Roxanne/The Police

A Neighbourly Encounter

It is the end of October and warm, golden days are being replaced with chilly, gray days. This means, of course, that very soon the winter season will be upon us. And that means the end of me being able to walk home from work. So, as this realization came into my head as i was working on my last patient yesterday afternoon, and as i looked out the windows of my room to see that the sun was still shining, i decided that was the perfect opportunity to squeeze in one more, possibly last walk. After dismissing my patient, i poked my head outside to check the temperature. It was bearable. My mind was made up. I bundled up and headed home.

There are many ways one can walk from my place of work in Schönried to my home in Saanen. I know of three, two of which i have already tried out. The third way is a bit longer than the other two, but according to a colleague of mine, who has walked that way before on her way home to Gstaad, it would take about 50-55 min, as opposed to the 45 min going the other two ways. Not so bad, i thought. So i chose to go that way, along Gruben Strasse. That was a mistake. Gruben Strasse swoops down from Schönried towards Gstaad until it meets the main road leading from Gstaad to Saanen. One must walk almost to Gstaad along Gruben Strasse and then double over back to Saanen on the main road, in contrast to the other ways which lead directly down to Saanen. Long story short, it took me over an hour to get home. By then, dusk was falling and the cold air had seeped through my clothes right down to my bones.

I was 1.5min away from my house, frozen, exhausted, aching. All i wanted was to get in the warm house and get inside the hot bath. And that's when it happened. I was rudely (and that is extremely unbecoming to the Swiss) accosted by our neighbour. Here's how it went down:

Her: "Hello."

Me: "Good Evening"

I proceed to walk past her and towards my house.

Her: "You don't say much, do you?"

I stop mid-stride and turn back to her.

Me: "Pardon me?"

Her: "You don't ever say anything to me. All this time, you don't speak to me. Why?"

Me thinking to myself: "Please lord, i just wanna get home. I really don't need this right now"

Me: "I'm sorry, I'm really not unfriendly. I don't speak much because i can't. I'm not form here, you see, i come from Canada and my German is not that great."

Her: "Oh"

Pause.

Me thinking to myself: "I'm turning around and i'm leaving...right....now..."

Her: "I didn't know that. Where in Canada do you come from? How come i don't detect the usual accent English people have when they speak German?"

Me thinking to myself: "Oh my God, i'm not getting into this with this woman right now. I JUST WANNA GO HOME DAMN IT!!!"

Me: "Oh really? I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks."

It's full dark now. I can't feel my frozen limbs.

Her: "How long have you been here in Switzerland?"

Me thinking to myself: "Please God, what did i do to deserve that? Please. I just wanna go home, please"

Me: "Oh, not really that long, only three years."

Her: "Wow, your German is very good for only three years. My English is horrible."

Me: "Oh, huh." and thinking "OK, i'm turning around and walking away.....now....now!"

Her: "I said something to you the other day and you didn't say anything back!"

Me thinking to myself: "Holy shit, i thought we went over this already!"

Me: "Oh really? Sorry, i probably did not understand you, really, did not mean to be rude."

Her: "Yeah, now i know."

Me: "OK then, so....uhmm, have a nice evening."

I do really turn around this time and start walking away towards my warm, cozy, comfy house with my sweet hubby waiting for me there.

Her: "Ok, yeah, you too. Till next time."

Me thinking to myself: "Till next time???I hope not, you crazy psycho nuts woman. You need help. You're a disgrace to the nice, polite, friendly Swiss people!"

I walk away without saying another word.

Once inside the house and in my husband's warm arms, i tell him about crazy psycho nuts woman. He doubles over laughing hysterically. "OK, sorry....laughter...she is crazy, yes." Crazy? She's insane!

I don't see the problem of living next door to someone and saying hello when you see them outside their house once in a while. And not only because i don't feel so utterly comfortable with my possession of the German language, but i tent to be the type of person who's friendly but not obnoxious. And do forgive me if i don't engage in a meaningless conversation about the weather or gossip about the other neighbours. I've got a life. When i pass your place, it's because i'm usually going someplace where i need to be, or coming back form someplace and really just wanting to go home where i can relax and not be bothered by any unwanted individuals. So, when i pass your place on my way to or from life, and you happen to be outside, i acknowledge you, i smile at you and i greet you. Why is that not enough??????

