29.03.22 - Det är ingen ko på isen

Halloooo,

Hope all well! Not a lot to report this week to be honest - we've both taken on a lot of extra work to pass the time until we move back to São Paulo, so we mostly did that all weekend, in between general house maintenance. 

But the flat renovation is back underway, this time with real contractors, so as the Swedish say, "det är ingen ko på isen" ("there is no cow on the ice", i.e. no cause for immediate concern). And I've made another compilation, should you be so inclined. 

Speak soon!

I Am Fred-gend

22.03.22 - Fica, vai ter bolo

Hallooo,

How's things across the Atlantic? Over here we've gone mask-free in the state of São Paulo (except for public transport and hospitals), which is all rather thrilling, at least until everyone starts getting Covid. 

Otherwise we've been busy wheeling and dealing with our renovation work, which has been complicated somewhat by the original contractor running off with half our budget. Plenty of regular work going on too, plus some additional copywriting I took on, penning articles about the joys of living in Paraguay - an odd side-gig but can't complain, etc.

I've made a new compilation, as is my wont; and my phrase of the day ("stay, there will be cake") is often humorously used to get people to stay longer at social engagements. I myself would never joke about the availability of cake, but it is what it is. 

Hope all well, and speak soon!

Sigmund Fred

15.03.22 - Marido de aluguel

Hallooooo!

Hope all well. This week we've been busy hashing out our plan to get our building work back on track, so not a lot else to report, although we had some folks over at the weekend for homemade burgers and ice cream, including a small child, which was fun. 

In other news, I've made a cracking new compilation for your listening delight, and my phrase of the day means "husband for rent", which is an amusing local term for handymen who you can hire to come and fix stuff around the house. 

And that's all she wrote!

Fred Crumbs

08.03.22 - Véio da lancha

Halloooo,

Hope all well! We've been off having a jolly old time at Brunno's family house on Ilhabela, after nearly a year away. On Thursday we rented a boat and were whisked off to the beaches up north which can't be reached by car, which was very cool - they even threw in a portable barbeque into the bargain, which felt like the height of luxury. 

On Friday we decided it wasn't going to get any better than that, plus the heat and mosquitoes were all getting a bit much and our building work in São Paulo was thrown into crisis, so we decided to drive back for a quiet weekend at home. 

Yesterday we held crisis talks with our project manager, who has apparently been using the money we fronted her for everything but our project which is at an absolute standstill, and have decided to ditch her for someone else. So that should be a fun journey into the Brazilian small claims system, on top of the regular building admin.

I've made another compilation, and my phrase of the day ("the old man of the yacht") is a synonym for "sugar daddy", and has become a catch-all term for Brazilians' get-rich-quick schemes along with "being born an heiress" and "winning the lottery". Unfortunately it's back to slumming it on the regular beaches of Ilhabela for us, but it was fun to be the yacht-man for a day!

Ciao for now,

The Freddler

02.03.22 - Acordar cedo para atrasar com calma

Hallooooo,

Hope all well with you, despite impending WWIII etc. It's Carnaval time here, which seems to be going ahead in some form or other, despite being officially cancelled for obvious reasons. Having put up anti-cat barbed wire around the garden, we had friends over for the weekend and spent most of it either in our pool (which is finally paying off!) or slaving over a hot barbeque. 

Yesterday we set off to Ilhabela, where we've been invited to stay at Brunno's family house for the week. We've already hit the beach this morning and are making plans to have a captain drive us around on his boat tomorrow, so watch this space!

I've made a new compilation, and my phrase of the day is a cracker which I recently came across, meaning "to get up early so I can run late in good time". Loses a lot in translation but captures something of the Brazilian essence, I feel.

Speak soon!

Fred-om of Information Act