Happy New Year!

2014

It's getting towards the end of another year, and I'm reflecting back on this one. I feel that 2014 has been a very good year for me.

First and foremost it's now 11 resp 9 years ago since my parents died, and I'm thinking that they probably would've been dead anyway by now by age. It was extremely traumatic the way they both went, and it took me many years to come to grips with it, but now I'm at peace with that. And even though I'm not religious I did have to study christianity in school, and so sometimes think that they are sitting up there on a cloud, looking down at me. Preferrably not when I'm naked.

Second, I managed to lose about 10 kg's, and those 10 have been bothering me for quite some years, although I didn't want to admit it. Now I'm up for the challenge of losing another 5 next year. Not sure it'll happen, but I'd like to try. If I reach that goal I promise to stop.

Third, I'm really proud that I took up horseback riding again. That I dared to, and that it's going so well. Look fw to those group lessons next January-June, even though it's at a strange time, 7.30 pm on Friday evenings.

Fourth, I continued to work as a volunteer about twice a month, serving coffee, drinks and cookies at the old peoples home.

Fifth, I started to clean my own home. This may not sound like a big deal, but since I had cleaning help for the last 30 years, it is to me. And I don't hate it! I actually kinda enjoy it.

The only bad things that happened this year was that a good person died, one that I knew pretty well. She was far too young to go, only 55. And that I lost contact with a family member. But that's life (or death if you will).

Life goes on, and I hope that 2015 will be even better!

Melt!

I really don't like snow in the city. It just causes a lot of problems and discomfort. I rather look at a Christmas card on paper (and you know what I think of them), than having it on my own balcony. And this thing with minus degrees, I really do dislike. I cannot even risk having my beloved white wine box on the balcony, for the fear it'll freeze and explode. Not enough alcohol in it to be sure it doesn't. Go away immediately please!

Alligator creek

Once in a while I look at my visitors. I can only see either the provider or the ip-number, and today was a low day. Understandable, since most people are recovering from spending a whole day with the family, and/or have eaten too much.

But it made me happy to see I had one visitor from a foreign place called "Alligator creek". Imagine that there is somebody sitting in front a computer down under in a remote place (I'm guessing here) called "Alligator creek", looking at my blog. How amazing is not that?

It's like Crocodile Dundee would be interested in what I have to say. Mind-boggling.

I got money!

I got a Christmas gift, money. I love money. Not that I care about money as such, but the freedom it buys me. But today I got money as in coins. Special coins, printed with a name. A bit weird I must admit.

Turns out to be "money" printed with a name of the owner of a restaurant empire. Well, empire in Zürich which may be stretching it, but still. Rich in Zürich is pretty rich.

They miss me. I used to go out a lot, and now I don't, so it was given to me as an encouragement to go party again. What a dilemma!

Blood is so not thicker than water

Christmas is usually a family thing, a gathering of all sorts of family relations, food, gifts, and whether you like it or not, it's the tradition. I used to love it. That is when I still had a family.

Since quite a few years I have learned to not care, or find other ways to celebrate. Life goes on. But I have to admit that when I ran into a friend yesterday, and it turned out that he had no plans either, I was happy. So we met up, had a nice Christmas dinner and later in the evening I realized I had some sms's on my phone (ok, may consider to upgrade since I almost didn't get the msg's, it was only when somebody else called and my phone made a noise that I could hear), from friends nearby, asking if they could stop by for a drink.

Of course they could. So we ended up with four of us, good friends, no stress, drinks and sweets, and even though I got ditched about my "Switzedütch", I ended the evening having warm fussy feelings.

Singing Christmas tree

I think I've had an overdose of fresh air today. Was on the go for 5.5 hours! It was fantastic weather, sunshine and about 6°C, and people were sitting outside restaurants all over town. I love it. No snow as far as one could see, and glühwein sold everywhere.

Went around town and met some friends, even made a spontaneous purchase! Got a new pair of sexy boots ;).

Finally we watched "the singing Christmas tree", which looked much better in the evening.

Bis gli

You know, this Swiss German so called language makes me laugh every time. Ze Swiss try to take ze German language and make it their own, in order to prove their independence towards a much larger country. At least that's my take on it.

Personally I don't think they need it, since Switzerland has since long proved its independency plus that it's one of the richest country in the world. But that doesn't seem enough for ze Swiss.

For the just English-speaking audience I think the high German would read "Frohliche Weihnachten & ein gutes Neues (Jahr)", meaning Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, but I'm sure the somebody can correct my wobbly German here.

I communicate a lot in German these days 'cause not everybody is fluent in English. Well, I guess it's like 50-50 since a lot of Swiss/Germans want to practise their English. Anyway, I sms'd with somebody the other day and got an answer saying "bis gli". After googling I realized it meant "see you soon". So I used it to a Swiss friend in an email. When I met her later I asked if she was impressed with my Swiss German. She responded she didn't even realized, since it was her language. So much for trying.

