heart beats

I'm smiling.

We returned to the doctor today and got to hear the heart beat of the 'wee one'. It sounded just like a train. You know like 'the little train that knew it could'? - schtacoo, schtacoo, schtacoo - but really fast! It was great.

Now we've our next appointment scheduled for the end of June and at the point we'll have our next echography/scan and so know if its a 'fille ou garçon' or its a 'girl or a boy'!

Cool stuff, huh?

storks

On the ground, storks are long, spindly, elegant birds that strut about like they have understand and disdained the world.

Then, their vulture-like wings haul their bodies into flight and - for that second between ground and air - they become cumbersome and almost shocking.

Once in flight, they transform again as the deep bow of their chests plough through the air like a boats sailing deeply through the water.

friends

Our friends - Lynsey and Eric - from Cagnes sur mer came to visit for the weekend. After a rainy start walking around Molsheim, we headed to Strasbourg to visit the cathedral and 'la petite France.' Strasbourg really is such a pleasant place as its riddled with canals and traditional houses. In the evening, we ate the Alsatian equivalent of pizza - tarte flambé - before trundling home to bed!

On Sunday we followed the 'route de vins' down through the vineyards to Ribeauville - where we saw loads of storks while we walked through the town. As you might be able to see in the photo, my tummy is beginning to get a bit bigger (though with all the food we've eaten recently that's probably no real surprise!).

More seriously, things are going well - as I'm around the 15th week, have loads of energy, and am looking forward to my next meeting with the doctor this Saturday.

hugs to all,
Robyn

day at the farm

Hello,

A couple of weeks ago Ben and I joined Muriel and her niece, Virginie and her daughter Margo, and walked through the vineyards connecting Ribeauville and Riquewihr. Then we had lunch at a traditional Alsatian restaurant before going to the farm to play with the animals (cows, sheep, horses). It was really great day out and was a superb alternative to my usual position at the moment (alseep on the couch!).

hugs to all,
Robyn

ps/The photo shows the farm we visited with the Vosges hills behind and, if you look closely, you can see the château du Haut Koenigsburg sitting on top of the tallest of the hills.

I have legs!

See my two legs, my teddy-bear bum, and then my big head!

This is just a short, jubuliant message to say that our wee baby has legs that we saw wriggling and jiggling about this morning!

The doctor seems happy with the progress (s)he is making and we've scheduled the next scan for two months time!!

:-)

okay, so I should clarify..

okay, so I should clarify..
... Spring in Alsace still means, from time to time, you can find snow to play in!

...and, yes, Mr Snowman was pleased to have the chance to 'come to life'.

walking in the woods

To create a break in all the full-time sleeping that I'm doing at the moment, Ben and I headed out yesterday for a 'walk in the woods.'
We began at the chapel de Dabo, which is a small chapel perched on top of a hill that surveys the plateau d'Alsace from on high. Then we descended back down towards Molsheim and stopped off at a small wooded trail for an hour long wander through the trees. The weather was wonderfully sunny and the woods were alive with the sounds of Spring: the shushing of the wind, the chuckles of the birds, and silence. It felt really good to be outside and to feel winter drawing to a close.

So, here's hoping -wherever this blog finds you in the world - that the seasons are turning in your favour!

hugs,
Robyn

Spring is in the air!

I've been wondering how to announce this on the blog, but I guess the above picture already speaks more than a thousand words.

Benoit and I are about 8 weeks pregnant and are already counting down the days until November 3rd.

We had our second ultrascan yesterday ( we had the first three weeks ago but all we could see at that point was a little 'chick pea' that was 'tellement petit' that it wasn't worth announcing). Yesterday's scan was much better, as the wee creature measured about 2.5cm (yes, that's still petit!) and was wriggling and jiggling about as though he was very much happy to be alive!!

The funny thing was that yesterday was April 1st - and so for the moment he's our little 'poisson d'avril' and our little 'april fool'. The date of the scan is April 22nd....

So watch this space for more news... and know that I'm thinking of you all!
best regards,
Robyn
ps/we are still moving ahead with the apartment and should be moving in around the end of May.

We've found a place to live!!

To find our new home? walk through this gate...


Hello,

I know I haven't blogged recently but things have been so busy! And, not least, because we've found an apartment to buy.

Yes, I know that originally we were looking for a house but in the end we decided that an apartment was the simpler solution. Why? Because most of the houses in our price range would require some renovation work and Ben and I both realised what we're looking for at this point is simplicity.

