Movie and a Dinner

Hi again, folks,

P: My 45th birthday. Yep, hitting the big 4-5. Bet you didn't know it was big, but it is. Why, I have no idea.

So to celebrate, this last Saturday Kathy and I arranged for a babysitter, took a big gulp on the finances and ventured out into the Geneva night scene.

But first I must digress. Highlights from last week (with excerpts from Kathy's recent e-mail to many of you):

On Wednesday Ben had his first therapy appointment here in Europe. It was a 15 minute drive up the motorway into Switzerland. Kathy's take:

K: We had a great appointment with Ben's physical therapist, Helen Binge, last Wednesday. Both Phil and I went with Ben. She wore a white lab coat and did a physical assessment of Ben on the mat while he played with toys. She was quite pleased with what she saw and seems to have some ideas for helping us with his development. She was also quite useful in referring us to a pediatrician and occupational therapist. Ben's appointment with OT will be this coming Tuesday at 11:00. Both therapists speak English! We're grateful for this.

P: Friday, the bike I was using to commute to CERN in Meyrin (it was left in the garage by another UofM student who's back in MN for awhile) got a flat tire on the way back home. I really need to get my own bike.

Saturday was a big shopping day, many things to look for.

K: Yes, we got our key copies finally at the Farmer's Market! And purchased a croissant with chocolate in it. Other errands on Saturday included Phil looking for a bike, and we found a shower extension rod to hang a quilt for muffling noise downstairs, but still, no letter-holder to be found!

P: Apparently office supplies are not so easy to find around here, along with many other things. Like a decent bike. No luck on that front, although I did visit a few stores in both "Fr" and "CH" (Switzerland) and collected price information.

K: I also found some cool black dressy shoes at Migros, but they have a fairly high heel and I don't quite know how often I'd wear them. They're not practical for the sidewalks here or carrying a baby (doesn't seem to stop the French, however). Sometimes I don't know whether to develop a bit of "inner French" or just stick with my "outer German" heritage in how I dress.

Ben really enjoyed our windy morning at the Farmer's Market yesterday! He loves inclement weather, it seems (like his mom), and was flapping his hands excitedly under his blanket as we braved the elements. It was a sunny day, but the 20-30 mph wind made it feel like 31 degrees. How in the world do you keep your baby's hands warm in the winter? Ben pulls off his socks and hat...so shoes with a tie solve the sock issue and a hood with ties solves the hat issue...the only thing I have been able to figure out for his hands is to wrap a blanket all around him, from his neck to his feet, with his head peeping out. That way he can move his arms around but not have them exposed to the air directly. The stroller canopy was like a sail on a sailboat and we sometimes had to really hold on to the stroller to keep it on the narrow sidewalk.

P: We did have luck with the high chair, though.

K: It is a "Geuther", a German-made chair. We accidentally stumbled on it at a pricey baby store. It cost $200, so I did a little more research on it this morning. I couldn't find it for sale on e-bay or craig's list in the USA. In fact, there is apparently a waiting list for this chair, and I think we got the last one of its kind in the store (they gave us the display model off the floor to take home). It's perfect for Ben because it allows him to sit up straight, not reclined, and has a large, flat foot rest. I like it because he basically sits at the level of the table. It's attractive (an all-wood color) and easy to clean. The funds for it came from Phil's mom and grandma as part of Ben's birthday present, and we're so grateful.

P: Ben's grateful too. Here's Ben's thoughts on the high chair:

...some initial skepticism...

Ah, but what if Mom feeds you thus-wise?

B: Blblblblblblblblbblblblblblblblblbl!!!!!!! (flap flap flap flap)
(ah, I guess a little food was all it took for him to like the chair!)

P: Which brings us to our night out in Geneva. I really wanted to see a movie, more than spend all night at a restaurant, which you can easily do out here.

K: Anyway, so Phil and I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum. It was in English with French and German subtitles. A high-action-packed movie. I found I really enjoyed the diversion. Since I've started watching movies with Phil I find that they are very relaxing after a hard week - they pull me out of myself and allow me to "re-boot my hard drive" to some extent. I feel more peaceful and content afterwards. Then, we stopped in the mall (the "Balaxert" in Meyrin where the movie was being shown) and had a "bite to eat" at an Asian Buffet. It said 19.60 CHF (Swiss Francs) for all you can eat...and the food was pretty good! It should've been. That comes out to ~$16 per person - didn't sound too bad. Our movie tickets by the way came out to an equivalent of $30 for two people. When we got our bill, they charged us 22.60 CHF per person for the buffet and said the other price was for lunch! Odd how they had the "19.60" price on a large placard out by the mall and the "22.60" on a placard behind a plant! We would've fussed and gotten them to fix it if we were in USA, but it would've been too difficult in French and we didn't want to ruin our great evening. So, our dinner plus drinks and tip ended up costing us around $48...total cost for the evening almost $80-$90 for just a movie and a buffet. And if we had had to pay a sitter, well...we won't be doing this every week like we used to. Too bad.

Other highlights, from Kathy:

K: This past weekend I was thrilled to see Ben start to drink cow's milk from a straw in a little cup! It is a special milk for babies that I found here at the grocery store and tastes like canned milk...what is it? Sort of like evaporated milk. He loves it. This is an ease to my mind in cutting back "Mama's milk."

I'm not as sure how we're going to do his bed. The pack'n'play has a 30 pound weight limit and Ben weighs around 24 pounds. One idea I had was to graduate him to a mattress on the floor and just put up removable barriers around the mattress, like the kind that go between doors, but I think he'll be tall enough, and strong enough to push them down. We saw some cute convertable cribs with low mattresses for an equivalent of $400 at the store yesterday...the bars can be removed and the bed becomes a toddler bed. Still not sure what the best solution will be for Ben. All cribs here have mattresses just inches off the floor...like 6-8", maybe as a safety feature? Anyway, I was hoping not to have to bend down so far to pick Ben up, but looks like I still may need to.

Did I tell you? The other day an older Swedish lady approached me in the grocery store and asked in English if I knew where the Tartar sauce was. Ha! When I asked her how she knew I speak English, she said, "You look like an American!" I wish now I would've asked her what she meant by that. And yes, I was able to help her find Tartar sauce for her shrimp...in the "Foreigner" isle!

I picked up my first hitch-hikers this past week, too. On our way through downtown Ferney-Voltaire, Ben and I had to stop because a lady in a wheelchair and a man using hand braces were crossing the street in front of the van. They looked distressed and motioned to me, so I rolled down the window. Their English was fabulous though, and I learned they had taken a train from Lausanne (Switzerland) to cash a check in FV, but the post office here is closed for renovation. They needed a ride to a nearby town (Prevessin) so I gave them one. It was fun. Here, the post-office is like a bank where people do financial transactions. In fact, that's also where you go to pay bills. If a person doesn't take a credit card, instead of a check, you take your bill to a post office and pay your person (with cash) at this third-party location. The post office will put the cash into the person's account for you. This is how we'll be paying Ben's therapists.

Unfortunately, Anna and Peter (the people I picked up) weren't able to cash their check at the Prevessin post office either because they don't have an account there.

P: That's all for now. This coming week is CMS "Physics" week - like we don't do physics any other time! ;) - beaucoup de meetings...

We miss you, our Minnesota friends! Please feel free to comment on our blog any time so we know you're out there reading. Thanks!

-Love, PKBD