Ah - These are the Dayz!

While life keeps speeding along, we take time, ever so often, to slow down, smell the coffee - which made it's way to my bedroom at 9am thank you very much family! and spend a day at home. A day at home is usually Sunday but that often involves getting off to church early for music practice and as we are a one car family - yep, everyone has to go.


When we do have that occasional Saturday at home with no agenda, we like to enjoy a little breakfast. Bart has trained the girls well and, while he is still Master over bacon and eggs (fried or scrambled - take your pick), he has taught the girls to make pancakes and crepes - from scratch. Rachel has become Queen of the Pancakes and Kendra is Queen of the Crepe: She's still working on making her crepes perfectly round but boy can that girl flip! She loves making them for people and loves being in the kitchen. In fact, she's such a busybody that I keep her busy in the kitchen making dinner with me as she gets bored while Rachel does homework.


If you're wondering, No! - I don't make breakfasts. I don't officially talk until the first cup of coffee is done. Even when we're on vacation in CA at our respective 'abodes' in Sacto or Fresno, I stand/sit with my coffee and watch everyone else make breakfast/order each other around. I apologize to all past and future guests for my poor breakfast offerings. I just don't 'think' about breakfast until after 9am most days.......

Thank you dear family for breakfast this morning AND for doing the dishes afterward (usually my concession to NOT having to make any kind of breakfast food).

We are experiencing some un-seasonally nice weather. Today - no sweatshirt required until the sun went down. Maybe winter came in August and we'll have August in December? All I know is that the weather has been hugely unpredictable this year - as stated before, since last September.

So the girls played in their hide-out. The hide-out is beneath some large fir trees in the corner of our property. The trees are old enough that everything up to 6 - 8 feet high is dead/cleared and the girls can sit back there and have a good time. It's also on a slope so it stays a bit drier. Here they are in their retro "Little House on the Prairie" look:

Kendra is wearing a skirt I made my Freshman year of high school! And Rachel is wearing a dress patterned after Gunne Sax (Jessica McClintok) - circa 1982 - made by my Mom for my sister Deb. We are the dress-up/recycling family! FYI - sisters and I went to Christian schools growing up (until Deb broke the mold- hahahah) and wore dresses to school. EVERY DAY! I told a recent guest that I attended almost all my Freshman year college classes in sweatpants. Because I could!

Seriously though - the dress my mom made is still in great condition other than the "pearl" buttons which have lost most of their "pearl." Great job Mom! Best sewing teacher I ever had.

Our year of weird weather has offered fewer of these days but thought I should share. My breakfast on the terrasse: I loaded these pic's before we left for dinner and I was very hungry. Tonight we went to one of our local favorites, the Leutschenhaus. It is the former wine press building for the Kloster of Einsiedeln and sits in the middle of a vineyard and pasture. Wonderful food and a warm, casually nice atmosphere - and sometimes you sit next to the 400 year old enormous, wooden wine press. Things to talk about - Bart and I. What we came away with was the amazing fact that we have choices in this day and age. Most families we know in "our boat" are told where to go. We 'get to' decide. It's actually a harder boat to be in - at least ours is. Deciding. That is what happens when you take big leaps. But we are blessed in that we have a choice. So thank you Lord and if you could put that writing up on the wall, it would be greatly appreciated!

As a side note: we didn't have to hire a babysitter! Another thing we're thankful for. Just saved myself 50 min.'s of driving time and approx. 50 chf. What a cheap dinner (oxymoron in Switzerland)! We went to a restaurant closeby and the girls "babysat" themselves. At 12 and 10 - they are considered "old" in Switzerland. Another phase of life we've entered - and one we like!

Like I said, I was really hungry when I downloaded pic's for this post and came across this one from the Hambalek's visit in May: YUM! Although I am now completely full, those stuffed peppers and olives sure look tempting...........