The historic beach of our city is open once again, to be enjoyed by residents and tourists. I say again because before this we came and only found stones and more stones… where was the wonderful relaxing sand…? Not a grain! :-(

Today, the low tide made the water as calm as a lake, but it cost $ 3.5 million dollars in renovations that took 6 months of work!

Now besides sand we have, a beautiful and safe sidewalk for walking, cycling and plenty illumination.

I thought it brilliant planting this type of native vegetation. The grass is still yellow, not only because it was newly planted, but as also because of the extreme cold that we have had recently.

Each concrete slab has holes to drain the water, which will also help the vegetation to grow between the blocks.

Pocket beaches were made with large stones, which help maintain the sand in the right place and protect it from erosion.

After several decades, Texans can now enjoy this historic place, not to mention the economic benefit that the city will have with the renewal of tourism.

For those who are living in America, where it’s winter now, or you guys in Brazil in the hot summer or even in places where it is not so cold, I have good news because it’s good in any weather. :-)

Researchers from Yale University say a cup of hot chocolate, that we well know, warms our spirit on warm days and it helps us with our problems … It is also very good for the heart! Especially if sugarless.

They say that cocoa makes the blood vessels dilate temporarily, causing the heart to not have to pump so hard, which lowers blood pressure 6 points (only 3 points if it contains sugar) and, perhaps, may have a medicinal effect.

Also, naturally processed cocoa (check the product label) has more antioxidants, and it helps the blood stream.

So, don’t spoil your sublime hot chocolate or ice cream with feelings of guilt, at least reduce the sugar, or better, use a natural sweetener.

But of course, chocolate like medicine, has the right dosage… Be careful for OVERDOSE!

The renowned chef Bobby Flay recommends:

“If you do not have 1 oz (about 1 square) bittersweet chocolate, you can use 3 tablespoons cocoa powder with a tablespoon of oil or melted butter!”

Didn’t I tell you…?

Save the Earth! ♥ It is the only planet that has chocolate.

Be someone cooler!

Without spending a penny, you can make this world a little better place, living in America or not. Just click.

Here are the tips:

♥ Be a Mentor online for a student with difficulty in: http://www.icouldbe.org. Studies show that one extra push, when a student is in trouble, double the chances of him going to University.

♥ Donate books that you’ve already read! Most libraries in America accept them. I believe and hope that other countries will do the same.

♥ Make your wedding a tremendous event, but also charitable. Know how…? at http://www.idofoundation.org you enter a link to your favorite cause and register your marriage. For each gift purchased for you the store automatically makes a donation to your cause.

♥ Play games online. Each of your right or wrong answers, causes 10 pieces of ration to go to an animal shelter. You’ll be helping dogs and cats in http://www.freekibble.com

♥ Just by clicking: http://www.care2.org you are helping someone because each of your clicks signals a sponsor to donate a certain amount in the fight against breast cancer, global warming and other causes.

♥ Or Surf and donate at the same time. Use http://www.goodsearch.com online to find what you need. You make your research online and they help your favorite cause!

♥ At http://www.taprootfoundation.org you help with your talents and abilities and most of the work is done online (3 to 5 hours per week).

♥ Destress by knitting squares and sending them to warm those who are cold! Send to http://warmupamerica.org. They help rape victims, shelter them, and more.

♥ Regift! Turn your gift cards into donations! http://plasticjungle.com.

The more sympathy you give, less you need.

♥ Make a landfill starve! RECYCLE, REUSE, REUTILIZE.

Isn’t it shocking that they kill good trees to print newspapers that bring us bad news?

I’m not an environmentalist, I am a warrior of the earth! If you spoiling this one, where you will find another one?

I think happiness forgot me a little bit… Taking a good friend to be together with his wife, in another dimension…

Of course I was sad, because I wanted to have visited him over and over again and to have learned from him the things he learned in this life.

He was a beloved neighbor, a shy 82 year old architect, who had lived alone since he became a widower. And there I was, at times, taking something very nice to eat! He was so skinny….

But he always said that I was spoiling him…

I liked to sit on that porch, swaying myself in his chair and making small talk, listening to the stories of our bay and how it was all at the beginning of last century.

Today I lost, but my loss is nothing more than a change of scenery, which is a natural part of the cycle of life…

I’ll try to be like the brave branches of this tree, which gave their farewell to their leaves.

You see…? Yesterday, a wonderful sunny day in the middle of the Texan winter. Today what they see above…

But I love the winter… And aren’t these trees here near home like a work of art? In the spring I’ll take pictures of them again and show them.

Cold gray days, with dense fog, albino… Are those that let you taste the sadness or moodiness.

And walking in winter is hard…

Winter is for staying inside the house anyway.

But everything is so beautiful… !

The other seasons give us hope, but the winter sometimes, reminds me of some people, those who we don’t even know if they really are human beings. Creepy.

In the winter we heat the house with the heat that we complain about so much in the summer.

But tomorrow everything should be well again, and even though happiness forgot me for a little while, I will not forget for a long time, much less completely.

I know that God is in control, and with all tragedies this month, even though my faith is ‘under fire’, I will not assume that silence from Him or His ‘apparent inactivity’ is evidence of His disinterest. It is He who knows all the mysteries.

Here are my typical components of a faith ‘under fire’: a turbulent event, an element of injustice, a silent God who could have done something but did not … Plus a lot of unanswered questions.

Have you ever been to this place…?