All posts filed under: Lifestyle

Lighting up the Christmas Spirit

Published by

Here is my “little” (well it started out as a little idea) DIY Christmas project. To beginn with I thought that I would use 1 or two pallets (and ended up enjoying the sawing so much that I did four). I was very pleased with the result and decided to see what it would look like if I painted one (BIG mistake!!!). It worked out so well that I ended up painting the whole lot (half way through I did start to question the whole idea). But it was well worth it… The Wood Work The Painting The Result If you want to give it a go all you need is: -a couple of pallets -a jigsaw -a drill -a tin of paint -some Christmas lights (and some patience) Have fun!

Barbecue Tips: Barbecuing with Kids & Gadgets!

Published by

Today I’m delighted to publish the blog article, I’ve written for the company “Tchibo”. Check this Link. Spring is here at last! Everything is blossoming, the garden is calling. Here are 2 recipes for kids and grown-up’s to kick off into the new BBQ saison! Burgers for the „little ones“ Our kids love burger’s. And even better if they can prepare their favourite recipes themselves. “Best Burger” Recipe 750g/ 26.5oz minced meat 1 bread bun or two pieces of bread 1 onion 1 egg 1 bunch of parsley (not liegt bei all) salt & pepper Soak the bread in warm water. Chop up the onion and parsley. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (except for the bread). Squeeze the water out of the bread and add to the mixture. Season with salt and pepper, knead it and we’re ready to make the burger’s. As my eager, little cook is demonstrating… put the burger mixture into the form, press it until it fills the form (right up to the brim) turn it over, press the bottom …

It’s Just Simply Spring…

Published by

The weather this afternoon has given me a great excuse to leave the gardening for another day and make some Easter decorations instead. So, I popped down to my local florist/ friend Urs at Toscanini and stocked up with some lovely flowers… …which intrigued someone…  …with a little help from my furry friend I created these… …and the end result is “simply Spring”… …it was obviously hard work for some.  

Ski Holidays in Switzerland…

Published by

…at last! It’s time for our Ski Holidays, we’ve been anticipating for weeks. My hubby, “Grossmami” (Grandma), our daughter and dog, drove the car up to Pontresina (a village near St. Moritz) with all our gear (and believe me the car was absolutely jam packed), while the boys and I took the train (sometimes my travel sickness does come in hand 😉). After a 3 hour and 47 minutes train journey, we needed to stretch our legs. The quarter of an hour stroll through Pontresina to our chalet was just right. We spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking while the kids went out to explore. With a good nights sleep and after a hearty breakfast, there was nothing going to stop us from hitting the slopes… …a perfect way start to our holidays!

Happy New Year!

Published by

It’s New Years Eve. The kids are very excited about the idea of staying up until midnight (I’m not quite sure if they’ll all make it). So to burn off a bit of the extra energy, we took them for a walk…well we’ll see if it works… Dear Readers, This is my last post for this year. A chance for me to thank you for joining in on my experiences, adventures and culinary experiments, and also for your comments and contributions. I wish you all a very Happy New Year!  

Advent Wreath

Published by

With the beginning of the Christmas count down today, it is definitely time for me to make my Advent Wreath. (Especially as the day after tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent) So here goes for a quick and easy DIY job… Materials 4 candles 4 candle holders a straw wreath pine branches wire string labels pine cones (any decoration material you like) Cover the straw wreath with pine branches and bind them on with the wire. Place the candle holders with the candles at 12/3/6 and 9 o’clock. wrap wire around your decorations and stick them into the wreath. Bind the string around the candles and tie the labels on. …now that’s done I can relax and wait until Sunday to light the first candle…  

Happy 1st Birthday!

Published by

Today it’s Meeko & Mitsi’s 1st Birthday. It’s already a year ago since our Kittens were born at the Waldhof (check the link) farm in Schneisingen (a little village about a 10 minute drive from here). How time flies! And look at them now! Our adorable, exploring (especially Meeko, he keeps us on our toes with his runaways), hungry (are always very interested if there is anything fishy our rubbish bag), cheeky (try to take over our Labradors bed by lying right in the middle of it as soon as she gets up for a drink or a walk) , sleepy (definitely the thing they do best), playful (anything that catches their eyes is in danger, even if it’s someone asleep under a duvet, that seems to be absolutely irresistible and has to be pounced on)… …but we wouldn’t change them one bit and it’s hard to image a life without these two tumbling around us.

Our Easter Egg Tradition

Published by

I’ve just realised that I did a post like this last year, it has obviously become a bit of a family tradition. So here goes for you want to give it a try… All you’ll need is: -eggs (raw) -leaves or grasses -old tights -thread -onion skins While we took our dog out, the kids enjoyed collecting leaves, flowers and even an empty snail shell (not that we could use that for the eggs). Once we got home, we put the leaves and flowers on the eggs. Fixed them with some old tights, tied them up with some thread… …and boiled them for 10 minutes in the onion skins.   Happy Easter!

Meeting Mike…

Published by

Early this morning I took a 20 minute train ride to Zürich to meet my blogging buddy Mike (alittlebitoutoffocus.com) for the first time. He lives in Evolène thats in the alps, in the south/ french speaking part of Switzerland (about a three hour drive from where we live), so not just around the corner. But he was running in the Zürich Marathon today, an opportunity I couldn’t miss…. Zürich, peaceful before the race… …but not for long… …and then, pricisely on time… Mike! A true marathon runner, with temperatures hitting 20°C/ 68°F (that’s burning hot for a marathon!) he fought his way, with 9’000 others, to the the finish line! Well Done!!! While Mike went for a well deserved shower, I took our daughter, (who had meanwhile come to help me cheer the runners on) to the fun park, which was right next to the race course (very handy). After going down the slide 7 times (!), twice on the merry go round and the trampoline, we headed off to the restaurant Hiltl to meet Mike. It was really nice meeting …