Laowai

I think Switzerland is still very much on all of our minds here at the Chapman household. And even after we get over this repatriation period Switzerland will of course have a special place in our hearts. So when I was searching my mind for things to put up in our entranceway I thought of making a collage out of Swiss maps. I have a big collection of maps that we've gathered over many years. I love the colors of the maps and also the memories that we can associate with them. So now instead of a  boring blank wall greeting visitors (if we ever get to have them again) there is something bright and interesting to look at. I think I'll title it Oh the Places We've Been.

Oh I do love a jumble of kid art and snapshots and ephemera all mashed together on a wall. Today I updated our wall. It's the cork-covered wall in our TV room. It was a bit of a time capsule from when we moved away three years ago. So I took down a few old things and I put up some new things and also some of my favorite photos that traveled with us to Switzerland. I am sad that I am beyond the stage where I have a regular inflow of kid art. I do still have lots of things to put up that make me happy and I like that this wall is an evolving surface that represents our family.

Yes, the double doors are the wrong color. This was the first room in our house that I painted and I was afraid of painting the door. It's usually open so it doesn't bother me. I have so many doors that need to be painted in this old house! I might have to make a project of that this winter. Oh golly.

Halloween 2020 was a success. It's so good to have something to celebrate properly in this crazy year. We had a beautiful fall day and handing out candy was only a little different from normal. We sat outside and set a big basket of candy about 12 feet away so trick-or-treaters could safely help themselves. It was the first year that Brian and I stayed home and just "handed out" candy – that was nice. Bea and Claire ended up with heavy bags of candy and big smiles too.

Here's Bea in her costume – she's a vampire squid.

And Claire and her friend are twin aliens.

This was my scenery last year.

This year my scenery is a little different.

Changes.

Can't beat Midwest fall color.  

This week it started to feel cold in the house. I'm preparing for a long winter of hunkering down at home (as everyone is). Time to bring out the wool blankets and sweaters and the thick comforters. I'm lighting candles all over the house (even in the tub). And I got out our bins of mittens and hats.

Did you know you can melt Hamma beads in the oven and they melt into doughnut shapes. Bea melted some this week. Not sure what she will do with them, but I love how shiny they are.

I'm like a cat – whenever the sun shines in near my bed I curl up and take a nap. 30 minutes restores me.

I didn't realize how much I got used to eating good cheese. This cheese is available at my grocery store but it's much more expensive than what it was in Switzerland. Sad :.(

I've been harvesting more peas from our garden. I love Fall peas! I didn't plant enough to really cook with them. We have just enough for Claire and I to pick them and pop them in our mouths. 

I've been keeping busy – somehow I'm motivated to tackle little projects around the house. Things like putting up a couple handy hooks in the stairwell to the basement. And rewiring a lamp that I bought in Switzerland so I can use it here. And I decided to upgrade our living room curtains. These are just cheap IKEA curtains that I've had for a long time. I changed the pinch pleats to pencil pleats. I think the pencil pleats look more full and pretty. Now I just need to repaint the drapery rods and the rings. 

Yesterday the big screen for projecting movies in our basement finally came. It took a while for Brian and I to install it, but then Brian was able to  enjoyed it right away. I think we are going to use our new basement a lot this winter. I'm hoping to concentrate on make the curtains for the basement this week and then that project will be finished – and I'll take some pretty photos. 

I made Black Cocoa Cut-out Cookies and we had our quarantine bubble friends over for a little cookie decorating party. 

I love how they turned out and the recipe is tasty too. 

Bea made tapioca pudding. It's usually a treat that Aunt Jennifer makes for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I told Jennifer she could delegate the tapioca pudding making to her niece. I made another recipe from the Baked cookbook – Raspberry Breakfast Bars. I used frozen raspberries and they turned out great. I'll add them to my baking rotation.

I also made some apple cookies – it's an old recipe that I believe came from Cooking Light magazine. I entered these cookies in the Midland County Fair many years ago – ha. They are full of tiny bits of apple and nuts and raisins. 

Here's what's left on my counter after I drizzle the glaze. It's modern art.

I love the bright little leaves from our Locust tree. It's like nature confetti and I don't even mind when they sneak inside and I find them sprinkled on the mudroom floor.

Last photo – the fabric for our basement curtains came. Yay! Now I need to get busy. I want to get the measuring right so the pattern lines up vertically across all the curtains. All that calculating and the fear of cutting into the fabric is giving me a bit of procrastination. But I'll get to it soon.

I am so relieved that we are able to celebrate Halloween this year. It's one holiday that we really missed in Switzerland. 

I took the girls and their friends to buy pumpkins the other day.

And we have our front door decorated.

Looks like a vampire squid is eating my sewing machine.

I took a morning walk at the Chicago Botanic Garden today. 

There were so many busy birds out. I tried to get some photos of them. I've never really tried to take bird photos before. I sat and watched them and tried to be patient. It helped that the gardens were not busy on a chilly cloudy weekday morning. 

I might have to try more bird photos – it was a fun challenge.

Oh I do love fall!