Being out of my environment truly gives me time to focus on a lot of different things. I was able to take some quiet time here in St Gallen and write out another week’s wrap up. This one is super exciting for us.

On April 1 we bought a house! No Joke. OMG, we bought a house, and for a month we owned two houses ::yikes:: A neighbor laughingly said “You’re the richest on the block!” and I said “No, no no… we are the most in debt!” Scary, but over all a very good move.

Mar 30 – Day 88

We were able to contract movers we had used five years prior to move our stuff across the street and I needed to take photos of everything that needed to be moved in order for him to give a quote. This was the setup of my office upstairs in the landing.

Mar 31 – Day 89

I decided to undo my resistance hat ONCE again because even though it fit, it was definitely still too big and floppy and not what I had in mind. So I took it all apart once more and Pica “helped” me to roll it all up one evening in bed.

Apr 1 – Day 90

House buying day! We had the inspection at 9 am with both of our real estate agents having a catch up after all the work they did to help this transaction come to fruition.

We received champers from our real estate agent to celebrate the big day. We totally forgot to take photos during the signing, but I think we got the emotion of the day with our smiles.

Apr 2 – Day 91

We have a lot of work to get done in a month and have everything planned out and no time like the present to get started.

The painter showed up, the large waste container was dropped off, and the kitchen installer got to work taking everything out.

“Planning is everything. Plans mean nothing.”

-Eisenhower

Apr 3 – Day 92

Even though it was the holiday of “Good Friday” people continued to get work done. Our kitchen was extracted/demolished quickly in two days. The painter started upstairs. So far, so good.

Apr 4 – Day 93

It was beautiful out on Saturday afternoon as we went for a walk around the neighborhood and I saw this lovely blossoming pink cherry tree. Had to stop and get a snap of it up close.

Later in the afternoon, I brought over some of our outdoor furniture and sat in the back garden with a cup of coffee and just soaked it all in. Wow.

Apr 5 – Day 94

Sunday morning was Easter morning and I got up early to make Braided Easter bread that my Mum made for our family when I was a kid, oh so many years ago… We had a beautiful Sunday Easter Brunch as a family.

I made two loaves because I wanted to bring one loaf to a neighboring family who had a tragedy befall them a week prior.

When I brought the Easter loaf to them in the afternoon, I didn’t know what to expect. They are part of the Roma community who very much keep to themselves and so we didn’t know them at all. There were two giant tents set up in their property that were filled to the brim with flowers - must have been hundreds of bouquets. I knocked on the door and met the mother of the woman who had died the weekend prior. There were more arrangement of flowers in the living room along with the coffin. I was not expecting that, but learning about how much she was loved and cherished by her family and her community was heartening. The expression “May their memory be a blessing” was immediately brought to fruition.

Later that afternoon back at home, David and a friend hunted for chocolate eggs in the new garden and had fun in the empty house. I so cherish these moments and appreciate the reminder that life is precious and sweet and can be cut too short, so take time to savor these times.

Around 20 years ago I saw Cirque du Soleil’s “Alegria” with my family in California and the show is getting a reboot. As an early birthday present, we went this past weekend in May to Düsseldorf to watch the show. I just found this music video from 2025 where they showcase the reboot and show all the incredible amount of work that goes into the production. They also show scenes from the earlier performance and I was able to recall the actors and performers that were buried deep my brain.

The music video is inspiring, and truly brings tears to my eyes to see the beauty, teamwork and and passion that they all bring to their performances. Not only is it physically intense and beautiful, but it’s also imbued with emotion which they are wonderfully able to transmit to the audience who are lucky enough to see their work. Enjoy