hbd to 2 of my v. fav. ppl.

today is Jeanne Hoffman's birthday. I won't betray her age, but suffice it to say that she is almost as old as I, which means that she will not be in her 20's for much longer. She is a nurse practicioner - with lots of letters after her name - in SF and I am v. proud of her and still amazed that anyone with such a creative, liberal arts background could sail though (easy for me to say) all those yukky science classes in nursing school ... well done, my dear friend - Happy Birthday, beautiful!


Gale Giacobbe's birthday was the 6th. I won't betray her age either, but will say that she is older than I, so now you know she is in her early 30's. Gale started teaching yoga a few months ago after practing for many years and I am so proud and happy for her. She tries to make me do yoga when I visit her in Charlestown, but usually I have more fun drinkning wine, watching her and saying, "wow ... how long did it take you to learn how to do that one?" I'll be celebrating a belated birthday with Gale on Saturday night in Boston (on my way yo meet Mark in NYC for a week!) with 2 of my other v.v.v.v. best girlfriends, Juli and Maureen - and maybe Kristine and Heather too -(no pix of them - I'll post on their birthdays .... you'll just have to wait. As my mama always said, 'always leave 'em wanting more ...' - yes, I realize the context was likely different then, but hey, if the shoe fits ...)

long distance move

Last weekend we helped our fabulous friends, Shannon and Dave move. They have a fabulous baby boy named Niko who sometimes likes to dress up like Elivs.

He is such a trooper what with all the hiking, traveling, dressing up, partying, moving, etc... really. great. kid. And he really digs me.

His dad, Dave and Mark carried most of the big/heavy stuff the looooonnnggg way from the top of the street where they were living in an apartment building that is scheduled to be demolished this Spring, to just below the top of the street where they now live in a fabulous house with only one set of neighbors who also happen to be their fabulous, San Francisco-throwback-hippie- type landlords.

There is a good sized yard where there were chickens until, sadly, the fox got them a few weeks before the move. Perhaps again in the future. They have a fabulous wood stove that has the cutest little warming drawer for the bread Shannon will be baking. And light! Lots of windows and lots of light!

Mark, ever the Eagle Scout, made a fabulous fire that we enjoyed for most of the evening while we drank v. difficult-to-open Prosecco, (thankfully no one lost an eye, though the men did complain of sore palms and biceps - note to self: buy them one of those sissy flappy-wing-type openers so this does not happen again when I am v. thirsty...) and lots of red wine along with a fabulous 'thrown together' meal of wheat pasta with black olives and sundried tomatoes, fresh parmesan cheese and olive oil. (This is after hours of snacking on cheese, nuts and dried fruits).

I had to laugh and ran and got the camera as Dave and Mark carried Niko's fully made and ready-to-nap-in crib from point A to point B. I don't think anyone counted the steps from point A to point B, but I'd venture to guess that is less than 50.

The only thing cuter than the boys and the crib was what I failed to get a photo of or even witness personally (as I was not there to help then): Shannon, with Niko strapped to her front, loaded down with bags and boxes, trying not to smash the baby going from point A to point B. I think Niko will appreciate his new digs even more as he helped move.

Here's to lots more fabulous times by the fire at Niko's place.

p.s. I know I said (wrote) fabulous 8 (9) times.

drum roll please ...

The film I (not alone, I assure you ...) produced and starred in, Straight Forward was picked up for distribution by Echelon Studios and the trailer can now be seen at several sites including YouTube.com, Spike.com and IMDB.com, MySpace, BullitFilm and photobucket.

Please go to one or all sites and watch and vote/rate/comment if you would ... the more traffic we get, the more interest from other sales outlets and the faster we will be able to pay the people who worked on the film for free and the few brave souls that invested (thank you mom and thank you dad!)

I'll be sure to let everyone know when they can add it to their Netflix cue!

Thank you for your support!

A v. Zurich Thanksgiving

We had the most fabulous Thanksgiving here in Zurich. Upstairs neighbors and friends, Sarah and Lukas co-hosted an 'upstairs/downstairs' party with us on Thursday night.

Our friends (below) Shannon and Dave and baby Niko (sleeping) and James (right) sans his fabulous bride, Lorna - who was working - were our guests and Sarah and Lukas had Gregory (a dance teacher) and Suzie (singer/teacher) from the school where Sarah teaches as well as Elizabeth (conductor/singer/music teacher) and a lovely guy from PEI who works at the University with Lukas. (There goes that memory again ... )

It didn't take long for the men to all realize they have a common love/thread/vocation/job/knowledge - science and math .... (I stayed far away) They are all now planning on having a boys night out and we women are thrilled as they all work too much and need it. Gregory stayed with the women during this time as he is well-versed in musical theatre and we needed someone to sing the male parts of all the songs we kept thinking of ...

