Status Quo...Vadis?

So to speak...My sister-in-law is coming from Sampa on Tuesday to see the Burle Marx retrospective (didn't I say it was worth a trip to Rio?). Jenny, who hails from Tasmania, also wants to go see "Australia" with me. Two decades ago she moved to the outskirts of Campinas and built herself a house, reminiscent of an Australian outback bungalow, with a row of eucalyptus trees in front. The rest of the garden was downright Brazilian: wide blade grass, pitangas, amoras, mangoes, and so on. The other day we were out taking pictures (she's a superb photographer) and I asked her if she didn't want to have a house again, a piece of land for her herbs and flowers (she's a green thumb). She gave me an emphatic "no!" And the main reason, she said, were the saúvas. For those of you unfamiliar with the delights of maintaining a garden in these latitudes, these insects are some of the largest and most voracious ants in the world. And, apparently, they simply refuse to go away, no matter what you try, short of a scorched earth policy (which kind of defeats the purpose). But where was I that I got here? Oh, I know. When I first came to Brazil my dream was to have a little house somewhere and be able to dig my fingers into soil once more and have my own tropical haven, steps away from the Atlantic forest. Pretty much what Burle Marx did at home and for countless moneyed people around here. Well, it didn't exactly turn out that way. Who knows where I'll end up next, but it's quite likely to be a condo again...oy, vey!


Speaking of going to the movies, I found the best candy in Brazil! Hurray! A little marvel called Bala Juquinha: it's chewy like a salt water taffy, but doesn't stick to your teeth; it's neither sweet nor sour and hits your tastebuds like yumm...Considering it's been majorly popular since the fifties, it beats me why I'd never heard of it until the other day. Better late than never; I intend to make up for lost time. So, to "Australia" I'll go, armed with a handful of tutti-frutti Juquinhas, and I'll throw a few bagfuls into my suitcase next time. The company site claims that they export their candies and lollipops to 49 countries, including the U.S., so they must be available somewhere near us, but just in case...

And, if you can guess where I found the title for this post, I promise to mail you a bag of Juquinhas! It's a play on a very famous book title, but most importantly, it's a fitting description for this bird of passage's existence.

Photo Copyright: Balas Juquinha