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Chicken pox in the house

Dressing Little E this morning was more challenging than usual: he was very reluctant to help and kept moving around. I noticed a few spots on his neck and thought he felt warmer than usual. I mentioned it to MIL who is a medical doctor and she diagnosed chicken pox - which was subsequently confirmed by LE's paeditrician. No wonder he was complaining about being itchy and scratchy yesterday! Poor LE. I hope he will bear the next few days well. Thankfully, I've had chicken pox before.

Cannot be persuaded

There are carnival participants living in our building: a prop (in the picture) has been parked on the ground floor. Ooh.

Meanwhile back at the ranch in Alsace:

Little E has decided that I'm his favourite today, inching close to me whenever and wherever I move and refusing to leave my side even at meal or nap time. This creates interesting dynamics with the grampies who are excited to see him and want to spend time with him.

I've talked to LE gently about spreading some love with little impact. Grandma, who is a witness to some of his "I don't like nor want to" head shaking responses is cross with him and shows it but at the same time prefers that I don't persuade LE, wanting him to want her naturally vs. fulfilling an obligation. What to do?

The funny thing is, LE is not like this with me all the time. Some days, I'm far from his go-to person. Indeed, he has a few times even rejected my attempts to play with him much like what he is doing now with his grandma. So I do know how frustrated she feels. Only thing is I don't verbalize it (well, maybe only to the G).

 

The Carnival

Five of us had boarded the train to spend the day in Liestal (17 km away from Basel) after a brunch in town. We watched the processions and after that hopped from one bar to another (like everyone else) while waiting for the evening activities. The atmosphere was festive yet civilised, despite the litres of beer. The swiss are very orderly.  

We were standing on top of a platform watching the procession when I spied a wolf standing next to a red riding hood and took the first picture. A friend of E and I, P, who was born and bred in Basel and had participated in the Fasnacht until she was 20 noticed and asked me whether I wanted a better picture and went ahead to tap the wolf on the shoulder. Both the wolf and red-riding hood kindly complied much to my delight.

E and I made it back home before 10pm nd I woke up a few hours later to witness the Morgestraich in the old part of the city. It was impressive: the way all the lights went off at 4am and how the costumed people with lanterns on their head started marching down the streets playing their drums and wind instruments so earnestly. I felt sure that if I were local, I would be more than a willing and active participant.  

 

Scenes from the Carnival

 

 {The waggis threw confetti, oranges, flowers and sweets to the people on the street} 

 {Wiki on Fasnacht says that Waggis are "an affectionate spoof on the Alsation farmers who, in the distant past, regularly rolled up to Basel markets to sell produce". Also that the red nose is due to their over indulgence in red wine} 

 {I took this picture in a bar. This chap's trousers were rolled up to show his red socks. Shame I couldn't fit it in this frame. He looked like he came down from a Mountain}

 {After the procession, the carts were left by the roadside - the streets and bars were heaving before the start of the evening procession which involved huge bonfires)

{Some kids were breaking the unwritten rule of picking the confetti from the floor and throwing it over others nearby. Only waggis are allowed to throw things} 

 {Lots of little kids and parents enjoying themselves; lovely to see really}

 

{A group of US footballers showing up all the way to Liestal to play drums for the carnival}

 

Watching the celebrations

E and I had a good time yesterday: We spent most of it in Liestal - watching the procession for Fasnacht. I would like to  post some pictures and say more about it but there is a little boy tugging at my arms to dance along with him to his favourite Iron Maiden song "Dance of Death".

The return of everybody

 

 

The picture above comes from a notebook I bought from a book store at the train station in Frankfurt  a few weeks ago. I find the illustration beautiful; I am especially taken by the owl (The girl and especially her tights are cute but I'm a little bit concerned that I can't see her mouth). The shelf at the book store was full of other pretty things by the same illustrator: variations of notebooks, pocket mirrors, little pouches, phone covers but I told myself I could only choose one item. And so I did.

