The closing finally happened!

After quite a few roller coaster weeks (and many days of saying "well, hopefully we'll hear something today...") we were finally approved for a loan and closed on our condo/townhome at 795 East Sherwood Hills Drive!! We had the good fortune to be working with sellers who were patient along with us and persevered to the closing day, and to have a mortgage broker to "fight" for us and help arrange all the details for the sale (it was a for sale by owner).

So now it is a huge relief to be able to move into our own place - I (Jul) find myself saying and thinking, "okay we Live Here Now" - and start setting up our home and routines in this new place. We do have a second bedroom so come visit!! Katie G and Dad & Mom H are coming in October...as are Mike and Heather from Cape Town...

The day we closed Mom and Dad G drove down to help us unpack boxes and do some much-needed projects. It was definitely a non-stop work weekend!! We shopped at Lowe's, painted the bedroom and put up more shelving in the kitchen and laundry area. What an amazing help and inspiration they were! Who's next? We still need to paint the guestroom/study and bathroom, and replace some light fixtures and mirrors...

So Katie is it true?

*This video is from two months ago, soon after we Giesers and the Weltys had arrived in Durham.

So, Kate, now that you all have been back in Waco for a couple of weeks - do you think Grandma's prediction came true? Even Jack seemed to be in agreement at the time... but how could he be anything but sweet and fun still?!

Further thoughts on how our life has changed

Food-related:

• Food longevity. Store-bought food in the U.S. seems to last forever! Bread, milk, cheese, cream, yogurt...where many of these and other items might begin to go bad within a few days in South Africa, here they are usually still going strong after several weeks. I wonder what extras are added in order to ensure this?
• Store girth. The size of grocery stores here can still be flabbergasting. Take for example a particular section of the store: the aisle devoted to breakfast cereal. This is an entire aisle devoted to cereal of every shape and size and color, with shelves and shelves of variety to choose from. Three or four different companies offering essentially the same thing, each company also giving you three different sized boxes from which to choose.
• Milk proportions. The milk comes in a huge, 1 gallon jug! The thing is massive! It takes us ages to go through just one, especially in comparison to the 1 liter boxes of milk we'd buy in Cape Town (and in Germany too). Four liters are required to fill one gallon - that's a lot of milk. And just think: in a few months' time we'll likely find the gallon jug to be, once again, the normal and expected size for milk.

Non-Food related:

• Looking the wrong way. Crossing the street continues to be a challenge for us. I notice this phenomenon most often when I go out for a jog. Upon arrival at a cross-street I will dutifully look both ways, but usually find myself looking to the wrong side of the street for oncoming traffic. That is, I will look to my left and check the far lane for oncoming vehicles, then look to my right and check the lane nearest me. Julianna has shared how she continues to do the same thing, but usually when she's driving the car! Although eventually we get it worked out, I think we'll feel safer when we are routinely looking in the right direction.
• One of the biggest things we miss: where are the views?? We miss the ocean and the mountains so much! We miss being able to go for a hike up the mountain or into Newlands Forest, pause for a breather and turn around to find ourselves looking out over the city stretching below us, with the line of the Hottentot-Hollands mountains in the distance and the curve of False Bay to the south. Or, if hiking on Table Mountain, the white curve of sand where sit the towns of Bloubergstrand and Table View, Table Bay with its boats large and small and Robben Island in the distance, the city and the harbor, and Lion's Head and his rump. We miss the views available from so many different places: Boyes' Drive over Muizenberg, Ou Kaapse Veg down to Noordhoek, Kloof Nek and the descent into Camps' Bay, even from the campus of the University of Cape Town looking down over the Cape flats and then up towards Devil's Peak. On a basic level, we miss the fact that a hike or even a brief drive could afford one with an amazing view of something (the ocean being our favorite), whereas nowadays a hike or a drive might wind through some lovely hills and trees (and I do very much like trees!) but provide no view at the top, no breathtaking scene at the end to reward one's efforts and time. Then again, we remember that Cape Town and the Western Cape of South Africa were indeed so unique. No effort needed: just get in your car and drive; you are bound to turn a corner and be amazed.
  

31st!

HAPPY 31ST BIRTHDAY!

to my wonderful fun handsome goofy kind husband

A new pizza place?

Let's just say this up front: we were spoiled in Cape Town. In many ways. One of which was the pizza restaurants and takeaway pizza places!! We came to love the style of pizza and the amazing toppings and combinations ... feta, avocado, Peppadews, bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, rocket/arugula, fig, brie ... lovely crisp thin crust with the focus on the toppings and modest amounts of cheese (not just massive amounts of cheese & pepperoni or sausage).

So we decided to try and find one or two new pizza places in B-town that might offer something similar to satisfy our new pizza preferences (not the typical big chain Pizza Hut or Papa John's).

Our first try was at Aver's Pizza, recommended by some of Jim's colleagues at work. It's a local place with some interesting toppings and even three types of pesto sauces, in addition to tomato and BBQ and alfredo. For our first visit, we ordered a "Take and Bake" (very nice option so we could bake it at home) of "Justa Fad". It had a pesto base with mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and ricotta.

As you can see, Jim was very excited. This really is his excited face, I promise.


And now a thoughtful expression as he chews and meditates on the flavor.


And Jul's initial bites. Hmm ...

And the verdict? Tasty. Genuinely flavorful pesto sauce. Crispy crust with generous toppings and modest cheese (well we had to order 'easy cheese'). Yum. If only it had Peppadews...