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!

"All (little) Eyes On Me, In The Center of the Rink (Uh, I mean shower), Just Like A Circus" ... Uh huh!

Pop Quiz: How do you shower while you're being watched by two curious two-year-olds?
Answer: Very fast!

Yesterday morning I jump in the shower, just like any morning. About two minutes into it, as I'm humming along, the bathroom door swings open and two two-year-olds rush in, splat their faces on the shower door and yell: Whatcha doin'? Whatcha doin'?

For the love of God and all that is holy!!!

Any normal person with half a brain in their scull would have locked the door of the bathroom as they go in to have a shower knowing their son and his little girlfriend are playing around in the house. I, however, posess no gray matter and therefore forgot to do that. Yes, I was lucky, one of my observers was my son and the other, a girl. Yes, I realize it could have been worse - they could have been twelve with an iPhone in hand and access to the internet. But STILL! Imagine trying to shower with two little flat noses against the shower door and four little curious eyes staring at you. What the hell were we thinking when we bought a glass shower door anyway? No, not tinted glass. No, not frosted glass either. Just plain, seethrough glass. Well I'll tell you what we were NOT thinking. We were surely not thinking that about three years into the future we'll have a son and he'll have a friend and one day Momma's gonna forget to lock the bathroom door when she went in to have a shower.

"Whatcha doin' now?"
"Well, now I'm lathering up with the shower gel, making lots of bubbles..see the bubbles? See?"
"And now? Whatcha doin' now?"
"Well, now I'm shaving my leggs."
"And whatcha doin' now?"
"For crying in the sink, don't you kids have anything more interesting to do out there???!!!"
"No."

I tell ya, I shall never forget to lock the darn door ever again! Even when I'm all alone in the house!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011
To Dry Or Not to Dry

This is the big question in my family at the moment. Drying dishes. Simple enough task but oh the cause of so much discussion in my household as of late.

I am of the opinion that drying the dishes is a total waste of perfectly good time and energy that can be spent on something(s) so much more important or fun. The dishes can't wash themselves, so you gotta wash them. But they can surely dry themsleves if you just leave them there, so why shouldn't you? bracket:we do have a dishwasher, but here we talk about some oversized pots and pans or casserole dishes or delicate ones which can't go in the machine:end bracket.

Now, my husband is of the opinion that we should most definitely dry the dishes after we've washed them. His reasoning: that way they don't sit there in a huge pile beside the sink being a thorn in the eye and there's no water spots (true, we do have very hard water up here).

So now we've had this debate for a couple of weeks and frankly, I'm getting tired of it. Hope my husband is too.

Monday, February 8, 2010
Bottles Up, Uhrr, I Mean, Bottoms Up!

Yesterday, my baby graduated from the breast to the bottle. Big step. How do I feel? Well, my feelings are mixed.

Those of you who know the kind of problems we had with breastfeeding from the start might think, hey, what mixed feelings, rejoyce! Yes, I do rejoyce, but I'm also a bit sad.

I rejoyce because I'm free. I can now eat and drink whatever I want and whenever I want and as much of it as I want. I can also wear normal bras and tops, and not ones with openings on the front, which, mind you, my husband thought....well, nevermind now, let's not get off topic here :) In other words, I now have my body back, fianlly. But it's also sad that my baby's all grown up and so fast. I will miss the closeness, the nurturing and being needed.

I think back 6 months ago and remember the infections, the fever, the sore, cracked nipples and the pain, the leaking, the loooong, frequent feeds. Man, it felt like my baby was hanging on my boob the whole time. I remember eating something I loved and then having to pay for it with a cranky, collicky baby because it didn't agree with him. Yes, when I think of those times, I sure am glad they are behind us.

But if I think back only a couple months, breastfeeding had become easy and even, yes, enjoyable. I could afford to eat a bigger variety of foods without my baby getting an upset tummy, the leaking had stopped or subsided quite a bit, the nipples had gotten used to the constant abuse and were not hurting anymore and my baby was feeding less frequently and much quicker. So then it was actually fun. And convenient and economical. No need to worry about washing and sterilizing bottles and such, whether the temperature was right, whether the powder was running out and we needed a new box stat! And if we were going out somewhere, no need to pack all those extra things with us and worry where we are going to get hot water from.

