A fresh Start!!

We got some amazing skiing done in Zermatt, skiing around the Matterhorn was legendary! Between Christmas and New Years, we tried day trips, and 2/4 trips were fails-  when we arrived at the lifts, they were closed or closing due to winds and storms up in the mountains. Such is the life in the Mountains, I guess. Now we know not to pre-buy our lift tickets! Lesson learned!!! 

Christmas was different, but I think both girls breathed a sigh of relief and it was better than they "feared".

Christmas Eve: Justin worked late - it was hard for him coming back after the week of holidays, and he ended up much later than he had planned. But we took care of things at home. Sarah prepared her cinnamon buns for Christmas morning, Shannon did some last minute shopping, I grabbed the last of the groceries before the stores closed for days. We cooked up our most expensive (but also most delicious) Turkey - from France, actually. The girls really wanted a traditional Christmas Feast, so we had Turkey, stuffing, potatoes au gratin, a delicious gravy and carrots and cranberry sauce!!! It was fantastic! After, we went to Aegeri and walked the "Lichtenweg", almost 3 km of pathway lit by candles. It was beautiful! We opened the traditional one gift - surprise, it was pj's!

Christmas Day: We rose early, in typical Nesbitt fashion....I was up at 5:30 reading, for some strange reason. Sarah was up closer to 6, and Shannon was up before 6:30. We had a quiet morning opening presents and really savouring the process. It was beautifully calm, and thoughtful!!

Breakfast was grapefruits and cinnamon buns and my oh my, the cinnamon buns were the BEST EVER!!! We used the "imported" brown sugar that our friend Katie and Svein brought back for us from the US, and Sarah's expert kneading made the buns the best we've ever had!

We left mid afternoon to head to Stafa to Brad and Lisa's for Christmas Day Raclette dinner. As usual, we laughed and laughed spending the afternoon and evening with them. We are so lucky to have such good friends who live in Switzerland!

Boxing Day: We headed out bright and early to ski on Boxing Day - off to Laax. Unfortunately, when we got there, it was super foggy, snowy and the lifts up top were being closed due to winds. So, we enjoyed a hot chocolate/coffee and then turned around and drove back to Baar. We went to Shannon's barn and after she rode, we headed off on a hike. It was a beautiful day even though we didn't do what we set out to do. Being together was full of laughter (and some complaining about the hike) and that made my heart full.

New Years Eve: We started the evening with drinks, appetizers and Sticky Weenies with our friends from upstairs. Peter, Nathalie and Livia came down for some drinks. Later, Justin and I went to a party at Katie and Svein's place. We met some really amazing people from Switzerland, Norway, and Sweden. The food was DIVINE and it was a really great evening, but we cut it short there to go back to Shannon and Sarah to ring in the New Year. 

Inspired by our friends upstairs, we made pizzas on the raclette machine! It takes a while, so it was a good way to pass the evening. I didn't know if I could stay up late enough, but we all made it! We went upstairs and enjoyed ringing in the new year with our Swiss friends on their beautiful balcony and watching the fireworks going off everywhere. All that reserved Swiss-ness is let loose on New Years, apparently, and the fireworks lasted well past 1am. They were set off in fields, and in people's back yards and we could see them in every direction we looked. It was magical!!

New Years Day: We set off again to go skiing - this time to Davos for an overnighter. Murphy was going to be adored by our friends and he definitely enjoyed his two day "holiday" with them! We skied on the 1st but we were pretty tired and had a short day of skiing, The conditions were very much like Ontario - icy and packed with people. We were looking forward to the 2nd when there would be fresh powder falling all night long. After skiing, we went over to Klosters (nearby) and enjoyed a cheese fondue dinner with Daria and Scott, who used to live in Canada and Daria used to work at Vic Star years and years ago. It was lovely to visit with them and enjoy the cheese!! 

January 2nd: We were up early and actually had to wait for the breakfast to come out at the hotel. Then, we headed to the ski lifts, got an amazing parking spot and were ready for the powder....except that the lifts were not opening because the winds were too high and the mountain storms were still coming. Bummer....Well, after a coffee and treat, we started the trek back to Baar and enjoyed a quiet day.

We are all missing the Alpine friends and shenanigans, and seeing the photos by all the girls is both wonderful (to feel that we know what's going on) and also a reminder that Alpine skiing is so much more than just the ski runs. The girls have just left for school  - starting back after 3 weeks' holidays is a bit hard, but what a wonderful 3 weeks we have had!!

Now I am off to buy my German textbook because I am determined to start some in class german lessons this month! Enough of muddling through on my computer, it's time to get some help with pronunciation so I sound better....the girls laugh because they say I speak German with an Italian accent! Who knew!?

It’s just about the edges

It worked. I think this week has done exactly what I hoped it would: we skied lots, we immersed ourselves in snow and got into some of the Christmas spirit, we spent tons of time together laughing and having fun. Mission accomplished. We had dinner last night at a restaurant (Gitz-Gädi/ Hotel Silvana) up the hill from Furi. It was a hike to get there (literally) but worth it, and a beautiful hike down - both in the dark. Murphy came with us too so that made it fun - he never misses a chance to make friends now. We sat beside a family who had just arrived the day before from England. They had two daughters , ages 8 and 9. They loved Murphy. As in really loved Murphy. The girls are their food and then would rush over to pet Murphy. And good old Murph just soaked it up, giving them his love right back.

That was a small digression....back to the highlights of the week:

• I continued to throw out some great supportive pearls of wisdom including “it’s just the edges” to support Shannon hopping back on her snowboard and worrying she was going to forget how to turn
• Skiing to Italy and having lunch in Italy; it was so gorgeous, and neat to see the Matterhorn from the other side  (but we prefer the Matterhorn from the Swiss side)
• The pizza at the restaurant at the top - delicious pizza!!!
• Seeing the mountain goats from the gondola, and then seeing the mountain goats right in front of us on Friday
• Skiing in the powder in our first day with our ski guide, Lars
• Covers kilometres of terrain on Thursday as well as Friday! Justin really feel that Thursday was the best day!
• Skiing on Friday and getting to the bottom of a run, then hopping on a funicular, and another time hopping on a train, in addition to the gondola rides, chair lifts, and rope tow that we did! The Swiss have their infrastructure nailed!!!
• For me, I loved my morning walks with Murphy, watching the sun rise and even seeing mountain goats on Friday morning. I also loved looking down at the town of Zermatt and seeing it lit up like out of a story book. 
• Soaking in the hot tub (with or without the snow falling) and watching the train go by on the hill, lit up like out of a fairy tale or story book, and then knowing we were on that train

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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