Tuesday 28 October 2008

Welcome Guillaume!

Name: Guillaume Alban
Born: 28 October 2008 at 1.56am

Weight: 2.230kg
Height: 46cm



So here he is at last..our little treasure.......

Sunday 19 October 2008

Autumn in the Alps


Today was one of those days where the clear blue skies and still air begged you to take a ride up into the mountains, however it's not easy to find a walk with stunning views which is suitable for someone 38 weeks pregnant and should not really walk 1) far, and 2) vertically.



Ignoring common sense, we made our way out and up into the Massif des Brasses, only a 40 minute ride away. The Brasses is a small collection of 'grassy knolls' on the edge of the Vallee Verte, topping out at the Pointe des Brasses at over 1500m altitude. We stopped at La Joux, right at the southernmost tip of the range. The views are awesome, with 'ole familiar' (Mont Blanc) front and centre. Autumn was gloriously creeping down the hillsides too towards picturesque villages down in the valleys below.


The walk was easy too, and for those of you worried, Vero took her time which was fine by me as we stopped often to absorb the scenery. Short but very very sweet, especially considering the fact that it was probably our last chance for a long while to do such a thing together... next time we will have a little someone else with us :-)



Friday 17 October 2008

What's around the corner?


So after the customary blog hiatus (this time a good 2 months), here's some latest news from life in the nothing-y bit between a big lake and some big hills.



The imminent arrival of our first child (better known as 'Stumpy') has pretty much occupied things, and opportunities to go somewhere which is not a shop selling baby related goods have been limited. The worst being endless attempts to find the cot...but we got there in the end. But hang on, what about Sundays...surely we have made the most of those as the shops are shut (thankfully). Oh.. sorting out the all the stuff we buy on Saturdays and arranging the baby's room has filled those up. Not really 'photo opportunities',


However, since our last update we have had a couple of trips to Ruy (the garden in Ruy was looking excellent by the way so some pics are included), the first of which was spent going car boot sale crazy. We grabbed several bargains for Stumpy so we are not complaining. We have also had a couple of Sunday visits from friends and family which is also a nice way to spend the day - always a good excuse to cook some nice food and buy some even nicer cheese!


Despite our busy weekends, there is always an hour or so free where we can escape either up the Saleve or into the Swiss countryside near our home (already well photographed and documented). I also got the chance for an evening cruise on the lake with work which was a nice way to chill out (if you don't know which lake its the big one just north of where we live).





As for the region, its slowly turning from summer to autumn, the weather has been fairly calm without being spectacularly hot, the vines have been harvested, the chestnuts and mushrooms have been ravaged by chestnut and mushroom crazy frogs and yes, those amazing autumn colours we witnessed last year are once again starting to appear. There was even some snow in them hills a couple of weeks ago...



Stumpy (we promise to stop calling the baby that when he or she has a real name), is due to arrive sometime the week after next, so hopefully this weekend, weather permitting, we will have a last stroll in the countryside (not too far from a maternity ward). Vero is now on leave so she is enjoying her last few days of relaxation before the fun really begins.

So, life changing times are indeed around the corner. The arrival of the little one will bring a whole new dimension (or two) which we are really looking forward to. For those of you who know us really well, you will realise it has been a long struggle to get here and we will truly regard our new family member as our own little miracle....