Smiles 90:365

Frohe Ostern!

Can you see the snow? Big fat snowflakes! That's a first!

Osterhase

Smile in other languages
In Maori - mene / menemene / whakamenemene 

Smile by Nat King Cole

Smiles 89:365

A rainy Easter Saturday and a visit to Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum in Zürich. "Kids are free" always makes me smile, and there was plenty to see. Favourite sections were the swords and armour (Jude), the Swiss political cartoons (Isaac) the Swiss wheel (me) and the comfy leather sofa (John) in the Animali exhibition.
I also quite enjoyed the 'TV studio' and pretending to present the weather, ably filmed by Jude! See the smile?

Whilst we were taking a break in the Bistro, Jude asked "Where's Peck-ing?" We thought he meant Peckham (although this was strange as we were in Zürich) then we noticed the clocks on the wall showed the time in New York, Zürich and ... Peking. Love him - he had no idea that Beijing used to be called Peking!

Smile in other languages
As Kate Mosse's Sepulchre starts tonight, today it's Occitan!
In Occitan - sorire

Smiles 88:365

I'm craving hot cross buns and am really not capable of making them; I'm 'Running Lisa' not 'Baking Lisa' after all!)  

However, this Osterhase is nearly as good. A bit like an iced bun without the icing but with huge crystals of sugar instead. Lovely with a scrape of butter.

Second smile was Isaac getting a new bicycle today, and handing over his old one to Jude - see above! Amusement was heightened by John and Isaac's glee at beating the 'it's a holiday so no shops are open' by going to Zürich Flughafen to buy it, and then the need to buy the bicycle its own ticket for the train. And at handover time, I had to smile as Jude took his old bike for one last ride and gave it a hug before accepting the new one (Isaac's old one!) He is so dramatic! And then John lived up to his Fiddler nickname by making the back light fit as well as the mudguard when there really was only room for one!

Other things that made me smile today

My hand/arm isn't as painful so I can play with my phone/iPad/MBP more :o)

Bugsy Malone - classic film and so funny. And I'm so pleased that Jude loves it too.

John making us play 'Guess where my sandals come from'; our first answers were - Central African Republic, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Comoros, Nauru. Do you think we watch too much Pointless? (The correct answer was Ukraine.)

The overpowering smell of Gran Padano which is emanating around the flat after Isaac spilt it all over the floor during dinner. I didn't smile at the time but what can I do? He's a teenager and not quite in control of his long limbs!

Smile in other languages
In Breton - mousc'hoarzhin  (thanks to @SylvieBRawlings!)

Smiles 87:365

Glatt has gone Dutch! A huge windmills, bicycles hanging from the ceiling and a canal in the middle of the shopping mall. Very spring-like and pretty, and enough to make you smile on a grey drizzly day.

Another short post as my hand is still sore which isn't stopping me from smiling, just from typing!

Guffaws of laughter at James May and co in Manlab on BBC2. Special mention to Rory his sidekick who had us weeping with his winetasting and Papa Smurf du Pape!

Smile in other languages

In Malayalam - punjiri tookuka  

Same plea as yesterday - if you know how to say "smile" in any other languages, please let me know as I've now run out of ideas! I'd really like to get to the end of March before changing tack so need just 3 more!!

Smiles 86:365

Short post today as I'm typing left handed due to some sort of RSI type pain in my right hand. I had to smile at the display in our local Apotheke. It's 1C and they're advertising suncream. That's OK as you need sunscreen when you're skiing. It's the beach ball and especially the flip flops that amused me - there's snow on the ground and even I wouldn't go out in flip-flops!

Jude had a haircut - and kept smiling as he lost some of his mop! And I lured John and Isaac into Metro in search of a pink Tshirt for Isaac for 'The Day of Pink' at school - they concluded that there were actually some good clothes in there if you get past the ground floor and ignore the 'Goth corner'!

Smile in other languages

In Quechua - asikuy 

(I'm running out of languages for my 'smile' so if you know a language that I haven't featured yet, please let me know. I think I've pretty much exhausted Europe but there are more than 86 languages in the world!)

Smiles 85:365

This graphic shared by Angelika on FB made me smile as soon as I woke this morning to see a couple of inches of snow.