Not to mention the health benefits to my baby from drinking Mommy's milk. Well, he wasn't exclusively breastfed as is recommended by WHO and everyone else and their mother, but he did have Mommy's milk every day for his first 6 months. We couldn't have him exclusively breastfed with all the problems we had in the beginning. When Mommy's boobs were pulgged up and baby was not strong enough to pull the milk out, he got dehydrated and we gave him a bottle or two right from the start. And later, as he was growing up to be a big and sturdy boy and needed more than Mommy could provide, we gave him a bottle or two here and there. But that only helped to get him used to the bottle and now we have absolutely no problem with the weaning. Lately, he loved his bottle more than the breast even.

We've also now started some solid foods, like baby cereals and mashed banana, which we love. Time flies by so quick that before I know it, he'll be eating steak and fries with a fork and knive. So, I cherish every minute with my angel and every step we go, stage after stage.

Cheers All!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Old McDonald Had A Farm...And It Ruined His Social Life

Howdy! If you have the time to be reading this, that means you're not a true Farmville person, or not one at all.

Farmville. The new craze on Facebook. Millions of people are playing and have become addicted to it. I am/was one of them. Am, because I still play. Was, because I don't let it take over my life anymore.

You could ask, how, with having a small baby, was I able to keep up with it? Well, that's exactly the point. I had no time, yet I still played feverishly. Which meant, I was neglecting my house work, and .. NO, NOT MY BABY, HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK THAT, and myself. So, my house work and myself. My life was, baby and Farmville. And that's all. Sad, no? I tried to get as much ahead as possible, jump from level to level, expand, and get medal after medal.

A friend of mine began playing much later than me and soon after that had already passed me. That with me trying all kinds of things to get points and stay ahead of him. Didn't work. But it made me sit back, take a deep breath and think about what I was doing ... or not doing for that matter. I realized what I'd been missing. Instead of reading a good book, or watching a good film while my son slept, I was clicking away on the computer and at the end had nothing to show for it. Oh, I had tons - a huge farm with a huge cabbin, tons of trees, crops, animals, lots of money. But was that all real? No. It was and is just a game. A game. Not my life.

So after my eyes had been opened and my addiction cured, I now just play the game. Whenever I feel like and and have the time. And now, it's actually fun!

Yeeeehaaaa!

Hi

I'm back. A positive change in my life has brought me back here. Here's where I started and here's where I'd like to continue..even if I don't blog as often now that I've got a very active and naughty 2 year-old. But that hasn't stopped me from being opinionated, lol, and it really helps to let some steam off on here. Mom, I know you didn't like the new blog, so here you go, you can do your click on your old link and read me on here...just like old times. I'm importing the couple entries from the new (and now officially closed blog).

Your Lana (happy to pick up where I left off)

Angels and Deamons

Wow! It's been a while, eh folks?! Someone had left a comment on an old post of mine and suddenly I have been reminded that this blog existed, lol.

So much has happened in my life since my last post. I've had to fight many deamons but I've also been sent an Angel, my son, Carlo. He was born, after a long and painful anticipation, on August 6th, 2009. And since then, my life has been enhanced not a hundred but a thousand times. I cannot put into words what it is like to have a child, especially one who came after such suffering and ... well, near desparation. But God granted us this joy, finally, and my husband and I are truly on Cloud Nine.

Oh, it was tough in the beginning. The first few months were a real trial. Breast infection after breast infection complete with fever and hospital trips. Dehydration. Cold, stuffy nose. Sleepless nights. Teeth. Yes, teeth. He got his first when he was 4 months old, early bird. Vaccinations. It was real tough but we got through somehow. No, not somehow, with God's helping and mercyful hand and guidance.

I thank all our friends. First, for their understanding about me not disclosing that I was pregnant. I know many of you had no idea and were shocked to read the news on Facebook. I thank you for hearing me out and for your words/messages of support and encouragement. And those of you who found out late, thank you for respecting my decision and keeping my privacy. And to my family, who knew right from the start and were with me, if not physically then in spirit, throughout the whole ordeal, I have no words to express my thanks and appreciation, but you know how I feel. I love you guys!

