hillary – Page 11 – Across The Water

April 24, 2010April 24, 2010

On Being Crafty

I discovered crafting rather late in life. As I child I hooked a few rugs (does anyone even do that anymore? It seems soooo 70’s), but as I couldn’t draw (and still can’t), other crafts seemed daunting.

In my 20’s my friend showed me how to bead necklaces, and that hooked me. I made jewelry for several years (on and off), until Annie was born. And then after I had taken 3,000 pictures of the girl (really…not an exaggeration), I figured scrapbooking made sense. And I love it! (Well, as those who know me will attest, it is more accurate to say I enjoy scrapbooking but LOVE buying scrapbook supplies. It has something to do with the potential of creating something beautiful, I think.)

And the last couple of years, all those supplies certainly have come in handy! Not many days go by without Annie and I cutting and pasting and coloring. Annie loves my punches that turn paper into fun shapes and of course there is always glitter. Glitter, glitter everywhere! I find it on my skin and clothes and floor and sometimes Markus even gets a bit sparkly after a big hug.

Oddly, and somewhat reminiscent of the 1950’s, scrapbook supplies actually make me feel like a better mom. Annie goes to an English group with 4 other children, and earlier in the year I got mixed up and didn’t realize that it was my turn to organize the class. The organizer usually reads a book and then the children make a craft. We try to have some kind of theme to tie it together. An hour before we were to start, I pulled a snowman book from Annie’s shelfÂ and then openend my craft drawers to get busy. Forms to cut circles in various sizes, googley eyes, coloured construction paper, coloured felt for the scarf, hole punches (in 3 sizes), and voila! Everyone could make a snowman to go with the theme of the day. I went looking for glue sticks for the kids to use and discovered I had 5 of them. 5? There are only 3 people living here…why do I have 1.66 glue sticks per household resident? Because you never know!! And there you go…what a (seemingly) organized andÂ never-let-my-child-down Mama I am!

It was a natural transition from scrapbooking to card making. I remember saying to a friend that I didn’t understand why people made cards, as they didn’t last for years like a scrapbook. But then I sent a few and felt great about doing something so personal forÂ someone I cared about, and of course all the feedback was a good ego boost.

I’m quite excited to have more space for crafting in my new apartment. With 60+ Christmas cards that need to be made for next year, I’d better get cracking!

April 12, 2010April 12, 2010

Plans

Well, it looks like we finally have a plan. It has been a very stressful, very exhausting couple of months waiting to see what path our life would take. I learned a lot about myself through this process. I consider myself someone not only open to change, but someone who craves and needs it. However, when I am faced with so much instability that I don’t even know what continent I will be living on come the next season, apparently I actually stop being able to function. The lack of blog posts the last few weeks is a good testament to that.

So.

Last Friday Markus signed a contract for a lease on a cafe. It is a Testa Rossa Cafe, a successful franchise here in Austria. The location is good, fairly close to the city center. But more importantly, it is surrounded by provincial government buildings. So the crowd will likely be mostly local…not a bad thing in our estimation. It has 40 seats inside and 4o seats outside the first year. In the second year, once renovations to the square in front are complete, another 60 patio seats will be added.

Markus will continue to look for a hotel to operate, but for now he will focus on making this new business work. Our current hotel shuts down at the end of April. It is sad and frustrating that we were never able to come to an arrangement with the building’s owner, but it is also very much time to move on. We are all excited about that.

At the end of April the three of us will move into our new apartment. It is an area called Arzl, which is about 10 minutes drive from Innsbruck’s city center. We are renting one of two apartments in a bright yellow house, so our apartment is actually on three floors. There is a small office on the entry level, the main floor has the kitchen/living area, our bedroom, the main bathroom and a guest half-bathroom. Upstairs is a big room for Annie with a half-bathroom as well. We will relocate Annie when guests come so they will have a floor to themselves.

The pros are a good-sized balcony and a front yard for Annie to play in. The views are nice, although not as lovely as our current apartment. (I’ll post pictures once we move, of course.) It certainly has the feel of a house more than an apartment, which I really like. It is completely newly renovated, so hopefully fairly easy to keep clean. There is a shed for sports equipment outside, and some storage under the roof on the top floor. A shopping plaza is a 5 minute walk away, and there is a frequent bus line just a few minutes away as well. If we end up going with just one car for a while, it is only one bus to Annie’s kindergarten. I’d like to keep her there as she has such a great circle of friends already. And she loves the teacher, which is also important at this age.

