05 April, 2009
04 April, 2009
Centrally located with a charming view.
WARNING - This is not the Paris Blog-WARNING
Sorry but I am soo overwhelmed by my Paris photos and stories, its going to take a bit to pull it all together. The following Blog is one I started before I left. A quick tour of the apartment I am living in for the year.
Living Room
View from Living Room to Entry And Kitchen
Entry/ Drying Rack Area
Back of the front door... Who knows? Apparently boys used to live here.
Kitchen
My Room
Comfy futon in the living room PERFECT for Guests.
Not so roomy Bathroom. Does have hot water!
Sorry but I am soo overwhelmed by my Paris photos and stories, its going to take a bit to pull it all together. The following Blog is one I started before I left. A quick tour of the apartment I am living in for the year.
Living Room
View from Living Room to Entry And Kitchen
Entry/ Drying Rack Area
Back of the front door... Who knows? Apparently boys used to live here.
Kitchen
My Room
Comfy futon in the living room PERFECT for Guests.
Not so roomy Bathroom. Does have hot water!
Signs of Spring in Uberlingen
The signs of spring in Uberlingen are a lot like those in Portland. The Crocus flowers have been teasing us for weeks.
Yet there are a few spring changes that are new this year.
I didn't expect to see a truck driving palm trees through town.
We've been having our coffee outside these days...
At work and on the weekends
The view out of our office window is perking up a bit with flowers
But we are also keeping the shades down to cut down on the glare from the morning sun
In addition to coffee breaks, now wine and beer "breaks" are by the lake as well.
Sail boats are starting to dot the lake.
Each Saturday there are more carts and stands at the farmers market.
My morning routine now includes remembering where my keys and sunglasses are instead of trying to keep track of my keys, gloves, hat, scarf, and chap stick.
My American colleague, Laura, remembered hers on this sunny walk. We go for walks all the time here, as do the locals.
Every house and garden is perking up just a bit with more color than the week before.
There is also the occasional scent of nearby farms. (I find myself thinking fondly of Arlie road and Tillamook.)
Easter decorations are scattered across yards on the verge of leafing out.
The lake is suddenly much more attractive. It's finally warm enough to venture to the water's edge without an extremely chilling wind.
I realized the other day that I hadn't actually touched the water yet. I think it’s just a bit warmer than the Pacific, but only just a bit.
Caravaning is a popular past time here. And with the long Easter holiday coming up, they were out in full force.
I get the feeling that living in Uberlingen in the summer will be completely different from my quiet winter experience.
Already the tourist crowds are picking up, and this weekend, a carriage "Kulture" tour was working its way through Uberlingen at least twice a day. This is the view from my apartment window.
There have been more cyclists wearing helmets too, I am assuming these are tourists. Before, people riding to work wore their work clothes and didn't bother with helmets much. Those wearing helmets were also decked out in fancy professional bike gear. Now there is a whole new bike crowd, casually dressed, moving slowly in groups of two or more and all wearing helmets. Many accessorize with fanny packs as well. (This may have been what tipped me off.)
The local businesses are sprucing everything up. Here some boat signs are getting a fresh coat of paint.
Next weekend I will be in Paris. I can hardly believe it. I promise I will take lots of pictures and post an extensive blog describing my adventures, but only on the condition that I get a few personal e-mails in return. I know there are a whole slew of you who are keeping tabs on my "adventures" but I haven't heard about any of yours for months. Sarah, I want wedding updates! Liesl, I want baby updates! Jen, I need some gossip! And family, well, know that I miss you all and that I will be thinking of you while I am at Easter Mass in the Notre Dame Cathedral, not to rub it in or anything. Hee!
Yet there are a few spring changes that are new this year.
I didn't expect to see a truck driving palm trees through town.
We've been having our coffee outside these days...
At work and on the weekends
The view out of our office window is perking up a bit with flowers
But we are also keeping the shades down to cut down on the glare from the morning sun
In addition to coffee breaks, now wine and beer "breaks" are by the lake as well.
Sail boats are starting to dot the lake.
Each Saturday there are more carts and stands at the farmers market.
My morning routine now includes remembering where my keys and sunglasses are instead of trying to keep track of my keys, gloves, hat, scarf, and chap stick.
My American colleague, Laura, remembered hers on this sunny walk. We go for walks all the time here, as do the locals.
Every house and garden is perking up just a bit with more color than the week before.
There is also the occasional scent of nearby farms. (I find myself thinking fondly of Arlie road and Tillamook.)
Easter decorations are scattered across yards on the verge of leafing out.