Now that a new chapter has started in my life, I would like to resume this blog to keep you all in the loop. I know a lot is on Facebook but here is where I unload my innermost thoughts and feelings, here is where you find out what truly bugs me or makes me happy. You know me, and how opinionated I am, or can be, lol, and now that the worst is over, I am able to find a bit of time again to pour it all out here, be it my reviews on a recently seen film, recently visited restaurant, recently discovered chocolate flavour :) or recent developments in the sport of Formula 1, you wanna know what makes my heart beat, it's all here.

Going back to the deamon part of this past rollercoaster-of-a-year, certain events that have deeply hurt me and left me quite disappointed and frankly shaken my faith in true friendship, have also lead me to 'move' this blog to a new location. The new web address will be emailed to all my 'friends'.

I look forward to more angel parts in this new year. The past is in the past, left behind. Learned from it and moved on. See you all on the new site!

Love and Peace,

Your old Lana, new Mom :)

Told you I won't stay silent for too long.....

Here are a couple of facts I've learned in the past couple of days about which I would like to voice my opinion. Now, keep in mind that this is solely my personal opinion (says in my profile description that I'm opinionated) and does not reflect that of Blogger or anyone else.

That said, here we go:



1. "Jessica Simpson goes country."

Great! About time too. She sure has the dumbness level required and necessary for it. Not dissing country music here or anything, but I mean, who sings about comparing people to property or guys who are most likely too drunk to take off their boots at the door so they have to leave them under the bed where they'd stink up the bedroom just lovely. Mind you, it must be trendy or something to compare people to objects because other 'artists' (although I use the word unwillingly) in other ganres of music are doing it too. Like, "If you were a sail boat, I will sail you to the shore. If you were a piece of wood, I'd nail you to the floor." If I was a piece of wood, I wouldn't give a damn what you do with me because I wouldn't have any feelings! God help us! And God bless DJ Tiesto and other geniuses who provide us with a much needed breath of fresh air!

**********************************************************************************





2. "A top golfer earns more than a top Formula 1 driver."

Don't understand that. Just don't. Let's see, a top golfer can hit a tiny ball with a stick into a tiny hole. Yeah, not everyone can do that, I agree. A top Formula 1 driver can take a sharp corner while going 260 km/hr and being crushed under heavy G-force, oh, and all that while trying to excersise a clean pass of the driver ahead of him and/or trying to avoid being overtaken himslef.

Quote: " In corners, F1 drivers typically experience sideways forces of 4g, and about 5g on braking. As they accelerate out of the corners, they'll feel a 1.5-2g pull. "It's extremely exhausting," says John Nixon of the motorsport group at Cranfield University." ....

"Few F1 drivers will experience a worse pummelling by g-forces than at Becketts at Silverstone, where a rapid series of corners pulls 4g one way, then the other, then back again. "It's a real battering," says Nixon"....

"The effect of dealing with such high g-forces is noticeable in drivers. "If you compare an early picture of David Coulthard with how he looks now, his neck and the muscles on his jawline look very different," says Nixon. To exercise his neck muscles, former F1 driver Damon Hill fashioned a Heath Robinson-style system of ropes, pulleys and weights to pull sideways on his helmet-clad head."

Awhhhh, did you get an itsy bitsy tiny grass stain on your polo shirt??? My, that's the price you have to pay for being a top golfer.

Enough said.

References: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/mar/03/thisweekssciencequestions4

Making Sacrifices

Hi Everyone,

As many of you have noticed, I haven't been keeping up with this blog as of late. The reason for this is our recently made purchace. The biggest one in my life so far.

We've bought an appartment in a challet which is being built right now. My husband is part of the building project, so he's pretty much MIA for six out of the seven week days. I get to see him for a couple of hours in the evenings and on Sundays. It's like before we were married when we lived in different cities! I also have to do my part, so I'm now working a lot more to help pay the ever escalating and rapidly multiplying bills. And I'm still in charge of the house work. Grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, etc, etc, the work that's never done and never ends.

