What a wonderful visit

I had a wonderful 6 weeks with my Daughter Psycho monkey.
She arrived on time and tired. She showed me her My space.

For the first week we had a daughter/mother week. Shopping, nails and hair... Plus Starbucks.. She got me hooked








Sadly her and my perm didnt stay. Hers fell out in 2 days so I wont go back. For those who live around Zürich don't have your hair permed at the place in Sihl City Mall.

She came around the Euro-Soccer Champ... So She and I cheered for Switzerland with other fans.




We stood at the Train station watching the big screen tv from a crowded street. This woman seem to have the best seat out there.
We were having fun then it rained... Psycho was still having fun dancing in the rain and the crowd left leaving us a TV all to ourselves. We were drenched in this icy rain
Sadly Swiss Loss...

By the time we walked to where the trains were being re-routed Psycho's lips were turning blue



We took her to france and I haven't uploaded all the pictures but there are some of her first weeks on my space. And a few more on Wulfgar's page

Wulfgar had his first beach trip and swam with Psycho in the cold English channel on the french side..
Here is her freezing as she tries to cheer him on..


We went to a famous road in France that is covered by the sea except for 2 times a day.


We surprised her and took her to Hollan as we visited some members of my WOW guild




I was trying to feed her icecream

We took her to Munich Germany where I once lived and visited some friends of mine. It was Christopher Street day



The biggest fun we had was exploring Benglen and the mossy fern gully. We even discovered a new one
Toward the end I was wishing I had more time to spend with her.

Psycho wearing a traditional Bavarian Dress. Mine actually before the CLT
Here she is trying Rösti a swiss delicacy.


I have more pictures and videos I will upload later...

Hello from Switzerland- part 2: The move

Munich day 1-
So Jan 7th came fast... It was 8 am and time for the movers to arrive. I had coffee and cookies set out and was ready....


When they arrived they didn't speak English (My German is very bad) and we were told they would speak English.

Fire had to go clean out his desk from the Munich office so I was to be alone supervising the Movers...

I was upset at first but quickly was calm and relaxed as these three guys were the nicest you could meet...

They clowned around like the three stooges and helped me laugh saying "Kien Panik." (Don't panic)

and there really wasn't a language barrier, sign language my bad German and one could understand but not speak English a bit and soon we were laughing while packing the stuff...

I can't say enough good things about these three.... Though the one guy caused so much stress from this company the movers made sure I was relaxed and not stressed....

So the video the morning of the move:

By the time Fire got home they had packed a lot

Videos of the packing:











Munich day 2-

2nd day Fire and I got up to greet the men as we packed the last remaining stuff...

(the night before) I had Shelob ready to go with me (My Tarantula) and the Fish were transfered to a smaller aquarium...

We piled up the trash to the side (unwanted furniture and old stuff that would not be moving with us)

by mid-afternoon my place was empty... Now for the apartment in Munich our contract said we could officially move and not pay rent for 3 months after we gave notice... So we officially would have until the end of Feb to give them the keys and make sure the apartment was clean from old furniture, painted, nails from the wall removed and so on...

However, they wanted to renovate it and told us we didn't have to paint also coming back to clean after the move was causing stress so we agreed that the painter (who also cleaned and took unwanted furniture away) would do it and the cost would be remove from our downpayment...

Now 9 years ago when we moved in, this apartment was dirty, it had a 20 year old stove that didn't work, a bathroom from the 50ties that looked dirty no matter how much you clean, the walls were dirty and not painted, the floor in the bathroom and kitchen were old and would not clean ... Right after we moved in the heaters went down and we had to pay half to fix it though it had broke because it was old and they only replaced a part not the whole damn thing

The windows were not insulated so they were drafty and our heating cost were high (always) not to mention that because of that and living right next to a tram I had Dust Bunnies the size of Bears if I didn't Vacuum every day...

After 9 years of living there the only thing I and Fire did to the place was put lots of nails in the walls for my pictures, which with some putty and paint you would never had known... otherwise it was as it was 9 years when we moved in....
Even still, since they would have to clean up from the move (us tracking mud in and out etc... and remove the nails from the walls) I told Fire if they wanted to keep the Downpayment we should let them have it because it would only be fair. (though we would still have to pay for Feb even though we weren't there)

So the man came with the painter to get the keys as the movers were moving the last thing out and to evaluate the apartment... They new that it wouldn't be clean because we had movers there and I didn't have time to scrub and clean under a refrigerator that has been sitting there in this spot ... I did manage to vacuum up the dust bunnies....


He was upset because in 9 years we never painted the walls. When he said "You didn't take care of the apartment"

I went off!!!

He says the apartment wasn't clean...

(coffee spilled on the counter from us having coffee during the move, mud tracked in and out etc... you know common mess caused by moving )


They knew this!!! It was agreed on the phone they would clean it and take it out of our downpayment!!!!

He said you didn't paint it ever.... Then the rest of his complaints were about things that were like that when we move

What the hell did he want us to do renovate it ourselves without cost to them

Then I found out that they just took over the place a few years ago from the original owner...
Who buys a place without even looking at it first???

They have never come to check the apartment, the only time we saw anyone for the apartment was once a year when they send someone to change the heater gauges to say what we owe for heating...


The Bastard shrunk when I went off ... I lived in that Hell hole that by alrights would by US standard have been a slum house and made it cozy and made my self sick trying to clean something that wouldn't be clean ...

