Quack

Think I can safely say that the duck quacked. From the 2kg's we went to perhaps a leftover lunch for somebody who is not very hungry.

Also, I had an idea of putting the fresh figs into a very fine cognac that I got some time ago from one of the friends visiting tonight. But naaw weey I was gonna let the cognac go to waste, so it went into the very first sauce I made. All on my own.

Fresh figs marinated in cognac, with a tad of goat cheese on top. Yum. Can really recommend. And the wild pig meat, which wasn't bad either.

Me, the chef. Who would've thought?

50% off

Negotiations with Ikea are finalized. They first offered 30% money back unseen, but I sent them pics and told them I thought 50% was more reasonable. We ended up with 50% back, but in form of a voucher. At Ikea :). Fair enough I think. The voucher is valid for 5 years, but suspect I'll be using it already this year. Ikea and I are friends again.

Que?

I am pretty good in deleting mobile numbers when I haven't heard from people in a long time. Also when I haven't had a response. Every so often I go thru the list, and did so today (after cleaning up my paper pile, scrubbing half the balcony and shopping for tomorrow - yes, bragging), and found a number of a guy I used to know some 10+ years ago. We stayed in touch, he used to phone me on my birthday (always felt bad I didn't know his) and catch up a little, but I think we haven't communicated the last 5 years. Probably my fault. But today was the day. I sent him an sms and got a response "What? Who?". Sent back saying "have you had more than one Annika as a manager?". Response: "Who do you think you are writing to?". This is when I realized how long ago it was we communicated. Guess the mobile phone companies give the same number to a new client after some time. Anyway, we ended on a good note, whoever I was writing to. Told him/her I would delete the number and thanked him/her for letting me know. Now I gotta find the guy, and I refuse facebook but happen to have a friend in Norway who might know...

The mad carpenter

Since I've discovered the wonderful world of reality soaps I have been absorbed. Hence the reason for not blogging much lately. My absolute favourite is the mad carpenter. A guy who renovates houses. He comes in, evaluates the status, then brings in his crew. In about 3 days they do massive renovation of whatever is needed. It's everything from deathly traps of electricity to mould to people having a house of 600m2 and living on an area of 30m2 because the rest is "not finished". I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand it is difficult not to get teary-eyed at the end when these peoples renovation dreams have come true (I especially enjoy the before-after shoots, even though the decorators have really bad taste sometimes, i.e. not like mine), and on the other hand think how much better I have handled my life. It's not only that the mad carpenter (yes, he shouts at people at times but has a big heart) does the actual job of renovating/building/repairing or whatever, it seems like he saves relationships most of the time. And he makes the people in the show work! Even I know the names of some of the tools now. Doesn't mean I'm gonna start renovating though. I'm happy to delegate that to people who knows what they're doing. Plus that I was clever enough to buy a new-built flat! It is indeed nice to feel morally superior!

Lame duck

So tomorrow I will cook the famous duck. Since I realized how big a bird it actually is (2kg's), I decided to invite some more people than the one originally planned. Now we're five. Four women and one man, who thinks he will get a word in. Haha. I want to buy myself some time preparing this duck, so in case it will not be finished on time I have planned some wild pig meat (bought ready sliced), fresh figs with goat cheese, together with cucumber sticks to dip in tzatziki as a starter. That should keep'm busy for a while. Will serve the starter on the bar counter, so that the guests can either be impressed with me preparing, or laugh at me trying. Either way, it's good entertainment. The duck will be prepared with apple stuffing, spices and whatsit. But the real tricky part will be to make the sauce. I'm trying to think if I ever made a sauce, but think not. Challenge! Duck to be served with oven-baked potatoes, coarse-grained salt and fresh rosmarin. One guest promised to bring a nice red wine to go with, and another one will bring dessert. A little help from your friends is never wrong. Think it'll be a fab evening!

Latino in my house

I sense it got a bit serious there, so thought it's time for something lighter. Got a present the other day, aroma candles. I like presents, especially when it's consumables (no dust-collectors for me thank you very much). Candles are nice. After about a week or so I decided it was time to unwrap them and put them in a nice place. Chose the dining table. Then I was sitting at my computer, and was thinking that it smells funny. Like a latino man. Was looking around, and didn't find any in the immediate vicinity. Strange. Until I realized it was the aroma candles. And in particular one, the green one. Decided to lit it up and burn it down a bit, but it still gives off a very strong whiff of latino man, i.e. strong sweet perfume. But have decided that the thought was nice, and as long as I don't have to have an Italian stallion in my bed I'm fine. PS. An Italian stallion au naturel wouldn't be so bad!

