One Year Ago Project

Our next visit was to a citrus, pineapple, coffee and sugarcane farm.  This time we would see sugarcane production and hear about its vital role in the biofuel industry.  There already is a huge ethanol industry and most cars in Brazil can run on either gasoline or ethanol.  The hope is to soon have 40% of fuel needs met by the alternate.  In order to achieve this goal, more and more sugarcane is being planted to be used as the raw ingredient.  Sugarcane grows quickly and yields high volumes but it does require lots of water to grow.

On the way down the long lane (like miles long!), we saw some cattle and this worker fertilizing the pasture land.

This farm draws water off the river and has a vast system of canals and pumps to supply irrigation to much of its cropland.  

Center pivot irrigation systems supplied water to coffee, pineapple and sugarcane in this particular field.

One of the scientist researchers spent the morning with us, showing us how they grew the cane and answering every question.

We did a little taste test to see how sweet and juicy it was.

Did you know you can lay that long piece of cane in a trench and each nodule will sprout and grow a plant?  

I love this picture!  It's always interesting to get a shot from a different and unusual angle.  Notice there aren't too many women tucked in close - most of us were wandering around, visiting and taking pictures!!

We were here to see the sugarcane production but I was more fascinated by the pineapple field next door!

See the little flower tucked in there?

Each little flower becomes a 'nugget' and together they form the pineapple.  There was no one to tell us about production so I had to do some research online.

We were lucky to have pineapple served at some breakfasts while we were in South America.

As we left, we drove past a field of coffee trees, growing in long rows like a vineyard.

It was starting to rain again which explains the white drops on the window of the bus.

The next time we are in a tropical place, I want to find a coffee plantation and a pineapple grower to get the rest of the story :))

Something New

Heather just pointed me in the direction of some wonderful new scrapbooking products!  You must go over to g . c . d  Studios and check their blog for a chance to win some beautiful papers.  I seriously had to check every line - they are all simply gorgeous!  I love the Paris Nights Collection and every sheet is double sided - complete bonus!  Hurry - go over and visit now!!!!

One Year Ago Project

Visiting farms while we were in South America was definitely a highlight for us.  The first one our local guide arranged was to -

This was on the side of one of the farm trucks.  Each unit had a number assigned to it.  Fazenda means farm in Portuguese.

The main farmyard was lined with beautiful trees.  I think it was in the 1970's that three brothers came from Argentina to work as tractor drivers in this area.  Thirty years later they own a huge parcel of land and are well known as excellent farmers.  

The machine shed was filled with green - 

combines (I think there were 4) -

12 tractors in these 2 rows (and others out and about in the yard) - 

corn planters and myriad other pieces.

They have storage facilities on the farm, which is rather unusual.

The managers took us out to a field of cotton -

and the field boss showed how strong and healthy the plants were.

 A total of 27 different spray applications are put on cotton and this airplane was used for much of that.  The pilot came from Sao Paulo to work for 6 months every year.  I'm sure he would have had a lot to discuss with my brother, who does the same thing here. 

Also on the farm are apartments for workers and a large dining hall and kitchen.  Wherever we went in Brazil, they were eager to show us the facilities for workers.  The government has legislation in place to protect the rights of workers and it is enforced.  It was evident that the management of human resources was just as important as crop management.  

Good-ness

Just some random images to show you of my very good visit to family in Airdrie.

Coloring and chatting away!

She did hold still so I could do her hair in braids.

Love the bond these two have.  He gets so excited when he sees her and the biggest smiles go to her!

I just love being with them and watching all the interaction between little brother and big sister.  

Check This Out

I got a message from Hotelscombined today so I went over and toured around for a bit.  This is a hotel locator site that covers many countries around the world.  I clicked on Egypt and Kenya and Australia and New York City - can you tell what I'm dreaming about?!!  I loved the way several hotel choices in a city are listed and  how it's so easy to investigate each one.  You can see pictures of the hotel, find out if internet is available and read reviews from past guests.  Bookings can be made through the site too.  I think this is a seriously cool site - and a complete bonus is that they are donating to one of several worldwide charities when you mention them on your blog.  So thanks for listening - and investigating further, I hope.  Compassion International is happy too :))

Ten on Tuesday - Global Food Crisis Day

Tomorrow, March 11 is Global Food Crisis Day.  