And this video about Prince Ruperts drop also made me smile with amazement! It's from a Youtube channel called Smarter Every Day - and if I keep watching his videos I will be! The cat one with 'StuntCatGiGi' is great too.

Other things that made me smile today
The boys' comments on the Montenegro national anthem - 'it's very Lord of the Rings!'
A hot shower after a sub-zero run that left me struggling to breath.
Woody in Cheers.
Finding some cute German Easter songs on Youtube - been singing them in my head all day (making up most of the words!)
Opening a kitchen drawer and inexplicably finding one of my sports socks

Smile in other languages
In Scottish Gaelic - dèan gàire 

Smiles 84:365

¡Ñam ñam! After a Sunday morning Twitter conversation, I was inspired to make torrijas today. And they turned out really well. Very popular with the men in my life.
Eating them reminded me of Familia Fuente Martín in Segovia with whom I spent two wonderful study breaks/holidays in the late 80s. Chili made them and they were absolutely delicious. Then I started thinking of all the other delicious things she made like empanadillas, garbanzos, espinacas en bechamel, and of course the infamous pulpo en su tinta! What a wonderful family - so generous with their time, always wanting to show me their town and surroundings, and introduce me to everyone they knew. I learned so much and Segovia will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Smile in other languages

In North Kalaallihut - Qungujukpuq

Smiles 83:365

Cute pottery pigs in the window of an opticians in Winterthur. Made us think of Elsie-Mae who is somewhat obsessed with pigs!

And a new running route today, suggested by John. Another one of those 'only in Switzerland' moments; happily running through the woods, I emerge to find that I am literally running next to the motorway, separated from speeding vehicles by a flimsy fence!

Other things that made me smile today
Apple and caramel Mövenpick ice-cream.
Jude's mop of hair - someone commented he looked like Austin Powers the other day, but his hair is far longer than that.
Isaac's latest Star Wars construction - something to do with Darth Vader I think!
This tweet!





Smile in other languages
In Sirenikski -  laagheyúẋteqiíẋteẋ 

Smiles 82:365

The wonders of a Mobility car! Book one for an hour, a few hours or a few days, pick it up from one of the nearby parking spaces and off you pop, returning it when you've finished!

We visited the Bärlauchfest in Stein am Rhein today. It was billed as 'small' but I'd say that was a bit ambitious as, whilst there were some lovely banners, there was very little Bärlauch or wild garlic in evidence. So we moved on to Konstanz rather quicker than we'd planned, which was fine!

Jude did lots of smiling as we went to Maximillans for his favourite Weisswurste mit Bretzel und Senf, and our food was delicious too.

And we smiled on the way out of Kreuzlingen as John took the wrong turning AGAIN not 10 seconds after I'd reminded him not to take the wrong turning...

Icomania also made us smile today as we laughed at the out of date icons for some stars, and puzzled out a couple of 'brand' answers before being let out our misery by being told that Walls is called Langnese in Germany! Thanks @Stephanrinke.

Smile in other languages
In Arabian - dohke

Smiles 81:365

The sun is shining! No boots today! I've put my FiveFingers on and drawn a few odd looks. No one has refused to speak to me however which has happened in the playground before when someone was so freaked out by my shoes that they couldn't even stand near me if I wore them!

An update to Icomania had Jude wide awake before school this morning (normally doesn't fully wake until we're on the bus!) We make a good team - he's great with brand names and I'm good at "old" movie stars.

Other things that made me smile today
I was told that I could join the Kindergarten class if I gave them cookies and ice cream, and wore purple or pink.
Walking in the sunshine.
A crate of strawberries from Coop.
John's home from Denmark.
The boys have two weeks off school.

Smile in other languages

ابتسامة - in Arabic

Smiles 80:365

The sun came out so I decided to go for a run. I enjoy running so it made me smile. And running alongside the river with the sun twinkling on the stones and water was beautiful. Further than I've run for a while so also good as I can still walk afterwards, and I kept running :)

Bit tired now though...

