Unforgettable Moments

“Unforgettable” is what's playing on OX’s iPod right now as I type. How fitting! Those moments were unforgettable.

I can’t believe that two weeks have passed already – not to mention the thousands of driven kilometers, hundreds of photos and short nights! My best friend, Christiane and her adorable husband Robert a.k.a. Bob are back at home with their two boys. We had an incredible time with them and I will be writing many posts about the time we spent together. But let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

We picked them up from Basel Airport Friday, July 4th and let them settle in. Once they had put their luggage in their room, we met on the terrace for a welcome drink and snacks. I was hoping they had been able to get a bit of shut-eye on the flight, but no such thing. Both were way too excited to sleep. They didn’t care. There would be enough time to catch up for the lack of sleep – so they thought ;) ! Only Bob went for a short nap before dinner (I’m sure the drinks helped) but Chris did manage to wake him up for a late dinner. OX prepared his chicken-strawberry salad and added a few chicken wings on the BBQ. Yummy!

We even had an extra guest: Buddy. Buddy is a hedgehog that has been visiting us regularly for the past 5-6 weeks, or so. We feed him small portions of dry cat food - we don't want him to stop hunting for his food- and plenty of water. He actually eats out of our hand and he brought friends, too, but he's the only "bold one" and lets us scratch his chin. Ain't he just the cutest little flea bag?? ;)

Once the bellies we filled, our friends were quite ready for a nap. That was a good thing, too, because we had invited Thomas and Nicole for dinner the next evening and our two travelers should be more or less fit.

On Saturday, we did a few groceries, and then we just hung around in our back yard and chatted until it was time to prepare the dinner. I marinated a nice pork filet for the grill while OX prepared his sate and Indonesian fried rice. Our guests arrived on time and Thomas was really happy to see Chris and Bob again. I think he hadn’t seen both together since 2000, or so. Thomas is my Ex, as most of you already know, and still we get along very well.

Nicole was immediately taken up into Chris and Bob's friends' circle. Later, we turned up some mood music and at some point, the iPod played salsa music to which Tom and Nicole just had to dance.

Later, between the two courses, we took a small break and Christiane sang for us. She has the voice of an angel. Now that’s what I call entertainment! First a dance show, then food, then music and then more food! It can’t get much better than that, now can it? Look at the proud husband!

It was a wonderful start to a great two weeks! More to come. I’ve already spent all afternoon editing photos and by no means all of them just yet, but I had to put something on the blog! Enjoy!

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

Meet Cousin Spooky

Is it safe?? CS is in the kitchen preparing dinner, Orange-X is out on a business trip and CS' laptop is open and on. Great stuff! *grinning and rubbing paws*

Ok. When my CS & O-X returned from their trip to Canada, CS took me on her lap and showed me a picture of my cousin, Spooky. Let me tell you, this feline carries his name. He's a real big fella! Spooky big!

Younger Cousin Spooky lives with his humans, CS' cool relatives, Sylvain and Gail, and their daughter Catherine (they apparently hate titles like uncle and aunt). They say that last summer, Spooky weighed about 10.5 kg (23 pounds), but since it was winter and he hates the cold (=doesn't get as much exercise), CS guessed that he probably had a pound or two more on him.

Man! I thought King da Cat (he adopted the TBFs) and I were big! But look at this.
Isn't he awsome!

Click on picts to enlarge

Hey guys, let's have a party! King, you follow TBF to his car when he drives to visit Andy and Di, Spooky, you sneak into Catherine's luggage when she comes over to Europe in a few weeks. I'll organise the rest, and bring a few mice and some Iams for you King. *stre-e-e-e-etch*

Oh, fringgin' cat whiskers! Gotta go. I hear CS coming.

E-Mail me: dale2006ch@hotmail.com