Ahhhh.... Bless the long weekends!

Well, another week has gone by and we're still enjoying this great weather. Before I really get going, I'd like to come back to my last post. This is what the Marigolds look like a week later. They seem to be enjoying the warm temperatures as much as we do. Look how they've grown!!!

To add to the pleasure of wearing summer clothing for the past 4-5 weeks, I have the luck of being off today, since tomorrow is a public holiday (Labour Day) and my new company makes a bridge. Four glorious days off! Unfortunately, O-X had to get up at 4:30am this morning to drive all the way down to the south of Tessin for a presentation.

On Friday after work, I had the pleasure of getting together for a quick drink with Brian*, one of my former bosses, who was in Basel on business. Even better, his wife Sonja had accompanied him on this trip. I hadn't seen her in about 10 years. And she hasn't changed a single bit. Still as pretty and radiant as ever. I have to have a girls talk with her and find out what her secret is. Anyhoo. We chatted for a good hour and a half -what had seemed like only 20 minutes - and I left them to go back home while they were on the leap to go out for dinner with a few customers who had decided to stay an extra night. It was really great to see them again.

Saturday was our relaaaaaxxxxx day. Orange-X had been driving around Switzerland and Germany all week and I had been suffering from a very painful stiff neck since Friday morning, so we were more than happy to just lazily enjoy the sun in our small back yard and grill some meat for dinner. Very cosy - except for the painful neck, of course!

Yesterday, we were invited to a BBQ, but I'll do a separate post about it. You'll read about little kids, big kids, belly buttons and adults that will just never grow up.

I'm off tomorrow, so I'll post it then. Right now, I have to get dinner ready. My godson is coming over for a BBQ!

*He knows he should update his blog.

Another sunny weekend!

The weather has been absolutely incredible here for the past two weeks. Temps have been ranging from 18°C (65°F) to the 27+°C (mid-80’s F). We’ve been really lucky up to now. It does have its downside to it, though. While we enjoy this great weather BBQ-ing and sipping a cool beer on the terrace, nature is suffering because of lack of rain. There has already been a forest fire alert. Even a total ban on lighting open fires in certain cantons has been announced. You can read about it here.

I wonder if it’s going to be like the summer of 2003, or if we will at some point get a really crappy month with cool temps and rain. I remember shutting down the heating in March 2003 and switching it back on only mid-November!! Now THAT was a real hot summer!

Anyway, global warming has its plusses for us greedy sun freaks, although I am aware of nature as well. If only it could rain from 2am until 6 am and then, sunny, warm weather. Now, THAT would make me perfectly happy!

BUT… Since I can’t control the weather, for now I will just enjoy the sun, sip on my cold rosé and prepare a nice marinade for the meat that will slowly cook on our grill this evening.

On another note, TBFs will be happy to hear that the special Marygolds we got from them as a gift last year (apparently, not known in Switzerland) are blooming again. Well, not exactly. We picked the seeds from the dried pods and planted them again. Not only are they growing in our flower pot, but also Ma made sure she got a few. Now, they're growing in Switzerland AND in Holland. Last week, her's had already reached 35 cm (12 inches) while ours are only about an inch high (we were late). Will they replace the tulips at some point? Maybe not, but who knows?

This is what they looked like last year. Aren't they lovely?

And today....

I'm off to absorb some sun rays. I hope that everyone out there is having a fantastic weekend.

Now that's a cool cat!

Today, I wonder why CS and Orange never learned to play the piano. I would have been much easier than the guitar or the flute! Who knows, they might have even called me Mozart... *cat sigh*

Meet Nora*, a very talented and very cute feline. I wonder if female cats are also attracted by "salt and pepper" coats (humans, read "hair")




* Thanks to my very dear friend, Michelle, who sent CS this video in the first place.

Being lazy...

... and we're proud of it. This weekend, all we did was clean up a bit, did the groceries, went for a haircut, planted a few flowers and GRILLED! BBQ-time!

Other than that, we were sunbathing - an exercise consisting of rolling from the belly to the back on a chaise longue - and sipping a cool drink. Orange -X makes a mean cocktail!

Wishing you all a great week.

