Out my back door

This view through precipitation blanketed windows looks way better in person than it does in digital form, but I thought I'd share anyway—I want you to see exactly what I see this afternoon as I sit, write and think of you all. (Now, if you were only here to share a pot of tea with :) Doesn't the photo itself just make you shiver and dream of curling up under a blanket with a good book or your precious little one? My current read, Jodi Picoult's Picture Perfect, is totally calling my name!

It sure is a breezy, rainy Friday here in Basel. Our wonderful company (more on that later) is making their way back to Connecticut, our bellies are still full from last night's fantastic Thanksgiving dinner and the man and I are ready for a relaxing weekend. I pray that wherever you are at this very moment you enjoy time with loved ones and find reason to celebrate all weekend long.

Happy Friday to all and to all a pleasant Wochenende.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am so very thankful for many things...

• My fantastic husband
• My wonderful family
• Thoughtful friends
• Health
• The roof over my head
• My eyesight so that I may enjoy all of God's beautiful creations
• Fresh flowers
• Swiss adventures
• Pure happiness
• Family traditions, both old and new
• Laughter
• Love
• Abundance

Even though we aren't celebrating Thanksgiving with our families, we'll be surrounded by friends! We are attending a dinner organized by the American Women's Club at the Schloss Binningen here in Basel (take a peek, it is a beeeautiful location). Thanksgiving dinner in a castle, how cool! All food will be prepared for us, but the recipes and special ingredients are traditional and have been submitted throughout the year by American women. Apparently when left to the Swiss, with no direction or assistance, Thanksgiving dinner just doesn't come out the same...and why should it, right?

A few random notes:

The photo above is from a really cool field trip that Expat Kochen took last week to a little farm in France. Here, turkeys can be difficult to come by in late November (apparently Swiss, French and Germans are more apt to eat them for Christmas than any other time of the year) so we tried to find a provider for our American expats celebrating Thanksgiving—and find we did! Check it out here.

As you know, Thanksgiving is a very American holiday; honestly, today feels like any other day here in Switzerland. While I feel lucky to be attending the AWC Thanksgiving celebration this evening, I think it's interesting to learn how other expats around the globe are celebrating. I am a fan of David Lebovitz's Living the Sweet Life in Paris blog—if you think eating dinner in a castle is exciting, try wine tasting at 30,000 feet and then dining in Catalonia. Not your typical Thanksgiving, but hey—it works!

I wish you all a warm Thanksgiving holiday filled with love, laughter and lots of card games. Enjoy! :)

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

Happy Friday, y'all! I have so many things I want to share with you right now; a photo here, a story there. But first and foremost I'd like to introduce you to a little something I've been working on lately. Maybe you remember a few weeks ago when I made a big deal about a new project in the works? Well here it is: Expat Kochen. Two other women and I have joined together to document, cook, bake, share and celebrate all things food in this new home we're calling Switzerland.

I am SO excited (and worn out, phew!) by this project and its possibilities. Of course I love to be in the kitchen—and even better, in the kitchen with friends—but what really gets me going about our Expat Kochen blog is the possibility (the hope) that it will be a helpful resource, kind of like a new foodie buddy or a right hand man to those who are new to the Basel area. While Rylla and Robyn, my two cohorts, and I have totally enjoyed navigating Swiss grocery stores, searching for favorite cooking items and fiddling with substitutions, I've discovered there exist expats who feel quite uneasy living in another country and deeply miss traditional foods from their homeland. We aim to provide readers with German to English cooking / food translations, grocery shopping ideas, conversion charts, wine reviews, helpful hints, substitution recommendations and where to find many favorite foods you thought you couldn't get in Switzerland—but can.

Simply put folks, we hope that Expat Kochen encourages positivity and FUN in the sSk—small Swiss kitchen—and I am so excited to be a part of it! Keep your eye out for updates and recipes and...

Hens, chicks and chills, oh my!

I spotted these adorable hens and chicks a few days ago while walking along one of my favorite streets, Spalenberg, in downtown Basel and thought they were too cute not to share.


