School Makeover!

The powers that be decided or realized that some of the classroom and general school space wasn't being utilized to its full potential or capacity. So on a slow quiet Monday during school break we are moving the arts and crafts room, music room and former closet/coat room. What an undertaking!
We still have a few kids at school whose parents dont love them enough to take them on vacation and stuck them with us instead. So we had to break up the teams and I was asked to organize...which I am really happy about this week. It's expected to rain which means a lot of the same in a room full of wild little people or mild, yet physical labor in a room with a radio. No questions here, just point me in the direction of the moving boxes.
As I am cleaning I am able to snoop into old files of activities and previous issues which lead us to this change and all kinds of teachery stuff. Ultimately think what we are doing will be great for those whom are effected by this space issue on a daily basis. I was given permission to snoop by the way, I'm not a creep....
So for the next week I will be packing, cleaning, filing coloring pages, marker testing, checking game pieces, trying on, I mean matching costume outfits and all kinds of fun school tasks...including throwing away crappy art! Ugh, terrible.

Weekend Highlights, ...Continued

The last 12 hours has been pretty fantastic and self entertaining. I slept in after a late night at the studio to a clear blue sky, blasting sun and call from Sweden. It's going to be a good day....

In a nice long shower I was getting excited for my first round of golf for the season. Scooped up B. Connerton and headed to Oberkirsh. Walked right onto the green and we both played a great game! We meet a friend along our way, and enjoyed this course that we have struggled on before. After we said bye to Mr. Mole and wrapped up our game, we gave our clubs a spring cleaning we made way back home but not before stopping at a tulip field. We clipped a few beauties and made our way home to enjoy the rest of the late afternoon sun.

So here's the thing about the plants. In the middle of the night I heard the wind take someone's pot and smash it in the court yard. Today I went to get the bike out back and realized it was ours. Awesome. I cleaned it up and while the pot was no longer functioning, the plant was not damaged. So I replanted her along with some herbs and started our gardening. We have more to go but what fun would it be to do it all alone??

So I moved onto the bottles. Recycling always seems to go longer than it probably should and never makes it's way to the top of the chore list. I think our neighbors must wonder if we have problems because it always looks full when really its rarely emptied. Anyway, I decided it was time to separate them and then walk them over this week to put it off a little longer. Hehe. So I'm sorting away and trying to be quiet about it when I see I have two or three left to bag and I kick one behind me, slowly watch it roll behind me, under the railing and down the side of the building just waiting for it to smash.i just closed my eyes and waited for it but I was caught by a pink bike tire and landed safely!!!! Miracle!!

So now, after a shower, a little relaxation and reflecting I am off to bed way past my bedtime. Per usual. :)

Xoxoxo

In No Particular Order...Weekend Highlights

This weekend was jam packed with music, sunshine, girl friends, bbq's, sporting events, art, exercise, plants, beer bottles, and loads of laughs and productivity. In summary:

Music. Meet and had the pleasure listening to the musical talent of a new local artist/band at Luz bar. Stole a private show listening to someone practicing their violin outside of their window (creepy I know!) and spent hours listening to a funk favorite, Phenomenal Handclap Band with a dash of Frank Sinatra and U2/Maru &. It reinforced and extracted more energy from a gorgeous weekend.

Girlfriends. Little breaths of fresh air came in all directions this weekend. One giggly girl I had the pleasure of seeing three times in one day, watched one animal kick ass during the day, and get her ass kicked on snakebites that night with the same big smile. Golfing, gelato, good times. Oh, and someone wearing these shoes....and no, it wasn't a rugby chick! ;)

After a beautiful day, the weekend was kicked off with a BBQ with good food and fun faces and spectacular views.

Okay, yeah there was this one bizarre thing that I ate this weekend. I was offered a dessert from Hong Kong and it was the craziest thing I have ever voluntarily put in my mouth. (insert dirty joke here). It was gauzy looking but was soft and dissolved sweetly in my mouth but had a fine nut and gummy caterpillar shaped center and was surprising and yeah, not that good. Yes that's the only way to describe it but it was funny feeling and really different and cool to try something so foreign.

