Last Day in Porto

Really into the Ramos Pinto's logo

Ramos Pinto calls this display "The Piano" 

The view of the river and the old town from Graham's winery

The Graham's bottles were very unique 

We decided to combine our previous experience in a Portuguese speaking country
with our current one, by having lunch at a Brazilian restaurant.

We love Porto!

Irish Thanksgiving

Yesterday was a big day. It was Weston's birthday AND Thanksgiving, so we partied all day and consumed almost more calories than the human body can handle. The challenge of trying to prepare a typically American meal in a foreign country is thrilling. It's even more thrilling when your kitchen is equipped only with basic food prep items and lacks things like electric mixers, measuring spoons/cups, and an abundance of baking dishes and mixing bowls. We had so much fun hunting for ingredients and coming up with creative solutions to some of our meal preparation conundrums. The last time we prepared Thanksgiving dinner in a foreign country was in 2008, in Brazil. This time, it was considerably easier, though still interesting. We managed to put together a decent feast that tasted mostly the way Thanksgiving dinner should taste. We had turkey, ham, green bean casserole, dressing, sweet potato casserole, pink salad, fruit salad, and pumpkin pie. And, we were so very thankful that we have a dishwasher in this house, to make cleaning up much simpler. We did miss getting to spend the day with our extended family and getting to nap to the sound of football on the T.V. after the meal (though we were able to get a game later in the day, which made the day complete, particularly for our football lover birthday boy). But, otherwise, it was Thanksgiving as usual. We are blessed beyond belief and have so much to be thankful for, on this day and every day.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie!
(Pumpkin was one of the most difficult ingredients to find.)

Thanksgiving Feast
(And, the all-important dishwasher!)

Thankful and Blessed

Thanksgiving Sunset

Kitchen Love

I love home decor, but I've always been slow to decorate any house I've lived in. What it boils down to is commitment issues. A nail in the wall or purchasing new items just feels like a forever thing to me, so I need to be sure. And, by that, I mean I need to overanalyze until I lose interest in decorating altogether. But, last week, I was looking through some of my pins on Pinterest. The ones I create like a woman possessed, and then never do anything with. And, suddenly, I felt that I needed to do something productive with all those good ideas that other people had. So, I told Jeff I was thinking about doing a "Pin of the Week," and posting about it here on my blog, just for some accountability. And, then, before I knew what had come over me, I had ordered this wine/towel rack that I pinned eons ago, with the intention of turning it into a display rack for our rolling pin collection. It arrived, and Jeff hung it for me (using only one wall anchor!), and I love it! With that addition, the inspiration sort of started to run over, and the next thing I knew, I had bought baskets to organize a particularly rough-around-the-edges (literally!) cabinet that needed some serious organization. (You'll not be surprised to learn that it was the kids' cabinet, with all the plastic cups and plates, one of the doors of which had been broken off in an unauthorized game of hide-and-seek that got completely out of hand.) Then, while I was at it, I got out the wooden utensil collection we have been working on since we lived in Brazil. While there, we visited a museum that had the most amazing wooden utensil exhibit and decided we wanted a wooden utensil "exhibit" of our own. And, until today all the awesome wooden gadgets we've collected or been given from all over the world have been sitting in an unopened basket, waiting for me to get finished analyzing and never seeing the light of day. The decorating floodgates were already open, so it was time. And, now, my kitchen sink is flanked by wooden spoons and forks and things-I-don't-even-know-what-are-but-look-really-cool! And, it just makes me so happy to look at all the pretty little doodads. My kitchen has never felt so loved! And, I am in love with the way it all looks! I wish I would have taken the plunge years ago.

I am still going to try to do a "Pin of the Week," so check back in next week to see if I make good on that. I'm not promising it will be amazing, but it could be fun. And, it might just inspire you to take action on some of your long-neglected pins, as well.

This week's Pin of the Week: towel rack turned rolling pin display

Sanity saved, and it looks cute, too!

