Austria 2007 - Part 2

Okay, guys. If you want to understand this trip, you'll have to read this one first (if you haven't, yet). Plus, Pinky has sent me new pictures that he too, that I have added to the link at the bottom of the previous post.

Where was I?? Oh, yeah. So, the next day (Friday), we slept in and had a late breakfast. O-X and I decided to go for a bit of shopping in Wiener-Neustadt while the others preferred to stay home and watch a DVD before going out for dinner and another evening at the Backstage Bar. The weather was much better and except for some wind, it was quite sunny, but cool. We found a few very nice stores and came back with two full bags of new acquisitions that we tried to squeeze into our already overfilled suitcases (we were prepared for both hot and cool & rainy weather).

Shortly after we returned, the five of us drove to a really nice restaurant in close to the bar (I forget the name, but I’m sure Pinki can help me). As we were reading the card, the running gag started again and we checked if there were any kid’s menus available, usually known as Mickey Mouse/Pumukl and/or Donald Duck plates in Europe. We also kept calling Chris “Kevin” and as the waitress came to take our order, Chris said he wanted one of the aforementioned “kids’ dinners”. She laughed and then he gave her his “real” order. When they were pouring the wine, Chris asked if they needed to see his ID. Anyway, we laughed through the whole meal. The best scene, however, was when the waitress came to us carrying five small oval plates and said “a small (appetite) teaser with greetings from the kitchen” with a bit of cucumber salad decorated with a shrimp that looked like this.

Teaser, indeed! We were laughing tears! We soon found out that the cook was a woman, which kind of explained everything. Obviously, something was missing in her life. The rest of the dinner was excellent, but we just couldn’t get over the free phallus-like appetizer.

Around 10pm, we headed back to the Backstage Bar. Since it was a long weekend and many had gone out of town, Pinki and Andrea weren’t expecting too much activity. I was still surprised at the number of people appearing and all in all, it was pretty well frequented, despite the long weekend. The music wasn’t too loud and the atmosphere was great. I can say with certainty that 90% of my readers would love it there. I ordered myself a sekt (bubbly) that was okay, but a too acid for my taste. When Jackie, one of the wonderful barmaids that we lovingly call Esmeralda (from the Hunchback of Notre-Dame: see self-explanatory pict) came back to take our next order, I was not sure whether I should have another one of these sekts, so she proposed I try the prosecco in a can (yes, the one that Paris Hilton advertises).

I hesitated, but she assured me that it was better than the one I just had. Y'know what? She was right. I was really surprised. It was no match to the real thing, but pretty good. Around 1am, Orange got a little hungry and ordered a “Backstage Teller” (Backstage plate) that consists of Serrano Ham, sour pickles, olives, peppers filled with cream cheese, parmesan chunks and bread sticks. Mmmm.

At some point, we saw this guy at the bar drinking just a wee bit too much over his initial thirst and was taking a "bar snooze". All of a sudden, he got up and walked straight towards us. Since we had been watching him for some time, we were a bit afraid that he might have felt offended. Or did he just want to have some conversation? So, he staggered towards us, took a seat right between Chris and Pinki, and fell back in a deep sleep within seconds.

Orange-X tried to see whether he was still ok, but decided to try and blow some fresh air on his neck, but the sleep persisted. At some point, he was slowly but surely slipping to the side, and "Kevin" caught him just in time and put him back in a (more or less) vertaical posistion. Poor guy (the drunk, I mean). I have nothing agains going a bit over the limit once in a while when you're really having fun with friends, but I'm not sure the guy even had fun, and if he did (at some point), he's forgotten all about it. So sad.

At 3.30 am, while "Kevin" and I were still chatting away as had we known each other for years (maybe we should share the adoption costs with Pinki and Andrea), OX started helping Pinki and Andrea clean up while a buddy of our sleeping beauty was trying to wake him up. Both of them finally stumbled out of the bar as they waved goodbyes to the staff - I think. Or were they just trying to catch their balance?? I guess we'll never know.

By the time we got out of the Backstage, it was somwhere around 4.30 am and when we got home, we had all passed our "tired phase", so we opted for a last nightcap that Pinki had brought from the bar. The weather was cool, but very nice and we all watched the sun rise cuddled up in a huge blanket. When we went to bed, it must have been something like 6.15 am. What a night!(...and we all remember it all very clearly)!

