Last Friday, I thought I’d make something simple for dinner. You know, just to use up a few things from the fridge before our Munich weekend, so I decided to make omelettes. What could go wrong? Well, let me tell you.
The omelettes were delicious, but after the meal, I felt something (probably a piece of ham) between my upper left molars. Orange-X has a habit of always using toothpicks after a meal, so I asked him to bring one for me as well. I started picking and all of o sudden, I felt a “plop” in my mouth. No, it wasn’t a champagne cork; I open them with my hands, not with my teeth… Although, once I… Oh forget it. So I checked with my tongue and felt that something was rough on the edge. All of a sudden, I had this huge piece of gold filling just sitting on my tongue. Ooops!
I tried to get a hold of my dentist on Saturday morning, but all he had was an emergency number of a clinic. Luckily enough, the filling fell from a tooth where I had had a root canal, so no more nerves there. I was pain free. Great! I just had to be careful, because there’s not that much tooth left around the hole, so I chew on the right side for now. So, I just left a message on his answering machine t say that I’d call in on Monday morning.
On Monday morning, I called up my dentist and got his secretary, who was nice enough to give me an appointment for 1 pm that same day. At 12:30, I was on my way to the garage. I sat in my car, turned the key and… silence…. nothing…. Absolutely NOTHING, but a very dead battery. Arghhhghghgh!! Anyhow, I ran back into the house to call my dentist and tell him that I wouldn’t make it in time. *Next appointment available: yesterday at 5.30 pm.
I walked into the dentist’s office and was immediately guided to the off-white leather chaise longue while the nice assistant fitted me with one of those ugly green bibs. Dr. Kolb walked in and greeted me. I remembered that I had brought the filling with me so I took it out of my purse and handed it to him. He checked the gold filling and then the hole in my tooth. “Perfect”, he said, “I can re-use this”. No further damage to the tooth or the filling. So he **sandblasted the remains of “cement” on the gold filling and did the same to the cavity in my molar. During the treatment, he told me that had the filling not been gold, he would have had to reconstruct the tooth and that would have cost me gazillions again. In less than 25 minutes, my tooth was fixed, good as new and I was on my way back home.
However, while he was putting my filling back in place, he apologised more than once for his mistake. He had put too little “cement” on the filling the first time. Again, when I left, we shook hands and he said: „Again, I’m very sorry for this Mrs CS, it was really my mistake.”
Ahh. The value of gold… and of a good dentist. I wonder if I’ll ever see the bill.
* My car is running again.
**Note: they use salt and water and not sand for this
Friday, January 26, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Bavarian weekend
We left around 9am on Saturday morning and we finally arrived in Türkheim/Unterallgäu, which is about 80km from Munich, around 12:30. We were welcomed by Andreas and Suze with a wonderful brunch. Once our stomachs were soon filled with coffee, juice, prosecco, fresh bread, smoked salmon, cold cuts and different cheeses and had chatted a whole lot, we realised that it was already 2.30pm.
Andreas suggested that we go for a walk along the Ammersee and then visit the Abbey of Andechs to which we immediately agreed. It was a beautiful sunny, but quite chilly day because of the wind – probably leftovers from the Kyrill storm. So, Munich would just have to wait until the next trip.
The Ammersee is one of the largest lakes in Germany and is a popular location for water sports all year ‘round. I did mention that it was windy, didn’t I?
I was amazed to see so many kite surfers. Brrrrr. To cold for me at this time of year, even with the wetsuits! After watching these crazy water fanatics for a while, we walked along the promenade following the lake talking, joking and enjoying each other’s company.
Once we got back to the car, we drove to Andechs and left the car at the bottom of the heilige Berg (the Holy Mountain). We walked up the very steep hill to the abbey church that had been completely remodelled in the Baroque and Rococo style in the 18th century filled with very impressive statues, paintings and stucco works.
The Benedictine monastery is also renowned for a very important part of Bavarian culture: Beer brewing. And what a coincidence: we were thirsty.
We found a table at the abbey’s restaurant, The Andechs Bräustüberl, and had ourselves a few delicious beers, fresh pretzels, Landjäger and some Obazda, a creamy Bavarian cheese specialty (similar to the Austrian/Slovakian Liptauer).
After my first beer, I felt “nature calling”, so I went downstairs and made a discovery. At first, I thought it was somekind of vending machine, but no. Of course, I didn’t take the camera with me to the ladies’, but Orange did once I had told him about it and it was his turn to get some relief.
This, my friends, is an alcohol testing machine. Have you ever seen one of these? I sure haven't.
You drop in a 50 Euro cent coin into the machine, pick a straw at the bottom, insert the straw into a hole, blow as hard as you can in the straw and it will tell you your level of alcohol. Unfortunately, the picture didn’t turn out too well, so I can’t decipher the text at the bottom.
Later, we decided to go to a local Italian restaurant in Türkheim for a bit of pasta and some Parma ham. It was delicious and we had a lot of fun. Our waiter agreed to take our picture. Don't we look like a happy bunch?
We left the restaurant and Suze, our designated driver for the evening, safely drove us to their house where she could finally join the party.
First things first: Put on some music, increase the volume and until the whole house rocks! We did have a few quieter moments that evening.
As you can see from the pictures below, we had a delightful time with Andreas and Suze. The party continued until the wee hours.
We left early on Sunday afternoon, but we promised to meet again. Maybe in Basel?
Andreas suggested that we go for a walk along the Ammersee and then visit the Abbey of Andechs to which we immediately agreed. It was a beautiful sunny, but quite chilly day because of the wind – probably leftovers from the Kyrill storm. So, Munich would just have to wait until the next trip.
The Ammersee is one of the largest lakes in Germany and is a popular location for water sports all year ‘round. I did mention that it was windy, didn’t I?
I was amazed to see so many kite surfers. Brrrrr. To cold for me at this time of year, even with the wetsuits! After watching these crazy water fanatics for a while, we walked along the promenade following the lake talking, joking and enjoying each other’s company.
Once we got back to the car, we drove to Andechs and left the car at the bottom of the heilige Berg (the Holy Mountain). We walked up the very steep hill to the abbey church that had been completely remodelled in the Baroque and Rococo style in the 18th century filled with very impressive statues, paintings and stucco works.
The Benedictine monastery is also renowned for a very important part of Bavarian culture: Beer brewing. And what a coincidence: we were thirsty.
We found a table at the abbey’s restaurant, The Andechs Bräustüberl, and had ourselves a few delicious beers, fresh pretzels, Landjäger and some Obazda, a creamy Bavarian cheese specialty (similar to the Austrian/Slovakian Liptauer).
After my first beer, I felt “nature calling”, so I went downstairs and made a discovery. At first, I thought it was somekind of vending machine, but no. Of course, I didn’t take the camera with me to the ladies’, but Orange did once I had told him about it and it was his turn to get some relief.
