Balcony floor

A friend of mine has a wooden "click"-floor on his balcony, i.e. tiles that you click together and it becomes a floor.

Just outside my balcony door and a bit out is usually a little bit dirty, and it would be nice to have something to feast the eyes on.

Saw this floor today, and love it, the one with the round stones. I'm thinking 20 of those as a feature. Thoughts?

Daahlings

Two sisters, two different personalities.

One is outside exploring the snow, while the other is content with watching the fire.

So even if one of them scares the shit outta me, I love them both.

Wintertime

Unfrigginbelievable!

It's like a friggin Christmas card! And just on the day when we switch to wintertime. Irony!

Snow in Zürich!

I do not like. I do not like it at all. Snow in Zürich! Too early in the year, and just when I had decided to go for a long walk (haha, did you believe that one?).

Nah, this is a day to stay in, perhaps use the fireplace, watch a movie and hope it'll better tomorrow.

Soup

Autumn is soup time. Bought ingredients today, such as carrots, cauliflower, onions, potatoes, beef, pork and chili.

Added some beef stock and spices. Now I'm curious how it'll turn out.

EDIT: should've cut the beef in smaller pieces, was kinda chewy, and perhaps I shouldn't have added that fourth chili. Burn baby burn! Otherwise delish.

Eggs

I am like most people with regards to food. I buy what I think is good for me, my wallet and not from too far away. Exceptions are food that cannot grow or be produced in the neighbourhood, like exotic fruit, salt water fish, chocolate and various other products.

But since a number of years I have prided myself of buying eggs only from free-going hens. Having seen programs on telly I was really appalled on seeing these poor chicken never having a chance of going outdoors, being stuck in a small space, overfed and only there to produce eggs. No, I wouldn't have it.

But now I hesitate. The eggs I have been buying in Denner saying "Freilandhaltung", which I always thought was a good thing, I am not so sure about anymore. And when examining the package I discovered the word "Import" in fine print. What? I have been buying foreign eggs all this time?

I am so gonna change this. My problem is, how can you be sure that the new and probably more expensive ones are being laid by happy hens? Is there an egg-tracker in Switzerland?

Welcome to 2012

Friends of mine (even though I'm thinking of de-friending them) own a flat. They are renting it out, and looking for tenants. The top contenders were academics, doctors and the like, and were more than able to pay for the, frankly quite expensive, rent.

Yet they were turned down on account of being gays. Owners being religious. Whatever happened to "jesus welcomes all", and to be tolerant?

Nah, I don't buy their BS about "it's not about the people, it's about their way of living".

The more I think about it, the more I want to not mix with these people anymore. Hypocrites.

I think homosexuality stopped being regarded as a sickness in the 70's, at least in the Western world where we live.

My only hope is now that their youngest son turns out to be gay. Wouldn't that be a laugh?

Good stress

I have really good friends. First, in the morning, I had sms's, skypes, telephone calls and emails, almost to the point where it gave me stress. Good stress though.

Then this evening was supposed to be a quiet dinner at the neighbours, but she had surprises in store for me. First some neighbours walked in, so had to have a drink with them (big huge effort :), then it was dinner and as a dessert treat yet other neighbours came to join.

They were nice enough to only put one candle on the cake...good thing, since we didn't have to call the fire brigade.

And I walked home with leftovers. Rosmarine potatoes, fresh meat in a tomato-cream-cognac sauce and salad. Yum!

Children

I don't understand kids. I really don't. I find them unintelligible, and sometimes, excuse my language, just plain stupid.

I mean, today an infant skyped me, smiled and gurgled. How am I to interprete that? Is she happy to see me? Is she disgusted? Does she have gas? How the heck am I supposed to know?

The other kid that came across my radar today had done a painting for me.

Now seriously, am I supposed to frame it and put it up on my wall?

Nope, kids are not my thing. But it's not gonna stop friends from having them. Now who has the bigger stomach?

Slightly purple

Just couldn't resist.

Cat and champagne

X years ago I saw the world.

For your age

I really would like people to stop saying things like "you look good for your age" or "your skin is really good for a person your age".

Why not just drop the "for your age" and you'll make people feel even better about themselves. I mean, we all know how young or old we are, we do not need a reminder.

I was born 00.25 some years ago, no need to go into how many, and tomorrow I shall celebrate.

And yes, I do look good and have great skin. For my age :)

Presents

Got some very thoughtful presents tonight. Who else would appreciate a purple cutting board including a cat than me? I don't know what the manufacturers thought, it cannot be a huge market for this, but I am grateful. Fits me perfectly!

Also, a container for cat food and a milk steamer for making latte macchiatos. I have been looking everywhere for this, but never found. Now I have it!

Scottish coffee

For dessert we had fresh figs marinated in cognac, served with whipped cream and Irish coffee. Albeit with Scottish whisky, but ze Irish didn't seem to mind. I think he was more interested in making sure we all got the same amount of alco served.

Fishy

Yes, dinner turned out all right even though I was cooking it from memory. Lost the recipe and couldn't be arsed to look it up.

