws the ornament at the tree and runs and hides his face on the couch. I must sadly report the loss of several ornaments to his playing. I'm sure they are in a better place now.

Here are series of pics we took of the kids. We were trying to get a nice shot for out christmas cards.

Other than this, not much else has happened. For a little filler, I'll pass on a Salsa recipe that I found and like. The original recipe was called the "five minute salsa," but I can't leave anything alone, so it's now the "10 Minute Salsa."

1 can of whole peeled tomatos

half an onion

fresh minced garlic to taste

oregano to taste

salt to taste

fresh cilantro to taste

jalopenos to taste

chili powder (I use about a tablespoon and found that too much of this is not a good thing)

juice from a lime

Throw ingredients in a bowl and take a boat motor to it for a few minutes, or throw them in a blender and do the same. Recipe doubles easily. It reminds me of the salsa you get in a Mexican Restaurant and it's extremely easy.

I hope everyone else had a good week.