We had appetizers at our place downstairs - leek and celeriac soup, cheese, fruits, nuts and bread with Prosecco and wine - then headed upstairs to their place for the main meal at their giant dining room table where we proceeded to stuff ourselves all the traditional American goodness, the we rolled ourselves back downstairs for homemade pumpkin pie and apple tart, coffee, tea and for some, more wine!

Sarah and I had a blast decorating and cooking all day. I was v. thankful that Sarah wanted to use my Grandmother's cherished Currier and Ives dishes as well as the napkins and runners I had made for our wedding. It's great to pull that stuff out and spend a few moments with the great memories they evoke. I made evergreen boughs and bought some fresh Mistletoe, which I don't know that I have ever seen in this pure, beautiful form.

Mark has been dubbed 'supreme turkey carver and gravy maker', a talent I had already witnessed in the states, but one which I was still impressed with this time around and was even more proud as he garnered an audience as he carved.

Sarah ordered 2 6kg organic, fresh turkeys and while that sounded like a good idea at the time, I think next time we may go smaller or fewer ... though they were delicious and it was actually quite fun creating our own new way of stuffing, seasoning and sewing them up.

We had my favorite meal of Thanksgiving sandwiches (soft bread, full-fat mayo, white meat turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and salt and pepper - Mark actually asked as I was making mine if I wanted lettuce!!@#$%^%$ silly boy .... lettuce?) * Friday and the next day (I caught Mark making a sneaky sandwich of ham and cheese ... he pleaded that he needed a turkey break) and we still had a giant pile of meat in the fridge so I found a great recipe for turkey frame soup with wheat pasta and made that yesterday.

*which leads me to the fact that Sarah asked about making a salad for Thanksgiving and while I would never begrudge anyone their salad and I even have been known to love the stuff myself, I have a rule about no salad on Thanksgiving .... I mean where would you put it? Both on the table and on one's plate and even in one's belly for that matter ... Why waste that prime stuffing belly space with healthy lettuce? I guess because we never had it growing up on Thanksgiving it's become a tradition that I now espouse and one which I can't see myself straying from anytime soon ....

Sarah came down and ate said soup with us last night and we also polished off the remnants of the pie and tart. But there was still soup left ... so guess what I just ate for lunch.?! ... yup. But that is IT - I am officially turkey-ed out.

(Suzie (L) Elizabeth (C) and Gregory (R)

i see (more) dead people

So, for the 1st time EVER, I am not making my Halloween costume this year.

After some discussion, a few not-so-great ideas (middle-aged Barbie and Ken, Jim and Tammy-Faye Bakker, Gilligan and Ginger - again ...) and what I know was (is) my sweet husband's attempt at curtailing, containing and completely stopping (good luck with that ...) my making things and leaving what I like to call 'creative clutter' all over the apartment, we went to a costume shop not too far from our apartment to check out some other options ...

I'm not telling exactly what we ended up with, though I do promise photos after the party ... here are a few pix to sate you in the mean time .. notice Elvis' tie and my swell rubber rain boots!
We had fun playing dress up - (don't fret, neither of us donned anything risque or potentially embarrassing to any of the other shop's customers)

I left the final decision to M., as I was (am?) still a bit uneasy about paying to rent a costume - but know that it made (makes) him less stressed in the end, and that - of course - makes the hausfrau less stressed as well!

As we walked back to the bus stop, we realized it was v. near a new favorite place of ours (though I try to avoid it, as nothing there is on the current 'healthy/cleansing' diet ...). The Pie Shop is adorable and yummy. A true British fix right in Zurich. I took my mom when she was here and Mark and I have gone a few times for their Ploughman's Lunch.

Last night for the first time, they were not sold out of Shepherd's Pie and that made M. v. happy, which - of course - made me happy ... (see, I'm learning how this whole marriage thing works ...) so we got the grosse (large) one - still tiny compared to US standards - darn, I should have taken a photo ... it's about the size of a tiny UNO's personal pizza - like 5" I think - anyway ... we couldn't leave without getting some of their yummy chocolate chip cookies as well. Choc. chip cookies are not easy to find here and these are the flat, chewy, made with Crisco kind of cookies (I think) .. and that purchase actually made my husband SMILE! yes!

Next time I promise to take pix. Needless to say, it was a happy night full of pie, cookies, salad (for me...) the season 2 finale of Mad Men, me finishing knitting my shawl - finally made something for me!) and getting to sleep before midnight ... lovely.

dead celebrity mannequins and more broken glass

While running errands with my fabulous upstairs neighbor, Sarah for her upcoming show - (she is a modern dancer from Canada who studied in NYC for years and she is performing with a opera singer in a show they've created about strong women characters through music and dance - it's really great) - I came upon a men's clothing store with these familiar-looking mannequins:

It made me sad, as it was just days after Paul Newman died and it was unmistakeably him ... but it wasn't as though the mannequin makers suddenly made this to honor his passing, I mean they must have had this for years ... and what about Luciano Pavarotti? He died in 2007 and here he is, as robust and big-bellied as ever, smiling and ready to sing. Next to Pavarotti was a mannequin that looked like Gerard Depardieu, and he's still alive, so there went my theory that this was a tribute window ... It was really odd. I mean, someone went to a lot of trouble and effort to create these characters and use them in this non-chain men's clothing store. There were no signs or labels or anything ... just Paul, Luciano, Gerard and some guy we could not identify (maybe I'll try to find the store again and take a photo of the other mannequin in hopes that one of my astute readers might be able to identify him ...)