This, my friends, is an alcohol testing machine. Have you ever seen one of these? I sure haven't.
You drop in a 50 Euro cent coin into the machine, pick a straw at the bottom, insert the straw into a hole, blow as hard as you can in the straw and it will tell you your level of alcohol. Unfortunately, the picture didn’t turn out too well, so I can’t decipher the text at the bottom.
Later, we decided to go to a local Italian restaurant in Türkheim for a bit of pasta and some Parma ham. It was delicious and we had a lot of fun. Our waiter agreed to take our picture. Don't we look like a happy bunch?We left the restaurant and Suze, our designated driver for the evening, safely drove us to their house where she could finally join the party.
First things first: Put on some music, increase the volume and until the whole house rocks! We did have a few quieter moments that evening.As you can see from the pictures below, we had a delightful time with Andreas and Suze. The party continued until the wee hours.
We left early on Sunday afternoon, but we promised to meet again. Maybe in Basel?
Friday, January 19, 2007
We're off to Munich!
Early tomorrow morning, we're driving up to Munich to visit Andreas (Orange-X's former boss) and Suze, his wife in Munich for the weekend. I haven't been to Munich since,... well, I think about 8-9 years, so I'm really looking forward to it.
See you all when we get back.
See you all when we get back.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Encounter of the 5th (Bloggers) Kind
Bloggers of a feather blog together (or something like that).
Yesterday was the day where about 25 Swiss-Bloggers met in Basel. TBF, Sara from Life Is Nicht So Mal, Jul from This Non-American Life and moi (sorry if I'm leaving anyone out, but I dealt only with TBF).
We all met at a local restaurant, Zum Braunen Mutz, for lunch. We were the first to arrive (I think the Swiss punctuality got to me after so many years), closely followed by Ashley and Sebastian. Shortly after that, I lost count (and names). It all went so fast. It was so crowded that, at some point, the service could hardly get through to serve the only other two tables that were not reserved for us (Tough! WE reserved. Blah!). In order to recognize each other, we filled in name tags. After about 30 minutes of hello's, we finally all sat down and shortly after, ordered lunch. We chatted here and there, and had a lot of fun.
After lunch, TBF "offered" to guide us through Basel. Unfortunately, he was hoping that I could help him talk about the architecture and history of the buildings. I must admit that I knew a few things in the first 2-3 years (20 years ago!) about Basel's historical buildings, but I haven't played guide in many, many years. Let's just say I had "a senior moment" whenever he asked me for details (honestly, I didn't want to screw-up and give false information). Anyway, we took a nice walk to the town hall, then through the old town, up to the Spalentor (city gate of Basel), then through Petersplatz (well known for the Saturday flea markets and Herbstmesse [Autumn fair]), across the Mittlere Rheinbrücke [middle Rhine bridge], along the Kleinbasel promenade and from there, we took one of the small ferry boats across the Rhine and ended up at the Basler Münster (Basel Cathedral), where we started saying our goodbyes and by the time we were at the train station, there were only 7 of us left. We didn't take many pictures (too busy talkin', I guess), but you'll find some here, here , here and here. Did I miss anybody again? If so, please let me know.
It was really fun to meet so many bloggers on the spot, but unfortunately, some had to leave early and we weren't able to chat with all of them. Apparently, there will be another Swiss-Bloggers' meeting sometime in March in the Zurich area. Feel free to sign up... NOW!
Yesterday was the day where about 25 Swiss-Bloggers met in Basel. TBF, Sara from Life Is Nicht So Mal, Jul from This Non-American Life and moi (sorry if I'm leaving anyone out, but I dealt only with TBF).
We all met at a local restaurant, Zum Braunen Mutz, for lunch. We were the first to arrive (I think the Swiss punctuality got to me after so many years), closely followed by Ashley and Sebastian. Shortly after that, I lost count (and names). It all went so fast. It was so crowded that, at some point, the service could hardly get through to serve the only other two tables that were not reserved for us (Tough! WE reserved. Blah!). In order to recognize each other, we filled in name tags. After about 30 minutes of hello's, we finally all sat down and shortly after, ordered lunch. We chatted here and there, and had a lot of fun.
After lunch, TBF "offered" to guide us through Basel. Unfortunately, he was hoping that I could help him talk about the architecture and history of the buildings. I must admit that I knew a few things in the first 2-3 years (20 years ago!) about Basel's historical buildings, but I haven't played guide in many, many years. Let's just say I had "a senior moment" whenever he asked me for details (honestly, I didn't want to screw-up and give false information). Anyway, we took a nice walk to the town hall, then through the old town, up to the Spalentor (city gate of Basel), then through Petersplatz (well known for the Saturday flea markets and Herbstmesse [Autumn fair]), across the Mittlere Rheinbrücke [middle Rhine bridge], along the Kleinbasel promenade and from there, we took one of the small ferry boats across the Rhine and ended up at the Basler Münster (Basel Cathedral), where we started saying our goodbyes and by the time we were at the train station, there were only 7 of us left. We didn't take many pictures (too busy talkin', I guess), but you'll find some here, here , here and here. Did I miss anybody again? If so, please let me know.
It was really fun to meet so many bloggers on the spot, but unfortunately, some had to leave early and we weren't able to chat with all of them. Apparently, there will be another Swiss-Bloggers' meeting sometime in March in the Zurich area. Feel free to sign up... NOW!
Monday, January 15, 2007
Isn’t it what it’s all about?
I though I’d do a quick run through the reunions during our trip to Canada, otherwise, I’ll never get done! I’m trying to keep it short. Really!
The day after Colette’s staff party, my Mom, Orange-X and I went to my cousin’s, Rachel, for a pre-Christmas get together. By the time we got there, the party had already started. It was really great to see her and many other members of the family again. Especially as she’d be leaving for a backpacking trip with a few girlfriends a few days later to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia (I think), then back to Thailand for a few days of rest on the beach. Lucky her!
Besides chatting with everybody about this and that, enjoying the company, food and drinks, we played a few games with the children. Don't you just love family reunions??
I was even able to get a shot of my Mom (in pink) closely following the activities.
At about 10:30 pm the kids got really impatient and wanted to start unwrapping their presents. Instead of the regular Christmas tree, Rachel had a giant stocking sewn and filled it with the presents. Here she is with boyfriend Michael and his three children.
Shortly after midnight, we said our goodbyes, but we know that we’ll be seeing them all again soon.
The day after was Christmas Eve and we spent with my Dad and Colette (a.k.a. Coco). We had a quiet dinner. Coco prepared everything except for the beef (Daddy’s job). HA! And she says she can’t cook! Then at midnight, we started unwrapping gifts.
I won’t go through all the presents, but both of us are not the proud new owners of iPods (80GB!) and I have two beautiful new pairs of earrings. Next year, I’ll have to remember to ask Santa to get a few extra holes punched into my ears to fit them all in!