Smiles in other languages

In Armenian - ժպտալ

Smiles 79:365

After a Twitter exchange about Scottish songs that started with Loch Lomond via Ye cannae shuv yer granny aff the bus, Ali Bali Bee and Bee Baw Babbitty to the video below, Three craws! Happy memories of childhood with Grandma and Grandpa singing to me, with square sausage and Scottish bread sandwiches and Tunnocks wafers!




Other things that made me smile today
A good run with running group.
A pleasant chat with one of the dads at school about life the universe and everything.
Big hugs from the boys for buying their favourite food!
A new Zumba top.
The Kelly episode of Cheers - shame John missed it as he was at the airport.

Smiles in other languages
In Azerbaijani - gülümsəmək

Smiles 78:365

The poshest toilets ever seen... decorated with eggs in shot glasses! That made me smile! This was at Hotel Schweizerhof in Bern which has 5 stars and, I'm told, exceptionally comfortable beds that are just too comfortable for some people! As a fan of a hard bed, I can understand that!

This sight also made me smile - very colourful, and the start of a great day of looking at technology in education. I liked the fact that time and again it was mentioned that tools must be appropriate for the task and that iPads can't do everything! Even having to 'wipe' them all at the end of the day made me smile as I was woefully slow compared to the speed and skill of people who do it 3 or 4 times a week!

Great to see some 'old' friends too and make some new ones.

And chocolate too! I feel guilty that someone else's loss was my gain, but I shall make sure that Adrien gets chocolate next time I see him!

Also making me smile today - I returned home to find Isaac making koftas for tea, and John helping him. Between them they added 5 cloves of garlic and a unique mixture of herbs and spices. I have to say that the koftas were delicious nonetheless. 

Smiles in other languages
In Basque - irribare

Smiles 77:365

The Goldhase has appeared once more on the roof of Coop City, although this year it;s pretty hard to see it thanks to the scaffolding for the new bus station! 

It reminded me of this video about Schoko-Osterhasen I'd seen earlier today.

Other things that have made me smile today
The dancing Nan on FB.
And also Samuel L Jackson dog.
Zumba.
The last piece of lemon cake.
All the kind people who have been sympathetic about my pounding headache which has been ongoing for over a month.

Smile in other languages
In Bengali - মৃদুহাস্য

Smiles 76:365

In honour of St Patrick's Day, I can reveal that my leprechaun name is...

SPRINKLES McWOOZY!

What's yours? I worked out that my sister would be Warty O'Rainbow and my Mum would be Warty McSmelly. Not sure she'd be too happy with that!

Smile in other languages 

In Irish - miongháire

(sorry - late posting as headache stopped screen-time)

Smiles 75:365

The boys were taking ÖSD exams this morning so we decided to get out and enjoy the sunshine this afternoon. We went up to Bruderhaus and haivng paid our respects to the recently deceased wolf :o(, looked at the gorgeous horses, deer and antelope, and had an ice-cream (the boys)

Then we walked back down the hill as we couldn't be doing with waiting for the bus - and it was downhill! Glad we did as we came across this smiling stump - and his three friends. How cheery!

My favourite animal picture from today - there are many more!

Things that made me smile today

The boys feel their exams. went well.

The sun shone.

I had a great run.

I found a new game app that is engrossing us all - Icomania!

I have a new pair of walking shoes, a shirt and a jacket, all bought in a sale! 

Chasing Jude around the living room trying to raspberry his stomach. 

Smile in other languages

In Chinese - 微笑

Smiles 74:365

Are Isaac and John reenacting Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson singing I know him so well, or do they dancy themselves as Agnetha and Frida from ABBA?
No, they're just measuring how tall Isaac is getting.

Other things that made me smile
The PYP Masquerade Disco made me smile a lot - good to see children having fun!  Lisa and I did comment that, whilst there was a brief outbreak of girls sitting on their bottoms and spinning around, there was no knee sliding by the boys and concluded that it must be an English thing!
Lots of smiles (and also tears) watching Comic Relief.
A Grade 3 was reading his book in the library whilst I was in there and suddenly exclaimed out loud "Is that true? That girls don't fart?" I assured him that this may well be true, and even if we did, girls would only make pretty smells ;o)

Smile in other languages
In Czech - úsměv

Smiles 73:365

I received a parcel today from Amazon.de containing books :0)
Thank you TheLanguagePoint for the voucher with which I bought them. A real treat!

