it's late fall

still october, cool and foggy, the season is at it's latter end. harvesting has mostly ended, a few more apples are out there on the tree, we will head out on wednesday to get them and press them into cider. the butternut squashes are all taken home from my friends garden. it strikes me as funny to see them paired up with the boys soccer ball. the ball is taken out every day, across the street onto the fiel, which has turned into a muddy playfield instead of well tended soccer field. though the kids don't mind, as long as there is a ball to kick nothing matters.


the last of the autumn flowers are out, and for the summer floor it is seed pod time, very delicate, very spiky and wonderfully grown. those are my favorite seed pods, the "jungfer im gruenen" or latin nigella damascena, a lovely flower but then when the seed pods are here, i love them even more.


of course this one is at it's peak, the sedum is almost glowing with it's bright pink and i'm really excited that this one will keep being pink for many more weeks to come. such a joy when i'm standing on the front steps looking out into the autumn fog and still there it is, this bright spot of autumn!

{this moment}

A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

part II

together with amos, i went for a 10 day trip to our old home town...
yes we did it even though i was a bit nervous about facing my old neighborhood, my "lost" friends. i know the internet makes it possible to be close even though being far apart. it was great to see and meet our friends for real and keep a discussion going for a couple of hours. lots of very deep felt moments, meeting people as well as being at very familiar places, which don't really are in my life anymore. or are they still?


of course the greenstreet playground, a favorite as ever, especially with a the best friend in amos' world.


very fun and messy tea parties at our friends house, thank you r for hosting.


there is this one friend, we almost could not leave her place anymore, she has a swing in her living room. what a cool way to entertain guests.


once coffee and of course once for a pressed farmers lunch with amos. stopping by city feed and supply.


passing time, knitting and cat sitting


a special treat for my birthday, a longish visit through the MFA, with two good friends (and no kids in tow)


just on my own, walking through the city. i do not remember when i was doing this without any agenda as well as no time commitment. this is, i guess, what i from now on shall call relaxing.


so much of our life in boston was around this church with lots of our friends still there, visiting has been good and exhausting at the same time.


and of course, the aquarium was on amos' agenda. together with friends we enjoyed a morning at the waterfront


since we left there is a new yarn and fabric store called JP knit & stitch. of course i had to visit and see what i miss out! leaving the place with some lovely yarn in my bag...


there were lots of great moments with amos, picnicing, wandering and chatting, sharing memories and of course once more, saying good by to all our friends and places, as we did 2 years ago!

long not seen... part I

it has been a while since i posted, though the reason for it is not that i forgot...
i was on vacation! not just any kind of get away, but a week with family in the swiss mountains, with unexpected amounts of snow, exceptional for mid october.
this the first week in photos:


with the help of the sled run specialist d the kids were all up in the snow digging and building and making the run a fast one


as some others were building on an igloo



some stunning vistas, as we enjoyed a picnic on top of one of the surrounding peaks


lots of work needed to be done too


and of course waking up toward the end of the week, to green pastures with a heard of roaming goats


and then a big hike for the little ones to quarry our own soap stone


it was exciting and we will be occupied for a while, carving that stone. it's fun to do so all winter long...

{this moment}

A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

enjoyiong walden pond

listening to henry david thoreau's "walden", was a wonderful enjoyment. it really brought home the ramblings and pondering of an imaginary world, as i would so much love to live in the wild. and not just anywhere, this is right there at walden pond, where we swam, where we picnicked, where we enjoyed a stroll through the woods. nearby apple orchards, pumpkin patches, what ever else is being thought of when i hear new england-indian summer.
this has been a good preparation for my trip to boston within just a week amos and i will be flying out there, back to our old home, back to the past 12 years of my life...
there are lists of places and people to visit, things to see and lists of items i want to buy and bring back to switzerland with me. lists of cloths and books to pack, of gifts we are bringing along. there might be little paragraphes written down as i do have to work through some reverse culture shock stuff. and i do know it will be a roller coaster of emotions happening inside me.
it has been 2 years since we moved across the big pond to our roots in switzerland, it has not been a smooth ride at all, but i know life is never a smooth ride. there have been hurdles to jump over and sometimes collide. and that's ok we manage and i more than ever slow down and live day bay day, carried in the loving hand of God.