I can make a difference

Recently I had the opportunity to vote. Not in Switzerland unfortunately, since I do not have a passport here, but in the country where I was born. And here I just wanna say, that people who do not make the effort to vote have no right to complain. About anything. 'Nuff' said.

It's a good news bad news thing. "My" party and its alliances got 49,3%. Which is not enough for being in majority. The interesting thing is that they are still counting the votes from abroad (i.e. me and another 124,999 people...give or take). We can make the difference. It's probably not gonna change on the whole, but still.

The very, very bad news is that the neo-nazis got a whopping 6% of the votes. It amounts to roughly 390,000 people voting to keep "the country clean from foreigners". It is worth to mention that people in this country think they invented the pizza, they love their kebabs, they are happy to drive cars made in some other country, they buy cheapo clothes manufactured in Taiwan, they are happy to go on holiday in Thailand, and when they have a "foreigner" in their family they say "it's not the same". Foreigner in this case could be somebody who is born in the country, but their parents were not.

I think it's clear on where I stand, especially being a foreigner myself. But it made me think. Where is Switzerland on this? When I first googled it I found this. Is the neonazi party in Switzerland really such a big player? Scary big time.

Then I (well Bro actually) found this info.

In short my analysis is that when people get scared, when they lose their job, when they are in trouble, they want to find a scapegoat. And the foreigners are to blame. "They come here, they take our women (men?), they take our jobs, they get contributions to their lifestyle", and so on.

Well, my message is: get off your lazy asses and do something yourself! My firm belief is that most people want to contribute, want to be good, want to be a part of a respected community. I don't care if you are black, red, white, green, yellow or even blue. If you are a good person, you should be welcome anywhere!

And SVP, when I get a Swiss passport, don't even get near me trying to get a vote!

A walk in the park

Zürich today was showing its best side. 25°C and sunshine. Took a walk with the neighbour. The baby tagged along too. We started with checking out the new hood where another neighbour is moving to. Unfortunately a couple in the house is splitting up and thus moving away. We wanted to make sure it was an ok area, and that our friend won't be too far away, and we agreed on that two tram stops is acceptable. Then we decided it was time for lunch, and with a cheapo attitude we bought something in Coop and had our meal sitting on a park bench, in a park I've never been to even though I lived here for 8 years. Feeling good about ourselves saving money, we decided to go for a drop of wine in the cafe. Split personality I guess, first saving and then spending. But a bottle of Fechy (Swiss white wine) is no more than 22 francs, so we could afford it. Then it was time to take a stroll thru the animal park with the lamas and the horses. At the end we checked out the new house a coupla houses away from ours. They have moved in but it's still a lotta noise with machines and whatsit. Talked to the gardener who told us that it'll be finished mid November at the latest. We also checked out the layout, how many flats (4), which view they have and discussing the price they paid (a lot!). A nice day in the sun, and lotsa good talks!

Cement

Ok, now I have learned why somebody has graffitied "Zement" on our wall outside the house. It's somebody "green" who thinks that it's too much cement and too little plants. He or she has got a point. I guess one solution would be to paint it, and another to have some sort of all-year-around plant covering the cement. I think this will be a point to discuss at our annual general meeting.

Graffiti

Came home after the dinner, only to find grafitti on the wall outside the house. First of all it is difficult to find it offensive when somebody has penmanship like this. I wish I could write like that.

Second of all, I believe "Zement" means cement, i.e. the same building material it is.

I think the biggest question is why? Why would anybody write the word "Zement" on a cement wall? Ideas anyone?

Escalating

There is food, and then there is food. Tonight I was invited for dinner and was served entrecote cooked to a temperature of 58°, pink in the middle, juicy and fantastic, served with veggies and risotto. And of course an Amarone.

Then there was the dessert. Fresh figs cooked (baked in the oven?) with some honey, and served with a touch of mascarpone. Obviously with a rare port wine.

The problem is with these people that I every time we meet, the cooking competition escalates. How can I top this?