And as for the broken glass, I guess I'll share the photos, though they are far from thrilling ... (on the left - the remnants of a sexy-looking memo and magnetic board for the kitchen - it matched the stainless steel and was not from the BrockiHaus so not really cheap, per se ... and it fell off the small counter it was leaning on after only one day! All I ever got to write on it was, "Welcome home, handsome!" Guess that's better than a grocery list ... on the right was a little IKEA lamp I got for the second guest room when my mom was here. Not really enough to be a reading lamp, but just enough to illuminate your way to and from the loo without the overhead lights on ... because we use my laptop as a tv to watch shows from itunes, etc... I constantly have to unplug my speakers and camera and microphone from my 'office' where I try to work during the day and schlep the power cord and laptop to the guest bedroom where we currently reside until we figure out what kind of bed we'd like in our room that still only serves as a dressing/ironing/dirty laundry room - needless to say - in my haste one day to get the 'media system' set up for us to watch the latest episode of MadMen, I tripped on the cord to the 15CHF lamp and shattered it. Brilliant.)

I keep telling myself to be happy that they were not mirrors ... but really - 3 big (well, one really big, one medium and one small) glass breaks in a matter of a month? Does that add up to a mirror? I hope not. ... All I know is that I am not buying anything breakable anytime soon and if I do, it is being hung correctly immediately ....

Lastly - I am putting the finishing touches on my new website and blog, which will be www.kristenvermilyea.com. This blog will forward to it when it's ready, not to worry ...

6 days, 16 films

I spent much of last week watching films at the 4th Zurich Film Festival. I was fortunate to receive 'industry accreditation' so I got a pass (which I still had to pay for, though not as much as I would have had I not claimed to have been an actress, writer, producer, former film festival chair, lion tamer, fake tanner, fledgling cartographer and inventor of the Internet.

This is the list of films I watched: (the entire list can be found here) (Also - I'm only making a few comments here but that is really not enough ... if you are interested in hearing more, please send me a note and I'll tell all ... or perhaps I'll make my friend Matthew Newton, over at CinemaGoulash review them all...)

Brides of Allah - Doc - well done, about women who are now in prison for having attempted to be or have been involved with suicide bombing...scary stuff
My Life Inside - Doc - well-presented and heart-breaking story... not only about someone accused of a crime, but the larger story of how much of a fair trial can a poor Mexican get in a rich, white Texas town? - made me want to be a law student and work on the case, kind of..
Blindness - feature - interesting concept, but I would not encourage anyone to run out to the theatres and see it (stars Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo)
Mr. Rakowski - Doc - lots of moving stuff, but can seem a bit as though the son funded this film as therapy to attempt to connect with his distant father and at times feels as though the audience is being manipulated
The Art Star and The Sudanese Twins - Doc - heavy and entertaining on many levels - worth seeing if only to witness the narcissism of the lead character juxtaposed with her apparent desire to help others ... hard to explain - would need to talk about this one ...
Kurtzfilmprogramm Sam Spiegel School (short films from the Sam Spiegel Film School in Israel) - really fabulous series of shorts from Israel.
Boy of Pigs - feature - interesting concept - well-cast, acted and shot. Good script. I think it's worth seeing - many aspects have been done/seen previously, but the combination of story lines works. Met the writer, the producer and director at fest - all 1st timers and it's really a cinderella story of how they made the film ... or at least that's what they are telling us .. I am terribly envious of Gretchen Mol who gets to play a dream part ...
Dunya & Desie - feature - cute girl road trip film - well-done and acted. Based on a popular TV series
Blood Appears (left about 45 mins through) - I didn't get it and didn't really want to
Sweet Mud - feature - autobiographical - about young boy growing up on a Kibbutz in Israel. Many lovely moments and well-worth watching.
Sell Out! - feature - I loved this despite the crazy and oft-times all over the place story line and need for editing ... totally unlike anything you've ever seen - I still have some of the songs in my head and people were quoting from the film around the festival tent - in an 'Office Space' kind of way ...sort of
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired - Doc. - well-done and interesting - learned things I had not known about the director and the case brought against him
A Thousand Oceans- feature - interesting concept about death and after death experiences, but a bit too 'film-school-like' for me. Needed to go farther and be much, much edgier
The Man Who Loved Ynvge - feature - I loved this one too - for many reasons, one of the main ones being the soundtrack - all my favorite 80's tunes - I was rockin' out in the packed theater both times. Great story and v. well acted.
The Hurt Locker - feature - v. good war epic from a new perspective. worth seeing
The Wackness - feature - worth seeing if only for Ben Kingsley's not-typical-for-him-to-play-character ... v. amusing