So, we've found a quite adorable apartment at the entrance to Mutzig, a small town of 5000 people about 5 minutes drive from Molsheim. The apartment is part of an old house that has been subdivided into 8 sections and encircles a large court with parking places. The living room is large, has a wooden floor, and a lovely fireplace. The two bedrooms are comfortable and the kitchen is fully equiped. Also, there's a large cellar for the washing machine, bikes, and boxes. As with our current apartment, we can walk into town and to the train station. Photos will follow :-)

If everything goes okay, we should move in on May 25th 2006! So, watch this space for more news....

Hoping all is well,
love,
Robynx

My friend Jane, who has recently moved to the Ukraine has compiled some great “blue lists” - travel-related lists. Here are her entries:

An eclectic collection of Kyiv restaurants - Bluelist - Lonely Planet

Photographing Kyiv - some lesser known spots for snaps - Bluelist - Lonely Planet

Perfect Places to Pop the Question - Bluelist - Lonely Planet

Why not go along and have a look - you never know you might be tempted to visit someplace new after reading the first two, or you might be tempted to ask someone to marry you by the time you've read the last one!

hugs,
Robyn

How to be paid to trave!

Hello again,

Just to let you know that I've adapted a newspaper article I'm working on (for the P&J) into a bluelist entry.

It's called 'How to be paid to travel' and can be found by plugging 'money' into the search function.

See:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bluelist/index.cfm?fa=main.viewList&list_id=4077

Meanwhile, though, a HUGE THANK YOU to all those who have already voted for me! Both entries and now within the 'most popular entries' list... which can surely only be a good thing!

hugs,
Robynx

House Hunting

I've been a bit quiet for the last few weeks because things have been busy. Why? Well, work is keeping both Ben and I busy. Ben is traveling a lot and keeping up with his reports while the start of the year is always busy for Linguissimo. In addition, we're in the process of finding a house to buy - and are actually at the point of proposing a price for a house (or will be in ten days time, when the agent returns from holiday). It's a really cute house, with a garden and even a vegetable patch! We both really like it but are in no rush to buy something, so if our proposal works - great - if not, we'll just keep looking :-)

So, hoping alls well at your side,
love Robynx

Blue-Lists

If you're reading this and have some time to spare, why not consider entering the latest
Lonely Planet competition?

Here's the idea:

Write a list of things to do in an exotic place and win the chance to write for the Lonely Planet!
How? Well, after you publish your list all the other readers of the Bluelist 'vote' to say if it's any good. The lists with the most votes catch the eye of the judge and 'bingo' you're on your way to China for your first assignment!!

My first submission can be found under 'browse all keywords' and then the word 'swimming'.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bluelist/index.cfm?fa=main.viewList&list_id=3274

My second submission can be found under 'browse all keywords' and then the word 'paradise'.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bluelist/index.cfm?fa=main.viewList&list_id=3732

Have a look and then enter your own list!

hugs n smiles,
Robyn

Skiing!

Big smiles! Ben and I have just returned from a weekend in the mountains! Living just beside the Vosges hills, the recent low temperatures and snowy days have made me yearn for the slopes. When I was younger I went skiing all the time with my family and so winter has become connected with the desire to drink hot chocolate while talking about the latest run and snow conditions :-) Listening to my heart, Ben booked us into the 'Auberge du Lac Blanc' on Friday night. The only thing was, as soon as we arrived we knew we wanted to stay longer... and so quickly reserved for Saturday night as well. Which meant, after a great day's skiing on Saturday we came off the piste and then had the luxury of reheating at the hotel- (hot chocolate for me and coffee for Ben) . Which in turn meant that we could go for a snowy walk and enjoy the evening and all before dinner! Really, it was just ideal and only and hour and a bit's drive from the house. Hopefully, this'll mark the first of many weekends :-)

Returning home today we found a parcel from Sam containing... freshly caught.. wonderfully vegetarian... haggis! So tomorrow night - with neeps and tatties - we'll enjoy a feast fit for Scottish poets :-) Thanks girl!

my sweater

Hello,

A big thanks to Mum, Annette, and Juliette for helping me with not only this sweater but also with the couple of scarfs I've knitted/am in the process of knitting. Heaven knows I wasn't born a natural knitter, but that just makes me all the happier to have finished my first sweater. Next task? a woolen poncho! Here goes.....

ps/for those interested (Jane, Mary, Alena, Melanie etc) you can see my rather cluttered writing space behind - filled with photos and memories and, of course, empty cups of tea.

Oh brother!