Hence, something has to give. And that is, unfortunatelly, this blog. As most of you know, my life's an open "face"-book. Facebook is where ALL my friends and family live. It is where I get to see what's going on in their lives, check out their pictures and videos, chat and play games, and just plain and simple stay in touch. But I do get flustered when I have too many things I have to keep up with, too many sites to check out or keep updated, too many passwords to remember. I was able to do Facebook and the blog but that was already my limit. When Twitter came along, it tipped the scales and I couldn't keep up. Twitter had to go. Now it's the building and the work. They are not gonna go. So that leaves the blog.

I will still keep it active however. I'm not giving it up altogether. I am sure I'll find a few minutes now and then to write a quick update or complain about something, lol, but that'll be the extent of it. However, once the building is complete, and we've settled in, and I've cut down on my working hours again, I will be happy to revive my blog life.

Until then, I wish everyone all the best and happy blogging!

Sincerely, (and a little sad)

Laney

An "Un"-Comfortable Co-existance

Flies. Who would have thought there are so many different meanings. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=flies

My definition: gross, winged creatures who terrorise me all day at work!

Summer in the Alps of Switzerland is characterised by lush, green pastures covered with colourful wild flowers beneath snow covered peaks stabbing through the blue skies and cute cows grazing peacefully, bells kling-a-ling-a-ling. What one doesn't see in that picture are the pestering flies. Wherever there are cows, there are flies. They pester the poor animals constantly. And they get into people's houses and go on pestering them too.

Well, we've solved this problem at our house by installing nets on our windows. The odd fly still manages to get in from time to time (like when my husband suddenly remembers something very important to tell me as he's walking out the door, so he proceeds to stand in the doorway with the door wide open and tell me that very important thing which couldn't wait till he got back) but I take care of them. Quickly and efficiently. Work was a different story. There were no nets on the windows/french doors, so flies were common in the office. Gross. But that all changed last summer. My dear boss installed sliding net screens on all the french doors and he also installed air conditioning, hence eliminating the need to even open the doors.

You would think that that would have solved the problem, end of story. Not quite. Swiss people hate air conditioning. (I am not a fan myself, but I prefer it to the flies!) They love fresh air. They love opening doors and windows. Together. So it creates a draft. That's not healthy. But what's worse is, in order to create a draft they need to open the front door. It has no sliding net screen. It's a welcome invitation. The flies swarm the office.

Our new associate was resourceful enough to solve that problem. He brought a super duper state of the art fly killer thingie. It looks like a tennis racket with a nob on the handle. You swat the fly like it's a tennis ball simultaneously pushing on the nob which creates an electrical current through the mesh of the "tennis racket" and zaps the fly dead. So humane. And did I mention it makes a very loud cracking noise?!

I keep the door to my op closed at all times. And either my french doors open, with the sliding net screen keeping the flies out, or the air conditioning blasting, depending on how hot it is outside. Unfortunately, my clients and I need to go in and out of the op, so, again, the odd fly comes in. I promptly ring the front and instruct one of the assistant girls to play a little tennis with it.

I have never used the fly killer and I refuse to do so. Ever.

So we're back. Have been for a week and a half actually. But life grabbed us by the you know what right from the start and I haven't had the chance to come on here until today. I'm working a lot more now. First, I increased my work load by one day from three to four days a week, and second, I'm working my holidays off since I had used them all up for this year before we even headed on to Canada. And since I can't afford to be unpaid for three weeks this month, I am working away.

I miss everyone back home, but it sure feels great to be back in the land of all good things, Cow and Snow Country. Well, there's no snow at the moment, at least not where we are, although there are still places up in the high Alps where the snow never, ever disappears. But plenty of cows though. Farming season is well under way and the farmers are busy milking, cutting grass for hay, and making cheese. Often times the air smells of cow manure, but it's a thing one gets used to when one lives in the mountain farm land. My parents-in-law are included in these activities. They're stationed up high in the Alps at the moment with their cows. And they're busy making cheese for the year. We paid them a visit this past weekend and we had a great time up there. Got to relax, rejuvenate, and recharge our batteries.

But summer season is also construction season. The government's project to make our village a car-free village has begun this summer. They're digging a tunnel which will bypass our village and send traffic around and away from us. The project is estimated to be completed sometime in the first quarter of 2009.