Saturday was sublime and started with a nice long walk with someone that we will call Kate. That may or may not be her name, but in this story that's what we will call her. We walked though the Gutschwald and met a Rastafarian Flower with white mittens. He entertained us with a little dance and off he went one way and us another. It was a gorgeous trail with a perfect shady warm breeze. Two and a half hours later we are back in the city, I'm off on the bike and heading to my first women's rugby game. Umm, first of all those girls are insanely powerful and bad ass. I would, could never tackle someone like this and they made it look easy and fun! Second, I don't know shit about rugby. probably should have read the rules first, but it was cool and it was great to sit outside on the grass!! No shoes, strawberries, pretzel straws and cokes cola made for a perfect picnic snack.

I decided to extend my single girl weekend by making a few trips to the studio on both Friday and Saturday night. I belong to the night and my creativity wakes up when the stars are out. I have been working on a few pieces that I started many moons ago that needed cheering up and they are coming to life and I am so excited about them! It was really nice to give them some focused attention.

Amsterdam and Art

As you may or may not know, Amsterdam has over 50 museums and a countless number of galleries. Among the most popular are the (obvious) Sex Museum...but why pay a fee when the stores and windows are open to everyone?! The Van Gogh which is truly amazing if you are a fan, but if not doesn't really offer much variety in terms of artists and periods (I am a fan however and love love this space...bright, colorful and somehow ironic considering he was a sad and dark man living in shacks all though his life..go figure.). And the locally proud and impressive Rijksmuseum which is where we spent our Saturday morning.

The last time I was in Amsterdam I went to this museum three times alone. I know, daring and not for everyone to try in fear of absorbing too much Flemish art, but I just couldn't seem to help myself. But with such uninteresting (to me) subject matter pared with such impeccable detail I found a new side of art that I thank this museum for endlessly. Not everyone can appreciate countless paintings of Dutch or English royalty or landscapes that no matter how beautiful will ever compare to seeing untouched plains for yourself or massive images of fruit. Yes, the way I just described this museum, why run to wait in line, right? Wrong. These people may not have had a whole lot going on and the truth in the art is that it shows. The detail is absolutely incredible. Some of the paintings easily look like photographs and it's enough to make anyone ask, "do people still paint like this?" honestly it's hard I say but it's too bad if they don't because it's unbelievable. I took a few (non flash) photos to give you a taste...

The other artistic aspect of this city that is amazing is not just the museums you pay to get into, but the small (and bigger too I guess) galleries that are nestled within the city streets. Sometimes you don't even know its a gallery but you see a bizarre sculpture or painting in the window and you are just magnetized in. This for me is one of the best ways to be inspired because its unexpected and fresh but it doesn't necessarily bode well for people you're with. This may be the case in particular if people are either uninterested in being pulled in left and right without notice, are in need of a toilet that your obliviousness failed to register and/or particularly nervous husbands who come looking for you in a gallery you said you were going into only to be lured into the basement to see the private and older collections and not hear your own name when called. As a warning...

But without further ado, please enjoy some of my little favorites from he Rijks...

FiNAlLY!!!!!

It's about damn time!!! There have been grey, wet, dreary, miserable skies for three slow depressing weeks. Today is a new day and this is what we get!!! Hurrayyyy!!!

Say Cheeeeese

This was one of the many shops we found in Amsterdam but was particularly special. It was approximately a meter wide and six long and all it had in it was cheese and a cash register.
It had goat cheese, Gouda, garlic and herb, mild, strong, you name it, she had it! We also scored a lovely cheese grater to enjoy our selection...what will you choose???

Amsterdam- Part One

A melting pot of a young and old, historic and modern Europe, hip restaurants, fashionable boutiques, crowded sidewalks and a smorgasbord of smells, shops, sounds and sex. Amsterdam is not just the European Canal City of Debauchery & Sin as it's reputation has portrayed it to be, but a truly magnificent and creatively dynamic city that has something special to offer everyone from anywhere.