But perhaps it'll help me in my strive to become a real Swissie?

Weirdos or geniuses?

I love meeting new people, especially those I find a bit weird. Meaning they have a passion for things I never could imagine anybody would be interested in.

Like the other day when I met an apparently clever woman, who just made her PhD in science. When I asked what particular science it was (thinking I'd probably have no clue, but still a bit curious), she responded "I PhD'd in what wood sounds like". And all I could think about when responding was "oh really?". And then of course, being me, I launched into a long speech about how I hate wood, since I grew up with it and how much I prefer stone. But she was gracious, and pretended that she just got into that field by accident. That may be true, or not, but I'm still in awe how somebody could spend many years looking into "what wood sounds like". But I'm proud of myself, since I did refrain from asking what it might be good for.

Then a guy joined, and he turned out to be passionate about German architecture and building structures from the 1950's to 60's. Another area that is blank in my brain. I tell you, it was hard to even pretend to be interested. And even though I got a bit of a lecture I think I managed to forget it all again. Good for me. Still, it's nice to see people being so hot on a subject, that most of the population couldn't give a hoot about.

He did have one interesting hobby though, he was very knowledgeable about chili's. Chili here, chili there, different types of. For me who loves chili, it was eye-opening. I knew of course there are different types, but for me, chili is something you add to a dish and it tastes better. And hotter. But he knew his stuff, and after hearing about his chili plantation in his window, I think I might keep him as a contact.

Venturing out of ZH

I was visiting a friend yesterday, who's got a new companion. He turned out to be a real darling. And I brought gifts, and I think one of them made me his new best friend. It was edible.

Unfortunately the blinking collar wasn't such a hit, it was too big so now it needs to be changed. Which I guess is not so bad, since it'll give me a chance to meet him again.

Coming back pretty late at night I had to laugh. The bus taking me to the train station from a quite remote village had a sign on some of the chairs "for women only after 8 pm". Laughing 'cause I was the only one on the bus. But nice thought. Ish.

However, when back in my beloved Zürich I got on another bus to take me the last bit to home and it was packed. It was like one in the morning. Love the infrastructure here in CH.

Fab Feri

Got the horse I fell in love with last time today. What a fab animal! I know, it's been a bit much of horse talk lately, but relax, now it's a three week break over the holidays :(.

Horse talk

Had a friend over for dinner tonight, and it turned out that she's quite experienced with horses. I didn't know since she, as I, was doing a lot of horseback riding in her youth when we didn't know each other.

Anyway, I was informed about all her accidents with horses, one with her head split open and bleeding like crazy (that would explain a lot!...and yes, I'm joking), but it made me think about those riding sessions I was offered in the spring. Outdoor riding in a group. It's funny that, when I was really young I didn't think about accidents or that anything bad could happen to me. Sure, I was falling off many times, a horse suddenly stopping and I was doing a probably not so gracious loop over its head, or it was taking off at a speed I couldn't control and slided off being thrown into a wall or similar.

Nowadays I have a tremendous respect for these big animals. But I'm still not afraid. And I do look forward to every new session. Tomorrow morning is the next. I'm hoping to get this one again.

Appointments

Personally I am very strict when I make appointments, whether it's business or private. I think if you've committed, you show up. Therefore I have a problem with people who don't. Especially when it happens more than once, like 50% of the time.

I know, there are reasons always. Sickness, accidents, something more important than going for a dinner or showing up at a meeting.

Nevertheless, I can only think of one or two times in my life when I have done the same. For me keeping a promise is crucial.

I don't know why I am like this, probably because that's how I was raised. And therefore I react strongly when not everybody is like me.

It's not like I'm not understanding why somebody cancels a simple dinner, and the reasons why, but I do get very disappointed. After all there is some preparation involved.

But what I most react to is cancellations at a late stage, like the same day. If I would cancel a commitment the same day, I would make sure the recipient got the message. Not just send a text and hope it's read.

And yes, it happened to me today. I was busy preparing everything, buying extra stuff to make the dinner special and then I recieved a message very late cancelling everything. Fortunately I had another friend coming along, who really enjoyed my efforts. But still, it's disappointing and even though the reason is more than understandable, I am feeling like I won't try to invite this person again.

Tree

Time for some Christmas lights in this darkness.

Nice to read you

Talking about languages, I got an email the other day with the phrase "nice to read you". Needless to say the person is not an English native, but I found it endearing, and actually very accurate.

In English writing the phrase would most probably be "nice to hear from you" which is incorrect, since we don't actually hear each other.

Think I might start using the phrase.

