the birthday

the boy turned 19!
wow, how quickly did this happen, he just turned nine, i remember vividly when he was born, and now he is a young man. he loves life and jumps out of airplains, has jesus in his heart and plays the violin...
we had a lovely dessert mid afternoon, grandparents and family, sitting in the garden and enjoying our son's presence. there were a few more visiters stopping by and all was just lovely.
i made a simple buttermilk cake with black berries, it turned out well and the boy loved it. he is particular about desserts and loves fine food.
time is flying, elias has almost finished the first two years of apparentice ship to become a draftsmen in construction. he is doing well and has some wonderful supportive friendships. i'm very curious about the following years and how his carachter is being built and strengthened. o yes the evening moments when we have time to sit down and talk, discuss problems and topics he is passionate about, those are so precious and i do treasure them.

across the street

it started out early this morning, just a few minutes after 6am the workers were "puzzling" together the new school house. it will be there for the coming 10 or so years... so it's really just temporary.
there are so many more kids in the neighborhood than the existing schools can handle (a few years back, the statistics departement of winterthur made a mistake with juggling the number of school age kids in the city for the next 15 years!)
those temporary constructions are popping up in different places across the city. this one across the street from our house, near an existing kindergarten and a highschool. you have to know, that in switzerland, the schools are very local, all the kids walk or bike to school. driving the kids to school is in most places prohibited and busing is not done on a big scale in the city.

i liked the look over to the sports field, though it could be worse, i guess... and so it happened until the work was done at 8pm with a 30minute lunch brake. i loved watching the sight all day, progress was so visible. a friend of mine was camping out next to the big trucks coming and going, unloading the elements. her two little kids were just at awe and loved the movement the repetition of it all. there were over 36 elements and i dare say, the three of them started watching at 10am, took a little potty brake while the workers ate lunch and they were still watching at 3:15pm....
yes my friend is a dedicated mom and so super patient and just going with it, taking a camping stool along and a back pack with snacks!

the roof is on now and i'm sure the scaffolding will be gone by the end of the week!

10k at the winterthur marathon

at the finish of the 10k, yesterday afternoon. it was hot, but not quiet as hot as last year. it was 10 full kilometers, as i guess a 10k is supposed to be. about half of the course is in the shade on forest roads and just wonderful to run. i was concious about drinking a lot of water. i started already on friday to fill my body with that precious liquid. just as a precotion as i got dehidrated last year and yes, it payed out. i wanted to run a time just around 50 min. and still didn't want to be falling appart at the finish... as i'm not competing really, just this one time a year, running against myself, i have not a lot of experience to draw from. i was very happy and seeng the boys and joel 2km before the finish pushed me along. the last stretch is hard, all in the sun and a straight bike path...
running across the finish at 50:31, with joel cheering was fun and i could still enjoy every moment, unlike last year...
maybe a half marathon would be alright with me next year, we will see.

the week through the lens

it has been on the back burner, i have not been taking a lot of photos for a while now, and that should change. so i put the "hand made" lens back on the camera body and got started this week. it touched me in a special way, as i wander and have the camera ready be it in the kitchen, or living room table... this enables me to see with new eyes and i like it. we will see if it sticks, it is a start to a new friday review of what caught my eye. there is to be said, that i was inspired by erin boyle and her blog "reading my tea leaves". she does a wonderful job and it is so inspirational to have a look at her photos...

:: 1. it was wonderful as well as loud with all the bells

:: 2. late spring in full bloom

:: 3. work in progress

:: 4. so far 5 little chicks and a very gentle and caring mama

:: 5. o so yummy, i love this soap from cocooning, a swiss product...

hiking through the appenzellerland

we planned to hike with our friends long ago and originally intended to do something in the mountains. as the snow was still close and the forecast was set for rain, we decided to go for a route in the hill country of appenzell. we started out in herisau and went via saum toward stein.

on the way down to the urnäsch tobel. of course we could not just take any regular bridge, it had to be something special, the one next to the water pipes...

 many a hiking path led us through the pastures. i was very aprehensive about this, but the path was clearly marked and we could see, that it was the only path leading us along those wonderfully yellow marked hiking paths (they are the same all over switzerland).

to my surprise up there on top of hundwiler höhe, the pine trees just experience their spring and are in full bloom. in the lower lands of switzerland this happened two weeks ago...
from stein toward haslen, and then up to the "hundwiler höhi". it was still not raining as we originally predicted and planned for.

