Sorry Marie Osmond, I am so not a little bit country. I am with Donny all the way, I am rock-n-roll.
Actually, I can listen to pretty much any type of music, except country. Let's see. What is on my iPod? Well I won't go over every artist, but there is anything from Beethoven to Pitbull. Heck I even have Carmina Burana on there. If you are wondering what that is, it is the scary music from the movie "The Omen." There is latin, jazz, dance, rap, classical, pop, hard rock, calypso. You name it. I listen to it. Except country.
Well, I take that back. I do have a few exceptions. I am a woman; I am allowed. I mean you should see my food list exceptions, but that will be for another day. And yes, I have a cowboy hat that I bought at Target. And yes, I own cowboy boots. But that is TOTALLY different. Yes it is. For music, I do have an affection for Carrie Underwood, Randy Travis (though he is not on my iPod), and Kenny Rogers. Though I do not know if you can call him fully country. Oh and I do like that Joe Nichols song "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off." Well of course I would, he mentions Bon Jovi in it, duh. You are probably wondering why Randy Travis. Well he was actually the first country singer I can remember that I listened to and liked besides the Oakridge Boys. And really they are only one song. Hi-O Silver Away! Anyway, we were going, somewhere, can't remember, but on the radio came his song "I am going to love you forever." I think that is the name of it. But it is a beautiful song and he has a great voice. And you can understand Carrie. I mean, she is so darned cute you just want to chop her head off and put yours on her body - while keeping her singing voice of course.
The reason I do not listen to country music is because most of it is about losing your woman, your dog running away, your horse dying, or your trailer blowing up. Well not really, but it is like scratching a chalkboard to me. And the songs pretty much sound the same after a while. And seriously, Brad Paisley needs to get rid of that hat. It makes his head look too small.
However, living in Brazil, I have learned to love country music. Brazilian country music that is. It is called forró. (Double r is pronounced as an "H".) Okay, yes, this starts sounding the same after a while too. But man, it is fun music. When you hear it, you just smile. It is always very happy, not one thing dying in any song at any time. Instead of the banjo like in the US, they use the accordion. It kind of sounds polka-ish. Now that I think about it, you can polka to this music. But all the words are happy. I think that is why I like it. So while I will not have K102/B105 programmed in any car I will ever own (yes I had to google to find those stations), the Forró station is the first we turn on in our car and consistently listen to here.
(Hey figured out how to put in a link to a song, hope it works! Forro song popular in Brazil. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcm55lU9knw ). Check this song out. It is so much fun to listen to. My boys even know the words. And there is a line dance to it too!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Every Morning I Hit A Wall
It is summer here in Brazil. It finally arrived with a vengeance. Unlike the gradual build up of heat in 2011, the summer of 2012 started cold and rainy. It took a while to get warm, but when it did, yowza! It is similar to Florida weather, but my glasses do not fog up here when I go in and out of places. I think the reason for this is that air conditioning is a rarity here.
I know what you are thinking. "What did you just say? A Rarity? In a tropical country?" Why yes I did. Yes the malls and restaurants have A/C, but it is not on the frigid setting that us Americans are used to. It is usually on the just-this-side-of-comfortable. I am extremely lucky, though. First, because I have an awesome husband. Second, because his number one must have in an apartment when he was looking for one was A/C. Now this is not central A/C either. This is wall unit A/C for each of the bedrooms and the main living spaces. (The kitchen, maid room, and laundry do not have this luxury because it is even rarer for the lady of the house to go to these places.) We have many friends here that do not have A/C in their apartments. Unfortunately, they have to leave their windows open at night. It is nice if there is a breeze. It is not nice if the smell from the river is overpowering, or if there are an abundance of mosquitoes.
Oh wait, this is Brazil, and we live next to a river. No mosquitoes? Not possible. I actually just walked through a nest of them trying to get into our building's front door. It reminded me of the Merven's (I think that was the store) commercial where the lady is standing in front of a closed store with here hands and nose pressed to the glass chanting "open, open, open." Here is a factoid for you: only females suck blood to help her eggs grow, the males live on sugar from flower nectar. And the males are the ones buzzing to attract females. But then I wondered, why are they buzzing in my ear? I am not a mate for them. Then I thought about it. I really think that when we hear mosquito males buzzing they are really saying "Run away! Here she comes! Save yourselves while you can!"
