Wasting time productively…

I had gone into town to try and locate a present for my older grandson this afternoon. That involved sending a couple of messages to his mother to determine which of the choices would be the best. Poor me, I had to wait about 10 minutes so being just down the street from my favorite chocolate place in the whole wide world, Auer, I thought that the best possible wait to do so would be to go buy some chocolates. We are only mid-December, but the line formed outside (tiny store) lasted 15 minutes.

 

I was grateful to my DIL for not answering right away and the wait was very sweet in the end.

 

Auer chocolate, Geneva, Switzerland

 

Guacamole and chocolate, or…

Be still my beating heart!

Yesterday I was out and about most of the day, running minor errands, accompanying a friend, even had a short walk.

 

Imagine my surprise – and joy – to find a small package on my bed when I finally went upstairs… Auer chocolates are my all-time-favorites. I have even kept a small two-chocolate box that I fill with a chocolate, of any sort, every night: my daily dose. Worth all the pills in the world!

 

Then my younger son was in the kitchen and fixing guacamole – another favorite.

A small portion awaits my pleasure tonight (never mind that I dipped into his last night).

 

Life doesn’t get much better than this, Guacamole and chocolate. OK I could have added champagne, but wasn’t in a drinking mood.

Food, or

One of the things I love about Switzerland

Food is one of life’s majors – not enough and one starves; too much and one becomes slightly or grossly overweight.

Therefore it is obviously of great importance to most of us, if not perhaps the first thing that comes to mind in any given day.

Those who know me, know that I like almost everything and am willing to attempt just about anything else (ok still can’t bring myself to sample insects although as a child I happily consumed chocolate covered ants).

I have had snails: drowned out by the garlic sauce

I have had oysters: slimy and got a bad one the first two times I tried, the third they were great so I stopped there.

I haven’t had frog’s legs but have heard that they simply taste like chicken.

I have had offal and the ones I didn’t know what they were were o.k. The though though has not had me inclined to indulge more.

I have had rabbit and horse meat: again unknowingly – fine at the moment, but I do avoid if there are other choices.

Haven’t met a cheese I didn’t like and although most wines are decent I now only drink those that I really like.

The past few days though have been rather a hodge podge of things I really, really like.

Saturday, son two and I had Indian in an Indian restaurant frequented by Indians.

Monday I had something I hadn’t had before: lentil moussaka with goats’ cheese topping.

Tuesday I went to Zurich with a friend and had veal in cream sauce with rösti (a better version of hash browns) and later in the afternoon one of the most decadent slice of chocolate desserts that I have ever had, and believe me I have sampled a few in my lifetime!

Eating gold at Sprungli in Zurich

They even write in the cappuccinos!

Wednesday it was kangaroo cooked on a hot slate, and today it was sushi.

All this and much more is readily available in Switzerland.

We even have decent vegetarian and vegan with more small places springing up.

Within a 5-minute drive I can get Thai, traditional French, gourmet French, pizzas straight out of pizza ovens, fondue and raclette, perch, great beef.

Am I hungry yet – no – lunch was sufficient but later I’ll enjoy perhaps some squash soup, some hummus and celery sticks or fennel.

Life, when it comes to my stomachis very fine indeed!

Gray day, happy incidents

Does it take a gray day to notice or be more aware of the things that lighten a day?

 

Would I have noticed the bright orange leaf, which had gently floated onto my raindrop-splattered car window?   

Or the pretty red squirrel that dashed across the street as I was coming home?

 

Or the fun of the wrapping on my mini chocolate?

If the sun had been shining, perhaps that would have distracted me from noticing those touches of

Lightness: no matter, I did see them and greatly rejoiced in those splashes of color on a gray day.

Throwing out the Chocolate and

Other Easter heresies

I love Easter and, for those of my family and friends who will be shocked at the following statement, I excuse myself in advance: I love Easter weekend more for the fact that it is our longest guaranteed holiday, than for any religious implications.  It is the only holiday where we have four days in a row each and every year: both Good Friday and Easter Monday are official holidays with not only all governmental offices being closed, but also the banks, stores and shops as well.  Should one need something in an emergency there are stores – both at the train station and at the airport that supply groceries, not to mention the smaller kiosks and service stations – or one can go into neighboring France. Not all cantons do this, but I am grateful that ours does – makes for a lovely, quiet weekend.

But I’m not quite as fond of the accompanying plethora of chocolate!

This year I decided (and no it wasn’t a New Year’s resolution) that I would weigh myself the 1^st of each month. January was normal, February and March as well, but although the 1^st of April was the same for some reasons I decided to weigh the next Monday – shock of my life – 2 kilos added! I knew that the dress I had worn last fall had seemed tighter when I wore it to the Opera (thus the second weighing), but I mean – really!  And I didn’t recall having overindulged. So it was, “enough is enough” and let’s start by cutting out the munchies (my downfall is in front of the TV in the evening – enough said).

Ooof, this week was down almost a kilo. But it sure has me reinforcing my second rule: which has been in recent years the tendency to eat and drink only that which I genuinely enjoy. There are so many (to my palate) delicious things that why would I waste calories on the not-so-pleasing ones?  Of course exceptions are made for politeness’s sake.

Bless my friends – in case any of you follow this, my apologies (hmm.. seems like I am saying sorry an awful lot in this blog) – I received several Easter bunnies and other chocolate delicacies recently: I found good homes for most of them (including one friend who was overjoyed to get a bunny as she had bought for her children and every one around her and no one had bought her anything: see re-gifting makes us all happy), I did keep one cute critter so that I would have something (I mean, how can one live in Switzerland and not have chocolate for Easter, I ask you?)

Saved until last night when I returned home from the mountains (where – and probably no one who knows me is going to believe this – I had no chips, no sweets and no alcohol for the entire stay!).

I took the first bite out of an ear; I took the second travelling down the poor creature’s face and then decided: not good enough. One of those things about which I have become ever so fussy: will eat dark chocolate, not white nor milk.

I actually had the strength (or stupidity) to throw it in the trash bin – ah virtue how sweet the feeling.

But I got my comeuppance this morning: went to make my usual lemon, cinnamon, honey and hot water drink (maybe it’s only the placebo effect, but I have had more energy and feel less sluggish since I started this routine: also had no colds!).  Put on the kettle (for those who don’t know this lovely invention it is a recipient usually somewhat in the shape of a tea kettle that has a heating element in the bottom: you plug it in, fill with water, turn on and in less time than it takes to get out your cups, you have boiling water – truly a great invention!). Oh no – no lemon, well never mind cinnamon and honey are better than nothing. Duly filled my cup with the boiling water and started drinking: ooooppppppssss had totally forgotten that I had left vinegar sitting in the kettle during my absence to eliminate the scale…

Good thing that it isn’t poisonous and some people actually do have a spoonful every morning in place of lemon juice, so I have survived.

Penance for the heresies in my life?

And yes, the chocolate bunny is still in the trash bin.