absolutely stunning, the local architecture. so many windows and low sealings...
it ended up to be a wonderful day, no rain no thunder or any kind of storms. unexpectedly warm and bright. we loved the 6h of walking up and down and across those bridges. through lush forests and blooming meadows, greeting the cows and goats and being barked at by many a appenzeller dog. zürchersmühle was the town where we hopped on the regional train, which brought us back to herisau. o "appenzellerland" you are pretty and lovely to be discovered.

and following all the details my dear husband was planning and doing the math and fidgeting around to come up with a good looking map and a intelligent diagram...

up dating the list

looking back what i have done the past few months...
what's checked off my list for  this year and where i'm headed toward. i love lists and it is so much fun to check off what's done and what i still can look forward to do!

this years list is a bit different, but not so much. just trying to keep life in check, be ready for surprises and of course list writing. i have been adding asterixs for things accomplished. and then i have to add to some letters, just because i love life and list-writing!

:: applaude my children when they accomplish what they have set out to do. and also when they
              bring home good grades. i have been very hesitant to take notice of their grades, as i don't
              think that they are very important. but the kids kind of think so...
             * some of the kids have been writing good grades, that made it easy to applaude, one passed
              an exame which made me applaude.
:: balance the tasks and things i want to do, so it doesn't push me to hard and i feel rather constrained
              and pushed in the corner by the things i commited and must do's.
             * i had one week at the beginning of april, i pulled the brakes and got myself into a time out.
:: choose to buy second hand clothes and if not possible fair trade, even for hard to find items.
:: devote an hour a week to taking better photos, reading the book "sehen lernen" by banek banek.
:: eat out with friends. maybe just with joel, i think i would very much enjoy that.
:: fermenting has become a bit of a magic process for me. in this respect i want to keep the
               kombucha going and in general try some more recipes on fermenting and conserving food
               like eggs in vinegar or belle peppers and making herbed vinegar myself.
:: go on an adventure with naomi.
              * we went shopping once for pants for her, it was fun.
:: hand-stitch some kind of project, a new tiny series would be a wonderful challenge.
              :: hiking with good friends
              * we did so and it was absolutely the best day since a while.
:: insist and be consequent on the issues of an earth friendly life stile, like buying bulk and bring my
              own mug to the coffee shop.
             * i regularely stop by "bare ware" at steinberggasse and buy oats and millet in 5kg bags. As
             well as loose tea and some of the vinegar.
:: jogg maybe i could say run 4 times a week, this would be perfect 3 short runs and a long one.
             * this is going well and it is refreshing.
:: knit one item a month, be it mittens, a shawl or a hat, maybe the linnen tunica liesl which i got
               started on and stopped and unraveled again...
:: look at natures beauty once more. take the moment to observe the bird playing with the wind.
              * i spotted some wood peckers and observed how our chickadees are looking for worms.
              well, there is potential...
:: maybe just be brave to not set every thing and every plan in stone, but be flexible and bendable
               with scheduling and enjoy the freedome in that
:: nurture my spiritual life with still and times of prayer on a regular basis
:: organize a little house concert
               this was on my list for the past couple years, and i'm so excited about the event in planning,
               i will keep you posted.
               * we had a house concert in march and it was delightful. we have to do this again...
:: protect the space and needs of our children in our community household. this is sometimes a bit of
               a challenge, as we live in community and share our kitchen table and living room space with
               8 more people in our household. it is important to me and i need to remind myself to very
               sensitive of this issue.
              * this one is definitely in check. there have been two moments when i had to stand up for it,
               and i did.
:: quilt the granny square quilt
              i want to keep this on my list and check off until the summer
:: reading for enjoyment, pleasur as well as education
                The Children Act by Ian McEwan
                A Spool of blue thread by Anne Tyler (a bit boring)
                Daring to drive by Manal Al-Sharif
                Wie Adam, Eva und die Evolution zusammenpassen by Timothy Keller
                Schottland: Whisky, Seetang und karierte Röcke by Rolf Sotcheck
                Gardening with Chickens by Steele
:: sew a few baby kimonos
               * in the making :)
:: teach with lots of enthusiasm and joy in my reglion classes at church. i want to put my
               knowledge and passion into this new challenge.
:: utilize my energy and the space i live in, to hoste gatherings and have people come and visit
:: visit friends abroad, the plan is for summer: go to london and visit the b's and travel to schottland
               too, this is in planning and so super exciting
:: watch a good movie in the theather with a friend
              this didn't happen last year, but maybe after ski vacation there will be an evening...
              * we went and saw the "phantom thread", i really liked it. a good night out with my friend.
              and that was not enough, we invited friends and watched "three billboards outside ebbing"
              which was very good too.
:: relax a bit more, not everything needs to be handled and talked through with the urgency and high
              flying emotion it is being brought to my attention.
              * just this week, i decided to walk off and go for a run. it was a good alternative as the
              person i was trying to explain something to, decidedly didn't want to understand. i was
              i was relaxed after the running and let go of it.
:: yearn for the peace that God puts in my heart and the every day rythm of things.
:: zeroing in on the important stuff and let go of every thing else.