On Christmas day, we went to my Mom’s for dinner. The plan was to have my mother’s (and our) very dear friend, Yves Michel, join us. Unfortunately, he caught a bad case of gastroenteritis (that soon became an epidemic in our region) a day earlier and couldn’t make it. We did meet up with him at a later date, though. For the time being, however, we had our own little party just the four of us (let’s not forget Charlotte, my Mom’s crazy cat). It was going to be a Swiss evening. We started with some Bündnerfleisch (a paper-thinly cut air-dried beef speciality from the Grisons) while we unwrapped the gifts. As you can see, in the meantime, Chalotte made sure we were kept busy.
Since my Mom had been complaining about her knives not cutting well enough, we decided to get her two good sized knives for Christmas. Of course, it is said that you must pay a symbolic fee when you receive instruments with blades, otherwise, it’s bad luck/lost of friendship. So I got a tooney (2 dollar piece) from her. She also got some “Kirschstängeli” (chocolates filled with Kirsch) and a nice, warm sweater. We received a voucher for a dinner at a restaurant that opened about 2 years ago: The Elephant. We haven’t had the time to go during our stay, but we will, as soon as we are halfway settled in Canada.
We then made our way over to the dining table and I made an awesome (almost) authentic cheese fondue (I had to replace one of the cheeses!). Not to mention a few drops of the delicious Kirsch we had “imported” passed the watchful eye of the Canadian customs' officer. We spent a fine evening there and happily feel into bed.
Of all the Christmas gifts I received, however, the most beautiful and greatest one was to spend the Holidays with my family and friends. Isn’t it what it’s all about, anyway?
More to come soon. Have a great week!
The day after Colette’s staff party, my Mom, Orange-X and I went to my cousin’s, Rachel, for a pre-Christmas get together. By the time we got there, the party had already started. It was really great to see her and many other members of the family again. Especially as she’d be leaving for a backpacking trip with a few girlfriends a few days later to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia (I think), then back to Thailand for a few days of rest on the beach. Lucky her!Besides chatting with everybody about this and that, enjoying the company, food and drinks, we played a few games with the children. Don't you just love family reunions??
I was even able to get a shot of my Mom (in pink) closely following the activities.
At about 10:30 pm the kids got really impatient and wanted to start unwrapping their presents. Instead of the regular Christmas tree, Rachel had a giant stocking sewn and filled it with the presents. Here she is with boyfriend Michael and his three children.
Shortly after midnight, we said our goodbyes, but we know that we’ll be seeing them all again soon.
The day after was Christmas Eve and we spent with my Dad and Colette (a.k.a. Coco). We had a quiet dinner. Coco prepared everything except for the beef (Daddy’s job). HA! And she says she can’t cook! Then at midnight, we started unwrapping gifts.
I won’t go through all the presents, but both of us are not the proud new owners of iPods (80GB!) and I have two beautiful new pairs of earrings. Next year, I’ll have to remember to ask Santa to get a few extra holes punched into my ears to fit them all in!
On Christmas day, we went to my Mom’s for dinner. The plan was to have my mother’s (and our) very dear friend, Yves Michel, join us. Unfortunately, he caught a bad case of gastroenteritis (that soon became an epidemic in our region) a day earlier and couldn’t make it. We did meet up with him at a later date, though. For the time being, however, we had our own little party just the four of us (let’s not forget Charlotte, my Mom’s crazy cat). It was going to be a Swiss evening. We started with some Bündnerfleisch (a paper-thinly cut air-dried beef speciality from the Grisons) while we unwrapped the gifts. As you can see, in the meantime, Chalotte made sure we were kept busy.
Since my Mom had been complaining about her knives not cutting well enough, we decided to get her two good sized knives for Christmas. Of course, it is said that you must pay a symbolic fee when you receive instruments with blades, otherwise, it’s bad luck/lost of friendship. So I got a tooney (2 dollar piece) from her. She also got some “Kirschstängeli” (chocolates filled with Kirsch) and a nice, warm sweater. We received a voucher for a dinner at a restaurant that opened about 2 years ago: The Elephant. We haven’t had the time to go during our stay, but we will, as soon as we are halfway settled in Canada.
We then made our way over to the dining table and I made an awesome (almost) authentic cheese fondue (I had to replace one of the cheeses!). Not to mention a few drops of the delicious Kirsch we had “imported” passed the watchful eye of the Canadian customs' officer. We spent a fine evening there and happily feel into bed.
Of all the Christmas gifts I received, however, the most beautiful and greatest one was to spend the Holidays with my family and friends. Isn’t it what it’s all about, anyway?
More to come soon. Have a great week!
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Christmas Trees and Staff Party
Okay, so yesterday was not much better jetlag-wise. Both of us were awake at 4am, so we decided to get up and have a coffee. Today, my sleep routine seems to be getting back to normal. I slept until 9am. Thank goodness!
Back to Canada.
On the Monday after our arrival, we went to my Mom’s and helped her put up her Christmas tree. I was happy to see that my Mom still had most of the ornaments that I knew as a child and they were still in the original boxes. I wish I had taken my camera on that day. Some are over 40 years old, but have still kept their original beauty! It brought back many beautiful memories.
After having decorated the tree to our satisfaction, we took Mom out for dinner at Stephanie’s, a local restaurant and the best bar and grill in the area. We were taken to a table right next to a cosy wood fireplace. Of course, Orange had to have Canadian beef! He was drooling already when he saw it on the menu. I’m still amazed at the huge portions served in Canada (and the US, for that matter). I love food, but can only have small portions at a time. The meal was great, but as usual, much too much for me (and I hate taking a doggy-bag).
On the 20th Dec., Orange had a meeting planned in Toronto, so my Dad and I drove him to the airport and I got to spend the day in Ottawa with my Dad for some Christmas shopping. We picked O-X up again the same evening and drove home for dinner, or supper, as we eastern (?) Canadians would say.
The next day, I had a job to do. Colette had invited her staff from the golf club (a.k.a. “the girls”) for dinner and I had offered to cook the main course. She loves baking and making deserts, but is not too fond of cooking. I’m not so good at baking, but I love to cook, so one could call it a win-win situation. Soon after I had made the proposal, O-X and my Dad offered to take over the position of maître d's. We thought it was a nice idea, since the girls are usually the ones waiting on people.
Colette started baking cookies and preparing her deserts and appetizers. I took over in the afternoon and prepared the main course consisting of chicken breasts en croûte with a ground hazelnut stuffing served with green beans and cherry tomatoes.
The girls started arriving around 5:30pm and every time the doorbell rang, Orange-X made his way to the door to greet the guests, introduced himself (many didn’t know him at all) and took their coats. In the meantime, my Dad started serving the hors d’oeuvres and Orange was taking orders for drinks while I was making the last preps for the main course.
After a while, Dad escorted the ladies to the dining room table that Colette had so meticulously arranged and the feast began. The soup was served, then the main course and finally the deserts. My dad and Colette don’t have a huge house, so even with all the hustle and bustle of serving, I’m happy to report that there were no major collisions or broken glasses.