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

I went to a party one night and met Stephen Nemeth almost as soon as I walked in the door, "This is great ice!" I heard him say to the bartender. I had to agree. Crushed, but not to a mush, to a v. small cube ... perfect. Then we began to talk about how ice in Europe is harder to come by than in the states and that was followed by an inquisition by him of me regarding my 'pedigree'. When I told him I was from NH, he asked, "Do you know Paul Hodes?" Well of course I know Paul. Doesn't everyone? But truly - I had the pleasure of knowing him before he was a 'big shot' politician. We used to have lunch every year or so when I was home from NYC and visiting NH. My film business partners and I even consulted with him on a few film projects - needless to say, it was a v. odd but v. cool coincidence.

Turns out that Mr. Nemeth is a fan of NH. He knows Governor Lynch and Paul and is up on all the latest with the state. He is also v. involved in the Democratic party ... so we talked a little Obama-talk and moved on to the festival, etc...

One of the 'paparazzi' that was at the party snapped this shot of us. Notice Stephen is far better at hiding his drink for photos than I am. (Note to self - put the drink down ...)

So, I met some great people and now have a few more resources and connections both in Zurich and in the 'industry' ... now I just need to learn German, finish writing those scripts, finish recording my voice over demo, loose 20 lbs., revamp my website, start my own film festival, make a documentary, get a better haircut and start getting up before noon ...

Harbaughs do the Alps

How could we not have done this sooner?! Amazing.

We took a series of trains and trams (not the Zurich kind of trams - the ones that hang from wires and are suspended over giant gorges, etc...) on Saturday and arrived in Murren mid-afternoon.

We skipped the last leg of the train ride and opted to hike the last bit, which took about an hour and a half. It was really glorious - just what you'd expect to see when hiking in the Alps.

And the weather was gorgeous - we couldn't have asked for better.

We checked into our great little hotel with fabulous views, drank some wine on the balcony and marveled at the Eiger and Jungfrau.

Sunday morning after a swell breakfast at the hotel, Mark and I left our traveling companions, Shannon, Dave and baby Niko and headed to the v. top of the Schilthorn, famous for being featured in the James Bond Film 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'

We watched paragliders take off and float and circle above the clouds. We even discussed the fact that we might someday be persuaded to try it (tandem with an experienced sort, of course).

The views are unbelievable. Looking down the mountain I could imagine it covered with (more) snow and told Mark that now would be a good time to note where the rocks were, so that when we come back this winter to ski, we can be prepared ...

After a few 'mouth agape with wonder' hours, we headed back down. (We missed 2 trams and were cranky for about 5 minutes but then I pulled out a little notebook and we wrote down a list of more adventures we want to go on and that kept us quiet for the duration...)

We met back up with Shannon, Dave and Niko at the deck on our hotel for a little lunch before our trip back to Zurich.

We cannot wait to go back and can't believe it took us this long to go. Thank you to Shannon for planning this fabulous trip and for officially and in a big way, introducing us to the Alps!

Oh, and this is my favorite sign of the weekend and one which, to anyone who knows me, could prove extra funny. They actually are warning you, at the top of this steep, steep mountain (an ALP, for god sakes) not to wear stilettos. I love it. (For those who care, I was wearing running sneakers and am getting hiking boots just like Shannon's as soon as we can find them ...)

more broken glass

I was woken up suddenly last night at 4am by the sound of a giant crash and breaking glass. As I was alone, I got up, wandered sleepy-eyed around the apartment until I came upon this mess in the kitchen...

Funny that I didn't even think for a second that it would have been a window or that I would have been in danger. Ahh, Zurich. I immediately felt for my upstairs neighbors, who must have heard the racket, but were thankful that they did not come downstairs inquiring.

In my quest to make the apartment more homey, I have been on a 'hanging things' kick. I have been wanting to do this since we arrived, as I brought a good amount of things to hang on the walls from the US, but it just has not been a priority and I hadn't wanted to hang things all on my own - meaning that I wanted to consult and consider my husband's feelings and creative input too - such a nice wife, I know.

Also - it was not a priority for him and he was a bit concerned with not making a mess of the plaster walls - which I understand and also understand that he is a planner - but this was taking too long for me and I - the 'run and gunner' had been patiently waiting for months ...

So I hung some stuff while he was away on business - things we had already discussed and agreed to the placement of, etc... I was careful - even using a measuring tape to make sure things were spaced evenly and a level to make sure they were straight ... that is a lot for me! I got the right kind of hooks and made a go of it.

I was v. pleased with my accomplishments and looking forward to showing M when he returned from the UK.

I wasn't concerned about the sturdiness of any of the items - I had even used a stud finder (insert giggle, here) to make sure I the heavier things were secure when hung.