Now it's your turn, CS

Look what she’s done! I’ve been publicly humiliated! I can't believe it... CS tweaked my picture into a… a…a sissy, pink-eared Easter Bunny (see post below). Can you believe it???!! What a shame!

I understand that you humans think it’s really cute, but to a cat, it’s a serious offence. Ok. It could have been worse. She could have put a dog’s face on me, but I know that she would never go THAT low. Plus, dogs have nothing to do with Easter. I don’t mind if she makes a Capt’n out of me, but a bunny?? That is low!

Anyway, now that both CS and Orange-X are enjoying some sun in the garden, it’s time for my revenge. I've learned to use the camera AND I’ve found the link that she used to tweak my picture. Heheheh!

CS: "Orange?.... Do you still love me??"

OX: "Hmmm?????"

There. I feel better now.

Hope you all enjoyed the Easter weekend. Have a great week!

Happy Easter

Shit happens...

Believe it, or not. Shit happens, and oddly enough, sometimes even for the best.

Read it here.

Updates

Wow! Has it been over 2 weeks already since my last post?

Well, we have been quite busy lately. Here’s a short update of the past two weeks.

The new job:
Everything is running pretty smoothly, considering that I’ve had no one to work me in, thus I still feel I’m still wasting a lot of precious time to look for this and that, not to mention learning many new terms, so it’s still very challenging. At least, my superiors are giving me the feeling that I’m doing all I can to help them out and take away unnecessary burden so that they can work more effectively. So that’s good. As a matter of fact, I had been hired on a trial basis of one month, and the week before last (2.5 weeks before the end of my trial), I was asked if I would be willing to stay until end of June. They are still looking for someone on an unlimited time contract, but they want to keep me: a) until they find that person, and b) to work her/him in (lucky her/him!). Anyway, I’m happy to work there. It’s a fine group of people.

CS-Mom:
She’s doing pretty well and she’s at home again. She has a nurse coming in every day to check on her, a caretaker to help her with personal hygiene and do a bit of household cleaning, and family and friends visiting her on a regular basis to either take her to the hospital for check ups, do her groceries, getting her mail at the post office, take out the trash and/or just plain spending a bit of time with her. My Mom absolutely amazes me. She’s still so cheerful and when I hear her talk, it’s like nothing had happened. AND she’s still wearing that halo and her corset.

Amsterdam:
We spent last weekend in Amsterdam to celebrate Pa’s 75th birthday. We had a good drive up (5 ½ hours) to Harry and Brenda’s and arrived around 11:30 pm on Friday evening. We had a good nights’ sleep and on Saturday, we had a small snack for lunch, did a bit of groceries and, since Bren’s knee was hurting, Orange and I decided to do a bit of shopping in Amstelveen. We met up at O-X’s parents late afternoon. We had originally planned to go out for dinner, but Pa hasn’t been too fit lately. Pa’s sister, Anneke, and her husband Jimmy, drove all the way from central France to be there. Later, Harry and Orange-X picked up some food from Pa’s favourite Chinese restaurants. We had a good time at home with the family.

On Sunday morning, Orange-X spent a few hours visiting his daughter and ex-wife, while I enjoyed the sunshine with Harry and Bren in their backyard. Anjella is doing much better and her cancer treatments seems to be helping. Selina, his daughter, is doing very well in school and will graduate from high-school at the end of June. Of course, Papa O-X will be there for the ceremony. He’s so proud of his little girl and I’m so happy they finally got to meet again.

This weekend, except for some cleaning, doing 2 weeks of laundry (!!), the groceries, my tax declaration, (why do I always wait until the last minute??) and catching up on blogs, we’re just relaxing in our sunny back yard. Tonight, we do our first barbecue of the year. Yeah!

Kangaroos, emus and crocodiles

Not only does one find all of these creatures in Australia, but also served on a plate in a restaurant near Basel. That’s right. It’s called “The Boomerang” and serves Australian specialties, beers* and wines.

We had been planning to have dinner there with TBFs for quite some time, now, and we finally set a date: March 17th. To add to the fun and entertainment, Rammy and John, another couple of friends, would be joining in as well.

