Becoming Habitats

We finally discovered why Naomi has been complaining about an itchy neck for the past few weeks. They checked her for it at the doctor's office, but couldn't find anything. She has lice. So do the two girls. Probably brought them back from Italy. Did the whole shampoo/combing routine yesterday, and Naomi is washing everything today. Definitely didn't need an extra pile of work before starting school, but okay.

I got a bit more work for by business this week. A returning client wants me to put together a few more small things. Nice to have another job to do! I would also like to wrap up the sink cabinet for upstairs. Just needs to be finished and put together.

Amazing how many iterations were necessary to come up with a reliable depth gauge for our pond cistern in the garden, but I think this latest rendition is the one that will last. The system seems to be working well now and the fish, frogs and plants are all happy. Now to put in a compost pile. I made a cage for it, but I don't know if it will need to be more enclosed or not.

The girls had their birthday party with friends on Friday. They had a lot of fun. After presents and cake, they played games at the school and then made their own pizzas. They each invited four friends and the groups didn't get along the best. Amélie's group was a lot younger and quieter. Abigail invited two really great friends (one of them the only boy at the party), but the other two hopefully won't continue to be friends for much longer. We shall see how this school year goes.

Our first Sunday morning tennis session at the Bosrand.

Final(?) versions of the logo. I am happy with it. Got some new software and started from scratch.

Party fun!

Fall is Here

Amazing how fast the weather can change. All of the sudden it is chilly, windy, rainy, and leaves are dropping already. The days are getting shorter and it will be a race with the frost to see how many tomatoes we can get ripened up.

The girls had a really fun birthday. They had some friends over along with Opa and Auntie Edith. We had lots of good food and presents at home, then went to the castle for a nice dinner. Naomi wants to give them another birthday party, with just friends, so we will do that on Friday. Seems a bit silly to me to have two parties, but okay.

I was able to get back into the wood shop as the weather cooled off. Nice to make some progress on the cabinet for upstairs. Maybe I can finish it up this week, but there are a lot of other things to do as well. Definitely not ready to go back to work.

Birthday outfits.

Great presents!

They got to play at the castle while we ordered and waited for food.

Heat Wave

This week has been really uncomfortable. The heat has sapped our energy to to just about anything. Good thing we have a little air conditioner, but it doesn't do much beyond a bit of help getting to sleep at night. Another record breaker. Palm trees are popping up all over the place in people's gardens these days.

Speaking of gardens, we nearly ran out of water because people won't stop watering them. Our philosophy is to water the vegetables, and if the flowers and bushes don't make it, plant different varieties. Grass in August shouldn't look like it did in June.

The girls have been getting into their swimming lessons. Three per week. Amélie just passed onto the next level but Abigail still has some work to do. They are really counting down the days until their birthday.

Our tomatoes are delicious, even though we missed the peak! The people who took care of our house while we were gone saved some for us.

Two Weeks

We went South for two weeks where the temperatures were cooler. Got home yesterday to discover the Dutch are in the middle of another heat wave. Sure wish we had rivers to float down, snowy mountains to cool off in, and beautiful lakes to swimming around here!

We spent a couple days in Switzerland before saying goodbye to the girls to celebrate our anniversary on our own. Exploring Lake Garda in Northern Italy was a lot of fun. Driving through Bergamot, the epicenter of the European outbreak this spring, was a bit eerie. Things are back to normal though, apart form mask wearing indoors and fewer tourists. We never would have gone otherwise. The lake reminded me a bit of Traverse City but with about five times the people, a lot more history, and bigger hills.

The view from the deck of our cabin over the lake was beautiful, but the motorboats were really loud. It got me to thinking that maybe I could build wooden ones, in an Italian style, with electric motors. Perhaps there is a market in the Great Lakes.

After a couple of days we went back to Lugano, Switzerland to meet Auntie Claire, Matt, and the girls. They had a blast together. We had a picnic, swam in that lake, and headed back to our cabin. No desire to stop in Milan on the way. The girls had a blast learning to swim with water wings in the big waves on the lake.

We also had a great day in Venice. Never would have been fun if filled with tourists. Took a gondola ride. Walked for ten kilometers. Ate a delicious lunch. What a cool city! The girls did great. It was also rather eerie seeing the traditional Venetian plague masks with the beaks alongside our modern versions.

After stopping again in Lugano for another picnic at the lake, we stayed in Solothurn with Auntie Claire and Matt for a few more days. Did a bit of shopping, floated down their river on tubes, and Naomi and Amélie visited a museum while we took Abigail to the white mountains.

It was a well-structured trip with a lot of highlights. I will be tired for a while though. It is good to be home and I am glad that we went. Now we just need to make it through the heat wave!

Raspberry picking with a view of the white mountains.

They used nets to keep out flies and birds. A beehive in the corner for pollination and honey. Great system!

We had a great time in Bern.

The house where Einstein lived for a while.

Bern's cathedral was open and the organ was playing. Impressive!

Our anniversary lunch spot in Lugano.

The view from our cabin at Lake Garda.

Lake Garda.

Fun with Auntie Claire.

Mountain hike at Lake Garda.

More fun.

A peninsula that sticks out into the lake is fortified by a medieval castle instead of cherry trees.

Back to Lugano to pick up the girls.

Fancy lunch in Venice.

The gondola ride was a lot of fun! We went under a bridge so low that he had to angle the boat rather steeply to make it.

A Venetian taxi - I would love to make a boat like this one day. The bridge is about 1000 years old.

Back to Solothurn.

Floating down the river.

Lunch in the white mountains. So many people.

We had a nice hike, skipped some rocks and drank water from a mountain stream.

Visit to the museum.