I had hung this fabulous poster I got when I was in the Soviet Union in 1989. When I was home in NH, I spent more $ than I should have on getting framed nicely. Mark and I both love it and love travel and old political posters, but were unsure where it would really 'go' in this apartment. We agreed there was this big, blank wall in the kitchen that would work well, so that is where I hung it. And that is from where it took a dive at 4 am.

I couldn't deal with cleaning it up at that God-forsaken hour so I returned to bed knowing I'd be facing the mess in the morning. As you can imagine, morning came, I walked to the kitchen and found the scene, much to my horror, as I had (of course) forgotten all about it ... great.

But there we two good things about it: (well, one good and one cool). 1. Mark was away and did not need to deal with it at all, which may have made him a bit cranky and 2. This piece of glass got stuck into one of the cabinets by the force of the fall - like a pencil that gets driven through a tree during a tornado ... cool.

broken glass

I witnessed my first tram accident yesterday. And I was on the tram. It really was no big deal (easy for me to say as I was not in the car or driving the tram...) no one was hurt, but it was still a tiny bit exciting.

Trams have tracks. They cannot veer from them. Cars can go on the tracks but also on the road. A car was cutting in between 2 trams going opposite directions and got clipped by one then the other - the tram I was riding on was the second and our poor driver didn't know what hit him - quite literally ... I felt the brakes slam on and heard that fabulous screeching noise then saw a little silver car pop out on my side of the tram with a broken out back window.

Everyone came pouring out of the trams to get a look. Many people just kept walking down the hill as though they had seen this kind of thing a million times. I didn't know whether to stay on the tram and wait or to walk - but since it was not raining and I felt like a nice walk, I got out.

I met up with the rest of the former tram passengers at the next stop down the hill and we didn't have to wait for long. Our old tram driver was only a delayed a few moments and picked us all up again. I got back into my former seat and got a little smirk from the teen-aged kid sitting opposite me. He'd obviously experienced this kind of thing before ...

I guess there were no police reports to fill out - or at least none for our driver. I did notice as I looked back up the hill that the other driver and tram were still at the scene of the accident and the kids in the car that had been hit were all just lurking around as well. (I did manage to snap a few shots as I walked down the hill and got a few snarls from the kids who were in the car and not feeling too good about themselves and certainly did not appreciate an obnoxious American taking photos of their misfortune on her cell phone. But I was subtle - I made it look like I was dialing a number - the sound the phone makes when taking a photo gave me away though ... got to figure out how to turn that off ...)

Now I have something else to be paranoid about when driving in Zurich - not only the hidden speed trap boxes but now the trams that jump out and smash you ... yikes ...

i have a ne-ew bi-ike, i have a ne-ew bi-ike

Yes, this is my new (to me) bike. And yes, it is in my living room. (Don't tell Mark - I'll move it to the basement before he comes home on Friday, promise ... it's just really hea-vy ...)

I found it on one of the ex-pat sites I frequent called the English Forum. I have been looking for a bike for months now, as Mark and I were unable to bring ours to Zurich because our shed in Concord was frozen shut when the movers came ... total bummer too, as I just just had my bike tuned up and it was perfect for me - and a pretty shade of green too! -

Anyway, I've been looking at second hand bikes as new ones over here - like pretty much everything - are v. expensive. Turns out second hand bikes ain't cheap either ... but I was on a mission and scoured the sites I've found that occasionally have used items for sale and viola! I found one ... but I had to act quickly.

I had to take a bus then a tram to go see the bike and in the end, Mark was able to meet me there which made me feel better - though any price negotiation was pretty much out as he was looking swanky and 'money' in his fab suit, tie and new overcoat, (not to mention his v. handsome new haircut I convinced him to get in Bellagio last week).

We checked the bike out, I rode it, in one gear, for about 20 feet and proclaimed that it was great. (I know ... such a tough customer). We had not brought the entire amount of cash with us, which was fine as I gave them a deposit and said I'd come back this a.m. to pick it up, pay the balance and ride it home.

Fast forward to this morning. Mark is leaves for the UK for a few days, and I get up and don my 'biking' duds (yoga pants, sneakers, t-shirt and thin Patagonia pullover), put my wallet, a rain hat, the book I am currently reading and an apple in my backpack and head back to the other side of town to pick up my new, red bike!

I arrived at the apartment complex and was met with a veritable daycare of toddlers running around in front of the door where I needed to press the buzzer to let the husband of Elen know I was there to claim my bike.

It's cold here right now, about 10 Celsius (don't ask my what that is exactly in Fahrenheit, but I assure you, it's too cold for kids to be running around in no coat) so I got to see lots of red and runny noses while I waited for the dude to answer the door.

We found out last night that he had just arrived from Ukraine about a month ago and was studying German at home while his wife was in school. He brought the bike up from the basement, placing it in front of me with a toothy grin. I pulled out my wallet, gave him the cash owed, waved and began to walk my bike towards the forest, where I had planned to ride all the way to our apartment.