There is construction going on along the railway tracks as well, which is causing some delays in the otherwise impeccable Swiss Train System. They pride themselves on their regular schedule so much. I mean, you can set your watch by it. They've posted all kinds of signs up at all the train stations letting people know about the delays and apologising for it, but that wasn't enough. They have now taken it upon themselves to serve free croissants and juice on the morning trains as compensations for the delays. I get free breakfast almost daily :)

Definitely good to be back.

Update

Hi guys, I know most of you know this already, but I've been on vacation for the past two weeks and therefore away from the blog. I'll be back in a week...God willing :) I'll see you all then.

Why I Left Twitter

A very good friend of mine recently introduced me to an Internet site called "Twitter". As I'm sure all of you are Internet savvy, I won't bore you with explaining what the site is. I was reluctant to join at first, as I am not Internet savvy and wary of signing up for things but since I trust my very good friend, I joined.

It didn't take me long to figure the site out and, following my friend's suggestion, I added a couple of people whom I began following. I had a lot of laughs reading their updates and comments and their colourful conversations with one another. I even put in my 2 cents worth from time to time. But that's just the thing. If you're only on from time to time, then Twitter is not for you. You need to sign in almost every day in order to keep up with what's going on and what the people you follow are up to. Of course you could stay connected via your cell phone, but that's not free, especially not for me since I'm not based in North America. And of course you can access Twitter from other sites such as Twirl, Twitter email, etc., etc. but that brings me to the same point yet again.

And that is: Time. You need time for Twitter. Lots of it. And that's what got me. Not the new Facebook chat, no. Time. Plain and simple. Now, if you have a job which requires you to spend time at the computer, or you have the opportunity to go online at work in between what you're doing, then you've got no problem. But neither of the above apply to me. So that means when I'm at work, the computer is off limits. That leaves evenings, free days (since I'm a part-time employee) and weekends. Evenings and weekends are out. That is the time I spent with my husband or on Skype/video-phone with my family back home. Free days are actually only one day midweek and that time is used for housewife type work.

And if you say, well, are you always that busy that you can't spend any time online, then my answer is, well, what are you reading right now? Exactly. I keep this blog and I'm also on Facebook where 90% of my friends and some family members are on with me. They read my status updates, see my pictures, make comments, write on my wall, send me gifts and drinks, dedicate songs to me, play games with me and yes, chat with me or send me messages. It's just the perfect online world for me.

So, as much as it was fun those few weeks on Twitter, I've made the decision to resign. Sometimes you just have to know your limits and have enough sense not to go overboard.

Bye Twitter folks, I'll miss you. But like I said, I know who you are and where to find you :-)

Where I've Been

Apparently, the big craze right now is to write poems. I'm not very good at it, although my version of "Jolene" by Dolly Parton was not too bad, or at least you people said so, and the "Astronaut" poem is something I am actually proud of.

So here is another one. I've been asked by some to add the "Where I've Been" application on Facebook since I've been to so many places around the world. But as most of you know, I am The Facebook Application Queen and have added so many that my profile is getting a tiny bit too crowded. So I am reluctant to add more. As I was having lunch at work the other day, I thought about all the places I've visited on this small planet and some lines began stringing themselves together in my head. Of course, the places mentioned in this poem are only a few of the ones I've been to, but to include them all would mean a bad poem gone worse, so I'll spare you.

Here it is, hope you like.

Where I've Been

I drank strawberry wine in Malta
and Sangria in Madrid
I ate a shark steak in Australia
and a little bit of squid
I've seen the sun set behind Fiji
and Prague's golden city domes
With a waiter called Luigi
I've played a drinking game in Rome
Under cloudy skies in London
I drank tea and amber ale
I've sat beneath the mosks of Tunis
as they towered tall and pale
In the land-o-lakes of Canada
I made my home not long ago
But my destiny has called me
To the land of cows and snow.

My Husband's Attempt On My Life

Do you die from eating dandelion leafs?? I hope not, cuz I ate half a leaf last night. You see, dandelion leafs are NOT Rucola!