But I am rising to the challenge. Am having guinea pigs over for dinner on Friday when I will cook that duck. If successful, it's on the menu for the next dinner with gourmet people.

Nothing like a challenge if you ask me, and if it involves people you like, good food and wine, I cannot think what would be better?

Lice?

Woke up this morning and had around 10 different insect bites, which is weird because I only had the odd one before. Where did they come from? How come I didn't hear them buzzing? Was starting to think it might be lice, but I washed my sheets last weekend and I shower every day. Even washed my hair today :). Hmmm, I'm gonna go with mosquitos for now. If only it wasn't itching so much!

Ikea service the sequel

Today I got a phone call from Ikea regarding my complaint for the desk with the scratches. On the spot they offered me to bring a new desk (only not assembled) or 30% off the price. I argued that if I paid 300 francs for a desk, I want a flawless one. So I promised to send him pics. Only with the shiny top it was very difficult. I ended up with either a pic of my roof or of myself holding a camera. It's like taking a pic of a mirror. Ended up with two half-decent pics, and suggested that they after all gimme 50% off which I asked for in the first place (unless they could bring me a new and assembled one). I guess for a face-saving compromize I could settle for 40%. Let's see what the answer says.

Pancake boobs

Went for a mammography and ultrasound of my breasts today. This is something that women should do every 2-3 years. Turned out I was fit as a fiddle. At least my boobs were. And even though the machinery is modern these days, it's quick and almost painless the boobs are flattened to the size of a pancake. A rather big one in my case :). In Switzerland you are given the original x-rays to keep and bring to your next exam. I am usually very organized and have my papers in order, but when I moved things got lost in the shuffle. Remember standing in my bedroom, x-rays in hand, thinking I wouldn't use them too often, then hid them in a clever place. Only haven't been able to locate them again. Looked everywhere, except for that I haven't. They are still somewhere, but I have no idea where. But all is well that ends well. My boobs are healthy. And to celebrate I got a rose from my neighbour.

Feud amongst neighbours

I have found a series on internet tv about feuds amongst neighbours. It is hilarious. People are fighting about a hedge that is grown too big and they cannot decide which neighbour it belongs to, another one about a family having 25 dogs and the neighbours being dog-haters. Yet another one about water being polluted, threats and property borders. Where have these kinda telly programs been all my life? I do have a telly (well there were a number of years in the 80's when I didn't have time to watch anything, so didn't have one), but I guess the language (anything dubbed into German does not trigger my interest) has been the issue. Anyway, I am grateful that I have decent neighbours. We all get along, and even if I don't see all of them all the time there are no problems. And if there are, tiny ones, we speak about them. But gotta admit, these type of programs make me feel so good. I am "normal", I am surrounded by normal people, we resolve issues by communicating. Which is exactly the way it's supposed to work.

Christmas in Bulgaria?

Spoke to Bro today. He suggested that we celebrate Christmas in Bulgaria. As predicted my first answer was a big NO. Especially when I was told that I had to fly thru Budapest. When I spent 5 miserable months there I swore never to come back. But I did a Sam Seaborn in my head, all by myself. And it makes me crazy to know that Bro knows me better than I do myself. My reasoning went from naaaw weeey to I've never been to Bulgaria, to the girlsfriends parents want me to be there, want to know me before the wedding when we inevitably will be joined forever, to what else do I do, to they've got a nice house at the Black Sea, to I'm running out of reasons. Gad, why couldn't he have met a nice Swiss girl?

All about perception

I was never a victim. When I learned the facts of business life I decided to play the man's game. It is not difficult to be better than a man. In fact, it's the easiest thing in the world. It's all about perception. You can choose to be a "girl"...cosmetics, shopping or needing hand-holding. Or you can be your own person. Street-smart, saving money, independent and successful in whatever you choose to do. It's all about selling yourself, telling your manager it's a win-win situation when you make her/him give you a 30% salary raise. Self confidence, poise and a wee bit of charisma. This will get you a long way. Of course, you cannot be totally useless at your work but these days it's more about how you present yourself than contents. Sad but true.

Burkha-verbot!

