Snow Daze

First - here are the girls representing the US of A for the United Nations Assembly at school on Friday. Not as many kids dressed up as was hoped for but ours really get into the spirit of things. Thursday morning we received a call at 6am - school cancelled due to weather. And I am room parent for 2 classes and therefore must start the "phone tree" calling as prescribed by the school. It's not fun calling parents when you are groggy and haven't had caffeine yet.

This is what the forecasted "chance of snow" looked like at 7am:Normally - school wouldn't be cancelled for snow like this. But on October 30th, not many people have their snow tires on yet and the cities weren't quite ready to handle the removal. It wasn't a soft, dry snow either. It was very heavy and wet. The elementary school relies on a private bus service for about 40% of the student transportation and the rest of the students are driven from all parts of the Zurich area - including ferry from across the lake. Needless to say - it was a messy day out there.


The other risk involved: If you are in an accident in Switzerland and do not have the proper tires on for the season - in this case, snow tires -, the insurance company will not pay for damages. Your loss. Too bad, so sad. And, most likely, the reason the private bus company wasn't running.

We don't get our snow tires on 'til Nov. 10 - I'm driving very carefully!


Gee, don't they look sad about staying home for the day. Eating their "hot lunch" in Rachel's room. They love getting their lunch on trays and then eating them in R's room - playing school. Grilled cheese and tomato soup was on the menu in the 'cafeteria.'

The heavy wet snow did a number on the garden and I have more 'clean up' now than I planned to finish Fall with. I had seen bad weather coming and got the tulips in last Sunday afternoon and pulled out some dying annuals.

The snow cruched most of the ferns, the sedum and many of my hydrangeas - just snapped them right down at the base. Not supposed to happen. So, a bit of extra work and fewer flowers from the hydrangeas next year.

The pic below shows a tree/bush that stands about 10 ft high - and is completely bent over from the weight of the snow. It's still leaning over into the path so will have to chop it down as well. So why am I sitting at the computer when I have so much work to do?

Sad, sorrowful faces of little girls forced to stay home from school and play in the snow.

Prayer request: Have a sweet, almost 5 yr old nephew in the hospital with pneumonia and potential viral complications - praying for JT.

Hungry for more Hungary?

OK - Sorry for the cheesy title but I have to get this post off my plate. OK, now I'm done - no more awful humor.

Here is the gang in Hungary - Rachel was acting as photographer. Bart took one look at this picture and said "So, why did you stand at the lowest end of the bridge? To make yourself look shorter?

Yes, I am vertically challenged and it doesn't help to be surrounded by Mid-westerners with Northern European roots. At least I fit in the 6' beds at the hotel - the guys were having a bit of issue with the "little people" beds.

Here I am trying to leave the Esterhazy Palace - I would never be hired for Keeper of the Gate.

Playing tourists on a free day. We all (8 of us) piled into our 7 passenger vehicle and took off down the road to Esterhazy Palace. Kudos to Julie and Carol who took turns riding in the middle of the third seat - each suffering from a small bout of motion sickness.

The Palace was pretty cool and we all enjoyed the large, surrounding gardens with the gumdrop bushes/trees. One can only visit inside with a tour guide (Hungarian or German) so we chose the German tour in hopes that I could translate some.

I did a little translating but overall, the group got more out of the written English guide we were given. But I was able to let them know these bushes/trees are all over 100 years old. That was really interesting and useful. Right?

I did a lot of power point that week and really, really enjoyed the music provided by the group. Hadn't heard some of the songs since we left Valley and I'd catch the girls humming later in our room. We really enjoyed it. Kevin is sitting on an instrument called a Cajon - it was very popular with the missionaries. It's like having a drum in a box - hooks right into the sound system. Helps to have some knowledge of percussion instruments to play though. I'm sure it would sound like an empty box if I tried. I'll stick to backup vocals or power point.

Speaking of PowerPoint - it gets crazy on certain songs and I did mess up a slide or two. Felt like an accomplished PP operator when I could get through "You are Holy" without blowing any slides.

The guys doing their thing. They rocked! And the conference attendees really enjoyed it.

Here's Rachel with Ben and Bradford (or 'Brad' as the girls refered to him - we all cracked up at that). It's amazing to see your own children interact with other adults for a full week. There were no playmates their age - just us grownups. How they developed a trust and liking for people that I've known but they were never really exposed to much before.

The girls were comfortable and I didn't have the stress in taking them along that I thought I might have. Each one of these adults made an impact on my kids life - if you are reading this (or your wife is :)), Thank You!!!!!!!

A view of Sopron from the city tower - it was hazy and smokey but still pretty.