The biggest con is that Annie is on a different floor than us. With a windy staircase. She has never in her life fallen, or even slipped, on the millions of stairs she climbs every day here at the hotel and at Kindergarten. Here’s hoping that trend continues. Our bedroom is small, so we’ll have to store some of our off-season clothes in boxes or in a wardroom in Annie’s room.

I can’t really comment if the house is small or big; my perspective is so mixed-up about that at the moment. It is about 1400 sq. feet (135 sq. meters), so it is big for a European apartment, but less than half the amount of space we had in Canada. No guest room, no real laundry room, no walk-in closet. But I’ve been living without these things (as do pretty much all Europeans) for some time now, so I’m not sure if I’ll even notice anymore. I guess I’ll just have to update you on how I feel about that once we are settled in.

And now the amusing part. When I moved to Europe one of my deal-breakers was that we had to have at least two bathrooms. Now I’m looking at our sort-of 3 bathrooms and thinking, meh, I’d rather have more closet space. Ah, perspective changes so fast.

As for the rest of life, lots of plans for that too. Annie and I are off to Winnipeg for two weeks at the beginning of May to help Mom celebrate her 75th birthday. Then I’m spending three or four nights in Paris when I return, as good friends Ryan and Renate are having their wedding there. In the middle of all of that is Annie’s birthday, of course. Four years old. 4!! 4?? Unbelievable.

I’m quite excited about spending a summer in Austria, although I hear it is HOT. There are lots of lakes and outdoor swimming pools and play areas for Annie and I to hang out in, and we might even travel a bit. Markus will be very busy the next few months (although the cafe will be closed Sundays. Yeah!), so Annie and I will be mostly on our own. I think we’ll also just enjoy hanging out at home and making it our own.

My dream is to spend two or three weeks in Victoria and Vancouver in autumn, but that is going to depend on lots of things. So I’ll just keep hoping it all falls into place.

Big breath, a few moments to give thanks that it is all working out, and now off to pack.

March 31, 2010

I Guess You Can Never Say Never

So I’ve been having a thought the last few days. And it is something I was sure I would never think. Ever.

O.K. Here goes…

I’m sad winter is over.

A couple of weeks ago I gave Annie’s Kindergarten teacher a memory stick to load up with pictures from the last few months. She gave it back to me late last week and I was delighted to discover that she had put 500 pictures on there, (ah, the magic of digital images) with quite a few of Annie.

Going through their activities…skating, sliding, ski week…made me realized I’ve loved this season. And now that I’m starting to catch the skiing bug, I’m going to miss the snow even more. We might try to squeeze another day or two out of the mountains at higher elevations or get a run in on one of the glaciers, but as the buds start to peak through on the branches there is no denying that winter is done and spring is in the air. And my overriding thought is “darn.” That is enough to make one ask, “Who are you and what have you done with Hillary?”

I’m thankful Annie’s teachers are so shutter happy, as the last day of Annie’s ski week, the day when parents came to watch, was windy and snowy and Annie started crying when she saw me (no idea why, as she loves skiing) so my pictures from that day are less than excellent.

Here are a few of the highlights of Annie’s winter.

Rutschblatten at the park near the Kindergarten:

Climbing up the hill at the park near the Kindergarten. (Annie is pink and blue)

Rutschblatten 2010 from Hillary Samson on Vimeo.

Skating:

Annie went skating twice with her class. These are from the first session where I joined in. (Ah, the benefits of being unemployed.) Annie is towards the end of the video. (I probably should have taken the time to edit it, but then this post would never actually be posted. Patrice at the beginning is trying skating for the very first time!)

Skating 2010 from Hillary Samson on Vimeo.

Ski Week:

Every educational institution in Tirol, from Kindergarten to High School (Gymnasium) has a ski week sometime after Christmas. Last year I was constantly side-stepping gaggles of three and four year olds piled up on the sidewalk waiting for their bus. They looked sooooo cute in their helmets and ski boots! And now this year it was Annie’s turn. She loved skiing (except for the last day.) It is such a fantastic family sport (as long as no one breaks a leg), that I’m really thrilled both she and I are learning to be comfortable on the hills.

Magic carpet ride. Seriously, how cute are those kids?!!!

Annie is at the front of this line (at least, I think that is her), but you get the idea.

[MISSING: Actual pictures of the ski race.] Between needing to console a crying Annie at the start gates and user error of the video camera, pictures were a bust. But hey, life’s like that sometimes. But trust me, she wasÂ fantastic! She made it the whole way down the beginner run with her hands on her knees and chin up. And she even did great pizza turns between flags!

Proudly showing off medals and certificates!

