Rain!

My goals on returning home were to get into a better schedule and to work on copywriting 3 hours a day or 15 hours a week.  I want to report I was successful this week.  I am reaching out into new markets and I am studying a Business to Business case study course.  I like writing success stories so this is a good fit for me.

Oh, small miracle for me.   My client paid me through PayPal. PayPal sucked like $30 in fees from me.  I’m thinking there are a lot of things I could do with $30 other than pay fees.  And the website says “instant pays” don’t have a fee.  So I mention to my client we need to find another way to pay and I say I’m complaining to PayPal.  He says several uncomplimentary things about PayPal and how they charge fees even when they say they won’t.  He has had fights to get fees reversed and says, “You’ll never get them.”

But on a survey I complained again, and Jerold from PayPal called me from lovely downtown Manila.  We had a nice chat.  He explained that it’s free for the SENDER to send money through PayPal… but the RECEIVER gets hit with the fee.  But he took pity on my ignorance and reversed the charges!  I was so pleased with him; I had him put his supervisor on the line so I could gush.  I’ll still avoid PayPal all I can… but at least I feel happier with them.  And, I credit God for the miracle.

For the past nearly 4 weeks my daily planner has been blank.  I finally went back and put in Family Reunion…. LINE through the week.   Switzerland…. LINE through the weeks.  This week my daily planner is full again.  When I have lists, I am more productive.

Monday we made salsa and on Saturday we made relish.  While the tomatoes are getting sketchy, the cucumbers have a new lease on life.  I really think they should get a job in espionage. They are so successful at hiding until suddenly they are the size of Winnebagos. We’ve given bags and bags away.  The zucchinis have succumbed to the bugs. We have a carpet of dead leaves there… and only the tip of one zucchini still struggling to put forth new leaves.  Our beans are lush and full and have climbed to the top and over on the arched trellis. But—we have no beans. I think it’s been too hot.  The second series of blossoms are coming on.  I hope they are more successful.

We are also sharing the garden with birds, bunnies, shrews, and skunks. It think it’s been so dry, they are all coming to the only well watered spot. I would love to offer them the cukes.  But instead they took one of two cantaloupes we’ve grown… and a sampling of the tomatoes. To date, the carrots are still thriving.

Thursday Tom had a meeting in Branson in the evening.  He wanted to see a movie—Snow White and the Huntsman—that was no longer playing in Mountain Home, so we went to Branson early, did a little shopping, and went to the movies.

The movie was more intense than your typical fairytale.  Thunder roared… it kept rumbling… even when the movie showed sun… Hmmm.  We finally figured out that after weeks of drought, the thunder we were hearing was outside the theater.  It rained nicely there—through a good dinner at Bob Evan’s and dessert at Andy’s.  Through Tom’s meeting and part way home.  At home, we got 2.3 inches of rain.  Oh!  The yard LOVED it!

We had a sweet grandmother who did for her daughter and grandchildren—even to sacrificing her own needs. She passed away this week at nearly 91. It will be hard for her family to learn how to cope on their own. I made two salads for the funeral.  Tom stressed about the program as the original plan put forward by the family was not in accordance with the church handbook… and the family can be sensitive.  But the funeral was today and I think all went well.

I’ve been trying to catch up on my seminary and institute responsibilities.  We have training coming up.   I need to schedule training through the year.  I need to see that my teachers are enrolled in WISE which is the program to record attendance.  They have to get their materials.  And even though we hoped to have teachers trained this summer, we still have new teachers called.  I’ve been sending emails and making phone calls.  I hope I’ve been making progress, too.

My bishop asked me to give a talk today.  So I spent time preparing that. It was on being an active learner (No not ADHD) but learning by the spirit and taking responsibility for your own learning.  So I talked about how to get the spirit, why one needed the spirit to learn spiritual things (see Corinthians 2) and what some elements of a participating learner were—whether in the class room, reading scriptures, or in life learning.

I guess that’s all the news.  Hope all are doing well.

Home Again

I am happy to be home.  I promise to go back and put pictures in the Switzerland posts... but I probably have a thousand pictures-- like 200/day.  It will take a bit to go through them.