Wooden Utensil Exhibit

The (mostly) African Collection

Another Watts Weekend

On Friday, we took the whole crew into Austin for lunch at the Estancia Churrascaria for a birthday/half-birthday bash for everyone celebrating this month. It was so nice to have a little (BIG!) taste of Brazil, both culinarily and culturally. There were so many Brazilians eating there, speaking in Portuguese and kissing each other on the cheeks, we could almost feel as if we were back in that beautiful country. The only things missing were the chicken hearts and cow hump, which I guess don't go over too big here in the States.

We set no alarms on Saturday morning, which was a first for us since the fall sports began! Ruth did have her last volleyball game of the season, but it wasn't until noon, so we didn't have to rush around to get there. Nana and Papa were able to make it to the game and then join us for lunch at Bella Sera afterwards. Later in the day, I went over to Bee Cave to do a little kidless shopping, which was blissful, if I might just be honest. It was also quite productive, as I bought several gifts I needed to get, a new organization system for a problem cabinet, and some fancy shoes for a fancy date night coming up this next week.

Our Sunday morning began with the first dip in the hot tub of the season. Then, we headed over to Bee Cave to partake of the amazing brunch at Iron Cactus. After that, we picked up a few (million) things at Sam's, which is one of the kids (and Jeff's) favorite places to shop. Jeff had a meeting scheduled with one of his new contractors for noon, so the kids and I dropped him off and then went over to Zilker Park to enjoy the beautiful day. A couple of hours later, with the van weighed down with our Sam's haul and some of the colder things started to lose their chill, we headed home. Three miles from the house, we had a blowout. We had to rearrange the groceries to get to the jack and spare tire, and then Jeff spent the better part of thirty minutes just trying to get the jack under the van. It was a no-go because of how low to the ground it was. A kind stranger stopped to offer assistance, thinking it was just the kids and I stranded on the side of the road. No progress could be made with his jack either, so eventually, Jeff asked if the man could just give him a ride to our house so he could get our bigger/better jack and Jeff's car, in case we needed to evacuate the kids and groceries. Jeff still couldn't make any headway with the other jack and was just about to give up, when a tow truck driver stopped, of his own accord, without expectation of being reimbursed. He had the right equipment and Jeff was finally able to get the tire changed. One of our neighbor's even happened to be driving by and stopped to see if we needed any help. There are still good people in the world, and I can't even tell you how thankful we were for all the help and how grateful I am that this didn't happen while I was by myself, driving home in the dark last night! We ended the day as we began it, since we were all in need of a little relaxation at that point.