I do not often write about politics. It’s not because I do not have an opinion, it’s because my blog is harmless. I only heckle people I know, but now I gotta tell you apropos the French government forbidding burkhas. I think they are doing the right thing, and I’ll tell you why. I come from Scandinavia, and some 30 years ago white middle-aged men told me on the question why only men got promoted that “these things take time”. I.e. shuddup you young woman, here are serious men in charge. I for one am tired of waiting, and when “the market” doesn’t fix it then legislation is necessary. And do not tell me that women choose to wear a curtain before their face. Naaaw weeey. Am I a feminist? Hell yeah. I got a brain. Feminism for me means equal rights for men and women, equal pay for the same job. The US has something about 67% pay for women where the men get 100%. Scandinavia is better, it’s some 94% pay for women. Is that enough? Of course not. So again, when “the market” doesn’t regulate itself it is the duty of the government to step in and set things right. Just like yesterday when I watched the Swiss news about the government stepping in giving the reckless big banks (UBS & Credit Suisse) harder rules to obey to. Just like they deserve after giving out gazillions of bonuses to useless managers, at the same time announcing huge losses which normal people have to pay for in the end. Burkha-verbot, YES!

Wine and friends

Have a friend who likes to refer to 'the rich tapestry of life'. Dunno what made me think of that. Maybe it was because I found out that my house wine is on sale, and when I phoned a friend she declared that she would pick up a number of wine boxes for me before coming here for dinner. Friends and wine, what more does one need in life? Ok, ok, I hear you. But lemme tell you, the things that last are just that. So maybe the wine won't last that long, only there is more where that came from, but the friends. They are there for me. I am a very fortunate person!

Ikea service

As mentioned there were a couple of scratches on my new and shiny desk, so thought I'd let Ikea know. Turns out they have a help called "Anna" which is a chat tool. First it didn't work Fri-Sun. Then when it did work, it turned out to be only computerized and no person at the other end. "Anna" simply didn't understand what I was telling her. Then I wrote an email to info at ikea.ch thinking it would work. It didn't. Eventually I wrote "email" to "Anna", and was directed to an email form. People less persistent than I would've given up by now, which is sorta the idea I guess. But today I got a nice answer: "Dear Mrs. and my name I am very sorry to hear of the damage on the desk you received. You do of course have the right of exchange. Your report is recorded in a claim file, which I forwarded to our customer service. They will take care of how we can comply with your wishes and make sure that you will receive an undamaged desk. In the meantime, I must ask for some patience until the exchange is being organised. You will then be contacted by our customer service. yours sincerely," I very much look forward to the continuation of this story.

Hair of the dog

The other night we were talking about the English expression "hair of the dog", which means that when you're hungover you have another drink as a sort of a cure. Something I have never practised (the morning after a drink is the last thing I want!). Anyway, conversation went from there to a dog. The friend said that if she had a dog she would name it Schmidt. If you're on the inside, you know why. We had great fun with "Sit, Schmidt!", "Roll over, Schmidt!" and "Play dead Schmidt!". Guess it's one of these occasions when you had to be there to find it hilarious.

Sleeping around

Saw a program on telly about skeletons and why they were saved and why they died. Made me think about my great grandmother. She was unmarried and had my grandmother when she was 15. This cannot have been easy in the early 1900's. She later married, had more kids and all I can remember from her is that she was an old woman. But I applaud her. Without her I wouldn't be here today.

Not only in vino veritas

Got an interesting email from a friend saying: "To my dear friends who enjoy a glass of wine or beer... and those who don't and are always seen with a bottle of water in their hand. As Ben Franklin said: in wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria. In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 litre of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of E.Coli(bacteria found in faeces). In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop. However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (tequila, rum, scotch, whisky, etc.) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting. Remember: Water = Poop, Wine = Health. Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit."

Frans, oh Frans

Out with the old, in with the new. And with new I am talking plural. Why swap an old boyfriend just for one new one? And from the selection (in only one evening!) I would defininitely go for the Brazilian doctor. Not only was he gorgeous, but he even kissed me on the hand. Ok that he wasn't completely fluent in English, but hey who cares, sometimes it's not necessary to talk. Verbally.

I guess one could say it was audition night.

Basel people

Always nice to have out-of-towners visiting!

Swiss healthcare

Was visiting a friend who had a minor surgery today. I adore Swiss healthcare. Where I come from you have to wait up to 3 years for a surgery that gives you pain constantly. You have to beg, cheat, bribe and have luck to be treated. Here you can visit between 7 in the morning and 10 at night. And the operation takes place whenever you choose to.