We had an uneventful trip home from Switzerland.  Almost a 12 hour flight.  They fed us dinner, snack sandwich, drinks, pizza... we didn't lack for food.  It was nice though, as we stayed up the whole time.  I read and tried watching a movie, but my earphones or the movie sound was jumbled... too much work.

Steve English met us at the airport and took us to Sally's house.  Cynthia and Christine came and picked us up from there. We weren't hungry... but we were tired.

I slept well. Mom... not so much.  Wednesday we ran some errands.  I replaced her hair drier that I fried in Switzerland.  It was designed to accommodate 220... but I neglected to turn the switch.  Oops.  ZAP!  We also did some grocery shopping.

Mom had worried that when she got her car in for maintenance, they said she needed a new transmission.  We mulled that over while we were away, but it turns out, they just recommended a transmission flush. We need to check and see at what mileage that is recommended.  That evening, we went to dinner at the Olive Garden.  MMMM.  I LOVE their salad!  I had three servings... then brought some dinner home.

Thursday, Cynthia (bless her heart) got up and took me to the airport at 5am.  My plane actually boarded at 6:05 for a 6:45 flight... and then didn't leave until after 7.  I got to Branson (via Denver) at 2 and Tom picked me up.  We came through rain storms to get home... but our place was still bone dry.  Grass is crisp and brown.

The garden, however, has tomatoes, peppers, melons, zucchini, and cucumbers!  Friday we made salsa and bread and butter pickles.  Saturday we made relish.  It was also Pioneer Day so I made cucumber salad, macaroni salad, and broccoli salad.  And Tom made some brownies.  We were supposed to bring a salad, dessert, and our meat.  I decided it was too hot for meat, so just made more salads.

I also made a cake for the 22nd.  The Pioneer Day was fun.  We had lots of less actives and non members show up.  It was in the park at Gassville.  They have a nice pavilion with a play area for the kids next to it. We learned about our Ward's beginnings, and a great story about the early converts in Arkansas.  The teller was 4th generation native to the Mountain Home area.

Today was Tom's birthday.  We invited the O'Brians over for dinner.  Tom wanted liver and onions.  Bro. O'Brian loved that, too, but not his wife.  So the men folk had liver, onions, and bacon, and we had salads and grilled chicken.  And, of course, Chocolate Cake for dessert.

They brought some fun gag gifts for Tom.  Rebecca and Miranda left a few gifts for him, and I brought back a few things from Switzerland (chocolate, mustard, and a nifty fire starter-blow torch kind of thing.)  He also got wooden spatulas from both Rebecca and me.

My internal time clock is not quite adjusted.  I'm waking up early.  My weight is also not readjusted... it's a few pounds higher than pre-trip.  I guess that's the price you pay for bread and butter and cheese and worst, and chocolate and all the wonderful foods of Switzerland.  I hope eating less now will pay off.

Switzerland- Mon- Wengen-Mannlichen

Sunday was cloudy and rainy most of the day.  Monday, however was gorgeous!  We wanted one last chance to see the Alps.

We slept in a bit and packed most of our luggage.  We needed to wait for Sue and Steve who needed to wait until the book store opened so they  could buy something for Sally.

So we got on the train at 11:45 and met Sue and Steve in Thun.  We went to Interlocken and too a train to Wengen.  We'd been there before, but it was more cloudy that day.  So it was like seeing it new again. Here we are at the cable car station.

 Then we took a cable car to Mannlichen.  WOW! As Sally says, "There's no bad view."

It was much chillier up at about 6,700 feet. But the sun was shining and the alps glistened with snow. Yellow wildflowers bounced in the breeze and black birds hovered on thermal lifts. We walked around and enjoyed the view.

Then we found a sheltered spot for lunch of bread and cheese and landjager. Sue and Sally found a bakery in Wengen, so we had lovely torts and apple struddel for dessert.

As we came down the mountain, each turn of he train brought more lovely views.  The train to Thun was running late.  So Sally raced ahead to hold a door and I zoomed Mom down and up ramps.  I'm not sure I've run up a ramp pushing Mom quite so quickly before, but we made the train with at least a minute to spare.

Tonight we ate well.  We had to clean everything out of the refrigerator.  This was our last night.  Now we are packed... just sleep and go.