Ringing in the New Year

I wish I could describe for you what New Year's Eve was like here. I will try, but I know already that I will fall woefully short and you will leave still not being able to comprehend what a spectacle it was. The day before yesterday, the city (I suppose) came around and set up tents all along the beach at regular intervals. When yesterday dawned bright and beautiful, people began flocking to the beach in their usual summertime fashion and nothing seemed remotely odd. At 5:00 pm I began to notice cotton candy vendors cruising up and down the beach, which I have never seen before. And before long they were joined by many other vendors of every kind. By 7:00, I could visibly tell the beach was filling up. By 8:30, people were shooting off fireworks and firing up their grills. By 9:00, I knew that this was going to be a party of epic proportions. Ruth and I left the apartment at that time to attend a dinner party, while the boys settled in for a little nap to ensure a peaceful ringing in of the New Year at the New Year's service at the church. We arrived at the church at 10:30 for the 10:45 service, and found the place packed. People continued to flock into the service even long after it had begun, and I think there ended up being about 750 people there, where there are usually about half that many in a really large service. The women were all dressed in fancy after-five attire, the men had on suits and the children were done up just the same, only in miniature. The entire sanctuary was packed and extra seating was set up in a Sunday school room with a video feed. That room was also filled to overflowing, and there was literally standing room only. It was a beautiful service and, as always, a blessing to begin the New Year in the presence of the Lord. The service ended just after midnight, but after many hugs and well-wishes we didn't make it home until about 12:30 or 12:40. On our way home, we ran into a sea of humanity streaming away from the beach and thought the party was probably wrapping up. WRONG! From our eighth-floor perch we could see (and hear) that the party was still very much in full-swing. Honestly, I have never seen anything like what we had going on here. I took some video (around 1:00 am), but still I don't think I captured the true essence of the scene. There was barely a square foot of beach, sidewalk or one lane of the street free. There was dancing, drinking, singing, laughing, screaming and who knows what all else. There were whole families (including very small children) and large groups of friends celebrating with all they had. Once again, I found myself gawking and thoroughly engaged in the people-watching. At 2:00, I thought I noticed a slight decrease in the number of people on the beach, but certainly not in the noise level. At 3:00, I decided to call it a night, though surely I must have been one of the few in all of Praia da Costa to do so, and without a doubt the only mother to have put her children to bed at the very sensible hour of 1:00. At 7:00 this morning, most of the crowd was gone--though certainly there were still a few stragglers--and the the city clean-up crew was out in force. And now, at a quarter to 10:00, the beach is eerily quiet and still, though there are a few out and about. It was a New Year's Eve to remember, for sure. I wish you all could have been here. Happy New Year to all of you. May this year be full of peace, joy and blessings for you all.

Summer Vacation

It's summer here in the southern hemisphere, and that means summer vacation. The schools let out a couple of weeks ago and our peaceful little beach has turned into a madhouse, as people seem to be flocking here from everywhere--especially some of the more interior states of Brazil. There are thousands of people out there, soaking up the sun on just about every inch of their scantily clad bodies. There are more beach venders--with more products--making more aggressive (though still relatively passive) attempts to sell their wares. The water is oozing with all kinds of watercraft, from wave runners and windsurfers to kyaks and fishing boats. The weather is absolutely perfect. (For me, at least. It may be a touch on the hot side for Jeff). And the people-watching couldn't be better. I'm really glad we've had this place more or less to ourselves for the last 5 1/2 months and haven't had to deal with the hordes, but I'm also really thankful that we have a few more days to soak up some summer time before heading back to WinterLand.

Feels like home...sort of

When you live in a foreign country, you miss certain things from home. If you are a Texan, two of those things are Mexican food and country music. Today we had both. Our neighbors are constantly playing their music so that everyone in the building can "enjoy" it, and today was no exception. But at least today they managed to come across something we could understand--on multiple levels! Who knows where they got an Alan Jackson CD or why they chose to put it in, but it made us smile. Adding to the general Texas feeling of the day, our friend (and our first Brazilian convert to the real way to eat avocados) asked Jeff to make guacamole for her birthday party, which he did. It was fantastic! When we arrived at the party, we found that they were serving a version of taco salad, and it did much to assuage our Mexican cravings (though thoughts of Chuy's can't possibly be banished from my mind)! Only two and a half more weeks until we are actually on Texas soil, but for now we'll be happy with any bit of Texas flavor we can get!

More Order and Progress

Last week I made a post listing some of my observations about Brazilian culture and ways of thinking. Here's the next installment:

• Less is definitely more when it comes to swim wear (for him and her) and maternity clothes—regardless of body size, shape or color.
• Granite is cheap and plentiful. In addition to all its regular uses, it is also used as baseboards, as toppers for cheap metal tables and to pave garages and sidewalks.
• It's not uncommon or unacceptable to refer to your wife as “My Woman.” Jeff was once invited to a BBQ party where the invitation specifically said, “It's okay to bring "The Woman.” I can't tell you how flattered I was.
• Why pay once when you can “passa la” (finance)? If you spend more than about $R 20 and you pay with your credit card, you are always asked if you'd like to divide the payment. It took a while for us to figure out the pricing when we first started coming to Brazil years ago because the prices are preceded by "Something X," showing how many payments of a certain amount are required to purchase the item. You can finance your tennis shoes, your groceries, or just whatever. The clerks are always shocked when Jeff and I opt to just pay the whole bill right then and there, with one swipe of the card.
• Burger King IS king. The line is ALWAYS long, and we never fail to see hordes of people, of all ages, taking pictures of themselves wearing the little paper crown. Clearly, these people aren't as creeped out by the Burger King character in the commercials as I am.
• A little bling is good. A lot is better.
• Everyone is born playing the guitar. Other instruments may be added at anytime.
• Passing zones mean nothing. Not even on twisty, turny mountain roads. Not even at 70 mph. Not even in pouring rain.
• Acceptable ways of answering the phone: “Pronto.” ("Ready.") and “Fala.” ("Speak.")
• There's no wrap like plastic wrap. In case the vacuum seal on the cheese isn't good enough for you, it is also wrapped in plastic wrap. So is luggage. I'm not kidding.
• You can easily fit 9 people in a compact car.
• They wouldn't have put a horn in the car if they didn't want you to use it.
• Cool is: listening to English music and wearing clothing with words printed in English. Even though you don't speak or understand a word. We've got this one covered. We've never been so cool!

Practicing to be wealthy

A couple of months ago we had lunch with a friend, who, upon realizing the relative lateness of the hour, exclaimed, "Well, I guess we are practicing to be wealthy today!" He went on to explain that servants always eat an early lunch, around 11:00 or 11:30, so that they can serve the wealthier people around 1:00. His theory was, the later you eat lunch, the wealthier you must be. So, today we went out to a Portuguese (the country, not the language) restaurant that is owned by a man we know. This place makes no claim about being a fast-food place. In fact, they say right on the menu how long you can expect to wait for certain dishes. They are intent upon making everything fresh and not having any reheating. The special was sort of a codfish chower that was very good. But we did wait for it, and finally ending up eating our lunch around 2:15. Interestingly enough, in the course of our meal, the man we were dining with told us that this fish is very expensive for most Brazilians and that if someone you know sees you putting it in your shopping cart at the store, they will be very impressed. So, today was certainly our day to practice being wealthy. This is good, because I'm sure some day we will actually be wealthy.

Ordem e Progresso*

Here are a few of my observations of customs, cultural ideas and ways of doing things from our time here in Brazil. This is, obviously, just based on the small circle we run in and therefore may not apply to all Brazilians. It is also not intended to be condemning in any way. This is not an exhaustive list, but maybe it will give some of you a small idea of what life is like here.

