Groomed runs

It’s early morning here and I can hear the gondola start up. I can hear the groomer going by not far from the chalet. I woke up because the dog needed to go out. Now I can enjoy a little quiet before the rest of the crew stirs. It’s rare that I am the first one up anymore, but I love it.  It’s going to be another good day! Ski, eat, drink, read, sleep.....

Hello Matterhorn!!

The girls finished school on Friday (sweet, 3 weeks off!!) and we are now on a hillside in Zermatt for a ski trip. It is mind blowing!!! It is so gorgeous!! We arrived Sunday afternoon and we are here until Saturday. 5 days of skiing will be exhausting but amazing! Yesterday we had a guide take us around and he was phenomenal. We toured all 3 ski areas to get a familiarity and today we are hoping to return to the best view of the Matterhorn, and ski into Italy!!! This is definitely helping to put us in the Christmas spirit, and relax and spend some time outdoors. There was about 5 cm of snow on Saturday in Baar (where we live) and that was the first snow. There won’t be much more than that, apparently. But the mountain get the snow. Last weekend, Justin and Sarah drove 2 hours away, but couldn’t ski because it was to windy. That is one other trouble with the mountains - the wind. At the top point yesterday, it was ridiculously windy, and by early afternoon they had to close some of the lifts here. 

It’ll be a bit strange having Christmas all to ourselves this year. We’ll be in Baar and I have a long list of things we can do, and places we can go to keep our spirits up and keep the girls off their phones as much as possible. We are going to a friends’ house for Christmas evening, so that will be nice. And with another 2 weeks off after we get back from skiing, the girls will be mellow I think!! 

Stuttgart adventure

December 10, 2018
I left yesterday with Kelly to go to the Stuttgart Christmas market in Germany. We travelled by train - so easy - which I still cannot believe takes 3 hours and BAM you are in another country. The only bummer is that the weather is rainy, and lots of it. Luckily, we weren’t deterred and we wandered the market with all its booths stretching out down the streets and alleys.

We ate at a fabulous local restaurant  and had dumplings along with our soup. My wine cane served in a mug with a handle, which felt very authentic, but slightly weird at the same time!

Security was very high and the presence of police with machine guns on every corner was a little intimidating. But when the shifting in Strasbourg France occurred days later, I can understand the concern. That was the only downside to the market so I am done with the negatives.

We had a great dinner with Ursula, the wife of Marcus who is the head of MB Europe. She is so absolutely lovely and interesting and kind. She recommended a restaurant called the Cube, which had great variety of food (not typical Swiss food) and it overlooked the main market area. It was a gorgeous view!!

 On Monday, we walked around again and this time ventured into some stores. The prices in germany really are lower!!

Christmas is coming...

It is a bit tough right now, I’ll be honest. There is no snow in our town and the girls are both lamenting the fact that we won’t be around friends and family for Christmas.  I tired to convince them to come to a Christmas Market with me, but no takers. For tell me, the Weinachtmarkt is a great way to smell the smells of Christmas here, see some local crafts and get into the spirit.
Justin took me to Einsedeln Christmas market and it was stunning!! The monestary town was lit up and the booths went through the streets. It was great.

Here's to short and Sweet

November 28, 2018

Life gets busy no matter where you are....and I have let my journalling get away from me.
So, I have made a new choice to write the highlights of the day instead of trying to write longer updates.
So here it goes:

• Shannon may be getting a horse! UGH! WOW! It's the only way it works here in Switzerland and it has been hard to see her so unhappy. Life is short, and it is expensive, but worth it if it will make her happy. It is giving her a good understanding of finances, and she is more motivated to get herself a couple of well paying babysitting gigs, so that is good. The boarding is actually close to 3 lessons a week, so that cost is manageable. And then there is the capital outlay for the horse itself.....well, all in the name of joy. And who knows, maybe I will enjoy going to the barn and petting the mare myself? Justin and Shannon have visions of getting the horse used to bicycles so that Justin can ride (his bike) and Shannon can ride (the horse) and they can spend a couple hours together in the forest together. I wonder how long it will take for that to happen?
• Sarah is off today to "study in the mountains" at the school's chalet in Wengen. Wow - such a cool opportunity to do math in the mountains, study the effects of altitude on heart rate and see how much weight the bridges they built in Design class can handle. A few months ago, there would have been nerves and angst over going away for 3 days to the mountains, but last night she packed her backpacks, and headed off on the bus to school this morning. I love it!
• Scrooge (aka Justin) has agreed to some Christmas decorating!! Whoo hoo!! Minimalist but it's gonna happen! Sarah is going to decorate within a vase that will go by our front door, and Shannon will decorate an Advent "wreath but really a rectangle" for our kitchen table. And there is talk about getting a potted tree as well! Ahhh, that makes me happy!