Swiss VIII

Oh scary. Today I got a letter from the authorities, saying that they will only process my application for citizenship further if I have passed a language test. There were three tests that are approved, and the one I have was not amongst them. Typical.

So now I have to register and pay a fee of 250 francs for a new test. And if I do not pass the two hour test that consist of talking and understanding, writing and reading, I have to pay an additional 150 francs to do part of it once more.

At least they have given me six months. Fingers crossed!

Food and death

Together with a friend I went for an outing today, picking up some great delicacies from my home country. Yes, I'm gonna indulge over Christmas, even if it means I won't reach my second goal weightwise. Nowadays I'm much more relaxed with goals, whatever it is. If I don't reach it within the next day, week or month, I'll reach it later. It's good for the stress level. I have none.

We also went to visit the grave of my friend who died much too young some months ago. We lit a candle that we bought in a machine (how clever is not that? to have a grave-candle machine in a cemetary...good business). It is heartbreaking, but at the same time we can now laugh and talk about her and have good feelings. She was a warm person with a big heart, who went far too early.

We also talked about how different it is with how we want to be buried one day. Some people want a coffin, some want to be cremated (and here the options are varied...one is to be buried in a specific place, and one is to be put inside a plate on a wall...haven't seen that before). There was also a place for where children was buried, which even I, who don't much appreciate them, find very sad.

Personally my ashes will be spread in the Zürichsee, I have seen to that. And yes, it's legal. So think about that friends, when I'm gone, you will be swimming with me all around you :).

Christmas cake

Had another order for a cake, so decided to step away from the traditional green and go Christmas.

 

I really hope it tastes like normal, meaning great, since I realized coming home from shopping that I had no baking powder at home. Used natron instead. And did add some lemon juice, as advised from the world wide web that said "never substitute baking powder with natron without adding something acidic". Why? I have no clue, but had to trust the www.

And the actual cake looked ok, and I'm sure, together with raspberries, vanilla cream and whipped cream it'll taste delish. Tomorrow I'll decorate it.

Thumb healed - almost

Two weeks later my thumb has almost healed. The skin has not yet completely covered the wound, but nearly there. In hindsight I probably should've visited a doctor to get some stitches, but you know me. Don't bother unless you're dying.

And tomorrow I have another riding lesson, cannot wait!

Candles

Today I did something I have never done before. Candles. The oldfashioned way. It was a bit cold, since we were outdoors, but social and fun. There were live music and punch, so I kinda forgot my fingers were freezing. And there were Finnish candles as well to warm up at.

You start with dipping a wick into 75°C wax for about 5 seconds, then wait until it cools down a bit, then dip it again in an in-and-out-motion, then cool it off, and keep on going until you have a decent size candle. For a bigger one it takes half an hour.

It was done at the old peoples home, and one lady was really hilarious. And somewhat dement I should think. She kept on forgetting to take the candle out of the wax, but finally learned to count to 20 before she put it in again. But the funny thing was she kept on counting quicker and quicker, and so her candle ended up looking like a baby carrot (yes, orange).

And I came home with three smaller candles, that I plan to put into my winestand...and somehow they all ended up purply :).

Cooking time

Tomorrow I'm cooking for a friend. Since quite a long time I cook lunch-boxes for him. He is easy to cook for, like almost everything, and I enjoy spending time in the kitchen.

But today I had to laugh. I took a piece of pork out of the freezer, and have to admit, it doesn't look very appetizing.

However, tomorrow I promise you it'll look better. I'm thinking rice, since I never did that before. This is because it's not a fav, but I was planning to cook it in a broth to make it more tasty. Also thinking brussels sprouts with bacon, and perhaps a baked tomato to go with.

Sounds tasty?

Swiss family party

Yesterday I was at a party, a big huge Swiss family party. This is nothing I'm used to, since when I had a family myself it was not very big. But it's great. Everybody know each other, obviously more than I know them or them me, but I can see and feel there is a love between them and an acceptance for differences.

It is nice to feel a part of that, even though it's just for an evening.

Makes me think about other foreigners talking about how difficult it is to get to know ze Swiss. This is in part true, but it is also up to us coming here, trying to be a part of society, to try and fit in and accept that it ain't that easy to assimilate day one. We foreigners also have to make an effort. And I believe once you do, and once you're accepted into a family like yesterday, you're there to stay. That gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

So sweet

Had some friends over this evening for a nice dinner and a very interesting conversation. They are both older than I, and have since about a year a relationship. They have both been married, and done the family thing for many years, but are now ready for a new late-in-life relationship.

They are both tripping around, talking about a "try-out-period", which for them is living together for a week to see how it goes. I'm more like "you're old enough to know what you want, why wait, go for it, if it doesn't work out you'll find out". I mean, in their age (and yes, I refuse to put myself in that group :)...why not jump off the cliff? It's not like they haven't lived, haven't loved, haven't been-there-done-that and so forth.