We were woken up by a call on OX's mobile phone the next (same!) day at 11.30. OX had set the alarm, but kept putting it on "snooze". It was Ernst, our next stop in Austria. We got up and showered, and OX went out to get coffee and fresh bread while I was getting ready. The weather was beautiful, but we knew that we had a bit of a drive before we reached our friends Ernst and Helga in Mattighofen, a small village about 40 km north of Salzburg.

Saying goodbye to Pinki, Andrea and Chris was harder than the last time we were there, but we're going back in August 9th to see Chris play live at the Backstage Bar. You can be sure that he will get our full attention, just as if he were playing only for us.

It took us londer than we had anticipated to get to Ernst's place, but the beauty of the scenery was well worth it. The weather was fabulous and contrast of the snow topped mountains while driving through thick green forests was breathtaking. We were warmly greeted by Helga and Ernst, and their dog, Jessie.We then spent a wonderful evening with Ernst and Helga with excellent home made regional dish and wines. After dinner, we went for a walk at a nearby creek where Jessie found a new friend. When we got back, Ernst decided to make a nice fire, so we all cuddled up in warm fleeces holding a delicious glass of red wine and talked until short ater midnight. It was really an idyllic and relaxing evening. We crashed into bed, tired but very happy, and woke up to a beatutiful, sun shiny day where breakfast and coffee were already waiting for us in the warm sun. Unfortunately, Ernst had to leave early to join in a town band where he was playing himself, and we said our goodbyes to him, but enjoyed a few more hours talking to Helga.

After a hearty breakfast, while I was relaxing getting myself a dose of light and scent therapy from Helga, Orange decided to take a refreshing dip in the pool and just enjoy the warmth of the sun rays penetrate his pores.

We had to get back home to our furry little friend, so we said our goodbyes to Helga and promised to come by again (August, maybe??). We definitely want to go back. They are such sweethearts.

You'll all "Part II" pictures here.

Was that a perfect little vacation, or what? Tomorrow, I'll be putting up Orange-X's post about last weekend.

PS: Our little camera is getting a bit too old, we think. Sorry for the few pitcs we took at Ernst and Helga's, but it just wouldn't work - most of the time, anyway. Even new batteries seem to get empty in the shortest of time. :(

Austria 2007- Part 1 - Trip to Bad, Bad Fischau

These last few weeks, our schedules have been so full that I’m having trouble focusing on what I’m going to write. Luckily, Orange-X has agreed to post about this weekend and I will take over our trip to Austria. I’ll try to keep it short, but you know me. I will most probably write two or three separate posts because of all we have experienced during our little vacation (not to mention keeping your interest). So this is part one of more to come.

As you may have read here, we had decided to drive off a day earlier and had booked a room at the Crowne Plaza Pitter in Salzburg. The roads were pretty busy, we had rain almost all along, and there was a lot of road construction on the way. It took us over 6 hours (instead of the usual 4 ½ to 5) to get to Salzburg. We found our hotel without too much trouble and checked-in. We had planned to do a bit of sight seeing and maybe find a cosy restaurant, but it was pouring rain and we finally decided to stay at the hotel. We opted to have dinner in the Hotel’s Pitter-Keller for some authentic Austrian comfort food. The portions were huge, and the food and service were great. After dinner, we went for a drink at the bar and then up to our room. Salzburg sight-seeing will have to wait until August, I guess.

Our next stop was Bad-Fischau – I love that name… Bad, bad Fischau!! - just outside Wiener-Neustadt. I was still raining cats and dogs, but nothing could stop us from seeing our good friends, Pinki and Andrea.

After a warm welcome and settling in, we drove off to open up Pinki’s “Backstage Bar" and prepared for the evening. We went to a local restaurant for a quick dinner and then rushed back to the Backstage. The live band, “Laura and the Comrats”, was stuck in the Ascension Day traffic and was running late.

They finally arrived half an hour before the opening and still had to set up and do a sound check. At 8pm, the band was ready, the doors to the Backstage Bar opened and the guests were let in. The first part of the show was a bit slow, if you ask us, but Laura picked-up in the second half and the overall ambiance improved (or was it just us??).

It was a fun evening and we had a great time chatting and laughing with some acquaintances we had made during our previous visits to Bad-Fischau.

The second day was a bit more relaxed, especially since Pinki and Andrea were off, so we decided to go out for dinner at a lovely restaurant called the Triad. Ever hear the expression the more the merrier? We all agreed that it would be fun to ask Birgit and Gerhard (Pinki’s sister and bro-in-law) to join us.