Please note the mat (is that what it's called?), yellow, red and black. I did that when I was about 7 years old. What can I say? I wasn't stylish back then. And now I am (hahaha, insert joke here).

Which one would you choose? The two yummie dishes with fish, sauce, potatoes and peas or the dry chicken breast (20 grams above allowed daily intake!), beans and aubergine. Australians not allowed to answer :).

Milk

What we the public have heard throughout many years is that the farmers get subsidies, and that they live a good life. Ha!

I am not a farmer, and have no wish to ever be, but getting up at 4 or 5 in the morning, day in and day out (I'm guessing cows don't take holidays) milking cows, getting rid of their shit, doing the paperwork associated therewith, and in general taking care of farm, is something we should value much more.

I am not entirely certain what a liter of milk costs, even though I buy it, but my guess is 1.60-1.80 francs per liter. I would be willing to pay twice as much for a liter of milk, and be happy to do so.

I really don't want to think about the day, when there is no milk to buy, 'cause all farmers have gone bankrupt. And no, I don't want Switzerland to import milk from countries with less regulations.

So instead of paying for diseases and possible pandemics, I am more than happy to pay a franc more for a liter of milk. Now.

Orange 4G

Orange sent me an sms today, saying I was welcome to Zürich main station to experience 4G. Hahahahaha!

Perhaps they should've sent this text to somebody who doesn't have a six year old mobile phone. Which still works, I might add.

To be honest I don't even know what 4G is, or 3G or even 2 or 1. I'm assuming it's some kind of network.

Can you guess how much I care on a scale from 1 to 10?

Dinner with taste

Having some friends over tomorrow for dinner, and decided to deviate from my usual meat menu and go for fish. Long time since I cooked that. So long I lost the recipe, but no worries, I usually improvise when cooking anyway.

So now I'm stocked with fresh fish, shrimps, mascarpone and caviar. It's gonna be delish.

Only problem is one of the guests is on a hocus-pocus diet, only allowed to eat raw or steamed food, and just a few selected veggies. She's bringing her own food. No way will I eat food with no seasoning, no oil, no butter, no taste. But if it makes her happy (doubt it), I'm all for it.

Pics tomorrow.

Go Gillard!

This speech is going into the history books.

I haven't heard a speech this compelling since Dr King.

Criminals vs elderly

You know what pisses me off? It's when I learn that criminals cost four times as much as the elderly care. I don't exactly know what the ratio is here in Switzerland, but imagine it wouldn't differ that much from my home country.

What is wrong with letting criminals in jail work for their bread? If they don't have so much spare time to conspire, think and fight, but instead work their asses off, there would be less irritation, and more productivity. That's what I think.

I believe that people, no matter who they are, wants to be useful and feel part of a group, a community. They want to feel needed, and that they do something that matters to others.

Personally, I wouldn't mind criminals being stuck together and killing each other, kind of self-sanitation, but a part of me knows it ain't right. However, nothing wrong with letting outlaws get a whiff of a bit of a hard time. Bread and water, hard work and pay-back-time-attitude by the authorities. That's what I'd like to see.

Cheese pie

I am not the best cook in the world, far from actually, but one thing I do pretty well is a cheese pie. The trick is to put more cheese in there than the recipe says. I have found that Gruyere, mozzarella and parmesan work really well together.

Some muscot, black pepper and of course the eggs and cream, and voila, a dish worthy a good friend. Who is coming tomorrow, but I was preparing already today, and whaddayaknow, a large piece is already gone.

Alluring

Got a card from Pfister (furniture company) the other day, promising me a gift. And sucker as I am for free stuff, I went there. Which was exactly what they were hoping, and not only to pick up my gift. Which was an extremely ugly cup and saucer, which I will find a way to re-gift asap.

And I did end up buying a few things. A grey cushion for my sofa and teelights. But the shock purple mat I saw has been gnawing on my mind ever since. It's an awkward size, 100x80 cm, but I think I have found a place for it.

So I have to go back, and that's exactly what they hoped. Darn!

But at least somebody was happy with my purchases...the bag!

Teeth have pores

I didn't know that teeth have pores, but according to my dentist they do. Went there a couple of months ago, and had some work done, but it didn't really get any better, so today I was there again.

I don't have serious pain, more like a discomfort, but irritating enough, and today he put some stuff on the tooth to cover the pores. How weird is that?

But until now I didn't feel anything, so he might've been right. Am to go back in a couple of weeks for another treatment, and was threatened with "if that doesn't work we may have to do a root canal".

It has to work, it has to work, it has to work!

Nails

I grew up on homecooked, healthy food. Much healthier than I eat today, when I sometimes fail to cook myself, and revert to buying either fastfood or unhealthy equivalents.

Anyway, when I was young in my teens my nails were bad. They tended to split, and were frail.

These days, my finger nails are so strong I have to cut them. They hardly ever split, and if I was a girly-girl I could have them painted and very long, and look like a...well I was gonna say lady...but nowadays I just think it looks cheap with overly long nails.

