Went to Bio-Farm & Papiliorama…

Bio-Farm
We went to a bio-farm (labeled a work-colonie on mapserach.ch) called Murimoos with Michaela & Xavi on Wednesday. It was a foggy morning but it cleared up nicely & we had a good time.

There was a nice fair-size playground, there was also a water play area (which we didn’t know about so the boys weren’t dressed to have water fun – next time), there were Angus cows & lots of plants to see, little farm animals too. However, as it was autumn, there were no sheep & pigs to see thot you see the pens they would have been in. Anyone knows where they keep sheep & pigs when the weather is cold?

They also had a wood workshop – but were only doing some sawing so not much to see. Quite a few tractors moving about – much to the delight of the boys. There was a bit more of the place to explore but we decided not too as they seemed (on the map) to be argicultural features & quite a walk away.

They had a nice little resturant where we had a nice lunch & even a snack before going home.
It was a great opportunity for the kids to see animals up close. The workers all live on the farm like one big happy family – very nice.

We would definitely go again – maybe in Spring so we get to see newborn animals too – hopefully.

Papiliorama
This weekend, we were supposed to be up in the mountains of Wallis, Switzerland, enjoying some nice mountain fresh air & the beautiful nature, however, our neighbours decided not to go up (health reasons) so we are not there.

However, we did enjoy a nice afternoon at the Papiliorama in Kerzers, Switzerland.

It was wonderfully warm inside the Papiliorama – a tropical butterfly park (outside morning temps have been below 10), as well as Nocturama where you are thrust into the dark & have to squint hard to see the nighttime creatures – we had to convince Tobias to go in as he’s afraid of the dark – he had to go on as it was a one way in & one way out thing so once in the door you have to go on. Before this, Tobias had volunteered to go into the Arthropodarium while at the Papiliorama but backed out hastily once he realised it was in the dark & there were huge spiders!  But he did enjoy looking at the noctunal creatures in the end.

There was also a Jungle Trek which featured tropical animals, a ProNatur section (preserve environment type organisation) as well as a little cute section which showed the life of a tortise in Switzerland.

Going to the butterfly park is really a conquest of my fear of butterfly parks – when i was a child, we (my family) visited one & i was "chased" by butterflies as i was wearing a big red sweater! Ever since insects, especially flying ones gives me a fright. So i must say that today went well, thot i took the precaution of wearing black 😉

Tobias completely enjoyed himself (except for in the dark parts & spider parts) – it was one of very few family outings as such for us (where we went by ourselves, not with visitors) – we constantly have to do something else on a Sat or Walter is away – so i’m happy 🙂

Note
Unfortunately for both these outings – i have no photos to post – at the Bio-Farm i brought the camera with but it ran out on batteries. i got 1x picture of the boys on my handphone but can’t seem to get it to download. For the Papiliorama, i forgot the camera but used my handphone – again can’t seem to get them. Maybe it will solve itself in the next couple of days & i’ll post them – hopefully. sigh.

Back from the lost world of books…with new stuff…

So we did that disappearing act again. It was a busy month for the book biz – it has been good sales – Thank God!
Now we are back in cyberspace & i’m happy to show off several nice new things we have acquired in the last month 😉

My darling hubby – who was away in Canada for about 11 or 12 days in September – bought us a nice new laptop – it was cheap cheap in Canada – it’s what i’m using to write this blog now 😉 It’s an Acer Extensa 5620Z, with Windows Vista – interesting OS.
DH says it’s a belated anniversary present – our 6th! Can’t believe it has been 6 years already. Am happy 😉
Here’s a picture of it:

i treated myself & bought myself "funny shoes" @ half price – MBTs – Masia Barefoot Teachnology – they are supposed to mimic the way the Masai walk barefooted on natural ground – it’s good for your back, increased muscle work in legs, improved posture etc… check it out.
It took awhile to get used to walking in them – muscle fatigue in muscles of my legs, i never knew i had, for the 1st few days but it did my back good. Lessen back pain, more leg workout… are good results i can attest to. However, as i have a protruding bone in both my ankles (had this for as long as i can remember) – it gave me some pain – which i went to the local store to ask about today – the lady said i should have been prescribed custom insoles since i was a child & the bone will continue to stick out more & more till i get the insoles. It’s not as gross as it sounds. Anyhow, she sold me universal insoles & fitted them for me as my jaw dropped when she told me how much custom ones would cost. Though she said that health insurance would cover it – but i needed to get a prescription from my doctor – too much trouble in my mind. So another round of getting used to walking with these insoles or arch supports.
These are my MBTs:

i think they are the most "girlie" looking shoes i own besides heels which i almost never wear now.

Tobias also got new shoes (also @ half price – my friend took us to a big sports goods sales in Thun) – Crocs!
i’ve always wanted to gte him a pair but found them way too expensive – so since there was a sale i bought him a pair – but had to tell him that he can’t wear them outside now (too cold). He has taken to wearing them in the house though.
Here are his dark red Crocs:

Oh i also got new display stands for my book biz – they are made of cupboard, dismantled after each use, light & easy to carry around. Am really happy with them. Hmm…. i wonder – maybe i did write about them before – it’s been way too long since i last wrote. Maybe not?

We are off to the annual Swiss Toy Fair in Bern tomorrow – hopefully we don’t come home with more new stuff – don’t think DH would like it too much if we spend more – hhehheheee 😉

Well, that’s it for now – more soon.
syc