Three suitcases, two backpacks, one wheelchair and Mama.  A piece of cake!  Sue and Steve will meet us in Bern, help us get to the airport, and return the mama-stroller.

It has been fabulous vacation. I don't think it could possibly have been better.

Switzerland- Sunday- Church, gschnatzletes

After the late night on Saturday, Mom decided to go to the local church.  This is the one that plays the lovely bells each 15 minutes and chimes the hours.  Sally and Steve went to the church and determined they had a 9:30 service.

So we strolled Mom up the hill to church.  Lovely building.  It was open.  But no one was there.  Remember, the information was all in German.  We think maybe because it was Holiday they didn't meet.  Or they met in another building? Later Sue and Steve read the information and it said check the newspaper for sure times.

So we decided to learn the sermons in the stain glass windows.  There were 12 pictures and eventually we figured them all out.  So we discussed Mary and Martha.  We talked about the story of the prodigal son.  We read in Revelations about the 4 horsemen. (We finally decided the last illustration was of Christ throwing out Satan and ushering in the millennium-- not the 4 horsemen.)

Then we went through the hymn book.  Sally played the songs and we sang the ones we found that we knew.  Not your typical Sacrament day, but it was quiet and peaceful in the church.

We came home and sat and visited.  We chatted about work and family and art classes and math classes and whatever came to mind.  Sue and Steve came over after their missionary duties.  And we chatted some more.   I love Switzerland and I am glad I came.  But perhaps the best part is being here with family.  I have loved spending this "Mama time" and Sally and Sue and Steve time.

When we went to the Kruez, Mom said she was really looking forward to ordering gschnatzletes.  These are small pieces of veal cooked with mushrooms and onions in a cream sauce and served over  a puff pastry called pastetlis.  So Susie volunteered to make it for her.  The meat is pricy-- but we fed 5 for about the price of one meal out.  It was mighty tasty! We have had a lot of good meals here... and I have the waistline to prove it!

Hard to believe we are in the winding down stage.  One more day and then we fly out.

Switzerland Saturday Schau Kaserei Springs

Saturday was a fun and busy day.  We actually slept in a little bit and left at 9:45 to go to Schau Kaserei-- or the cheese factory.  This was in Emmental which is the area Grandpa's family was from. It was a beautiful part of Switzerland.

We watched videos about how the cheese was made.  They called it Emmental Cheese-- the kind with holes-- what we call Swiss Cheese.  Clearly they don't call it Swiss Cheese becasue they make half a million different kinds of cheeses here. A building next to it had a demonstration of the old way of making cheese.  It was done in a big vat over an open fire.

When we went to the Springs later on for dinner, Christy Spring came from the Valais area which is in the mountains.  She said that people take their cows up to the alps for the summer and make cheese there all summer long and it's done the old style.

This was real easy trip-- one train.  One bus out.  There was a display of sculptures done in bronze. They were maybe 1/2 life size.  They each showed part of the life of a Swiss Emmentaller.  A boy with a dog pulling a cart with milk to the cheese factory.  A woman making bread.  A man herding sheep. A beggar.

There was a bakery close by and we bought some treats for later-- Napoleon, blueberry tart, apple strudel, and almond paste filled croissant (mandelgipfeli).

We got back to the bus stop too early so we sat on the bench and ate our lunch of bread, cheese, and landjaeger. One bus.  One train-- and we were back in Uetendorf by about 3. We did a little shopping since all the stores close Saturday afternoon and don't open until Monday.

At 4:45 we got on the train, changed at Thun, and arrived at Spietz a few minutes after 5.

Hans Spring met us with his SUV and we all piled in-- 5 of us and 2 alphorns. It was a titch crowded, but better than walking or taking the bus. They rent an apartment on the grounds of the church and the castle and have a spectacular view of the harbor and lake Thurn.