Smiles today were caused by, amongst other things:
The wonders of Switzerland meant that leaving my MacBook at the bus stop was not a disaster as it was still there when I went back for it. Phew!
Coffee at Katrin's this morning was ... memorable!
The sun came out - then it snowed. Then the sun came out again. And more snow.
Ms Good the art teacher made the most delicious brownies for committee meeting - which lasted 20 minutes!
ComicRelief on the Zambezi - Hell and High Water - is rather amusing!

Smile in other languages
In Gujarati - સ્મિત

Smile 72:365

What's made me smile today?
Two iPad related videos!



 iPads are very useful but...

 

 And great (and some not so great) memories here!

Also amused by the Tweeting going on around the election of the new Pope; pigeons and chimney stacks with Twitter accounts - whatever next?

Smile in other languages 
in Latin (I know we've had it before but it seems appropriate today!) - risio

Smile 71:365

I like this staircase. I'd like to think that's how the Stevens of Winterthur roll.

Smiles today -
I have had a 'domestic goddess' day. These are few and far between as I'm really not cut out for it, but there is a certain satisfaction to be gained on surveying a clean house, an empty washing basket and no ironing pile.
Barcelona won 4-0.
The sun shone again.

Smile in other languages
In Pashto - موسكا

Smile 70:365

Haven't got a photo taken today - been too busy washing, shopping, Zumba-ing, cycling, baking and going to the theatre! This was taken last year in Rapperswil. My favourite bench!

Zumba had me smiling. It always does, but there seemed to be rather a lot of making up of steps today! And choosing tops for our 'performance' may prove a step too far - how can you get 10 women from different countries and cultures to agree on a top they all like from a limited number of options?

I went to the theatre tonight to see a Shakespeare play. With John. This hasn't happened since 1993-4 - and that was the first time he'd ever seen one! It wasn't your 'normal' Shakespeare play though - I don't recall there being a food fight in A Midsummer Night's Dream let alone any of the other plays, and it's not everyday that the main characters disappear into a pop up tent, or two characters appear as if in an 80s computer game, controlled by Puck. Lots of smiles - not least at how bemused the Swiss audience were not only by the broad Irish accent but by some of the humour too.

Smile in other languages
In Haitian Creole - souri

Smile 69:365

A 'smile in a cup' today!

And a map of Lucerne's transport network - we think Ewil Maxon sounds like an evil super villain!

Other things that made me smile today
Liverpool beat Spurs (made me smile but not so much John and Jude...)

Dominic's blogpost didn't just make me smile - it made me laugh out loud!

I tweeted my 35,000th tweet.

I went for a walk with John and Isaac which turned out not to be so much a walk as a trainspotting competition between two people who know a worryingly large amount about the times and destinations of trains and one who really doesn't! Guess which one I am...

Smile in other languages

In Japanese - 笑顔

Smile 68:365

Jude spotted these Gagnam Style Häsli today in Bachmann as we bought lunch today. Just one of many cute Easter bunnies. (Like the look of the Percy Pig Easter pig with 100s and 1000s shorts I saw in the M&S letter that arrived today!)

We visited the Verkehrshaus / Swiss Transport Museum today in Luzern. I took so many pictures but this is one of my favourites! 

Btw, NOB = Nord-Ost Bahn ;o)

Other things that made me smile

Being able to choose between catching a bus or boat to the Museum - we went for the boat on the way and the bus back - for the same price!

Watching the boys' faces on a screen as John 'flew' them in a flight simulator.

Going out in shoes and NO SOCKS!

Smiles in other languages

In Norwegian - smiler

Smiles 67:365

An ex-colleague of John's visited today with goodies from their new job with Kraft. Jude's excited about the Toblerone, Isaac about the Jelly Babies and I'm excited about the Double Deckers. John's just excited by chocolate in general!

And there were some pretty spring flowers outside the deli today too. I love Spring arriving!

