Laowai

Well we submitted to the winter sport peer pressure here in Switzerland and went for a long weekend in the mountains. We went to Klosters. It’s not far from Davos, in the Graubuenden area. We had perfect sunny, warm weather all weekend. Everyone was smiling (except Brian while we were on the gondola).

Bea started the day with a ski lesson (there she is, above, going up on the T-bar with her teacher). While she had her lesson Brian and Claire and I hiked up to a little restaurant. I couldn’t stop taking pictures and saying “so pretty”.

After Bea was done with her lesson we got some lunch and headed down the mountain. Bea was hot – it was around 50 degrees F! 

After a little rest we went to Davos for some ice skating. They have a nice big rink with lots of toys to push around.

The next day we went sledding. I’ve wanted to do this forever – why did it take us so long? They have lovely long sledding routes – you can pick up a sled at the top of a gondola and then return it at the bottom. We chose an eight kilometer route from the Madrisa ski area. It was magical! It was just the right amount of thrill! I was completely blissing out over the sun and the deep snow and the beautiful mountains all around us. 

We finished up with some more ice skating in Klosters and some of us may have had fondue two nights in a row (oh my). 

That fresh mountain air and all the sunshine was just the refreshment we needed. Aaaaaah!

Heart candle holders and terrariums.

The girls are having their winter break right now. No school for a week and a half. So we did some crafting to keep us busy. I made little salt dough candle holders for Valentine’s Day. And then yesterday we bought some big pickle jars and the girls made terrariums.

Spring seems to come so much sooner here compared to the US Midwest. I saw snowdrops blooming and some other bulbs starting to poke up through the soil and It’s been super sunny. It feels nice. Tomorrow we’re off to spend a few days in the mountains. I hope we have lots of sunshine there too.

More often than not my husband is away traveling on Valentine’s Day. This year is no different. But I’m not sad. I have a thoughtful, funny, loving husband so it’s a small matter if we must celebrate special days on other days. Here are a couple photos of my love at the Zurich Opera house. He got us last minute tickets to Rigoletto on Saturday and we had a great time. We’ll call that our Valentine’s Day celebration.

Citrus fruits brighten up our days this time of year.

I tried this citrus cookie recipe from Christina Tosi (love her). Then we tested a cupcake recipe for Bea’s birthday. A vanilla cupcake filled with lemon curd. Doing filled cupcakes was a first for us. And then we went all out and did a taste test – buttercream frosting vs meringue frosting. Yum.

Which frosting won? Well Bea chose the buttercream but Brian liked the meringue best. Claire doesn’t really like any lemon desserts. I’m on the fence. Just give me cake.

It’s been pretty quiet around here. Brian has been traveling a lot and I’m afraid the girls and I spend too much time watching TV when it’s dark. 

I’ve been enjoying big bowls of oatmeal with raisins, bits of dates and pecans. Mmmmm.

We took the girls skiing at a mini hill nearby. We’re such novices. I’m feeling the pressure to be into winter sports – the girls have their week and a half “ski holiday” coming up. Oh goodness.

I sewed all my quilt blocks together over the weekend. And today I got my batting in the mail – so as soon as I get my quilt basted the quilting can begin. Yay!!! 

Bea coordinating her lollipop and her shirt:

Homer Simpson had to have some new winter clothes last night. Bea and I whipped up this dapper outfit – a coat and scarf and hat. I always assumed, with daughters, I would be sewing doll clothes but who would have guessed I’d be helping my daughter sew Homer Simpson clothes.

We got some pretty snow and it has stuck to the trees for three days. 

The end.

I’m working away on my quilt. I spend my time examining the little gems that form when I complete each quilt block.

I put the pieces together without paying attention to the patterns – I mean I don’t try to match them or make pleasing combinations. As I sew I grab the next piece of fabric in the pile and I just make sure two pieces of matching fabric aren’t touching. I think this is one of my very favorite parts of making a quilt. The random unexpected combinations of color and pattern make me really happy. Such a small thing but yes – I’m obsessed. It’s serendipity!

I love fabric, I love pattern, I love color!!!

I was at my childhood home and now I’m at my Switzerland home. I’m very grateful that I got to go to Grandma Dice’s funeral. Brian was a trooper – balancing his demanding work plus all the bits of work that go along with getting the girls off to school. It was a difficult few days but it was also good. At her funeral my love for Grandma Dice just swelled when I was surrounded by all the important people who loved her just as I did. Her funeral brought together all of my cousins – such a rare thing now that we are all grown up. We cousins stood around and reminisced and laughed about our memories of Grandma and it felt really nice. It was a lot of that very best emotion – laughter through tears. It will be so strange to not have Grandma in her house, welcoming us in her kitchen just as she has done for all of my life. Now she will live in a special attic of my mind. I will always recall what a kind, smart, warm and beautiful person she was. 

Here are all my smiling cousins. Brianne (on the far right) wore one of Grandma’s dresses!

I took a few photos of photos. Grandma’s on the left below and then front and center in the middle photo.

I had a great time, as usual, just hanging out with Mom and Jennifer and Jenna.