Hans is a Doctor and head doctor for the Swiss Ski team. So he's been all over the world. They were amazingly gracious hosts.  We had appetizers in the yard overlooking the church and the castle. Sue and Steve played their Alphorns to the delight of the Springs and the neighbors.
(photo from train window going to Uetendorf)

 Then we went down to the lower level that used to be the bakery room with a LARGE fireplace.  There we had raclette (roasted cheese) with potatoes, pickled vegetables-- including her home pickled zucchini and pumpkin.  We had two salads cucumber/dill and tomato.  We ate and ate.   Then they took Sue and Steve up to the church yard overlooking the lake and had them play their alphorns again.  People gathered to listen.  As a boat went out from the Spietz dock, you saw smiling people listening to the music. It made a perfect Swiss day.
(One of the train transfers... not the racing one.)

Hans took us back to the train station to catch the 9:54 train.  But the train was 5 minutes late and we had 4 minutes to catch the connecting train at Thun.  We were sure we'd miss our connection and have to wait a half hour for the next train.  We made a brisk trot to catch the next train.  Mom had chosen to not take the wheel chair, but she hoofed it down the ramp pretty briskly.  Sally raced on ahead to see if she could hold the train.

As Mom and I climbed the steps, we could see the train was still there!  We hurried to the top.  There was Sally, spread eagle in the train door.  We hoisted Mom up and collapsed in the first seats we came to.  Giggling and gasping for breath. "How's your heart doing?" Sally asked Mom?  She said her heart was fine, but her legs were like jelly.

We called it a blessing that the train waited for us. We walked tranqually home from the train station... and we all slept well that night.

Monastery at Einsiedein and Kreuz Hotel

Today we joined Sue and Steve and went to the monastery at Einsiedein.  It is a HUGE complex of connecting buildings.

It's a Benedictine Monastery so they believe in silence, worship and work.  The goal was to create the perfect monastery where every part of life could be accomplished within the monastery. So they had gardens and wood working shops and stables and blacksmithing. They also have a secondary school and a college?

The cathedral was amazing!  It was created in the baroque style with incredibly ornate plaster relief, detailed paintings all over the ceiling, mosaic on the floors and angels, nymphs and other figures adorning the walls, the speakers stand, the organ and any other possible surface.

The ceiling had pink scroll work, green and yellow hatch work, gold leaf and garlands, flowers, crests and shields, saints and angels and stories from the Bible in picture form.  Then,  each recessed area had its own mural, alter, and statuary.

We watched a video about life at the monastery. Very interesting.  In order to get there, we took a series of trains to Bern, Zurich, Waldenfield?  where we missed the train to Einsiedein.  If we had known the short-cut, we might have made it.  But alas... we did not.  And while Sally tried to keep the train doors open and Steve raced Mom along in the Mama-stroller, it was all for naught.

So we spent the next half hour with a lovely view of the Zurich Lake and the boats on it-- until the next train came. Einsiedein is a lovely old town.   I have to admit that  I love the beauty of cobblestones.  However, pushing Mama over them brings new meaning to vibrational therapy.  It really isn't that hard to push on the cobblestones, but it does make for a bumpy ride.

Coming back from Einsiedein we had another few tight connections.  Steve raced Mom down and up ramps!  We giggled as we raced to the trains.  The last one was especially close.  Sally was holding one door open as we climbed on the car before it-- closer to the stairs.  Mom had hiked down and up the stairs as the ramp was too far away.  Steve hoisted the wheelchair down and up the steps.  Sue, Mom and I got on the train and the door started to close.  Sue stuck her foot in the door to prevent it from closing as Steve scrambled up the last few steps.  Finally the door reluctantly opened and he hopped on the train.

On the way home, we went to dinner at the Kreuz Hotel in honor of Grandpa Howald.  We met the grandson of Frau Gosteli who was friends with Grandpa.  Dinned was DELICIOUS!  I had fish from the Thun Sea.  We had a wonderful view of the sea as we ate, and the fish was fresh caught that day. We had a sampling of about 8 different salads-- beet, corn/mix, cucumber, carrot, coleslaw, onion, greens.  Each had a unique dressing-- mild-- that just accented the vegetable.

While we were at the Kreuz it started to rain. We walked back to get a bus in the rain.  Steve pushed and Mom held the umbrella low enough he could see over it. She looked like a little mushroom. We took a bus to Spietz, then a train to Thun and another to Uetendorf.  Sue and Steve waved goodbye from the train as they went on to Bern.  We then walked home in the rain-- each of us snug under an umbrella.

We got home about 10pm. It was a good day.  A long day, but very satisfying.