Most of us (with the exception of probably you, Elsa—living in Santiago, Chile everyone! SO beautiful! :) are quickly rolling into the chilly months and sadly saying goodbye to the green beauty that has been our familiar landscape. And unfortunately, I didn't inherit my mother's green thumb so keeping indoor plants healthy has always been a challenge for me. I mean, I do love green life sprucing up our place, it's just that often times it doesn't last long. Blame it on disease or mold, blame it on too much or too little water. Or blame it on me and my brown thumb? Black thumb...of death, MUAAHHAAA...and I digress. :)

No, in all honesty I'm sitting here feeling really thankful for the many indoor plants we've scored from friends who've moved away or as thoughtful gifts—I just can't comment on their state of health. But these little hens and chicks might just be my ticket for success! Little succulents to keep me going through winter; purifying our air, giving me something on which to practice and looking quite good at the same time.

Beautiful Basel Herbst

What a beautiful season we're experiencing here in Basel. Fall, or Herbst - pronounced herb-shht, has been so kind in 2009! Here it is the 2nd of November and we're still hiking in lightweights, enjoying sunny afternoons and waiting for a really chilly night to christen our flat's radiators. Traditionally I'm a warm weather kinda girl, but this year I've thoroughly enjoyed all things fall: crisp air; Basel's brightly painted trees, vines and bushes; bustin' out my boots and tights; more pumpkin than I know what to do with. (Fear not, moms; we're gettin' our fill of beta-carotene and vitamin C :)

So here are a few—ok maybe more than a few, these colors make choosing a 'few' impossible—shots of what we've seen recently in our neck of the woods. Walks around Basel, bike rides to work, hikes into the Swiss countryside, tours into Germany have provided lovely opportunities to capture just what it is we've recently seen here and there. And everywhere. Any doubt I once had about Basel's fairly temperate climate providing a lackluster season has, very thankfully, been busted 100%.

Gratitude

This evening as I'm perusing my Blogs I'm following list, I find myself drawn to Soule Mama's post from today - More Gratitude (is a good thing) and it has me thinking about what I'm most thankful for at this very moment in my life. The prayer in me everyday wants to scream from the roof tops how thankful I am for my best husband, loving family, dear friends, health, love, happiness and so on. The writer in me at this very moment wants to share that I'm truly thankful for new friends. Cooking friends, coffee friends, hiking friends, laughing friends. I have been so very blessed to meet some wonderful women here in Basel—strong, caring, ardent women (whom I also consider teachers for this student of life) who help make my time here so enjoyable and feel a bit more like home.

I believe Soule Mama has it right—hearing what others are grateful for always reminds you even more of what you are thankful for. So let's keep it going around the globe, from one blog to another. Because gratitude is good, and even more gratitude is better.

So tell me, what are you grateful for right now?

Weekend Adventures

A few weeks ago (yes, procrastination at its finest) the man and I took a sporatic trip down to First, one of our favorite little hangouts in the Alps.


We arrived in Bort just as the sun was setting, which provided a fabulous backdrop for an evening 600 meter climb up to First.


If you follow my musings here often, you know that we've already been to First—and I know it may sound silly to revisit a locale when there exists an entirely new, fascinating continent that's begging to be explored, but what can I say. Maybe read this post about home and it'll make more sense.


Anyhow, we made it up the mountain to Berghaus First just in time for their delicious dinner. This meal would be fantastic at an upscale restaurant; however, after climbing a mountain it is perhaps the most welcoming, delicious meal you've ever tasted, right up there with that one favorite dish your mom makes for you when you return home for a visit. Four scrumptious courses. Wine. Beer. Milch Kaffee. Endless games of cribbage. An amazing view. Who wouldn't return?


So, with bellies full of sustenance and our blood warmed with wine, Erik and I headed down to the bunker to settle in for the night. Until, of course, we interrupted our roommates partaking in some very high altitude hanky panky, which sent us back up for even more coffee and cards...and got me wondering, high altitude? Does some secret lie there of which I'm unaware? Gotta love dormitory style sleeping.


The next morning we filled up on Berghaus First's totally delectable breakfast—hot from the oven croissant, fresh fruit, Swiss muesli, yogurt, cheese, juice, coffee...perfect fuel for a successful days hike!