After spending half an hour last night thoroughly washing them and making a salad, I took a bite out of one leaf and immediately realized there was something wrong with my Rucola, namely, IT WASN'T RUCOLA AT ALL! It tasted nothing like it and was very bitter. I spat it out, but not before I had swallowed some of it instinctively. Me: "Shit, that's not Rucola! It's very bitter. I don't think you are supposed to eat that stuff!" Husband: "Oh? Well, I guess, that's not Rucola then. Don't eat it." Me: "Oh, thanks hon for letting me...OF COURSE I'M NOT GONNA EAT IT!!!"

So in the trash the whole bagful went, together with my disappointment. I guess I should have tried it right then and there before I picked a whole bag and brought it home and washed it. But I thought I didn't wanna eat any bugs or dirt. Ha, little did I know. So, lesson learned. Rucola is Rucola and dandelion leafs are dandelion leafs and folks, DON'T EAT DANDELION LEAFS! They look exactly the same, but they are not at all the same. Thank goodness we don't pick mushrooms, eh?!

Eat Your Greens

It's springtime! And what better to eat than fresh greens. And what better than fresh greens you picked yourself. We had a long weekend this past weekend and beautiful weather. We armed ourselves with gloves and scissors (for the nettle), and plastic bags and off we went. We picked nettle, rucola and bärlauch.







Nettle.



Yes, the stuff that burns and gives you a rash if you touch it. I knew from my grandmother that you can eat that stuff (when it's properly prepared). She used to make soup out of it and you can also make tea. It's very good for the bladder and kidneys and jam-packed with iron. This I had seen last summer around the house and even had an unfortunate experience getting stung by it while trying to get some soil for some flowers I wanted to plant. So this time, I went prepared. Gloves on and scissors in hand, I picked a whole bagful of it. But I had to call my grandma to ask what to do with it exactly. She gave me her soup recipe and I made it. It turned out very yummy indeed and even hubby, who has a very horrible experience with nettle (he fell in it face first as a child once and you can imagine the consequences), tried it and loved it. Ate, like, two bowls. I had leftover nettle which I froze in Zip-Lock bags for other times.









Rucola.

I love rucola, but unfortunately, it's always so criminally expensive when it comes out in the stores in early spring. I thought, it's some kind of exotic green for sure and hard to come by or farmers slave to plant it, water it and pick it. Until I found out what it actually was....dandelion leafs!!! Who would have thought? I'm a city girl and new to the country and clueless when it comes to things like this. I said to my husband the other day, let's buy some rucola, I realize it's expensive but I love it so much and it's so healthy. He says, "Rucola? You want rucola? My God, let's go out on the weekend and I'll pick you all the rucola you want". Me: "What are you talking about? Do you know what rucola is? Do you know what I'm talking about?" Him: "Uhm, yes, I do. It grows under your nose. Lots of it. You want it? We'll go pick some this weekend." Turns out rucola is nothing but dandelion leafs and hubby was right, they do grow under our noses, everywhere, and we picked and picked till our heart desired. I'm making fresh rucola salad all week next week. One thing to watch out for, however, is where exactly you pick from. Make sure it's not from land where cows graze or you'll get a little something extra on your rucola and I'm not sure I want to be eating that, even after thorough washing....

Bärlauch.

I don't know what that is in English, since I'd never seen it until I came to Switzerland. It's a leaf with the taste and smell of something between leek and garlic. It's very yummy, stinky, but yummy and it's a great additive to sauces, salads, pasta/lasagna, burger meat (of course home made, duh), soups, etc, etc. Once I was introduced to this herb, I couldn't have enough of it. Last couple of weeks, at the butcher's, they had a special bärlauch season and you could buy sausages, hamburgers and all kinds of stuff with the herb in them. We did of course, but now, bärlauch season at the butcher's is over. Not for us though. My mom-in-law told us where it grows and we picked some up today as well. We'll have some fresh and the rest I'll dry and store for future use, like oregano, but so much better.

It was a lot of work. Picking the greens, washing them, blanching them (the nettle, or else to the emergency room with you trying to eat it like that), cutting them, drying them and storing them. But it was all worth it. How else do you get your vitamins and minerals?!