Switzerland-Thursday- South and Italy

Today we had a 12 hour day.  It was great.  Hans Spring gave us an itinerary to go south into Italy and southern Switzerland.

We went from Bern to Brig, Domodossola, to Locarno and Bellenzona and then up past Lake Lucerne to Arth-Goldeau.  We continued to Zurich and then took a train back to Bern and to Uetendorf.  Each of these towns was a place to change trains.

However the whole trip was delightful.  The weather was perfect. We wound up into the alps and then took long tunnels through the alps.  On the Italian side it was dryer and more Mediterranean. The houses took on more color-- Lemon yellow, peach sherbet, burnt orange.  There were lots of old rock houses with slate roofs.   Really lovely and they just blended into the landscape.

 The train was supposed to get into Locarno by 12:22.  But it wasn't there on time.  Sally said, "We're in Italy."  As if that explained it all.  I realized how valuable it is for trains to run on time.   We typically had from 2-12 minutes between trains.  It was enough to get off, move briskly (or sometimes leisurely) to the next train and get on.  Sometimes it was just across the boarding platform.  Sometimes we had to go down under the tracks and up a different track-- or even a slightly different station.

We had  a half hour break in Brig and walked down the main street.  We lunched in Locarno on the shore of a lovely lake.  We had salad  and a pizza and I had gelatto in honor of Joshua.  It was tasty!  The weather was in the 80's and Mom took her sweater off for the first time since she's been in Switzerland.  Um.  That's not quite true.  But she's been bundled up most of the time.  There was an open air fair we walked through on our way back to the train station.

We went through lovely scenery!  Up into the Alps.  Down through narrow valleys with raging rivers. Past scenic farms set against a mountain backdrop. Along placid lakes with small towns hugging the edges. We saw different architecture-- all charming.

We were with the Holiday travelers.  Holidays began for school children July  6th. So everyone goes on holiday between then and August.  Trains were crowded with suitcases and backpacks.  Bikers and families and tour groups traveled with us.  Even in first class we had to search for seats.

Mom held up well.  She walked part of the time and rode in the wheelchair part of the time.  She climbed steps and rode the escalator and the lift. She hopped on and off of trains and got balanced enough to stand before the train stopped fully. (Against our recommendations I might add.)

We had supper of bread, laundiager, and cheese and apples on the train on the last leg home.

Wish I could show you pictures.

Switzerland- Wednesday- Solothurn

This morning we slept in.  JOY! It was nice to get sleep.  Sally and Mom walked to the bakery for some goodies.  Mom tried using the walking sticks, but they used more effort and muscles than her cane.

This morning Edith came to visit along with her mother.  When Grandpa Ernest Howald went to Switzerland every other year, he always stayed at the Kreuz Hotel.  He made friends with the owners, and Edith is the granddaughter of the people Grandpa befriended.  She came to the US and visited Mom years ago and they kept in touch.  She runs a flower shop and it just so happens that she buys her flowers in Uetendorf on Wednesdays.  So Mom invited her to z'neuni-- a 9am snack.  They actually showed up at 11ish.  But we had pastries from the bakery and herb tea.  We had a lovely visit.

We learned a funny story about Grandpa.  He always cooked his spaghetti FOREVER-- like 30 minutes or more.  So when he ate at the Kreuz he always wanted his spaghetti well cooked.  Even today when the spaghetti gets over cooked they'd say it was "HowaldErnsht Schpagetti."

Then we started on our trek to Solothurn.  This is where Grandpa went to school.  It's a partly walled city and the gate we entered still had a portcullis-- the thing with spikes that drops down to block the entrance. Solothurn was originally a Roman town and we saw some carved stones from that time.  Also a beautiful Jesuit chapel and some tasty ice cream. Sue and Steve joined us for the trip.

We came back and had worstsalad for dinner and a tasty strawberry torte.  Amazing!  I didn't have any chocolate until night time.  Susan left us a video- It was a humorous but informative look at Schwingen or Swiss wrestling.  It even had a Swiss wrestler holding his own against some sumo wrestlers.

Although they predicted rain, we had a lovely day.