:: i did find a sequence of beautiful photos from the walden woods here
:: of course there has been an impersonating of henry david thoreau, it was fun watching this one, and again, listen and get inspired to live life deliberately, honestly and self sustaining
:: the walden woods project an other interesting place to explore
:: Morning Edition, Jill Kaufman explores the origins of Thoreau's Walden

right now

there are lots of emotions going on...

:: savoring every bright coloured flower in front of the house and on the kitchen table


:: collecting every possible flower seed for next season
:: preserving a batch of mixed mushrooms


:: knitting on my field blanket as well as starting naomi's skirt
:: listening to "walden" by henry david thoreau, read by william hope
:: storing 320 liters of sweet apple cider in the basement
:: baking the first apple crisp of this season, o yes autumn has arrived
:: planning our trip to boston, and getting really excited to see my friends most of them having not seen over two years!!!


:: loving each and every day with it's sunshine still keeping us company into october
:: enjoying the chattering of the egg laying chickens


:: and missing the two roosters waking me up in the morning, too many complaints of neighbors...
:: anticipating new people joining our little community, still not knowing who it will be and when it will happen
:: flipping through "himmlische kuechengelueste"
:: wanting to cook and prepare delicious food for all the wonderful people around me
:: happily ordering a few pairs of tights for the big girl
:: as i'm expecting some cooler air swinging in within the next weeks, it is october, even though we have been registering 20C every day this week
:: greatful for wednesdays, as joel is working from home and has the afternoon off

enjoy your wednesday as much as i do

pesto from the market

every time i'm strolling through the market with thea, we have a look at all the pasta and pesto this guy has for sale! it's amazing the colour first of all, and then the taste, even better.
there is of course the regular basil pesto, pesto rosso with dried tomatoes, ramsons pesto, pumpkin-curry pesto, arucola with garlic pesto, lemon-almond pesto, red beet-garlic pesto and some more types of spread. we got a glass of the pumpkin one, and yes it tasted super yummy. of course thea could almost not stop eating those little ravioli pasta-bites the seller offered us. a good autumn morning, strolling back to the trailer and ride home to get down to the daily business...

freilandrosen vom markt

immer wieder, wenn ich freitags auf dem markt in der stadt bin, bewundere ich den wunderfschoenen blumenstand von mueller schneider. freilandblumen, immer in saison, von pfingstrosen, sonnenblumen, rosen hortensien und einiges mehr. eine augenweide...




so wunderschoen und einfach praesentiert da hab ich vor einer woche rosen gepostet, thea hat obendrein noch eine fuer sich auslesen koennen einfach so.
irgendwie hab ich die rosen nicht richtig angeschnitten und wollte die schoenen blaetter mitpraesentieren in der vase auf meinem kuechentisch, da haben sie die koepfe bereits nach zwei tagen haengen lassen. ich bin vergangenen freitag am stand stehengeblieben und hab nachgefragt, was ich wohl falsch gemacht habe. liebevoll wurde ich gelehrt, dass die rosen am liebsten in lauwarmes wasser und tief eingestellt werden moechten. wenn die koepfe haengen sollten die blaetter entfernt werden, neu angeschnitten und dies kurz, den grossteil des stieles im wasser....
die zwei netten herren entschuldigten sich und haben mir einen neuen strauss der wunderschoenen gefuellten rosen gegeben, mit viel freude.


es macht freude zu erleben, wie diese blumenverkaeufer ihr gut lieben und kennen und wissen wie damit umzugehen. freilandrosen sind etwas heikler im einstellen und koennen ab und zu einfach kolabieren. doch dies wird mich auch in zukunft nicht daran hindern inne zu halten, zu geniessen und ab und zu einige mit nach hause zu bringen.