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Italian Grilled Steak with Balsamic Onions

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My Own Amazon Rain Forest

So I have been getting into this soccer thing. I’ve actually been watching some of the soccer matches that don’t even have the Americans playing in them; and enjoying the excitement! I’ve started looking at the team records. Yesterday I was investigating how many times the US has gotten into the final 16. It was more than I thought and it happened just 4 years ago. I had no clue. I love watching the Mexican coach. That guy has gusto! So many interesting elements to the whole affair.

Within every match there is discussion of the weather. Blisteringly HOT weather. And considering this is “winter” in Brazil that’s pretty darn hot. Temperatures ranging around 100 degrees with humidity in excess of 70 percent some days. My mom would call that dripping hot.

It’s so extreme that a Brazilian labor court mandated that the players be given cooling breaks at the 30-minute point in each half of the match when the temperature soars above 90 degrees.

Brazil is a massive country. The range of climate is broad. Snow and freezing does happen in the far south but most of this World Cup is taking place in areas surrounding the Amazon Rain Forest and in the forest it’s always hot and very humid. Downpours are common. Torrential downpours.

I’ve been making these observations in the midst of my own little Amazon Rain Forest. My Amazon is called my courtyard.

 

We have a section of our house that has windows on three sides and a brick wall as the fourth side. The whole area in the middle is open to the elements and is our private garden. It’s about the size of two normal living rooms. We love it. Our cats love it because it means they can go outside and be safe. They love to chase butterflies and investigate bugs. They love to chew on some of the foliage in the garden. And most of all they love to sleep in the sun and the shade.

The World Cup has been going on for two weeks now. We’ve had Amazon conditions in our garden for two weeks now too. When will we quit getting these torrential downpours? It’s been hot and humid. Temperatures soaring to 90 degrees and humidity to go along with it.

I can’t get our furniture cushions to dry! Just about the time they get close, it rains again. My garden is squishy. If you step into any of the garden beds, they make squishy noises. Some things are beginning to mold. I’m afraid to look under the outdoor rug. That’s another thing that never gets a chance to dry out. Some of my plants are growing oddly. They are so wet so much of the time they are not blooming properly and some look to be getting root rot.

One of my plants (see photo) loves this weather. I picked up this plant on a cruise through Home Depot. I have been known to plant tropicals in my garden in the summer. I don’t expect them to last through the winter but the more exotic ones lend a unique focal point to the garden. This is one such focal point plant.

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