The rest of the photos from our day in Montreux back in May.
I took the first four while Vilay took the remaining photos.
Montreux, Switzerland (part 1)
Montreux, Switzerland
In May, we went to Montreux, Switzerland. I kept forgetting to post about it. I don’t know how I could have forgotten when it is so beautiful there.
Just beautiful.
More photos to come.
Vilay’s post about our visit to Montreux.
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Slave play
A boy my children were playing with today wanted to pretend others were slaves. I was hanging the wash out and heard him. Fire went through me and I went to my children and told them if they pretended to be slaves or the masters of slaves they would have to go inside. I would not support it.
I told them that no man or woman should be a slave and it is not for playtime. I told them that no man or woman should be owned by another man or woman. I told them that slaves couldn’t leave their masters, they had no rights, a slave’s children were sold to other people and the slave didn’t have any say in it, a slave was treated as if they weren’t human…
BUT, they were and are human.
Perhaps, I am overreacting?
However, I can not stand by and let my children play a game of pretend slavery.
I can’t.
Too many men and women have died because of slavery.
It is not a game.
In plus, it exists today…In this “modern” world, we can still find slavery.
Slavery is very REAL.
I can not tolerate it in any form.
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Life in a small village in the Jura
…is SUPER calm.
Vilay (my husband) took the following photos while I was cooking and cleaning at home. ;)
The Jura is the youngest canton of Switzerland.
I see rabbits in these cages around our village. My only question is what do they do with the rabbits at the end of summer? Do they raise them to eat them? I don’t see any other reason.
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Wild berry scare
My three youngest children ate some wild berries today.
I didn’t know about it.
I had no idea what kind of plant this is.
I have told them a zillion and one times to never eat any plant, berry or lost candies they find outside.
They clearly didn’t listen.
Vilay called the poison center in Zurich which said that they would most likely have started vomiting after a few hours if it had been poisonous.
I asked someone that lives near us and they told me the berries were harmless and would turn red when they were ripe.
Whew.
I decided to teach my children a lesson.
I told my kids that the woman I asked thought that the berries were the good ones but if they instead were the bad ones (that look almost the same) we would know by tomorrow.
How?
Because their eyes would have fallen out and only a doctor could put them back in. It would be very, very, very painful.
I am an evil mother.
Good thing is that my six year old was scared enough by her eyes falling out that she actually listened to me explain why you can’t eat plants or berries that grow wild outdoors. Afterwards, I did tell her that I fibbed so that she would be scared.
She told me she was really scared by the thought of her eyes falling out. She, also, told me that she was sorry that she had scared me.
That was the understatement of the year.
I was terrified by the thought of three of my four kids being harmed at the same time without my being able to do anything to stop it.
I asked what they would do to punish their children if their children had not listened to them and ate wild berries. They told me that they would send them to their room and not let them play outside for a long time. So, I sent them to their rooms and they are not allowed to play outside for a week.
Lesson learned…I pray.
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Life in the slow lane
My two youngest girls are off with their class in the mountains today. They left a little after eight this morning and won’t come back until after almost six tonight. They were so excited to go.
All the mothers watched the children get on the train with their teachers. The children looked so big and so happy.
I prepared their picnic lunch this morning. I made peanut butter sandwiches using the bread I had baked last night. Of course, the sandwiches will be the best ever because they were made with all my ‘Mama love’.
Or so they tell me. :)
I am looking forward to hearing all about their day when they get back.
For dinner, I am preparing a cassoulet because I know they will be hungry. It is the first time I have made this from scratch.
The smell from it cooking is filling the entire apartment. It is divine and I haven’t even added the meat yet.
Vilay and I are trying to pay close attention to what we spend on food. I am cooking almost everything from scratch. Truely, from scratch…As in I make as much as I can using basic ingredients.
I am even making my own egg noodles now.
I am dreaming of a pasta machine so that I can make my own.
My goal is to eat as little as possible from the box. Any box.
Why?
Even if we live in Switzerland, we are not rich.
In no way whatsoever.
So, I am looking to the days of my great-grandmother for inspiration.
I want to give my family the best while spending the least. Luckily, home cooked meals are far more tasty and healthy while being cheaper than anything else.
It isn’t hard to cook or bake from scratch.
Most of the time it only takes a little more time while other times it takes a lot more time.
However, it is worth it.
Every time.
The things I make from scratch taste so much better than what you buy at the grocery.
I was afraid to cook from scratch before because I thought it was hard. Now, I understand that it isn’t hard and it gets easier and easier the more you do it.
You begin to understand how everything works together in a recipe.
I think that in the past I was afraid to slow down and look at my life.
Afraid to break from the mainstream thinking.
Afraid to step out of the safety of the box that I had created for myself.
Today, it is all about breaking the rules.
It is about living my life.
For me.
For my family.
It is about going back to the things that matter and the things that are good for us.
…Like making meals from scratch.
When I cook I relax.
It isn’t work.
It is an art.
I am creating.
I take my time and I grow as a cook, a baker and more importantly, a person.
I am making my life and not relying on a box filled solution.
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Making homemade bread
When I want bread for sandwiches, I have to buy it from the grocery.
In Switzerland, it is expensive.
I found myself searching for a way to make bread at home to save some money.
Today, I found a recipe and I made some bread.
I.
Made.
Bread.
Ha!
Is that cool, or what?
I made TWO loaves!
I am excited that I am able to make homemade bread for my family! It tastes so much better than what you buy at the store.
Recipe I used:
Homemade bread recipe found on The Simple Dollar
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Le Mont-Crosin
We ended up at Mont-Crosin during our walk on Saturday. The view is spectacular to say the least.
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Horse country – Jura, Switzerland
There is a wild west theme throughout the Jura that I find amusing. Yet, there are times I wonder if I am not truly living in the west rather than Switzerland.
We were almost to our village when we were passed by a man riding a horse. My six year old started giggling.
She asked me with a huge smile across her face, “Did you see that man on that horse? He looks like he is a cowboy in a movie.”
I glanced back to get a better look.
It was true.
He had on jeans with a button down plaid shirt.
He had on a black cowboy hat and boots.
If that wasn’t enough cowboy for us…
He held a long blade of grass in one hand that was hanging out of his mouth as he chewed on it.
“Yee Haw Cowboy.”, I whispered to my daughter so as the real cowboy that had ridden by couldn’t hear.
Very loudly.
She yelled, “YEE HAW COWBOY!”
Our cowboy turned and grinned at her.
I should have known better than to have said anything at all.
You can thank her for my not taking a photo of the cowboy. ;)
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The beauty of Saturday
We walked over four hours today (mostly up the mountain). It was hotter outside than we used to so the walk was not an easy one.
What it was…
It was completely beautiful.
Here’s a peak.
