It's Spring Again

And about time too. After Winter threw its last snow showers sometime during February, it gave up and left, although there were some remains in the shape of temperatures below 0°C during the night and white frost covers on the grass in the early morning. Now the time has come to think about enjoying warmer temperatures outside. Even Fluffy our blind feline makes the most of the spring weather.

The trees have been cut ready for the new outgrowth and there are even signs of crocus in the lawn. I was surprised because this lawn is completely new and only arrived last year some time in summer. The solid was renewed but it seems that the crocus bulbs retreated to a secret place as if to say “you won’t kill us off that easy” and they have returned in their full glory. 

In the bottom lefthand corner you see the top part of one of our patio chairs. Of course there is a table and four other chairs to match, as well as two sunbed chairs. You never know, I might even dare to show my shoulders and legs to the sun, in the hope that their usual shades of Mediterranean brown will return.

Today was the first day of the year that we ventured to eat lunch outside in the fresh air. OK, I managed to find a knitted jacket, my son was wearing a pullover and Mr. Swiss was wearing long sleeves. It was a simple plain lunch of veal breast slices in a cream sauce and saffran noodles and I must admit that the noodles were not the usual fresh from the saucepan warm temperature, but who cares. We survived and we did it all outside.

I am now writing this memorable blog outside in the full sunshine whilst Mr. Swiss is playing with his iPhone. I am in a dilemma. shall I lower the sunshade which would mean blocking out the ultra violet rays of this memorable day, or shall I continue to squint my eyes against the glare. I think I will continue squinting. The days are not long enough up to now for an eternal sun glare and due to my enlarged nose I avoid sunglasses. It turns my nose into something resembling a snowman carrot nose.

Yes, the golden sun is slowly sinking into the West, and our neighbour opposite is preparing her vegetable patch for Summer and probably installing protection from the four legged felines that invade from time to time. She does not like felines, she hates felines, and would probably organise a shot gun if it were not for the fact that I am an outdoor person and permanently have her under observation. 

And here another prize winning photo of the first crocus in the garden, complete with bee waving to us all and being proud to appear on my blog.

How to keep cool in the warmer weather

When I moved over to Switzerland from England I didn't really expect that life would be full of fish and chips and yorkshire pudding as I was going to a different country - so I decided when in Rome do as the Romans do. However there are certain things I have never got used to. I took the photo yesterday from the office window, and as can be seen it is a warm sunny day. I feel honoured to have such a nice view from my office window, nature pure and sun and fresh air.

We also had warm sunny days in the East End of London. Obviously the view was not the same, but the sun was there and reflecting from the concrete buildings and pavements, it could get quite hot. We had windows to let the light in, with curtains to draw in the evening. In Switzerland we have blinds on all the windows, also perhaps curtains, although my curtains are at a minimum. When I was at home my mum would open the windows to let some fresh air in and also leave the door open to let the fresh air circulate. Perhaps it is Switzerland, or perhaps modern discoveries, but I quickly had to learn that here if your open a window then definitely not when the sun is shining. This can cause the heat to collect indoors and it will get too warm. The door must be shut as if you open the window and the door is open there is a draught and draughts must be avoided at all times.

This was the beginning of my training to keep temperatures under control indoors. So the general picture is that when it is a hot summers day, the windows are kept closed and the blinds that we have are kept drawn. This keeps the inside of the house cool. I must admit there is some sense in this, but I just don't enjoy sitting indoors with the electric light on during the day. I would mention that in the kitchen at home, the room where most of our existence takes place, the windows are open as they lead into the garden. So generally in Summer I am either in the kitchen or out on the porch.

This state of affairs is carried on in the work place, especially if it is an office.

My colleague in the office is not practicing his daily gymnastics but is helping to keep our office cool on a summer day. We have windows in the roof of the office and on a sunny day the sun shines through and disturbs the computer screen views, so I have been told. I myself have no problem. My screen is always clear and I have never noticed a reflection, probably my eyesight is accustomed to normal daylight. However, as soon as a ray of sun shines through the window in the roof the blinds have to be closed. Yes, even our windows in the roof have blinds. We even have special instruments for closing these blinds. Not an easy job as can be seen, but with practice the blinds are closed. The next step is also to shut the blinds on the widows which can be seen in the background. I would add that this operation is only performed in the afternoon as in the mornings the sun is on the Eastern side - these windows look towards West.

So there we have the perfect Swiss office in the afternoon, all windows closed so that no hot air enters and complete darkness as the blinds are down. The next step is to turn artificial lighting on. This has been one of my biggest problems living where I am now. I suppose I grew up at a time where light and sun were considered as being good for you, and a draught was not a draught but fresh air. I would add that the house I grew up in went through two world wars and there was no door in it that fitted into the frame, probably due to the vibrations from the bombing and the fact that the house was built in 1884 and had shifted a bit on its foundations.

I don't even have health problems due to growing up in a permanent draught and being singed by the sun. Am I a bit strange in these views?

The Sun rose

I arrived at work as usual started getting psychologically ready for the day ahead with the thought at the back of my head "Thanks goodness it is Friday". The telephone rang and me colleague in the accounts department said it was now time for me to come and see her - at 07.30 in the morning. I knew what laid ahead of me so took my camera out of my handbag and went into the accounts department.

On the side of the company where I work we only get full sun in the afternoon and sunsets which I have photographed many times. On the side of the company where the accounts and IT departments are, you get a rising sun in the morning.

My colleagues in the accounts said they would could me if the sun showed up in the morning and this morning it was there, So here it is, my sunrise over Bellach (the village where I work).

I had to open the window wide, which was not very popular so early in the morning, especially as the temperatures were under 0°C and wedged myself between a cupboard and the window to keep steady, otherwise the photos get a bit shaky.

When I returned to my department, export, everyone wanted to see the result(s). As usual I took about 5 photos to be sure.

Otherwise a normal Friday, nothing special happened. A trip to the food temple at lunch time for the week-end shopping and smooth run through the afternoon. My colleague, whose mother has the farm with the cats, told me the two kittens are doing fine and yet another female cat was making advances towards Diego, the stud cat. It seems Diego was willing and the next kittens will probably be arriving in 3 momths time, so it looks like another kitten blog.

So with a view of the sunset from my department I will come to a close.