Long short.... They kept the downpayment in it's entirety to pay for the clean up and trash removal (remember this is old cloths and furniture)
and we were marked down as officially moved and wouldn't have to pay for Feb

The apartment I am in now is different, Munich Apart- a one page contract with the exception of no pets, and we have to pay rent for 3 months after notice didn't have any disclosed agreement---

This one has a 9 page on what they have to do and what we have to do and we have 14 days to report anything that is not working or messed up

They did a check list so when we move they have a list and pictures of what wasn't new in the apartment etc...

So after the headache we gave them the keys and waved a glad farewell to the old apartment... I cried (it was a hell hole and I hated it but it was 9 years of my life)

Munich to Benglen (Zürich)-
We then in a rented car began our travel with 10 fish and one tarantula to Benglen Switzerland

As we were driving a rain bow appeared, it was strange... not curved but it went straight down from the heavens over the mountains in the direction of our new home...

My camera videos and pictures sadly don't do this rainbow justice...

My first blog was called: Through the Storms to the Horizon

This picture summarized how I have always seen my life, as one long journey... It was almost as if someone was saying here lies happier and better times...

Here is the videos and the pictures not only of the rainbow but of us driving to our new home

Austria border:


Swiss Border:



Fire and I slept for the first night in our new apartment Jan 8th in sleeping bags on the floor.
The next mourning we waited for the movers to arrive with our things
Benglen: day 1-

Instead of climbing stairs they took a different approach:

All in one day they moved me in, assembled my furniture (bed, Desks dressers and wardrobe, china cabinet) while I unpacked my first boxes.... Which if you guessed on the Poll was my Kitchen you were right...

More to come....

Novy's move was done by:

(more videos later)

--- meme---

I found this meme from : gautami tripathy
I had to do it:

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

Any Shakespeare, because with Dyslexia he is hard to read...

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

Winnie the Pooh and friends for hunny and tea

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can't die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it's past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

Oh Well I would never read a boring book because I would never want to die

Come on, we've all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you've read, when in fact you've been nowhere near it?

Hm.... here we are at Shakespeare again

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realize when you read a review about it/go to 'reread' it that you haven't? Which book?

I have never had this happen

You've been appointed Book adviser to a VIP (who's not a big reader). What's the first book you'd recommend and why? (if you feel like you'd have to know the person, go ahead of personalize the VIP)

Well it would depend but I often choose a book according to a person... but also what (s)he hasn't read that I have. I once suggested Tom Sawyer and Huck finn to a German who had never read it but was visiting the Mississippi

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?

Around the world in 80 days and 20 thou legs under the sea (originally in French)

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?

The Hobbit and Winnie the Pooh

Maybe also Charlotte's web

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What's one bookish thing you 'discovered' from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?

Well gautami tripathy has made so many nice suggestions that I hope to get my hands on

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she's granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favorite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.

Oh it is in my dream house (I actually used Sims 2 to build it some years ago)

Anyway... 2 story house but the library would take up both the floors, the book shelves would tower over you up two stories... Old fashion ladders that slide around, a spiral stair case that goes to a small reading area

A fire place and chairs beside it

Leather books old books new books

Classics modern

My dad was a book collector and he loved books I love the smell of old books

As for tagging I wasn't tag so I won't tag anyone...

Let's get moving

Okay so Fire and I had a disagreement yesterday... It seems we do not see eye to eye about the moving...

I have always packed my boxes, used a black marker to identify what goes where and then unpack my boxes.

I am quite efficient really....

Well, Fire's job pays for a moving company to move us... Fire wants to sit back and let them pack move and unpack....

Okay, I wanted to make sure everything was clean and free of dust before it goes... So I normally wash dry pack, wash dry pack...

Was dry and put back on wall or shelf doesn't work... because it will be dusty before the move...

But the movers have special techniques to ensure a safe move of all items...

I called them today and this is how it went...

You state on your website that you move pets, does this include fish and aquariums

they answer hmmm usually it means cats and dogs but yes Fish is possible I have to check to see if transportation is available.

I have some things I would like to pack myself, do you provide packing material?

Yes we do and you can supervise our team when they are packing your things as well as unpacking

(what? I get to sit back have a glass of ice tea and be the boss... coooooooool)

They also clean the apartment after they move your things as well as take the unwanted furniture and junk away to the trash

So what the heck... I made an appointment ... One of their surveyors will come and help survey what is to be moved and all and then bring me some boxes....

and now it begins......

Goodbye Munich, Germany

Hello Zürich, Switzerland...

Here at the home front, Fire's job has been in question since the Swiss took over GE. He knows he and others have a job until 2009 but then some will go while others stay.

However Swiss has offered Fire a job in Zürich, effective Jan 2008. After long consideration between we decided he should take it...

In the long run I think it is the better choice.. There were many Pros few Cons...

One Pro is that I will finally get a bigger Apartment... So in the next 2 months I will be preparing to move from Munich my home for 9 years on Sept 29th 2007 to Zürich Switzerland....


I am scared, I will have to leave behind two best friends but we have said we will plan trips back and forth....

I will try to keep everyone updated but right now there is a lot of chaos...
We have so much to do before the 2 months are up...
Talk to our bank about transfer everything
transfer our medical records..
find an apartment
.....