Swiss Halloween

We had such a great Halloween! I love Halloween; it is one of my favorite holidays (if not my favorite -  Christmas is pretty great, too, so it's a toss up). I was thinking I would really miss Halloween this year being so far from American tradition but we were able to do so many things I was thinking we'd miss out on.

Sam got pink eye (see how puffy and goopy his eyes are below?) in both eyes and double ear infection just before Halloween. I took him to a doctor (who I thought was entirely inept) and got him eye drops and he started to get better. The poor guy was so sick...

But, despite not feeling well, we made some wonderful Halloween sugar cookies...

HOW I GOT KICKED OUT OF THE PUMPKIN FARM:

The day before Halloween, Sam and I walked to a pumpkin farm that was about a mile from our house. I was so excited that I'd actually found a place with carving pumpkins because I love to go to pumpkin patches and was really missing visiting them.

When I got to the farm, we went in to the little store and asked the ornery lady at the counter if she had any carving pumpkins. I asked her about six times in French and she acted like she didn't understand me. I finally realized I should stop trying; she was just being rude and unhelpful and I was making a fool of myself gesticulating and pointing and making carving motions while saying "courge" over and over (pumpkin). Finally, she showed us where the pumpkins were and we bought one and a few other vegetables they were selling and went outside. I was taking pictures of Sam running around with the pumpkins in view since I have pictures from our pumpkin patch visits each year of his life and didn't want to miss my chance to have some for this year.

The ornery lady from the counter kept flitting in and out of the store nervously and just staring at us. I double checked the hours on the sign and saw that the market was open for another few hours and we were the only ones there. She seemed very unhappy we were sticking around so I slowly started making my way towards the exit. 

There were some tractors, which Sam was thrilled about so I took this picture of him with them.

And when I took this picture of Sam, the woman started walking toward me. She looked very disgruntled and pointed to my camera and said something in French. I (embarrassingly) thought she was asking if I wanted her to take a picture of Sammy and I together and I tried to hand her the camera and said that I really appreciated it and would love a picture. When I tried to put the camera in her hands, she frowned and shook her head and then I realized I was an idiot. I asked if she was telling me NOT to take pictures and she nodded yes and pointed for me to leave. 

So, we got kicked out of the pumpkin farm for taking pictures of the pumpkins. I was embarrassed; it was awkward. I know the woman knew what Halloween was; she had decorated with witches and scarecrows and such so it wasn't that she had no idea the significance of pumpkins in relation to Halloween. I now know that quite a few of the Swiss don't like foreigners, especially that don't speak French and I found one of these outside-fearers at the sweet little pumpkin farm. It's too bad - I would have gone back. The gruyere I bought there was the best I ate the entire trip.

But despite my awkward experience with the pumpkin farm lady, we had a great time carving the pumpkin that night when Don came home. Sam said he wanted to carve "Satine", the black cat that belonged to the lady we lived with. 

So, we set to work...

And here is Satine!

On Halloween, I had my friend, Monica, and her sweet kiddos over for lunch. They invited us to go trick-or-treating with them at their apartment complex and came and picked us up so we could be with them! Halloween is not a celebrated Swiss holiday so I felt so lucky that Monica's apartment complex decided to have trick-or-treating for the kids. I was so excited (far more so than Sam) and although I didn't have a costume for Sam (and he refused to wear the costume Monica brought out for him), we had such a great time! We picked up Don on the way home and began making our way from apartment building to apartment building.

Don and Sam with Daniel, Sarah, and Gabriel. I think that this was the door where the man rushed out in a mask and scared the pants off poor little Sammy (and me and Monica too!) Sam recovered pretty quickly (which surprised both Don and I - the man was really scary!) and was happy to get more candy at the other doors.

After the trick-or-treating, Monica bought us some some pumpkin soup served in coffee cups. It was delicious!

While Sam wasn't a big fan of the trick or treating, he did love the candy! And so did we! It was really fun to get to sample so many types of Swiss candy. Also, a lot of the candy was just loose and unwrapped. I guess kids haven't started getting razor blades in cookies in Switzerland yet (thank goodness). It reminded me of being a kid getting homemade treats and other random unwrapped candies. 

