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Jucker Farmarkt
Saturday, 27 September 2008
Danielle and Klaus and little Finn Geiser met us
at the Jucker Farm for a fun family outing. The farm is known around
the region as the pumpkin specialist. We went for an apple picking
day.
After checking out the farmers market and gorging
on everything you can possible eat made with pumpkin (including
pumpkin brats!), we headed towards the apples.
They have two days each fall designated for pick
your own apples (Äpfel zum Selberpflücken) . After a wrong turn
down a row of apples where we unknowingly picked forbidden apples,
we found the designated Selberpflücken area. They had about 5 different
varieties in 2 rows each all labeled by name with big hanging wooden
signs. We weighed our bags on the big scale and paid the nice man
who also shared with us the secret key to perfect apple picking:
Twist the apple up and over the branch to break off the perfect
stem.
All around the farm were displays of pumpkins and
odd things made out of pumpkins, squash and gourds.
There must be a German among the decorators on the
farm. This is the famous Bremen Town Musicians statue honoring the
fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm.
Rent a wheelbarrow? Well, you do need something
to haul your kids and apples around in!
Sebastian and Geneva enjoying the view with little
Finn in the background
Ashley and Geneva waiting for Sebastian to come
back with those yummy pumpkin brats and pumpkin soup from the smoking
hot witches cauldron.
A farm without a horse ride? No Way!
Kiddies in the pumpkin patch
Family picture
Day with the Weckmans
Sunday, 31 August 2008
We were invited to visit with Daniel, Martina and
baby Lilli and join in on their building's summer party. Lilli is
5 weeks older than Geneva, but they share the same baptism day!
Martina and Lilli
Sebastian eating a Genie Steak
Here Geneva gets messy
Family Risse!
Memories of Emma
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Woods Elegant Em - Emma Risse
October 20,1999 - August 16, 2008
Emma had a rough start to life. She didn't have what
you would call a puppyhood, instead she was raised to race. She
competed on various tracks in Florida until the age of 3 and a half.
We adopted her straight off the track, and hoped to give her a loving
home to live out the remainder of her life. Over the next 5 years
she changed from a timid and shy creature that was more super fast
cat than a dog, into the queen of the house and loved by everyone
who knew her. Two and a half years ago we decided to move to Switzerland
and took her right along with us. She was welcomed into Switzerland
as a novelty breed and even given a Swiss passport, which is extraordinarily
difficult for foreigners to get! She learned to climb mountains
and chase cows. Well, actually the cows chased her. Every child
in the neighborhood begged to walk her or even sit in the yard and
pet her for hours. She even cured some friends who were afraid of
dogs! Emma was the sweetest and most loving creature we have ever
known, and were blessed to have her as a member of the family for
a little over 5 years.
Emma died as the result of complications from a seizure.
We will truly miss her.
Finished with 3.5 Weeks to Spare
Friday, 22 February 2008
Yeah, approximately 27 more heartburn filled days and nights to
go!!
I finally finished putting the final touches on Geneva's room.
Our wish, needs and wants lists have all been crossed off and we
are ready! The hardest things on our lists to find were the moses
basket and a baby
monitor that would work all through our crazy house, including
the laundry room with 2 foot thick walls. I was surprised to find
that the only bassinets carried by all the baby shops were these
HUGE
contraptions on wheels that take up just about as much space
as a crib. What's the point?? I finally found a French shop Jacadi
with an adorable basket that fit our needs, but you should have
seen the stares of amazement as we lugged it home on the tram! And
who knew we would have to wait almost 5 months for a denim Bugaboo
stroller?
Now I'm working on preparing ready made meals for the freezer to
help us thru the first sleepless months. You can only eat so much
take-out, and nothing causes the downward slide of new parents like
hunger! 5 Casseroles down and 2 to go, and don't forget about all
the freezer friendly soups…
34 and 1/2 Weeks Belly Shot
Sunday, 10 February 2008
34 Weeks
Thursday, 7 February 2008
We had our 34 week exam to see how things are progressing. She
weighs about 2.4 kilos and is right on schedule other than the fact
that she hasn't turned yet. She better get moving in the right direction
soon! Things are starting to get quite squished in there!!
I'll try and get a belly shot this weekend.
Fondue Tram
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Ever wonder what it would be like to chow on Cheese fondue while
riding a tram thru the busy streets of Zurich? If the idea of cheese
dribbling from your chin while starting at the lovely people of
Zurich making their way home from work doesn't tickle your fancy,
then you are no friend of mine!
We really didn't know what to expect when we signed up 6 weeks
in advance for this opportunity. Yes, they are booked 6 weeks in
advance and only operate in 4 months out of the year! Switzerland
still hasn't caught on to the whole concept of supply and demand
yet. I'm hoping it catches on first in retail though, but I digress.
We were pleasantly surprised to find the tram absolutely adorable
and efficiently well run, so very Swiss. After hanging our coats
and wiggling into our little table with the bolted down fondue burner,
we were off on our first of 4 loops around the city which all magically
ended up back at our start point for a short pause between courses.
Not only were these pauses used for re-stocking the tram for the
next course of goodies, but also allowed for a much needed pee-pee
break. We even got a free token for 1, not 2 mind you, pee-pee's
each in the ever so clean Zurich sanitation system sponsored public
restrooms! So very exciting for an 8 month pregnant person.
The highlight of the evening had to have been when one of the waiters
came around and squeegeed the fondue steamed windows so we could
continue to enjoy the sights without interrupting the cheese to
mouth pattern.
You would think this would be a VERY touristy thing to do, but
everyone on the tram, excluding us of course, were Swiss with Zurich
accents! All in all, the food was great, the entertainment was great
(thanks to the citizens of Zurich) and the value on target. We would
do this again in a heartbeat!
Productive Saturday
Saturday, 15 December 2007
Today was one of the most productive days we have had in awhile.
Maybe it is due to the first day of pure sunshine in weeks of snow
and rain, or the feeling that the end of the year is fast approaching
and our to-do list is still mighty long. Not only did we take down
the pavilion in the garden for the winter, we purchased the paint
and painted the baby's room and did a bit of holiday cookie making.
Sebastian's Probezeit (traditional 3 month long probation period
when starting a new job) is coming to an end. It is customary to
provide goodies for your office, I guess as a way of saying Thanks
for not giving me the boot. Sebastian wanted to provide home
baked goodies instead of the bakery special, so I made a big batch
of our family's signature holiday cookie, Pizelles. En Gutete! (Swiss
for Good Appetite)
Belly Shot Week 27
Desserts and Holiday Cheer
Monday, 10 December 2007
Laurie, Jill and Me (Thank you to Matt and Jill for the photo!)
Our annual holiday party was on Saturday the 8th. Once again our
favorite people gathered to sample homemade desserts and regional
cheeses while getting into the holiday spirit. We ate, we chatted,
we hummed along to our favorite Christmas songs, then somehow the
evening took a turn…Sebastian got talking about his new Nintendo
Wii and before I knew it there were sweaty Swiss people jumping
around my living room playing Wii tennis and golf. Once again we
were too busy joining in to take pictures. I promise to work on
this for next time!!
It's a Girl!
Friday, 30 November 2007
We had a 24th week 2D and 4D scan and found out it is 100% a girl!!
She is healthy and active, but wouldn't move her arms from in front
of her face for a nice 4D picture.
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