in the zoo

joel, amos and thea were at the zurich zoo today. i'm so happy that he took the camera along and now have the opportunity to walk through alongside, to get just a little glimps of their day.
and here i share my joy with you all.

all photos by joel

 chameleon

 asian elefants

 amur tiger

 rainbow lorikeet

 emu

emperor tamarin

the week through the lens

it has been on the back burner, i have not been taking a lot of photos for a while now, and that should change. so i put the "hand made" lens back on the camera body and got started this week. it touched me in a special way, as i wander and have the camera ready be it in the kitchen, or living room table... this enables me to see with new eyes and i like it. we will see if it sticks, it is a start to a new friday review of what caught my eye. there is to be said, that i was inspired by erin boyle and her blog "reading my tea leaves". she does a wonderful job and it is so inspirational to have a look at her photos...

:: 1. so pretty so light and fluid.

:: 2. up high and going there, knowing it's prohibited.

:: 3. coming home after a long weekend on the rock.

:: 4. a rainy week, and we so loved it.

:: 5. and the plants loved it too!

this years flower boxes

the "Eisheilige" are in the passing and the weather forecast was clear and loud, that it would not get cold anymore until autumn...
this kicked me into planting gear once more. the geraniums i put in the garage last fall, were just about surviving. not all the plants, more like half of them. i have not been a super nice care taker for the plants, they have to fight and it is something like "survival of the fittest". But it was worth it, i got four plants which are doing ok and will get stronger again, as i feed them regularely again and the warmth and sunlight of spring is definitely doing it's job.
it was perfect, planting last friday, while it was nice and warm. this week is more of an april weather type of week, and that is just what my flower need, to get settled in the boxes on the balcony.

this year, i chose a new kind of geranium and some little sonflower kind of hanging plant as well as ornamental potato plants, we will see, what's coming of it all! lots of tender care and then, while we will be gone for 3 weeks this summer, maybe the plants will survive in the care of my house mates, we will see...

hiking with T

it has been an adventure and lots of fun to go on this saturday hike with thea. she could try out her "new" (second hand) hiking shoes and it turned out, that she liked them :)
we started out right at home and it was nothing new, walking up to the city's big woods, eschenberg. i was not aware of the fact, that thea loves to do stairs, be it up or down...
this made us find some more stairs. on our way down from the highest parts of eschenberg, we went to the waldegg corner, before heading into the city and enjoyed the opportunity of more stairs.
it was not to overlook, all those different ways of stacking bushels of fire wood... what a great sight!

keeping a good stride, toward town, we passed some great chalk drawings and fountains. each fountain had to be checked out and mesured.
and of course together we analized, why the fountain was deeper on one end... first thea would not believe the fact and blamed herself of not keeping the mesureing stick straight. we did a second and third mesurment and it turned out that it wasn't her technique, but it was the fountain. upon pondering and deliberation, we agreed, that it must be, for the moment, one would want to get rid of the water and pull the plug. as we found out, that the fountain was deeper on the "plug end"...

applied science, once more a moment of homeschooling and my heart is jumping with joy!

the week through the lens

it has been on the back burner, i have not been taking a lot of photos for a while now, and that should change. so i put the "hand made" lens back on the camera body and got started this week. it touched me in a special way, as i wander and have the camera ready be it in the kitchen, or living room table... this enables me to see with new eyes and i like it. we will see if it sticks, it is a start to a new friday review of what caught my eye. there is to be said, that i was inspired by erin boyle and her blog "reading my tea leaves". she does a wonderful job and it is so inspirational to have a look at her photos...

:: 1. the lovely spring air make the drying so much faster and "scented" fresh clothes into the closet.

:: 2. peonies, just on time for pentecost (in german we call them pfingstrosen) this year, is the timing perfect...

:: 3. in the heat of spring, we all love a glass of cold water

:: 4 a night of ping pong

:: 5. the "müesli-mix" must be precise, doing the math and making sure it turnes out just right...