Did you know that:

1.  One person in 7 goes to bed hungry every night?

2.  One-third of the world's population is undernourished?

3.  There are 25,000 starvation-related deaths each day?

4.  Each night more than 300 million children got to bed hungry?

5.  Every day, over 12,000 children (one every 7 seconds) die from hunger-related causes?

6.  Approximatedly 146 million (27%) of children under age 5 in developing countries are underweight?

(Taken from Hunger Fact Sheet, Compassion.com  - sources -  www.one.org, www.bread.org, www.unicef.org, www.who.int, www.unep.org)

7.  You can help Compassion International provide food for children and their families around the world.

$13 a month will help one child

$39 will help 3 children for one month

$78 helps 6 children for one month

8.  So the burger, fries and pop that we had for supper will help 2 children EVERY DAY for ONE month - not just one meal!   

9.  As Ann at Holy Experience says, there is no food crisis here.  Cereal with milk for breakfast, tuna melts with hot soup for lunch, burgers for supper, grapes and cookies for snack - it goes on and on for us.

10.  "We owe them the honour of listening to their stories."  Ann Voskamp

Hope Through Churches

Is there something you can do?  

Please join me in making a difference, one meal at a time. 

 Go to Compassion and see how you can help.

Simple Daybook #32

For Today . . . March 9, 2009

Outside my window . . . - 27 degrees C, cold and snow, along with icy roads in the aftermath of a surprise winter blizzard as I drove home from Airdrie today - my first attempt was aborted yesterday afternoon.  It's supposed to be +14 degrees C in Calgary on the weekend though - I hope that repeats for the weekend after!

I am thinking . . . about International Women's Day celebrated around the world yesterday and the speech that Canadian Governor General, Michel Jean, gave in Liberia yesterday

From the kitchen . . . Sticky Chicken Drumsticks, Rice, Veggie Salad and Roasted Asparagus - in Heather's kitchen though :))

I am wearing . . . black jeans, yellow long sleeved tshirt, and black cardigan - and a fleece jacket over that!

I am reading . . . The Scent of Water by Linda Nichols

I am hoping . . . to get my house thoroughly cleaned and tidied up this week

I am hearing . . . Josh Groban singing "You Raise Me Up"

I am creating . . . a covered notebook and daily somethings from the studio and the kitchen for The Creativity Project

Around the house . . . my suitcase to unpack, Bob's snowmobiling gear to wash, some small Christmas shopping items to tuck away, and spring decorations to find.  Maybe if I put them up, spring will actually come!!

One of my favourite things . . . downloading my camera and reliving the memories that I captured.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . . 2 days of subbing, a playdate with Meadow, Bible study to host, a hair appointment, and a trip to the big city

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you . . . story time with Daddy - I love how all 3 of them are totally engrossed in the book!!  Our son-in-laws are awesome dads!!

Over at Simple Woman, Peggy has many more daybooks linked so you can check them out.  

Growing Up

Look what this little guy is up to already! He just loves to bounce. It seems like just a few weeks ago that Helayna was bouncing in here - where has the time gone?

I came to play for a couple of days while Heather's working on a special project. It's been great fun playing and cuddling. Today Helayna learned to sing 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' while riding in the laundry basket. She is such a good helper - she was right in there making pizza tonight.

I hope the snowstorm that blew in tonight passes by and the highways improve for tomorrow's drive home. Such a pain to have winter weather for so long - I am ready for spring!

Creating

I'm finally on the last week of the Design Your Life class assignments!  It's been my focus for so long that I'm starting to wonder what I will do in the studio after these projects are all finished.  This week our assignment was to take some favourite previously used ideas from class and rework/modify them to use on new pages.  One of Cathy Zielske's pieces of wisdom is to take ideas that you love and reuse them instead of trying to think of brand new ideas for every single layout.   I don't consciously do this very often but I definitely like the ideas.  