One of the things that I love about Amsterdam is that regardless of what your interests are, there is never a shortage of things to see or do. Of course this is often the case in most cities and places one voluntarily visits, but there is something particularly unique about Amsterdam that I absolutely love.  With rhe exception of london, amsterdam is one of the best english speaking cities in europe! Its welcomed, appreciated and effortless. Some times you feel like a jerk if you dont speak Spanish or French or German, but here, communication is fluid and mutually understood which makes it really enjoyable and stress free. Another thing is the architecture. Whether it is shitty out, sunny or windy as hell, the architecture of Amsterdam is so unique and funky that you cant help but feel cozy and awed by such obtuse and acute angles that there is never room in the eye for boredom. You can walk and walk and walk and just keep admiring all of the buildings and question how they are still standing. You feel like you are walking around in a piece of art with no end and its fantastic. I love that you can sit at a cafe on a bridge and be tickled by the thought of the boats gliding under your feet and appreciate how these people steer a boat on a tiny ass canal better than you will ever parallel park a car in the middle of a Walmart parking lot. Never a shortage of entertainment just by being there not doing a damn thing but enjoying.

So this weekend was that and much more. We met up with some super special friends from Sweden (and surprised one!) and had a blast as we ate, bounced and chatted our way through the city. The city has so much to offer in terms of cuisine that unless you know exactly what you want, you have no idea what you want because there is so much to choose from. You can walk on a single block less than a quarter mile (in any scale) and have Chinese, Sushi, Hot Dogs, Donuts, Smoothies, Hemp Pops, Calzones, Pancakes, Space Cakes and Fresh Fruit to choose from. The most popular I would have to say however is the Kebab. They are fricken everywhere its unbelievable. And if you are one for the famous Middle Eastern Sandwich, be sure to dive into one (or in my case, a bite!) before you leave because the one close to home may not be as good as the ones here.

While we're on the fat kid train, its important to note that while all of these options and choices are readily available I/we did not indulge in such sweet temptations, but rather made conciously  indigenous delicious Dutch delicacy decisions. So Saturday after lefting and righting and tour mapping it up a few times after a few hours in the art museum (more on that later...), we found my favorite Carousel Pancake House. This folks is no IHOP. This is a craft with countless choices, each better than the last categorized simply as sweet or salty. Each pancake is the size of a small (US) pizza and its thin and loaded with flavor. I locked eyes on the fresh ginger and jumped at the chance, only to have been recommended to pair it with local apple and it was nom nom nom nom nom.....

Right.

Wanting to bury my head in the sand at my lack of pancake control it was onto an afternoon of shopping and walking and avoiding anything that required a fork. I was successful on this mission until I learned we had reservations at 9:30. No problem. It was only noon...I could hold out...And it was worth it!

Our

Onto the shopping! And what a great city to in shop it is! Of course you have your ritzy glitzy part of the city, but if you want boutiques, local designers, thrift and modern classics, you want to go to the Nine Streets. It is packed with fashion for everyone's taste in a range of great European prices. One of my favorites is called VANILLA and the clothes are as sweet and soft as the name. I highly recommend this shop to any of you ladies looking for something classic that you can easily dress up for work or down with jeans for style and comfort!
So after doing some wandering and numbing the credit cards, we decided it was time to take a break and a nap before heading out for the night. This was an imperative decision as any Saturday night veteran knows. So we four went back to our rooms and prepared ourselves for a Saturday night on the town....

Three Times Fast...Outloud.

When you aren't above you are...