Not only had we agreed to meet at TBFs for an aperitif, but since it was coincidentally St-Patrick’s Day, everybody wore something green. John and Rammy had gotten there earlier in order not to miss the rugby game that was broadcasted that evening (John is a big fan of rugby). After a few drinks and lots of chatting, we decided to walk the 2 tram stops to the restaurant. We were warmly welcomed by the owners, Rolf and Linda, and their daughter Bianca, and taken to our table. It’s a very small restaurant, maybe 35-40 seats, but it was packed full.

Most of us had a salad as starter, but TBF just had to try the crocodile. I now realise that I forgot to ask TBF what he thought of his starter. I’ve had it before and the texture is similar to chicken breast, but with a slight fishy taste to it.

Mrs. TBF had never eaten emu steak before, so she decided to go for that as a main course. It’s a delicious red meat, maybe a bit of a cross between beef and a touch of game, but much milder than deer or such. Rammy had the lamb and the rest of us went for different cuts and preparations of beef.

Orange-X chose a lovely Penfold's St-Henry Syrah wine to accompany the meal …and us!

Notice TBF’s “alcohol vein” (as he likes to call it) on his forehead. I guess it works somewhat like a barometer. I’m not sure.

When Rolf arrived with the main course, we just had to take a few pictures, so he even accepted to sit down with us for a quick photo.

Just as Rolf came in with the last two sets of plates, he pointed out that the plates were very hot. Too late: TBF had already done the test. Ouch! Seeing Feeling is believing, right? Ahhh, there’s nothing like warm food served on a hot plate.

The dinner was excellent! Do we look happy, or what?

Rammy had had a long day, so she decided to go home around 11pm and let us five go on with the fun. About an hour later, we asked for the bill and John suddenly realized that Rammy had left with his wallet. We started making jokes with the owner and with a friendly wink; Rolf said that he had plenty of rubber gloves and dirty dishes. Naturally, TBFs came to the rescue. We left the restaurant and walked back to TBFs for a last night cap.

While Mrs. TBF and I sat in the living room and chatted, the men went to the TV room to watch the end of the rugby game that TBF had taped for John, followed by a DVD with short sketches. Notice how King the cat secured himself a good spot on the chair. Isn’t it funny how men are so easily entertained?

We left around 2.30 am and drove John home. It was a great evening, had lots of fun and we enjoyed many laughs. I think we have to do this more often.

*the real stuff, brewed in “Aussieland” and not in Europe

Good news!!

What a week! I’m sorry if I didn’t get around to reading you all on a daily basis, but I’m doing my best to catch up. This job is taking quite a bit out of me, but I like it.

Good news: I finally got my computer installed at work on Wednesday (!!), which somewhat increased my efficiency and therefore also my sense of worth. On the other hand, I feel I spent (too) much of my time looking for things on the local database and had to go through an online test in order to have access to the purchasing processing system. Still so many new things to learn, but I’m starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

More good news: On Monday, my Mom could finally go home again after three weeks in the hospital. She’s doing quite well. She's so happy to be at home and I think this fact alone will speed up her recovery even more. She still wearing the full gear and has a nurse coming in every day. Family, friends and neighbours are also checking-up on her regularly and make sure that her groceries are done, cook for her and help out wherever they can.

At this point, I wish to express my thanks to all of those people. I am deeply touched and grateful that they are there for her, and I will never forget what they are doing. Thank you all for your support, love and friendship. Thank you also to all you readers out there for your positive thoughts.

Expat's 5-4-3-2-1 Meme

Here’s a meme I stole from Canadienne dans les Alpes a couple of weeks ago and translated it from French into English.

5) Name five things you love in your new country:
· Cleanliness and safety
· The effectiveness of public transportation
· The variety of delicious breads, cheeses and fresh meat selection (I grew up in a small town, and it's very difficult to get fresh, non-frozen, lamb, there.)
· The fact that there are so many different countries and cultures to discover within such short distances.
· The diversity of languages and cultures (German, French, Italian and Romansch) within the country, low taxes (compared to Canada), quality of healthcare and the Alps

4) Name four things that you miss from your native country:
· My family and friends
· Food: Canadian beef, poutine, big breakfasts and home delivery
· The natural openness and sincere, friendly smiles of people. (The Swiss are very polite, but in general quite distant.)
· The vastness and endless beauty of the country in four REAL seasons. I miss the Indian Summer so much and the snow (believe it or not!). There are many more reasons. It's home.