• Coffee is good for you. There are placards on all the tables in a particular restaurant we frequent that say: "Three cups of coffee per day is the ideal to maintain a constant level of energy." Also, there may be work to be done, but not until we've had our coffee (with as much sugar and milk as actual coffee).
• Rain is dangerous for babies. A lady chased me down outside of church the other night in order to cover Max's head with an umbrella for all of the 10 steps it took to get to our friend's car. When I jokingly told her, "It's just water." She looked appalled and explained to me that rain is dangerous for babies.
• Babies need at least three baths per day, always followed by a clothes change. This only applies to Brazilian children. I feel like we're doing pretty good if the kids get a bath every other day or so.
• I AM going to help you. Sounds nice enough, but sometimes it would be better to have no help at all. For instance, one time Jeff went to the store with an acquaintance of ours to pick up some things for a party we were having. He thought that while he was there, he would just go ahead and pick up some things for another party we were having the following day. He wanted to get meat for the grill, but when said acquaintance saw the cut of meat he picked up, he offered the help of a man he knows who is a butcher. Jeff thought this might be a good idea. So, the acquaintance called the brother of the butcher and found out the butcher wasn't working that day. No matter, the brother (a shoe salesman) was willing to help. They picked up the shoe salesman and went right back to the same store they just left and picked out the exact same cut of meat Jeff had in the first place (two hours later).
• The water from the sink is very dangerous to drink. But it's perfect for washing dishes and bodies and for brushing teeth. And in every case, except for bodies, it's always cold. (We, by the way, have not used filtered water during our time here and have not been sick even once).
• And speaking of washing bodies: Apparently, it's not a bad idea to have live, exposed wiring running to the shower head to heat the water.
• It is, however, dangerous to pump your own gas. This is why we felt so much safer the time we rented a car and were almost run over by no fewer than 3 other cars as we followed the direction of the numerous attendants.
• It becomes too hot to play on the playground at exactly 11:00 am.
• Babies should never cry, meaning they should be held every minute or fed candy at the first sign of whimpering or suck on a pacifier until well into their teens.
• It is winter, therefore your baby is cold. Even though he's sweating. Every single day of winter, some Brazilian lady stopped me to comment on how cold Max must be. I was even given a bag of clothes and socks (for all the children) to "hopefully help."
• It is unsanitary and impolite to drink directly from a can or bottle. Instead, you will be issued a flimsy 6 oz. plastic cup in which to pour your drink. Or, if it's a really nice restaurant, you will be issued a 6 oz. glass cup. They don't do large drinking vessels here.
• It is unnecessary to refrigerate eggs and milk. And, apparently, meat as well. Probably a fourth of all the meat we've bought since we've been here has been bad when we've opened it.
• High heels are not optional. They are necessary footwear for all women over the age of 12, regardless of time of day or destination.
• Pumpkin is always used in savory dishes; avocado always sweet.
• Corn can be used in sweet dishes or savory and can be served anywhere, anytime. Corn yogurt, anyone?
• Mozzerella cheese is the only cheese you need.
• Cleanliness really is next to godliness. There is some obsesive cleaning going on here.
• But that's o.k. becuase the full-time maid will take care of it. Where we are, it's unheard of not to have full-time domestic help. In the midst of a conversation about this once, a man found out we didn't have anyone to help us here or back in the U.S. and with the utmost concern asked, "So your house just stays with the dust?!" Yes. Yes, it does.
• There are no mops. Floors are cleaned by pouring gallons of soapy water all over and then sweeping it around with a broom, and then going back over it with a long-handled squeegie covered with a (threadbare) hand towel.
• Why hire one person to do the job if you can hire 10 to do the same thing? We are nothing here if not over-staffed.
• Old people and people with children ALWAYS go to the front of the line. This has worked in our favor (obviously), but it has also worked against us. Once, when attempting to pay the condo bill (at the lottery store, which is where that bill must be paid), Jeff had to give up his spot in line five or six times to old men coming in to see if they won big. By the time he got to the front of the line the whole system had gone down, making it impossible to pay the bill and forcing him to have to go through the routine yet again.
• There is almost no chance that someone will pick you up when they say they will. Once, we were supposed to have someone pick us up at 3:00. At 4:00 we called to see where the driver was. The man we talked to said he hadn't left the office yet. When we inquired as to when he might be leaving the office, we were told that he hadn't actually arrived at the office yet. I think he was (unapologeticly) 1 1/2 or 2 hours late that day. This is not uncommon. If you call a cab, they always say they will be there in 5 minutes. That hasn't ever actually happened yet.
• 9:00 is an acceptable dinner time. 10:00 is better. Restaurants don't even open for dinner until 6:00, and if you show up then, you are guarunteed to have the place to yourself.

*This is the motto for Brazil. It means "Order and Progress," and it may very well be the least accurate motto ever.

American Thaksgiving Brazilian Style

Today we got together with several of our friends--some other misplaced Americans, some Brazilians, and even a couple from Uzbekistan--for a multicultural American feast. Jeff and I brought the dressing and pumpkin pie, neither of which had ever even been heard of before here, but which went over pretty well. (Pumpkin is never used in sweet dishes here--only savory dishes, like meat and pasta). We had chicken instead of turkey, but otherwise, it was fairly traditional and very good. We conversed in English and Portuguese (though, thankfully, not Russian) and had a lovely time. We have so much to be thankful for, and we praise the Lord for all the blessings He has given us! Hope you are doing the same today. Happy Thanksgiving!

