montenegro II

then the second part of our vacation was at the nature preserve of skadar lake. we stayed in virpazar at guest house ivana . super nice and spacious, we all enjoyed the solitude and quiet. a walk into the little town, grocery shopping with ice creme was a must. some very special light at the evenings, as it was supposed to be a stormy night (which ended up not being).

an other take at kayaking, this time on the lake, all quiet and still. exploring islands which are cow pastures... we realized it early enough to hop back into our kayaks... and on we went to find a spot ideal and idyllic for a lunch break. we found it! the farmer even went that far to prepare two tables and a chair in the shade of the willows.... :) no, just joking, but it was fun to discover those long lost tables and chair and we had a little "in the boat" picnic.
a wonderful lake for kayaking, so many kinds of sea weeds and reeds and lilies. in some spots super shallow, sandy ground and great for swimming and playing in the water, the absolute best fun for the kids, even better than cliff jumping in the days ahead!

to our astonishment, we discovered a little "free library" in the town of virpazar, i want one of those libraries in my neighborhood too...

and then on our last day, we enjoyed a wonderful long boat tour on the lake. very impressive, especially after so many hours of paddling in a kayak, that motor boat was super fast. it was a treat and we were able to go to places we just could not have paddled ourself's. we went through areas covered by sea lily pads. the guides have to cut those corridors out for the boat tours. lots of pygmy cormoranst, grey heron, swifts and different species of ducks.
we visited a little monastery, just one monk lives there, has his bees, his little vineyard and a generator, some cats and a dog. a wonderful tiny chapel and a breath taking view out onto the lake a gorgeous spot of nature.
that last night we had dinner in town, fish and eel and of course fries and grilled vegetables with a wonderful dessert, something like a cake soaked in rich milk and caramel sauce topping, yummy and this all while the sun was setting.

now at home, going through the pictures and talking a lot about our adventures in montenegro, vacation lives on and it seems to be a likely country we will be visiting again.

montenegro I

it was a wonderful 11 days we spent in montenegro.the planned family vacation at a not super crowded spot on the adriatic sea. it all started out, that we felt like, we wanted to do some type of water vacation, as the kids love the element. my idea was to go north and enjoy the fjords of norway. though the kids were not up rot this, as swimming and snorkeling was on their minds. so the discussion was on, where to go, within europe and not to hit the hotspots, like southern france, italy, korsika, spain? well there was a lot of looking around, and some more trying to find a good location with the possibility of those activities, like kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, and going into a city. i found a wonderful helper with beyond travel. 

they quickly came up with the idea to visit montenegro, specifically the bay of kotor, and so we did!
a little insight into the past weeks are posted here

 not just sports but there are other hobbies which needed to be enjoyed

 and a short but bike tour with spectacular views

 then of course lots of kayaking and sun bathing, watching the clouds

we climbed the walls of kotor, picnicked and enjoyed every moment of the breathtaking view of this natural and cultural historic site

 had a lovely tiny apt to stay in and feel at home almost as part of the extended family of our hosts

enjoyed wild life and the not so wild side of it as well. visited cetinje


and more tomorrow

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. my crochet lace for a friend

:: 2. the weekly bouquet

:: 3. the sewing of this week on the targe

:: 4. there is a cello in the house...

:: 5. red currant tart, o so very delicious and tart!

the list '16 mid year

this is how it feels right now....

in the middle of the year, all unpacked and so much is in progress.
the project above is not mine, it's an art project one of the boys is working on for school. i'm excited to see a bit of it and how it unfolds or better comes together. i have not been painting with acrylics for a while, the more exciting to see one of the kids taking it on.

a look back to my list and what has happened, so let's see::

1.  in general say more yes, and in particular to my kids
     - still in training

2.  be less controlling
     - the same here, though i really have to pull back with the 17 year old and sometimes this is working well, maybe i should ask the children and joel how they feel about this item on my list

3. grow mushrooms behind the house on wooden logs
    - i bought a starter set a couple months ago and tried to do everything right, though no results yet, we will wait and see

4. sing in a choir
    -  it has been fun to sing with the kantorei on three different occasions, this past sunday was one of those moments, when the four voices come together and the conductor is bringing it together wonderfully, this has been great

5. read good books
     - leon and louise, alex capus
     - invincible, diana palmer
     - the rosie project, by simsion graeme
     - the rosie effect, by simsion graeme
     - the imperfect offering, by james obrinski
     - abenteuer reisender frauen by armin strohmeyer
     - glaubensweltern der bibel by stefan wälchli

6. take thursday afternoons off for crafts or reading or visit a friend
    - this one has been suffering, as i started to tutor a student as well as picked classes, which takes up my tuesdays. though i have managed to do four weeks of ICAD16 and i will pick up on that project...

7. run 30k a week
    - i was on target until april, when my hip started to hurt. and i got really sick a strong could got hold of me for three weeks. i started up again by early june and do one 11kg run on mondays and two to three 6-8km. it all ends up closer to 25k a week than 30.

8. this week :: through the lens, start my friday blog post series
    - i like to venture out and about, to be more intentional about carrying the camera along

9. go out for dinner with joel as well as with good friends
    - we went out once, it was a bit of an obstacle course, but wonderful when we finally sat down to eat, that was in, we had dinner with friends and discovered, that it works well, if we put the girls to bed and visit friends for a late night visit...

10. take a class what ever interests me
      - this one turned itself on me. i'm kind a back in school, taking classes toward teaching religious education for elementary aged kids. i love it and have fun being out of the house a full day a week

11. stick with the rule of not buying new clothes
      - yup it helped to have that one on the list last year. i got a few new pieces from a yard sale, and last week i found a wonderful wool jacket at a second hand shop, as well as some new underwear, this really was needed

12. take each child for special outings on their own
      - with thea i went on a hike, just a sunday afternoon in spring, it was great, she loves hiking, so we went again in early summer. naomi needed new sandals and for this we ventured into the city and after taking a whole hour of looking and trying on, we went to the first store and bought a nice pair of summer sandals. besides a few apt. i had to go with the boys, there was no special time spent alone with them, though that will happen.