3) Name three things that annoy you a bit (or much) in your new country:
· The Swiss tend to stare… a lot (Note: I have now learned to stare back without blinking. Try it. It works)
· The lack of spontaneity in people
· The Swiss don’t take your taxes off your pay (I’m also Swiss, remember? They don’t consider me as an expat). You have to save up for it.

2)Name two things that surprise you (or have surprised you in the beginning) in your new country:
· Not being allowed to mow the lawn, do the laundry, -in some villages- hang up wet clothes to dry on the line, etc. on Sundays and in most apartments, you have one day to wash during the week (some even every 2 weeks! Eeek!!). Miss it? Tough! I mean, what if you have an ill child at home and he throws up in bed and you have to wait until your wash day?? Come ON!
· The space, or lack of it. Although I knew that Switzerland is expensive and very small (by almost any standard), most people live in apartments or in rented houses and hardly anyone has a single detached house (no space and you need minimum 20% down payment, not to mention that houses are very expensive)

1) Name one thing that you would terribly miss in your new country, if you had to leave it.
· I have not made that many real Swiss friends, but the ones I have, I will miss for sure.

There you have it. I'm not for tagging, so feel free to steel/use it and have fun. You don't even have to be an expat. Maybe you've lived in two very different parts of your own country. Just let me know if you did it. Deal?

Have a great Sunday

Is this fun, or what?!

Well, it’s been quite a week. On Monday, I got a call from the job agency saying I was invited for an interview on the following day. Tuesday, I have the interview and am hired. I come home after the interview and doing the groceries, and call my agent to tell her that I apparently have the job. She tells me that “she missed a call from the HR dept. of the company, tried to call back, but the line was busy". I hang up and get a call from the company telling me that they were not yet able to reach the agent. In the meantime, agent tries to call the company again, but I am talking to her, so the line is busy. Still following me??

Anyway, I started on Wednesday morning and it all worked out. I get there and don’t yet have access to the computer. Hmmpf! Ok, but you have to give them some time, right? But how much time? I call up the IT guys on Thursday and they say they’re working on it. On Friday, I call again and hear (for the first time) that it takes 5 working days to set it up. Ok. It’s a really big company (locally, about 7’500 employees), but they apparently told my supervisor that they’d get it done in less time. Maybe there was a misunderstanding somewhere? Whatever.

Don’t get me wrong, my boss is really good and I love working for her. She’s a tough cookie, but absolutely fair, kind, a good motivator and very understanding. The only thing that really bothers me is that I feel like a race horse that’s being kept behind the starting gate. You know, I need to run, but the stupid gate is not opening, dammit! I have tasks that I can only do with the computer and via the system. It drives me nuts, because I still have no access, and I feel bad because I’m a) not doing (read: can’t do) what I’m supposed to and b) paid to do. Not to mention that my predecessor is on sick leave and we can’t tell how long. I have no one to “show me the ropes”, but that’s okay, it’s not the first time.

Just do the best you can with what you have. You know what? With all that shit happening, I still love it. I knew this would be a challenging job and I’m ready for it. I can't wait to have everything working.

I must love wild rollercoaster rides (YES!) or be a masochist (or both). Same thing? Maybe. What do you think? Am I sick, or what?

Umm. Do I really want to hear your answers? Yeah... Go ahead.

Goodbye freedom, hello cleaning weekends!

Just a few hours ago, I was sitting in an office being interviewed for a (temporary) job* at one of the (huge) multinational companies here in Basel. I was nervous…Very nervous. My last job interview took place 8 ½ years ago, and the other times I was involved in an interview, I was the one to ask the questions and sitting at the “safe end” of the table. I know that a bit of anxiety is normal in such situations and I just hoped I wouldn’t screw it up. I'm a pro when it comes to putting my foot in my mouth. Darn! Knowing me, I could probably even do two-sies (sp?)!

... And guess what? I didn’t (screw it up). I can start tomorrow morning!

YESSSSSSS!

I’m still a bit nervous about the whole thing, but I’m sure that if they are a little patient with me, I’ll do just fine. So many new things to learn and tasks I haven’t done in such a long time. It will definitely be a challenge, but, to be honest... I love a good challenge. I'll surely be totally beat the first few evenings, but it's part of the game.

