A Rainy Day

Today it really only rained once and that was enough. It was just "pissing" down, I can't find any other words for it. I took the photo at the supermarket this morning just outside the entrance. At least I do not have to give the garden any water this evening. I have two very unsatisfied cats that do not like getting wet in the rain.
"Did you say something" I asked my big fat Nera cat
"Leave me alone" she says "don't bother me, hisss".
Tabby, her litter sister is just ignoring me. She spent most of the day outside on a chair where it was sheltered but now she is occupying a cushion at the top of the cupboard next to Nera.

So what can we do on a day like this. Not very much, but here is something I made for yesterday's evening meal.

At the back on the left we have an apple cake (Äpfelchueche). Take a shallow baking dish and line it with flaky pastry - you can buy it already rolled out. Then prod the pastry with a fork. Take 3-4 apples according to their size, peel them, cut them in half and remove the middle bits where the pips are, also the stalks. Then cut the apple in slices and cover the pastry it with it. Put in a heated oven (about 180° C) for about twenty minutes to get the crust slightly brown. In the meanwhile put 2 eggs and milk making about half a liter liquid with some sugar in a jug and mix with the electric mixer or a whisk until liquidised and then take the apple cake out of the oven and pour the liquid over it. Put back in the oven and bake until the milk-egg mixture is solid. Take out of oven, sprinkle with sugar and some cinnamon if liked and the Äpfelchueche is finished. You can also make the same using plums or apricots.

Now for the cheesecake (Chäschueche). Again line a shallow baking dish with bought rolled out flaky pastry. Prod the pastry with a fork. Grate about 200-250 grammes of cheese (I use Greyerzer, but you can use any cheese you like, even cheddar - it just has to be a hard cheese) and cover the base of the pastry with the cheese. Then mix 1-2 Tablespoons of flour with the cheese. Put 2-3 eggs, and milk in a jug (to make enough liquid to cover the cheese) and add some pepper - I usually put pepper from the pepper mill in it. Then mix with the electric mixer or whisk. Pour over the cheese-flour mixture and bake in the oven at 180° until brown on top - usually about 30 minutes.

The apple cake is eaten cold and the cheese cake warm. In Switzerland we usually make a soup to be eaten with the cheese one and the apple is eaten afterwards. You can also eat the apple with some whipped cream. If anything is not clear with these typical Swiss evening meal things, then ask. It is a bit of a custom in Switzerland that Friday is the day to eat this sort of thing. I think it goes back to the days when Switzerland was quite catholic and no meat was eaten on Fridays.

Otherwise I have not got a lot to say today. I just stayed indoors and played with my computer and some photos. Thursday evening was interesting. We had another one of our first aid evenings. The husband of one of my colleagues had chopped his thumb off sawing wood. It was all very realistic with a chopped of thumb and lots of red colouring material.

We had to look after a complaining husband and make sure the thumb was securely put in a plastic bag in a second bag containing ice to get it to the hospital to have it sewn back again. Then my friends daughter cut her leg open with some wire which we looked after and eventually her son managed to drive a nail through his foot. Quite an interesting evening. We finished the evening off with plum cake and coffee.

So that is the Saturday report from a rainy Switzerland. My cats are not available to say a few words, they are still sulking and so am I as West Ham United, my football club, lost 3:2 to West Bromwich Albion (one of those clubs from up North somewhere in England). Here is a photo of my wet pampas grass in the garden.

MULTIPLY I dare you: The highest tower in Solothurn

The only towers where I live are in the near bye town of Solothurn and belong to the old historic buildings. The highest tower I know of in Solothurn is that in our St. Urs cathederal. It is usually open during the day and I once made the effort to climb to the top. If you look at the photo you can see people standing on the iron balcony high up on the tower.

Original Size

The way to the top is not exactly comfortable. First of all there is a spiral stone stair case.

After a while the stone changes to wood and the staircase goes through part of the belfry. If you happen to be unlucky the bells will start ringing as you walk past which can be slightly deafening.

The final steps are also wooden and very narrow. I was wearing high heeled shoes with a rather long point at the front, not the ideal shoes for climbing this tower.

Eventually I arrived at the top to be rewarded with a view over a town and its river, the Aare

as well as the old arsenal which is now used as a museum for armory

and looking towards North we have the first chain of the seven chains of the Jura Mountains

That is our highest tower in town. Some of the larger towns in Switzerland do have higher towers, such as Zürich or Bern, but Solothurn is a small market town, one of the oldest towns in Switzerland.

I Dare You...