* * *

So, the long weekend is here at last. E will be arriving home shortly and we will be picking up Little E en-route to our other home. Parents In Law are also on the way there, having left their home yesterday - their car no doubt heaving from all sorts of delicious supplies from Spain. It is LE's second week of school holidays and the PIL will be spending quality time with him. With LE in the doting hands of his grampies, E and I will be able to join some friends for some Fasnacht related celebrations tomorrow. It will be my first time. I've been told that the procession or Morgestraich on early Monday morning is really something special to see and one should make an effort to watch it. The Azura from a few years ago would have said "...so come on, let's party on Sunday until 4am!!!" (yes, really, with 3 exclamation points). Today, my words are: "So, how about we make sure we go to bed early on Sunday evening in the city flat?" 

 

Draw Bin Redraw

I started drawing every day when I was completing my thesis in 2004. I enjoyed it immensely. It allowed me to focus on something else besides my thesis and best of all, it was free entertainment - something I appreciated very much as I was a skint PhD student who couldn't afford a lot of things and whose only other activity was my part-time work which I needed to support myself and repay my debts.

I stopped drawing regularly around 2006, some years after I relocated and was working as an analyst in stock broking. The working hours were long and when I had time outside work - I typically chose to run or party. I did take art classes in 2009, in a moment of "I have to reclaim things I enjoy", when I was in HK but that didn't last more than 4 sessions due to late evenings at work. Since then, I would pick up a pen or a set of water colour but it didn't feel right: I felt rushed and uninspired.

I'm not working incredibly long hours now and am often left to my own devices (when I don't have a reflection paper or group projects to submit in school that is). And I'm feeling the change in the air: I.e. I feel like drawing and painting and even want to work on an illustrated story - even if the reader is LE or young D and MZ in Singapore. I've decided to start a blog called Draw Bin Redraw where I can hopefully harness ideas and inspiration. I've started the ball rolling by pasting a few of my old drawings that I like. The aim is to update the blog at least twice a week: for example Mondays and Thursdays. 

 

 

Things that I like

{My companion from Copenhagen which came home with me one November in 2009. He is happy to be finally out of the box}       

{The very solemn couple from Mongolia, living in Vintage crockery land. He might look in control, but in reality, she is the goddess}

What I did yesterday

1. Further de-cluttered my wardrobe. This time, I tried every single item on and put aside the items I just couldn't see myself wearing again. For example, an old favourite black and purple woolen dress that I bought in Toronto in October 2008, a black woolen dress that saw better days in Hong Kong and a never-worn striped skirt I bought last autumn. I don't know what I was thinking about (that I have another body maybe?) when I got the latter as the stripes are so totally wrong for my body shape. See what I mean?

2. Went out and got a hair cut. I pleaded for more shape, so that I can manage my hair better and have a more sophisticated and glamorous look vs. the college-girl style that I despair my hair has transformed into (when, what, how, why?!). Language was a real problem though: the hairdresser, J, spoke only a little bit of English and we communicated slowly and through the help from her translation app. This was, I think (?) better communication than the last time. I wouldn't say that my hair has much more shape now: J tells me it's because of my not wanting shorter layers at the top. Well, at least I feel less neglected now, which is always great when I'm feeling in need of a boost, albeit for the princely sum of 80 CHF (USD89)*.   

3. Took advantage of Thursday's late night shopping and went grocery shopping. I brought home some more brown rice and salad which has been my staple food these past days. I also picked up the ingredients to bake some scones: G, my friend from school will be coming around this afternoon for tea and we will be testing out the oven. Company is something I'm very much looking forward to having been by myself these past few days.   

* Interesting that wash and blow dry count separately and often exceeds the cost of a hair cut. I observed at least two women just having a cut. J asked me twice whether I wanted a wash AND a blow out and reminded me how much they cost when presenting the bill.  

Some pink on a Friday

{Flowers on a street in Bali (2010)- I heart that Island}

{What we needed in Hay-on-Wye in 2008}