Happy Birthday Catherine XXXXX

I hope that you have a great day- I will be doing my best to make sure that you do! Enjoy and relax and try to recover from the rigours of our trip to the Engadine. Don't worry, I can shop and cook dinner while you are choosing a bottle of wine xxxx

The Engadine was terrific

and we had a wonderful day out in Val Trupchun yesterday. With the help of Catherine's fantastic telescope we were able to watch Steinbock, Hirsch and Gäms and we were even able to see a few Murmeltiere with the naked eye :-) The abundance of wildlife in that part of the National Park is amazing and it was great to be there on a day when there were not too many people about, the weather was perfect and the animals were out sunning themselves and taking it easy.
I took a few photos in the village of Zernez where we stayed and the only real disappointment was that the animals were far too far away to even attempt to photograph. One of the good things about the Park is that you are not allowed to leave the marked trails- which means that the wildlife does not get disturbed too often by mankind, the downside of this is that one is unable to stalk the large animals with a camera in hand in pursuit of better photos. We were able to watch animals at distances of over 1,000 m with the telescope and that certainly made lugging the tripod worthwhile.
There have been some interesting and scary developments in the financial markets in the last few days- Lehmann Bros going to the wall, Merrill Lynch running into the arms of BofA and AIG needing to ask for a big help-out of taxpayer funds. Closer to home, UBS shares have been pummelled again and I am curious to see how the week will end.

I have sore hands and am pretty tired

but I really think that I need to finish building this Ark in the next few hours :-) It has been hosing down here since Friday night- perfect time to be heading off to the mountains for a few days on holiday..... NOT!
We will pack up our gear and hopefully get up there this evening- the weather report for tomorrow is already a little better and I really want to take some photos up in the Engadine and the National Park. There should be lots of large animals about and with a little luck we will be able to get some photos of them, the park in general and also some of the lovely old villages in that part of the world.
I had an interesting conversation yesterday afternoon with a friend who is also involved in the financial markets- we discussed the US Fed's policy thus far of stepping in and helping to clean up whenever there have been major problems with American financial institutions. This "death by a thousand cuts" way of doing things is difficult for the markets as well as being costly for the taxpayers- perhaps it would be wiser to let asset prices fall a bit more and then wait for natural buyers to support the market when valuations reach "bargain" levels. There is not a lot of good economic news around at the moment and it will be a while before US consumers (and indeed European and Asian consumers as well) open their wallets, let the cash flow and kick-start the economy again.
I hope that all of the Mooses (Marty, Mummy, Noodle and Monster) had a great time with Mickey Moose in Anaheim and manage to get home safely.

Happy Birthday, Rocky!

It's pretty cool that I can speak with you on your birthday and at the same time you can speak with me on my birthday! A pity that you weren't here to enjoy some of these with us last night, but I am sure that the Sea Treasure was good for dinner.
Have a good weekend.

We are really enjoying our holiday so far

and looking forward to getting down into the hills next week. Sadly, the weather report doesn't look too great but if it means that we have to sit in a hotel, read a book and take it easy for a couple of days, that is not too tragic is it? A lot of cooking and preparation to be done today before our guests arrive this evening- it will be fun to eat tapas and drink a little too much wine with some good friends tonight (getting up to go to the office in the morning is another story).
Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday Guys!!

Best wishes to Campbell and Angus who are both celebrating birthdays today!! We hope that you both have great days and we will try to speak with you a little later.
It was fun to chat over skype with you on Sunday and the food on the bbq looked great!!
Enjoy your birthdays- sorry that we can't be there to celebrate with you and we look forward to catching up with you both again soon.

much love,
Uncle David and Aunty Catherine xxxxxxx

Congratulations to Campbell on winning the Rugby

we will have more details a little later, but it sounds as if it was a proper "mud-fest" that has finished in a great result. He is on the way now to have lunch with the gang in Northbridge- have fun and we will try to chat with you later.
Congratulations to Mike and Simone too- on the safe arrival of Giorgette Rose. I tried to call earlier to wish you a Happy Father's Day buddy.............. surprise, surprise..... couldn't get hold of you.
Catherine and I are officially on holiday and as you would expect, the weather is miserable and it is pouring rain again here today :-( Things are meant to brighten up this coming week and we hope to get out and do some things outdoors (fingers crossed). It will be enjoyable in any case- might even fit in a movie or two if it stays like this.

One more day to go

and then it is holiday time. I will gladly admit that it is a great relief to know that I can have a couple of relaxing weeks and only get up early if I want to. We hope to spend a few days down in the Engadine and also do a little entertaining and sleeping in here.
The Mighty Moose hasn't yet made the news services so I guess that things went well in Vegas and I can only hope that all goes smoothly in Raincouver too. Thanks again for the birthday wishes- I will certainly raise a glass (or two) and think of you all next week.
It is a very busy month as far as birthdays are concerned....... Angus, Campbell, Steven, Catherine, Simone and another little Seres...... plenty of good reasons to celebrate! With "Talk Like A Pirate Day" thrown into the mix, it will be a month to remember.

The good citizens of Sydney shouldn't complain about rain>>

but the wet weather was a disappointment when Campbell's Rugby Grand Final was postponed today :-( We haven't yet been informed of the next date, but hope that the guys will stay fit and that the Tigers will prevail in the end.
It is end of month and Catherine has loads to do in the office- another visit for a few hours today should get things up-to-date and then we can relax properly this afternoon/ evening. I plan on going to the gym to do some more training so that I can hopefully march up and down a few hills during our holidays.
Excitement is building in Sydney with a couple of young lads having birthdays next month- I have spoken with the powers that be and I know that there will be some fun unwrapping on September 10th.
I haven't heard yet if the Moose managed to get his connecting flight to Las Vegas after a couple of delays on Friday- one way or another it will be a Buck's Party to remember (or forget!?!?). Good luck Moose.