I'm Still Alive

Well you must admit if we Swiss do something, then we do it properly. I mean what country builds a circular tunnel measuring 27 kilometers, under one of its largest towns, in our case Geneva, Now why do we, or better said, our scientists, build a tunnel stretching along the French border and meeting again in Geneva. It is not an act of revenge for the super Phoenix atomic power stations that France has built near the Swiss border, which does give you a funny feeling hoping they will never explode or have a slight accident as happened in Tschernobyl some years ago. No, our scientists are clever and it seems bored. The tunnel has been built to send atoms on a journey through it and it was switched on today, despite a few warnings, but I am still here so nothing has happened up to now. The actual fun starts in October when atoms will be sent clockwise and anticlockwise through the tunnel at the same time and our super scientists hope that the atoms will meet, the problem being that when atoms meet they do not combine and shake hands and have a sort of atom party. No, they split showing their insides. Wasn't the atom bomb created by splitting an atom? or perhaps that is a misunderstanding on my side. There is even a video sponsored by CERN, the association responsible for playtime in West Switzerland.

So what is the aim of this new toy. The Swiss have decided to find out how the solar system came into being. Throw away your books on this theme, they will be written anew, if we are still here to read them at the end of October. Some scientists not involved in the project have a strange feeling that this little experiment which cost billions (not millions) of Swiss Francs, could mean the end to our civilisation as we know it, even to the world, as they fear the a black hole could be created and we would fall into it. Personally I just find it a waste of money. There was an interview on the tv yesterday with the scientists in charge, a man and a lady. Sorry, but I think they just want to set a memorial for themselves, only what good it will be and where they will put it I don't know, especially if our world does turn into a black vacuum. But let us not worry about such trivial things. I am sure it will all turn out ok in the end.

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And now for something completely different. One of my neighbours lives on the second floor in an apartment building next to mine. We often exchange books to read, as she is a fan of english books and she promised she would call me when she has a good view of the alps from her balcony. This week we had the ideal weather so I was invited. I would also add she is one of the only neighbours I know that makes a perfect pot of English style tea. I took a few photos, but this was about the best I could get. They are still quite a distance, about 200 kilometers, so I had to use the zoom. The mountain on the left is the Finsterahorn and the two on the right are the Eiger and afterward the Mönch. We often spent our Summer holidays in Grindelwald and once we had a holiday apartment opposite the Eiger. We made many walks in the area and eventually I got to know all the peaks in the Bernese Overland.

My husband promised to go out this evening, but is already back. I think he said something about wanting to watch the football match Switzerland v Luxembourg for the world cup qualifications, so guess what I will be doing this evening. See you all some time later this week.

MULTIPLY Pictures to Words: Week 6 Movement: The Walkway

Pauline did not like flying. She always felt so uncomfortable knowing that there was so much distance between her feet and the earth’s surface below. There was just a carpet, some metal, the luggage area and again metal and then so much empty space until the ground came up and hit the plane when they landed. She was on the return flight from London to Zürich, going home again, so at least when the plane eventually touched down it was a matter of 2 hours until she again sat in her own four walls telling her husband and children about the wonderful days she had spent in London.

She would have preferred an excursion by train to Paris. Today the distance was just a matter of hours with the special fast trains. Bern-Paris was reduced to five hours the countryside shooting past forming a blurred picture, but the village first aid society had decided the annual journey this year was to be London as the club had now been in existence for twenty-five years and something special could be organised.

Her best friend, Mary had all sorts of ideas for the visit. A visit to the Medical history section of the science museum in London was planned, as well as the natural history museum where they saw the giant bone constructions of the prehistoric monsters that once roamed the earth. Of course the Black Museum at Scotland Yard where the Metropolitan police of London had their headquarters was also included showing some memorabilia of the various murder crimes committed in the past. Their hotel was in the West End of London so a theatre visit was made as well as many shopping expeditions and tours to the various sites of London. The journey was enjoyable and now she was sitting next to Mary on the plane on the return journey. She managed to survive the journey to London by occupying herself reading the various tourist books that had been organised. Now, on the return journey she decided to distract herself by going through the photos she had made on her digital camera and studying her fellow passengers.

Precautions were now quite heavy at the airport. You were no longer allowed to take any fluids with you on a journey, they could be explosives. The terrorists were up to every trick in the book. Your handbag was x-rayed and she also found that the luggage was also closely examined. She was one of the passengers whose case was selected for a random search, although she had nothing to hide. The only purchases she had made in England were presents for her family. Her son was looking forward to his original football shirt from his favourite club and her husband had given a list of music she should bring with various English music groups he like listening to.

