Postcards from South Africa: 02.07.11

Happy, happy birthday to my dear husband, best friend and advocate: Drew Jacobson Strait! We enjoyed a relaxing day, begun with espresso and pastries at our favorite cafe (Drew says they have better espresso even that Peet's... can you believe it?) and ended the day with a Braai put on by our hosts.

Here is a shot of Drew with his advisor, Professor Geyrt Stein. They are posing with Drew's favorite birthday cake, the traditional "Debbie Strait Ice Cream Pie."

Enough candles, you think?

a fabulous ballet followed by a fabulous hot fudge sundae

What an incredible week. First Wicked, now the Joffrey Ballet! I just returned from one of my favorite ballet performances. I was offered free box tickets Friday evening & wow were they a treat. The Joffrey premiered Liang's "Age of Innocence" (set to music by Philip Glass--including one of my favorite of his pieces, originally written for The Hours). The choreography was stunning. You can see a clip at The Joffrey's blog, http://jpointe.blogspot.com/ . Charity--you should show it along with the video clip beneath it of their company practice to Kaylynn, our prima ballerina.

I attended the ballet with one of my piano students, her mother & grandmother. Afterwards they introduced me to the best bakery in town, which happened to have an incredible asparagus goat cheese salad & one of the best hot fudge Sundaes I've ever consumed. For you Chicagoans, you must take a trip to Bittersweet (located in Lakeview).


I sign off for now, with a full belly & inspired creativity.