Snow...Board and Ski

Our first real ski trip in the Alps. We all had lessons: Todd and Xavier snowboard and Isabella and I ski. It was beautiful and fun.

A Merry Christmas

Morning walk in the forest with snowball fight, a giant snowman, candles on the tree, more gifts then were expected, sledding with friends and many thoughts of loved ones at home.

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies

Many of our Christmas gatherings this year involved cookies. We hosted some expat friends for lunch and the kids (plus a couple of the adults) rolled and decorated cookies. I attended a cookie exchange with five other women, so made 60 cookies plus for that event. And then, we joined forces with our friend, Dominic, and her two girls to make and decorate over 300 more cookies. We gave some of the cookies to neighbors and teachers, but ended up with plenty to spare.

Snow in November

It is unusual to get much snow in Ittigen, and when a couple inches does fall, in usually melts within a couple of days. But this year, in late November, we got 4 or 5 inches of snow and it stayed for a couple of weeks. The temps were as low as 5 degrees or so, which is quite cold for here. We lost the snow a week or so before Christmas, but then happily it snowed on Christmas eve. Swiss friends told us that it is rare for them to have a white Christmas in Ittigen/Bern.

Holiday Basar: November 20-21

Similar to our Waldorf school in Minneapolis, our school here holds a holiday basar to raise funds for the school. It is a two-day affair, where you can purchase everything from wreaths, mistletoe, candles, clothing, old records, books, stamps, cheese, fresh pasta, bread, other farm goods, and a multitude of other things. There are a number of performances in the theatre over the course of the two days including classical ensembles, comedy, drama, circus, vocal and others. And of course, there are several options for food such as roasted chestnuts (very popular here), crepes, deep-fried apple rings, pizza, cotton candy, baked goods and two meal options at the cafeteria.

Every adult member of the school community is expected to donate at least 7 hours of their time to the basar. And each class, starting in the 3rd grade, creates something to sell. Isabella's class sold the cheese that they made last spring, bringing in well over 1,000 francs. I spent several days making advent wreaths with other members in the community, and both Todd and I worked several shifts at the crepe/apple-ring stand.

Anyone Out There?

After such total neglect of this blog, I'd be surprised if anyone is still checking it. But still, I plan to do a recap of the last few months. I won't follow Todd's lead and make a resolution I can't keep, but I hope to post more often than I have been:)

Slackers R Us

We have been slacking off here. Kim has been doing the Facebook thing for most of the updates and I have just been a big slacker. My New Years resolution is to do at least one post a week.

We are preparing for the holidays and getting ready for our ski trip. Izzi and Xavier have their equipment and Kim and I are just going to rent when we get there. I will try snowboarding and Kim is going with skis at this point.

I figure our next update will probably include a run down of how Swiss medical system works. I'll be amazed if we come out of this trip without at least one injury.