Do you remember the days when we fell in love? What did we talk about all those hours that felt like minutes? It was wonderful and I knew it was wonderful. And yet I didn’t even know how wonderful. It’s like a summer evening when the temperature is just right and a gentle breeze blows my skirt around my legs and it feels impossibly good. But you never realize how good it feels until it’s winter and you remember back to that day. As much as my love for you has grown all these years – I sometimes wish I could fall in love with you again.
Have you noticed there are just not enough pictures of mountains and cows and cheese and chocolate on this web site lately? Well, Brian and I were finding that to be a real problem. Too much boring domestic content for my beloved (three) readers. So we’re making a big change – this blog will once again be filled with photos of one of the happiest places on earth – no, not Disney… Switzerland. Stay tuned for remarkable photos of clean trains, neatly stacked piles of recyclables and grimacing Brian aboard cable cars. My blog’s title will once again align with my life – Laowai – a foreigner.
OK… that’s not really the story is it. The truth is Brian loves Switzerland and I opened the door a centimeter and suddenly we were making plans to move again. It will be for three years, we will keep our house in the US. Brian will move at the beginning of June and the girls and I will join him at the end of July. The first thing we did was to get the girls into an international school. And then over the girls’ Spring Break Brian and I went apartment hunting. We told the girls about the move when we returned. It’s really happening – I’m still getting used to the idea.
So here are some photos:
The girls will attend the same school next year:
And then Bea will move up to the middle school:
We looked at a bunch of apartments and just found out on Monday that we are going to get the one that Brian and I both liked. In Switzerland you can get turned down when you try to rent an apartment. Brian and I could not agree on our second choice so I’m super relieved we didn’t have to work that out. Our new home will be across Lake Zurich from our old place. We’ll have a lovely view of the lake and mountains with vineyards surrounding one side of the apartment.
Brian and I landed in the morning ready to look at apartments. We were greeted with the most beautiful Spring day.
Brian is very excited to live and work in Zurich again. As much as I love Switzerland – I am taking my time getting used to the idea that we are leaving our home in the US. And of course it is a huge change for our girls. They both cried when we broke the news, but they have also been super curious about their new school and our apartment.
“The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day. When the sun is out and the wind is still, You’re one month on in the middle of May. But if you so much as dare to speak, a cloud come over the sunlit arch, And wind comes off a frozen peak, And you’re two months back in the middle of March.” – Robert Frost
When we did our kitchen renovation I saved several of the old drawers that were original to the house. I’ve wanted to get them hung up on the wall of my sewing room – to use as shelves. This weekend I finally did it! Hanging shelves is not my favorite thing to do. It’s such a challenge with our old plaster walls, but I think I managed to get them secured. Now I have a place for notions and trinkets that is up off my sewing table. I even made one drawer into a handy spool holder.
Have you noticed the glossy red walls? Oh my goodness – they make we want to murder someone! I’m hoping to paint the whole room white soon.
I love my sewing room – I am so lucky! Makes me want to start a new sewing project right this minute.
This week I spent some time sorting through old clothes that no longer fit the girls. I have a small pile of itty bitty clothes that I just cannot get rid of. I’m too sentimental. One look at the little dresses and I can picture Bea and Claire in all their chubby baby sweetness. I packed them away in a box.
I also decided it was time to switch up our big cork board wall in our TV room. I love that cork board! I took some photos of the artwork that we took down.
Time to look at some new things.
I made a tote bag – it matches Bea’s room. I think I’ve mentioned that the people who lived in our house before us were VERY into decorating with wallpaper and matching fabric. They left behind a box of wallpaper and fabric remnants – including this pretty flower fabric that is the same pattern as Bea’s wallpaper. I used this pattern and it was the first time I’ve used heavy duty Pellon interfacing.
We went to IKEA. Had to stock up on meatballs. Bea wants an IKEA bike.
Now we’re having a super rainy weekend so I cheered myself up at the antique store down the road. I found a nice set of eight Vera Neumann napkins.
And a cute little purse – had to have it.
The girls have their Spring break next week – they get to hang out with Grandma J. while Brian and I go to Zurich for a few days. I’m sure I’ll have something exciting to say when we get back.
Laowai 