Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbors Lawn

Look at the lawn below. One day it was a smooth layer of dirt and the next day - a rolling green. I see this off my terrasse and the side yard. I walk by it every day. My neighbors brand, spankin' new lawn & garden. I can't even begin to touch the cute new trellises for the berry bushes or the compost station discretely placed in the corner.

I really don't want to think about how many CHF it took to make that lawn happen - It's not often you see sod laid in this little corner of the universe. Pretty. sigh Because this is what I've been looking at:

How long do you think my neighbor's lawn will be daisy & dandelion free? HAHAHAHAaaaaa.... Now we did get to mow it finally this last weekend. The planets were aligned just so, it stopped drizzling AND most importantly, Bart was home on Saturday to mow it.

Now, we've been home plenty of Sundays when it wasn't raining BUT in Switzerland "Thou Shalt NOT Mow Thy Lawn On Sunday." I'm not joking. It IS the 11th commandment in this country. Closely followed by "Thou Shalt Not Speak Loudly in Public" and "Thou Shalt Obey the Recycling Commandments" (there is a whole 'nother manual for this).

We would really, really like to have that work/residency permit renewed (at risk of creating short-term havoc) so we are following all the rules. And as I have varied allergy issues, I am not allowed to mow. So we waited and I must say that, all cleaned up, the backyard is looking good.

But the bees will miss this:

They love our lawn when it's unruly.

And the pool renovation is almost complete. With the constant on-off rain, the painting must be redone on the bottom and I just found out this morning that it will be another 2 weeks before we can put water in it. The girls will be very disappointed. As will I. My heart beats slower when there's water in the giant backyard pit to cushion any fall that might occur in my imagination. Yeah, and then there's the other issue of a pool and little kids who don't know how to swim........ But my kids and their friends do so we are good with it now.

Good News - the landlord did order a new pool cover! Yippee! We have had the pool filled for 2 years with fresh water and no heating (oil/gas heating for residential pools is not allowed in Switzerland). Thus, the temperature is that of a shady pond without the algae, frogs and minnows - cold. I can count on my fingers the number of times I've actually been in this pool. The kids don't care though and they use it all the time (during the "off-season" the kids use it for soccer, snow bowling and a variety of other things we won't tell the landlord about :) ).

I will share a pic of our entry which I now love. Which I used to hate. It was a tangled mess of a jungle when we moved in (overgrown trees, climbing bushes - ewwww) and we convinced them (landlord) it must be fixed. The ground cover has all come in/spread and the perennials I added give a little extra color. If anyone needs some "black eyed Susans" I have plenty. Dividing and spreading around as I see fit. :)

Mothers Day Pic. I know others feel the same but I have to say: I feel like the luckiest Mom in the World. There is not a moment that I would trade for something else besides my husband and my girlies. God has richly rewarded me with them - Thank You!

So - I must put my lawn envy aside and go pull weeds in the flower bed today. The best part - I don't care about the weeds in my lawn. But my neighbor does!