“Mary, those men over there looks a bit suspicious.” She said pointing to two men dressed in the national clothes of their country, probably Arabs.
“Pauline, stop worrying, seeing a terrorist behind every person who looks different will not help you or me to relax. We live in a small village, but if we lived in one of the large towns such as Zürich you would see people like that every day.”
“Well, if you say so. Did you see the Israelis on the other side of the plane. Now and again they stand up and pray. They have even kept their large black hats on and have such curly hair. I hope a fight does not start.”
Mary had to laugh to herself. Pauline was always a bit on the anxious side, although when it came to acting in emergencies in her capacity as a first aid assistant, she was one of the best. She remained calm and was a great help.
“We are now landing Pauline so you can relax, as soon as the wheels touch the ground we will be safe and you can forget your ideas about other passengers on the plane and what could happen. Just give me your hand and you will be fine.”
Pauline did not like to tell Mary that worse than being in the air was the landing. The planes always seemed to hit the runway with such a bump that all her bones were shaken. She looked out of the window and saw the ground coming nearer at a terrific speed. She decided to close her eyes, cross her fingers and hope for the best.

She and Mary and her other colleagues were soon walking to the luggage claim at the airport. There was one of those long walkways in front of them. Christine, Margot, Jill and Joyce showed her the way. They said it went much quicker than walking at the side. Pauline was glad as she still felt a bit shaky on her feet.
“Just give me your hand again” said Mary “you can steady yourself on me. You do seem a bit pale. We landed at the dock furthest away from the airport building so the walkway is a bit longer than the usual one.

Pauline was surprised. It seemed the walkway was a never ending length.
“Well we will leave you now” said Christine and Margot “we have decided to walk the rest on our own. Look after yourself Pauline, we will see you one day again and they disappeared in the opposite direction. Indeed it seemed they were suddenly surrounded by darkness.”
“Where have they gone?” Pauline asked Mary
“They have taken another path” said Mary.
“But it seems so dark in the direction they are walking? Answered Pauline “although if you concentrate you can see a bright light in the distance.”
Suddenly it was Jill and Joyce that were walking alongside Pauline.
“Where is Mary” asked Pauline “she was holding my hand and suddenly she disappeared.”
“I think she has gone in the same direction as Christine and Margot, but don’t worry, you will see her again sometime later. Just stay on the walkway Pauline and you will soon return to your family. We will stay with you” and the three women stayed on the walkway together, Pauline, Jill and Joyce. Pauline was suddenly blinded by a bright light.

“So again”, a voice said” but his time stronger, “we must bring her back.”
Pauline felt a massive spasm go through her body. It reminded her of the time when her hairdryer broke and the wires fused together. “Just like an electric shock” she thought and the bright light gave way and she saw a figure standing next to her dressed in white. “Now why dressed in white? Airport personnel usually wear blue uniforms” and things seemed strange.

“She’s back” a voice said in the distance coming from the direction of the figure dressed in white. “What’s her name. It must be on her passport and flight ticket. Pauline, Pauline can you hear me just be calm, you are in hospital.”

She heard a voices saying “Goodbye Pauline, we will meet again one day” it was Mary, Christine and Margot, and then everything went black again. The next thing she remembered was holding her husband’s hand. She was laying in a hospital bed and he was sitting next to her.
“What happened? where am I?”
“Mary, just keep calm. We are so glad to have you. Some of your friends did not come through when the plane crashed.”
“John”, she said to her husband “please tell me the truth”
“The plane you were in went over the runway at the airport, the brakes were faulty and it crashed into the forest at the side of the runway. A fire broke out. The rescue staff was quickly at the scene. You and Mary were catapulted out of the aircraft and you were both holding hands.”
John had to pause, wiping the tears from his eyes. The only survivors from your group were yourself, Jill and Joyce. We thought we had lost you, but the doctors brought you back and made your heart start beating again.

Pictures to Words

MULTIPLY Writers Block #46: The Fortune Cookie

Pamela was so happy. Today was the day when they had their annual dinner and dance and Dr. Johnson had promised her the first dance. She had put her best red dress on, the one with the bows making a row down the front. Her mother had even bought her the silver shoes she saw in an order catalogue. She could not do any shopping herself as she easily got lost in town. She was forgetful and had problems with money so she left that sort of thing to her mother or her sister. Now Pamela was almost ready; just a touch of lipstick and some eye makeup and she would be the belle of the ball. Well that was what mother always said. Her mother would not be there, the celebration was reserved for Pamela and her friends, together with the doctors and nurses.

Everything in the canteen had been decorated with colourful paper strips hanging from the ceiling. There was a cocktail bar arranged in the corner. Of course, not real cocktails, but the drinks were pretty, some blue, some green, red and orange and you could drink what you wanted to, although Nurse Janet told Pamela she could only drink one or two as the sugar in them was not good for her. Nurse Janet was always telling Pamela what she could and could not do. Nurse Janet just spoilt everything, so Pamela decided to ignore her when she could.