Never before had we hiked to Bachalpsee, a beautiful clear-blue lake situated between First and the Faulhorn. The view was amazing. In the past when I had tried to imagine what Bachalpsee looked like I couldn't for the life of me grasp how a lake could stay put on top of a mountain. Juvenile thoughts, maybe, but see for yourself; it does a pretty darn good job and looks quite breathtaking if you ask me. :)


So, we hiked and then we rested and then we hiked and then we rested. We drew. We placed a few stones on the communal rock sculptures lining the paths. We took photos and talked and just enjoyed being there, in the Alps and in Switzerland, with each other.


And then we became hungry and thirsty and realized we'd broken a cardinal rule among hikers and didn't pack any snacks. Dangerous. So on down the mountain we went, back to Bort.


It was so lovely seeing all the colors of the season; however, I have to admit that even fall in the Alps doesn't hold a candle to fall in Brown County State Park, but maybe I'm biased.


We ended the hike with a delicious piece of Kuchen und Kaffe at Berghaus Bort, which I totally recommend. It's comparable to the cherry on top only it's at the bottom. If that makes sense?

Perfect afternoon snack

Just look at this, would ya? Go ahead, wipe the drool from your chin. :)


A few days ago while perusing our favorite bodegas, conveniently located around the corner from our flat, the man and I came across the most beautiful, plump, tender, perfectly ripened, burnt orange colored persimmons. Without a second thought we scooped up a few and hightailed it home. These little guys are a favorite of ours for many reasons, including: they are delicious; the arrival of their long-anticipated cameo each year signifies FALL is finally here—yay!; they're chock-full of health benefits; they are SO yummy; they look gorgeous sitting in a bowl with lemons and limes (try it, you'll see); they provide a welcoming break from fall's 'it' fruit, the apple; they are de-licious. Did I already say that?

Later in the day as we were making banana bread (with free mushy bananas compliments of said bodega—so cool!) Erik got a wild hair and decided to throw in...persimmons! We used Smitten's Jacked-up Banana Bread recipe and replaced one boring banana with one lovely persimmon.

Result: I am begging you, please go do this now. Your current thoughts on banana bread, persimmons and all things delicious (try thinking of them as individuals here) will be taken to a whole new level. Promise!

And I'm the lucky one who's been enjoying this lovely snack, along with my homemade pumpkin butter, every day this week. Ahh, fall. Willkommen.

Home—it feels so good

Being truly comfortable with one's surrounds is such a reassuring, uplifting feeling. The simple easiness in life, the familiar comforts that often go unnoticed day to day are blessings I had begun to take for granted. And while the man and I decided to all but pack up and abandon ship six months ago, moving from little Bethel, Connecticut to bigger Basel, those warm, fuzzy comforts had been lost somewhere in our slight infatuation with Switzerland. Big, beautiful, lovely Switzerland. But lately, thank goodness, they've been making their way back to us; perhaps in different form, but on the inside comfort feels the same—no matter how you slice it.


Declaring a favorite local coffee flavor and drinking a bit too much of it; developing true friendships and spending countless hours exchanging stories; uttering the words 'our place' when arranging a Rhine rendezvous—and knowing exactly what and where that means; visiting a particular stand at the Farmer's Market each Saturday and always, always walking away a happy customer. These could be considered unforgiving ruts to some, but to us it's beginning to feel like home. And that's a mighty good feeling.

Our true home, in the presence of family, long-time friends and make-your-heart-smile memories, buried deep in our Midwestern roots, will never be replaced—and will always be waiting with arms wide open. But in the meantime, I take comfort in knowing that together we've carved out a little piece of home here in Switzerland. And I wish that same comfort to my friends and family living around the world.

Okay, so this post went in a totally differnt direction than I had planned, imagine that. :) Weekend adventures will have to wait...Schönen Abend.

Old Habits Die Hard

Funny thing happened on the way to work today.

I downshifted.

Or I should say I tried to downshift.

And another funny thing happened last week. I tried to use my turn signal. Yep, even though I've been riding a bicycle as my sole mode of transportation for the past six months, every now and then I inadvertently stretch out my left-hand index finger and expect to find a turn signal. Or place my right foot on the nonexistent clutch! Who knew driving made such an impression on me...or that my brain is still missing it?

Picture this: foot lifts up off of pedal and is placed slightly forward; foot proceeds to fall back onto pedal as imaginary clutch bubble bursts.

Add early morning speeding and the occasional road rage to the list and I've got a serious case of old habits coming back to haunt me. Shoot!