Here are a few picts of the evening:
(clockwise from left to right) Colette, Linda, Lise, Madame Coco (also a Colette), Sylvie and Darquise
It was a fun evening and we really enjoyed playing "waiters" for them. They're a great bunch.
We'll be back with more soon!
Back to Canada.
On the Monday after our arrival, we went to my Mom’s and helped her put up her Christmas tree. I was happy to see that my Mom still had most of the ornaments that I knew as a child and they were still in the original boxes. I wish I had taken my camera on that day. Some are over 40 years old, but have still kept their original beauty! It brought back many beautiful memories.
After having decorated the tree to our satisfaction, we took Mom out for dinner at Stephanie’s, a local restaurant and the best bar and grill in the area. We were taken to a table right next to a cosy wood fireplace. Of course, Orange had to have Canadian beef! He was drooling already when he saw it on the menu. I’m still amazed at the huge portions served in Canada (and the US, for that matter). I love food, but can only have small portions at a time. The meal was great, but as usual, much too much for me (and I hate taking a doggy-bag).
On the 20th Dec., Orange had a meeting planned in Toronto, so my Dad and I drove him to the airport and I got to spend the day in Ottawa with my Dad for some Christmas shopping. We picked O-X up again the same evening and drove home for dinner, or supper, as we eastern (?) Canadians would say.
The next day, I had a job to do. Colette had invited her staff from the golf club (a.k.a. “the girls”) for dinner and I had offered to cook the main course. She loves baking and making deserts, but is not too fond of cooking. I’m not so good at baking, but I love to cook, so one could call it a win-win situation. Soon after I had made the proposal, O-X and my Dad offered to take over the position of maître d's. We thought it was a nice idea, since the girls are usually the ones waiting on people.
Colette started baking cookies and preparing her deserts and appetizers. I took over in the afternoon and prepared the main course consisting of chicken breasts en croûte with a ground hazelnut stuffing served with green beans and cherry tomatoes.
The girls started arriving around 5:30pm and every time the doorbell rang, Orange-X made his way to the door to greet the guests, introduced himself (many didn’t know him at all) and took their coats. In the meantime, my Dad started serving the hors d’oeuvres and Orange was taking orders for drinks while I was making the last preps for the main course.After a while, Dad escorted the ladies to the dining room table that Colette had so meticulously arranged and the feast began. The soup was served, then the main course and finally the deserts. My dad and Colette don’t have a huge house, so even with all the hustle and bustle of serving, I’m happy to report that there were no major collisions or broken glasses.
Here are a few picts of the evening:
(clockwise from left to right) Colette, Linda, Lise, Madame Coco (also a Colette), Sylvie and Darquise
It was a fun evening and we really enjoyed playing "waiters" for them. They're a great bunch.We'll be back with more soon!
Sunday, January 07, 2007
We’re Ba-a-a-ack!!
We made it back to Switzerland safe and sound, and arrived at Zurich airport at 6 am, 25 minutes ahead of schedule. I guess we must have has one heck of a tailwind, because of all my trips, I think this one was the fastest ever. The only thing I hate when coming back is the jet lag. I find it worse when travelling west to east. I took a one hour snooze yesterday, we went to bed around 11 pm, but Orange’s snoring and Dale’s loud purring and scratching on the head of the bed (you know, feeling totally at home and cosy type) kept me wide awake. At 3 am I closed the bedroom door, lit the staircase, switched my laptop on and spent the night on the internet. At 7am, I decided to give it another try and I slept until 3 pm this afternoon. I just hope I can sleep tonight!
We had a great time in Canada and had the chance to meet many of my relatives and friends. You can read about our arrival here and about Orange-X’s little mishap here. Just to let you know, the realtor was very easy about it. Actually, she didn’t see it in her mails, but we did tell her about it and she laughed and wished she had received it. She’s really cool. But more about our house search a bit later.
Rewind to our arrival. We had a quiet dinner at my Dad’s on the day of our arrival. The next morning, we visited my Mom, spent the afternoon with her and went back for dinner at my dad’s. While we were gone, Colette, my Dad’s wife, put up her Christmas display and we came home to see this:
We had a great time in Canada and had the chance to meet many of my relatives and friends. You can read about our arrival here and about Orange-X’s little mishap here. Just to let you know, the realtor was very easy about it. Actually, she didn’t see it in her mails, but we did tell her about it and she laughed and wished she had received it. She’s really cool. But more about our house search a bit later.
Rewind to our arrival. We had a quiet dinner at my Dad’s on the day of our arrival. The next morning, we visited my Mom, spent the afternoon with her and went back for dinner at my dad’s. While we were gone, Colette, my Dad’s wife, put up her Christmas display and we came home to see this:
Isn’t it beautiful? I love the idea instead of the typical Christmas tree. What a great start to our holidays!
More to come tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Happy New Year!
I know, I know... Today's already the 2nd of January. We know that you all know that we've been very busy visiting and recieving family and friends here in Canada. We hope that you all had a wonderful time during the Holiday Season with your families and friends and we'll be posting a entries about our time here once we return to Switzerland.
Until then:
OrangeX and I send all our blogger friends out there our best wishes of good health, love, happiness and success for 2007!
Until then:
OrangeX and I send all our blogger friends out there our best wishes of good health, love, happiness and success for 2007!
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Creating Snowflakes
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Was it a blooper or a boo-boo?
No matter what you wanna call it, it turned CS’ ears red. A few evenings ago we were going through funny videos on the inernet (www.mojoflix.com) with CS’ dad, Kurt. Before we took off for Canada I had been looking through the immense number of videos and found one of a cat playing with his male organ. I laughed tears when I saw the video and that particular evening I wanted to show it to Kurt. After we watched it I thought it would be funny to download it. As we were using CS’ notebook we decided to download it via CS’ Gmail address. No sweat, easy to do, so I entered CS’ Gmail address and clicked the “send” button. All went well until the next window popped up with following information: “The mail has been sent succesfully to 14 addresses in your address book”. Hell no, this couldn’t be true??? We checked out CS’ Inbox on her Gmail account and found no list of recipients, so at that stage we still were under the impression no damage was done. We felt kind of relieved as CS used her Gmail mainly to sent rather large files for print to the companies suppliers. We wouldn’t know how they would react getting an e-mail with the remark to "check out this video…."
To make sure only CS received the video I decided to check out my mail accounts and found I received the video. Ooops! CS’ ears turned a bit darker red. She moved a bit restless on her chair but was darn determined when she told me: "Hey, look you. You sent the e-mail off, so you write an apology to the recipients”. OK, no sweat. I wrote the apology and when going through the recipients we found that also a real estate agent in the area had received this video. Ooops! We never met this lady before and short before we left for Canada, CS sent her an e-mail with the request to contact us and show a few houses in the area once we arrived in Canada. Wee, that’s a good start of new relationship! Anyway, I sent off the mail and had the first reply from Babs, who laughed her head off and had already posted the video. Thanks Babs! You’re a great sport. The next one to reply was Ginnie. Also here no harm done. I guess most people took it well and had a good laugh. One of the persons who didn’t reply yet and didn’t contact us yet is this real estate agent. I wonder why… I only noticed that the prices of houses in the area just went up by 20%...