Stans Music Festival

What a fantastic experience! Thursday night three friends got together to hear a variety of spice that gave just enough of a taste to wake up the many senses of the musical soul. Ranging from Hungarian jazz to Latin rock to Adams Family meets Rolling Stones meets Bob Dylan meets amazingly intriguing electric string sound to German Reggae-Rap. Yeah. You're telling me...
It was quite a night, quite a lot of flavors and quite an experience. We paced ourselves in a way that we were able to explore what was behind tent number one, two and three but easily could have been convinced to stay at any one just to drown in such unique or energetic sound.
When we arrived around 7 we entered the soulful world of jazz. It was cool, smooth and a perfect start to the evening. The lead singer also took command playing the saxophone and clarinet as well as performing in Hungarian. It took some time to figure out what she was singing because we knew it wasn't German or even Swiss German, but it was the deep sad sound of Hungarian soul. We moved on, but not before taking one last look at the drummers slow motion heavy metal drumming face which completely didn't match the set but was priceless. To check out the band google Macsanka, Breakfast on a Battlefield.
It was unanimously after that it was time to eat before venturing out into the night and getting deeper into a music coma. So we hit up the multi-cultural buffet. Everything from Thai to South African to Indian to to ghanaese to Mexican. Each choice looked amazing but I am a sucker for pad Thai noodles so it was game over after that.
We all inhaled our dishes, washed it down with a coffee and headed back out. Before moving on we had to take a pit stop and observe the friendly statue in Stan's city center...uplifting. Back to the music!
We were at a cross roads between checking out the World Music main stage or diving into some Latin music. Ummmm, best decision of the evening!!! Bar none, hands down it was fantastic and really set the bar for the rest of where the night could go. The energy in this place was electric, popping, somehow familiar but completely new. This band is from Barcelona and took you to a world of, damn I wish we were somewhere exotic like Cuba, Argentina or Venezuela like its talented and easy on the eyes band members...not that it changes the way they play! From the moment you walked in your body couldn't help but give a physical reaction to the musical fusion and it only increased with every step closer to the stage. I have a video that would not give them justice, but if you can chase down CHAMITO you would be doing yourself and your mates a big favor. Period.
It was a really tough call to leave this tent, but we were there to take in as much as we could and the beers were empty, so we moseyed on. We decided to head to the main stage but not before stoping at an open air tent playing some swing on the stereo. It was packed with Swiss and there wasn't a band playing so we continued on and warped into the sound of DEAD BROTHERS. Wow.
This venue was dark and like being in an old warehouse which was a perfect compliment to this dark, funeral precession-esque five man band. It was slow, dark, sultry, dirty, coarse but yet Gomez Addams romantic with the likes of the cello, guitar, violin, banjo, mandolin, harmonica and contrabass. Absolutely fantastic. I think Amy said it best when she observed that each member seemed to have been playing on their own dreary planet that when combined made a beautiful sound. Spot on. If you were to hear a piece as a solo you could think that your living your own funeral, but together you felt alive and in awe of such bizarre beauty.
Finally, we rolled out of the hearse and made our way for our final destination. We knew this would be a quick stop because we are responsible individuals with jobs and had to catch our train. Our final course was interesting and left a taste in my mouth that I could probably have done without. Swiss German Reggae-Rap was, well, the no thank you portion to this otherwise genius musical medley. Maybe I wasn't feeling it, maybe it wasn't my style, maybe I was more focused on the fact that I never thought those three things could ever go together but when it was time to leave, it was time to leave.
So this is my review and I highly encourage anyone and everyone to check out these bands as well as future music festivals. There is much to be said about the pleasant surprises of dabbling in new music and taking a fun cultural risk. I don't know when he next music festival is here in Switzerland, but I'm pretty sure I will be there as I suggest you check your local listings if you aren't local and try to do the same!



Matthais Linke & The Electric Mandolin

Fat Ones Slimy Ones....

On a freaky Friday after the rain, what better activity to do with two adventurous two year olds than discover wiggly wildlife. We have an hour to kill and a wide open parking lot near the forest covered with creepy crawly long wet pink and brown worms. So we helped these poor innocent creatures make their way back to the dirt and discovered little things about our slimy little friends.
At first one of these little munchkins was terrified and too timid to pick one up but before long he was plucking them up like a pro. He decided to explore their elasticity and nearly tore one in two, but we know they survive greater dangers than a two year old and fortunately stayed intact.
Our other little outdoorsman didn't hesitate for a second and was picking them up left and right. Flinging them into the grass like they were potatoes into a sack. Big, small, fat slim, he didn't judge, just followed the mission of putting them into the grass and not down the drain. He needs to work on his speed in which he tosses as it doesn't make for a soft landing for them, but fortunately they don't have any bones so what's the worst that could happen from 2 meters?
I myself realized I am still not that Girly of a girl to roll up my sleeves and poke some innocent worms to watch them twist into cool shapes or pick them up to prove they won't bite. A true Vermonter and gentile keeper of the less fortunate beauties in nature. I wouldn't say it's my favorite rainy day activity or that I would join the worm protection society or anything, but I think that if there is an opportunity to show kids something cool and teach them kindness to animals...even if they need to work on their skills, I am all for it. Here's to the worms!

