How the Captain was fooled...

Idea by Mouse; design by Emma; polish by Mighty Mom; effect: PRICELESS!

Happy April Fools Day, big guy!

How not to use your head, by The Captain.

The digital camera that had been mounted on his helmet took a licking, but it just kept ticking. No Captain's were harmed in filming of this serendipitous stunt.

5 spices, 50 dishes, and a proposal

It was a Christmas gift not unlike many others: a cookbook. But this one had strings of the apron variety: the Captain was going to cook. His first attempt — Dish 22: roasted lamb with burnt onions — was more than decent. His second go — Dish 24: new bride chicken curry — showed real promise. But Monday night's menu — Dish 23: lamb meatballs in a spicy malabari curry paired with an encore performance of Dish 37: tangy shredded cabbage salad — was nothing short of divine. One spoonful and I proposed. I figure if one of us ever masters Dish 48 — homemade chapatis — we might never eat out again.

The First of 360: Rules by Emma and Mouse

It's a new year everywhere by now, even here in P-town where it is either 12 below or 10 above depending on which side of the metric divide you stand on. The house smells of curried leg of lamb and burnt onions courtesy of the Captain who is comfortably ensconced in the living room with the latest Dan Brown. The girls are snacking on cheese cubes and baby carrots and I'm recovering with a beer after having spent a humbling day sewing curtains. Honey's keeping me company, likely hoping I'll drop a pita chip in her general direction. It's been a lovely, quiet New Year's Day.

I love the blank slate of a New Year, the endless possibility of time not yet spent. I've decided to blog more, hence this post being the first of 360. For their New Year's gesture, the girls decided to write up rules for their rooms. With their permission, I've shared them below. As long as you remember that farts are permitted in Emma's room, but not in Mouse's, the rest are almost the same. The Captain has decided he wants to cook more. I suspect my resolution might help his along, especially if my readership is keen on inflicting some public ridicule his direction.

The girls have moved on from their snack and are now alternately wearing my witch's hat, sorting each other into the houses of Hogwarts. Emma sorts Mouse into Ravenclaw and she whines in protest. She wants Gryffindor. Don't we all?

Happy New Year all! See you tomorrow.

Rules by Emma:

Rules by Mouse

The Truth Comes Out

We were driving back from our first family boat trip, when the Captain says to me, "For a person who's never pulled a water skier before, you did really well."

"Are you kidding? Before today I've never even driven a boat."

You should have seen the look on his face. Priceless.

A Word of Warning from The Captain

Don't let this happen to you...

This Holiday Season, don't be a Dual Bag!

Shave Me Bald and Call Me Waldo

The Captain made dinner and it wasn't spaghetti!

The menu:
oven roasted lamb racks with a rosemary and garlic rub
olive oil mashed potatoes
steamed carrots
2001 Merlo Rosso from Villa LaSelva, Toscana

Dessert:
Moelleux au chocolat

Bravo and, by all means, encore!

Father's Day à la Suisse

Father's Day isn't officially recognized in Switzerland. Unless your child goes to a school frequented by loads of expatriates, they won't be coming home with gifts like the ones I've received for Fête de Maman these past four years (see the photos below). It's a bit of a shame and requires the girls and I to get a bit more creative--but we like that.

Two years ago, we invoked a tradition of our own, recruiting a couple of other Canadian families to go water skiing on Lac de Genève. There are a few pay-as-you-go ski boat operators at the Geneva end of the lake. The dads, moms, and the occasional kid ski until their legs jiggle while snacking and sipping between runs. Unfortunately a cool, wet spring has postponed this year's event. Nonetheless, we're having a celebratory barbecue and saving our wet suits for a warmer day.

We love you, Captain! You are a terrific dad!

Porte monnaie by Mighty Mouse

Ivy Sconce and TicTacToe Game by Emma the Brave

Kudos to the Captain

Check out the great club house the Captain made for the girls yesterday:

He figures it cost about 50 Euros in materials. We won't mention the cost of the wood-working equipment. That would be too cruel.

Thirty-something

I can't believe we met twenty years ago. According to you, I looked about twelve--this from a guy who, at the time, bore an uncanny resemblance to the tall bald guy in this center of this photo:

(Photo of Bull from Night Court)

Let's just say we've both improved.
I love you, Captain!
Happy Birthday!

Je ne me souviens plus

Here is one of my favourite 'Kirk' stories taken from a letter I wrote a few months after our arrival in Switzerland.

A few weeks ago Kirk headed out to have his bike inspected and to return a movie. The bike shop took a little longer than planned, so it was late afternoon by the time he reached the video store. He parked his bike on the sidewalk in front of a shop window and headed in to do his errand.

A few minutes later he returned to find an elderly man draped over his bike. The man was sunny-side-up, his bottom on the seat with his face wedged between the store window and the bike. To complete this unlikely scenario, the man's pants were soaked in pee.

How extraordinary—and not at all Swiss!

Kirk carefully dislodged the man from his predicament, bike unscathed but decidedly damp. When asked how this had happened, the man responded, "Je ne me souviens plus,"—I don't remember. Kirk had his suspicions. The man's "plus" was at least 100 proof.

Kirk helped the man sit down against the side of the building to wait for the ambulance that snickering bystanders had called. With the man settled, Kirk headed for home. While he wasn’t the only person who came away with a story that afternoon, he was the only one who needed a shower and a change of clothes.