As they say “you get one chance to make a first impression”, I guess I blew mine and will probably have to rely on the second one.
For all of you who haven’t received the e-mail and therefore missed out on the video, check it out here. Advise: parental guidance required, not suitable for viewers under 16! And, don't forget to turn up the volume as this makes the video complete.
Have a great day!
To make sure only CS received the video I decided to check out my mail accounts and found I received the video. Ooops! CS’ ears turned a bit darker red. She moved a bit restless on her chair but was darn determined when she told me: "Hey, look you. You sent the e-mail off, so you write an apology to the recipients”. OK, no sweat. I wrote the apology and when going through the recipients we found that also a real estate agent in the area had received this video. Ooops! We never met this lady before and short before we left for Canada, CS sent her an e-mail with the request to contact us and show a few houses in the area once we arrived in Canada. Wee, that’s a good start of new relationship! Anyway, I sent off the mail and had the first reply from Babs, who laughed her head off and had already posted the video. Thanks Babs! You’re a great sport. The next one to reply was Ginnie. Also here no harm done. I guess most people took it well and had a good laugh. One of the persons who didn’t reply yet and didn’t contact us yet is this real estate agent. I wonder why… I only noticed that the prices of houses in the area just went up by 20%...
As they say “you get one chance to make a first impression”, I guess I blew mine and will probably have to rely on the second one.
For all of you who haven’t received the e-mail and therefore missed out on the video, check it out here. Advise: parental guidance required, not suitable for viewers under 16! And, don't forget to turn up the volume as this makes the video complete.
Have a great day!
Sunday, December 17, 2006
We've made it safely
Yes! We're in Canada. Our flight was delayed an hour because of connecting flights that were delayed because of fog, so we had to wait for passengers and luggage. Oh well.
We arrived in Montreal at 4pm and thought we'd be honest and declare that we had 400 cigarettes (2 cartons) each instead of the accepted 200. Last time, we also did this and went through without a problem (hey, it's not like we were selling them here!). Anyway, the ladie at the second control sent us through customs. It was a great, big line! Shesh! We were watching as the people in front of us had to open all of their luggage, were questioned and almost treaten like criminals, and that's where we began to sweat! We had declared the ciggies, but not all the schnapps that we had brought. Two for my Dad (one was from Ernst, see previous post), one for my Mom and one for my best friend, Christiane. So we were over by about 1 liter! O-oh!!
After 50 minutes of waiting in line and sweating our butts off (it was also pretty hot in there), we came to this very nice customs officer lady. She just looked at us, at my Canadian passport and then at the mountain of luggage we had on the trolley. She checked our declaration and said:"One carton of cigarettes too many per person?". "Yes", we said. We bought them at duty free, but we're here for 3 weeks. We don't mind paying the extra fee. That's why we declared them." She took another look at our bulk of luggage, then at the line getting longer and just said: "I'd usually have to make you pay for the extra, but the line is just getting longer and I'd have to go through all your luggage. So you can go and enjoy your stay." Ha! Welcome to Canada! I'm not sure if it was the long queue that was waiting, our heap of luggage or OX's charm (I still think it's the latter), but we came through without a scratch.
My Dad was waiting outside and was worried that something had happened to us, so he was really relieved when he saw us finally come out. We were just relieved to have had so much luck. We drove home, unpacked the bare necessities and had a bite to eat.
The next post will be about OrangeX's blooper! Stay tuned!
We arrived in Montreal at 4pm and thought we'd be honest and declare that we had 400 cigarettes (2 cartons) each instead of the accepted 200. Last time, we also did this and went through without a problem (hey, it's not like we were selling them here!). Anyway, the ladie at the second control sent us through customs. It was a great, big line! Shesh! We were watching as the people in front of us had to open all of their luggage, were questioned and almost treaten like criminals, and that's where we began to sweat! We had declared the ciggies, but not all the schnapps that we had brought. Two for my Dad (one was from Ernst, see previous post), one for my Mom and one for my best friend, Christiane. So we were over by about 1 liter! O-oh!!
After 50 minutes of waiting in line and sweating our butts off (it was also pretty hot in there), we came to this very nice customs officer lady. She just looked at us, at my Canadian passport and then at the mountain of luggage we had on the trolley. She checked our declaration and said:"One carton of cigarettes too many per person?". "Yes", we said. We bought them at duty free, but we're here for 3 weeks. We don't mind paying the extra fee. That's why we declared them." She took another look at our bulk of luggage, then at the line getting longer and just said: "I'd usually have to make you pay for the extra, but the line is just getting longer and I'd have to go through all your luggage. So you can go and enjoy your stay." Ha! Welcome to Canada! I'm not sure if it was the long queue that was waiting, our heap of luggage or OX's charm (I still think it's the latter), but we came through without a scratch.
My Dad was waiting outside and was worried that something had happened to us, so he was really relieved when he saw us finally come out. We were just relieved to have had so much luck. We drove home, unpacked the bare necessities and had a bite to eat.
The next post will be about OrangeX's blooper! Stay tuned!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Countdown has started
Two more nights to sleep before we leave for Canada... and still so much to do! This will be my last post in the few days to come.
I seem to have been running around all day yesterday and today! I've been washing, cleaning, e-mailing and blogging in between and doing basic groceries for our dear Dutch friends, Jaap and Patricia, who will be house-sitting our home and enjoying a bit of Switzerland for a few days around Christmas time.
I also went for a quick visit at an old friend of the family, Ernst, (my dad's best friend) to pick up some self-made kirsch. The kirsch is not actually self-made, but he "owns/rents (?)" a few fruit trees such as cherry, plum and I think also pear at a nearby farm (they do that here in Switzerland) and when the fruit on his trees are ripe, he picks them and brings them to be distilled. I had a sip of it today, and although I'm not a big fan of it, this one was soooo smooth and tasty. I'll have to write a post about Ernst one day, not because of the kirsch, but because he has been like a second father to me throughout my years in Switzerland AND because he's incredibly crazy. He's a 74 year old kid. I kid you not! No wonder his grandchildren love him so much!
What's up this evening? We'll be bringing Dale, our cat, to a friend's house for holidays - What!?!He's entitled to vacations too, you know? - then order a pizza and do some packing. Tomorrow, I will clean a few windows (where Dale scratches when he begs to come in again), vacuum the couches (where Dale loves to nap), clean the kitchen floor (where Dale eats and I love to cook), finish packing, go for a massage at Paolo's followed by a hair trim at Markus', get a few last things in town to bring to Canada, quick meet up with my almost 18 year old godson and bring the luggage to the main train station in Basel to check them in.
