Laowai

Summer has started off swimmingly. Today we started off with chocolate pancakes. I’ve been adding a third cup of dark cocoa powder and a bit of extra milk to my regular pancake recipe. Mmmmm. 

Later we got to take a dip in Lake Zurich again and it felt so good.

Lake Zurich is so cherished and well used. I just love how the Swiss fit a swim into their everyday. When the water is chilly they don’t gasp and make a scene (like we Americans) they just slowly and gracefully get in and start swimming. You can see the heads of older people bobbing along in the water at all times of the day. Then they towel off and tactfully change into their clothes and off they go – cooled and refreshed.

Today we had a sweet little interaction with an older couple. Claire and I were finishing our picnic. We were set up on a steep little hill on the lakeside. Somehow a nectarine got free and it rolled down the hill. The older couple next to us had just finished their swim. We all watched the nectarine bump and tumble down the grass and then across the stone edging and then plop into the water. Claire giggled and that made everyone laugh. And then soon the man was getting into the water – you have to gingerly climb over the big slippery rocks. He dove in and rescued our nectarine! It was so kind of him – I thanked him with my stupid German and some English words too. And that nectarine was good and juicy!

Claire had her end of year piano recital on Saturday. It was held at a beautiful old villa. I’ll post a link to the video once her teacher passes it on.

Claire played Waltzing Butterflies, as a duet with her teacher and Rainbow. That’s her teacher, Jana, on the right.

She has learned so much in the last few months and she played beautifully. I’m such a dodo when it comes to music so hearing her play just makes my heart super amazed and proud.

Not much to report from our house. The girls have one more week of school. Then I hope we’ll be spending some lazy days by the lake. Our plans for the summer are set. We’ll see friends in Wilmette and family in Michigan and then we have visitors coming to Switzerland. I have a feeling it’s going to zoom by.

Just this morning I finished quilting all the blocks and I’ve started doing the binding. So close!

I bought some pretty pretty peonies.

Brian has been traveling all the time. Claire has the habit of sleeping with me whenever Brian is gone. And she has a habit of filling my bed with her favorite stuffed animals. They make me smile.

I hope you too have something silly to make you smile today.

Brian has been working too hard. He needed this lake-side nap.

One of the cool things about the girls’ school is the fact that they get to go on some really awesome overnight trips. Bea went to the mountains early in the school year and then had a ski trip to Davos in February. Well now Claire has gotten her turn. Second graders get to just dip their toe in the overnight trip experience. They drive about 45 minutes away from school and stay 24 hours. They got to have a camp fire and sleep in bunks with their class mates. They even got to ride a chair lift (!) and then hike down the mountain in the morning. The teachers have everything so organized and the little mountain top resort is so sweet. I think she had a fantastic time. Here are some photos that her teachers took:

And we just learned that next year, as a sixth grader, Bea will travel by plane all the way to Italy (Florence I think). 

Brian was traveling a lot last week so I had a sort of sewing frenzy. I made PJ pants for Bea, a nightie for Claire, a dress and a shirt for myself. I tend to let my sewing room get super messy as I sew – leaving bits of thread strewn all over the floor. And then they get tracked around the house. 

Time to clean up.

The girls need new pajamas and I (don’t) need a new dress so I treated myself to some new fabric. There is a fabric shop in a town at the bottom of Lake Zurich and it’s crammed full of fabrics that I drool over. I’ll make some PJ pants for Bea with the bike fabric and a pretty nightie for Claire with the swan fabric. That swan fabric is a loose weave cotton and it’s so so soft! The other fabric… we’ll see. It’s a lovely lawn type weight. Maybe a sundress.

Today we drove about 45 minutes to a lake in the mountains – it’s called Klöntalersee. It’s a popular spot. Lots of families go there to swim and play in the lake to build a fire. And the hiking was beautiful today because of the spring flowers blooming.

Here’s a bouquet from my little potted garden. It’s not much. 

I miss my lilac tree, my lily of the valley, my bleeding heart, my hydrangeas, my daffodils, my ladies mantle, my alliums, my rhubarb, my peonies, my peas, all of it. Sniff.

Over the weekend we went to a strange and interesting sculpture park just outside Zurich.