And along the Halloween lines, here is Satine the cat with one of her birds she's brought in to crunch on. The first night we got to Switzerland, Don stepped in a pile of mouse guts in the dark hallway. It then became nearly a daily occurrence to end up with mouse or bird liver on your sock... or squish a large intestine as you made a middle of the night bathroom trip. Often, I would just find a pile of feathers and two little dried out bird legs with the feet curled up. 

According to Val, Satine was leaving us presents because she liked us. I would have liked her more if I wasn't constantly cleaning up guts. Ugh. 

The worst was the night I took the picture above: Don and I had just sat down with Sammy to dinner. We were eating our salads when we heard a terrible crunching noise. I looked behind me and there was Satine crunching through the neck of this enormous mouse. She then proceeded to fling the mouse's body around and blood was flying everywhere. Don finally scooped up Satine and the bloody, decapitated mouse and took her outside. Wow. We both couldn't eat for a long time. Sam was fascinated with the whole thing. 

Often Satine and Tcho Tcho (the reclusive male cat) would corner a mouse and catch it and let it go and catch it and let it go. They would tease the poor thing for hours and then leave it's body lying around. More than once, we saved a poor mouse who was trapped by the cats.

Sam loved the cats but I am glad he doesn't talk about them now that we are home. Living with them for three months cured me for life.

It was really cold in our house - all the time. Don and I would wear several pairs of pants, multiple sweaters, wool socks, slippers, and I'd even taken to wearing a beanie around the house sometimes because it was so cold. The heat just didn't work well and the huge windows let in so much cold air. Don swore the house wasn't insulated at all. 

We all slept with two down comforters apiece and I slept with my head completely under the covers and two pairs of socks, pants, and two shirts on every night. We were sick a lot as a result. Don and I would often huddle in bed and watch a movie on the laptop at night because we were desperate to get warm. And it was really bone bitingly humid cold outside and since we had no car, we spent hours walking in the rain and damp. 

So, here is a normal Sunday. Sam was sick so he'd stayed home with Don while I'd gone to church (Sam was sick about half of the Sundays we were there). I came home and found the huddling together under a blanket to stay warm.

We occasionally made a fire to stay warm and that was lovely! 

A classic Sam moment. Napping with Brewster (his doggy) in one hand and his hammer in the other.

Sammy in a field

Sam loved running around the fields next to us, especially on days when the sun would come out just before sunset (which often happened on wet, rainy days). Here are a few pictures of Sam out in the field that make me happy.

We had a big horse chestnut tree in front of the house. Sam helped Val collect all the shiny brown chestnuts so she could use them in centerpieces. 

Walk in Morges

Morges is such a beautiful town. Here are a few pictures of a sunny fall day Sam and I spent walking around the town and the lakefront (Lake Geneva).

Here is the town center. Everything is so crisp, clean, and manicured. 

Mount Blanc is the snowy mountain in the middle.

I just wanted to show how perfectly cared for the grass and flower beds are. The Swiss really know how to keep things tidy.

One Friday afternoon, Val took us to St. Sulpice, a beautiful lakeside town between Morges and Lausanne. We played at the playground, fed the ducks Sam's pretzels, and enjoyed the sun.

The teeter-totter was awesome. Sam loved it!

Fantastic Fall!

I wanted to share a bunch of pictures of our Swiss Fall. These are pictures independent of our weekend trips; more just everyday life type pictures. But everyday life in Switzlerand was so different than my everyday life at home so I wanted to record some of the details.

Our friends, Elodie and Fabio let Sam borrow this push car. One morning, Sam and I decided to go on a walk and he wanted to bring the push car. It had rained a lot the night before and the ground was muddy. I thought we'd walk maybe a half mile and head home but Sam wanted to walk by the farm that is on the road above our house. The farm belongs to a school for the handicapped and they have horses, goats, and lots of tractors. 

Off-roading with the push car. The wheels were caked with 2 inches of mud all the way around by the time we got home.

When we arrived at the farm, there were lots of people out and about in the area around the barn and farmhouse. I didn't feel comfortable just ducking under the fence to go see the horses and not being sure what cultural norms were, I stood on the side of the parking lot with Sam watching one man try to teach another how to drive a tractor for about 10 minutes. One of the older handicapped men came over to talk to me. I, of course, couldn't actually communicate with him since my French is so lacking. We did manage to joke around a little and I asked him (in French! I was proud) if I could go and show Sam the horses. He told me sure so we went over to see them.