November 27th highlight:

• I hiked for 1.5 hours in the rain, but it was lovely to be outside and enjoying the fresh air and getting the heart pumping.
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Fall is here

Tuesday, October 3, 2018

We have our first taste of fall here in Baar (our village in Zug) too. The Swiss are not a hearty folk and they are already bundling up in their puffer jackets and hats and mitts. It's 8-12C!! Are you kidding me?! I think it is similar to in KW that the weather seemed to change overnight. One day we had the heat, and then it was cool...just like that. Fall is my favourite season, so I am always happy for the change in seasons...it's not that I don't like the other other seasons, it's just the freshness and crispness of fall is so beautiful after the heat and heaviness of the heat in summer. And then the colours of fall give way to the whiteness of winter! I don't know what it will be like here  -I don't know if there will be the colours the same way, and there won't be the constant white of snow either, except in the mountains, so this will all be new.

The girls are settling in better now. They each had a week long trip with their school last week: Shannon went to Albania, and Sarah went to Lake Garda, Italy. Shannon's take away was that the food at the hotel wasn't very good but the kids were a great bunch. Sarah's take away was that she got to know the other kids better and she is making friends. It's a tough transition at times still, but they are managing, so I am thankful for that.  They are still trying to figure out who to hang out with - who could be a friend....that is hard at any age, but especially hard in the teenage years, I think...hopefully they will find their common "people" and feel comfortable. I am recognizing my changing role as Mom - here, I am definitely more of the food and shelter provider (ie: cook and clean) and less of the wise woman that I want to be seen as! The teenage years....could I have done this emotional roller coaster to my own mom? Ugh, Sorry Mom!!!

The dealership opened on Monday and Justin has been working so hard and so many hours. I am so proud of him and the first couple days have been successful so I am happy for him as well! The whole month of October will be a lot of hard work for him, I think, so we've all put plans more or less on hold and we live for the Sunday family time together hiking, biking, and relaxing a little.

With this weekend being Canadian Thanksgiving, I wasn't sure if the family would want to celebrate it or not. Well, it turns out they want to! So we're getting a ham (turkey is very hard to get), and 2 other Canadian families (Justin's colleagues here) are coming on Sunday. It will be great! And we've also decided to have friends over on Saturday night (tonight) and I'm doing 3 chickens (just to get enough meat!) and stuffing, cranberry sauce, the whole enchilada!! I got a little crafty and purchased 2 vases and candles from the second hand store here in town. I put a sunflower into an empty wine bottle to go with it. I thought it looked subtle and nice, but Justin's reaction right away was to tell me that it was exactly that kind of crap that he doesn't want in the apartment. UGH!!! Are you kidding me!!??!! To me, this place needed a little something to make it more warm and cozy! And he feels like it is just junk!! He must have seen my face crash because he told me that at least he loves me more than he hates the crap....I'm not quite sure how to interpret that, but I took it as a declaration of his love for me. (Finding  that freaking silver lining is sometimes tough!!!)

I survived PDW!!!

Monday, October 1, 2018

Last week the girls were away on their PDW -Personal Development Week. I was excited for them:

• Shannon headed to Albania to clean up the beach and to teach English to middle schoolers
• Sarah headed to Lake Garda, Italy to do outdoors activities like canyoning, via ferrata, sailing, raft building, etc... to build relationships and to push their own comfort levels.

However, I was dreading a week alone for me. I fully expected Justin to be working long hours given that the dealership opens on October 1st (yup today!). And here we were with 5 days just him and me each evening! Well, yes, that is totally self-centred, I realize that.  

I kept busy during the week, and I enjoyed not having any driving to do for after-school activities. So here's how I spent my week:

Monday: cleaning. This seems to be my routine. Mondays are great days to clean out the drains, try to scrub the calcium build-up off the tiles, suck up more of Murphy's hair, wash the sheets, churn through the laundry...etc.... The apartment gets clean and I feel productive. 