I hopped on the bike about 100 yards past the apartment complex, downshifted (do you say that in bike speak?) and the whole mechanism on the back wheel dropped to a different location and the chain would no longer move. At all. "Great," I uttered. But still remained calm, despite the pit in my stomach I had regarding this new situation.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I am not keen on confrontation and don't like knocking on stranger's doors, or buzzing their buzzers, I don't like bothering people and frankly, much of the time, I don't like talking to people. I am the classic introverted extrovert. Go figure that one out ... (and be sure to call when you figure out what it means...)

So given the above, I was v. proud of myself for 1/2 dragging 1/2 carrying my newly acquired bike back to Mr. Ukraine to show him what had happened. Mind you, he speaks no German. I speak no German. He speaks no English. I speak no Ukrainian. Already my anxiety was rising, but I tried to think of how my mother would handle it and I felt better (my mother can talk to anyone, even in languages she does not know - she is not afraid of confrontation, or anyone or anything ... my mother is pretty much amazing - so I tried to channel her).

I buzzed again and he came down the stairs smiling. I tried to (loudly and slowly, as we all know makes those who do not understand our language understand) speak and point and draw pictures in the air about what had happened. I can say 'one' in many languages so I tried that, as that is the gear I went into when it all fell apart - literally.

Somehow we managed to communicate and he went upstairs to get some little Allen wrench-like tools which kind of helped. I was relieved that he was so helpful and not laughing at me saying in his language, "sucker" and slamming the door in my face.

He fiddled. I held the bike steady and we both, hmmm'd and ummmm'd and exchanged looks when something obviously worked (or made it worse).

Suddenly my new friend asked, "you talk Spanish?" I said, "Si" and before I could say, "un poco or un poquito", he started sounding like that little Mexican mouse-guy on Bugs Bunny, explaining the situation as he saw it and so happy that we could now communicate. I was pleased when I remembered, from my high school Spanish class that "mas despacio, por favor" means,' more slowly, please'. And I said that to him, though it did not help. I followed and got every 10th word or so and was now really missing our previous, guttural and charade-like communication method.

Eventually, we got it to a place where I was confident the bike would make it and we exchanged our "Adios" and I was (wobbily) off.

My adventure home was not too terribly exciting save for the fact that I rode about 1 mile and walked my new bike up giant hills for about 2.5 miles. Awesome. A great workout to be sure. And going down the hill toward our place at the v. end of the ride was heavenly. (I think I may not be breaking correctly - I feel like I should be downshifting somehow .. maybe? Any advice is welcome)

Now I just need to find a bike for Mark...

2 fun(ny) things I found in Zurich

Yesterday I met my friend, Shannon and her new son, Niko for a walk around her neighborhood, which is pretty much across the v. top of the lake from us. Well, sort of.

Shannon is a hoot and totally relaxed, cool mom - we had a blast with Niko, who was born on July 22nd (I hope that's right?...) He's a v. hip kid already and was ready to get strapped on to mom's front for our little walk up to the forest and the farm.

I was v. eager to check out this farm - and it did not disappoint. There are little lockers - a la Greyhound bus terminal - only see through, where they have different bunches of apples of varying types and amounts that you pop money into and the door opens and viola! - fresh Zurich farm apples that you'll feel someone left just for you. (I told Shannon, who does not know just how zany I am - yet - that what would really be cool would be to go up there at night and liberate all the apples and replace them with like doll heads or yarn or chopsticks* or even trays of lasagna ... I could tell by her trouble-making grin that she would be on board if I ever decided to go through with mission "replace-the-apples-in-the-bus/airport-lockers-with-various-and-sundry-wacky-stuff-by-cover-of-night"). Right on.

Almost cooler than the lockers was the giant vat of apple juice that came out via a tap-like device. It took me back to those autumn days in NH at college (UNH) when I used to fill up other people's plastic red cups with cheap keg beer from the Ice House. (Oh, I did not drink in college - until I was 21 - no, really - I didn't ... I was (am) a v. good girl.)

The stuff that comes out of the giant vat is the most fabulous tasting stuff. Not like apple juice really at all - I can only have about one sip of typical apple juice but this stuff ... wow - I can see why Shannon said she was able to substitute this and a few other like drinks for beer while she was pregnant ... It's not quite as 'hard' as cider either - the thing I can most equate it to is Cider Jack, alcoholic cider - but not quite as bitey ... Anyway - this is all pretty useless unless you live here or will be visiting me in the next few weeks as you really do need to taste it.

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*Speaking of chopsticks - I just wanted to share this lovely photo I took at BrockiLand. They are actually selling chopsticks - not used, I don't think, but certainly not new out of a sealed box - I mean these are the same chopsticks that you keep in your kitchen junk drawer for years along with random menus, toothpicks, mints, elastic bands, game pieces, twine, business cards of unknown or not remembered people, samples of products you got in the mail and just can't throw away because they were free and your favorite fortunes from those Chinese dinners.