So, goodbye freedom. No more doing the groceries, the cleaning and the laundry during the week whenever I want during the day, less blogging/blog reading (sniff) and hello cleaning weekends and living in a messy house during the week!

*For those of you that don’t know yet, our plans to return to Canada have been postponed a few months, so this temp job is quite appealing. Plus, I really felt the ceiling would crash in on me soon.

New bloggers on the map

Two posts in one day? (Yes, there's another one below!) Am I overdoing it?

On Sunday evening while going through my mailbox, I discovered an e-mail invitation from Expatraveler (thanks ET!!) to a link called LinkedIn, a business oriented social networking site, mainly used for professional networking. It’s really great! This is not an official advertisement, so if you want to know more about it, here’s a Wiki-link.

Anyway, through this network, I found one of my former work colleagues from 10+ years back and decided to contact him, just to see what he was up to. This morning, I received a reply from him and read that he just recently started a blog. Brian is a Scottish expat living in Germany.

Another new blogger is The Big Bear. You might have read him in my comments before. For now, his blog is in German only, but maybe he will decide at some point to do short bilingual posts.

So. Go ahead. Don’t be shy and say hello to our newcomers.

Good food and good friends - Can it get any better?

Food is something that should always be celebrated, no matter how simple or complicated the preparations are, don’t you agree? The best thing, however, is food in combination with good friends and lots of laughter.

Last weekend, we were invited to Martin and Yvonne’s for a fondue chinoise We were greeted by our lovely hosts, and then by their dog, Nanook (Inuktitut for polar bear), a beautiful, young Berger Picard. I’m by no means big, but… Man! Did you see the size of his bed?

The weather was quite mild so we had the aperitif outside and then went inside for dinner. A fondue, no matter what kind, is what I would describe as “real social get together” meal and requires only little preparation. As host, you are with your guests all the time. Genuine good fun! See for yourselves.

Martin and Yvonne

The girls

The boys

Did I mention the laughter?


On Monday, the Big Bear (you might have read him in my comments) helped me prepare an Indian dinner. Because it does take some preparation and he wanted to be there to learn how to do it, we decided to actually do all the preps a day in advance and have the meal the next day. It also gave the lovely spices time to really get into the meat, respectively, into the dal.



All I had to do on the Tuesday was set the table, prepare the side dishes that I wanted to have done fresh (rice, roti bread and green beans) and warm up the curry and chick peas. Here’s what we had:

- Roti (flat bread)
- Cucumber Raita (Yoghurt with cucumber and fresh herbs and spices)
- Hot Indian Chicken Curry “my way” (adapted from an Indian friend’s recipe)
- Saffron basmati rice
- Chana Dal (Chick pea curry)
- Beans Porial (Stir-fried green beans in coconut and spices)
- Mango Mousse

On Sunday, we were invited to an ex-colleague’s for lunch. Pierre lives in a cosy village in the Alsace, about 20km from Mulhouse. Now let me tell you that the French take a Sunday lunch very seriously. Usually, it starts around 11:30/noon with an aperitif and munchies from where one moves on to the dining area around 1pm, and you don’t get out of the table until 5pm.

I kid you not! We ate from the moment we got in until 4pm. NON Stop! We had olives, nuts and shrimps with the aperitif, followed by a salad with crayfish and mussels (OX had my mussels), pork cutlets with a lovely estragon sauce and mushrooms, a cheese plate and finally, fresh strawberries for desert and coffee. Around 4pm we decided we needed to take a short walk to help digest all the food (and fortunately, this was a light meal version. Did you notice? No mention of potatoes or pasta!). We had an awesome time with Pierre and his friend, Françoise.

I wish I could have taken photos of the French dining experience, but I unfortunately forgot the camera memory stick in my laptop. Duh! I’m just glad that we have another two weeks to loose the extra weight we put on until our next outing… We’ll be having an Australian dinner at The Boomerang with TBF’s.

Don’t you just love food and good company to go with it?

***CS-MOM UPDATE***

I spoke to my Mom last night and she is doing much better and her mood is very good.

