Europe Summer Trip

[Previous trip to Barcelona: 2017] 

[Previous trips to Paris: 2019, 2015]

[Previous Swiss content: Part I, Part II, Part III, with Olga, Part IV, Lyon, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, and Part VIII; and Activities Nearby I, Activities Nearby II, and Activities Nearby III]

This summer, we wanted to travel to see my family and visit our friends in Switzerland. My family is living in Barcelona so we thought we could see them and then go on to Switzerland and stop in Paris on the way. My grandparents decided to move back to Ukraine in April so we didn't get to see them as planned, but it was still a nice chance to catch up with the rest of the family, especially because my parents and brother came out also. 

In Barcelona, we hung out with them at their house overlooking the city that had a pool for Chase to swim in. We went on a tour of Park Guell. We also walked around the city and then went closer to the water and walked all the way to the beach. One of the nights there was the celebration of St. John's Eve or Midsummer and there were fireworks that we saw very nicely from the house. We went to the science museum with Marko. And, on the last night, we even had a chance to play Space Catan. A very fun time with family and in Barcelona. 

After Barcelona, we flew to Paris. We had a hotel in the south of the 9th arrondisement, walkable to most things we were planning to see. We saw the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. Chase enjoyed the hippo in the former (similar to the one that's in the Met) and van Gogh and Pompon in the latter. We walked around a lot: to the garden of the Tulieries and to Notre Dame and to the Eiffel Tower. Chase was insistent on climbing up the Eiffel Tower, which we did. Overall, we had a great time in the city and were reminded of our time there together about 8 years earlier.

Finally, we made it to Switzerland by train. We stayed with Oksana and Italo in Lausanne, and then stayed with Christine and Yordan above Morges. We had a great time catching up with friends and colleagues. We also spent some time at the lake side both in Lausanne and in Morges. We went to the natural history/science museum with Marko and Sofia. We walked around Morges with Theo and Emil and their parents and then went to see Chase's schools and daycare and our old apartment. I stayed a few days later and had an American 4th of July BBQ. It was so nice to catch up with friends and reminisce about our time in Switzerland. 

Top: Chase at the playground he used to go to; Chase near his first school where he did 1P and 2P; Middle: Chase at his second school where he went 3P; Chase at the chocolate place we used to go to a lot on Sundays; Bottom: Chase on the rock he used to climb on as we used to walk by the post office; Chase overlooking the fence to the daycare in Morges he went to after school and during school breaks.

Fixing our fence and getting mini-splits

Our fence was rotting and sliding down the hill behind our house. We got some quotes to fix it but they seemed very high since the metal posts were still well anchored. So, we decided to fix it ourselves by getting some panels from home depot and replacing the damaged panels ourselves. Nate used some power tools to saw out the section of fence where the tree was in the way. We lined everything up to hang correctly on the existing posts and were able to fix the situation without too much trouble. This took us two-three weekend afternoons and coming in at $70/panel ($280), some long screws ($10), and hauling away the old damaged panels ($50). Much better than the 2.5-3K we were quoted for similar repairs. And now we have the satisfaction of a job well done.

The other thing we're planning this summer is installing mini-splits to have some more air conditioning in this house. We are going to do 1 head in each bedroom and 1 in the TV room and 1 in the living room, all those 5 will be hooked up to 2 separate condensers. The good thing with mini-splits is that they can both cool and heat so we can offset some of our oil usage in the winter by using electric heating. When the electricity company was hooking up our solar panels, they accidentally added together our electricity production and use, and therefore were over charging us. They have since fixed it but still owe us quite a bit of credits so we have energy to spare. 

Hiking Mt. Chocorua with Olga

[Previous Olga&Oksana Adventures: around CT/RI/NY in winter 2021, around CT/RI/NY in summer 2021, Potato chip rock in 2017, Luzern in 2017, Martha's Vineyard in 2013]
[Previous intense hikes: Potato chip rock in 2017, Col de Milon in 2016, Flattop Mountain in 2013]

For Memorial Day, Olga and I decided to do a long hike. This is something we had been talking about for a while and Olga has done many hikes in the northeast. Olga chose Mt. Chocorua (in New Hampshire's White Mountains) and got us oriented with a very affordable bed and breakfast and plan for conquering this mountain. We drove up to New Hampshire on Saturday, explored the neighboring towns a bit, and then hiked it very early on Sunday. It was about 4 hours, 8 miles, and 2,100 ft of elevation. The weather was perfect, even though there were a lot of bugs. This mountain is under 4,000 ft so it's part of a series called "52 with a view" and it sure delivered on that! 