So that is it for Winter 2010. I’m sure not nearly as exciting as it was for my B.C. friends and family who were able to experience the Olympics, but it was pretty great here in Innsbruck in its own small way.

Yesterday as I was walking with Annie home from school, jackets flung on our arms, she held my hand and said “I like snow.” Yes, my love. Me too. Next year…more skiing, new adventures (cross-country or ski touring), more ski-jumping competitions to watch, more snow to play in. We can’t wait!

March 11, 2010March 11, 2010

Simply Lovely Days

As things head into a time of major change and uncertainty, (six weeks to go before we have no income and nowhere to live. But who’s worrying?) I’m trying to appreciate my non-working status a bit more.

Last week the warm winds blew in and so, after dropping Annie off at Kindergarten, I decided to go for a hike. I strolled by the river and then wound my way up one side of the mountain. It was just stunning. After only about 15 minutes hiking the view of the river, city and the breathtaking Alps were all before me. That is one of the insanely spectacular things about living in a valley; you hike up one side only to get an even better view of the range on the other side. Snow-peaked and ragged and awe-inspring. I was only gone about three hours, but it felt like a real break.

And then on Sunday I got a Skype message from my friend Nicole. The last time we had gone skiing together she had grabbed my skis by accident. (Not really that surprising, as “my” skis are Nicole’s old skis that she had for a number of years.) So now her and her husband were away on a week’s ski holiday without her skis. She was going to take the train back up to Innsbruck and switch, but hey…I’m not working, I have time, so I offered to drive them down.Â Great, she exclaimed, I’ll by you a day’s ski pass and we can all go skiing together. I was so in.

Nicole and Tom were down in Italy at the Dolomites, about one and a half hours south of Innsbruck. After getting a wee bit lost, I met them in the parking lot and we layered up (it is cold again this week) and hit the gondola. The Dolomites are the perfect ski area for a sort-of beginner like me. Most of the runs are on wide bowls, not too steep with no danger of death-defining edges to fall off of.

But what was really great was how very, very beautiful it was. I must have said “What a view!” about a thousand times. Enough to make Tom want to hit me, I’m sure. The mountains are more rugged at the top than the Austrian Alps, with more rolling hills in between, so it was different kind of beauty for me to experience.

I didn’t have the camera (cameras and winter sports are not compatible, we discovered a couple of years ago) so searched for some shots of the area on Google. Here is what I found that was closest to what I experienced:

And just to add to the Rockwellian picture-perfectness of it all, every few minutes we would pass Haflingers pulling traditional sleds with tourists bundled in woollen blankets.

Skiing with Tom and Nicole is also very civilized. After about an hour we stopped on one of the gazillions of mountain-side HÃ¼tten and had a drink. Hot tea with rum made the rest of the morning pass by with a warm glow. For lunch we skied to a restaurant Nicole had scouted out the day before. I ordered house-made pasta (we were in Italy, so of course) with sun-dried tomatoes, Speck and a pile of fresh Arugula on top. Yum, yum and yum.

We talked about how pretty the Dolomites must be in the summer. So I poked around and found these images of the area in warmer weather:

Yeah, I think I’ll be coming back.

After a couple of more hours of skiing I headed home to sort-of make it in time for my evening German class. That is the kind of spur-of-the moment experience that makes all of the challenges of living in a foreign country so completely worth it. And it is these kind of days that remind me that life can be very generous and that it will all, eventually, work out.

February 18, 2010

Fasching 2010

Fasching season, that crazy time leading up to Ash Wednesday and Lent, is over for another year. It is a historically a time of excess and overindulgence before 40 days of austerity. It is also a celebration to push off Winter and, hopefully, welcome Spring.

For more details, pictures and a video of the parade, check out my Fasching post from last year.

This year Annie, like every other little girl in her Kindergarten class, was a fairy princess. It was hilarious dropping her off at school and seeing a gaggle of pink-winged girls tumble out excitedly into the hall to greet Annie.

We didn’t make the parade this year. Well, we did, but the first group to go by was a colourful set of clowns. Freaked Annie right out so we came home and listened to the partying from our apartment all night.

Here are some pics from the day.

I wonder what next year will bring…hobo maybe? Not likely.

February 12, 2010

Musings about Stuff…or Come on Down!

Not much is going on in our household these days. Well, a lot is going on…job hunting, discussions about the future, daily life with a child…but nothing of note for the blog.

So I started going through old photos to post and talk about when I came upon one of my all-time favourites from about two years ago.

Does this photo ever bring back memories.