Rainy Season

Apparently, we are in some sort of freakish rainy season here in Vila Velha, the likes of which haven't been seen for more than 10 years! It's the craziest thing I've ever seen! (Except for maybe one Hawaiian vacation we went on a few years ago). And it's not just rain, but also gale-force wind and pretty chilly temps. We have seen water up over the bumpers of large trucks and up to doors on cars. We have seen rain water shooting in under our closed windows, soaking our bedroom floor and my side of the bed. An umbrella took flight up and over our balcony this afternoon. And the sea is angry, my friends. And there seems to be no sign of it letting up anytime soon. Needless to say, we are hunkered down in our little apartment, hoping an opportunity will present itself for an outing to the grocery store sometime in the next few days, which will be necessary since we are almost out of coffee and I am now calling myself a drinker of that vile liquid. (Jeff would beg to differ. He seems to think that adding equal--or mostly equal--parts coffee and chocolate to my cup of warm milk and sugar doesn't really count).

Another Day, Another Adventure

We rented a car and drove up into the mountains today to see what we could see. And all that we could see can't possibly be put down in words. So, once again, you are getting the slide show version. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. We stopped at many scenic lookouts, a spectacular coffee/cheese farm, a breathtaking resort, a beautiful waterfall and an orchid farm, just to name the hightlights. We saw some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen, and came home with quite a few fun souvenirs and lots of special memories.

So Many Things, So Little Time

Hi there, Friends! Have you missed me? I've missed you. It's been a whirlwind of activity around here the last few days. We've been having some serious fun, and I just haven't had it in me at the end of the day to sit down and visit with you. And even now I don't have time to tell you in detail about all that we've been doing, so you will have to settle for the highlights and a slideshow. There are tons more pictures on flickr, if you're interested, and of course you can e-mail me or leave a comment if you'd like to have more details.

What we've been up to:

• Make-your-own-moqueca party--picked out lobsters, cut tails off lobsters, cooked lobsters and turned them into yummy moqueca, followed by guava cream cake for dessert.
• Lots of park play.
• Used all my tiles in one of our Scrabble games, giving me my all-time best score, but only a narrow victory.
• Finally captured a photo of the safe salesman's set-up.
• Had dinner at a fantastic little restaurant, loaded with atmosphere and yummy food.
• Rented a car and had our first Brazilian driving experience--attempted to go straight from a left-hand turning lane, almost got hit by a bus, almost hit a bicyclist, navigated by laptop and made it everywhere we wanted to go safe and sound.
• Accidentally visited a minimalistic art gallery, which turned out kind of cool and also made us laugh.
• Visited the train museum and dreamed about making a home out of an old train.
• Shopped at the big fancy grocery store that is not within walking distance, taking full advantage of our rental car.
• Had a couple of wild entries and exits from the parking garage at the apartment.
• Discovered the secret to Brazilian military success: Train in Speedos.
• Drove up into the mountains to hike at Pedra Azul and take in the sights at Vista Linda.
• Witnessed what sounded like the painful death of my camera. Will be learning how to take still shots with the video camera.
• Wilderness potty experience.
• Goat road block.
• Ate something called "bobo" (which is very much like moqueca, only way better) and Creme de Papaya at this quiet little beach restaurant about 4o miles south of here.
• Shell hunting by moonlight (and beach light).
• Sorted through possessions to see what we could send back to the States with Jeff's parents. (They apparently sorted through them again at the airport, but were eventually able to take them all along with them after shuffling them around).
• Said a tearful good-bye to the grandparents.
• Experienced a rockin' storm--complete with sky-to-ocean lightening, wall-rattling thunder, dime-size hail and water coming in even with the windows closed--after just having had a conversation with Jeff's parents in which we said "We have never heard it thunder here and we have never seen lightening, even with all the rain."