Ah Tesco! My first shopping trip to Tesco. Big deal you say? Let's start at the beginning: Germany used to have a few WalMarts but they pulled out. There were a couple of Carrefour's in Switzerland (think French owned answer to KMart - and large Int'l retailer of it's type) - there are no more. :(

So while I was in Hungary, I stocked up on shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shaving lotion, etc... at about 40% less than I buy these same products for in Switzerland. Yeah!!! I want to say Tesco is like a UK KMart - does that sound right regular UK reader?

I also bought a new pair of boots - go figure. At about 25 % less than I can here - because they don't have many sales here, the whole "wait for the sale" theory does not apply when living in Europe. And they fit my "sporty" legs - I can even tuck my jeans into them. But still trying to determine whether I can pull off that look beings I'm vertically challenged and all - I'll check with my stylist -

RACHEL!!!!!!!........ Yes, the daughter who tells me which clothing options make me look younger. She does plan on becoming a fashion designer someday. Time will tell.

Happy Birthday Kendry - #8!

Kendra cracks us up - she must read the card before getting to the present. Even if there is a letter in it - it must all be read before moving on. I think she likes ALL the anticipation and drama that goes with the present process. Stretch it alllllll out........ She opened these the night of her birthday - day after getting back from Hungary. Gee, look at that (above), how many kids do you know who get Nature Valley Peanut Butter granola bars in their Birthday presents?

Seriously - my mom knows how to pack a box and when sending overseas, it's all about how much you can stuff into every available space. Most boxes arrive with very little filler/packing peanuts. We find that baggies and oatmeal work great as box fillers and are light-weight. Yeah - we think too hard about these kind of things.

As her Bday fell during the Fall Break, her party was this last weekend instead. I told my sweet husband the reason I married him was for his Birthday Party assistant skills. I kid you not - I might have been comatose or tied up by pick-up time if he hadn't been there - or halfway through a bottle of Chianti.

Our flat with it's walls of concrete, floors of limestone tile, lack of wall to wall carpeting and lack of window hangings combined with the excited shouts of 9 little girls was enough to drive me through the roof. That, and I have some sensitive hearing issues - so does Kendra. Kendra was at tears within 10 min. and I had to stop everyone and explain the situation. The girls did seem to get it and when reminding them the noise - HURT -, they calmed down for at least 3 minutes.

They had a fun time with the Nancy Drew 'detective' theme that Kendra picked out and got into the Mystery we arranged for them. Kendra really gets into the 'Birthday' planning and ideas so I was just happy it all went well. She was happy with it. What a Sweetie!

Til next year Kendra. I may be recovered by then. :)

Electricity in Europe - Primarily for the Ladies

Just thought I'd throw this out there for anyone traveling/planning to travel in Europe.

It's great to bring a plug adapter. That will allow you to get your US item (120v) plugged into a different outlet.

It's better to have a converter & adapter so that it will convert your 120v item to the 220v currency used in Europe.

If you don't use a converter with your 120v item you will damage it or blow it up. Yep, we blew the face off a little clock radio when we first moved.

Some appliances (I know many hair dryers and computers do) have an option to switch your voltage from 120 to 220 - handy. Then you just need the plug adapter.

For anyone traveling with a curling iron/straightener - you need a converter that switches to 1600watt for heating appliances. However, this works with older heating items - like my 10 yr old curling iron. As we have found out with many a guest, the newer heating appliances are often digitally regulated - even if you don't see it. And they will not work with a converter.

There may be some new converter's out there that will handle the digital controlled heating items but we don't have one. If you know of one, please let me know.

The beauty of Europe - hair is not expected to look perfectly coiffed. I can pick out an American woman in a tourist city by hair alone (and the makeup, manicured nails, jewellery - while wearing a sweatsuit/tennis shoes). So when in Europe, do as they do and embrace your natural look - ponytails are a popular option.

A little Austria....

No - I don't pose my children dancing and hugging. They do it all by themselves - in fields, on streets and in front of churches - and at tram/bus/train stations. It makes for some fun pictures. We stopped in Mondsee, Austria overnight on our way to Sopron. The next morning was beautiful and we took advantage of the guys calling to tell us we weren't needed until 3:30pm (original was 12 - 1) to do a little walking by the lake & checking out the church.
This being the church where the wedding scene for the Sound of Music was shot.
Mondsee is a tiny, lakeside town right off the Autobahn and about 1/2 hr out of Salzburg. Very convenient for an overnight stop driving through Austria.

My plug for Austria: 1) they speak German, you know, the regular kind 2) Vienna and Salzburg are only 3 hrs from each other 3) prices are cheaper than in Switzerland 4) they are 'German' and thus - clean, public restrooms (don't ask for a 'restroom' in Europe though - they will look at you quizzically - ask for the 'Toilet' - because that's what you need) and 5) there are plenty of places to go/things to do that are Family friendly.