And so it begins

Yesterday I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things. I try to avoid the grocery store on Friday because it's always crowded, but I made an exception this time. As I was trying to gather the few items I needed, I couldn't help but notice the amount of beer in some of the carts. I saw several people with 4 or more cases of beer. (A case contains 20 bottles. I know this because I counted, in case you're wondering.) I saw at least 1 guy with 8 cases. Surely this wasn't an every-Friday amount of beer. So I started thinking... Is there a holiday this weekend? Is there something special going on? What it is?

When I mentioned it to Brian, he said it was probably because the games were starting this weekend. Oh, yes, THE GAMES. That must be it.

If you're living in Europe, then you probably know exactly what games I'm talking about. Only the third largest sporting event in the world after the Olympics and World Cup. Still racking your brain? It's the UEFA Euro2008! Soccer! Uh, I mean, Football!

The games are hosted by Switzerland and Austria this year with the championship game in Vienna on June 29th. Vienna has been primping and preening for months. These little fellas have been popping up around the city:


And the bushes have been properly trimmed and decorated:


Even the statues in front of Künstlerhaus are getting in on the action. (No, the statues don't normally wear cleats.)


So from now until the final game on June 29th, this blog will be all about Euro2008. Okay, that's not true. I'm sure I'll mention it another time or two this month. But I also have a garden, sewing projects and day to day minutiae to write about. Never a dull moment.