This blog is...

For my English-speaking friends, in the USA, or elsewhere in the world. I promised, as I was moving back home, to start a blog in English... it took me time, but now I'm doing it, and I'll try to keep up with it as much as I can!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Something old-fashioned


I think that Spring is really coming back... And today, I was so happy to take the laundry out and hang it to dry in the breeze!
It may look a bit oldfashioned, but eventually, it's very economical and eco-friendly!
The laundry smells so fresh after that... Of course, I've got to be lucky and not have the farmer around the corner "spraying" manure on the fields next to the house ;-)!


The brown room



I dedicate this post to my friend Debbie, who visited us around Christmas, and christened the most tasteless room of the house "the brown room".
It IS ugly, but somehow, I've started to kind of like it anyway. When I prepared the move back into this house, I looked for something to make it funny, and I found a great shower curtain at Linen&Things, just before it actually closed down. I cut it and hung it on a... shower rod.
Then, it's become a challenge to find matching colors for that room: spring green and brown mainly.
Today, I found these stickers and could decorate the room (and its door!), to make it a bit more "lively".

Now I still face a possible problem: the toilet seat has a split, and it will definitely break in parts some time. The fact is that 25 years ago, this bathroom was very design and fashionable. The walls are made of marble, the sink matches the toilet: brown (can be convenient sometimes ;-)!). The problem is that the toilet has a special shape, and the seats are not available anymore (the usual seats don't fit!). Or just in white.... and they cost over $200 (plus tax, of course!).
So now, I face the fact that I'll have to remodel that brown room...
Fortunately, I don't have the money for it now!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Amsterdam while waiting for Spring to come!

In the States, there is "Spring break". In Switzerland, there is also a week off, but it's in February. For some people, it's just ski vacation, and for other, it's mainly "Carnaval" time. I'll be there next year to report more precisely about it!
This year, we skied together, a few days, and then, just the two grownups, Vladi and me, flew to Amsterdam to spend there 48h of "just the two of us time"!
It was a première for me, as I hadn't ever been to that place. It's so interesting and beautiful! Even in the not that nice weather that prevailed... 

Some people live in houses along the canals...
... while some prefer to live directly ON the water!


Holland - the Netherlands is... flat! It's paradise for cyclists! Old, young, men, women, dads with kids in special boxes on the bike, women with nice skirts... everybody rides a bike! And no helmet please!!!!!



As spring is around the corner...


This is a view from the ski slopes real close to home. Not spectacular view, but cute nonetheless! As you see, it's not the high mountains yet!


It's now or never that I'll tell you about our first winter back in Switzerland!
First of all, it's been all white for almost 2 months (end of December - end of February), due to a really exceptional winter on one hand, and also to the fact that we live on a higher plain (opposed to lakeshores and/or mountains!). It's been snowing 1-2/ week, and never really got warm enough to melt it all!
The kids went to ski school over the Christmas break. The first day was really difficult for Léa - who hardly ever enjoys that kind of challenge - but they made excellent progress and loved it (eventually!). A nice day out was to go ski as a family! We live approx 25 min away from a small ski resort, with plain lifts and no fuss. Perfect for our kid's level!
And during that long, and cold winter (we've litterally burned 90% of our wood - not that one, reserved for the fireplace - the one that we use for heating the house!), a huge feeling of warmth came to us: Grit visited us for a whole week, along with Klara and Heinrich! Oh the good feeling, oh, the good memories, oh the fun we had together in that white paradise!
      

Another visit that was for us THE Christmas gift: our friend Debbie arriving straight from Clayton with her two daughters! We were able to celebrate Christmas AND blow Hannucka candles together, visit the area, and discuss a lot about everything. Simply a great time, thank you my dear friends for visiting us!
     
In Switzerland, the water fountains are... real! Most of the time, you can drink from them, as Debbie's about to do. These pictures were taken in the village of Gruyères, homeland of the famous real Swiss Cheese "gruyères"! The castle and the surrounding village was built in the 13th century!



The good thing about living in Europe, is that travelling in neighbouring countries is pretty simple. No, no, I don't want to boast (just make you feel like coming and visiting us, haha!)...
Last week was a "Carnaval" break. It's very important culturally, but I'm totally stranger to that customs. Maybe next year I'll be more able to report about it!
Anyway, the kids were off school, and Vladi had a week off too. We skied together a few times, then sent the kids to my parents for 48h. In the meantime, Vladi and me hopped on an EasyJet plane to Amsterdam, where we enjoyed 2 great days together!

This post is already long enough... I'll start a new one!