So if you have no A/C, you need to have your windows open. But then you get bit like you are the blood donor of the year. I still get bit, and my windows are closed. My husband does not. He says it is because his Latin blood is too powerful for the female mosquito. She will die instantly with that much power going into her body. (No lie, he says this.) I think the bugs were hiding in the closet while I sprayed the house the other night. And how are they getting in by the way? Through the drains or power outlets in the house?
But it is so nice to have the A/C unit on at night. I feel bad for those that do not have it. We are nice and comfy in our beds and the room is at 65 degrees, well most of the time. In the middle of the night the unit gets a little tired and blows warm air, but it starts up again after a while. Most mornings I do not want to get out of bed. Not because I have a love affair with A/C. I actually do not like A/C in the States. When we lived up North I much rather have the windows open in the Fall and have the house at 50 than have the A/C on in the summer. My husband thinks I am crazy, but I come from a long line of crazies so he should have known that going into our marriage. No, I want to stay snuggled in bed because I know once I open our bedroom door I will walk into a wall of warm air so oppressive it is like a 10 pound weight pressing on your chest. So I let my husband get out first. I like to think of it as he being altruistic; saving me the pain. I mean come on, he is Latin. He is strong enough to endure so his little bitty, meek and mild wife does not get the air sucked out of her body. But it doesn't work, the wall is still there when I follow him a few minutes later.
Help...gasp...can't...gasp...breathe....
I know what you are thinking. "What did you just say? A Rarity? In a tropical country?" Why yes I did. Yes the malls and restaurants have A/C, but it is not on the frigid setting that us Americans are used to. It is usually on the just-this-side-of-comfortable. I am extremely lucky, though. First, because I have an awesome husband. Second, because his number one must have in an apartment when he was looking for one was A/C. Now this is not central A/C either. This is wall unit A/C for each of the bedrooms and the main living spaces. (The kitchen, maid room, and laundry do not have this luxury because it is even rarer for the lady of the house to go to these places.) We have many friends here that do not have A/C in their apartments. Unfortunately, they have to leave their windows open at night. It is nice if there is a breeze. It is not nice if the smell from the river is overpowering, or if there are an abundance of mosquitoes.
Oh wait, this is Brazil, and we live next to a river. No mosquitoes? Not possible. I actually just walked through a nest of them trying to get into our building's front door. It reminded me of the Merven's (I think that was the store) commercial where the lady is standing in front of a closed store with here hands and nose pressed to the glass chanting "open, open, open." Here is a factoid for you: only females suck blood to help her eggs grow, the males live on sugar from flower nectar. And the males are the ones buzzing to attract females. But then I wondered, why are they buzzing in my ear? I am not a mate for them. Then I thought about it. I really think that when we hear mosquito males buzzing they are really saying "Run away! Here she comes! Save yourselves while you can!"
So if you have no A/C, you need to have your windows open. But then you get bit like you are the blood donor of the year. I still get bit, and my windows are closed. My husband does not. He says it is because his Latin blood is too powerful for the female mosquito. She will die instantly with that much power going into her body. (No lie, he says this.) I think the bugs were hiding in the closet while I sprayed the house the other night. And how are they getting in by the way? Through the drains or power outlets in the house?
But it is so nice to have the A/C unit on at night. I feel bad for those that do not have it. We are nice and comfy in our beds and the room is at 65 degrees, well most of the time. In the middle of the night the unit gets a little tired and blows warm air, but it starts up again after a while. Most mornings I do not want to get out of bed. Not because I have a love affair with A/C. I actually do not like A/C in the States. When we lived up North I much rather have the windows open in the Fall and have the house at 50 than have the A/C on in the summer. My husband thinks I am crazy, but I come from a long line of crazies so he should have known that going into our marriage. No, I want to stay snuggled in bed because I know once I open our bedroom door I will walk into a wall of warm air so oppressive it is like a 10 pound weight pressing on your chest. So I let my husband get out first. I like to think of it as he being altruistic; saving me the pain. I mean come on, he is Latin. He is strong enough to endure so his little bitty, meek and mild wife does not get the air sucked out of her body. But it doesn't work, the wall is still there when I follow him a few minutes later.
Help...gasp...can't...gasp...breathe....
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Beef...It's Not What's For Dinner
I am a carnivore. Most of my family is, well actually all if I am making hamburger. Just thinking about a nice juicy steak makes my mouth water. Soaking up all that bloody juice with a dinner roll; still hearing it moo when you cut the tender juicy pieces with a knife. Yum. Now I am hungry. And then you have Sam Elliott's sexy voice telling you "It's what's for dinner." Sure thing Sam I am. I will eat steak on a break. I will eat steak with a rake!