After that, I'm not sure I'll even have the energy to eat!
Friday morning: Panic! Have we got everything? Will Jaap and Patricia find everything they need? Where's my freaking adaptor plug? What time is our train leaving again? I wanna see my Family!!!! Get me outta here! Are we there already??
So. I'll post again from Canada (a little). AND I will be politically correct... If I don't post before X'mas, I wish each and every one of you a Happy Holiday Season. Love ya all!
Over.and.OUT! Ciao!
I seem to have been running around all day yesterday and today! I've been washing, cleaning, e-mailing and blogging in between and doing basic groceries for our dear Dutch friends, Jaap and Patricia, who will be house-sitting our home and enjoying a bit of Switzerland for a few days around Christmas time.
I also went for a quick visit at an old friend of the family, Ernst, (my dad's best friend) to pick up some self-made kirsch. The kirsch is not actually self-made, but he "owns/rents (?)" a few fruit trees such as cherry, plum and I think also pear at a nearby farm (they do that here in Switzerland) and when the fruit on his trees are ripe, he picks them and brings them to be distilled. I had a sip of it today, and although I'm not a big fan of it, this one was soooo smooth and tasty. I'll have to write a post about Ernst one day, not because of the kirsch, but because he has been like a second father to me throughout my years in Switzerland AND because he's incredibly crazy. He's a 74 year old kid. I kid you not! No wonder his grandchildren love him so much!
What's up this evening? We'll be bringing Dale, our cat, to a friend's house for holidays - What!?!He's entitled to vacations too, you know? - then order a pizza and do some packing. Tomorrow, I will clean a few windows (where Dale scratches when he begs to come in again), vacuum the couches (where Dale loves to nap), clean the kitchen floor (where Dale eats and I love to cook), finish packing, go for a massage at Paolo's followed by a hair trim at Markus', get a few last things in town to bring to Canada, quick meet up with my almost 18 year old godson and bring the luggage to the main train station in Basel to check them in.
After that, I'm not sure I'll even have the energy to eat!
Friday morning: Panic! Have we got everything? Will Jaap and Patricia find everything they need? Where's my freaking adaptor plug? What time is our train leaving again? I wanna see my Family!!!! Get me outta here! Are we there already??
So. I'll post again from Canada (a little). AND I will be politically correct... If I don't post before X'mas, I wish each and every one of you a Happy Holiday Season. Love ya all!
Over.and.OUT! Ciao!
Monday, December 11, 2006
"What have I done" Meme
I saw this a while back on Expatter's blog, I think also on Xmichra's and today again on Shelli's, so I thought I'd try it out. Maybe I should do these memes more often. They're fun and you don't have to think up much on your own, which means good for "low" days.
You'll find the things I have done up to now in bold characters:
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins - Not yet, but it is definitely on my "to do" list [I'm so jealous, Shelli. ;-)]
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive. - No, but I did drive a formula car
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it. - I still do!
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper. - I may have no kids, but I did babysit
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment. - Who hasn't?
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day. - My accents changes contantly depending if I’m speaking to a French-Canadian or a Frenchman/woman or from Swiss-German to High-German. I can't help it.
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had/Have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love - I'm not sure about this one, but probably
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow - … and a goat... and I wasn’t very good at either
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days - It’s called fasting and the longest was 10 days on water and broths.
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the snake river
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house - Too expensive in Switzerland. But we will, soon :)
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently - Daily
95. Performed in a Rocky Horror Picture Show
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favourite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds.
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane - The “real” pilot was sitting right next to me.
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart - More than once
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild - Yes, but not gathered by me
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper - As a kid, when I was school carnival queen and when I was 30-something, I was part of the audience on a TV show.
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Para-sailed - I did paragliding (tandem), so I’ll consider it as a yes
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read “The Iliad”
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions - We only had one up to now, and I missed it (I was already in Switzerland)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair - Many, many times. Actually, I’ve been through most colours available on the market!
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life
So there. Now you know.
I'm not the tagging type, but feel free to do this blog.
You'll find the things I have done up to now in bold characters:
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins - Not yet, but it is definitely on my "to do" list [I'm so jealous, Shelli. ;-)]
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive. - No, but I did drive a formula car
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it. - I still do!
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper. - I may have no kids, but I did babysit
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment. - Who hasn't?
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day. - My accents changes contantly depending if I’m speaking to a French-Canadian or a Frenchman/woman or from Swiss-German to High-German. I can't help it.
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had/Have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love - I'm not sure about this one, but probably
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow - … and a goat... and I wasn’t very good at either
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days - It’s called fasting and the longest was 10 days on water and broths.
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the snake river
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house - Too expensive in Switzerland. But we will, soon :)
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently - Daily
95. Performed in a Rocky Horror Picture Show
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favourite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds.
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane - The “real” pilot was sitting right next to me.
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart - More than once
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild - Yes, but not gathered by me
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper - As a kid, when I was school carnival queen and when I was 30-something, I was part of the audience on a TV show.
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Para-sailed - I did paragliding (tandem), so I’ll consider it as a yes
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read “The Iliad”
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions - We only had one up to now, and I missed it (I was already in Switzerland)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair - Many, many times. Actually, I’ve been through most colours available on the market!
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life
So there. Now you know.
I'm not the tagging type, but feel free to do this blog.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Who did the Marketing here??
You know? Sometimes I really wonder. I must say that these masques are really good, but What the ....?!!! Who the heck decided on this picture?!
Am I going to end up with two apricot halves on my face? Do I have to buy them extra? Fresh, or canned?? Will I look like this for ever? What will happen to me? Will ivy leaves (they look like it) grow on my face after use? Questons, questions...
I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I wanna use this!
Am I going to end up with two apricot halves on my face? Do I have to buy them extra? Fresh, or canned?? Will I look like this for ever? What will happen to me? Will ivy leaves (they look like it) grow on my face after use? Questons, questions...
I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I wanna use this!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
What two days of retirement can do to you
My second day as an O.T.R.P. is almost over and here’s what I have been up to:
Dec. 6th
- 9.30 am: Dale (our cat) is hungry and is very persistent in waking me up. Finally get up at 9:40 am
- Drink coffee, feed Dale (cat), chat online with our friend Jaap from Holland, more coffee, do some wash and read blogs until about 1 pm
- Took a hot bath (including exfoliating face scrub) until all wrinkled (wrinkles from overtime in tub, not from face scrub. Note: wrinkles no longer visible)
- Drive to the store and do a few groceries
- Watch the news and then a cooking show (I love cooking!)
- OrangeX comes home around 7.45 pm from work and we have a drink together
- Have dinner and watch a few criminal series, then off to bed
Note that in between, I keep letting Dale in and out of the house. (Not very exciting, eh?)
