Wishbone... for Thanksgivings!

Today is Thanksgivings, or Turkey day. You all know that, of course. We don't celebrate it actually in Switzerland, even if I do try to count my blessings. And I try not to do it only one day a year, but everyday.

Some days are harder than others, especially these days...

To remind us of the big bird tradition (?), Léa made us think of the wishbone yesterday, breaking her own collarbone as she fell off her horse. O the pain... Poor girl, she was brought to the hospital by her teacher, and got an anaesthesia so that they could X-ray her shoulder and neck. She spent the night at the hospital and just got back home, a very tired but tough (little) big girl, eager to go back on horses... probably as of January.

We'll know more about ski season as it arrives, I had just signed her up for a ski camp during Winterbreak... First snow "down here" is supposed to arrive tonight.

Morning colors...

I know, I can be really one-track minded: I love the landscape around my place, and I love even more to see the colors in the Fall (actually, in every season...).

This morning I went running with ma camera! I was out between 8:15 and 9:00, so pretty early, right after walking the kids to school. We do have daylight savings so the sun doesn't rise very early in Winter... It was pretty cold (O˚C), but I really enjoyed my run.

I'm glad I went out early, because as I was arriving home from my tour, the fog had risen and it remained all grey for the rest of the morning....

Spring weather in the late Fall...

It's not that uncommon that we have snow, or snowdays in the second half of November. This year, Fall is very warm, and I cherish this kind of weather.

If today was really a "bad weather day" with almost non-stop rain, we had a gorgeous week-end.

On Sunday, we took a (short, 35 mins) drive to Lake Geneva, and took a boat to Montreux. Once we were there, we walked back, approx 4.5 miles on the lakeshore. The kids (and their Dad) were riding their scooters, and really enjoyed it. The temperature were so mild...

When I think that I'm not that keen of "family Sunday afternoon walk", I really enjoyed this outing!

Future... doc?

Yesterday was a special day in Switzerland, not only because it was Martin's Day, and the start of Carnival: it was also a day when 5th graders had the opportunity to follow their mom or dad in their job. Léa went with her Dad to the University Hospital of Bern and had a blast. It's a great way for kids to discover what Mom or Dad's job are for real, and why not, have an idea if they want to follow their paths! I wish I had had that kind of opportunity when I was young. Even now, I'd love to spend the day with somebody who shows me what he does - for real - for a living!

Along with a whole group of employee's kids, she visited the place where all the beds are stored, the radiology, could "play" with her Dad and do herself an ultrasound, she could watch him do the procedure for an epidural... in the recovery room. What a rich day!

In the afternoon, she was taken care of by the team of Anaesthesia, and was taught how to perform CPR on "Anne"... the dummy that she was even allowed to bring back home! So she showed us what she had learned, and even let Sam try himself! Enjoy the pics!

Carnival Time!

Yes... this seems to be early!

But it's very serious and official: Carnival season starts on November 11, at 11:11 AM!

I saw this morning a "guggenmusik" group arriving into the old town, ready to make a big clang at the right moment!

about the weather...

The Fall has been very nice to us so far (in St.Louis first and then here, since we came back a week ago!). I winterized the front yard this afternoon, raking dead leaves, taking them to the collecting place (unlike in Clayton, you've got to do the job yourself, there's no curbside leaves picking by a big truck!), got rid of dead plants, and hope that there are tulip bulbs in certain places (I really can't remember if I took them out in the Spring or not: we shall see!).

Snow can come now: we have enough wood to heat the house, the kid's skis are rented for the seasons, the kids are signed in for ski school over Christmas break. Everything should be fine!

For the people around here that are interested, there is now a new "weather frog" point in my neighborhood:

It says:

Weather Station for the village of Neyruz

Wet stone: rain

White stone: snow

Moving stone: wind

Invisible stone: fog

Dry stone: sun

Fallen stone: earthquake

Don't you love it? I certainly do!

Meditation

Today I drove Sam to his fencing class. The village is quite remote, it's approx 25 mins away from here (next time, I'll post a bird's view of our area!)..., very quiet, and has this cute little chapel, built in 1670. I love to sit in front of it, and did today, meditating, tanking up on sunshine...