The Old and the Restless

Ella was watching Mommy drive off in the car with Joshua. After lunch we all went for a walk. Margot pushed Ella. Joshua pushed his lawnmower. Still working on videos. This one combines two separate takes. Note the transition (fade) in the middle. Joshua was busy working on a puzzle while he and Margot were singing. He clearly likes the end of this song.

Brandon is working hard trying to help Alicia wash her hands. This is my first successful effort at putting a video on the Blog. It involved an evening of learning how to cut and rotate. Due to the intense concentration, I didn't notice that the carrots for supper were burning.   As far I remember what was happening here, Alicia had been playing with the toothpaste and Brandon was trying to clean her up. As soon as he washed her hands, however, she thought she would try it again.

On our final day we took a walk around Wavre, the small town where Bryn and Herve's new house is located. It has about 100 houses total and is located between Lake Neuchatel and Lake Bienne on the west side of the canal joining them. The first range of the Jura is less than 1 km west of the village. The approach to the town. In the distance to the north is Lake Biel/Bienne. To the east of the town are orchards and vegetable gardens. This house and those that follow are all on the one main street (Grand Rue). Some houses have a conservatory added on. The older houses often have a converted stable attached to them. The village elementary school. The old manor house which has extensive stables.  It's always busy at the stables with jitneys ... ..horses being taken out on the streets and byways for exercise .... ... and horses taking turns in the automatic "exerciser". The cages would rotate the opposite way after a while. Brandon and Alicia like to visit the horses at th...

Brandon walking in the rain with Alicia (who is holding piglet). There is no school on Wednesday afternoons in Switzerland. Brandon and I rode our bikes 8 km to Le Landeron again. Brandon says this was his favourite playground when he was younger when Grandpa used to bicycle there with him. It looks as if Brandon still enjoys the playground, although he will like it more when the ice cream store near the playground opens for the summer!

On Sunday we were invited to celebrate Alicia and her cousins' birthdays at their house in Saules. Cousins Tidji and Gregory have birthdays around the same time. Alicia takes Piglet with her everywhere. For her birthday she was given an extra large Piglet. Cousins playing- Yolan and Tidji with Brandon hiding. Zoraima and Robert in the kitchen. Note the skirt! Just before dinner. This house used to belong to Zoraima and Hervé's grandfather. Zoraima has shown a flair for decorating in the renovations she has done. Getting readyto blow out the candles. Tidji (8) Gregory (12) and Alicia (2). Brandon is there just in case Alicia needs help Brother and sister checking photos. Mahé, 3 years old. Zoraima and Robert checking the photos. Zoraima and Hervé's mother, Gisele. When Bryn went to Neuchatel Junior College, she lived with Gisele and Jean-Louis in Saules, just up the road from where Zoraima and Robert are now living. I copied this photo of Bryn from Zoraima's Blo...

About 3 km from Le Landeron in German Switzerland is the town of Erlach. The old part of the city is interesting because it is on the steep point of a hill/mountain. After going through the gates and climbing up the cobblestone hill, one is reminded of the children's game - ¨I'm the king of the castle and you're the dirty rascal¨. Just before cycling into town. Above Paul is the (Alt Stadt) old part of the town. Resting after pushing the bike up the steep cobblestone hill (mountain). View from the Alt Stadt (old city), Erlach across Lake Biel to the French side of the lake. There is still snow on the Chasseral. It took us an hour to get to Erlach (only 9 km) but two hours to return. There was a little confusion as to which road to take, the one that went up the next mountain or the one that went around. After trying the first, we then did the second. Perhaps next time we can get it right.

Spring comes quickly in Switzerland (at least in the valleys). On Thursday, as we were skiing again at La Vue des Alpes, the warm wind came over the pass. The good news is that all of the snow in the valley where Bryn and Hervé's new house is located melted in one day. The bad news is that skiing in the wind leads to a "bad hair day". Hmmm. Maybe there's something to be said for wearing a helmet (or using hair spray) to keep the hair down in the wind! On Friday morning, Sandra and Alicia walk down the hill to the canal. As we descended the hill, it became warm quite quickly. Here are our "little angels" resting on a stone picnic table. Grandpa already has his hat off as the day warms up in the sunshine. Everyone ditched clothes into the stroller (out of sight) as it became quite warm. Alicia walked down the hill to the village of Le Thielle where we found the hotel we had stayed in during our 1985 trip to Europe. The walk down into town took nearly an hour ...

La Vue des Alpes is at the crest of a pass between Neuchatel and La Chaux des Fonds. We took this pass many times during our summer trips to Switzerland - but never saw the Alps from it. However, in winter when the air is dry and clear, one can see the Alps in a 100 km panorama. About 10 years ago, the ever efficient Swiss constructed a tunnel between Neuchatel and La Chaux des Fonds (the Swiss watch making centre) to spare commuters the need to climb up the snowy pass when travelling between the two cities. Today, only tourists (and students learning to ski) mount the pass for the spectacular view. During the mornings, the slopes were almost empty. During the afternoons, groups of one to two dozen children (from the age of less than five up it seems) follow the instructors down the slope. One day, I saw a twenty-something woman lying flat on the slope surrounded by two "girl friends". Down the slope rushed a young boy no more than 5 or 6 who skate stopped in front of her and...