6 months in pictures

Today is my 6 month anniversary of arriving in Zurich! I'm busy prepping for our first visitor, working on our second Ikea delivery (the opposite experience of our first one - we went Saturday, selected express delivery, pulled the boxes from the self-service area ourselves, and they were delivered this morning), and playing catch up on my story for Camp Nanowrimo.

In contrast to my usual loquacious style, I've decided to make this post mainly pictures. Pictures that make me happy and remind me of the progress I've made in my time here. Some are new, some will look familiar if you've been following my blog. With B's support and help, I've been focusing this month on letting go of impatience and feeling that I "should" be at a certain point in - well, anything: language progress, job, settling into our new apartment, extracurricular activities, travel, etc. Instead, I acknowledge that I have made progress, and I am working to make more.

Hiking the Uetliberg during the winter.

Cupcake decorating at Workshop week at the American Women's Club.

Exploring my new home city. Especially on days like this one. No photoshopping that sky.

Finding side streets in the city.

Scoping out our new place, the day we picked up the keys.

Baking tasty treats (these are apple pie bites, made in a mini muffin tin with from-scratch crust. B and I demolished 20 of them in < 4 hours).

 

Completing DIY projects (Ikea bookshelf - it won't win any awards for detail paint work, but I love how it turned out). 

Preparing (and experimenting with) tasty, healthy meals. 

Doing (and finishing!) craft projects.

Organizing and finding places for things (I love my yarn stash!).

Gardening - especially when it results in promising little veggies like this one...

...and this one.

Unexpected gifts from friends. Especially totally awesome ones like this.

It's about the journey, not the destination, and I am focusing on reminding myself of that.

Related note - Friday is the 2 year anniversary of when B and I stopped by the town hall in Brookline, Massachusetts and made it official. He is my partner, my best friend, and I count myself lucky every day that we found each other. We are only at the beginning of our journey, and it's been more wonderful than I could've imagined!

Furniture day!

I may have mentioned previously on this blog that we have no furniture. And that I was very, very tired of having no furniture. Well, I am happy to report that I can no longer complain about this sad situation. Our Ikea order was supposed to be delivered by last Monday (which was 23 days after ordering), and we hadn't heard anything by then, so B sent several emails and placed several annoyed phone calls to see what the issue was. Apparently our order slipped through the cracks, but once B started making noise, Ikea pushed our order to the top of the priority list and it was handed over to the delivery company on Wednesday. We had been told that the delivery company usually calls about a week beforehand, so I was super excited when B called me on Thursday morning and said he had just received a call for delivery Saturday morning!

So I was definitely excited. Then I got more excited when my wonderful in-laws said they would come down and help assemble things that same day. I prepped the day before by baking snacks (all previously done: oatmeal chocolate chip cookies - with chopped crystal ginger added, nutella brownies - with sea salt added, and stuffed bacon onion rolls - with some pancetta and parmesan added to the filling). 

Some of the tasties!

The delivery went smoothly - the man called 20 minutes before, so I had time to empty out the living room in preparation. The total delivery weight was 369 kg, which means delivery was a good way to go, rather than rent a car/do it ourselves. It also meant that both B and I were a bit in awe of the one man who hauled it all up and from the elevator (he may have had a partner down at the truck, but it was still quite impressive). We also had time to head to the mall and pick up a vacuum cleaner (lonnnng overdue) before B's family arrived. We splurged and got a Dyson, which is super fancy and, thus far, has proven to be a wee too complicated for me (this is why I shouldn't own nice things).

Pre-delivery living room!

20 minutes after delivery! That's a lot of boxes...

369 kg of boxes, to be exact.

The afternoon was spent assembling a total of 16 pieces, ranging from various chairs to an enormous TV/entertainment system. We then had well-deserved rest and birthday celebration (both B's brother and father have birthdays in June) at Lola's restaurant, the only - as far as I know - Peruvian restaurant in Zurich. 

The entertainment system all set up!

Some action shots - the Dyson is hidden behind the box. So many boxes.