13. i want to give the cross country skiing a try while on ski vacation in february
      - no, there was no cross country skying this winter, but there was snowboarding! yes i was standing on the board on two consecutive days and loved it!

14. practice gratitude “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” -- Cicero
     - this one is in the back of my head a lot and i realize how i get involved in conversations with friends about gratitude. a good sign that i'm practicing

15. sew a quilt for my sister in law
    just finished the quilt for L "dotted scheme"

16. knit or crochet or sew at least one item a month go give away
    - pot-mitt
    - pot-mitt
    - portland pullover
    - blue moebius
    - 8 medieval crochet helmets
    - the sunday dress for thea

17. sort through my books and give away what i not read or need anymore
18. keep buying fabric :) and stay at the machine more often
     
19. take a longish family vacation (outdoor adventure) this summer
     - we are heading to montenegro for kayaking in a week

20. practice twice a week on the ukulele
     - no where near

21. go to the art museum in winterthur and the kunsthaus in zurich for this and this
22. switch away from plastic wraps to something like bee's
23. clean up thea's room as well as have the naomi & amos clean up theirs during summer brake
24. sew a pair of linen pants for myself
25. organize a house concert/session in the fall

target quilt

as i have been telling you, ii'm working on the target quilt for amos.
it has been long, since i was planning and started thinking first, over two years. i even have ordered the pattern years ago and now, finally in the moment, i pulled out a few grayish fabrics...

then amos added the green and blue tones which he very much liked. nothing really fancy, just playful and not wild, bu a bit orderly and "soft spoken" i feel. that should be fine for the boy, as he quickly feels over whelmed with lots of color. it is a square big size lap quilt, what the pattern is made for. though i will add some more simply stripes at one side and it will be turned into a twin sized bed quilt.
a few more days and the top will be done. i have no plan yet for the back, but i'm sure there will be an idea and going about it this ways worked for me in the past, so i rely on it for this one too.

and then it is the last week before summer brake, the rain just started pouring down this night. it is good for nature and good for some clean fresh air, as we have not had any rain for more than a week. (very unusual for this summer or shall i say

violin recital

one more year of playing the violins....
we enjoyed a wonderful hour of violin recital with excellent piano accompaniment. hose recitals have been part of our school years for the past 11 years and it looks like it will go on.
thea played andantino and perpetual motion double, naomi played o. rieding: rondo op. 22 no. 3 and elias was playing h. fiocco: allegro, all three performed well, it was especially fun to watch thea, how she bathed in the attention and played as if she would play a game with the audience.

so here we are, in the last week before summer brake (i know it's late, as our american friends have been out of school at least 3 weeks already). starting the new semester, thea is switching to the cello and naomi is eagerly awaiting the official start of learning the piano. for me, it will be lots of newness to those instruments, as i have grown accustomed to three violin players in the family. elias sticks with it and i'm very glad for this, as he is a natural with his instrument.

and so it is, a big thank you to our violin teacher, karin. she is such a gifted teacher and all three love her, and with her the music they play!

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. my little salad box "sauerampfer" i have the mild version of ampfer, very zummy on a dinner plate

:: 2.  quinoa and fennel, for a bit of additional flavor a hand full of roasted pecan

:: 3. in season, swiss kale

:: 4. the target quilt for my son is coming along

:: 5. it will be a very good fig harvest!

stein am rhein

it took me six years and friends from america visiting....
of course i remembered that schaffhausen as well as stein am rhein are very picturesk towns, but still i never made it to stein am rhein, not even with guests, so far.
but i took the train to schaffhausen yesterday to meet frieinds from boston, they spend two weeks in switzerland traveling all the exciting places with a two week rail pass....

and as we kept talking and enjoying the wonderful warm summer day, i went on a rhine boat with them, to travel up the river to stein am rhein. a small little city with a super pretty town center. the boat ride itself was great, as the rhein carries a lot of water for the time of year! (it rained almost all of june.....)

the fun fact is, that amos did just about this trip last week with his class.... so we had a wonderful time talking about just anything which we have seen and liked. a little coincidence and one i totally liked and enjoyed.

the hike

a few weeks back we plotted a weekend get away with our friends. just grown ups. the kids were all "stowed away", or planned their own party...
though the  weekend quickly had to be cut short, as the hotel didn't have any free rooms. well never the less, this didn't keep us from planning grand. instead of a wellness weekend (ha!) we switched to a good sunday's hike. just one day, leaving home early and be back for community dinner was the perimeter.
our friends planned and we went along. pic nick packed and hiking shoes on our feet, full of energy and joy to spend a day together in the mountains.

wildhaus camplüt, a two hours hike up to rotsteinpass, altmannsattel, over and down a big snow field toward fählensee and again up to zwinglipass and alp tesel (to get an idea, something like this but not as ambitious, we left out the whole mutschen part).
it was about a six hour hike, sliding down the snow field was fun, super exciting and my hands got a good pealing.....

and all day, it was perfect, spending some moments all very quiet and still and other moments we were involved into wonderful discussions. time well spent and thank you c and s for taking us along!

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. a door handle in zurich, part of a scavenger hunt... such a lovely dog!

:: 2. my friends vase, i fell in love with it

:: 3. this wool sweater has been "sleeping" for many decades and got a new trim today, good for cold summer nights

:: 4. meine jungfer im grünen, some of my favorites

 :: 5. our new table deco, girl colors and pretty!