Peace Bridge to solve conflict at Brütten Primary

On Monday we went along to the new Peace Bridge which has been lovingly constructed out of beautiful wood at the front of Brütten Primary School. I think this was one of the ideas which came from the School Council to help solve disputes and conflict between pupils. What a lovely idea! And then on Wednesday the President of the Gemeinde Association came along to visit the school and were serenaded by the children. All the flags were out around the village - what an occasion to treasure.

And lo and behold - a Christmas tree!

Well, I'll be darned! Just a fortnight ago I was chatting to a fellow choir member in Brütten Singengruppe about how lovely it would be to have a carol singing event in the village square at Advent. I said we could of course gather around the little tree which is resident in the centre of the square, under which benches nestle but it would be great if we could have a nice big Christmas tree to stand around, something which, since I have lived here, has never featured in the village.

And lo and behold, only a few days later, I spied a group of people putting lights on a beautiful new Christmas tree in the square! And last Sunday we were invited to go along and help make some decorations and decorate it. It was so enjoyable. And the Gemeinde had even provided a gorgeous, little ride for the children, powdered by a burning furnace, free of charge.

I am now starting to wonder if I can wiggle my nose and make more great things happen around me...

Almost time for Adventfenster...

I love this time of year. The anticipation - will it, won't it snow? What kind of advent calendar will we have this year (usually a lovely illustrated one - no chocs) Who will take part in the village Adventfenster event this year? Will I meet someone new on my rounds of Adventfenster?

Dorf Blitz have yet to announce the Adventfenster locations but I have word from my daughters that Brutten Bibliothek will be launching it all on December 1st with an apero from 6.30pm - or thereabouts. They usually have an activity and WunschPunsch for the kiddies and yummy gluwein for the grown ups. I think I may make the staff some mince pies. Now, where did I put that giant jar of mincemeat that the Brother-in-law sent over...

My painting is featured in a promotional campaign!

A painting that I made of Brutten Church has appeared all around the village and surrounding villages (including on street side posters!) as part of a promotional campaign for Dubendorf Gospel Choir which is holding a concert in the church on Sunday (20th)

The choir has suggested that I bring my painting along on the night of the event so they can tell everyone a little about the artist (me!) behind the picture they fell in love with. I'm also hoping to get a bunch of business cards printed this week to hopefully drum up a few little commissions :)

Here is the painting which featured on a flyer which went to hundreds of homes:

Hobby Market on this weekend

The FrauenVerein, a wonderful group for women in Brutten which organises all kinds of social events, is holding their annual hobby market this weekend. The setting will be the sports venue at the Primary School and lots of lovely ladies will be selling their wares between 10am and 5pm today and tomorrow. There will also be plenty of coffee and cake to keep your energy levels up while you browse a wealth of homemade fare.

Our wonderful Brütten Library

Each week I arrange to meet my daughters in Brütten library after school and proceed to work my way through a picture book in my quest to learn German. I must look very odd to the locals sitting in the tots corner with an over-sized book on my knee but the librarians are lovely and have even started getting dual German/English language books in for me!

And - brace yourselves - I've now worked my way up to the more sophisticated picture book which features three of four sentences on each page - wowee (although I still need to refer to my Google Translate app constantly) And as I work my way through each book I make a note of certain words and phrases in my German vocab list on my iPhone, to go over whenever I have a minute.

I thought I might begin to feature a Book of the Week on my blog which some may find useful. Watch this space.

This week featured a lovely little story about a mole who found an icicle which he thought was a magic diamond. His friends put him right but then the final glittery illustration shows he was right after all. Nature really is magical and beautiful!