Switzerland- Tuesday-Giessbach Falls & Kambly Cookie Factory

Today were were gone from 8am to 6:30 pm and we rode on 11 different kinds of conveyances.  We started on trains, then moved to a paddle wheel ship on the Brienz Sea.

The weather was cool and windy on the boat with a haze on the sea and clouds covering the tips of the mountains. The water was a turquoise except where rain swollen rivers gushed into the lake.

 Then we took a funicular tram up the steep hill to the hotel at Giessbach falls.  There was a lovely view of the Brienzer See as well as of Giessbach Falls on the patio of the hotel. We had a snack there of herb tea and pastry. Sally and Mom had a delicious strawberry pastry with cream filling and strawberries on top. I had a Linzer Torte with all kinds of wild berries in a puff pastry crust.

While Mom sketched, Sally and I climbed part way up Giessbach Falls.  It's a series of seven or so large falls, then it continues to tumble hundreds of feet further down smaller falls as it goes to the sea.  Sally and I climbed up and crossed over the falls, then climbed more and crossed under the next set of falls.  Then climbed up to one more cascade.  We might have been able to go further, but time was getting short... well, maybe our breaths were getting short, too.

We came down the Funicular and got back on a boat and went to Interlocken.  Then we took trains to Bern and on to the Emmental valley.  (This is where Emmental cheese is made.) It is also where the Kambly Cookie company is.  This company began ages ago making Brezeli cookies-- the thin pressed cookies with a design imprinted on them.  Now they make a huge variety of cookies.  We learned the history of bread and cookie making. Then we watched a video about how Kambly made cookies.  Then we TASTED!

They had racks and racks of cookies and biscuits.  brezelies, and chocolate dipped cookies, and chocolate cream fillings and hazelnut cream chocolate filled cookies, and shortbread cookies filled with apricot or strawberry.  My favorite was an orange/chocolate cookie.  We only taste half cookies (sharing them with Mom or Sally) and still we were on a sugar overload by the time we were done.

Mom decided to buy some for the Springs (Who we will visit on Saturday).  How could you make a quick selection?  We could not... and missed the train.

So we got on the next one and headed home.  We could see the snowy alps as we got close to Uetendorf (where we are staying) but the train kept turning and I could only get a view with my eyes-- not the camera.

We decided to have a simple dinner of soup and bread and fruit salad... to try and dilute all the sweets from the day.

I downloaded an application that will reduce the size of the photos, but blogger still will not let me load them. Sorry.

Switzerland Monday-Lauterbruner , Kkeine Scheidigg

I wrote this whole blog and can't figure out a way to copy it an paste it here.   So I'll try to send it as an email and just put pictures here.

Nope.  Can't get pictures to upload either.  Sigh.  I've only been working at this for 3 hours.

I did figure out how to move my photos from the camera stick to the tablet.  And I was able to delete the bad ones.  Now if only I could get a few good ones here.

Switzerland - Sunday Bern Church

We had to get up early to be ready to get the train at 8:13.  It is wonderful to have Sally with us.  She is so excellent at looking at the rail schedules and getting us where we need to go.

Mom wanted to walk-- I think she didn't want to make us push the wheel chair-- but it was tiring for her.  I think we've convinced her to do the wheel chair from now on.  It's not hard to schlep it around.  It's light.

The Bern ward had translations in English and that helped us feel part of the ward.  After church Rachelle showed us her harp and played for us.  It was delightful. She is very talented.

Sue and Steve came home with us and stayed the afternoon.  We had cheese fondue for dinner and it was mighty tasty.  We finished up the last of the Black Forest Torte.  Yum.  It's a good thing we're doing some walking.

Sue and Steve played the alphorns again.  It's such lovely, mellow music.  The landlady was finally here to listen to it.  She just sprawled in the chair with her eyes closed absorbing the tranquility of the music.

Steve and Kathy left at o-dark-thirty this morning to head back to the USA. We will miss them.  I moved to the downstairs apartment to be with Mom and Sally. I was able to post pictures using Steve's computer.  Now that that's gone, I don't know that I will be able to post as many.  When I take them from the camera stick they don't have preview pictures, just numbers.

It is fun to be here.

Switzerland- Saturday- Temple

Sally and I went to the Bern temple in the morning. Susan was speaking at a baptism at the building right next to the temple.  So they took us there and met us when we were done.