Dec 7th. (a bit more exciting)
- Wake up, smell coffee, get up at 7.45 am (am I nuts, or what?!?) and kiss OX before he leaves for office
- Drink coffee, throw in the last wash, make grocery list for coming days and go through my blogroll until about 9.45 (Dale has been fed)
- Take bath, fix face (some call it make-up) and hair, then drive off to yearly dentist appointment (check up only and DH) for 11:30 (very human, thank you).
- Arrive at said dentist 10 minutes early and sit in chair chatting with assistant. 11.30 sharp, dentist comes in and starts checking. As usual, nothing, and dentists congratulates me on clean and healthy teeth. What can I say? He has all these instruments in my mouth! I say: “Hank you”. Go through DH and am outta there at 11.55 am (with my last x-rays – Hey, I’m going back to Canada. I’ll need them there.)
- Off to the grocery store, come home, unpack, spay oven to clean and start making a Tiramisù (I’m the Queen of Tiramisù!)
- 3pm: I have so much mascarpone cream that I decide to get extra biscuits. Walk to the store (about 20 minutes one way) and do a last small Tiramisù and clean up kitchen.
- 4pm: check my mails, answer my good friend Nicole and decide to wash my winter jacket
- 5 pm: I start typing this
There! See?? I’m actually busy. Not exciting busy, but busy.
So, if you'll excuse me, I have to go now and marinate the lamb and prepare the potato-leek gratin.
Dec. 6th
- 9.30 am: Dale (our cat) is hungry and is very persistent in waking me up. Finally get up at 9:40 am
- Drink coffee, feed Dale (cat), chat online with our friend Jaap from Holland, more coffee, do some wash and read blogs until about 1 pm
- Took a hot bath (including exfoliating face scrub) until all wrinkled (wrinkles from overtime in tub, not from face scrub. Note: wrinkles no longer visible)
- Drive to the store and do a few groceries
- Watch the news and then a cooking show (I love cooking!)
- OrangeX comes home around 7.45 pm from work and we have a drink together
- Have dinner and watch a few criminal series, then off to bed
Note that in between, I keep letting Dale in and out of the house. (Not very exciting, eh?)
Dec 7th. (a bit more exciting)
- Wake up, smell coffee, get up at 7.45 am (am I nuts, or what?!?) and kiss OX before he leaves for office
- Drink coffee, throw in the last wash, make grocery list for coming days and go through my blogroll until about 9.45 (Dale has been fed)
- Take bath, fix face (some call it make-up) and hair, then drive off to yearly dentist appointment (check up only and DH) for 11:30 (very human, thank you).
- Arrive at said dentist 10 minutes early and sit in chair chatting with assistant. 11.30 sharp, dentist comes in and starts checking. As usual, nothing, and dentists congratulates me on clean and healthy teeth. What can I say? He has all these instruments in my mouth! I say: “Hank you”. Go through DH and am outta there at 11.55 am (with my last x-rays – Hey, I’m going back to Canada. I’ll need them there.)
- Off to the grocery store, come home, unpack, spay oven to clean and start making a Tiramisù (I’m the Queen of Tiramisù!)
- 3pm: I have so much mascarpone cream that I decide to get extra biscuits. Walk to the store (about 20 minutes one way) and do a last small Tiramisù and clean up kitchen.
- 4pm: check my mails, answer my good friend Nicole and decide to wash my winter jacket
- 5 pm: I start typing this
There! See?? I’m actually busy. Not exciting busy, but busy.
So, if you'll excuse me, I have to go now and marinate the lamb and prepare the potato-leek gratin.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
O.T.R.P. (Officially Temporarily Retired Person)
YES! I’ve made it to my temporary retirement!
The last 1.5 days weren’t easy, though. Well, I have worked there for over 8 years, so it’s no as easy as one might think to just “let go”. Yesterday, the company organised a get together for me and we all met in the showroom 3:30pm (in order to get the guys from the workshop over as well). I was all nervous and fidgety from 3pm on. As soon as my supervisor, M., started her speech, I got a lump in my throat the size of a grapefruit (at least, it felt like it). Luckily, I had asked her to keep it short and sweet and she did. I’m very thankful for that. M. then handed me a dozen of beautiful roses, two framed group photos of events that I had organised and a voucher for a dinner for two at one of my favourite restaurants, The Boomerang.
When my time came to say a few words, I had forgotten all I had wanted to say. To be honest, I think I said something like going back to the land of the polar bears, seals and moose and everybody laughed. I know I said a few more sentences about 8 years, going through changes, and blah, blah, blah, but I’m not sure in which order.
Then we opened a few bottles of crémant, beers and soft drinks and I got to chat with just about everyone there. Around 5pm, there were only a few of us left, so we opened another bottle of the bubbly stuff, and another, and then another. Martin, a colleague and good friend, entertained us with endless jokes (how can he remember them all?) and were laughing tears. By 7:30 pm, most of us (me for sure) had their share of alcohol, so I hitched a ride home with Doug who had joined the celebration later and was still pretty sober. Since Orange was out for dinner with customers, I let Dale out for a short run, just sat down and did nada. I decided I was too tired and still too buzzed to watch TV, so I went to bed. Good decision!
This morning, Doug picked me up and we drove to the office (my car was there). I spent the morning filing a few last things I had on my desk, meeting with M. to go through my goals (I’m happy to report that I have achieved 95% of my bonus! YAY!!), and saying goodbye to everyone personally. The latter was tougher than the day before. I have grown very fond of many colleagues and I won’t forget or loose track of them. I then went for lunch with M., our customer service team and our two receptionists. Saying goodbye to the people with whom I worked so closely for years was definitely the most difficult. I got in my car and drove right past the company with mixed feelings of sadness, relief, happiness and excitement. I have ended a chapter and I’m starting a new one.
When I got home, I saw that I had a missed call. It was TBF, so I gave him a ring back (my first call as a temporarily retired person!) After chatting for a few minutes, the wise TBF said: “Don't worry. In a couple of weeks, you’ll notice that people will start asking you: ‘What do you do all day?’ And you’ll answer: ‘I don’t know, but I’m always busy.’ ”
I guess I have to start practising, now. I’m a busy woman, you know! Any suggestions?
The last 1.5 days weren’t easy, though. Well, I have worked there for over 8 years, so it’s no as easy as one might think to just “let go”. Yesterday, the company organised a get together for me and we all met in the showroom 3:30pm (in order to get the guys from the workshop over as well). I was all nervous and fidgety from 3pm on. As soon as my supervisor, M., started her speech, I got a lump in my throat the size of a grapefruit (at least, it felt like it). Luckily, I had asked her to keep it short and sweet and she did. I’m very thankful for that. M. then handed me a dozen of beautiful roses, two framed group photos of events that I had organised and a voucher for a dinner for two at one of my favourite restaurants, The Boomerang.