Who buys these? (Let's hope only a kindergarten teacher for craft projects...) I'm planning a trip back this week and will check to see if they are still there. Now I wish I'd hooked up some sort of 'nannycam' to see who bought them - drat. Next time.

another movie recommendation

Go see / rent /buy this movie!

Young@Heart is one of the best documentaries I've seen in a while and just what the doctor ordered for 2 women who are fast approaching 'a certain age' and feeling old and still asking, "What shall I be when I grow up?".

I took my new friend, Karen to see this last night for her birthday and we both laughed out loud throughout the entire film, sometimes singing along with the fabulous seniors and even being shhhsed by a patron behind us.

Do yourself a favor and make seeing this a priority. I would even suggest purchasing the DVD - I know that this is one film I would watch over and over again.

Here is a teaser of one of their videos (not in the movie) ... fantastic!

no more vacations, please!

I jest, of course ... but truly, we've been on the go for what seems like months now and I am v. happy to be 'home'.

In the v. near future - as soon as I do about 12 loads of laundry, unpack, return extra pillows, suitcases, etc.. to the storage in the basement and figure out why Mark's Barbour coat is moldy ... grr ..., go through the mail, return emails, call my mom, vacuum, sign up for German lessons next week, make 2 doctor appointments, pay bills, file old bills, put the guest room back in order, diagnose my ipod problems, iron my husbands shirts, pick up his suits from the laundry, return curtain rods to Ikea, take the new chandeliers we got in Bellagio to the lighting place to get cleaned up and then installed - all without a car - look for a job, hang paintings, mirrors, etc.. on the wall, take old clothes and books to the Brockihaus, go grocery shopping, figure out what to do for M's birthday and our 3rd anniversary!, have a phone date with Juli, finish redesigning this blog, upload and edit photos from the trips, loose 20 lbs, get a bike, sell our house in NH, invite the neighbors over for cocktails and take a shower - I will write all about our time with Mark's fabulous parents, Diane and Steve and our time with them in Zurich, Basel, Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein and Italy. Promise.

I'm off to start on the list ... I remain, the v.v.v. appreciative, spoiled Swiss girl.

reasons to love SF

I visited two of my v. favorite people in San Francisco while I was in the states: Jeanne and Iris Hoffman.

Jeanne is a friend from Camden, Maine and Iris is her mom. They live together in SF now where Jeanne is a nurse practitioner and Iris is a nanny. As usual, I had a fabulous time staying with them and catching up.

Jeanne and I played tennis (she won) and while she was at work one day, even hired her tennis coach to give me a private lesson (he won) - Thank you, Jeanne!

After my lesson, I decided to walk through Golden Gate Park, as I had several hours before meeting Jeanne for dinner.
I was amused by this sign, though I know the reasons for having it are far from amusing. But still, not something I've ever come across before.

I also took a ride on the merry-go-round (carousel) by myself. I used to always go on the carousel in Central Park whenever I walked or ran by. I know I got some strange looks from kids and parents as I was neither, but I always love(d) it and had never checked this one out. Not bad.

I asked the kid next to me (red jacket, below) to take my photo and this is what he said to me: "Um, no. Um... I'm here with my teacher and, umm ... well, if my parents were here..." Okay, kid. I appreciate your heeding your parents' warning about strangers and all, but it's not like I offered you candy or asked you to get into my van or anything ... but truly, it was a bit odd and I really wanted a pix of me on the ostrich, but I do think it's kind of cute that a kid today would worry about such a thing. Good job mom and dad! (Though I guess I do look kind of scary here ....)

I also hit the famed Amoeba Music on my way back to the apartment. It's a pretty amazing place and if you haven't ever been there - I highly suggest it. I purchased a few used CDs (New Order, Billy Bragg, The Specials and an old Everything But the Girl for posterity). I was tempted to buy a poster or 12 also - the ones they have of the Grateful Dead are amazing and I know more than a few people who would have been v. happy if I had been a good friend and snagged one for them ... sorry ... maybe next time, guys.

Though it was a quick trip to this, one of the few cities in which I feel I could really live and love it, it was terrific and I can't wait to visit my sister in crime, Roxy (Jeanne) and my future agent/manager/nanny (Iris) again soon.

Mark's (almost) debut on the LA stage

While we were in LA, Mark's good friends arranged for us to go and see a 'show'. Mark was in on what the evening's entertainment was to be, while I was left in the dark (I agreed to be surprised...).

After dinner and cocktails at Brian and Anthony's fabulous house, we all piled into Brian's Saturn hybrid SUV (?) and headed in some direction. The tension was mounting and I was ready to know what was going on.

As we drove past The Dragonfly slowly, I brilliantly deduced that this was to be our destination. After finding a good parking spot, we ambled back to the Dragonfly where, above the door, was a banner saying "Point Break Live!". I must admit that even this information did not tip me off ...

Once inside, Brian handed me a ticket stub and a small see-through packet. It was a rain poncho.
I guess the guys were not kidding when they were giving me hints: "wear something you don't mind getting wet/dirty"(I assumed we were going to see the comedian Gallagher ... you know - watermelon, mallet, etc...?)