Much to my delight, my brother Graham and I spent ages talking on the phone last night!! He's travelling around New Zealand at the moment and his phonecalls are fun because they go rather like this:

G: You know its 7.45am NZ time and I'm standing in a wee village.
R: Where?
G: Rotura.
R: (typing Roturainto google) http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/regions/rotorua.html Oh, Rotura, that's in the North island.
G: Yes, close to hobbiton.
R: What?
G: You know where the Hobbit village was filmed.
R: (typing hobbiton)http://www.hobbitontours.com/ That looks funny.
G: Yep, but I'm not going there as people say its a bit naff.
R: So, what are you doing today?
G: I'm going zorbing.
R: What? (typing 'zorbing NZ' into google.)
G: You know the hamster ball thing.
R: Oh: http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/attractions/adventure/zorbing/rotorua/
G: Only I don't know whether to do the dry run or the one with the bucket of water inside.
R: (reading the webpage) They say the dry run makes you feel less sick.
G: Well, I'll probably do the wet run then.
R: Yep, that sounds better. So, what have you been doing for the last few days?
G. Hiking my way through a national park, watching hawks dive on possum that have become roadkill, and listening to Kiwis scuffle about in the dark.
R: What does a Kiwi look like?
G: I was too cosy in my tent to go and look.
R:(typing Kiwi into google) Well, they say the Kiwi is 'The kiwi is canny, strong and stroppy, but it's vanishing from New Zealand at a rate of 5.8 percent every year. '
G: Yep, its a kind a silly, flightless bird.
R: yep, but you shouldn't mess with it because 'Despite its awkward appearance, a kiwi can actually outrun a human and have managed to survive because of their alertness and their sharp, three-toed feet, which enable them to kick and slash an enemy.'
G: Glad I stayed in my tent, then!

And so on and so on!!!

:-)

Cheers Graham, and watch out for those canny strong and stroppy Kiwis (as they sound awfully female to me!).

love,
Robynx

Molsheim

Here's a picture of Molsheim from the quite, quite, frozen vineyards!
(If you see the blog for October, you'll see quite a different picture of Molsheim!)

Snowy Walks

My friend Jane who has recently moved to the Ukraine just posted some snowy pictures on her blog. Not to be outdone, I thought I'd do the same!

As the temperature gauges read -5°C, I donned my thick socks and woolly scarf for a wintry walk through the local vineyards.

As the snow crunched underfoot, a kestrel circled overheaded and the distant sounds of children playing with their dog echoed all around. It was really lovely, as all the trees had frozen into place and so any colour or movement became really bright and important.

All the same, the nicest thing of all was to come back home and to settle down with some warm milk and a slice of Ben's homemade ham and nut bread!

Happy New Year!

Hello,

It's been a while since I last said 'hello' - so I hope alls well at your side and that you're enjoying the beginnings of the new year.

For my part, mum and dad came across for Christmas and so we visited the Christmas market in Strasbourg, Haut Keonigsbourg, and generally relaxed and enjoyed ourselves.

Then, for New Year, Ben and I drove down through Switzerland and Italy to Nice (where we used to live and where his parents currently live). Once there we caught up with some old friends and spent time with Jean Claude and Annette. On the first day of the New Year we donned our new roller blades and went for a skate and a skitter along the Cagnes promenade next to the sea!

The, phew, for Epiphany we went through to visit Juliette and Regis in Germany - where the girls knitted and the boys played 'Age of Empires 3'! It was all very enjoyable as we chilled out and had time for a wintry walk around the town.

Now, Ben and I are back in Molsheim and we - very importantly - have nothing planned for this weekend, except catching up with unfinished jobs around the house and contacting old friends.

So, here's hoping that you are well and that life continues at this happy and relaxed pace :-)

love n hugs,
Robyn

wintry colours

Hmmm...

I begin to wonder if I'm getting old. Why? Here are five reasons:

1. I finished knitting my scarf today. It's full of autumnal colours and very warm, in that knitted scratchy kind of way.

2. Ben and I are presently baking a yoghurt cake to use up some oldish pears.

3. Waking up late this morning, I read a little in bed before stumbling throughto the kitchen to enjoy tea and croissants with Ben.

4. Our Saturday ritual of visiting the mediatech feels comfortable, as we gleefully return to the house with an armful of CDs and books to pour over.

5. As the snow fell this week, I noticed how the sparrow hawks tucked their heads into their fluffy chests as they sat on bare trees watching the world; I saw how the orange of a fox running across an open field burned like a flame; and, I realised that whenever crows fly overhead in a flock of dark light I cannot help but remember how the bats swirled out of Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico and out into a different world than my own.

But, if these are the joys of growing old, may the world roll on.