Desks/chairs all set up, B and his father working on a big red cabinet.

My wonderful mother-in-law organizing the stacks and stacks of cardboard. New green patio table and chairs  to the right!

Ugly Betty on a Monday morning. Half-complete bookshelf to the right - it's top of my DIY paint list, so we didn't mount it on the wall yet.

Desks and chairs! Mine is in the forefront, B's is the behemoth in the corner. He picked it out himself, it has space for four screens/monitors...

So yayyy! Now B and I both have desks, which means our dining room table is finally clear of laptop computers. As a bonus, my computer chair arrived in Dietikon, and my in-laws picked it up on their way from Basel, so I now have a comfy chair to hang out in and a space that feels like my own. 

As an additional bonus, we met our neighbors! Well, neighbor, singular. The family that I've seen around, with a young son and daughter. It was the daughter's birthday (apparently a costume party), so the children were running around on the hill, and the mother came over in the mid-afternoon with some leftover cake. She was very sweet and nice, and spoke fluent Spanish with B's family and English to me, although apparently German is her mother tongue (ahhhhh, so jealous). I sent her back with some of my brownies as a thank you, and it was wonderful to finally make contact (especially with someone outside the context of laundry).

So, basically, B's family is wonderful and awesome, Saturday was great, and I've already made a mile-long list of additional items that we now need and DIY projects that I now plan to do. We are still awaiting word on when our couch will be delivered, but the apartment is now (almost) ready for visitors!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Randomness

Random assortment of thoughts that are bouncing around in my head:

- I surpassed 4000 page views yesterday on this blog! Either my parents just like to check in hourly to see if there is a new post, or there must be lurkers on here. Hello lurkers!! I love you guys! Feel free to introduce yourself (or continue to lurk, that's ok, too).
Honestly though, I see this blog as a way to let everyone back home know how life is going, and I love hearing that friends and people are reading (even enjoying!) it. As for the growing Swiss audience (according to my audience posts) - if you're an expat, I hope that you can relate to some of my stories, and if you're Swiss, I hope you know that I actually like this country very much and I'm sorry I can't speak your language better.

- Yesterday was a total productivity loss because I started a book by this woman. Connie Willis is one of my all-time favorite authors (possibly even rivaling Jane Austen - yes, I said it!), and reading this interview (and this more recent one) of her makes me like her even more. Even if you're not a huge SciFi/Fantasy fan, I would highly recommend her stories. Her research into the topics she writes about are unparalleled and she's not a scifi writer in the stereotypical sense (no aliens, etc. Just people being - well, very human). I just spent ten minutes typing and erasing attempts to explain why she is so awesome, but I can't. Instead, please just check out her stuff. The first page of one of my favorite short stories, "Even the Queen," is online here, and is very representative of her writing.

- I need to pick up the pace on the baby blanket, although there is progress being made! Just not enough for a baby that is due next month (and needs to be shipped internationally). (As an aside, if anybody could email me the actual due date, that would be great - are we talking, say, July 2, or do I have a couple weeks into July to finish this?)

I started carrying the yarn with me up the sides - it's much faster, and I'm hoping that a large enough border will disguise the resulting unevenness.

 - The baby blanket hasn't been getting done because I started an attempt at fingerless gloves. I had to frog it twice; the first was because I used the wrong hook size and they were too big, the second was because I followed these instructions and it turns out my wrists must be super, super tiny. So I threw out the directions and just started adjusting it for my wrist. And now it looks great!

Something about the perspective in this shot wigs me out. It's like my arm is unnaturally large, infinite ,and not connected to my body.

Of course, the only problem is that technically gloves come in pairs. Or they're supposed to, I've heard. And in no way do I remember or noted the rows where I decreased/increased nor how many stitches I adjusted. Oops. As a stalling tactic, I'm going to make a slouchy hat to match the glove. Hypothetical gloveS.