And you can go down to the bistro and have a glass of wine.

Scratch

After 3 hours (incl 45 mins to go get an automatic screwdriver), lots of discussion and wringing of hands, the shelf is finally there. Assembled. No thanks to me.

Great disappointment when it turned out to have several scratches on the table top. But gotta admit it looks good!

28 steps to shelf

There is a reason it's cheap in Ikea.

Biggest loser

Haha, gotta laugh at myself but I am hooked on a reality soap called "Biggest loser". It's about fat people who go to training camp in order to lose weight. They are in teams of two, and each week they weigh in and the team that lost the least gets to go home. On one hand it makes me feel good about myself because I have never (and never will be) as fat as they are, on the other hand they do a helluva lot more exercise than I do (and ever will do), which I suppose is good for them. Anyway, I am hooked.

Relationshitphobia

On Saturday I was accused of having a...hmmm...condition called relationshitphobia. I'm not sure I agree. I have plenty of relationships, but none of them are shit. But I think the accuser may have meant romantic relationshits. And if so, she definitely has a point. It's a short life. Who has time for compromise? My way or the highway baby...

A good insect

A good insect is a dead insect. Yesterday I had one of the biggies coming to visit. And since nobody was around I had to go about it myself with an IKEA catalogue and loadsa kitchen paper. I absolutely HATE insects. And these particular ones we get are not only big but friggin smelly when you touch them. Hours after I binned it it was stinking. So today when I spotted one on the balcony I was happy. It was dead. And is now paying a visit to the neighbours downstairs...

Zürich zoo IV

If you were reading the heading and the three previous items you can probably figure out where I was today. The absolute cutest were the lion cubs, which unfortunately didn't come out on the pic too well, since a bunch of people were blocking. Four little cubs walking after their Mum on wobbly legs. Toooo sweeeet! I dunno but human babies do not trigger the same feelings with me. At all. Today the kid next-door were with us and it was all trouble. First she lost her shoe, and a search party was organized. Then she started to scream, then when fed finally shut up. Then she needed changing. It's amazing how much time such a small creature can take. Fortunately she had two nannies today, and I could go walkabout on my own, actually enjoying the zooh (yes, this is how they advertise it!). And I have never given a second thought to trams (other than that they go on time, always). The new trams have space for baby trollies, whereas only some of the old ones have just one entrance for trollies (one that I will learn not to use from now on). Of course the trollies flock there, especially on the tram to and from the zoo. It's a nightmare of screaming human babies! But all in all it was a nice day with enough sun to walk around in my usual shorts, top and flip-flops. Except for when nanny 2 insisted on taking a pic of me in front of the gorillas. Was very happy when her camera faulted and she used mine. This is a pic you will never see!

Zürich zoo III

Zürich zoo II

Zürich zoo I

Schoggi and boobs

I chose the schoggi in case you wondered.

Baileys caramel

Makes me think of the episode of Gavin&Stacey where Bryn is over the moon about a new mix of Baileys, chocolate and mint. "When you didn't think they could go any further". And now this. Baileys caramel. Where to next? PS. Bottle now safely stored in my fridge. HAHAHAHAHA.

Computer table

Got a present from Bro and ...the fiancee. A computer table, one that you can put in your lap and communicate with the world from. Wherever you are. Like in the sofa or in bed. But I found a new way of using. I eat on it. In front of the telly. Extremely comfy.

Funny?

I am extremely bad in telling jokes, I keep on forgetting the punch line or I mix the story-telling up. Am sure I have other talents...hmmm...lemme think. Anyway, was thinking about the saying "bars are to be seen from the inside, mountains from the...outside?...downside". See, I am crap. Still thinking about what I'm good at...

Friends

The reason I have many friends is that I am available. And if I'm not, I make myself. I take time to maintain friendship, because no friends will stay if you never take time to meet.

When I grew up internet didn't exist, there was no twitter, blog, sms or email. As kids we simply went to ring the door of the friend, often having the parent open and then asking "can so-and-so come out and play?".

Reflecting now some thirty years later I realize how right we were. There is still nothing like personal meetings. And I had one today. Inviting another person who chose not to join. Too bad, because meeting people is fun!