A Swiss Christmas

Dec 25

Our first Christmas in Basel was a success. We spent the day at home with Aude’s parents (not that there was much choice – pretty much everything shuts on Christmas Eve and stays shut for the next three days). I’d stocked up on firewood, and we had a fire in the fireplace most of the day.

Aude and her parents went out for an early-afternoon walk in the countryside, leaving me at home to get started with the Christmas dinner. I opted for a traditional German / Swiss Christmas dinner of roast goose, stuffing, spaetzle, and red cabbage. In the end, I had to make a small concession to our Swiss kitchen: my oven is too small to take an entire goose, so I roasted two goose crowns and two goose legs. In the end, it was a better compromise as there was plenty of meat to go around. The last time I cooked a whole goose, I ended up with about three slivers of goose meat per person and an enormous pile of bones. I was certain that wasn’t going to happen again this year.

: We’ve made an example out of Calypso. Here we are showing Daisy the consequences of misbehaving.

: Once again, it becomes clear that Aude was never top-of-her-class at hide-and-seek.

: The Christmas table

: The Christmas table

: Roast goose, spaetzle, stuffing and red cabbage

: Daisy gets into the Christmas spirit.

It’s a dog’s life…

by Matthew in: Travels 0 Comments

Aug 01

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz….

Actually, it’s a cat’s life. Sometimes I wish my life was as simple as curling up on the bed and snoozing in the sunshine. Which is exactly what I did yesterday afternoon.

I used my last day at work as an excuse for leaving at lunchtime. I came home to find the cats curled up on the freshly-made bed, totally relaxed in the afternoon sunshine, and I couldn’t resist crawling into the bed myself and having a little afternoon snooze.

I won’t lie. It was bliss!

Tags:
cats
daisy

The cat-sitter

by Matthew in: Travels 0 Comments

Sep 14

Day five of the vacation, and time for me to head back home. Owing to the unexplained disappearance of our gardien, we found ourselves with no one to look after the cats while we were away. Rather than the more orthodox approach of asking a neighbour to look after them (all the neighbours seemed to be away on vacation as well), I flew my father in for the week from Paris.

For him, it was a chance to explore a city he hadn’t visited in nearly twenty years. I cut my trip to the south of France a few days short and came back to spend some time with him.

The only downside? My cats seem to hate him.

Jim finds his road

Relaxing in the Jardin du Luxembourg

On the Seine

Look at me!

Posing by the fountain. Seconds after discovering that the wind was blowing and getting drenched with the spray from the fountain. Oh, how the other tourists laughed and pointed!!

Holding the Eiffel tower. Look, I am a tourist!

Cat-sitting

Striking the casual, pointing stance in the Marais.

Aude & Jim

Jim & Matt in front of the Centre Pompidou. The ugliest building in Paris, according to my father.

Jim in front of Paris Plage

Matt & Jim in front of Paris Plage

Matt & Aude in front of Paris Plage

Cocktails, couscous and merguez

by Matthew in: Travels 0 Comments

Sep 13

Day 3 of our vacation in the south of France. We put Jerome in charge of cocktails, and I was put in charge of the barbeque. Aude’s father was put in charge of killing the bees, and Aude’s mother was in charge of the couscous. Aude volunteered to be in charge of sitting by the pool.

Look out — the bee killer is poised and ready for action!

Limes at the ready for mojitos

Experts at work making the cocktails

A consultation in the kitchen

Jerome wonders if he should use the entire bottle

More drink-ology

By the pool

Cats are very clean animals. Minouche gets ready to take her shower.

Minouche watches all the action from beside the pool

Aude takes her job of relaxing by the pool very seriously.

Matt is on barbecue duty — merguez sausages at the ready!

The couscous is a success!

Relaxing in the pool…

Jerome’s visit to Paris

by Matthew in: Travels 0 Comments

Jun 08

Jerome came to spend a weekend with us in Paris recently. We managed to grab a few snaps. I particularly like how Daisy and Calypso managed to work their way into one of the shots.