The downside is that my toenails (oh aren't you happy I share this with you?) are getting thicker and harder to cut. Even if they are my own, I find it rather disgusting.

And when you know that nails are just hardened skin, it gets even more yuki.

Just in case you wondered about nails.

Movies

You know what irritates me? It's when I read a book, and then see the movie and they change the story. In 99 times of 100 the book is better, so I do not understand why they change the storyline for the worse.

I understand that not every nuance in a book can fit into a movie, but why change the story?

Also, I recently saw a remake of a movie. The first movie in one language was fine. Then I watch the remake in another language (darn English who cannot learn to read subtitles!), and the story is completely changed.

I. Do. Not. Like. Understood?

Blood donor

The first time I thought about being a blood donor was when aids was being known in the 80's. I then worked in the medical industry at a hospital, and during a break I went to offer my blood.

I still remember the nurses looking at me, and laughing, and saying "aren't you lucky to be so thin and still have a full rounded face". I was really offended, and walked off. I was offering to give blood to the needy, and was laughed at.

It took me a lot of years before I went back, and then here in Switzerland. Nobody has been laughing here.

Mind you, I was a lot thinner then, but over 50 kgs (just) and that's what you need to be in order to become a blood donor. What's your excuse?

Life goes on

Time flies. On Sunday I was talking to my neighbours, and realized that the dream of the cheapo purple leather sofa is not gonna be realized. No delivery from the store, and crossing three borders with a private vehicle, nah, ain't gonna happen.

So the search has to go on.

Monday, there was a dinner with a friend, who had been travelling a lot and had some stories. My discretion prevents me from revealing them...

Tonight I met a friend in town for drinks. It was good to see her again, after her being away and then sick. Lots to talk about. And before, I went to check on the boat, it is ok. And yes, I check it online on a daily basis, but wanted to see if water had found its way in, but everything was fine.

And tomorrow is another day with new experiences.

Sushi eve

Interesting evening, interesting as in nice. Majority nationality was Italian, but only one was speaking like one (and couldn't sit on his hands and speak simultaneously).

I think the best evenings are when you have a mix of different people with experiences that are not your own. Doesn't mean you cannot make fun of them! Far from. This made fun of most of us, except the Irish. But then again, you don't need to. They are funny on their own.

Daring

When I was younger I was quite adventurous. Not in terms on skydiving or bungyjumping, I have no death wish, but I took every opportunity that came my way.

Nowadays I have been accused of not wanting change, and not trying out new things.

Well, today I tried a new drink and I am trying a different way of making cinnamon rolls! How's that for daring :)?

Seriously, it comes a point where you have tried a lot, done the things you want, seen a lot of places, met many, many people and I don't think it's anything wrong with changing lifestyle.

Besides, even if you disagree I don't care. I'm beyond caring what other people think. Except if you're a friend of course. Then I do care and I look forward to a heated discussion!

New drink

Sometimes I stray from the Pinot Grigio-path, and try something new. Today it was special price on lime, so tonights drink is Bacardi razz, crushed ice and squeezed lime. Yum! And please note the matching straw.

Boatcam

You gotta love this. Ze Swiss are not normally known for being innovative and in the frontline of technology, but I just found a live webcam, where I can see my boat!

Fantastic. I wonder how long they keep the tapes. But it is reassuring to know that if anything happens to my boat, the perpetrators can be found. Ha!

Darn hooligans

Beautiful weather in Zürich, 20+° and sunshine, so a good day to close down the boat for the season. Yes, I could've gone out on the lake, but after half a year being out there a lot, I felt it was enough.

But when I got down to the bridge some friggin vandal had opened the front lock so that my poor boat was a couple of meters away from the bridge. I couldn't reach it.

First I thought the lock was broken, but no, it was still there, hanging down from the bridge in the water.

Think, think, think. Of course nobody else was in their boat, but on the other side of the river is a gas station and boat rental place. Went there, and a bunch of very nice guys lent me a boat hook.

So, now all is well but I shall be watching. It was only my boat unhooked, so either I was unfortunate or somebody has it in for me. If I'm lucky I have to call the lake police!

Bye

A friend of mine is a lawyer, and he told me a funny story. Once he was representing a client, found smoking pot while driving and caught by the police. Normally this would render a fixed fee, and that would be it. And so my friend reassured his client it would be a walk in the park.

However, when they came to court, the judge had a bad hairday or something so when the verdict was being given, he had an outburst "I am tired of you guys from the city coming here and bringing drugs with you. I am sentencing you to six weeks in jail".

When the client was escorted out of there, on his way to jail, he looked at my friend, who was as much in shock as everybody else, and the only thing he could think of to say was "bye" in a small voice. It was very funny being there when he told the story, not sure I can make it justice (oops!).

Anyway, my friend felt really bad and never charged the guy, who got out after a couple of weeks.

I guess the moral of the story is, don't do drugs. Good thing you cannot (yet) be charged for drinking alcohol and smoke!