We did a little shopping at Megros and Coop.  Then came home and relaxed most of the afternoon.  I snoozed.  5 hours of sleep a night catches up to you.  I sleep in the beginning of the night, then wake up about 4am.

Sue and Steve visited... and we had Kathy and Steve there, too. Had a nice dinner.  Susan fixed a Black Forest Torte for dessert.  Yumm!

Sue and Steve played the alphorns after dinner.

Switzerland--Friday-Turner Sea

We got off to a slow start on Friday.  Actually, Sally, Steve, and Steve Swarthout left pretty early to take Steve English to the airport.  Since Steve had a ride-for-two railpass.  If we went anywhere, Kathy would have to purchase a ticket on the train.  And Sue and Steve were supposed to come over about 10:30 to help us decide what to do.

They arrived closer to 1.  Mom and I had walked to the Coop grocery store and were just coming out as they exited the train station.  So we walked back together and Sally and Steve S. arrived shortly thereafter.

Kathy is gulten intolerant.  She must have eaten something with gluten in the filler because she was not feeling well.  She stayed back to read and rest when we went out.

We decided on a boat ride and a trip to the clock and music box museum.

 Sue and Sally had a little mix up with the train, bus, tram, boat schedules.  So we dined an early dinner at Megros overlooking the Thuner Sea.  Then we caught a boat that took us up the lake nearly to interlocken and back to Thun.  We had rain on and off during the day.  On the boat it mostly rained.  But we were under shelter.

It was a steam paddle boat and Steve enjoyed watching the HUGE pistons turn.  That place was also the warmest on the boat so when we got chilled from being outside, we when to the little dining area near the pistons.

 This is the castle and church in Spietz-- where we stayed last time we were in Switzerland.  Er... not in the castle, but in Spietz.

By the time we got off the train at Uetendorf where we were staying-- it was nearly 10pm-- and still light outside.

I posted 11 photos, waited forever for them to load... and they got dumped.  So you only get 5.

Switzerland day 4- Castle Chillan and Chocolate Factory

We planned an ambitious day for Thursday.  We went to the castle Chillan (pronounced She-oo-n) then on to Broc to the Cailler (pronounced kai-ear) chocolate factory.  Can you tell we were in the French speaking part of Switzerland?

We left to catch a train at 8 am.  We got home at about 8pm.  Mom decided she'd stay home and read, nap, stroll or sketch.  It was a good decision on her part.   There were lots of changes of trains and stairs... not to mention the time we got off the train one stop early.  We walked along the train track for a bit... on the gravel... before it became a walking path.

But, all in all, a fun time was had by everyone.  We had patches of sprinkles but the only heavy rain came while we were on trains.  And we had some toasty sun as well.

 Castle Chillan

 The dungeon. It seemed bright and airy, however without the lights and in winter, I expect it would be a totally different story.

 Castle bedroom.  Heater is on the right, toilet to the left, and there was a "sink" with water holder and basin off to the left of the door.

 This was one of the banquet rooms.  The tables were around the outer edge with built in seating,

 Some of the parapets.

 Here are some of the halabards.  Those are the ones with the little ax on top.  Then there were ones with big axes, ones with hammers to bust open armor,  and ones with blades to chop things off.

 A view from the Keep.

 One of 4 courtyards.

And at the end of the chocolate tour, we got to taset all the chocolates.  The whole time going through the tour, I kept humming the song: "Oh we work all day at the Chocolate Factory..."

Switzeerland day 3- Bern

Don't talk to me about sleep last night.  I only caught it in bits and pieces.  I heard the church clock chime the 15 minutes and the hours. At about 3 am one of the cows decided to be alert and munching-- which meant lots of bell clanging.  I suppose you'd call it a "Heidi Experience" but I was not able to fully appreciate it.  The place has fantastic windows.  I closed them and the bell music dimmed to a murmur.

We had a good day today. We toured Bern-- saw the cathedral,

 The clock tower

 Lots of fountains.  The pull the water up from the river below the city-- so people could get water for their houses.  Then it runs back down to the river. This is of Moses.

 This is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland.

 We lunched here close to the river.