When my time came to say a few words, I had forgotten all I had wanted to say. To be honest, I think I said something like going back to the land of the polar bears, seals and moose and everybody laughed. I know I said a few more sentences about 8 years, going through changes, and blah, blah, blah, but I’m not sure in which order.
Then we opened a few bottles of crémant, beers and soft drinks and I got to chat with just about everyone there. Around 5pm, there were only a few of us left, so we opened another bottle of the bubbly stuff, and another, and then another. Martin, a colleague and good friend, entertained us with endless jokes (how can he remember them all?) and were laughing tears. By 7:30 pm, most of us (me for sure) had their share of alcohol, so I hitched a ride home with Doug who had joined the celebration later and was still pretty sober. Since Orange was out for dinner with customers, I let Dale out for a short run, just sat down and did nada. I decided I was too tired and still too buzzed to watch TV, so I went to bed. Good decision!
This morning, Doug picked me up and we drove to the office (my car was there). I spent the morning filing a few last things I had on my desk, meeting with M. to go through my goals (I’m happy to report that I have achieved 95% of my bonus! YAY!!), and saying goodbye to everyone personally. The latter was tougher than the day before. I have grown very fond of many colleagues and I won’t forget or loose track of them. I then went for lunch with M., our customer service team and our two receptionists. Saying goodbye to the people with whom I worked so closely for years was definitely the most difficult. I got in my car and drove right past the company with mixed feelings of sadness, relief, happiness and excitement. I have ended a chapter and I’m starting a new one.
When I got home, I saw that I had a missed call. It was TBF, so I gave him a ring back (my first call as a temporarily retired person!) After chatting for a few minutes, the wise TBF said: “Don't worry. In a couple of weeks, you’ll notice that people will start asking you: ‘What do you do all day?’ And you’ll answer: ‘I don’t know, but I’m always busy.’ ”
I guess I have to start practising, now. I’m a busy woman, you know! Any suggestions?
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Two extremes
Our friend Pinki in Austria sent me a link to this clip. I must admit that I'm not sure if I would have fainted or not during one of these escapades, but I thought Ross and the Crocodile Hunter (RIP) had a really great time filming this... And "Chapeau" to Ross!
I can't seem to embed the video in here (Copyright?), but here's the link. http://www.youtube.com/v/pa_7P5AbUww
Now just sit back and enjoy the next 5 minutes and make sure you have your sound turned on.
PS: On Tuesday at 12:00 noon, I will be celebrating my - as TBF calls it - retirement!
I can't seem to embed the video in here (Copyright?), but here's the link. http://www.youtube.com/v/pa_7P5AbUww
Now just sit back and enjoy the next 5 minutes and make sure you have your sound turned on.
PS: On Tuesday at 12:00 noon, I will be celebrating my - as TBF calls it - retirement!
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Pandas do it, too
I just thought that this short clip went well with my last post. So cute, I couldn't resist.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
I believe I can sneeze
I have something really strange, but positive to tell you. I can sneeze again! See? I told you it was strange.
Not that I never sneezed before, but it was more like stopping it in the middle of the “explosion”. You know, like “Aattttttt..nnn….” I choked it and then back in the lungs it went. This can be quite painful, and there are some cases where people broke a rib. Amazing, isn’t it? That a lot of pressure you’re holding back, there! Anyway, about a month ago, I noticed that I sneezed out (don’t worry, I turn away from people and cover my mouth). It went kind of like this:
Me: “Hatschiii!... Excuse me.”
OrangeX: "Bless, you sweetheart."
Me: "Thanks." – Pause – "Hey! I sneezed! "
OrangeX: (Confused look on his face) "Yes, I know."
Me: "Nooooo! I mean I really sneezed!"
OrangeX: (even more confused look on his face) "Huh??"
Then I started thinking back and… Bingo! It occurred to me that a few weeks after I gave my resignation, I started sneezing normally again.
I’m not looking forward to the next case of flu, or anything like that, but it does feel nice. I sure hope that in time, my resignation will cure more of the current psychosomatic illnesses/states that have been living with the past couple of years.
I know it’s a small step, but for imagine how I’ll feel after a couple of weeks of real convalescence! WOW!
Not that I never sneezed before, but it was more like stopping it in the middle of the “explosion”. You know, like “Aattttttt..nnn….” I choked it and then back in the lungs it went. This can be quite painful, and there are some cases where people broke a rib. Amazing, isn’t it? That a lot of pressure you’re holding back, there! Anyway, about a month ago, I noticed that I sneezed out (don’t worry, I turn away from people and cover my mouth). It went kind of like this:
Me: “Hatschiii!... Excuse me.”
OrangeX: "Bless, you sweetheart."
Me: "Thanks." – Pause – "Hey! I sneezed! "
OrangeX: (Confused look on his face) "Yes, I know."
Me: "Nooooo! I mean I really sneezed!"
OrangeX: (even more confused look on his face) "Huh??"
Then I started thinking back and… Bingo! It occurred to me that a few weeks after I gave my resignation, I started sneezing normally again.
I’m not looking forward to the next case of flu, or anything like that, but it does feel nice. I sure hope that in time, my resignation will cure more of the current psychosomatic illnesses/states that have been living with the past couple of years.
I know it’s a small step, but for imagine how I’ll feel after a couple of weeks of real convalescence! WOW!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
What's up with Blogger??
I have been having problems posting and comments on Blogger sites lately. It might also be the Internet connection at certain times of day. I don't know, but it's really becoming a pain in the butt, to say the least!
To put up a post or comment sometimes takes 2-3 times or more before it's up there and the most annoying was that, if I write a text directly in blogger, I often loose the whole post. I have started to write all my entries in Word and then tried to post them, but 2 out of 3 don't work. Then I tried, and tried again until it worked, or until I was so fed up that I just left it be.
I've also updated my Explorer a couple of weeks ago. Could it have to do with that? I know that some of you use Firefox and swear by it, but I just can't get used to it, and I've had my problems there, too. Of course, I've checked for viruses and defragmented my drive. The latter should have nothing to do with Blogger, but it certainly didn't do any harm.
Does anyone have an idea what could be the source?? All comments are welcome.
Have a great week!
PS: Countdown is running... 11 1/2 workdays to freedom!!!
To put up a post or comment sometimes takes 2-3 times or more before it's up there and the most annoying was that, if I write a text directly in blogger, I often loose the whole post. I have started to write all my entries in Word and then tried to post them, but 2 out of 3 don't work. Then I tried, and tried again until it worked, or until I was so fed up that I just left it be.
I've also updated my Explorer a couple of weeks ago. Could it have to do with that? I know that some of you use Firefox and swear by it, but I just can't get used to it, and I've had my problems there, too. Of course, I've checked for viruses and defragmented my drive. The latter should have nothing to do with Blogger, but it certainly didn't do any harm.
Does anyone have an idea what could be the source?? All comments are welcome.
Have a great week!
PS: Countdown is running... 11 1/2 workdays to freedom!!!
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