Working a full time job in Switzerland for 30 years of my pre golden oldie life meant that you had an early start to the day. Working time was from around 7.30 in the morning so you were up early. Mr. Swiss was already on his way and I would take No. 1 son with me when I drove off, as he also had a workplace.
This photo is one I took after parking in the morning at my workplace. On the right the office building and on the extreme left the railway, although it being so dark (this must have been late Autumn) you cannot see them so well. At least our company shield was iilluminated and the local lamp. Yes, those were the days.
It is getting colder and I am sure our lovely Indian Summer has now returned to India: grey skies in the morning and everything looking quite dismal, although who knows. Perhaps it can only get better. Yesterday I was planning a short trip into town in the afternoon, nothing really special, but I really wanted some potato chips for a snack now and again. The cupboard was not bare and the fridge and freezer had enough to survive on. However, the rain crossed the bill and I decided to remain in isolation at home. No. 1 son was going into town and so my potato chips were rescued as he brought some home.
Not wanting to waste time I decided to bake something. I was planning on some chocolate chip cookies for some time.
And here they are.
They have an interesting internal life as the chocolate does not melt, but remains as pieces. Anyhow, they were a success although for me a little too sweet, Mr. Swiss found them ideal. He also appreciated me being at home during the afternoon instead of on my wheelchair/scooter escapades, although he was also away in the morning scootering along. He decided to go into town for a change. He returned safely, but is not so adventurous as I am and entered town by the back way. He decided that the cobbled streets with a scooter and many people on the Saturday morning market were not his thing.
It is more fruit and vegetables and other local produce. I have not been for a few years as Saturday mornings are a little complicated for me. I have a lunch to cook and other chores. It was the most important morning of the week for my Swiss mother-in-law. She grew up in the town, knew almost everyone, and I am sure she even planned here dress for the market. When she bought something new, it was usually to wear on the market.
The afternoon rain was really only a short episode, but spending an afternoon at home was also something completely different. I at last had some time to read further in my book in the evening. Television was really bringing nothing interesting for a Saturday evening and Mr. Swiss decided to have an early night. Golden Oldie life is really something completely different.
And now for a relaxing Sunday. It looks a little misty outside, so we might be having another short rain episode. Enjoy the day, keep safe-
Has you brain already melted Has the climate helter-skelted Do not worry, there will be no bump In the States we have Mr. Trump And the Brits have the wild haired Boris Although he has become quite a slow loris We are all marching to do our best The climate is changing, it will not rest Now we grow pineapples on the North Pole Let us frack a little more to achieve our goal There was once a town, but it disappeared It fell into a hole, which was really quite weird But do not despair there is covid to aid It was supposed to go away, but instead it stayed You might think this ditty is a little black Things can only get better, like a film soundtrack
No-one sleeps when I am on patrol I am the King, that is my goal Hens stay awake, this is not a beg There is work to do, so lay an egg The fox might come, I must protect I am on guard, am not henpecked Cock a doodle do, that is my cry Jump up and cluck, stop falling of the sky
Nothing bright and sunny this morning, not even a cloud. I am compensating with my rudbeckia laciniata, the big sister of the rudbeckia, aka black eyed susan, but these do not have a black eye. In the background you can see how dull and uninteresting the sky is. I can only hope that eventually the sun will show itself. At the moment it is not even on the horizon.
Yesterday was not such a dull day. I had to wait at the traffic lights to cross the road as our local train was on its way. Eventually the train passed by and yes, the driver gave me a special wave, so I waved back. I do the path at the side of the railway tracks a few times in the week to get into town and probably the train drivers now recognise the lady in the electric wheelchair or on the scooter. It is lovely to live in such a closely knit area where everyone is so friendly.
And so I eventually arrived in town. I noticed that there were a group on the main square and discovered it was amnesty international. They were engaging in conversations with the public, but I wheeled on past. I remember the owner of the company I worked for in my pre-retired days, he was quite a staunch follower and member. I find they are doing good work and drawing our attention to things that some governments would prefer to sweep under the carpet.
I noticed in town that our roasted chestnut man had returned for the Winter season. It is always the same family that arrive every year. I think they come from the Italian part of Switzerland. Since I have lived in our town the same family arrive every year and I have seen them grow older with their families. At the moment they are not doing such a large trade, but it is still a little too early and the weather is too warm for a paper bag of reshly roasted hot chestnuts. It is one of our many town traditions.
I arrived at the store which was half empty. Since covid is dominating our lives, there are no longer so many shoppers crowding the stores. I did not have a lot of shopping to get. I think I often do the journey just to get out and enjoy the change of scenery. I noticed quite an interesting offer on pork chops, so made the most of it. They were nicely cut, not to thick, just how we like them. They are now freezing quietly in my freezer chest.
At last I have organised my kitchen cupboards. I had too many packets of food hanging around. Thanks to a special offer of sealing plastic boxes in the store I now have everything nicely packed saving storage space and even now have a place for my frozen food sealing machine,
It is really perfect for preparing food for freezing. It vacuum seals the meat or whatever in a tight plastic wrap. My butcher also has one, naturally bigger, an industrial version. When I buy meat over the counter she does it for me, but sometimes I prefer prepacked, the chops are not so thickly cut. and now I can seal them, suitable for freezing, at home.
And look who was crawling up one of my kitchen cupboards. Naturally I carefully placed him on a piece of paper and transported him to the outside world where he belongs. It is a brown marmorated stink bug. We often get them in the garden, but a smaller version. This was one of the giants. Naturally not as big as the photo, but big enough. I have never actually smelt one, but it seems they have glands that expel a distinct smell, mainly to ward off other insects. I read a bit about them in Internet and it is quite interesting. Originally they were Chinese but one day arrived in America, probably as stowaways in packing material in machines.