- I was wrong about our apartment being a fortress of solitude (or at least silence). Either we previously had no upstairs neighbors or it was a silent single person, because the past week I've heard voices and screaming that sounds threateningly like a young toddler. Also, I would like to point out that I've seen at least two moving trucks in the six weeks we've been here, and no new neighbors have knocked on our door to introduce themselves. Is that something that is really done in Switzerland, or is it a bit of a myth, like the one where you will get a ticket for jaywalking? (Yes, it's technically illegal, but I've never seen or heard of anyone ACTUALLY having to pay a fine. And people do it regularly).

- Stores here are ramping up for the summer sales, and it's oh-so-dangerous. Unlike the US, where there are sales at seemingly random times, most stores here (and in France - anyone know about other European countries?) have big sales twice a year - in January and July. In January, I didn't really take advantage of the sales due to sticker shock ("Holy crap, they want 60 swiss francs for a shirt!?"), but now my mindset has adjusted ("Holy crap, that shirt is only 60 swiss francs?!"). Although the danger for me isn't really the clothes - it's the home decor.

- Speaking of home decor/furniture, we still don't have any. We've been furniture shopping twice and successfully have obtained...(drum roll)...one computer chair! Woohoo! -.- Switzerland is known for its efficiency, but - unfortunately - not for its speed. We don't have a car, so we've had to order everything for delivery. We went to Ikea sometime around May 25th, and they scheduled delivery for June 17th. Last weekend, we ordered a couch, a computer chair for me, and a trundle bed for the spare room (which we need before we can figure out any other furniture for that space). The trundle bed will be the fastest - they said they'd deliver June 18th. Unfortunately, the couch and other chair aren't available until the "end of the month" (I bit my lip on asking WHICH month. The saleslady didn't look the type to appreciate sarcasm). At this point, that's not too far away, but I must say I am very, very tired of having only one tabletop space that must double as two desks and a dining room table. Moral: If you have no furniture and are so spoiled as to want some, order it before you move, or as soon as humanly possible after.

- The garden is a separate post, but let's just say that my impression that I could just weed the flower beds that haven't been tended in 2 summers was vastly wrong. Don't mistake me - things are growing. The problem is that they are growing everywhere. I'm not sure what vision the person who originally planted it had, but I'm fairly sure it wasn't "overgrown jungle with strawberry plants strewn throughout."

Even my succulents are starting to slip out of control and grow many babies. But at least they're cute still.

Notes from a move

This is my second morning in the new apartment. I'm sitting at our kitchen table writing and I can hear  birds chirping madly in the trees out back. Unfortunately I can't roll up the shades and enjoy the sights because we don't have curtains yet, and I'm sitting around in my bathrobe. But it's still lovely to listen to!

Most pictures are from the keys handover, which happened on Friday afternoon. I'm glad that I took some pre-move, before I exploded bags and boxes all over the floors.

The kitchen. It's small, but I love that it's open on both ends. All pictures were taken with my phone, unfortunately - I have yet to find my camera in the boxes.

Brand new stove! (Ok, well, 2 years old or so). I'm not saying this is the ONLY reason we chose this apartment, but...

Here are my notes from the move and the new place:

- Family is invaluable. B's brother and parents came down from Basel to help us, and there is no way we could've done it without them. In one day, we managed to load/unload 2 van fulls of stuff, including an absurdly large, heavy clothes closet (also cheap - I admit, I was half hoping it would fall apart in the move and we'd be forced to purchase a new one). We also cleaned the entire old apartment top to bottom (saving us hundreds on hiring a move-out cleaning). Also, family makes things more fun. Not that I totally approve of tossing bags of clothes from a 2nd story balcony to try to catch in the street (ahem, B's brother), but having them help made the entire experience more enjoyable. (Note to self: Learn German faster. Become fluent, then learn Spanish. Work on that).

Living room (+ some of B's leg). This is only about half of it - it's really quite large and over looks our patio and the hill behind the apartment building.

- The walls/ceilings must be way thicker here than in the old place because even though we saw several people on Saturday while moving our stuff, I haven't heard a soul yesterday or this morning, even though our patio overlooks a playground (I thought surely someone would be there on a Sunday). It's kinda creepy, just me and the birds. If I think too hard, I can imagine that I've somehow missed the zombie apocalypse.