But it's very sweet to watch these "older" people, acting like teenagers. And I get to watch, sitting in first row so to speak. It's so sweet. And btw nothing I'm longing for myself. In case you wondered.

The glass is always half full

One thing I have noticed with getting older is that wounds heal much slower. Last time I had a cut like the one last week was about ten years ago, and I cannot remember exactly how long it took to heal, but it certainly wasn't more than a week. Today my wound is still a little bit open, maybe it was deeper but I think it's because the body takes longer to heal with age. One of these things to get used to.

Here's the barn door "responsible".

Also took a pic of the horse I was riding last week, he doesn't look so big on this pic but trust me, he was.

Today it went very well. I am proud to say I am making progress, and that I had good notes from the group class last week. I was also invited to join the outdoor riding sessions next year. I think I might do just that, but only for two hours, not four.

I like to think that with me the glass is always half full (preferably literally), and one thing that came out positively with my thumb cut was that I had to take painkillers, and they gave me stomach problems. Which in turn took away my appetite a bit, and I am proud to say I have lost another two kg's! One kg away from my second goal this year, and three kg's away from my 17-year-old self, obviously weightwise only.

From something bad comes something good.

Banana cake

Banana cake, yum! I dunno, but I seem to have gotten into a baking phase. Obviously I don't eat everything myself, so lately my friends and neighbours have enjoyed a lot of cookies and sweets.

Now I have orders for two marzipan cakes, one this week and one next week, so the phase will continue.

And another thing, I got inspired (!) to clean my fridge yesterday, so started. Omg, it takes time. One shelf out, clean-clean-clean, let it dry, back in and the next one. Plus to wipe off the fridge walls with a wet cloth.

It took me a couple of hours yesterday and I'm still not done. I had a feeling it was only like half a year ago when I did it last time, but it must have been longer, considering how filthy it was. Ouch! I hate filth and dirt. I don't mind a little dusty and messy, but dirty I cannot stand.

Ok, I could have gotten everything out of the fridge and gradually put everything back, but I chose to do it in steps and keep all the stuff in there. And thankfully now I'm almost done.

An enjoyable meeting

Had our yearly meeting in the building association today. As usual at my place, since I'm the only one with a free environment, free from spouses, free from kids, free from any disturbances. And with food always available. They are a grateful bunch, leaving nothing behind, and tonight, my cookies were going at a rate of...I should sell them and become rich!

Anyway, it's now our 5th or 6th time, still under debate, and we are almost always in agreement about everything. Mostly about how we can save more money. Today we agreed to ditch the roof cleaning company, who we were anyway not sure they were doing their job, and only one is bothered about it. Three of us never see the roof, so we don't care.

Further on, one of us (not me!) offered to do the gardening at half the price we are now paying. Excellent!

I have opted since years to get rid of the snow removal company, since 1. it is seldom snowing here in Zürich and 2. it cost a lot more than it is worth since it melts away quickly. I have been voted down though since it might present a risk when not removing it. Somebody might slip. Oh dear. It's like people think we live in America where they sue left, right and center. Think I shall keep on bringing it up every year, and wear them down.

We also agreed on a slight change to our building insurance.

And then of course we all joined in complaining about this lift-service, that is compulsory in Switzerland. Any building with a lift in it, needs to have the city come check on it every two months (for what reason?), and they charge a friggin fortune for it. I guess in an apartment building with lots of flats it's not a big issue, but in our house with four flats, it doesn't make sense to pay this enourmous amount of money to have a perfectly functioning lift checked. For what? I'm thinking to raise the issue, have 100,000 people sign a petition and get Zürich and Switzerland to have a vote for it. I would make a lot of people happy, and the few people who would lose their jobs, frankly I couldn't care less.

The last thing on the agenda was regarding the bomb room. In every house there needs to be a shelter in case there comes a war (don't get me going...). And in our shelter there was a ladder missing, and apparently it was important to make sure it was provided.

But I tell you one thing. In case there comes a war, and I had to share a shelter of 12 m2 with eight neighbours and three kids, I would be happy to join the opposing side.

Thumb ok

So after two more or less sleepless nights with pain and useless painkillers, my thumb is on the mend. No more pain, and I'm down to just two tiny plasters. But the effect of the painkillers made me retain water, so one day I gained a kg, the next day I was peeing every half hour.

I know, whine-whine-whine but it was scary and unnecessary. One of these things that happen. And enough of the complaining now.

Had to laugh when I took the Band-Aid's off, looking at an extremity that didn't look like it belonged to me. All white and raisin-like. But back to normal after an hour or so. Again, it's amazing what such a small wound can do to a persons well-being.