Tuesday: Typically, this is my day to hike with the ISZL group. This week I assumed it would be cancelled so I made plans with Karin. I decided to try one of the self-guided tours through Zug, Today it was the self-guided Artizan tour which took us to the shops of fashion designers, jewelry makers, and other handicrafts, while I also snuck in the second hand shops to check out. We toured from 10am until 4pm, so it was quite a full day and I actually, honestly, enjoyed the wandering around with a focus. I'm not one to enjoy shopping, but this was fun! I also tackled the office supply errands that were outstanding, so I have now acquired the correct hole punch and duotangs to help keep my Sarah organized!

Tuesday evening, Justin and I joined friends in Zug for an English Comedy night. There were 2 comics who did a good job and keeping us laughing. 

Wednesday: Today I went into Zurich (just beyond Zurich in fact) to visit Ann, who spent 6 months in Waterloo and lives just outside Uster. It was a great visit and Ann is always able to share her thoughts and experiences on where to shop, possible holiday locations,  different customs, etc. Having moved to Switzerland a couple decades ago, and having received her Swiss passport only this summer, she is a wealth of knowledge that she so happily and eagerly shares. I just wish I could write it all down fast enough!

Before catching the 24 minutes train ride back to Baar, I did a little shopping and picked up a pair of hiking pants, There is a brand called Mammut and I absolutely love it - High quality outdoor gear!

Wednesday evening I went to the Ladies Drive evening event in Zug. It was an english event with 4 presenters on the topic of Disruptive Thinking. It was a great brain teaser and I really enjoyed "thinking" for a change! 

Thursday: Today was a mellow day. I rode my bike to the dealership to drop off something Justin forgot, and wow the dealership progressed fast! It looks great! Justin had zero time and I could tell by the intense look on his face that he was in the middle of perhaps twenty important things, so I dropped and went back to my bike ride. I realized first hand that he has a beautiful bike ride to work! No wonder he likes that mode of transportation! And it takes less than 20 minutes for me, even with getting turned around a couple times.

Thursday evening I went with my neighbour to a fashion event at a store in Zug. It was fun to see a store I hadn't discovered yet. It was shocking to see the clothes prices, but fun to dream.... Yes, I am glad I have a pretty full wardrobe and I don't really need anything....it's going to break the  bank just to clothe the girls!

Friday: Today I took Murphy to the vet for his first vaccine  - a routine one just to keep him current. He loves the vets here - he loved them at home too, but here he was wagging his tail like crazy before they even opened the doors! Then I met up with Karin and we biked to the Cham marina. It was a gloriously warm and sunny day, and we had a little picnic by the lake before biking back to Zug. I was thinking abou the girls all day, excited for them to come home!! Sarah arrived back after I had to leave for the Zurich airport to meet Shannon, so Justin was the lucky one to greet her when she came through the door. They went to the EVZug hockey game and for dinner beforehand and he heard all about her trip.  I trained out to the airport and hung around when Shannon's connection was delayed. Ugh! I was counting down the minutes, and I didn't even have the patience to knit while I was waiting!! Shannon finally landed and we went into Zurich old town to the Raclette Factory to satisfy her craving for a big meal. In summary, the trip was great because fo the friends she made, but the hotel food wasn't so good. 

Saturday: I popped into Zurich today so that the girls could enjoy some sleep recovery, and not be hounded by an overly-excited mother! It was a good choice for me to meet up with Lisa for coffee because it kept me from asking them a thousand questions. Justin was working hard at the dealership to get ready for Monday, so he wasn't around either. They both caught up on some sleep and enjoyed some personal space, I think.

Sunday: I love Sundays in Switzerland....even more than in Canada, Sundays are quiet days that are family focussed. Today was a perfect example of what we do: the morning was a work morning, allowing Justin and Shannon and Sarah to finish up homework. Justin went for a bicycle ride with Colin while I met Jen and Caffrey (Murphy's first dog friends when we arrived) and we did a 2 hour hike around the Hollgrotten hills and by the Lorze river. Murphy was set for the day and slept quite soundly! After lunch, we went for a bike ride all together. Today our goal was to find as many barns as we can. We got contacts at one place so that's a good lead for Shannon. We also rode to the dealership and toured around inside. It is truly the NICEST and more IMPRESSIVE dealership I have ever seen!! WOW!!!

And that brings me back to today, Monday, October 1st. So starts another month and another week. Cleaning is done, so I'm onto bill-paying today, combined with planning a Christmas ski holiday and a February ski holiday. Then it's to Luzern with Sarah this evening. With the cooler temperatures and rain, I am going to have to find somewhere to sit inside while she trains...there is only so much walking around Luzern a girl can handle and I've got 3 hours to pass while she trains!

Think good thoughts with the dealership opening today!!