snow? are you sure?

once again, the weather forecast seems to have had no effect on road planning in Geneva. it started just around 4. tiny flakes. nothing to be scared of. except that when i got onto my bus at 4.30pm, it was a bit stronger. still, nothing serious, really. until it turned out that it was the time everyone had chosen to leave work. the UN agencies probably issued a weather warning, like other companies had. with the direct consequence of gridlock. and over an hour later, we'd barely moved 2km. in the end, it took me over 2 hours to get home.

the scream

i was talking to my sister on skype yesterday, updating her on the weekend we'd spent together, and i'd just told her how it seemed my father was probably staying with his girlfriend after all when, suddenly, she screamed. logically, i knew that the thought that had just flashed through my head - that she'd been shot - was impossible. but that's the kind of scream i heard, and it was damn scary.

as it happened, she was apparently also chatting with my father while we were talking, and upon hearing my news, she must have asked him what it was all about, seen as the last thing she'd heard was that C. was still moving out as soon as her flat had a roof, to which my father had apparently rolled out one of his asinine comments, which made my sister so mad. i totally get it. that's why i refuse to discuss it further with him. and considering her reaction, i think she should do the same.

forecast snow

it's amazing. all week, they've been saying it would snow all day on Saturday. clearly, no one thought it actually would. i'd got home sometime before 1am the previous night but the skies were crystal clear, and when i woke up at 9am, what was falling was very light. but it was staying. i decided it was safer to change the wheels there and then instead of waiting for the afternoon. and i'm so glad i did! i wouldn't have lasted 2 seconds out there.

when i eventually headed out, it was chaos on the streets. people were driving at 20kph and the roads were damn slippery. i normally barely feel that with my snow tyres but there were a couple of times when i was a little unhappy. no road had been cleared, and once in actual Geneva, it looked like they'd only just thought about it, despite it being well past noon. they were scores of cars left on the roadsides, especially on the hills. there were also several buses taking up lots of space (they're now all 18-metre long bendy buses). a whole street was closed as they tried to free some of them. it took me nearly 40 mns to get to the station, which was really long considering how few cars were actually on the roads. getting back was only marginally faster, but i was so glad i didn't have to go out that evening!

raclette!

despite having grown up here, i only discovered raclette (a molten cheese dish) a few years ago at Mr. J's. and i fell in love. so when L. invited me to a raclette dinner at her place, i was completely up for it! and it was great, but i ate loads more than the 7 slices planned. probably double that. oops. oh well, it's not like i eat it every day. more like once a year.

boardgame

apart from dealing with the fixtures, my father also complained about how much stuff i didn't throw out. look who's talking, i said! he wanted me to find a new home for the board games. when was i ever gonna use them? well, as it turned out, we took one out that very evening. the Denmark Game. i don't think either of us had played it in nearly 20 years. one of the things about the game is that you need to know a lot about Denmark, which i used to, as we played quite regularly, but 20 years on, i honestly couldn't answer most of the questions. but neither that nor all the bad luck cards i'd drawn stopped me from winning, though, thanks to some great strategy. but honestly, it was great fun.

cooking

while dad was dealing with the DIY, i got on with the project we'd actually planned, namely cooking Christmas 'doughnuts' - for lack of a better description - called aebleskiver in Danish - 'apple slices' (there are no apples in them anymore).

several years ago, i got the proper frying pan needed for these, but i didn't get an egg whisk until a few months ago and then it wasn't really time to make them. it might still be a tad early but at least it's cold outside and Christmas is not far off. so once the dough had risen and it was all ready to go, i turned on my cooker and hoped it would work. the pan is, after all, cast-iron and full of round-shaped holes, meaning the electric heat doesn't spread evenly - i'd always had a gas stove in the past.

despite having washed it prior to using it, it was still its first time on a stove so i guess that's why it smelled so strongly. this will presumably not happen again. it didn't stop the doughnuts from turning out just as they should and being pretty much the right taste (my mistake with the lemon rind grinding). even A., who doesn't really like desserts, had not just seconds but thirds!

home improvement

my father came for a 4-day visit, which was really nice. a tad unnecessary, considering i saw him in July, August and September, and will see him again in a month - i do wish he would time it better - but very enjoyable nonetheless.

i don't know if it was the length of time that did it, but on Saturday morning, he said he'd rather fix up the place than go to Ikea. he meant put up those bathroom cabinets and those lampshades in the corridor ceiling. he couldn't understand why i still hadn't got around to it. well, one reason was the lack of power drill. that was solved when he gave me an old one over the summer. the second problem was that i wasn't too happy about drilling in the tiles (bathroom). the ceiling posed another problem altogether, as i was quite worried about accidentally drilling through some wiring.

and frankly, i'd lived this long without it all being tip-top that i didn't really notice anymore. but dad had apparently had enough and off he went to get the right drilling bits and screws, before doing it all in no time. and yes, it definitely does look nicer!

autumn

i've probably already posted with this title through the years (nearly 6!), but nothing else would really do it, so it stays.

after a very cold ending October, November has started off brilliantly with plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures. on Thursday, i was lucky in that a student cancelled her lesson at the last minute, leaving me to spend an hour sitting on a bench in the sunshine, reading my book. it was really great. had she cancelled earlier, i would have spent that time in the office...

this morning i had to wake up early cos i had a physio appointment at 9am. this meant that i was early on the market so that i decided i had time for a long walk. i drove up to my old village and headed for the path we used to take with my sister and father. then, as i came to the fork that led into the woods, i thought 'why not?'. the ground was covered with leaves and i felt like a kid. for an hour, i totally forgot about the day-to-day stuff and was able to just let go. it was really great. and all around me, the smell of humid soil and dead leaves. i love that smell. next to freshly mowed lawn, it's got to be one of my favourites. it so reminds me of my childhood.

The Life of Fish

as i hadn't seen M. and S. for a while, i suggested meeting up. S. was going to this independent movie festival thing and so we all went. i must admit i wasn't too interested: the title (above) wasn't inspiring, nor had the review really done it for me, but i was spending time with friends.

at first, i couldn't get into the movie, but as things eventually developed in the story, i realised i really liked it. the actors were really good: most of the acting was in their eyes and the silences between them, which is quite a feat.

after the movie, we got to ask the director - a 30-something Chilean guy - questions, which was quite interesting. it was funny cos he was clearly quite a shy person, but as the questions kept coming, he warmed up to the subject and you could really see how happy he was about the movie.