Long Walks

First, I want to begin by thanking all of you for the OVERWHELMING response to my birthday post. Mom - I had no idea I was your favorite daughter! Friends - who knew that collectively, your best moment was when you first met me??? Life changer, guys, way to go.

Moving on, the weather here has been perfect.... warm in the sun and cool in the shade. Over the weekend, we got to take full advantage. There's a path along the lake that goes away from the city, towards a tiny, old town called Gandria. It goes right past our house, and lately it's been the walk of choice. Especially considering we have a houseguest, Titi. He's a great dog who doesn't need correcting, which is convenient because he doesn't understand English (his owners are our neighbors from Paris). Every once in a while I give him a "bon chien" which I think he appreciates. Here are some pictures from our walk. The views are amazing...

We usually take little paths and see where they go. One went right to the water, so we let Titi off his leash and stayed for a while. As we were leaving, Ryan says, "do you see that dog?" and points up. We were on a set of steps that had tall, stone walls on either side. And sure enough, there was a little dog on the top of one, not letting Titi out of his sight. He followed us for a while, until he couldn't anymore.

It was a great walk, albeit a little too long for Titi. He saw this bench and decided to go underneath and lie down. We took that as a hint. Afterward, we were the ones laying down. We spent the weekend on the couch, balcony doors open, listening to music and enjoying the view. We ventured out on Sunday and had lunch on the lake. Literally, on a dock that hangs over the water. It was nice... we ate and Ryan fed his crust to the ducks. Until a swan came (they're really mean).

Ryan's in Zurich today, and this is my last week of class before Easter break. We're baby stepping it to Friday, when we leave for a long weekend in Venice. Can't wait.

Quote of the Day

"Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind." -- Bruce Lee, martial artist and actor

Happy Birthday!

Faithful readers, today is a special day. It's a very talented (see food blog), smart (with Euro grades to prove it), funny (see her face above), kind (be a dog within miles of her), beautiful person's birthday.

No pressure, but if want to leave any nice memories or funny stories from the last year (or further back if you want, she's really old!), please post them. I think she would like that.

Here's another funny picture of her. She's really weird and has funny clothing choices.

Happy birthday, Malinda! I'm looking forward to another great year!

The Wife That Cooks

Ryan invited a guy from work over for dinner one night. He's Italian, and it just so happened that I was trying out a spaghetti a la bolognese recipe. I'm basically on the border of Italy, but since I need English to understand recipes, I got this one from the Pioneer Woman blog. I think she lives in Oklahoma.

At one point during dinner, he asked Ryan how he stays so thin with "a wife that cooks." A wife that cooks - he was talking about me! I thought to myself... how did I become the wife that cooks??? Well, probably because going out to eat here costs at minimum $100, and because I actually have time in the evenings now, and because I don't shop for clothes much anymore, just groceries. So yeah, I guess I'm the wife that cooks. This is new for me, so when something comes out looking particularly pretty, I take pictures. And since I'm both bewildered and a little proud of my new title, I thought I'd share the fruits of my labor.

Here's that bolognese dish. The Italian guy was honest... he said it was good, but that since his Dad was actually from Bologna, it wasn't exactly what he was used to. And the artichoke soup has been one of my favorite recipes... it's from a New Orleans cookbook my Mom sent me, and has been perfect with the fresh loaves of bread we get here.














I've tried fish a few times, and it's never been very good. I heard someone talking about how it's best when cooked as a WHOLE fish, and that you don't even have to do much for it to taste good. So, I gave it a try. The instructions were to just rub olive oil on it, maybe use some fresh herbs, and lemon slices. Just to be safe, I stuffed this thing to its gills - literally. You couldn't even see it was a fish. And guess what? I still didn't like it. Too fishy.



Remember that roast I was writing about? Here's the sequence of events. In case you guys don't think we're serious about things being expensive here, I took a picture of the price tag. $80 for a piece of meat. It was big, though. So big that it didn't fit on my cutting board. And finally, it was ready for the oven. I hate that I didn't take a picture of it coming out... it was beautiful.


I've only tried making my own pasta once. From a real Italian cookbook, too. You had to make the pasta, then roll it thin, stuff it with this spicy sausage, cheese, and herb concoction, then make a mushroom sauce to go over it. It was okay... the pasta was too thick. Ryan still liked it.






And sometimes, I make dessert. I had a couple of friends over after an 8:30 exam, and I decided to serve mimosas and cinnamon rolls. Kind of odd, I know, but they'd never had either (isn't that crazy?), and I had just gotten some brown sugar from the states... felt like using it. Here they are before they went into the oven. I never knew how much butter went into cinnamon rolls. Sufficed to say, we haven't had them since.

This strawberry tart on the other hand, is something I'll be making often. Did you know you could still make homemade whip cream without a mixer? Yep, all you need is a good 30 minutes.













This isn't really cooking, but it's funny. The brownie mixes here come with their own baking boxes. You put the box together, then you put the mix together, and voila - you have brownies. That aren't very good.














And tonight, we're having a salad that I will really miss when we move home... you can't find the lettuce in the States (it's French, but I can't remember what it's called). My neighbor introduced us to it. We have it with candied walnuts, goat cheese and a homemade vinaigrette. And finally, pesto with odd shaped pasta. The result? Ryan likes the wife that cooks. Who'd have guessed it?

Mothering Sunday

Today is Mother's Day, according to the Anglican Church (of course they're English, so it's Mothering Sunday). We were informed at mass this morning. Ryan shot me a look that said, "you let me forget Mother's Day?!?" Good thing we're not English.

The church did a really sweet thing... they had all the kids make tissue paper flowers, and the priest said that all woman, no matter if they've had children, are maternal. So, the flowers were given to all the ladies in church - including me. When I was handed fake flowers on fake Mother's Day, I got a little teary. I wish I had a good explanation. I think I'm just your average crazy person.