Sam said later that he didn't like the horses because they, "look at me, mom." I guess the long stares made him nervous. Funny. 

After we looked at the horses, we went over to ask if we could look at the three big tractors they had. A short man with the most muscular calves I've ever seen was showing another man how to start the tractors. Sam and I watched until they were done. Then, I went over and asked the man if we could look at the tractors. He excitedly agreed and then began talking furiously to me in French with lots of lively gestures. I eventually cut in (after trying to get a word in edgewise for a long time) and told him I didn't speak French (the only thing I could say in French at the time that was always understood). He said that I did speak a little and then continued to chatter on.

He talked to Sammy and I for about a half hour - non-stop. I understood that he was telling us all about how he could drive a motorcycle and he eagerly showed us his license and told us all about how fast he could go, etc. Then, he talked about the tractors and lifted up the hood to show us the engine. Sam was afraid of him but fascinated at the same time. It was obvious that he was high functioning but had some kind of mental disability and was so, so proud of his tractor driving, which he should have been. After watching him try to teach someone else how to start the tractors, it was clear how complicated it was.

After he told us all about the tractors, I finally got a chance to tell him my name (one of my practiced French phrases). He didn't understand me so I tried again...and again. Finally, I asked what his name was and then he knew what I was saying originally. It made me feel completely useless that I couldn't even tell someone my name in French! That is the most basic phrase! But, he told me his name was Stefan and gave me three big kisses on either cheek (very Swiss - the French give two kisses). I was shocked since the Swiss are usually quite distant and you only give kisses to close friends. Then, he said he had to go eat lunch and wrapped his arms around me and gave me a huge, very long hug. He was so short, that his head was right at chest level and he smooshed his face right between my breasts. I figured that I didn't mind giving a hug and some joy to this sweet handicapped man, so I hugged him right back. Then, he went skipping away to his lunch. It was such a friendly and affectionate interaction and after having so many unfriendly and unwelcoming interactions with Swiss people throughout the rest of the trip, I love that Stefan gave me "bisous" (kisses) and a big hug.

On the way home from the farm, Sam loaded up his pushcar with a collection of sticks (a favorite activity. He's a collector of all things - rocks, sticks, dirt, etc.)

There is a park that still lives on as the favorite part of Switzerland for Sam. In fact, he still invites his preschool teachers and friends to go to the "Steamroller park" with him. We went there several times a week - in the rain, in the snow, in the mud... Nothing could stop us!

There is an old steamroller that they've made a part of the park. Sam loved it so much and it was hard to get him to leave it. Finally, I figured out that if he put the steamroller to bed, he was able to say goodbye without too many tears. He would put on it's pajamas, brush it's teeth, give it a binky, read it a story, say a prayer, read it another story, talk about his day, and sing two songs (our normal and ridiculously long bedtime routine). So funny.

This was the coolest playground toy ever (also at the steamroller park)! It is a bike merry-go-round of sorts. You sit on the bikes and pedal around the track. You can get going really fast. Sam (and Don, especially. A bike merry go round!!!) loved it.

There were some woods close by and one Saturday, Sam and Don walked there and played in the creek.

I love this picture of Sam. So happy standing in the creek washing his monster boots off. Man, were we glad we bought him the rain boots before going. They were worn constantly as it was always wet and muddy. 

On one of our afternoon walks, the sun was setting and it made for some fantastic alpen glow across the lake.

Sam loved these tree stumps in the backyard. We spent a lot of time jumping on and off them and playing games there.

Silly Sammy.

A little more of the beautiful alpen glow; a daily occurrence.

There was an apple orchard right out our front door and the neighbor let us use as many apples as we liked. We would often just eat them straight off the tree or cut them up and put them on our salads. One day, Sam and I made a beautiful homemade apple pie with them and took it to share with Don's colleague, Gregoire, and his girlfriend Julie. Once the neighbor and his helpers had picked all the apples, Sam loved watching the tractor stack, load, and drive the crates of apples away. We saw the very apples from our neighbor's trees for sale at our grocery store. The Swiss are committed to supporting their local farmers and eating locally. The food is so fresh and high quality; we loved it so much even though it was so expensive!