Pumpkin Soup

the source of our pumpkin

Jamie Oliver's Pumpkin and Rice Soup With Coconut Milk

Lana's Version


'Tis the season for pumpkins and since we had gotten one from a pumpkin stand a while ago, we decided to....no, not to carve it into a Jack-O-Lantern, which would have been cool, since "Halloween" does not exist in Switzerland....but to make pumpkin soup out of it.




I had never made soup of any kind in my life before and neither had my husband. As much as i love to cook, i am not creative when it comes to that, so i always follow existing recipes or modify them a bit. Last Christmas, my very good friends gave me a cookbook as a present. But not just any cookbook, Jamie Oliver's "Essen Ist Fertig" which translates into "food is ready" but i'm sure it's called something else in English. Anyways, i admire Jamie a great deal for two major reasons. First, he's a Brit AND a great chef, which is a contradiction in itself, but that is exactly why he's so successful. And second, his recipes are very easy to follow, do not include "fancy-schmancy" hard-to-find ingredients, and take no time to prepare.



So, hubby and i looked through Jamie's book and found a recipe for pumpkin soup. With a few modifications on my part, it turned out to be the best soup we've ever eaten. No joke and no showing off. Seems James, hubby and i make a great cooking team. We even ate the soup in the original pumpkin crust which we used as bowls as suggested by Jamie. Delicious!



As requested by a friend of mine, i am including both recipes in this post. Jamie's original and my modified one. Try it, friend, and let me know how it goes!



Jamie's Pumpkin Soup Recipe: see photo


Lana's Pumpkin Soup:


In a soup pot, saute onions, garlic, ginger and lemon grass in olive oil with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, oregano and a teaspoon of soya sauce. Add 3 cups (or however many you want) of chicken/vegetable bullion and stir everything up from the bottom of the pot. Bring to boil. Add pumpkin cubes and chopped carrots. Cook for about 15 min or until pumpkin and carrots are soft. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup coconut milk and blend it all together. Sprinkle some freshly chopped parsley on top. Serve with pumpernickel or whole wheat bread and full bodied shiraz wine and enjoy!




Tip: cut the pumpkin in half cross-section, take out most of the pumpkin meat, spread a bit of butter/margarine along the inside and bake in oven for about 15 min, then use pumpkin halves as soup bowles! And when you get to the bottom, scoop out some more butter-roasted pumpkin meat from the bottom. Yum!



Note: Jamie uses rice in his soup which i substitute with carrots, only because my husband is not a rice fan.

Our New Ride

this is our Nissan in the garage

and here it is in front of our house later the same day

So we have ourselves a new car, which is by no means "new", but it sure is new to us. It's a 1996 Nissan Primera, an 11 year-old grandma in the body of a 2 year-old girl, lol. It's true. The car is old in years but it has been very well taken care of and is in great shape both on the outside and inside (engine). Most important, it's automatic, which means that i can finally drive! Very exciting! Our only concern is how it will perform in the winter on the icy, zigzagging Swiss roads, up and down the mountains. Unfortunately, it is not a 4WD, which is what we would have preferred in an automatic, so we'll have to wait and see how it does. But for now, we're very happy, for it's a nice family sedan, which, with any luck (and that is really all you need when buying a new used car) will serve us and our future family for a long time.

Heroes

Superheroes. I've been fascinated by them since i was a child and my fascination only grew stronger as i grew older. Could be because in my not too long but full of interesting experiences life, i have come to realise that they do really exist. You can call me naive or crazy, you can laugh at me if you like, but i stand by my belief. And they come in various shapes and sizes, all possessing various skills, but they do all fall in one of only two categories: good vs. evil. That is to say, some of them use their skills to help others and some of them use them to harm. Not all of them are aware of their powers but they all know how to use them, consciously or subconsciously. Those of them who realise that they are somehow different and special are stronger. Those of them who realise that they are superheroes are the strongest, most powerful of all. You could think of them as "Jedi and Sith", if that is easier to understand, or "Harry Potter and Valdamore". But i know them for what they are. Superheroes.