Master bedroom. So many windows (need so many curtains)!

- I was thrilled to discover that our patio has two (very small) flower beds! I already had plans to do some fruit/vegetable container gardening, but now I also get to dig in the dirt for decoration.

- B's first priority was to get the internet working, and he did so at around 6 am on Sunday morning. I ragged him about it pretty hard, but I'm just as addicted to it as he is, and I was happy to have it so quickly.

- I was proud of myself b/c I packed an overnight bag for us, so we had clothes and toiletries on Sunday morning when we woke up surrounded by boxes. I think got the idea off of Pinterest, and it was a good idea.

Spare room. I'm pushing for B's desk + gaming computers (yes, plural) to be in the living room so that I can make this into a craft room. Negotiations are ongoing.

- I also saw a tip on Pinterest about putting hanging clothes in trash bags, so they are easy to transport/rehang. This was a crap idea, frankly. I gave up on it after doing B's shirts. My dresses/skirts/tops are all different lengths and it was a mess. I ended up keeping them on hangers and just placing them in boxes.

One of the two half-bathrooms. Not that interesting, but I wanted to show it because we put the cabinet in and I bought some hand soap for it. PROGRESS. (also, in case you're wondering, the other bathroom has the bathtub/shower. And TWO SINKS - what luxury!).

- I thought "Well, we don't have that much stuff, so I don't really need to label the nine boxes I've packed." No no no - ALWAYS LABEL THE BOXES. I still haven't found my German class books, which I will need in approximately 3 hours.

- Moving across an ocean is tiring because everything had to fit in a box or suitcase (or get thrown out/donated). Moving across a city is tiring because packing/moving/partial unpacking all must occur in the same day. Given the choice, I'm not sure which I'd do again. Oh wait, yes I do - neither. I hate moving.

- My parents are in for a not-so-fun surprise when they visit. My sisters and I have had tendencies to live on rather high-floor apartments without elevators in the US, and my parents were always willing to help us move, even if it meant driving cross-country to do it. I was excited to tell them that this time, we have an elevator in the building (yay!). What I failed to tell them is that the apartment building itself is on a rather steep hill, and there are at least a flight or two worth of stairs before the main door. At least they won't be carrying furniture...

- It's going to be a long, slow process to fully settle in. B didn't have much furniture (understatement - monks have more items in their cells), so we have a lot of future purchases. Which of course means deciding what type of couch, bed, desk, etc, to buy. Which of course means deciding how we want to arrange everything. Which of course means we need to decide what furniture we actually want (sofa and a separate bed? love seat? sofa with a long part so you can lie down? sofa bed? trundle bed? People who are planning to visit, feel free to weigh in - your vote counts!).

- None of the big ticket items are actually our top priority, as I initially expected they would be. Instead, I'm desperate to get my hands on simpler things, like a shower curtain rod, curtains, and (for me) kitchen storage units. Unfortunately yesterday was Sunday, and the Zurich Hauptbahnhof (the only place that allows stores to be open on Sunday) does not have any stores that feel the need to carry shower curtain rods. Possibly because they assume that people who move into a new apartment aren't so stupid that they fail to notice such a critical item is missing. Well, I showed them!

Entryway looking through to the bathroom (if you look VERY carefully, you can see the absence of a shower curtain rod - I probably should've done that on Friday).

- Despite the lack of furniture and boxes in piles, I am so, so excited to be here! It truly feels like a place where B and I can make a home together. Even though it's currently so empty it echoes (and the bed is still the only comfortable place to sit), the apartment makes me feel more permanent in Zurich, and less like I'm crashing at my boyfriend's dorm room. And I like that :)

Instead of showing the mess, I've decided to show you the success. This is my pile of successfully-emptied-bags, and it grows daily. You gotta find what works for you, and I find that the growing pile gives me a sense of accomplishment that all the half-filled boxes and containers strewn around does not. Positive outlook ftw.