grocery store find

I've repeatedly tried to upload my videos from the U2 concert, but YouTube just isn't liking them. You will have to take my word for it that the show was awesome and Bono is the rockingest rockstar.

In lieu of the videos I have a photo to share with you. I snapped it on my cell phone (so please excuse the graininess) in the grocery store a little over a week ago. Clearly science has developed some hybrid animals I simply haven't heard of. Hope you will find it as amusing as I do!

soccer, mustache, eggnog

You were sold on this post as soon as you read the title, right? What do these three things have in common? They were part of our life in the past week (or, in the case of the 'stache, the past month).

Last Wednesday we went to the absolutely lovely new stadium in Cape Town to watch the USA soccer team play South Africa for the Mandela Cup. Big B and I got totally decked out.

Our seats were *incredible*...and this is coming from the world's least sports fanatical person. I enjoyed my status as the odd one out in red, white, and blue while the other 59,999 people around me were in green and yellow. The USA won- go figure. I also had a quote on the front page of the Cape Times the next morning where I was blabbering on about how the USA was going to win. Clearly I missed my calling in high stakes sports gambling.

For more pictures of our dress up silliness click here.

It is now the fourth week of Movember, and thus time for your latest 'stache update. In a show of solidarity, I decided to participate myself. That's the kind of wife I am.

All this in one week! I continue to amaze myself.

And finally, I've been thoroughly and completely bitten by the holiday spirit bug. I am out-of-my gourd excited for Thanksgiving tomorrow (my absolute most favorite holiday of all time). The Elf soundtrack has made it's first (and second, and third) appearance. And I made homemade eggnog. I have very wonderful memories of my Grammy making eggnog for the family at Christmas time. She and my grandpa would get milk delivered to their house in glass bottles, and she would save up these bottles and fill them with the goodstuff. It was just heavenly. So I dug deep into my Schrier genes and made some pretty good eggnog myself.

Eggnog

serves 2 generously

2 cups milk

2 eggs, well beaten

2 tablespoons honey or confectioners sugar

a splash of vanilla extract

a few good shakes of cinnamon

one shake of nutmeg

a healthy glug of whiskey, bourbon, or brandy (if you are into that sort of thing, which I am. besides, i reckon it offsets the raw egg)

Mix all these fine ingredients together. After vigorously whisking in a bowl, I poured it into a milk jug and shook the living daylights of out it just to be sure it was properly mixed.

Enjoy by the glass, or on top of your morning oatmeal as I did this morning (pointedly ignoring the fact that there is whiskey in it). What's better than that?

third week of Movember

Big B is still going strong with his Movember campaign. At this point, however, I think we should be soliciting donations for my perseverance in not shaving it off whilst he sleeps. It is scratchy and funny looking. If anyone would like to support DreamWorker in sympathy for me being subject to his mustache all month, let me know! We are hoping to raise another R4000 ($570) by the end of the month, so spread the word and keep the donations coming!

For now, I will leave you with the latest pic of the 'stache. Heaven help me.

second week of Movember

Brendan is on week two of his Movember campaign and has done brilliantly on the fundraising front. His original goal was to raise R3000 (approx $440) to sponsor 30 days of work for someone through the Dreamworker Links of Love program (read more here). Well, an extremely generous donation of R3000 from Citizen Surveys (a Cape Town survey company that Brendan has worked with) has shifted that goal post to R9000 ($1320) to provide 90 days of work. Brendan has already raised a grand total of R4220, and with three weeks ahead I know he will raise a heap more.

But let's be honest...you're just interested in seeing how he looks, right? Well the wait is over.

It's like a young Tom Selleck (although if I'm being completely honest, I am counting the days until November 30).

And just in case your day needed a little pick me up, get an eyeful of this.

Our darling cat decided he wanted a bit of shade during his seventh nap of the day, so he parked himself under some of Brendan's damp hiking clothes that were out drying in our courtyard. I love the close up.

I just fell a little bit more in love with this cat.

Mo-vember

This month, Brendan is celebrating Mo-vember. Mo-vember is a charity movement that is done worldwide where men get pledges of monetary support for a month of mustache growing. These endeavors raise funds and awareness for men's health. While the concept is a bit silly, it is a great way to target male involvement using a jocular means to a very worthwhile end. Brendan is taking a slightly different angle and is raising money to support Dream Worker, a really fantastic local NGO that provides work opportunities for the unemployed. They also have a great program called Links of Love, where you can sponsor an unemployed person's day of work for R100 (approx $14) and this person will be sent out into the community to care for the elderly, tend a township garden, or assist people living with HIV/AIDS. Check them out here.

If you would like to make a pledge of support for Brendan and his future mustache send me a message. I will post updates on his progress throughout the month, but seeing as how yesterday was the first of the month I figured we needed to start with a "before" picture.

(hello, hot stuff)

I am hoping that by the time the month is over he can achieve something akin to Tom Selleck in Magnum PI...

Now that is hot (and the resemblance is uncanny)!

Don't you agree?

good eats and explosive treats

The days continue to be long and busy for us here. This week will bring the house repairs to a close (Halleluiah!). The only downside to this is that all the paint fumes we have been huffing for the last week and a bit have provided and excellent scapegoat for what ails us. Not sleeping well? Must be the paint fumes.  Hungry all the time? Blame it on the paint fumes. Singing show tunes?  Definitely the paint fumes. 

While we wait for the paint to dry, we’ve been keeping busy with one of our favorite pastimes: eating. Because he is the very best husband and remains vigilant for any signs of homesickness exuded by yours truly, Brendan took me out for breakfast on Sunday to a place he knew I would love. Melissa's has a couple sites around Cape Town and is highly reminiscent of The Pantry.  Fine foods to go, lovely home wares, and a small eat-in restaurant. It is a good thing I am not driving yet because my independence will likely involve significant sums spent at Melissa's. Brendan had a magnificent looking (and tasting) eggs florentine. My breakfast was a total winner: a freshly made croissant filled with warmed brie, crispy bacon, and fried banana. Don't knock it till you try it, and man do you want to try it. 

The nights have still be quite cold, so our little fireplace has come in handy.

In addition to warming us up, it has a soporific effect on our favorite feline. The heat also seems to melt his spine away and he ends up oozing into whatever corner he is in. 

Apparently that is comfortable way to sleep. 

Last weekend brought the demolition of these two looming and crumbling out-of-use cooling towers in Cape Town. We had a pretty good view of them from the balcony off the office Brendan and I are in, so we invited friends to join us and Sue (who is now visiting for 3 weeks) for coffee and tea and destruction. Unfortunately for most spectators, they were blown up 4 minutes ahead for schedule (there was a squall moving in) and part or all of the event was missed. 

Now you see them:

Now you don't:

Ending on a humorous note, I saw this sign in front of a church here a few days back. For translation purposes: hoot=honk; SMS=text. 

Someone clearly has a sense of humor.