Then Pinki arranged for a lovely surprise: Christoph Schellhorn (remember, the musical wonder from this post?) was to come over and spend the next two days with us since he was in the area and had no gigs planned. Yay! Both Orange and I really liked him the first time we met so it was a thrill for us to see him again. I must add that since last summer, a deep friendship has developed between Chris, Pinki and Andrea. They call him “their adoptive son”. We have now also given him a new nickname (Kevin), but I’ll tell you all about that later.

We drove off for the restaurant and met Gerhard and Birgit on the way so that they could follow us in their car. The Triad is a beautiful old farmhouse, nestled in a striking Austrian countryside landscape and offers fine dining, a driving range and holidays on the farm. We had a wonderful dinner there in an almost perfect atmosphere… The table next to us had brought a hoard of young children (approx. 3-5 years old) with them. Don’t get me wrong here, we like kids, but when they are well behaved, and this kind of restaurant is definitely not a playground. Actually, it’s the parents that we were pissed off about. They did not say a word as the five kids were racing through the dining room, sometimes hitting each other, screeching, crying, and bumping into tables and chairs, aaargh! This is just not the “big golden M” type of restaurant. Ok, I don’t want to get carried away here, so I’ll leave it a that and I think you get my point that it is not only annoying, but can also be dangerous for the kids, guests and the service personnel.
After they left, however, we started making jokes and thinking up silly situation with kids and restaurants, and that’s where “Kevin” came into the picture. Chris being the youngest among us at age 24 and the fact that Pinki had made a few remarks about adopting his “protégé”, we started talking of the movie “Kevin: Home Alone”. That’s how it all got started and became a running gag throughout our stay.

We left the restaurant and got home around 11.30pm. While Pinki opened a bottle of wine, I returned from the bathroom with… guess what… Yes, Chris’ guitar. I swear that on my way out of the bathroom, the case magically opened and the guitar just flew right to me. Really! All right then, it wasn’t quite like that, but I could have sworn that it was moaning and begging for Chris to play it. So, seconds after I had handed Chris (alias Kevin) his guitar, his fingers started tickling the strings and a wide smile spread all over his face. He is not only an awesome guitar player, but as I have mentioned in earlier posts, it’s as if he and the instrument melt into one entity, one soul. It’s pure serenity and well being: it’s written all over his face and you can hear it through every song he plays, which makes it not only a delight to hear him, but also to watch him. He played for us (and himself) until the wee morning hours and we got our own concert once again. Maybe this picture will give you an idea of what I mean.

We'll update soon, guys, but for now, you'll find more picts of part 1 here and hopefully, Pinki will send me his photos soon.

Returned from Austria

Just a short note to let you know that I'll be doing my best to catch up on my blogroll again. The 5-6 days we spent in Austria were just awsome! After 7 hours of driving back including all the traffic jams and road constructions on the way - which we knew we'd have - we got home at 9 pm last night. Then we enjoyed a last dring in our garden.

This coming weekend, Andreas and Suze, friends of ours from the Unterallgäu (south of Munich) will be coming over for the weekend and on Sunday evening, we'll be meeting Mr. and Mrs. TBF for dinner where we also will have the chance to meet fellow bloggers from the USA!! Another fun-filled weekend.

Stay tuned. I'll try to post as soon as possible, but for now, it's back to work.

First things first

I've been lazy and busy lately. When it wasn't the one, it was the other. Orange-X hasn't had a full weekend in weeks, so we've kept the Sundays for ourselves. Selfish, eh? ;) I didn't post on Mother's day, but I have had a lot of contact with my Mom this week - yes, of course I also called her on Mother's Day ;)

I am happy to report that CS Mom is doing very well again. Last Monday, she had her corset and head stabilization removed - after 3 months!! - and has no more pain. She is free!!! How important is freedom, you ask? You stay put for three months in a "bullet proof vest" (that's what she called it) and head harness, having to ask friends and neighbours to take you to the doctor's, bring you some coffee, etc.

She's as happy and excited as a four year old at Christmas! She called me 3 times this week just to tell me how relieved she was and explaining step by step that she had now driven to the corner store all by herself, had no dizzy spells, she slept through a whole night, showered for the first time, washed her hair on her own, cooked herself a meal and was hungry again. The list goes on.

