PSA: Karla's great!

Karla & I have been friends since my 16th birthday when she crashed my surprise Chili's birthday party. How far we've come since then and how much growing we've done. This year alone I saw Karla in Chicago for Papa's funeral and our big Scandinavian trip (where we ate the most delicious baked goods of all time, relaxed looking over fjords, forced her to take arduous bike rides, etc.). We visited Karla in London during her first weekend living there and wandered all around her new 'home.' All of us met up in Barcelona where Karla smashed a glass with her bare hands, and then, she came to Zurich to visit and celebrate Thanksgiving with us. It was during this past weekend, looking back over this year, how much fun we've had, how real the 3 of us all are together that it just hit me. Damn, we're so lucky to have her in our lives. There aren't many people who can attempt to talk Joe & I off a ledge when we're arguing about something asinine, be told "we don't need a cheerleader right now Karla," and just keep on rolling. Not many friends would not only come along with me to work, but completely rock it, making me look like a lame nanny because she's just so darn fun. I hope the DLP comes out rocking red hair, just because this girl wants it so bad. We're so happy she spent the past few months in London because we know how much our experience has shaped us, forced us to grow and move forward in ways we never expected. Here's to (selfishly) hoping the UK office wants her back someday for another stint cause we sure liked having her on this side of the pond for a while. As Nick said the other day when he was hanging up the phone, 'bye, love you too Karla!'

Kerzenziehen

 

Last week the kids & I spent every day making candles. It's a Swiss tradition which takes place a week or two before Advent starts (so everyone can make their handmade Advent candles). First, we all picked our wick width, then decided how long we wanted our candles to be. This year, Isadora no longer required my full attention & help, so I made a few candles as well. It's a painstakingly slow process. Everyone except Alice definitely got bored after about 10 minutes, but they found other ways (as seen above; hiding out under the candle cooling racks) to entertain themselves. I showed Karla the candles I made when she was here this weekend and she couldn't believe we started from scratch on them. It would be boring just explaining the process; the dipping, then waiting, dipping, then waiting. Add to it that you are surrounded by throngs of youths wielding hot wax while speaking SwissGerman in a stuffy community center-type room that smells of wax. And somehow, I still loved it.

European Sundays.

How the perspective has changed. When we first moved out here, both Joe & I really got annoyed by the fact that we couldn't DO anything on Sundays. We lamented about everything being shut for the day. It was terrible when guests came to visit, but what will we DO we'd think? It's incredible now how much we love that day. We spend it lazily, sometimes waking up at 10, going for hikes, drinking coffees, going to the gym, Skyping. It's wonderful shutting off for a day, reconnecting, and refreshing for the week ahead. Here we've just eaten a delicious brunch with friends and are going for a post-gorge stroll up in the woods with Bonnie, Reto & the lil Rubster (who you probably can't see pictured off to the left as she's a crazed ball of running, sniffing, puppy energy).

What did we sign up for?

 

Not even a banana could cheer Will up last weekend. But more banana makes everything better says Joe, as he attempts to shove the child's mouth so full of food, that he won't be able to cry anymore. Fail. Good thing we offered to watch him this weekend, overnight. Cause we're not flippin out enough about the DLP without an unhappy Will around to keep the reality check in full-tilt.

Crazyville, Pop. ?

 

The dog snuggled up to me the other day at work. She was literally half on top of me. The kids wanted to be close to the dog, so, this ensued. Some sort of wild child, calm dog, Liz and unsettled DLP wrestling, resituating, lounging event.

Barcelon

We met up for a soggy, fun-filled weekend with Karla in Barcelon. But, you say, I recall vaguely some other time you were in Barcelon. Oh, you mean April? Well, we can't get enough of Spanish culture, Spanish prices, and, oh yeah, Karla too! We didn't have a serious agenda. When I asked Joe the night before we left what he wanted to do, he said; "Honestly, I want to eat and drink." Aspirations met, check. I still have a love hate relationship with crowded bars, but they just feel different in Spain. Knowing that I'll have to wrestle for a spot is suddenly not so unpleasant when I see a counter laden with delicious foods, smell the glorious things the folks next to us are eating, and look at the price list;) Vino de verano -50% Fanta limon, 50% vino tinto, 100% awesome, doesn't hurt either...they look pretty too, about the most enjoyment I got out of them.

As you can see from the photos, our one serious tourist attraction this trip was Casa Battlo. In April we passed on the house because Joe couldn't stomach the 18E admission, oh and R. Steves, doesn't even give it a passing mention in his section on Barcelon. Fail Rick Steves. Fail. This Gaudi house, commissioned as a private residence was an incredible view into architecture - the use of natural light, the innovative ways doors and railings were molded to fit perfectly into the hand, the brilliant blues, the fireplace built into a nook of ceramic to further conduct the heat. It was fascinating, a fact we all agreed on. No one ever mentioned again the cost of entering the site. A true indication that it was worthy.

Additional time was spent meandering, walking into shops and bars. There were two places, Ciudad Condal & Sagardi which we hit up twice during our short weekend. Sagardi is the place we originally discovered the vino de verano in April. It's a pinxto bar with little sammies sitting on platters all along the bar. The place has custom made Sagardi glassware, which is a bit thin. On the first trip there, Karla insisted she could 'crush a glass with her bare hand.' We joked about it and pretended to try to squeeze the glasses. However, when we returned, I egged her on a bit. Joe had just delivered my water and was waiting on his & Karla's drinks at the bar when I handed Karla my glass and said, let's see it. Not 10 seconds later, Karla was soaked in water, I'd just screamed in a bar, and she had a small cut on her thumb. Point taken. Don't mess with Karla.

Fohn.

 

Been having a great time with these lil guys lately, which is not all that hard to do when the days are like this. Can you see they have their arms around each other? LOVE. So, fohn is a Swiss German word for when it's warmer in the suburbs / mountains than it is in the city - as it was on this gorgeous day. Sadly, these days are seemingly a thing of the past, as we fell back an hour this weekend, so it's 5.16 pm here and already dark. At least I have another excuse for bedtime clocking in around 9.30 now...