Brian went to get us all some beer and Mark and I went to find Kyle, who had gone in ahead of us on a mission to secure good seats. He did just that. Second row on stage right. Mark and I began to walk down the row of seats away from the aisle, but Kyle insisted that Mark needed to be at the end of the row. This sentiment was echoed by both Brian and Anthony as they came back bearing beer for all. Mark and I exchanged "uh oh" looks a la' Luci and Desi and sat where we told.

The action began almost immediately when a dude with a bad wig (supposed to be Gary Busey, I think?) asked for all the potential 'Johnny Utah' s to come up on stage and audition. Now it was all sinking in ... those guys had planned this - oh poor Mark - does he even want to do this? I wouldn't ... no way .. but he was a trooper and got up on stage with about 8 other guys while we hooted and hollered for him.

...(Now I was beginning to wonder ... was this it? the reason they insisted he sit on the aisle? or did they also somehow plant him to get the role? I mean I knew they were 3 of the most powerful men in all of Hollywood, but just how far did their influence reach? hmmm... I decided to wait and see)...

Mark was fabulous. He did as he was asked with a smile and finesse. I could see he had much of the audience swooning, but was he what they were looking for? Was he too smart to play Keanu Reeves playing Johnny Utah? I feared he might be.

It was obvious that several of the men auditioning (why were there no women?) seemed to be dressed for the part and/or 'acting' just as they saw Keanu do in the film, which may or may not have been an advantage (a question 'real' actors struggle with in auditions too - so I'm told).

In the end, Mark did not win the role. If it were cast solely on who had the best butt, he would have won. Ditto on charm, good looks, sharp dressing and blushing ability. But this is Hollywood, my friends, and that large man in the middle with a drink in his hand and a booming voice outshone our boy... this time.

I don't think Mark was disappointed one bit. As a matter of fact, he looked quite relieved as he once again returned to the end of our aisle amid our hooting and hollering. I was v. proud of him. That is not an easy thing to do at all. Let me reiterate here - I would not do that. (I hope this discourages any rogue surprise planners ...)

I was v. glad that the boys had not set him up for any more than this and I think M. feels the same. I also think he was a little flattered that they wanted him to be the star and had confidence that he could do it. Awww. Friends. So cute.

The show began and we all laughed a lot, but none more than Kyle who was the only one in the group who had previously seen the show. It was a riot looking over at him in his green rain poncho cracking up. Brian was stealthy at getting the beer while the show was going on and I for one, never ran out - a talent to be sure . (Thank you Brian!)

Although I had never seen the movie, I think I was able to follow the 'plot'. Regardless, much hillarity ensued, water was splashed and dumped on the audience, though we stayed relatively dry and I could tell the actors and audience were having a blast.

When it was over, we hung out on the great roof deck for a bit before heading to Blockbuster - yes, that's right - someone decided it was a good idea to now sit through the movie version ... I watched for all of 5 minutes until I could no longer bear Keanu's voice and Swayzee's mullet - perhaps another time.
All in all, a fine night in the city of Angels. Ain't nothin' like being out on the town with 4 hot men. Word.

a unique welcome back to Zurich

After a rip-roaring time in LA and SF, I arrived back in Zurich on Saturday and promptly fell into a deep sleep as soon as we got back to the apartment. I had been traveling for about 20 hours and hadn't sleep a wink.

Being the ever so supportive husband that he is, Mark joined me for the nap. We awoke about 6 hours later, scrounged in the refrigerator for some snacks and decided we were ready for another nap.

Just as I was about to climb into bed I spied the largest spider I have ever seen (save for the huge ones in my mother's barn) close up, on the inside of the curtain v. near my side of the bed. Not wanting to alarm my husband - who is not afraid of much, but does not love spiders - I calmly called his attention to the beast and offered to 'take care of it'.

He cautioned me not to be too hasty as this may be some sort of jumping or flying spider that could get really pissed off and somehow attack us if we did not succeed in killing it on the first attempt. (I think he was confusing this behavior with a wasp or bee, but kept my mouth shut).

He left the room and came back with one of his size 12 flip flops in hand and proceeded to stand at a safe distance and watch the non-moving arachnid. Reminding him of the time he put an end to a snake that was freaking me out in our yard and how much I appreciated that and how I would like to return the favor, I gently pried his fingers from the shoe and killed the sucker.

I disposed of the body, rinsed the shoe off and washed my hands thoroughly. When I returned to the bedroom, the window was closed though it was quite warm. Good move, M. - better to be a little hot than eaten by a giant spider.

Tragedy averted.
Welcome home
and a fine how-do-you-do.

(note: objects in photos appear MUCH smaller than than truly are/were)

it's time for another diversion

I realize that it's been quite some time since I have offered/provided a little distraction for your day and am here to remedy that:




submit your own or just go and browse, it'll easily kill some time...