So - remember this layout from the very first week of class?

Here it is again, with just a few alterations.  I love this design for random one photo layouts.  This picture has been on my desk for about 18 months and it was good to find a home for it.

That's all I've done this week, in between subbing, shopping and playdates.  More to come soon, I hope!

One Year Ago Project

There were so many interesting agricultural crops grown in South America that were totally new to us.  One of them was coffee!  We didn't have the opportunity to visit a coffee plantation although we did see some from the highway.  Centre pivot irrigation covered the acres of coffee trees and we did learn that it's an expensive crop to produce but can yield big profits too.  We did visit the local coffee cooperative where growers bring in the harvested beans.

There were a few coffee trees growing along the boulevard.

And we saw some green beans on them.  I think these might be almost ready for harvesting.  Can anyone tell me for sure?

The beans are brought into the warehouse in bags.

And stacked in seperate piles, with tags marking each grower's pile.

The beans go through seperators where a laser (the purple lights) sorts them and they are run over shakers to clean and sort them.  

Inside the office area, a sample from each grower is kept for tasting, which helps determine which beans will be  blended to meet order specifications from the coffee buyers.  

Our local guide, Brian, speaking with the coffee taster who has many years of experience and is able to classify the beans - something like a wine taster does with descriptions of wine.  You can see the roasting pans where small samples are roasted before tasting.

Can you spot the differences in these beans, just by looking?

And we each got a bag of beans to take home with us!  In Brazil, they say that the best beans are exported and the rest are kept for the Brazilians to drink!  We loved the taste of this coffee and wish we had brought home more.

For someone who doesn't really like coffee, I really enjoyed our visit here!

Stay tuned for a visit to Fazenda Barcelona tomorrow!

Ten on Tuesday

1.  Lisa Day has started a marvelous new thing-to-do!  It's called The Creativity Project and it just means doing something creative every single day.  I think it's a marvelous idea - feel free to join in, even if you just do it for yourself.  Be sure to go over to Lisa's blog, check out her explanation and see what she's creating.  

2.  My Creativity Projects for March :  Day 1 - Cookies 'N Cream Cupcakes    

 Day 2 - Scrapbook layout "Beautiful Girls" (I'll take a picture and share it tomorrow)

3.  I found some beautiful old, old wedding pictures in a box at my mom's tonight.  I don't know the people (some distant cousins of my grandmother) but the black and white pictures are so amazing.  

4.  Roasted vegetables - potatoes, celery, onions, carrots, parsnips and mushrooms - baked with olive oil and herbs are SO delicious!

5.  We went to a presentation tonight about the work of our church and its partnership with the Lutheran Church in Colombia.  It's so good to hear how God works through us to help others with prayer, energy and gifts.

6.  In the last few days, I've had  emails from 5 different couples that were on our South American tour last year!  How good it was to hear from them - great big smiles over here :))

7.  You must go over to Bakerella and check out the recipe for Walnut Blondies with Maple Butter Sauce.  I found it yesterday when I was helping a student do online research for a cupcake recipe and 

I think I'm going to have to try making them.

8.  Remember daylight saving time begins in Canada - and other places too, I think - this coming weekend.  I'm really not looking forward to losing that hour of sleep.

9.  What are you most looking forward to  this spring?  For me it's the growing things - grass, trees, plants, flowers - I can hardly wait to see all of them again.

10.  The winner of my blog giveaway is Susan (Penless Writer) from Arizona!  Thank you to all of you who commented - and who continue to bless me with your presence, your thoughtfulness and your caring.  Love you!!

Hoarfrost on the branches - but I think leaves would look better :))

One Year Ago Project

In Town

I want to show you a few things around the town of Luis Eduardo Meghalles.  Twenty-five years ago it was just a little hamlet with a gas station here and now there's a bustling town, featuring many agricultural businesses.  

