Saturday, May 8, 2010 'Time' on our Hands :-)

(Sandra) I am writing this blog backwards since this is easier for me to remember. If you would like to read this from beginning to end, start at the bottom. Karannina is doing the dishes, having fun with water - making interesting 'drinks'. We have had access to dish washers in a few places of accommodation, but have never made use of them. We wash all the dishes by hand. We just finished a late meal of leftovers, pasta and, of course 3 different kinds of local Swiss cheeses. We enjoyed Skyping Dieter's folks and are hoping that my mother will be available to Skype. Prior to the late meal we hiked up to a tower ruins. It was interesting to see this structure and we wondered about its history. The environment was beautiful - tall trees of numerous kinds, foiliage and flowers. Karannina used her pocket knife scissor to cut a few wild flowers for a mother's day arrangment. Alexander found some fishing line which he cut using his pocket knife and used this to make a bow and arrow. Prior to the hike we each ate an apple in the car, talking about the museum we had just spent the last 3 hours in. The International Time Museum was 'timely' :) Time has taken on a different meaning now. Measuring time according to the sun, moon, and seasons has changed to measuring the speed of the atom. We learned about mechanical and battery operated, quartz clocks, about decorator clocks from the last few centuries, and about the tools that clock makers use. The audioguides were helpful to explain many of the displays. Prior to this we enjoyed a doner kabob and falafal sandwich. Hunger developed while we walked the Samedi open market in La Chaux de Fonds. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the fresh produce, breads, and other unique items for sale. We purchased unique sweets: a delicious thick walnut syrup wrapped in sugar pastry gateau, homemade caramels, and numerous biscuits: cannelle (cinnamon), amaretti, marzipan, Speculoos, cocoa, hazelnut, and citron. I'd like to try to replicate a few of these back home. Prior to this we had a breakfast of muesli, bread and jams, and of course milk. We enjoyed the marvelous sunshine for most of the day. This is unique since all the other days have been cool and rainy.
There is the day in reverse.