But what it really made me think of is a topic I’ve been contemplating ever since we made the decision to get rid of 9/10ths of our possessions and move to Europe. How important is stuff? (And more to the point, how the hell do these Europeans live in such tiny quarters and still seem relatively happy and sane??)

One blogger I’m following wrote about her perspective on stuff, which was forever shifted when she had to move because of a good-old New York infestation of bed bugs and had to leave behind anything that couldn’t be boiled or sterlized. The subheading is: “Know this: You could dump everything if you had to.” Very true words, Ms. Trunk.

The metaphor I’ve come up with for my own changed perspective on stuff is The Price is Right. On pretty much every show there was at least one prize package with several trips to amazing places around the world, and one that was furniture. I remember very clearlyÂ thinking, “Go for the furniture! A trip is over after a week, but a couch lasts forever!!” I was disdainfully condescending when an over-the-top-excited contestant picked the trips. The idiot.

Now? I would pick the trips every time. Well, that is what I was thinking the last while, until I really looked at this picture. The sun-mottled room, a view of the backyard, somewhere to put a piano. It just seems so lovely, so inviting.

So somewhere in there is a balance I have yet to achieve. I know that my perspective on stuff vs. experience has shifted way, way over to the experience side. And I’m happy about that. Deeply grateful, actually, that the world has offered me this opportunity to understand the value of learning a new language or trying to talk to a classmate from the Congo or simply standing in a city center that was imagined and designed and built a thousand years ago.

And yet right now I’m longing to walk through IKEA and pick out couches and new kitchen utensils and brightly coloured children’s furniture. I’m longing for a home.

My definition of the perfect home has changed significantly the last two years…it is certainly much smaller and more practical in my mind. But it is still beautifully appointed, has a tiny garden to play and relax in, is sunny and, most importantly, has a view. Of mountains or water or trees or anything that draws my eyes through the window to the bigger world.

I’m sure there are several reasons why Europeans (in this part of Europe anyway) can happily live in small, aesthetically beautiful homes. For one thing, their relatives had much, much less only a short time ago, and also there is less space here so there is no pressure to keep up with the neighbours since almost no-one has a huge home. But I also think it is because “home” is just one reference point in a large life of vacations to foreign countries and hikes up mountains and endless city festivals and good wine in a neighbourhood restaurant.

And so as the world serves up another very big and unknown change in my life in the next few months, I will focus on achieving that balance between possessions and experiences, wherever in the world I might land.

January 31, 2010January 31, 2010

Markus Joins My Tick Box

As my 40th birthday trip was such a success, we decided to try another to celebrate the start of Markus’ 5th decade. Since my mom was not on hand to watch Annie, we made it a family trip. (Seriously, this post is mostly about Annie, but that is the way it goes with a very cute 3-year-old around to take pictures of.)

Markus scouted out a ski region in the province of Salzburg called Ski Amade that had reports of excellent snow and hundreds of ski runs to choose from. We originally were going to book a package at a hotel that included breakfast, dinner and two 3-day ski passes. But after more internet-poking around, Markus discovered a small apartment on a hobby-farm about 10 minutes from the lift. So instead of â‚¬900 for a single hotel room, we paid less than â‚¬400 (including ski passes) plus food money that wasn’t much different than we would have spent at home. And that was for a much larger space with a kitchen as well as separate living and sleeping area.

It was a bit of an experiment, this farmhouse accommodation, as they are very popular all over Austria. If this worked out it would be a great and relatively inexpensive option for our family vacations throughout the year.

We drove into the town of Wagrain on Wednesday afternoon, which is an absolutely adorable village with the proud claim that Joseph Mohr, the writer of Stille Nacht, was perish pastor there during the early 1800’s. On arriving at the farmhouse we were greeted by the owner who showed us to our room with this view from the balcony:

The Austrians have a phrase for this kind of snow-covered wonderland: “kitschy-beautiful.” I think it is fitting for this almost over-the-top scene.

All in all we had an absolutely wonderful time. We decided to ski only two days so that we could visit a wellness pool driving back to Innsbruck. We put Annie into half-day ski camps, which she loved. Markus stayed with me for the first couple of hours on the first day making sure I didn’t kill myself with my pathetic ski skills. But the hill he set me up on was very forgiving and the snow was perfect, so I did my own thing for a bit after lunch while he explore more challenging options. The second day I took it a bit easier while Markus went off on his own for over 3 hours of skiing bliss.

On the second day after skiing, Annie was tearing up the floor with her moves at the apres-ski restaurant. (As my friend Nicole often says to me regarding Annie: “Hillary, you’re screwed.”)

