Sledding, skating and Christmas mushrooms

Well, I guess we had it coming. We've been fairly healthy since we moved but this week was a washout -- both boys had a nasty bug, and they're still recovering. So, we have been mostly trying to get better at home and not venturing out at all this week. This gives me a chance to backtrack on the blog and mention some more winter things we did over the holidays.

Winter is here again in Basel, as we finally have a couple inches of snow back on the ground. The city doesn't get a lot of snow on average, but it is pretty. Over the Christmas holiday, we took the boys sledding to a local hill. It's not a sledging trail as I discussed in an earlier blog; just a traditional sledding hill. It was a lot of fun, and fast too!

Ice skating is a popular winter activity as well, and we went with my parents while they were visiting. It was Landon's first time on skates, and he really loved it. The rink had polar bear skaters for rent as well that helped give him something to push around the rink. We had a fun time skating (Willem and my parents mostly watched). I hope we can take the kids again soon.

And now, a mention on the pretty mushrooms that decorate store windows for Christmas. You've probably seen them for decorations, but in Basel -- they were everywhere. I think they're cute because they're often seen as toadstools or with gnomes. Their colors aren't just coincidentally red and white for Christmas. The mushrooms have historical Christmas links as well. The technical name for the mushroom is the amanita muscaria.  It is grown primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, and they often grow under pine trees (i.e. like a Christmas tree). They are potentially poisonous, but also known to be a hallucinogen. Reindeer like to feed on them, and so this may be where the flying reindeer stories come from. The mushrooms were quickly gone from the store windows just after Christmas to make room for the good luck charms for the New Year.

So, I hope that we're all feeling better to have something to write about for next week. I appreciate all the kind comments that everyone has had about the blog! Please send any suggested topics that you may have...I'd be happy to do some research!