Joyful Journey

I did it again. I got out of the apartment complex, down the street a little bit when I realized it. I was wearing jeans and light gray running shoes. Oh no. Nothing like wearing a neon sign that shouts "AMERICAN HERE!" You see, you just don't wear jeans and light-colored running shoes if your Swiss. Especially not "boot cut jeans." Sigh. I guess you really can't fool all the people all the time. Of course, when I got to "Die Post" and went to the window to purchase my stamps, I'm sure even my accent in answering the questions gives me away. The postmistress knows I'm an American because I have had to show my passport in order to receive some packages in the past. But walking through town with my jeans and grey running shoes I definitely announced to the entire community that I'm an American. Now, don't misunderstand me. I am very proud to be an American. But there are times, when in trying to learn the language and th...

I had hoped to get a bit of blogging done once I returned to Switzerland. After all, I had a graduation, a wedding, another engagement, Christmas and a wedding all in the last month. Plus I still have things from last year that I am determined are going to make it onto this blog. But of course, life continues to happen while I'm trying to "get caught up." And this is one of those things. Also, I've procrastinated about starting this. Mainly because the computer I use has been sounding like it was dying and so I have been logging on VERY sparingly, trying to make sure that it lasts. The thought of functioning without access to a computer is more scary than any movie Hollywood could produce. ;-) I guess I could entitle this blog, How to Win Friends or maybe Things to Avoid saying or maybe How to Make Someone's Day. I am very privileged to have made some dear friends, even in the short amount of time since we've moved to Switzerland. The women who are a ...

I've been told that, yes, this is unusually cold for this part of Switzerland, for this long. Only having lived here one winter, I don't have much experience to go on. But the day I left Switzerland (December 10) and when Bob left on the 20th, there was snow everywhere and it seemed extra cold. -5 degrees Celsius. That's been the high for the last few days since we returned to Switzerland. I hadn't ventured outside to exercise, but I knew I couldn't handle another day on the treadmill and besides, it was a balmy 4 degrees (or about 39 degrees Fahrenheit) and the sun was shining, so I thought a walk outside was definitely the order for the day. Winters here tend to have very low clouds, in the non-Alpine regions and so it is not unusual to quite often see the trees appear as though they are covered with ice. But because the sun was out this afternoon, I was afraid it would all melt off before I was able to take some photos. So I headed out with my camera in my...