A Tentative Spring

I've been hesitant to blog about this, as I was concerned the day I did would be the day Mother Nature found her sense of humor and decided to dump feet of snow on Zurich (or maybe because it snowed well into April last winter). But it's been almost a week now of almost daily sun and blue skies, and green leaves are starting to assert themselves above the damp earth.

Flower! I get disproportionately excited about these things - it's been a dreary winter.

These buds are significant because they were personally planted by moi (and moi's parents) last fall, and now they're poking through. They're like my dozen little children that only need occasional watering.

Pictures of Switzerland in winter usually portray gorgeous snow-topped mountains against a striking blue background:

Gorgeous, right? And with just a few wispy clouds. Also unrealistic. However, if you go to the Wikipedia page of the Matterhorn (which this is a picture of - don't call it the Jungfrau like I once did. It's the equivalent of some visitor in the US referring to the Statue of Liberty as the Washington Monument. Very uncool and does not go over well with the locals) - what was I saying? Oh yes - practically every picture of the mountain has it against beautiful clear skies. I'm not saying they're lying, per se, I'm just saying that I've been told by people in the know that if you want to even see the Matterhorn (not to mention take stunning pictures), you probably should book three or four nights at Zermatt, the local village, to up your chances.

These photographs are beautiful, no doubt. However, they don't mention (perhaps because pictures don't talk) the fact that the majority of the Swiss population don't live on these majestic peaks above the cloud cover, mainly because we like an indoors to retreat to (no diss to abominable snowmen - in fact, major respect). The vast majority of us live in lower elevation valleys, surrounded by peaks of various heights. 

And as you may remember from middle school science, valleys surrounded by mountains often have fog due to something about evaporation of water (I said you may remember it - I don't). Lots of fog. Switzerland, as special and lovely as it is (and honestly, it is - no sarcasm intended), is no exception to this. Thus, in winter - especially in one as warm as this has been - there are often days or even weeks straight of heavy, gray skies that may or may not spit rain or something vaguely resembling it. Occasionally the fog or cloud cover may dissipate, but by that time it's usually close to 4 pm and the sun, having done its minimum, has already retreated behind the nearby mountains. I believe that I made comparisons to All Summer in a Day (short story here and short video here - I won't judge which one you click on) last year, and that comparison remains apt.

To prove my point, this is the picture I just pulled from the webcam on the Matterhorn's official website:

Yep, that looks about right.

Except this winter, it hasn't even had the courtesy to snow in the valleys. I like snow - the whiteness brightens things up and it's nostalgic and it crunches and it's purty.

This is the most snow I saw ALL WINTER - pathetic. My family in North Carolina got more than this (although they probably are just as thrilled about that as I am). Also note the grey and fog, as per my original point.

I'm not sure I trust a Swiss spring that begins in mid-February, but I remain cautiously optimistic. Meanwhile, I will join the random cat on our patio in soaking up the sun while it's around - however short that may be.

PS - I took too long to write this, and of course the sun has not come out today. I will hold off judging the mean sense of humor Nature has until tomorrow, but then I'm calling her on it.

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!

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.

Home and back again

I'm actually not sure what "home" I am referring to in this title - either Zurich or the US would be appropriate, I suppose, and honestly, I'm not sure I feel 100% home in either place at this moment. But let's not get deep. B and I just returned from a wonderful 12 day visit to the US that included seeing many of his family and mine. We spent 3 days over Mother's day weekend in near Fort Lauderdale, FL visiting with B's aunts, grandmother, and multitude of cousins. It wasn't as hot as I feared, although it was humid (ick). Regardless of the weather, we had a great time. I'd only met his family at our wedding previously, but they were all welcoming and much fun.

Dania Beach in FL. Gorgeous. I missed getting any pictures of the enormous shark yard-long tarpon that was near shore when we first got there (I had wikipedia tarpon - some random man on the beach claimed that's what it was, so I actually have no idea. But isn't a shark a better story? You could see the dorsal fin above the water, that's how it goes in the movies!)

We spent a week in near Chapel Hill, NC, visiting with my sisters, parents, and friends, including one who flew down from Boston to hang out - and I'm proud to report that I finished her supposed-to-be bridal shower gift and finally handed it over (as perspective, she celebrated her 1 year anniversary last October, so...yeah). We also managed to fit in an evening in with one of B's aunts from the other side of his family, who lives in Charlotte and was generous enough to drive 2.5 hours each way just to have dinner with us. Much chatting, hanging out, game-playing (of the card/board variety) general merriment, and puzzle-solving was done - both of the crossword and jigsaw type.

Embroidered apron gift, ~1.5 years late, but finally completed! Thanks for being patient, J :)

One of the three 1000 piece puzzles that B, myself, my mother, and friend completed over the course of a week. Totally not addicting.

I was eager to get back to Zurich to my garden and see how it survived my 12 day absence, since I hadn't actually finished setting it up before I left (I actually had 3 separate dreams about this in the US - my brain just searches for things to stress about, apparently. My favorite was a dream that involved B's grandmother requesting that I describe the garden to her in Spanish; not only did I not know the plants' names, but also each time I reached for one, I realized it was dead or moldy).

The garden answer is mixed. I couldn't believe how some of the 'inherited' plants exploded in a good way (the now-confirmed-as-peonies-due-to-the-inevitable-ant-presence bush is about 3 times as tall and full as it was before we left, to the detriment of some other plants I put in), as did a few of my potted ones, but my cilantro is yellowing and going to seed, while someone seems to have snuck over and chewed up, then bleached, my basil plants.

Out-of-control cilantro on the left, basil in the center/foreground. Seriously, what happened?

Success stories! From left: sweet pepper plant, tomato plant, pea seedlings (yes, I will need to thin that - I had no idea it would be so spectacularly successful).

Peony bush - it predates my efforts with the garden - although note the weeded ground surrounding it. In the foreground, if you look carefully, you can see a small brown twig on the left that is supposed to be my blackberry plant and a rather sad looking iris plant to the right. 

Anyway - I have much to blog about, including many pictures from my US trip, my exploding yarn stash (I have issues controlling myself, especially when STUFF IS SO CHEAP IN THE US - and yarn makes an awesome lightweight packing material), my lack of hitting my Camp Nanowrimo goal last month (boo), my part-time job that thinks 3 assignments a week actually means 3 in one day (ahh!), and how today is the first day of the rest of my life (no schedule, no job, no German class), it's almost 4 pm, and I've done one thing on my list so far - this blog post counts as the second. Carpe-ing the diem is definitely something I am working on.

PS - did I miss the Swiss spring/summer while we were gone? The predicted low for Friday and Saturday is 1 degree Celsius.