Laowai

Over the weekend we went for a hike in the mountains with our friends the Coyle family. It was not the best weather. First we hopped on a funicular – the steepest one in the world! And then we took a chair lift even further up. 

When we saw that it was a complete white out we retreated back down the chair lift to where it was slightly less cloudy.

We ended up having a really nice long hike (although the kids may disagree). The cows charmed us and we ended with a lunch that included lots of cheese – mmmm.

We’ll go back another day – a clear day to do the hike at the top of the chair lift.

I took a trip across the lake to the town where we used to live – Maennedorf. I wanted to go to their little brocki (the used stuff store). I found some fabric – well old aprons that I will use as fabric. Aren’t they sweet.

Before I got back on the boat to go home I had a few minutes to visit a beautiful bit of art. It’s a bas-relief sculpture in the park right by the boat dock. It has the most lovely muted turquoise and blue colors along with white and pops of yellow. I love the expressions on the faces of the people. I love the texture in the flowers. I love how the people sort of melt in with the background. I love how it is divided up with uneven lines – almost like a quilt. I love this art! It was made by a woman named Maja van Rotz. I couldn’t find much information about her* but she had a studio in Maennedorf for many years and she died in 2006. 

* I went looking for info about the artist at the web site for the local culture museum. They are having an exhibit titled 400 years of school Maennedorf. Ha – that itty bitty town has some OLD history!

It’s rainy and chilly outside and I can’t stop baking. It must be Fall.

I made a new recipe. Have you heard about a Japanese style of bread that uses a roux? It is supposed to make the bread really tender and it’s supposed to make it stay fresh longer. Well I tried a roll recipe and I think I love it. I used the Japanese Milk Bread recipe from the King Arthur Flour blog.

Mmmm – these were supposed to go with our dinner but I had to try one fresh out of the oven. Sweet and rich and fluffy. Delicous with butter and jam.

And here’s a picture of my 6th grader at her locker.

I unearthed this old mini quilt in a pile of sentimental baby blankets in Wilmette. Grandma Dice made it with me when I was little. I guess it’s my first quilt. 

And this is my latest quilt. Another mini. Maybe I’ll hang in on the wall.

I think it’s time to make a full size snowball quilt – maybe something like this.

I am so thankful for Bea’s best friend Mabel. She is a rock for Bea. And I’m so happy that her dad brought her here for a visit again!!!

I have too many photos of Mabel and Bea with huge smiles.

I’ve been dreaming of my sewing room all summer. And finally in the last several days I have been able to sneak away and spend a little time alone in there. Bliss.

When we were traveling I read the blog of Carolyn Friedlander. She’s a quilter and fabric designer. I got so much inspiration from her graphic patterns and her non traditional quilts. I also noticed that she (and all other serious quilters) use design boards. A design board is just a big board covered in flannel – you can stick your in-progress quilt blocks up to see them and rearrange them. 

So I’ve made a design board for myself and I’ve been working on a mini quilt. No plan, no pattern. I’ve just delighted in choosing colors and sewing them together haphazardly. 

Or maybe it’s better this way – there’s a landscape vibe going on:

These last few days with mom have passed pretty quickly. It’s time for her to head home tomorrow already. Here’s what we’ve been up to while the girls endured their first week of school.

We saw a nice big rainbow:

Mom sat at my table and did some coloring:

We went into Zurich to buy chocolate:

We took a boat ride:

And had a lovely lunch on the boat:

and we had to have dessert:

And today we took a drive up to the mountains:

And enjoyed a picnic:

Look at us taking selfies (gah):

And now it’s almost time to say good-bye. I’m so glad she came to see us.

Sigh.

We took a little trip to the mountains with Grandma over the weekend. We went to Stanserhorn and the weather was perfect.

It’s exciting to ride on the train with Claire:

First we took an open air funicular:

Then a big gondola the rest of the way up the mountain:

We had a yummy lunch:

And then we spent the rest of our time on a short hike and just taking in the views:

The Swiss do occasionally do kitsch – ha ha:

I almost forgot about these photos from when we were in Midland. We took a nice walk through Dow Gardens with Grandma C.