The food was great. There was lots of crispy chicken piled up on plates, fried potatoes and corn on the cob, as well as tomato ketchup to go with it if you wanted it. Pamela loved putting ketchup on everything, she decided red was her favourite colour. She was not very happy about where she was sitting. That stupid Bobby Smith sat down next to her.
“Is this place available” he asked.
She just wanted to tell him it was reserved when Nurse Janet was standing there.
“Of course you can sit there Bobby, I am sure Pamela does not mind such a nice gentleman sitting next to her.”
Pamela was annoyed. She was looking for Doctor Johnson, but he had not yet arrived. If he had already been there she was sure he would have sat next to her.

The main course was served and now ice cream arrived for all. Pamela loved ice cream, but she did not like the way Bobby was eating it.
“Be careful Bobby, its melting and dripping all down the spoon onto your clothes.”
“No problem” he laughed that silly laugh he had and took the paper serviette to clean it away.
Pamela looked away from him and saw Dr. Johnson entering the room. She laughed and waved at him. He looked in her direction and then Nurse Janet went over to him and took his arm to lead him to an empty chair.

“Typical Nurse Janet” she thought. “Why does she always interfere and now she is talking to him and taking his attention away from me.”

Pamela decided to do something about this and walked over to Dr. Johnson.
“Hello Dr. Johnson”

“Why Hello Pamela you are looking particularly attractive this evening with your lovely red dress and makeup. A real lady you are.”
“Dr. Johnson the music is starting and you promised the first dance.”
“Of course I did Pamela, but first of all I want to try one of these fortune cookies. You know what it says. They will tell you how your future will be. Take one as well Pamela and see what it says.”
“Oh yes, Pamela, you must try it” said Nurse Janet, “I will have one as well.”
“So Ladies” said Dr. Johnson, “what do your fortune cookies say?”
“Well mine says “Romance comes into your life this year in a very unusual sort of way” and Nurse Janet smiled at Dr. Johnson and he smiled back. Pamela was annoyed especially when their eyes met. It was as if what the fortune cookie said was something private between the doctor and the nurse.

“So tell us what yours says Pamela” asked Dr. Johnson.
When Pamela took the paper out of her cookie it said “The smart thing to do is to start trusting your intuition.”
“What does that mean” she asked Dr. Johnson, but Nurse Janet butted in and explained that Pamela should do what she knows must be done.
Pamela listened very carefully, repeated the words twice as she had been told when she did not quite understand everything she should let it go through her head until she did. She decided that it was a good thought to have.
Now it was Dr. Johnson’s turn to open his fortune cookie. Pamela was so excited as she was sure it would be the answer to her dreams.
It said “Say I love you and mean it, you can’t do that enough.”
“Well I never” he said and looked at Nurse Janet deep into her eyes. “I think that is what we have been waiting for Janet.”
“I think so too, Bob. My fortune cookie told me that romance came to me this year and that is so true”
Pamela was shocked, she could hardly keep herself under control. Dr. Johnson and Nurse Janet spoke to each other with their first names.
It was then that Doctor Johnson stood up and tapped on his glass to call order.
“I am glad that everyone is enjoying the annual dance this year. I would just like to make an announcement. You all know our Nurse Janet and what a jewel she is helping us all. Well I too have found her to be a treasure and my fortune cookie agrees as well. Janet you know I love you, I can’t tell you that enough. That is what the fortune cookies says and I am sure you will be glad to hear that our Nurse Janet has accepted my proposal and will marry me next week.”
Pamela was heartbroken and she left the room choking back the tears. Since she had been in the clinic for the mentally handicapped, she had never met anyone that she cared for as much as Dr. Johnson. “And now because of a stupid fortune cookie he had told everyone he would be marrying that witch Nurse Janet.”
It was then that Pamela remembered the words on her fortune cookie. That night after everyone had retired to bed she sneaked out of her room, still wearing her lovely red dress, down the corridor to Dr. Johnson’s surgery. She could hear voices. When she opened the door they were both standing there with their arms around each other, Dr. Johnson and Nurse Janet.

Pamela was put into a special prison for the handicapped. The charge of murder could not be brought against someone that was mentally handicapped. It was rather a brutal killing. She had taken a heavy glass paperweight from Dr. Johnson’s desk and hit both the doctor and nurse Janet on the head with it. She was glad that she had worn her red dress. She did not want to look as grubby as stupid Bobby Smith after eating ice cream and after all, red was her favourite colour. She gave as her defence the words on her fortune cookie “The smart thing to do is to start trusting your intuition”.

Writers Block, Challenge #46