Disaster averted

Well, disaster is a bit much. Inconvenience, expense, and disappointment, or any combination of those three was averted.

It was an absolutely beautiful day today - sunny, warm, no wind. The lake was flat as glass. The perfect day for my planned hike on Uetliberg with the littles. But I couldn't leave as early as I would have liked (I would want to do the hike before Uetliberg gets shady in the afternoon) because I had to pick up vacuum bags for the housekeeper.

It is an unusual store. You go in and have to wait until they wait on you, like it is Oleson's Mercantile. Then they disappear into the back to find whatever you want. I made the mistake of browsing once, not realising I was in their storeroom. They seem to have a few buildings in which they keep stock. I think I have mentioned before the corner store that has never been open. Now I know it is part of this compound. If you wanted the suitcase in the window at the corner store, you would have to go down the street past a couple of other shops that don't open to the one that does. I suppose then they would go out through the back, run up the street for the suitcase, and come back. I think that is what they had to do for my vacuum bags. Meanwhile, I waited in an empty shop while other people came in and, knowing the drill, just stood silently still waiting for their turn. They had the bags in stock, which was lucky, but walking home I was sick.



We made it home, and I took it easy for a little while until I felt better. It didn't last long,  but the hike wasn't an option with all the trains involved. S had the stomach flu over the weekend. She would think she was feeling well enough to go out then be miserable on the train, so I learned from that.  I'm prone to motion sickness even on a good day.

Then came my little scare. We had reserved our trip to Saas-Fee for the girls' first week of February vacation. Today I was cleaning the fridge and glanced at S's school calendar to see if there were any in-service days or unknown holidays upcoming. That's when I saw that S does not have the same vacation as R! They did in October and December. I just assumed that canton Zurich was all the same. No. R's school in Zurich is different that S's school here. It's done by town, not canton. S's vacation starts a week after R's. There is only one week of overlap, the week after Saas-Fee. Stupid of me to not even look at the calendar until now.

I didn't think we'd have luck rescheduling. When we were in Saas-Fee booking for February two reservations were made in the hours we were deciding whether to return, and we were told we were lucky and they could squeeze us in.  So all sorts of concerns arose about deposit money, the possibility of missing school (and whether saving the deposit would offset the truancy fine), etc. I texted E because everything is settled best in German, but no answer. There was a little scrambling, but it all worked out.  E took care of everything. I don't know how it is possible, since I think Alphubel must be the most desireable ski hotel in Saas-Fee, if not Switzerland, for the under $1000/night family crowd, but there was a vacancy!

Now everyone is home from school (today R left the house at 6:45 and didn't get home until 5:15) and S has made chocolate chip cookies. I went into the kitchen and there she was with L sitting on the counter licking the spoon. S is smart to make them on a day when I have a stomach bug.