My new location: http://www.blogz.ch/mrs7valleys/

Can't write here any more...says my browser is too old, ha! And I'm really having difficulties...so I've switched, yet again. The new one also says my browser's outdated, ha! ha! but at least it lets me work normally...time for a new computer i methinks, not just a new browser... Meanwhile, I'm in the process of printing out all my blog entries from here (making a little, uhm, not so little diary) and also saving them on disk. Once I'm done, I shall delete this blog. Thanks everyone. It's been fun on here....see you on the new site...

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

What I cannot see does not exist.

Wait, wait now. All of you who know me, stop waving your hands in the air yelling "What happened to the 21st century open-minded lover of and believer in science and technology?!" and let me elaborate a little.

I'm not talking here about a distant galaxy billions of light years away from Earth that we cannot see but it's there nonetheless. And I'm not talking about a tiny microbe floating about in our bloodstream which we cannot see, but it's there nonetheless making us sick and all. What I AM talking about here is...dirt.

Yes, dirt. The one in my house. Particularily the one hiding along the wooden beams up along the ceiling or in the little nooks and crannies that are all over the apartment. Oh, I know it's there, but I choose to believe it is not. Why? Because I choose to ignore it and leave it there be. When you live at the top floor of a chalet-type house with a sloping roof and huge exposed wooden beams crisscrossing each other above your head, you tend to be the victim of all kinds of dust collecting on, behind and in between those beams high up there and undisturbed.

Of course I can disturb it. And how. But seriously people (who know me) what guess you? Would I'd rather spend my time reading about the latest cancer research developments, or the latest supernova discovered, or would I rather spend my time perched up 4m high on a rackety lader with a mooshy wooshy dust thingie swatting at dust bunnies??

Correct. And therefore, to make myself feel less (if not at all) guilty about my preferrence in daily activities, I've chosen to believe that what (dust) I cannot see does not exist. Period.

I should mention here that my lovely husband (who knows me better than I even know myself) has conveniently volunteered to go after those dust bunnies himself next spring. How I love the man!

Only in Switzerland

Imagine going to your friendly neighbourhood butcher shop to buy your meat for the week. Now imagine your freindly neighbourhood butcher handing you your bag with goodies and saying, with a freindly smile: "That comes to 72.00 swiss franks sir." Ok, now imagine that you reach in your pocket and realize you've forgotten your wallet at home. Keep imagining. Imagine, just for a second, that you smile back at your friendly neighbourhood butcher and say: "Oh gosh, I seem to have forgot my wallet, but thank you for the meat, I'll be sure to pay you next week when I'm in." Still with me? Now imagine, just for a split second, that your friendly neighbourhood butcher, still smiling his friendly smile, hands you the grocery bag, thanks you for shopping at your friendly neighbourhood butcher shop and even holds the door open for you so your son can roll out on his tricycle. A nice euthopian dream, no? No.

That just happened to my husband this morning. Only in Switzerland. Well, hold on, that's not entirely true. Because, you see, I'm not sure if that would have gone down like that somewhere in Zurich or Geneva. But in this little, sleepy, swiss Alp village, it sure does. In this little, sleepy, swiss Alp village, where (for better or for worse...and in this case, for better) "everybody knows your name, and they're sure glad you came", even if you came without your wallet. After all, they know where you live!

Turns out my husband forgot a couple of things and I'm on my way now (soon as I finish typing) back to our friendly neighbourhood butcher shop to get them. Oh, and pay the bill!