She's been such a good sport about it and was always in a good mood. I'm just happy to have her well again and I am so proud of her! She's one helluva woman.We too often take things for granted. Our life and that of our loved ones hangs on a silk thread. ALWAYS. We never know what can happen and we should never forget that. Life is a gift. Live it.

I love you, Mom! Thank you for giving me life. I hope you had a fun time with *Carl and the kids on Mother's Day.

*my brother

To Pinki we will go...

... and we can hardly wait! Off to Wiener Neustadt!

Although the weather is really crappy right now (it rained all day), I'm all excited about seeing our Austrian friends, *Pinki and Andrea, again. We had planned on leaving early on Wednesday morning, but we've now been thinking of maybe leaving tomorrow aroung noon and staying at one of these romantic little Inns around Salzburg (my idea - *wink wink*). After all, it is an 8 hour drive to Pinki's. It also looks as if the weather would get better and we should be blessed with a few sunny days.

You may remember that Pinki opened up the Backstage Bar just last year in September. The decor is a beautiful mix of modern design and old arched ceilings; the music is easy jazz, funk, soul, groove, “chill out” style. During our last visit, they were rennovating the place, so it was still quite a mess. On Wednesday evening, we will have the pleasure to be there. Yeah! We will be hearing LAURA & THE COMRATS, a young folksblues group from Vienna. From Pinki's description, Laura's voice really goes under your skin, a touch of melancholy, soft and inviting. Knowing Pinki's taste for music, I'm sure it's going to be a great evening - one of many, of course.

On our drive back through Austria, we'll visit other friends of ours, Ernst and Helga, who were also at Pinki's summer party last year. I'm sure that will be fun, too. And it will surely take me a good half hour to get used to Ernst's regional dialect again.

This is going to be such a great 6 days!

*See archives January 2006 and August 2007 and scroll through!!

Good times coming up

If I look back these past few years, the "social season" for us usually start as soon as the days get longer, sunnier and warmer. I find it so much more fun to entertain outdoors. I've always been a fan of picnics of all sorts, from eating simple sandwiches and potato salad on a blanket to the more exotic foods and wines at a nicely decorated table on the patio. I get some kind of a vacation feeling.

We also enjoy planning short trips during the "season". March/April to June is usually a very good time in Europe because of all the long weekends we enjoy. It starts with Fasnacht (Basel Carnival), followed by Good Friday and Easter Monday, then May 1st (Labour Day), Ascension Day and Whit Monday. Depending on the canton, you'll have a few more after that.

We'll be pretty busy socializing these coming weeks (and you all know how much we love that). Here's a short preview of the coming weeks. We have planned a 5 day trip to Austria the week after next to visit our friends Pinki and Andrea, we'll be meeting up with a U.S. fellow blogger on May 27th (I'm not revealing who, just yet), just before that, Andreas and Suzanne will come from Bavaria to visit us in Basel, a trip to Amsterdam the first weekend of June - where we'll miss meeting up with Ginnie by ONE day! - and then Brenda and Harry will come over for a weekend mid-June.

I don't know what's after that yet, but I'm sure that the good times will not stop there.

Stay tuned and have a great week.

Alie's annual BBQ - 2007

This is going to be a long post, folks, so bare with me... or not ;)

Yesterday, we were invited to the annual "Alie's Barbecue". Every year, Andy and Di, Alie's parents, organise a barbecue up on a nearby ridge to celebrate her birthday. Because of the unusually hot April and lack of rain, it was forbidden to grill in wooded areas. So, Andy and Di decided to go over to plan B. We got to their place early to give them a hand (a few meters walking distance) and found Mr. and Mrs. TBF there already. After a bit of chit-chat, our tasks were assigned. Orange-X would drive up with Andy to unload two car loads of drinks and cold foods and he would then stay there to stand guard.

TBF was the "Grill Doctor" or “ Dr. Weber”, armed of course with tongs and welding gloves. Mrs. TBF and I were the “BBQ-nurse” and “BBQ-trainee nurse” (also apparently called “candy girl” because of the red/white striped uniforms they wear) were responsible for feeding the two grills with a new load of sausages or carrying the perfectly cooked ones to the kitchen oven to keep warm until all were done. TBF mentioned something about a French maid’s outfit, but both Mrs. TBF and I agreed that it was not the proper attire for a BBQ. If you look carefully at the photo, you might see the sweat pearling on his forehead and his soaked bandana. Men at work??

