When the days get shorter and the nights longer, one needs things that warm one’s heart. It doesn’t have to be something grandiose, sometimes it’s the fleeting moments and the little gestures that are like a wonderful light in the dark.
For instance baking a Swiss apple pie like my mother used to. Even when I don’t get all the right ingredients in the local stores, it is worth it. But I managed to find puff pastry which is super important for me. The apples I had at hand shrunk more in the oven than I expected, and there was no Swiss vanilla sugar anywhere I looked. So I took good old custard instead – who says it has to be perfect to be yummy? – and the pie turned out to be delicious.
It is always heartwarming when our postlady Winnie Bussie turns up with parcels and letters. She delivers mail to seven remote communities and covers 120 kilometres every day! Sometimes, I’m waiting at the post box for her to have a short chat. She is always in a good mood and has all sorts of local news to tell me.
I have fuzzy warm feelings, too, when I discover one of my foster cats on top of a wood pile looking down on me. She loves the high perches. Can you see her?
Naturally, the positive reviews for my latest book “Murderous Morning” are heart-warming. For instance this one that Dana wrote on the website GoodReads: “Murderous Morning is atmospheric. The setting and descriptions transport the reader into the pages of this crime/mystery novel. The plot immediately grabs you and pulls you in. A storyline that will keep you turning pages, characters you will question and an ending you won’t see coming ...” Thank you, Dana!
Warmth streams through my heart when friends reach out with thoughtful messages. My Swiss friend Barbara for instance let me know that recently a new restaurant opened in downtown Zurich with the name “Bernadette”. On the restaurant`s website it says: “A woman conquers the old boys’ club. With a great view of shimmering Lake Zurich and the crowded Sechseläuten square, Bernadette has moved in. Fresh, sparkling, spicy and hot.”
Yessssss, Sir! These qualities fit my name perfectly, in my not so humble opinion. I should have thought of it all along. And spicy hot stuff on the menu generates warmth, too …