The weights to support her head have been removed last Friday and she’s sitting upright, now. She’s still wearing her “Aero-spatial” gear (helmet and brace), but if all goes well, she can get rid of that in a couple of days. But first, she has to walk again, so I think she'll have to stay at least until end of this week.

We are cool again

Yup. This morning, our new refrigerator/freezer was delivered.

The Bauknecht service administration called me yesterday to let me know that the delivery truck would be in our region between 9 and 11 am. At 9:15, the doorbell rang (I almost consider this being late for Swiss ....) and to my surprise, there was only one tiny, thin man (about 5'6") standing outside with a tool box. I kept the door open and stuck my head outside after I had let him in, thinking that someone would follow him with our new fridge, and with a short laugh, he said: "There's no one else. Just me."

I must say, our refrigerator/freezers here do not have the dimensions of North American ones, but still, we have many stairs here (split level house) and I wondered how he'd take it down one flight of stairs to the entrance and up two again on his own. After dismanteling the cover panels and pulling out the old fridge, he went out to the truck. I saw him coming back with the new refrigerator strapped on somekind of a trolley. No problem to get to the entrance; we have a bicycle ramp, but then will he ruin our wooden stairs with his trolley? Nope. All of a sudden, I heard an electric motor and see here; he had a stair climber built in to the trolley.

Anyway, the new fridge is installed, filled up again and it works. The one downstais is happy with only wine, beer and non alcoholic drinks. The only thing we have to get used to now is that the freezer part is on the top (and we used to have 3 drawers that I will miss) and the fact that I will probably be running down three flights of stairs to the extra fridge in the coming days for nothing, purely out of habit.

But hey, we're cool again.

Helpless

I’ve never done this on a blog before, but I really feel helpless. I’m sorry if I am difficult to read tonight, but it’s late, I’m very tired and I feel completely off course.

On Saturday, I received a call from my Mom, which I missed because we were out. When I got home, I listened to her cheerful voice on the answering machine and decided I’d call back on Sunday evening (early afternoon EST Canada). I did. When my Mom picked up the phone, I knew something was wrong and she was in BIG pain. Her neck was hurting. At first I thought: A stiff neck. Then she told me that she fell and couldn’t remember a thing. Obviously, she hit her head when falling. I was very worried and told her to call my best friend, who happens to a) be a very close friend of my Mom’s as well, and 2) lives two minutes from her by car. “I don’t know” she said. “She has a life of her own. I don’t want to bother her.” My reply was: “Then I’ll call her. Keep the phone close by. I’ll let you know. ” I did call Chris. She wasn’t home, but her husband was, and I left the message for her to call or go by and see after my Mom’s condition ASAP. As soon as she got home, she called my Mom and told her to get dressed right away. When Chris got there, she knew immediately that my Mom needed care and took her to the emergency. And not too late, for that matter! She was x-rayed and scanned, and the docs discovered that she had broken her C2 (cervical 2) vertebrae! Luckily, her nerves were not injured or damaged, so no sign of paralysis. But imagine if she had "slept" another night with that injury.

She was immediately transferred to Ottawa and she’s doing ok. I called the hospital tonight (and my call was transferred about 15 times before I got to the nurse in charge. Stupid receptionnists!). She’s wearing a halo traction to keep her from moving her head and I’m sure it’s not the nicest thing to wear, but when I spoke to the nurse, she was talking to my mum and she (my mum) said: “Tell her I look like an angel. I’m wearing a halo.” And I cried. I didn’t know if it was out of sorrow, or her sense of humour.

She’s doing ok, now, but….Damn! I feel helpless! I'm so far away! And I’m terrified.

***UPDATE***

First of all, I want to thank all of you for your thoughts, prayers and recovery wishes for my Mom.

I haven't had a chance to talk to her personally yet, because a) her phone is not yet been installed in her room and B) because she's still in that halo traction harness, but she's doing pretty well and her mood is good, (considering the pain and that very uncomfortable position). The last I've hear is that she will now undergo a number of tests incl. cardiograms and they now think that she suffered a small heart attack, which caused her fall. She does have a heart condition (valve and two bypasses), so it is a possibility. I'll keep you in the loop.

