Here’s our little village all set up in our new apartment. Claire did all the arranging this year and oh my goodness did I love watching her unpack the little trinkets and carefully arrange them. She spent a couple hours getting everything out and putting the little people and animals in just the right places. She made up a story for each little scene. I love her! And I love itty bitty kitschy Christmas trinkets!!!
Claire made a sweet card for me for my birthday. She is really into drawing super detailed pictures with lots of pattern lately.
Bea’s best friend Mabel visited over the weekend. They haven’t seen each other since we left Wilmette in July. The weather was crummy for their visit but I don’t think that mattered to the girls. I loved seeing them smiling at each other. I am overwhelmed at their beautiful friendship.
Mabel got to go to school with Bea for all of Friday afternoon. They made pins at Bea’s after-school art class.
Filling their tummies with Haribo gummy candy:
Claire is trying to blend in with the seat in this photo:
On their last night here we took Mabel and her dad to the big turnip festival and parade. It was very very rainy and the girls begged to go home but the turnips were impressive. We ate some yummy fair food in the rain and Mabel’s dad said “they are not kidding around with the turnips”.
Thank you for coming Mabel and Nathan! Bea will always remember you’re coming so far to see her for a special weekend.
The little putz house bug has bitten me again. I made two new patterns – started out trying to make a Swiss style house. Tomorrow we’ll get out the box with our whole little village collection.
Part of the fun of living here is enjoying all the Swiss holidays. I love, love, love celebrating. – especially this time of year. But I have to admit that my head is spinning trying to keep up with the US holidays and the Swiss holidays. Halloween is done and now the Räbeliechtli season is upon us (the turnip carving time). I’m hosting Thanksgiving and then we have to fit lots of Christmas in before we head back to the US for a visit in mid-December. We must make time to visit Christmas markets and make gingerbread men and houses and make some homemade gifts… Suddenly it’s that merry time of year.
Yesterday I went to the girls’ school to help hollow out a bunch of turnips (Räbeliechtli). The kids will finish the hollowing out and then carve designs on the outside. They are so pretty when you light a candle in them. This weekend we will to to a big Räbeliechtli festival and parade in the town next to ours.
I was at the brocki again (the girls think that’s all I talk about: brocki, brocki, brocki all the time). I had to add to my collection of this type of trinket – I can’t resist.
Over the weekend Brian and I went to the wine boats in Zurich with some of his work colleagues. It’s a cool event where wine distributors set up on a bunch of boats. You go around to their little bars and get to taste many different wines and then you can order the ones you liked and they’ll be delivered by Christmas. The boats are the same lovely boats that tour around Lake Zurich in the summer and for the wine event they are docked at the top of the lake in the city.
All the holiday goodies are in the stores. I try to ignore the pretty chocolates but I had to have some cranberries:
And Brian found a beer with this festive fellow:
Merry, merry, merry!
This year, sadly, the preparations for Halloween were more fun than the real holiday. We were supposed to have a trunk or treat at the girls’ school but it was cancelled because of rain. It’s supposed to be reschedules but in the meantime Halloween day passed like any other day. I feel guilty (as I do). Here are some photos of the fun before Halloween.
Here we are carving our pumpkins – fast:
Bea wanted to dress up as Spider Pig – that’s Homer’s pet pig in the Simpson’s in case you didn’t know. And Claire wanted to be a chocolate cookie character from the Shopkins toys.
We were back at one of our old haunts, Jucker Farm, today. It’s a fun place to get our pumpkins or our kurbis. The colors of our days at this farm (the bright oranges and the blue sky) always get me in the picture taking mood. Oh and we brought our piggy daughter along.
Laowai 