the best thing about being surrounded by farms is getting fruits and veggies straight from the tree/ground/vine etc. after many weeks of watching the apples grow and redden on the trees, its finally time to eat them! we went over to a farm close by and picked a ton of them with our very own hands. to call them delicious is doing them a disservice. they are the best apples i have ever tasted. we took home about 10kgs (22lbs) three days ago and we’ve eaten them all!

and some random cuteness:

i’ve got lots to write about but not enough time, so here is something to distract you all. hana and i spent the afternoon digitising some old family photos. some of them date way back to what we estimate are the late 1800s! i’d love to get all of them in digital form if possible, but there just isn’t enough time… which is a shame, because they are so cool!

first up is this awesome ninja guy whom we’re related to in some uncertain way.

and this is my great-great-great-grandfather. apparently he used to go to school with a sword. now that is old school. this is the photo that we’re estimating was taking sometime between 1880-1900. which isn’t really *that* long ago when you think about it.

check outthese photos of my dad when he was young. he had (and still has) an impressive set of ears!

some more photos of my dad when he was a young pup:

hana and my favourite set of photos are from dad in his heyday. he was a young diplomat living the high life in various parts of asia. the shots imply equal measures of business and mischief, which is just the way it should be. the photos have faded beautifully and i think they would be gorgeous even if they weren’t part of our family history.

we sort of wish that he had kept his clothes from this era. i mean, how can you tell me that his pants are not the boldest, most courageous fashion statement ever made? fierce!

its not just my dad whose earlier life is being put on public display either. check out my mum!

this is a photo of my dad with me, around the same ages that nayou and i are now. ah, the cycle of life…

and here is my mum again with aya and myself.

it was another one of those busy weekends as we took advantage of the spectacular weather. the summer season is already on the wane here! on saturday brenda and i left our little boy with the grandparents and headed off to chamonix. chamonix is the town right at the base of mont blanc, the highest mountain in the alps. although chamonix is a huge tourist spot, it still feels like an old swiss town. the views of the alps are breathtaking, and we could have easily spent the day gawking from here.

but its not like we have the chance to do “real” hiking very often, what with being parents and everything, so we took a quick trip to the tourism office to see what the best route would be. we settled on a four hour loop up the mountain directly opposite from mont blanc, which promised some lakes and spectacular views. and we were not disappointed! its hard to describe the overwhelming majesty of seeing the peaks so close, so i’ll let the photos do the talking. we were ooh-ing and aah-ing every five minutes!

it was the perfect day for a hike – clear skies, gentle breezes, and optimal temperature. i even got to dry out my sweaty shirt at the summit of our loop!

one of the craziest things about the hikers around here is that they take their little kids with them! we saw so many parents with 2-4 year olds on their backs going up very steep inclines. i got tired just looking at them. once they are a bit older then the kids have to hoof it by themselves, which is also nuts. but they all seem to enjoy it so its all good!

we made it back to the gondola, all sweaty and happy, with half an hour to spare before the last ride back.

nayou, as usual, had an awesome time with his grandma and jiji. he even had a chance to sit and watch the tractor plough the field in front of their house while the sun slowly set behind the hills. in the words of grandma, “who said geneva was boring?”.

sunday was mellower but no less boring. we spent the morning at the antique market in nyon. the markets here are top notch, and it makes me seriously consider doing some sort of import/export business in the next place we settle. you can find all sorts of quality clothes, art, furniture and bric-a-bracs (swiss army blankets, old watches, coffee grinders, copper pots and pans, vintage telephones, etc). more importantly though, when we go to nyon, it means we stop at what might just be the world’s best gelateria. you should see the single minded focus that nayou has when he has a cup of pistachio ice cream in his hand!

the town of nyon also happens to have a pirates club. its a motley crew of old sailors who get together to drink, sail, drink, and drink. somewhere in there they also take handicapped children out on the lake and other cool charity events. these pirates were offering cruises on their boat to raise funds, so of course we hopped on and had a ride.

brenda and i are slowly narrowing down our next move. currently our choices are sydney or wellington. i’ve got a job back at weta should i want to take it, but first we are exploring the possibility of a move to sydney. i have a phone interview with dr. d studios in sydney tomorrow so we’ll see what happens based on that conversation. i think we would be happy in either location… i trust the universe will place us where we are meant to be!

all knocked up and everything!

like father like son:

its been a very chilled out couple of days over here. mid-august is supposed to be the hottest part of the year, but instead there are clouds, cold and more than a bit of rain. we’ve been staying close to home and taking it easy. for some reason almost all of the photos we’ve taken during this time involve eating.

nayou’s favourite thing to do when its wet outside is to go and look for snails. he likes to keep them in boxes, but we are teaching him about the concept of catch and release. everyone understands that when its night time everyone wants to go back to their mama and papa! it was cool observing the snails with him. i don’t think i’ve paid a mollusk that much attention since i was his age.