We are so tired from our weekend in Luzern. We took the train and spent the night at a hotel before Brian ran in the marathon. I can understand why Brian is tired but I’m not sure why I’m dragging. Anyway – we had fun and I’m very proud of Brian for completing his third…

We walked into a toy store and saw a few Halloween decorations and I heard a kid behind me say to his mom, in German, “look mom Halloveen”. Tee he hee. That makes me laugh. So they don’t do Halloween here. They have a few unimpressive costume things and decorations in the bigger toy stores,…

First Dow Chemical made an appearance on Mad Men and now I see that Midland was ranked #4 on a list of the best small cities to raise a family. We’re looking forward to being back in good old Midland for the holidays.

We had a great day today at the Jucker pumpkin farm. All I want to say is that they know how to do a pumpkin farm right here in Switzerland.  Next up… pumpkin carving.

I finally got my new stove. We’ve had enough roast chicken dinners for a while. I made oatmeal for breakfast and I think we’ll have a big pot of chili for dinner. Here’s the oatmeal with our 7 pound bag of brown sugar. Thanks to my brother-in-law, Dave, we have enough brown sugar for a…

I can't help it – the combination of sunlight, clouds, and mountains outside my windows is mesmerizing. I am so grateful. Next summer we must get into the mountains and get to know them better. Timelapse movie: The Alps — part I from Michael Rissi on Vimeo. Found on the most excellent site for all things Swiss:…

  When I give her a toy she looks up at me like I just gave her a diamonds – she’s smiling, she’s saying wow, she’s saying thanks mom. Those legs – made of rolls of fat and they are so kicky. When she’s feeling relaxed and happy and paying attention those legs are going,…

Here are my latest sewing projects. Don’t be fooled into thinking these summery clothes mean that it feels anything close to summer here. It’s feeling blustery, chilly and crisp. Every night we step out onto the patio and that fresh Fall air hits me and then I instantly have a yearning for the smell of…

My sister-in-law wrote a really lovely post about her sister today. When I see Bea and Claire close together I think of my sister. There is a photo of Jennifer holding me – it must have been taken when we were the same ages as my girls. My legs are full of rolls of fat.…

I gave Bea our little camera and challenged her to take photos of all the pink things she could find. I helped her a little with the outdoor shots because she was busy scooting. She spent a long time on the project on one of our recent rainy days and I was able to finish…