Chase at 9 years old

[Previous Chase updates: 8 years, 7 years, 6 years, 2nd year of school, 5 years, starting school, 4 years, 3 years, 25-32 months, 2 years, 15-20 months, 1+ year, first four months in Cambridge, data analysis from first 2 months, first few months]

We flew back from San Diego on Chase's birthday. Since Nate had to work, the idea was that Chase would see him on his birthday as well. Unfortunately, our flight got severely delayed and we didn't end up landing until after midnight. Chase still had a chance to open some gifts in the car on his way home so it ended up ok. 

A few weeks later, Chase had a birthday party in the backyard. He specifically wanted to do the crafts that we had prepared for the party last year. We also had a bunch of lawn games and a bounce house. Chase invited all the kids in his class and a bunch from his previous classes. It was a bit cold, but everyone had a great time. Chase asked for a Klein Bottle cake and made everyone 3D printed favors that included some fidget spinners and tiny Klein bottles. 

San Diego for Spring Break

[Previous trips to San Diego: 2021, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, beginning of 2017, end of 2015, 2014, 2x in 2013]

This year, we decided to take Chase to San Diego for his spring break. Chase and I went with my parents and did all the touristy San Diego kid things we could. We went to the beaches in Coronado, La Jolla, and Del Mar. We did the Safari Park, San Diego Zoo, and Sea World. I had never actually been to Sea World even though I grew up in San Diego so it was a fun first for me also. We got some boba from a few different places and walked around downtown La Jolla, Coronado, and the Del Mar Highlands. We even went back to our old church for Easter (and saw the pastor that married Nate and me), and showed Chase where my grandparents are buried. A very busy and fun few days exploring San Diego. 

Left: On the beach in Coronado; Right: Boba in the highlands with Mika.

At the Safari Park

Left: At the zoo with the elephants; Right: At Seaworld, having the nibble fish eat dead skin off of our hands.

Top: with Pastor Bob after Easter service; Bottom: Showing Chase where my grandparents are buried.

Winter Crafts

For Christmas, Chase received a 3D printer from Ivan. He has been finding lots of things to print and designing lots of cool stuff for himself and his classmates. 

Top: Left: Chase designed a maze and then took out the scaffolding; Right: Chase made a fidget that he downloaded online; Bottom: Left: For Valentine's Day, Chase made keychains for all his classmates with their names and some moveable hearts; Right: I designed these two-toned names for me and my colleagues to put up in our cubicles. 

Just like last year, I participated in February Embroidery Bingo from BonnahCo. This time, it was a flower pattern, and while I didn't win bingo, I did have a lot of fun and got Sakina into it. 

Top: I decided to stitch on the opposite side of the fabric so that my stitches would stand out more; Bottom: Last year's on the left and this year's on the right -- let's see what next year's will look like. 

Edit: Just like last year, I am editing this to include a BonnahCo ornament I did at the end of the year. For the next few years, they are doing a polar bear theme so this is the first of a few similar ones, but for now these are the two I have so far together on the tree. 

2022 in Review

[Previous years in review: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013]

This year, I am finally returning to the theme of this blog! Lots of crafts and home improvement projects! I did some embroidery, Chase and I made an octopus, a halloween costume, and some Christmas ornaments. We also did many crafts not mentioned here such as beading, pom-poms, and lots of drawings. We reupholstered our dining room chairs and did a lot of gardening. We also got solar panels on our roof and did a lot of small energy-related improvements on the house: updated the thermostats and switched all the bulbs to LED. There was a lot more maintenance related tasks that we first anticipated: dealing with the yard work, cleaning the gutters, dealing with random ants, checking our boiler and sump pump, etc. We had hoped to install some air conditioning before the summer but for various reasons didn't get to it. That may be a project for next year. 

We are also returning to traveling and hosting visitors. We hosted 6 different people/families throughout the year, which was super fun! We made many shorter trips: local winter & fall, NYC, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia. We/I also made some further trips: Baltimore/DC, South Carolina, Nebraska, and Bermuda. Chase slightly added to his state count with New Jersey, Maryland, and DC, bringing it to 12 (MA, CT, RI, NY, NE, CA, NV, IA, IL, PA, NJ,  MD [& DC]). He also turned 8. 

As always, here is an Instagram collage of pictures from the last year.

Happy 2023!