After church, I got asked by my French neighbor if I wouldn't mind watching her baby for a little while. I was going to have a baby to go along with my Mothering Sunday - perfect! Leonie (Lay-oh-knee) wasn't too sure at first. In fact, when her real mom left, she cried for a good 10 minutes. But sooner or later, her Mothering Sunday mom won her over (see - crazy).














My first Mother's Day was pretty great... the weather was gorgeous, the apartment was sunny and warm, Ryan didn't have to work (which is a huge thing these days), and the baby fell asleep in my arms. It sort of makes me want one. But then I remembered we're in Europe... cheap wine, amazing vacations, and tiny apartments. No babies.

Here's a picture of Ryan mothering. But in all fairness, I didn't exactly let the baby go long enough for him to do much. Besides, he's probably waiting for Fathering Sunday. He'll do great.

Proof of Life

As most of you know, Ryan is now the sole financial provider. I'm not the most comfortable with this new situation, but it is what it is. And, it's not without balance. I have new roles too... I won't mention all of them because they're boring (hint - they include ironing). However, one role has proved to be crucial. I make the friends.

This friends making process hit an all time high on Tuesday when I had 12 people over for a little dinner party. I cooked a 6 lb roast, made stuffed mushrooms, bruschetta, had 3 tons of wine and cheese, artichoke soup, and creamy potatoes. And it was amazing. They all think I'm some sort of natural just because everything miraculously came together. Moreover, it was fun and everyone really enjoyed themselves. I'm sort of itching to do it again.

So, here's the proof. We really do have friends in Switzerland! The group is a mix of mostly Italians, some Swiss Germans, and some real Germans. English was hardly spoken, but I'm learning more and more Italian, which makes for some pretty funny mental translations. I once thought they had gone to a mountain house and run into a tiger. Turns out, they went to a mountain house, someone decided to play on a snow plow, and pretended like he was a tiger. I was pretty darn close.

Quote of the Day

"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying." -- Michael Jordan, American basketball player

Different

Every once in a while, I get reminded of the fact that we're in a different country. Where apparently they zip babies into crib sheets. There's not much else I can say.

Quote of the Day

"Tis easy enough to be pleasant, When life flows along like a song; But the man worth while is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong." -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox, American writer

Quote of the Day

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who matter don't mind, and those that mind, don't matter." -- Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, American author

Birthday Month

I have officially entered my birthday month, which no, I do not celebrate, but yes, I do think about. I'm turning 29, which sounds close to 30, which sounds close to REAL ADULT LIFE. Being an adult is still questionable in your 20's (especially for some of our Memphis friends). I don't feel like an adult. When Ryan and I were frustrated because we missed a train, we each got ourselves candy and felt better. That puts us around 4 years old.

Last year around this time, Ryan said we could do anything I wanted. I'm sure he thought I'd suggest a party at our house or maybe a fancy dinner. But what I wanted to do was drive to New Orleans with a pit stop at Anthropologie in Jackson. Because it was my birthday, Ryan couldn't rush the shopping experience, and because I wanted to take advantage of this special time, I picked up just about everything in the store. He called after 45 minutes and I had just made it to the dressing room. What I love about Anthropologie is that it's colorful, and different, and a little hippie chic. For my 28th, I bought a black sweater. It was awesome.

This year will probably be different. Things I will miss... a friend sushi dinner, a Happy Birthday banner on my office door, the cats (they were always great on special occasions), cake batter ice cream, and of course, the option of going home. However, this time I'll have all new things to look forward to. My friend in the building, it's her birthday too, so we're doing something together. I'm not sure what that will be, but a sweet baby and a good dog will be involved. Ryan won't have time to pick out a present. Since Christmas, he's been working late and on Saturdays. He's asked if I could maybe pick something out myself. I haven't decided yet, but there's a French store called Sandro that's REALLY great. The clothes are expensive and oozing with European style. I tried on A LOT, and have my eye on - wait for it - a black top. Friends at school will probably want to go for aperitivo. It's sort of like happy hour... you buy drinks, and small dinner food is served for free. It's really popular here. One of the bars is actually called New Orleans. Funny, right? I might actually spend my birthday in New Orleans. With a new black top. Maybe it won't be different after all...

Big news for us - my family came for a visit! Here are some highlights... trains, skiing in Davos, and Zurich.















Ryan and I stayed in Zurich after my family left, and had the best weekend. I got a plant from a REALLY cute, little flower shop. When they wrapped it, it looked even prettier! At this point, I was beyond excited... I had just seen family, we were in my favorite city, and someone just handed me flowers wrapped in pretty paper. Does it get better than that? I don't think so. I was SO happy, I got Ryan to take a picture of me in front of the store. A few hours (and a few more flowers) later, I had Ryan pose with our treasures. I'm not sure it will have the same affect on you, but these two pictures crack me up. Look at my face, and then look at his. I'm kind of like... look at this in my hand right now, is it not the cutest, and is this not the best day, can you even stand it?!? And he's going... um, I guess these flowers are awesome, and of course I want to pose for a picture with them???














Ryan will have to share the other highlight... it's a restaurant in Zurich, where people try and jump over two beams in the ceiling, hang upside down, drink a glass of wine, then get to carve their name in the wall. You can't understand without the video, and he's got a new trick for posting them, so I'll leave it to him.

This is been a time consuming post, and I'm putting off cooking a whole fish that's been in my refrigerator since Saturday. I not only have to cook it in a way that makes it taste good (my Italian friends say just to rub olive oil on it, but that's been their answer for everything... sort of like Windex in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, so I'm skeptical), then I have to remove the bones. This could get interesting... ciao!