We Have Furniture AND Snow!

We've been sitting on cushions for the past three and a half months. A few days ago, we got most of our furniture (the last of it will deliver when we get back), and we couldn't be more excited. The living room is far from finished... the second couch is still in boxes, there's nothing on the walls. BUT, it looks lot better than it did, so we had to show it off. See that? It's a couch. We can sit on it. There's a place to put our TV. A shallow table takes up a blank wall. What more could you want?















It snowed here this past weekend and again today. Judging by our balcony railing, there's a few inches on the ground. I took this picture on Sunday. You can only see the tops of our apartment buildings from the street because they're built on the side of the mountain. It was gorgeous - sunny and snow.

We're doing Christmas a little different this year. Ryan and I are always together, and we don't totally understand the stores, so that rules out a lot of surprise gifts. It got us thinking last night of the presents we've already received. This year has been a big one.

We got an amazing apartment. We'll probably never have a view like this again, so that's a pretty cool gift. I got to talk to my brother today on his birthday. He's five, and that's old enough to carry on a funny conversation. That was an unexpected present. I have in-laws that think nothing of taking care of my cats for the next two years. If you've never cleaned a litter box for two BIG cats, I'm not sure you know what kind of a gift this is. My mom gave me a ton of books before we left, and in each of them she wrote a little note about the stories. It's like having my own personal Barnes & Noble. On top of the books, today she told me that I was a good sister. Because that was a great gift, I told her thank you, but I should have told her she was a good mom. I thought of it too late. Ryan and I have never spent so much time together. We walk everywhere. We talk all the time. And we spend most Fridays and Saturdays making up something to do. That's been the best gift to come out of Switzerland, and I hope it's one that we can give each other in the future. So, for our parents who have at one time or another hoped their kids were happy, here's a gift for you. We're the happiest.

Speaking of gifts, Switzerland has chocolate. If you order a hot chocolate, this is what you get. It's the thickest, richest, chocalatiest drink in the world. Notice my use of "spoonful" as a verb... the chocolate made me crazy!