Their origins in Switzerland are quite interesting.
“The brown marmorated stink bug was likely first introduced to Europe during the repair work of the Chinese garden in Zürich in the winter of 1998”
so they have not been living here so long. How one of them found its way in a little village 100 kilometers from Zürich I do not know. Anyhow, not that my kitchen is crawling with bugs, but now and again they find they way in from the outside world.
And now to attend to my Saturday tasks. This morning I have no big plans, just the usual and this afternoon an escape to the wide world, at least to the local store. I forgot to get some potato chips yesterday, and I just love a snack in the evening, comfort television food.
Have a good week-end and remember, covid does not have a week-end, not even a holiday, it works a 24 hour day so take care. Not even our old town fortifications can keep it out.
The end of the war 1945, it was VE Day and there were celebrations for peace all over the world. This celebration was in our little street in the East End of London where everyone knew everyone else. It was time to dress up again.
Just a photo, but a photo with many memories. My mum second from left, soon to be married. The other three ladies, sisters and our neighbours. I grew up in the same house where mum lived and our neighbours were still there. I knew all of these ladies, saw them get older together. I knew their mother. They even had chickens in their back garden in their house row. In our street everyone knew everyone else. If the people got married in the meanwhile, my mum would still refer to them by their maiden names. She was not interested in their married names, it was not important. She did not even know their married names. My mum was also referred to by her maiden name.
And so was life in the East End of London, working class, simple but honest. After the war the men returned and there were marriages and children born, but they still had the maiden names of their mothers according to my mum. Time stayed still in our little world. It is amazing how a war can change life for all.
Time goes on and I remember the last time I saw the sisters in the photo: it was at mum’s funeral. They are also no longer, so perhaps they are now celebrating in another place, another time, who knows.
I am not showing you one of my super mouthwatering home made pizzas. This evening it is a lazy evening and so we are all having take away pizzas, frozen from the store.
It is my new shelf on which this pizza is sitting that is my frustrating annoyance. It was something new from my online cookery company and usually they have good ideas. This time it is a baking tray with holes in it to allow the air to escape when using it and a promise of super crispy results. The crispy part is true, it really does do the job.
However as we all have different sized ovens they made it with expandable metal holders on the right and left side. You can just pull them out to fit the oven size. This would be ideal if only they would stay in the size you want them and not decide to lead their own life. It is a risky job to put it in the oven as the metal holders slip and slide and often the contents of the tray slide to the bottom of the oven, meaning a mini mess which you have to clean.
This company have a web site with all their new developments and this new super crispy bake oven tray was being shown, at least it was. They have an opportunity to make remarks on their web site and I saw that one of the ladies that bought it complained about the instability of size adjustment. Mr. Swiss said you can also write something and made a wonderful suggestion in German of course. I undersstood it very well, but writing German with all its various declinations is not my thing. Today I wanted to add my comment on the web site. I searched and searched but the advertisement for this wonder oven tray has disappeared. The company has disowned it and so it is now non-existant.
Frustration is just a small word for this, but who knows. One day my tray might have rarity value.
Sometimes it pays to wait until I make a morning photo. This morning it was grey skies everywhere, no clouds, just very monotonous. I had a quick look at the weather forecast, but no rain predicted. That will be next week it seems. So I did my early morning chores, make breakfast, made son’s bed and emptied Mr. Swiss ash trays. I know, but at the age of 80 there are just some habits that stay and he is surviving. I just ban him to the outside on the porch when he is tempted.
And now it is almost an hour later and there is a hopeful shimmer on the horizon signalling that there will be some sunshine somewhere. It is also cooler today, but bearable and I am sitting in the kitchen with the window open and do not need a jacket.
Otherwise yesterday was a restful day with no stress. I had a few errands to get at the store, but did not want to go into town, so took the easy solution and went to the new store just along the road. It was opened about two years ago and is quite useful. Their selection is good, fresh veg and meat, but they do not have a butchers section – only prepacked meat which means take what they have. I only needed cold cuts yesterday and it was not a problem. I also had to stock up on some chocolate as Mr. Swiss was complaining that I only buy my taste in chocolate.
Although we have been together for more than 50 years, there are still things that we do not share. Being soul mates would be boring in any case. We do not have the same taste in literature or films so there is always something to discuss.
As I only went as far as the next store yesterday there is not such a plethora of photos in my camera. At the moment it is the time when the various insects are seeking a nice comfortable place for Winter. Having a kitchen bordering on my porch is not so ideal, but at least I can get a few good photos. This seems to be a crane fly, although he decided to leave eventually.
And this little guy is a grasshopper sitting on my kitchen floor and wondering why. I gave him a gentle push in the right direction and he hopped off to the outside.
Of course there are the insects that belong outside and stay put, especially when there is collecting work to do on the flowers. This bee was too busy to smile for the camera, he had other things to do like gathering pollen or whatever it is they want.
I have also been quite busy in the kitchen having a tidying session. The local store has a special offer for plastic boxes which can be sealed airtight. I have bought a few and have been busy organising my food. It is moth time and the only good food moth is a dead one, so now they have no chance. I now seem to have more room in my kitchen cupboards. Mr. Swiss is not so happy as if he wants one of his many snacks, he has to find the right box and open it although they are transparent. Men can be so comfortable. Why do I not have a problem?
I am now off to take care of the rest of the morning. There is also some ironing to do from the bed linen I washed yesterday. A woman’s work is never done, but life would otherwise just be boring.
Take care, it will soon be the week-end and if possible avoid going places where everyone else goes. Our virus cases are increasing in Switzerland, although mainly in the Kanton of Waadt in the French speaking part of Switzerland, around Lausanne. Our Kanton of Solothurn has now decreased and we have 1 or 2 new cases daily.
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