Scenes of Bern

We went to the used goods store and the knife store Sue and Steve like so much. We had salami, landiager, cheeses and bread for lunch in a nice park by the river.  The birds were most interested in any crumbs Sally dropped.

Then we went to Sue and Steve's and saw their apartment and the Institute building. By the end of the day we were tired puppies.

Sue and Steve came back to the apartment and had dinner with us.  Worst, Sauerkraut, Roesti (fried shredded potatoes), and mozzarella/tomato/basil/balsamic vinegar dressing salad.  Mmm. Tasty.  And SO SWISS.  Sue and Steve played their alphorns in the evening before going home.

Switzerland trip day 1-2

I thought I'd chronicle my trip to Switzerland with Mom. It's a bit laborious writing on my tablet. But since I am on the plane with 3 more hours to go... I have time.

 I arrived at Mom's Saturday evening and Cynthia and Jim met me at the airport. Steve had arrived shortly before. We chatted and headed to bed. Sunday we went to Mom's church. We had a good discussion in Sunday school.

We spent a little time talking about where people get their moral compass. The leader said he asked several people how they decided what was right. All said they thought about it and decided. None said they turned to the scriptures to find moral truths. I thought back to the middle ages when people only had the words of the priests. Wycliff sacrificed his life getting the scriptures into the hands of the common people in English. They risked death to be able to read them. And now we've gone full circle. People only listen to the ministers. They don't take time to read the truths for themselves. Sad.

 Monday we did laundry, packed, and got ready for our trip. My watch battery was dying, so we went to a battery shop and got a new one. Then there was this watch store close to it. So I wandered in and found a watch. It is like my Casio- with timer and stopwatch and alarm. But it was in gold! We were ready ahead of time, made good time to the airport, and had time for a bite to eat with Cynthia and Jim before they dropped us off at the airport.

The flight was long, but okay.  Any flight that lands safely is a good one.  They wheeled Mom from the plane, around to a beep-beep car, up and down three elevators, to a shuttle van, to the wheel chair and through immigration, baggage, and customs.  Sally and Steve and Steve and Kathy were waiting for us at the exit from customs.

We validated our rail pass and just made the train. Almost made Steve and Kathy head to the wrong track at the transfer in Bern, but the incoming train was delayed and all worked out. Sally and Steve were clever at getting the wheel chair folded for the train and open when we exited.  It was about a 5 minute walk from the train station to our apartments.

Ah.  Switzerland is beautiful!  It's hard to capture through a train window.

And here we have the music of the church chimming the quarter hour and hour and the cowbells active melody.

Fox Family Reunion

We've had a fabulous week.  It's amazing that you can get 16-18 adults and 24 children together and have a good time all the time.   I suppose individually some of the children had some unhappy times.  Some got scraped toes and knees.  But mostly everyone had a good time.  We played in the pool and hiked and played games and kids played with toys and enjoyed hanging out with each other.

We went to the Dutton Show courtesy of Dan M.  Some people made frequent trips to Sonic and to the thrift stores. Some went to the Butterfly Palace.  We spent two days at Silver Dollar City with two families.

We breakfasted on our own in our rooms-- theoretically.  In reality, our condo held the food and people passed through for pancakes, french toast, or muffins.  On Saturday, we ran out of pancake mix, so Adam got creative and mixed up a brownie mix.  Of course the brownie "pancakes" needed chocolate sauce for syrup.   They actually tasted very good!  Kind of like a brownie cookie cooked on the griddle.

Lunches we planned to serve in the pavilion, but after the first few days the leftovers took over and so it was easier to eat in shifts in our house.  Each family was assigned a dinner.  It worked great!

Here you see Callie and Delaney showing off their dance moves.


Friday when we arrived they had free hot dogs.  Saturday Deborah Made Cafe Rio chicken tostidos.  They were very tasty.  We used the leftovers sauce for our meal Sunday of Taco Salad.  Then we had chicken tacos and cornbread casserole and pizza and bbq pork sandwiches.  Each of us thought we wouldn't have enough food and each time we had lots of leftovers.

We had a fun, fun, time till our Daddy took the condos away!

I wanted to put up more photos, but they are all HIGH resolution and take lots of time to load.