When we arrived in Brazil in August 2010 a filet mignon cost $14 Reais per kilo. If you go with the conversion rate of .6 and a kilo is 2.2 pounds, that means a pound of filet mignon was US$3.80 a pound. (Here is the calculation because I know you are saying that is not right :14x.6=8.4, 8.4/2.2=3.80) I know what you are saying. Okay it is filet every night! And we did eat it a majority of the time. I have some new and delicious recipes for good red meat. Anyway, how can you beat that price? Well, Brazil did not beat it. It buried it into the ground so deep we will never see it again.
When we left for Christmas that same year the price was around R$20 per kilo. In June 2011 when we left for the winter break the price was up to R$35 a kilo. And finally with we left at Christmas 2011, the price was at R$65 a kilo. So in a year and a half, the price increased 364%. Now what are you saying? Probably something like "holy pooh Batman!", or something very close to it. I think it would make sense if they were feeding the cows gold leaf or caviar. But the grass they are eating is not the kind for funny brownies. And yes, other cuts have gone up too, but not as drastically. Problem is finding them in the stores because they go so fast. So what's the deal?
Actually, the real question is "Is it worth it?" Now I am only giving price quotes from my local supermarket. I will not go buy it at Wal-Mart (there are usually green meats in the same case as the good stuff, but why risk it.) And the same with other stores in the area. I go where the Brazilians have told me to go. There is one other, but I do not have a car so it is harder to get to. But back to the question, is it worth it. While we were in the States for Christmas and New Year 2011/2012 we went to several restaurants. In the past these places had amazing food. And of course, loving bovine, I had red meat. It did not taste like anything! No flavor, nada, zilch! I have now understood the comment that Argentina and Brazil have some of the best beef in the world. I have no idea what they are feeding these cows, maybe it is caviar and gold leaf. Because eating a Brazilian steak is for me like eating a Betty Crocker Brownie - a savory, tasty, scrumptious treat.
It is worth it? Yes. Can I afford it? No. So in the meantime, I scour the cases waiting for it to go on sale, which is rare. But I like rare meat, especially with a nice peppery crust seasoning.
When we arrived in Brazil in August 2010 a filet mignon cost $14 Reais per kilo. If you go with the conversion rate of .6 and a kilo is 2.2 pounds, that means a pound of filet mignon was US$3.80 a pound. (Here is the calculation because I know you are saying that is not right :14x.6=8.4, 8.4/2.2=3.80) I know what you are saying. Okay it is filet every night! And we did eat it a majority of the time. I have some new and delicious recipes for good red meat. Anyway, how can you beat that price? Well, Brazil did not beat it. It buried it into the ground so deep we will never see it again.
When we left for Christmas that same year the price was around R$20 per kilo. In June 2011 when we left for the winter break the price was up to R$35 a kilo. And finally with we left at Christmas 2011, the price was at R$65 a kilo. So in a year and a half, the price increased 364%. Now what are you saying? Probably something like "holy pooh Batman!", or something very close to it. I think it would make sense if they were feeding the cows gold leaf or caviar. But the grass they are eating is not the kind for funny brownies. And yes, other cuts have gone up too, but not as drastically. Problem is finding them in the stores because they go so fast. So what's the deal?
Actually, the real question is "Is it worth it?" Now I am only giving price quotes from my local supermarket. I will not go buy it at Wal-Mart (there are usually green meats in the same case as the good stuff, but why risk it.) And the same with other stores in the area. I go where the Brazilians have told me to go. There is one other, but I do not have a car so it is harder to get to. But back to the question, is it worth it. While we were in the States for Christmas and New Year 2011/2012 we went to several restaurants. In the past these places had amazing food. And of course, loving bovine, I had red meat. It did not taste like anything! No flavor, nada, zilch! I have now understood the comment that Argentina and Brazil have some of the best beef in the world. I have no idea what they are feeding these cows, maybe it is caviar and gold leaf. Because eating a Brazilian steak is for me like eating a Betty Crocker Brownie - a savory, tasty, scrumptious treat.
It is worth it? Yes. Can I afford it? No. So in the meantime, I scour the cases waiting for it to go on sale, which is rare. But I like rare meat, especially with a nice peppery crust seasoning.
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