Of course, the restaurants were important to us!!  In South America, dinner is served very late in the evening with eateries opening about 8:30 p.m..  

This place had a very interesting horn made out of animal horns.  Several of our group tried playing it - all rather unsuccessfully!

Meat is usually served from a  grill.  In this case, the meat was threaded on this very long skewer, cooked and then carved off right on to our plates.  Sauces and condiments are not commonly used.  The servers were so skillful with their long carving knives.

Our leaders - Bob Thomas, the Canadian guide, in the background conferring with Scott (from Idaho) and Brian (from Missouri).   Scott had just moved his family here 8 months earlier, was learning the language and eager to farm.   Brian had lived in Brazil for a few years and was a fluent Portuguese speaker.  He arranged this part of our tour and took us to amazing spots.

The local Catholic church

Transport trucks were busy all the time-

and there were many other interesting modes of transportation!

The watermelon trucks were right along the highway selling big melons.  

Golmur Cotton Gin

We spent one morning with one of the owners of this cotton gin, learning some amazing things.

We knew nothing about growing or processing cotton!

We were in the growing season so there were only a few tarped bales of cotton in the yard.  

You can see how the cotton comes in from the field here - it needs some work!

And this was one of 3 ginning machines.  Ductwork runs under the floor and all the debris is sucked down and then blown out of the building into a pile.  Some of it is used for animal feed.  The gins were mostly in pieces as they were retro-fitting and preparing them for the next season.  Golmur processes their own cotton but will also gin cotton for other farmers.

One of the combing machines with thousands of little needles that straighten the cotton fibers.

Here is the finished product, ready to be shipped out to a textile company.  I'd love to be here when the place is in full production.  

Simple Daybook #31

For Today . . . March 2, 2009

Outside my window . . .  tracks in the snow made by snow melting and dripping off the roof,  bright but not sunny, -5 degrees C - and March came in like a lamb

I am thinking . . . how much fun I had this morning working with a special student to find a cupcake recipe that she can bake later this week - Bakerella was her favourite site!  

From the kitchen . . . rib steaks, roasted vegetables (including potatoes, parsnips, carrots and mushrooms), Meadow's Mini Banana Muffins and chai tea!

I am wearing . . . black cords, black snowflake t-shirt and white quilted vest

I am reading . . . Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling - I decided to go back and reread the first 3 books before finishing up the set

I am hoping . . . to find a pair of shoes to wear to the wedding this week

I am hearing . . . Allison Krause singing "A Living Prayer"

I am creating . . . pages for Darrin and Kelsey's guestbook.  It's such an honour to do this special task for them!

Around the house . . . Cabbage Patch doll Amanda sleeping on the loveseat - where Grampa can't squish her when he naps on the couch, according to Meadow!!, papers for tax season, phone numbers from our South America tour friends, and the last of the winter decorations.  I'm re-decorating even if spring is still weeks away!

One of my favourite things . . . unexpected visits and phone call from our grandchildren!  Helayna phoned on Saturday morning to let us know that she would be coming to the farm after Uncle Darrin and Auntie Kelsey's wedding for a sleepover and quad rides!!  What a great plan that is!  And then  Meadow and her Dad stopped in for just a few minutes late yesterday afternoon on their way home.  How wonderful to see them at the door :))

A few plans for the rest of the week . . . 2 more full days of subbing, a shopping day to Edmonton with Meadow and Naomi, Lenten service, and a trip to Airdrie

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you . . . yummy fresh fruit and vegetables - and purchased for just $1.00 a pound!

There are many more daybooks to read over on Peggy's Simple Woman Daybook site - go and enjoy!!

Happy Birthday, Darrin!

It's our son's 32nd birthday today - how in the world has that much time gone by??!!

We are so proud of the man he has become and thank God for the privilege of being his parents.  In just 3 weeks, he will become a husband and form his own family!  We pray that this milestone year will be  filled with joy and daily blessings from God.  We love you!