Other things that made me smile
Being told I've been selected as a judge for the Radio2 500 word challenge.
The satisfaction of finishing cataloguing a pile of books that I know the children really want to read.
The sunshine.
An interesting conversation about future plans

Smile in other languages
In Russian - улыбаться

Smiles 66:365

Visiting the toilet on the 658 train this morning brought me my first smile of the day. All the walls are decorated with Alpine scenes so you feel like you're spending a penny in the mountains! Pretty but disconcerting!

And I loved this image that someone posted on FB. Being 'normal' is overrated.

Other things that made me smile
I had a great day teaching PE.
Children from a class I taught in January remembered me and came to give me hugs.
I did something that I thought was all in the line of duty, and was profusely thanked for it.
Zürisee in the sunshine on the way home.

Smile in other languages
In Serbian - осмех

Smiles 65:365

Sometimes it's not easy to smile. I found out about the tragic death of a lovely bloke today and I lost my smile. I wish he'd known how much he is missed and the hole that he has left in the lives of so many. But even in the saddest times, there are moments that bring smiles, even if they're fleeting, flickering and bittersweet, like seeing photos and thinking of happier times. My thoughts are with the family and close friends of @infernaldepart.

As our friends are currently in Iceland, I was thinking about our trip there at Christmas 2010 and what a great time we had. Sadly Z and A are currently stuck in their hotel thanks to extreme weather but I hope they've seen some of the island, and that they're stranded somewhere nice!

Other things that made me smile today
Jude told me he liked my spreadsheet as he looked at me making the bed this morning. I replied that I liked the bedspread too.
The sun shone whilst I was running - hurrah!
I used Tarsia in my English class today - and M and M loved it!

Smile in other languages
In Slovak - úsmev

Smiles 64:365

This is "The Grumpy Cat."
Made me smile - he looks soooo grumpy!

Also making me smile today...
the discovery of some great songs for learning Spanish.
the amount of cleaning I did. In retrospect of course as I do not like cleaning!
sunshine!
John's back from Denmark. No Børgen coat though :(

Smile in other languages
In Slovenian - nasmeh

Smiles 63:365

I've got new trainers! And a list of exercises to do to correct my poorly aligned legs, lack of balance and the defects with my feet! You don't just buy a product here - it comes with analysis and advice!

And today the sun has come out so I took my trainers for a little 'breaking in' run. Admittedly it was a shorter run than I'd normally do (3 miles) and I avoided most hills, but my average pace was 8.24min/mile which is much faster than I've been for ages and ages, possibly bettered only by the good old days when my Nike+ gave me ridiculous stats about my speed based on a stride that I never properly managed to calibrate! As I've been feeling that I've lost my running mojo, this made me smile very broadly.

Zumba this morning also made me smile - I tackle it with great enthusiasm but just can't master the 'sexy wiggle' bits. Still, it's great fun and good exercise.

Smile in other languages
In Swahili - tabasamu
(This made me smile as, when asked in my Spanish lessons "shall I write it in Spanish?" I usually reply "Well, Swahili would be nice but as we're learning Spanish, yes, that would make sense!")

Smiles 62:365

Spotted this evening on Stadthausstrasse.
YNWA :)
Don't think much of their other allegiance though... Should be FCWinti!

More smiles to be had watching Top Gear. In fact, watching the boys watching Top Gear made me smile even more!

Smile in other languages
In Tamil - புன்னகை

Smiles 61:365

Things that made me smile today...

I ran the Winterthur Laufsportag, a race I really enjoyed last year but not so much this year thanks to the compacted snow/sheet ice conditions. However, I did smile broadly as I finished as I managed to find some energy and overtake a couple of people in the finishing strait.
My prize was rather lovely too. Last year it was a sausage, cheese and pear bread platter.

And more smiles later when we went to visit friends for a takeaway curry. Visiting Z and A always makes me smile as they're lovely and have the two more adorable mad girls aged 3 and 5.

Now very tired...

Smiles 60:365

Bake sale at school today meant lots of yummy cakes, biscuits and sweet things. Cake pops are a new one on me but M&M cookies are the same the world over.

Other things that made me smile today included random acts of kindness by staff at the boys' school, a highly amusing conversation about piggy backs with the boys and very good news from England.

Smile in other languages
In Klingon - mon (it's the verb form not the noun though!)