Skog Blog Meet n Greet Review

Before I get to this week's Friday Night Confession I wanted to give a quick concert review from last night's Airborne Toxic Event show.


In the picture above are Kristy, Josh (has commented as Half Poly Friend), Penny, KG, Wheels, Lindsey, Corbie and Vanwarmer. One would be hard pressed to find a funner (more fun?) concert going group than this one. Airborne played all of the songs we wanted to hear. First experience at the Murray Theater and I thought it was a fantastic venue. Good times. Good music. Don't miss out on the next Skog Blog Meet n Greet.

IF LOVIN' X IS WRONG THEN I DON'T WANNA BE RIGHT

My name is KG (Hi KG!) and I am a Yerba Mate addict. I have known this for some time but last night it finally hit me that I might have a problem. Wheels' little brother received his mission call yesterday and when Wheels informed me of the destination, Uruguay, my first thought was "Wow he is going to be in the heart of Yerba country..." It wasn't "Hey, my buddy Robb went there..." or "Jason will be learning Spanish..." Nope, my mind went straight to the Mate.

So what is Yerba Mate? Without going into great detail that might bore you I will say that it is an herbal tea, native to South America. You drink it through a filtered metal straw (bombilla) out of a gourd or a wooden cup preferably made from Santo Palo. You fill the cup with hot water, a pinch of sugar and then drink it. Once gone, you repeat, and take turns drinking until the infusion loses its flavor. If you want more info google it.

I started drinking Mate while serving a LDS Mission in Chile. Back then my mother, Crazy Sue, feared that I was turning into some kind of Bubba Gump but my shrimp was Yerba Mate. My letters home included tales of drinking Mate out of assorted fruits, picking herbs from the yard to put into my Mate and practically every picture I sent was an action photo of me drinking the good stuff. Fear not, I never actually drank Mate during Sacrament meeting, the above photo was taken to freak out my mother. I was even 'edgy' back then.

When I came home I was not sure if I would be able purchase or find Mate in the dear old USA. I packed one suitcase with souvenirs and then stuffed my carry on bag and other suitcase full of Mate. I successfully sweated my way through customs and continued my habit through college. I even converted my college roommate Brohammas to the Buena Yerba, who is still a practicing Matero to this day. In fact he sent the following pics last week from the City of Brotherly love - A Mate Cafe. I think I just found my next business venture...

Yerba Mate has become easier to find over the past few years. You can actually purchase it at local grocery stores or you can by some super gourmet stuff online.

Some of you might be thinking, 'KG, are you sure you are an addict?' Well I would answer that by saying if you have a picture of yourself drinking Mate while wearing a shirt that you made of a random guy drinking Mate then, yes, you are probably an addict. But if lovin' Mate is wrong then I don't wanna be right.

Random side note, that is the same Mate cup that I purchased in Chile 14 years ago. Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?