Best Babysitting Confession

Okay so I have really gotten to know my way around some play rooms lately but the one I am in tonight is unbelievable. It has everything!!! Old stuff to new stuff to cool stuff to even cooler cool stuff. Is this immature to think stuff in a playroom is cool? Perhaps, or maybe it's your inner big kid showing a little jealousy? Eh, eh?

Well as a babysitter I try to tidy up when the kids are asleep. I'm not one of those who sits around watching tv, cleaning out the fridge and calling everyone I know. I actually try to help out and make life a little easier for parents who deserve to go out to play themselves and not have to worry about coming home after a few cocktails and step on GI Joe or Darth Vader.

Here is the confession. Everyone in the house is asleep, including the doggie. Perfect time to clean up because there is no commotion or temptation to get out of bed. Well, as I was cleaning I may have gotten a little carried away, and, well, see for yourselves...

Sacrifices and Showers

Its 5:30am on a rainy Thursday morning. The birds are all chirping under their magnolia canopies and the sun is sleeping off last nights haze down under.
I am awake and soon heading for the train. It's wet and dark and super early. I have to be at the station when I normally wake up. This is going to be a long day but knowing at 4:30 this afternoon I have a nice four day holiday, I'm sure I will survive this day....
My morning routine usually takes about 40 minutes when i don't hit snooze. Today however, somehow even with more than enough time to spare, I decided for some unbeknownst reason...possibly at the expense of it being so damn early, I decided to shower, but that I was having a good enough hair morning that I didn't need to bother to wash it. Umm, what?! Apparently the sleepy version of my sloppy self decided that because it was raining, taking the already factored in minutes to wash and blow dry was a complete waste of time and that it looked good enough that no one would notice. I soon realized how drastic of a mistake this was and it has been a completely and epically hopelessly hair day ever since. Never. Again. Wake up Erin and wash your damn hair.
So, without having eaten breakfast because I'm thinking clearly, I get to the station like a professional Swiss traveler with plenty of time to purchase my ticket and find a seat next to the window so I have plenty of light to bring the book I remembered . I fell asleep 3 pages in but heard the next upcoming stop so casually packed up and set off for the transfer. I hope I didn't snore...those people are the worst!
As I waited on the platform at 7:20am I realized how uncool and singled out I was with my unclean hair and cigarette-less fingers. I was thee ONLY person not smoking!!! So I took out my water bottle and some gum to satisfy the oral cravings. There! Train comes on time. Two stops. Awesome.
I get off the train more awake and am told I have a 15 minute walk uphill to school or I can take the bus. Well, I'm a walker. And I was prepared. So with my backpack of coloring books and bubbles and baby books, my bottle, big ass umbrella and I took advantage of this morning opportunity to get a little stretching out in before the madness begins and it was priceless. It totally dismissed at prior complaints about needing to get up early. I haven't walked to work in weeks and I loved it! Thennnn I got inside and took a look at my hair.................
I think it is important to mention why I put myself through this commute this morning. First, having a car is a luxury and is not to be taken for granted. But they need some pampering and treatment from time to time and it is important to know how to get about without it. Fortunately I live in one of the best and most reliable countries in the world for transportation which is also a luxury. The Saab sadly had a pididdle the last few weeks and there really wasn't going to be a great time to be without him, so I had to sacrifice my morning and shower routine so he could be fixed. My husband is on his way to pick him up from the Saab doctor and I hope he has an otherwise good report. And although I made this sacrifice I too am quite pleased with this day as it has given me the opportunity to have a laugh at my own expense once again, have a nice walk, not drive on a traffic filled holiday weekday and write all about it!

Enjoy until next time!
Xx

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