A Day in the Life of a House Wife

A couple of days ago, my husband turned 30. I threw him a big surprise party to include all his family and friends. He was surprised. And very happy. We celebrated till 5:30 am! He got lots of great birthday presents which consisted mainly of alcohol and chocolate (nothing wrong with that) but a couple of his nieces and nephews gave him a much more special kind of present. Window art. I don't even know how they made it. Must be something they teach in school. But I put them up yesterday and they look great. They come right on time with the beautiful weather we've been having lately and they brighten up the house so well. Did I say "house"? That brings me to my second point.

Nate, darling, you better be sitting down before you read the next line. I want to be a house wife. Nate? Are you still with us honey? No, I'm dead serious. If someone had told me that a couple of years ago, I'd have laughed in their face. But the odd realization came to me yesterday as I was off from work and doing things around the house and thinking about a friend of mine who recently quit full time work, finally, and has joined me in the ranks of part-time employees. Now, let's take a sneak peak at a day in the life of a housewife.

I slept in till about 9:30am. Got up leisurely and made a cup of coffee which I enjoyed outside on the terrace with the beautiful sunshine warm on my skin, the birds singing, the cow bells dingaling, the breathtaking view of the still snow-covered mountains and the green pastures dotted with yellow dandelions, blue forget-me-nots and red tulips. I then wondered slowly to the computer to see what kind of trouble my friends were getting themselves into. Shower. About 11am now. Starting to prepare lunch for my husband. I love cooking so it was an enjoyable experience. French doors open (now that we have nets, the flies and bugs stay out), light, fragrant breeze coming in (can still hear the birds and cow bells), barbie on, music on, drinking lemonade and grilling and humming to the catchy tunes. Lunch done. Hubby home. Enjoyed a nice meal together with a glass of wine. About an hour later, he's off to work again. I put the table away at a leisurely pace, get a load of laundry on. Pour myself a second glass of wine and enjoy it on the terrace. Check the computer again. Call home and have a nice chat with Mom. Laundry's done. Put it up outside to dry in the fresh warm air. Leaf through some magazines, play some games on Facebook (my personal favourites: Scrabble, Scramble, Bricks Breaking, Balloonster, Joe's Farm-that's a violent one and not recommended for persons under 18 lol). Hubby home. Where did the time go? Make a light dinner. Chill out on the couch, catch up on how his day went, watch some telly. Bed time.

Nothing wrong with the above picture methinks. I can so do this every day. Add walk/exercise, add trip to Bern for some shopping and get together with friends, ok, add some other house chores of course(don't mind doing those when it's the only thing I have to do). Well, maybe I can work (part-time) during the winter. Because, let's face it, days are short, it's cold, not much to do outside the house. But during the summer, the life of a wife suits me just fine.

Nate, breathe sweetheart. In through the nose and out through the mouth. There, that's better, isn't it? We'll chat when I see you next month.

Swiss Chalet Suisse

No, it's not chicken.

I'd like to write here a little about something which has been bugging me for a long time and I've been wanting to get it off my chest for a while.

I never really understood the idea behind the Swiss Chalet restaurant chain. It has absolutely nothing to do with anything Swiss or a chalet, or a Swiss chalet.

I took my Swiss husband to one of those restaurants when we were visiting back home last year and he was appalled. Not only because they use the Swiss name in vain but because the quality of the food, which is not Swiss at all, was far below anything a Swiss is used to. I was equally disappointed by the chain. I used to work in one of the restaurants and ate the food every day and thought it was quite good indeed. I am not sure if it's because Swiss Chalet standards have declined or because my own standards have escalated since I've been living in the land of perfection, but I have to admit I had some trouble finishing my plate.

Now, here is a Swiss Chalet (or Chalet Suisse in french) product worth of the name. It has nothing to do with chicken but it does have a lot to do with chocolate, which IS a proud Swiss invention known all over the world. And what's more, there is a picture of a Swiss chalet on each mouth-watering block. If anything deserves to be called Swiss Chalet, then it's this here piece of art!

I don't know why the founder of the Swiss Chalet restaurant thought that chicken and fries are something which people eat in Swiss chalets but I promise you, it's not. So next time someone says "Swiss Chalet", don't say "Oh, I've had their chicken, it's great!". Say "Oh, isn't that the most exquisite chocolate in the world? I've had that while staying in a chalet in Switzerland." Trust me. The Swiss will thank you.