Benefits of Watching the World Cup with the Family

The World Cup started when we were out camping in the Black Forest, during the Pentecostal holiday break of the girls. Because of the time difference, the last game ended after midnight. And because we were in a camping site, we could hear different groups of people cheering for their favorite teams. Oh yes, I guess, nobody got to sleep early that night :-D

Our mascot

The next day, you could see people around the camping area preparing for another late night: tons of chips, cases of beer and softdrinks, meat for barbecue, etc. were being readied by our fellow campers. Not to mention the different flags hanging around and about -- in cars, around their motor homes, in hats, etc.

Now, my girls got interested in watching the game the first night we arrived back home because the German team would be playing. Actually, they have been wanting German flags for our car but my husband and I refused as we usually drive along the highway (and I have seen lots of car flags littering the highway). IC settled in having stripes of the German colors on her left cheek and her left arm. MC begged me to buy flags and something to decorate our car.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Rikki!

Rikki is 3-year-old today!

I guess she knows there's something special going on because I have been busy in the kitchen since yesterday :-)

First I harvested more than enough spinach from our backyard garden. Then I made a dough for her doggie treats, and then another dough for her birthday cake. Meanwhile, MC made a birthday crown for her.

And today is the day!

Rikki is 3!

Sweet 3 :-D

Happy birthday, dear Rikki! You are the sunshine in our life...

P.S. Recipe for spinach doggie birthday cake to follow.

DIY: From Rice Sack and Old Shirts Into a No-Sew Foot Mat

Summer time and our inflatable pool is again ready for the girl's invasion.

No-sew foot mat for our inflatable pool

This time, we needed something to use as a foot mat. My husband wanted to buy something, but I told him to wait until I thought of something else.

Since we needed to buy a sack of rice, the idea of creating a foot mat out of the used sack. I admit, something out of my school project year ago prompted this concept, but I can't remember exactly what.

Restaurant Rössli in Rothrist, Switzerland

Uh-oh, I was just thinking about Gasthaus Rössli in Rothrist, Switzerland and wanted to start writing about our satisfying gourmet experience there when I checked their website here and what came up? This note:

Gaesteinformation, April 2014
Liebe Gaeste
Es ist mir ein Anliegen, Ihnen auch auf diesem Weg mitzuteilen, dass ich mich aus familiaeren und letztlich auch gesundheitlichen Gruenden entschieden habe, meinen Gastbetrieb im Roessli per Ende Mai 2014 hin aufzugeben. 
Ich moechte gerne wieder mehr Zeit fuer meine Familie in Tunesien haben.
Sind Sie vielleicht noch im Besitz von Gutscheinen? Dann bitte ich Sie, diese rechtzeitig einzuloesen.
Es wird mir nach Jahr und Tag eine besondere Freude sein, sie in den verbleibenden Wochen bei uns begruessen zu duerfen.

Herzlichst
Euer Raffi

Gasthaus Rössli in Rothrist, Switzerland

Remember we stayed in Camping Wiggerspitz last Easter as a stop-over during our trip to Italy and then again, during our way back home? Well, during our second overnight stay in the campsite, we all craved fine dining experience. After more than a week of great camping food, I guess we deserve something a little different and not cooked by us, right?

After asking the friendly staff in Camping Wiggerspitz for a good restaurant, they recommended Gasthaus Rössli. We decided to try the restaurant because it is only a few minutes ride from the camping area. And most important, because the restaurant is only a few minutes away from a huge shopping mall. Big points for my girls!

We found the restaurant easily, though we parked in the wrong place :-) The parking area is actually located beside the restaurant's front yard and we squeezed our car in their private parking area.

Upon entering the restaurant, two friendly ladies assisted us to find a comfortable place for us. You see, we have our very tired dog with us in the restaurant.

We were ushered in a corner table, where Rikki found a big place under the table to hang around. She immediately stayed down and slept.

The restaurant is cozy and the service staff were friendly. As for the menu, we had some difficulty in choosing because although they don't have a long list of specialties, they ones on the menu seemed so mouthwatering! We cannot decide right away, despite our grumbling stomachs.

After deliberating and a long discussion, we ordered our favorites (with a promise to let everybody taste our choices!).

I wasn't able to take all food photos but I am telling you, we really enjoyed our meal that night! We could have taken some dessert, too, but the girls wanted to go shopping and we don't have enough time to dally over sweets.

Spinach Soup

MC, who loves spinach, settled for Spinach Soup as starter. She shared it with her sister and her Papa. My husband ordered a delicious Green Salad.

Thai-style Curried Shrimp

Craving for some seafood, I chose the Thai-Style Curried Shrimp with Rice. It was spicy enough for my taste. Yummy! I would have loved to get another plate of the same dish but I ended up helping IC with her Schnitzel with French Fries, her all-time favorite.

Entrecote with Noodles and Vegetables

My husband went for Entrecote with Noodles and Vegetables. He was raving during his first bite because his steak was cooked perfectly - tender and juicy.

We promised we would definitely go back there! But the news about the restaurant owner's decision to give up his business at the end of May 2014 because of health reasons made us think about our decision. Although we are sure the new owner would keep the same quality in the restaurant.

Let's see. For now, we are happy for the chance to experience dining at Gasthaus Rössli in Rothrist, Switzerland last April.

A Review: Camping Wiggerspitz in Switzerland

We actually were looking into two camping areas in Switzerland as a pit stop during our trip to Lago Mergozzo, Italy.

But after checking the images in the internet, Camping Wiggerspitz became our favorite and we are happy with our decision.

Located in Aarburg, Switzerland - Camping Wiggespitz is a small but well-maintained campsite. It is situated right beside a tourist magnet, the Fort of Aarburg, and is right behind the amazing Aare River. A football (soccer) field is also right beside the campsite.

There is also a swimming pool but it was still closed when we stayed there last May.

It is also conveniently located because you could easily reach the campsite if you are travelling using the autobahn.

Be warned though that there's a train track passing the area so it could be a little loud, though the noise didn't disturb us at all. The campsite's gate opens around 7 a.m. and closes around 10 p.m. There is a visitor's parking area right outside the camp, too.

Aare River

I heard that most camp guests would rather swim here than in the camp's pool.

Visiting our Mountain Garden

After almost two months of not visiting our mountain garden because of some issues, we finally found the time last week as we were sure we could be harvesting baskets and baskets of cherries already. Remember we started harvesting cherry in our backyard a month ago?

And what did we find up there?

Red currant

Compared to last year, the red currants were not thick with fruits this year. My husband told me he had to trim the plant and that's the result.