The lake is suddenly much more attractive. It's finally warm enough to venture to the water's edge without an extremely chilling wind.
I realized the other day that I hadn't actually touched the water yet. I think it’s just a bit warmer than the Pacific, but only just a bit.
Caravaning is a popular past time here. And with the long Easter holiday coming up, they were out in full force.
I get the feeling that living in Uberlingen in the summer will be completely different from my quiet winter experience.
Already the tourist crowds are picking up, and this weekend, a carriage "Kulture" tour was working its way through Uberlingen at least twice a day. This is the view from my apartment window.
There have been more cyclists wearing helmets too, I am assuming these are tourists. Before, people riding to work wore their work clothes and didn't bother with helmets much. Those wearing helmets were also decked out in fancy professional bike gear. Now there is a whole new bike crowd, casually dressed, moving slowly in groups of two or more and all wearing helmets. Many accessorize with fanny packs as well. (This may have been what tipped me off.)
The local businesses are sprucing everything up. Here some boat signs are getting a fresh coat of paint.
Next weekend I will be in Paris. I can hardly believe it. I promise I will take lots of pictures and post an extensive blog describing my adventures, but only on the condition that I get a few personal e-mails in return. I know there are a whole slew of you who are keeping tabs on my "adventures" but I haven't heard about any of yours for months. Sarah, I want wedding updates! Liesl, I want baby updates! Jen, I need some gossip! And family, well, know that I miss you all and that I will be thinking of you while I am at Easter Mass in the Notre Dame Cathedral, not to rub it in or anything. Hee!
27 March, 2009
Jane just called.
I just answered the phone only to hear a lovely English accent asking me about our Buzzsaw connection for a new project.
I worked very hard to listen to what she was saying about fixing our user login issues (with the most beautiful pronunciation) when all I wanted to do was proclaim the following thought, "Oh my God, I am sitting at my desk at work and answering calls from London!? Where the '#%$ß' am I and how the '#%$ß' did I get here?!... This is so freaking awesome!'
I used to have these moments at least every other day, but they have tapered off as of late. I would write more on this but, it’s my turn to go make 4:00 tea and coffee for the office.
26 March, 2009
25 March, 2009
Large Kitchen Sinks
Where pans can actually fit under the faucet and be rinsed without splashing water everywhere.
19 March, 2009
Schwarzwald
I met with Bernward and friends two weekends ago for a little winter hike. I knew I was getting a bit in over my head. It might have been the 4 trains and 1 bus that I had to take together that clued me in, or maybe it was walking up the side of a snowy mountain with a speedy little rope tow running along side me. Most likely it was the walking poles that my fellow hikers had that made it terribly obvious that this was not a day in which I could expect to do anything the easy way.
Except when I was able to slide down the side of the hill on my butt because of my fabulously slippery snow pants. I will admit that was pretty easy, and probably my favorite part! You can even see my trail if you look closely at the picture to the right.
The best part was when they said that we were going to hike to the top of the third highest peek in ... drum roll please... The Black Forest. Well it wasn't Mount Hood but hiking in three feet of snow did kick my butt. The scenery was was absolutely worth it, I just didn't realize it until I saw the photos that Damion took.This is where we ate lunch, not to mention the coolest picture ever!
Many have asked why its called the Black Forest or Schwarzwald and this is my answer, derived completely from my overly observant landscape oriented brain: Its a bit funny for us North Westerners to understand, but when most of the country side is made up of deciduous forest, hills covered in coniferous (evergreen) trees are a strikingly dark. They almost look black when compared to the chartreuse spring leaves on the deciduous trees seen at lower elevations.05 March, 2009
Well when you put it that way...
I joined a phone conference today with some consultants in Chicago. My coworker proceeded to introduce me.
"Jaime is joining us now, she is a real native American."
The horrified look on my face quickly registered with my coworker as I interrupted and explained that,
"No no, not really, I am just from Portland".
On the other end of the line I could sense a momentary horror that similar to my own but also quickly followed by a healthy dose of American style laughter.
The first in a collection of notable moments in language confusion. Look for "Language Confusion" in the "labels" box and you will see the compiled list as it grows.
"Jaime is joining us now, she is a real native American."
The horrified look on my face quickly registered with my coworker as I interrupted and explained that,
"No no, not really, I am just from Portland".
On the other end of the line I could sense a momentary horror that similar to my own but also quickly followed by a healthy dose of American style laughter.
The first in a collection of notable moments in language confusion. Look for "Language Confusion" in the "labels" box and you will see the compiled list as it grows.
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