Ok so the whole point of a blog is to keep it up to date...so not having put anything on in 2008 will not win me the blogger of the year award or best original screenblog at this years blogscars.
Any so whats new or 'quoi de neuf' as the locals say. OK so the main reason for not blogging is our free time has been kind of limited. During the week after commuting to and from work (its a 42 hour week here) and then cooking dinner and winding down we cannot usually be bothered to work on the computer - however tonight I am making a bit of an effort so be grateful... Mainly because thanks to a combination of some creative planning, working on the train, a short cut through a back alley, a short sprint and the number 9 bus I can now get up half an hour later and get home before 7pm when I work in Lausanne and therefore I am not so tired...whoopeee
Weekends have been pretty 'routine' in that we tend to do the same thing each weekend - shopping for things for the flat, looking at cars (well not yet but soon) and generally putting things right in our new home. We have little opportunity to get out and about. We did take a nice trip on the train last month - to Ikea....more shopping (groan). We did not even buy anything because we went to a Swiss Ikea near Morges. The 1 franc hot dogs and Swedish meatballs were nice nonethelessAnyway the flat is making good progress. The kitchen was fitted in the 4th week of January and looks very nice too. Unfortunately the washing machine and oven arrived damaged and we are still waiting on replacements (vive la France).
The electrician also managed to muff up the lighting too and still has not come back either. Anyway this Thursday an Ikea delivery should arrive including most of our new furniture - sofa and dinner table being the highlights. Don't worry we have a power screwdriver!
The next thing is to find a car to fill our double garage - new or used is the question on our minds right now. We are favouring new then its a case of which model. To be honest we cannot wait to be mobile again - just in time for Spring so we can start to explore some of the amazing mountains. They are really nice to admire from afar (as we have on many occasions) but we would like to get up close and personal fairly soon.
Saying that we (or Vero) found a really nice walk nearby through Ville la Grand to a plateau where you have vineyards and a 360 degree view of the Alps (including a front row seat for Mont Blanc) and the Jura - we have done it twice, the second time when we had Vero's parents and brother up for the day.
I did manage to lose my snow virginity last week with a company outing for a snowshoe walk in the Jura on the Plateau de la Givrine. It was a night thing so we were all equipped with frontal lamps and the snow was soft and about 50cm deep so it was quite an experience. Then we all ended up at the refuge afterwards for a nice fondue to cap the night off.
Since then the weather has been sunny and mild so the snow is disappearing from the lower slopes for now. The clear skies do make for some beautiful views though - especially from my office in Lausanne where I can see the Chablais, some of the Valaisian Alps and the Bernese pre-Alps. I must take the camera to work one day before it all melts again.
Anyway this weekend we are having a well-earned rest escaping back to good old Ruy for the first time since Christmas - whether I can prise myself away from the much-awaited new sofa this weekend remains to be seen. Can I take it with me??
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