The birthday itself was rather low-key, as suited Markus. We had cake on Thursday for the official birthday and Annie and I made a card.

Blowing out the candles. (Annie as usual, is featuring her no-pants look frequently seen these days.) — Blowing out the candles. (Annie, as usual, is featuring her no-pants look frequently seen these days.)

In terms of the farmhouse aspect, Annie adored feeding the ponies and bunnies as well as sliding down the snowy sidewalk on her plastic disc.

Feeding the rabbits while wearing her ski participation medal, which she didn't take off until...well, she's still wearing it.

It looks like both ski holidays and farmhouse vacations are going to be at the top of our list for the rest of our time in Austria.

Happy 40th Birthday Markus and here’s to a wonderful year ahead!

January 22, 2010January 22, 2010

Goodbye Uroma

One week ago Markus’ Oma, Rebecca and Annie’s Uroma, passed away. Oma Maria was 93. She raised Markus until he was 14, so he was very, very close to her.

Oma has felt quite done with her life for the past few years. Then her daughter, who was 70, died from cancer last year, and that was just too much. As much as the family will miss her dearly, everyone feels thankful that her wish to die very peacefully at home in her sleep was fulfilled.

I never spoke enough German to really have a deep conversation with her, but Markus’ stories about her indicate that she was a very feisty woman. She had close friendships and people she couldn’t stand and even those she kicked out of the house.

During WWII Maria worked as a waitress to support herself and her family. The city’s airstrike sirens would often be sounded, but usually they were ignored. One afternoon, the owner of the restaurant decided to send his staff down to the cellar upon hearing the all-too-familiar wail. A bomb destroyed the cafe, but Maria and the rest of the staff escaped unharmed. Strange to think that there would be no Markus if that instinct had been ignored.

Rebecca spent quite a bit of time visiting Uroma whenever she was in Austria and is very sad she is gone. Annie remembers and talks about her as well.

Markus’ father, Franz, says sifting through her papers has been interesting. She has the birth and death certificates of both her husbands, as well as the document the Nazi’s required showing 8 generations of Aryan ancestors.

There is no denying that she had a very interesting life and knew many people who loved her and cared about her deeply. We can all only hope for the same.

January 16, 2010

Soon to be Schoop-schooping

Last weekend we took Annie to the slopes. Well, O.K., to a small incline with some snow on it that was near the mountain. We had tried last year, but at 2 1/2 she just wasn’t ready. Fair enough.

Mostly Markus and I wanted her to have a positive experience with skiing, so we put her in a private lesson. It went great. The teacher had children of her own and had obviously done this many times. She came well-equipped with a bad of gummies, tossing one in Annie’s mouth like a seal every time she completed the 2 second descent.

Even though it was a foggy and cold day (so pictures are a bit fuzzy), Annie spent 40 minutes going up and down with the instructor and felt very proud of herself when it was over.

Now if only Mama can get this hang of this skiing thing, it will be a great family outting for years to come.

January 10, 2010January 10, 2010

Jumping over Innsbruck

Every year, just after Christmas, is a ski jumping competition in Innsbruck, part of the Four Hills Tournament that takes place in Germany and Austria. Markus was sorry we missed it last year (all 20,000 tickets were sold out by the time we investigated), so we made sure to get tickets early this year.

The event is at the Bergisel Schanze, just outside of Innsbruck’s city center. So our gang jumped on a street car and joined the hoards hiking up to the viewing area.

The large bowl where the ski jumpers land, and where the crowds view the event, means that there really isn’t a bad spot in the house.

The view from Bergisel is, well,…

stunning. It was a perfect clear day, ideal for viewing.

We were all dressed up in our winter warmest, and Nicole brought a big pitcher of glÃ¼hwein and lots of sandwiches.

Renata, Ryan and Rebecca (don't think I didn't have problems with those names all week!)

Whenever an Austrian was about to jump, the crowd went crazy with cheers and horns and cow bells and flag waving.

It was excellent viewing, but the pictures of the jumpers turned out to be a bit of Where’s Waldo?.

Can you find the flying man in the trees?

And to top it all off, a Tirolean, Gregor Schlierenzauer,Â won.

He is a 19-year-old phenomenon, who has won several races during the season and is one of the favourites for the Vancouver Olympics.

I thought I would enjoy the day, but instead I completely loved it! It was so much fun. And Annie managed to make it through 4 hours outside and still keep her smile. She was a superstar. We are talking about trying to make all four races next January and becoming official ski jumping groupies. And to think I used to hate winter.