G-L-O-R-I-A

This morning, my mother-in-law and I decided to have a kid-free outing. We hopped in a cab and headed over to an area of town known as "Gloria," that has a reputation as sort of a shopping mecca. There are many shops of every kind, and the prices are really good. I wish I had the words to describe it for you. It's just street after street and block after block of huge variety stores, small specialty stores, and mazes of every kind of shop in between. We saw one whole store devoted to buttons and zippers. There were gobs of shoe stores and as many clothing stores. There was a store where they sold nothing but store fixtures, including an army of manequins. There were jewlery stores and hardware stores and junk stores and baby stores (to name but a few), not to mention a whole section of street vendors. It was almost more than we could take in. In fact, we feel as if we certainly didn't see everything there was to see. But, we had a blast and arrived home with a few treasures. One of the highlights was when Sharon bought a pair of shoes for Ruth and I asked if she could pay by credit card. "Yes," the lady replied, as she put the shoes in a bag. Then, she left the store, motioning for us to follow her. We walked down to the end of the block and entered another shoe store, which must have been the official credit card running location. So funny! This outing was also a really great opportunity for me to practice my Portuguese, and I thought I was doing really well until someone said, "Fala muito bem!" Oh well. Guess I'll keep practicing. At least I got us there and back safely and soundly, and with another fun adventure under our belts.

Fala Muito Bem

Jeff has a theory that goes like this: If you are speaking Portuguese to a native Portuguese speaker and they say, "Fala Portuguese muito bem," ("You speak Portuguese very well") what that really means is: "Your Portuguese stinks, but I want you to feel like I appreciate the fact that you are trying"--because if you really spoke Portuguese very well, they wouldn't say anything at all.

So, this morning in church, I was singing my little heart out (in Portuguese). Eventually, the man next to me turned to me, gave me the thumbs up sign and said simply, "Muito bem." And now I don't know which stinks more, my Portuguese or my singing!

Fim de Semana (Or: How we entertained ourselves between Friday and Sunday)

Starting the day off with a bang

Here, we have drinkable yogurt rather than yogurt you eat with a spoon. (You can buy the spoon kind, but it's very expensive). I'm not crazy about just sitting down with a big glass of yogurt, but I do love to pour what amounts to thick, flavored milk over my granola for breakfast. And, we have so many flavors to choose from, that breakfast becomes a bit of an adventure. Yesterday morning was more of an adventure than I bargained for, though, as I reached for a brand new bottle of coconut yogurt. After shaking it for a few seconds, as instructed, I pulled the little plastic ring, and POW!, the lid shot off, hit the ceiling and sailed across the room. And chunky, fermented yogurt shot out like a geyser, soaring right over the rack of clean laundry drying under the ceiling fan. Thankfully, most of the clothes were spared, though the ceiling, floor and kitchen counter were thoroughly covered. Some even managed to make it into the bedroom, a good 12-15 feet away. And I just stood there with my mouth agape, completely stunned by this turn of events. I can honestly say I have never seen anything quite like it. It took Jeff and me both to clean up the mess and it smelled pretty bad, but still, it was truly amazing--especially the part where it sailed right over the laundry. Simply amazing. Wish you all could have been here. We would have had a good laugh and then sat down with a big bowl of granola and yogurt--but not the coconut kind!

Making Space

We are preparing for the arrival of Jeff's parents on Thursday. They will be staying in our little apartment with us, so today my job was to make space. I rearranged furniture (which, if you know me at all, you know I was probably going to do anyway) and cleaned out closets, and I was amazed to find out how much space we actually have. We will certainly have a full house with 7 people in 600 square feet, but I don't think it will be uncomfortable. (And I hope our guests don't disagree). I sort of feel like I could design one of those tiny space rooms they have in IKEA stores--only the furniture I'm working with here is way, way less cool.

Weekend Fun