Di had walked up to the ridge with a first group and Andy was keeping busy either accompanying the next bunch up, or then bringing new pans of sausage to grill, and making sure our glasses were filled. It was a very warm day and standing by the two Weber grills brought TBF to a sweat so that every beer he drank just seemed to evaporate through his pores. Once all sausages were done, we carried the food to the car. Just as we were loading-up, the first drops of rain came down, but only for a few minutes. The sun poked through soon after we had reached the ridge and from then on, the weather was perfect.

We knew quite a few faces already such as Rammy and John, Rita and Eric, Wendy and Alan, and Markus and Nicole, but many were new and it was fun to get to meet them all. You guys must be wondering (from my last post) where the belly buttons come in, right? I think this is what I meant by “the big kids”. Don’t ask me how or who started talking about it, but in no time, our little group started comparing belly buttons. You’ll notice that TBF took the picture because of the angle. Only the hairy belly (OX’s – of course, pushing it out for a better view) is more or less in the right focus because of his height.

Now to the high-tech part. TBF actually has a pair of very special flip-flops… with built-in bottle opener. That’s right! I know that in North-America, most beer bottles have twist tops, but many European beers still use the standard caps on beer. See? It works.


The kids had a blast too. They were playing, eating, laughing, playing again, and at some point, they decided it was too hot and started to dig out the melted ice from the coolers with the plastic cups and showering each other with it. Mrs. TBF and I were there just in time to rescue the wobbling bottles of precious wine that was still on the picnic table. We asked the kids to take out whatever bottles were left in the cooler and move to a “safer spot” with the cooler. So they continued their splashing game further away from the adults (read: so that we could act like kids without them noticing). We could very well hear the kids screaming and giggling and throwing water at each other, but then the sound came closer. The “unarmed kids” were running towards the "adult safety zone". Well, so much for the safety zone. Somehow, Sam, Di and Andy's son, was running beside a little girl and probably bumped into her. She was holding on to one of these cups filled with ice cold water. Untill... Sam accidentally bumped into her. And the cold water, you ask? You guessed it. (Drum roll) It landed right ON MY BUTT!


A shiver rand down my spine and I started laughing. The little girl felt really bad about it and apologized. I told her that it was ok. It's just water, but now she had to pose with me. Pay your dues, right? There she is. Caught 'ya!





Here are a few random pictures to keep you busy. I’m still wondering if Di was camera shy this year. She somehow she escaped all of our photos.

The girls

Alan

Rammy, Mrs. TBF and Henry

Andy

Anyway, around 7.30pm, this guy (a community official) came over to tell us that it was “Fahrverbot” (no “driving” motorized vehicles allowed). I tried to tell him that the only cars up there were to carry the stuff up and down again (of course, I stretched the truth a bit, but most of them were). I don’t know what his problem was, but he wouldn’t listen to what I said and just kept repeating: “Hier ist Farhverbot.” But, hey, no was driving at that point and the engines were not running. So we cleaned up and drove to Di and Andy’s for a few more drinks. Note: we were really good adults that evening. Really. No abuse.

Five of our “men” – now here comes the part where the adults never grow up – decided to play a round of soccer (football for the Europeans) with the 13 (!!) kids. They had fun, but…. After about an hour, we already had the first “casualty”. John had been fouled – that’s his version of it, anyway ;) - by an 11 (?) year old. He came in limping, and I do believe that it was quite painful. His ankle was already being promoted to the size of a baseball. Di immediately got an elastic bandage and ice packs. I bandaged his foot – I have discovered a new talent... probably from all my sports injuries - , but I think this one was more meant for children’s wrists than constantly swelling adult’s ankle. I ran home to get a longer bandage, but I just couldn’t find it. Damn. Always when you really need it, it disappears. So I came back with a lot of gauze and tape to at least give him some support. OX did the bandaging this time (HA! Always good to have an (ex-) physiotherapist in the house). Very professional.

Short after that incident, the kids were sent to bed and we left about half an hour after that. I went to bed and O-X came up shortly after because he had to get up at 4.30 to go to Chiasso/TI. Unfortunately, he got a fever during the night and cold sweats (NO. It wasn’t because of me – well, not this time). The next day, his legs were itching and driving him nuts. There we have the second casualty of the game. He had this before when playing in the soccer field with Sam and he must react VERY badly to some kind of plant in that field.

Anyway, that’s the end of a very fun evening with only a few minor incidents, except for John: I hope that he’s doing better.

Have a great week.

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.