The “Ladies, dump it!” Meme and a related subject

My dear Canadian friend Kim from Stepping Stones tagged a few of us blogging ladies including Christina, Expat Traveler, Dixie Peach, Cyndi and Jen (sorry girls, but we have to stick together, right?). Kim, of course, did it, too. (Uhhh... You carry tea in your purse??) And it looks like I'm going to be first to post, too. Do I get a prize for it, Kim? ;)

The rules are as follows:

· Take a photo of the handbag/purse that you are using today
· Dump it out and take another photo
· Make a list of everything in your bag
· And now the most embarrassing… Post it on your blog.

So, here it is: my handbag. Not very big (about 30x18x10cm, or 12x7x4 inches), but you will be surprised to see what I can fit in there.

Now for the content (for your entertainment):

- Chewing gum
- Kleenex tissues
- Sunglasses (with case - in photo, (mis)used as Kleenex and chewing gum case)
- Photo of my Dad’s second wedding
- Lighter
- Lip balm
- Car papers
- Pen
- Canadian Passport (still in there from our last trip to Canada?? Now safely put away.)
- Boarding card slips from our last trip to Canada (were in my passport)
- Cell phone
- Bulky wallet - due to too many cards (discount/shopping/debit/credit/health/business, etc.), too much small change, the last 3 days' shopping lists, and a few old grocery store receipts
- Keys (one set for the house and car and one set for the garage)
- Last, but not least… a tampon (I know, I’m always prepared)

There.

Kim was also asking if she her hubby was the only one to have a phobia about looking for something in her purse. The answer is: No. You are not alone. OrangeX used to be like that, too, until I got angry and told him to just pick whatever he needed out. Today, he just asks first and takes whatever he needs. I know however, that some women are allergic to anyone (not to mention their hubby) getting even near their precious handbag/purse and go into a humungous fit about it should the "scoundrel" attempt to do so. I don’t get it.

And why should men need something from their spouse’s purse, you ask? Because when couples go out, the spouses often carry the men’s keys, wallets and anything else that would look absurd if it were all stuffed in the front and/or back pocket of their trousers. This brings me to the next point.

I have now considerably reduced the size (and weight when going out) of my handbags because O-X has gotten himself not one, but two man bags. And today, he never leaves the house without it. He has everything in there: mobile phone, wallet, keys, cigarettes, lighter, papers, etc. AND it does not look ridiculous (unless the male wearing it looks ridiculous to start with). It will only make you look (and feel) strange if you don’t wear it with a certain confidence. It’s by far better than having strange and unnatural looking bulges all over the mid-part of your body.

So. Women, stand up for your rights. Why should you be the one to carry everything on a night out?

And men, what is this phobia with the wife’s handbag anyway? If you (or she) have that much of a problem with it, get yourself a man bag.

Now, go see what the other ladies are carrying around. I will.

PS: I'm not tagging anyone, but if you feel like it, go ahead ladies (and men with man bags are welcome to join as well)

Frozen goods first!

Last Friday, I was at my computer in the dining room when all of a sudden, I heard a loud sound, something like „Rrrrr -Ra-Ta-Thump“ coming from the kitchen. I checked and everything seemed normal again. I was pretty sure that it came from the fridge, though.

On Saturday afternoon, I went to the kitchen to take out some milk and noticed that it was not very cold. I verified the setting, but it was still in 3, so it should have been cold enough. I could still hear the motor running and the light was on, so it couldn’t be a fuse. Odd. I then checked in the lower freezer part. O-ooooh! The ice cubes in the top drawer were already starting to melt. OrangeX and I immediately took the still frozen goods down to the basement in our second refrigerator-freezer. Luckily, we didn’t have very much in the kitchen freezer and only a few items had to be thrown away. Next thing to do was to transfer the contents of the kitchen fridge and bring them downstairs as well.

First thing on Monday morning, I called our real estate management company (we rent our house) and an hour later, I received a phone call from the repairman himself, who said that he could come by at 1:15 that same day. At 1:10 pm (typically Swiss), the doorbell rang and at 1:25 pm, he was out again. Diagnosis: After 13 years of service, our Bauknecht refrigerator has passed away, kicked the bucket, bitten the dust. May it rest in peace. Amen.

Anyway, we’ll be getting a new refrigerator-freezer, hopefully, by the end of this week. I can’t wait. I’m sick of running up and down the stairs every time to pick something out of the fridge!