Diary: 12/23/2001

Dear Friends and Family:

It has been quite a week. We don't need to have any more "excitement" for some time.

The end of the story is that Joram is fine. (Don't you love stories that have to start at the end?).
Beginning of the story is that he was standing on a chair, the chair fell and his leg was caught between it and the floor. He couldn't stand up and was crying uncontrollably. Leon rushed ohm, we took him to the hospital (good thing we knew where it was!), and the doctors looked at him quickly.

In the end, he was back up and around (and climbing the kitchen chairs again) 2 days later. There was never any bruising, swelling, or visual indication of anything wrong. The doctors (who aren't as threatened by the thought of lawsuits as in the US) didn't take an x-ray. With experience now behind us we know it was the right choice. But it was very hard to feel good about the situation at the time. What if everyone was wrong? What if he needed a cast? What if what if what if what if.

As mentioned before, Nancy left Monday morning, and we had 2 days to straighten up before Alison and Michael arrived. Of course, Joram's impression of Evel Kinevel put a serious dent in our ability to focus on housework!

On Wednesday, Alison and Michael arrived without a hitch. The day was pretty quiet, as they were jet-lagged, so we didn't do much more than help them unpack and eat some dinner.

Leon was still working the rest of the week, but the girls were off for the winter break. So Thursday everyone (sans Leon) went down to a Christmas market in Montreaux to snoop around and see what kinds of neat things they could find. Nothing much was there, but they had a great time walking around.

On Friday they spent the day doing house-type stuff - shopping for the weekend, getting settled, etc. Leon finished the last of his work responsibilities early and came home. That night, Leon's boss Francisco came over with his wife and daughter and everyone had a very filling evening.

Saturday dawned white - it was snowing for only the second time this year. We decided to go down to one of the weekly markets - located in the heart of Lausanne in an area known as Place St. Francois. This market covers several sloping cobbled streets, and takes you past some wonderful architecture. Everyone managed to find something that was useful, interesting, or both.

After that, we went driving on the "Adato Historical Tour" - a drive-by of some of the places we have stayed or which was important in some way.

By the time we finished, everyone was pretty wiped out and it was time to get home and get ready for dinner. The rest of the day we spent by the fire, roasting marshmellows (Debbie managed to fling one across the room. "It was on fire" is her reasoning. We're sure the fire marshals will be impressed with that excuse) eating good food, and just catching up.

On Sunday, we were ready to do something more substantial. It was a fairly clear day, so we took a funicular from Montreaux up to Roches de Nayes - about an hour trip. The views were breathtaking as we ascended over the lake, right up until we got to the top. Then a cloud enveloped us, so that we had zero visibility. How the skiers managed to avoid falling off the edge of the mountain is a mystery to us all.

We had a quick snack and came back down, snapping pictures once we were out of the clouds again. Then we had a liesurly drive home and got ready for dinner (an appropriately Swiss meal of cheeses, bread, and fondue) and spent another night gabbing by the fire..

For the coming week, we are really playing each day as it comes. We know we want to get to Gruyere, Milan, Geneva, and a French village named Anisee. We also have some nearby things we want to check out. Michael also has definite plans to go snowboarding with Luca, one of Leon's workmates. (Debbie and Alison insist on adding "cute, Italian, drummer in a rock band" for those who need a better visual image). But we'll have to see how everything falls together by the end of the week.

We hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season, and that it is a chance to relax, recharge, and prepare for the coming year.
Love
Debbie, Leon, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram (and Alison and Michael).