There have been many movies and shows depicting superheroes and their stories. Some examples are X-Men, Unbreakable, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, and so on and so forth, and recently, i have been introduced to yet another T.V. series which dares to explore this intriguing subject. Heroes. Naturally, the powers the superheroes possess in the show are exaggerated, since i tend not to believe that a girl can break her ribs only to push them back inside her body and be regenerated fully in an instant, or that a man can shut his eyes and will himself 5 weeks into the future in a different continent, but that, like i mentioned above, is only an exaggeration of the real superheroes powers, and i only said, i tent not to believe which means that those kinds of people could very well exist, unless proven otherwise. In my opinion, Heroes is directed beautifully, the actors are well cast, and the story itself is a success from the start. I've only seen the season premiere of the first season, but i know the show is a success in North America and i predict the same fate for it here in Europe.

They are out there, walking among us. Do you know one?

The BeaTrips-Japanese Beatles Cover Band - Come Together

This here is the epiphany of cool! No, it really doesn't get any cooler than that!!

I mean, it's "Come Together" by the Beatles, which in itself is an extremely cool song, but here it's being covered by a JAPANESE band, which is just....the epiphany of cool!

Why wasn't i at that concert drinking my high tea and singing along with those guys??? This is fucking sick!!!

These guys cover other Beatles songs, but this has to be the coolest shit ever!!

High Tea

I was waiting for the train on Friday morning last week to go down to Bern city for lunch and shopping with friends. I felt a little thirsty so i walked over to the vending machine to see what it has to offer. I don't drink carbonated drinks, so I was looking for some juice, or ice tea, since it was early in the morning and i wanted a little pick-me-upper, and coke was out of the question.

As i scanned the rows of drinks, my eyes were drawn to a loud orange can with a green leaf on its cover. I looked closer. It was ice tea....with a kick! I wasn't expecting that kind of pick-me-upper but i couldn't pass up the opportunity to get legally high, lol! The flavour was quite intense. Fantastic natural feeling, you bet! The can itself, of course, was completely biodegradable, made out of cardboard, so it went back to feed more of the cannabis plants, cuz we need those for ice tea, people!

And it proudly advertises its pure Swiss origin on the front. Ricola, move over!

Ayrton Senna fatal crash - live from ESPN

Announcing the death of Ayrton Senna

To all who complain about F1 safety regulations, speed limitation, engine manipulation, etc.

The blackest day of F1 racing, loss of a legend. Aerton, we miss you dearly and will forever!

After i saw this crash live, i swore i would never watch F1 again, and i did not for over 5 years, but now, i have once again given in to what's dear to my heart, automobile racing, speed, great men displaying great skill for our enjoyment.

Senna, i'm sorry i didn't keep my promise, but i think you still watch it too from up there :)

Rest in peace my hero!

We're the Proud Grandparents of a Sunflower

A while back in the beginning of summer, on our one year wedding anniversary, my husband and i planted some mini/dwarf sunflowers in a pot. They took. We had about five little ones that grew and needed more space. So i re-planted four of them in the backyard and left one in the pot.

Sadly, the four sunflowers in the backyard did not make it. A couple of days after i re-planted them there, something devoured them completely. Only four little sticks were left there. We were quite disappointed but we still had one of our babies in the pot, so all hope was not lost. We took good care of it, like we never did before. We watered it regularly and kept it in the sunshine which is what sunflowers love. It grew and blossomed and suddenly, we noticed something else, a second little stem coming out of the same hole in the earth where our sunflower was planted. Our baby had a baby!

We weren't sure if the little one is going to make it, but it did. It blossomed a few weeks ago just as the "mother" one was closing up. Now we don't know what will become of them. Will they give seeds?? That'd be pushing it, i think, but we'll have to wait and see.

This whole thing has inspired me to try out my green thumb again next spring. My husband wants a vegetable garden. Hmmm.... Baby steps, i say, baby steps.