Yagga Yagga Yoo!! Not very long to go!!

Moose and the Moosettes are certainly getting fired up about the trip to Canada and the US- I have a sneaking suspicion that they were invited to Anaheim by Mickey & Co and then just tacked a wedding onto the itinerary :-) It should be a great time- looking forward to seeing all of the photos and hearing the reports from the two Mini Mooses about the whole venture.
I had a great night out last night with Manfred- drinks down by the lake (lots of them) and a wonderful dinner which included perhaps the best steak that I have ever eaten. That does sound like a wild claim, but a good Spanish chef should have a way with meat, huh!? He was lucky enough to be able to sleep a little longer this morning, but had travelled home and was in the office early in the afternoon.
Our nephew (and godson) Campbell is playing in the Rugby Grand Final on Sunday. Good luck and Go Tigers!! We hope to be able to speak with him on Sunday afternoon to find out how things went.
The sun has been shining here again this week- the good citizens of Zürich certainly look to be a happier bunch when that is the case....................

It was a beautiful day, Bob

and I celebrated it by doing NVMAA (not very much at all). A quiet morning, nice lunch, a snooze in the afternoon followed by a great bbq and a bottle of red on the balcony.......... any complaints, please call the management!! London are having a Bank Holiday tomorrow and I am not going to the office- that certainly gives Sunday a different feeling.
After a miserable day of rain showers yesterday it was nice to see the sun again today- although it was not as warm as a couple of weeks ago, it was still most enjoyable to sit outdoors. The days here are getting much shorter and summer is slowly drawing to a close so taking advantage of our remaining warm days is a priority.
I hope to jump out of bed early in the morning and get to the gym with Catherine before she heads off to the office................. fingers crossed on that front! One way or another it will be a relaxing day and I hope to get a few things sorted out in the city.
The Olympics are over- bring on the scandal. I shudder to think how many of today's heroes will be disgraced in years to come with improvements in drug detection technology- call me a cynic- I consider myself to be a realist.

Moving right along.....................

and Wednesday is already behind us. I was lucky enough to catch the Final of the Men's 200m today and saw Lightning Bolt do his business, collect the gold and break another World Record in the process. For a guy who says he is not a good curve runner, he sure made a pretty good impersonation of someone who is............ after leaving the curve (as a notoriously slow starter) he was already clearly in the lead and chewing up the track. I can only hope that he is not involved in any drug scandals (unlike the Ukranian heptathlete who's name escapes me at this very moment).
The Limmatswim is to be held this weekend (weather and water conditions permitting) and chatting today with The Moose brought back fond memories of years gone by. We were lucky enough to have the Mooses visiting one year at this time and Mummy Moose and Daddy Moose joined Catherine in the swim while I babysat Little Miss Moose. Running around Zürich on a hot summer's day chasing an overly active 3 y.o. brought me to my knees..... I was certainly ready for a cold beer and a sit down by the time we all met up again!
Any votes for sports that should be removed from the Olympic calendar?

Another pretty relaxing weekend comes to a close

and I can't say that I will be sorry to see the finish of the Olympic Games....... While I am a big sport fan, this whole thing has become so blown-out that it really doesn't interest me in the least. On top of that there are the omnipresent protests and you have an expensive sporting event that should never have been staged. Sadly, I also have a horrible feeling about the Soccer World Cup which is scheduled to be held in South Africa in 2 years time.
We had an enjoyable day out today- a friend hosted a brunch to celebrate his birthday and it was lots of fun. Really worn out now- have just finished editing a few photos and will be off to bed shortly!

Wednesday has come and almost gone

and I must say that I am pretty happy to see the back of it. The short end of the week will be more enjoyable and with a wedding party on Friday evening and a (no longer) surprise breakfast brunch on Sunday morning, the weekend will be lots of fun too.
We wanted to send Gary to a very interesting wine dinner for his birthday, but sadly that is not going to happen. If anyone has any ideas as to what I might be able to get for him, please drop me a line!
Catherine and I are taking some time off next month. We hope to spend some time down in the Engadine Valley which is one of our favourite parts of Switzerland and which contains the Swiss National Park. It is approaching the time of year when the red deer are mating and that means that they will be gathering in large numbers and it becomes quite spectacular to see them moving along the side of the mountains in great herds. We will certainly have Catherine's telescope with us as well as my camera and will try to come back with more than memories.
A note for your diaries.......... September 19th is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Aaarrghh!!

It has been a most enjoyable weekend

and I have managed to do some good training, have a couple of great meals, get some sleep and pretty much avoid the Street Parade. Catherine and I were in the city quickly yesterday to do a few things (a quick lunch at a favourite Asian place, buy a new bike pump, some work in the office and a gym session) and we saw all sorts of outfits and people heading to (and from) the Zürich Street Parade. The gold medal went to an old guy dressed (almost perfectly) as Marge Simpson! It was a fantastic outfit and I can only wonder if he was meeting up with the rest of the family during the day!?!
Today is the last round of the US PGA and I haven't even bothered to look to see who is leading- although I might get around to doing that shortly. On the sporting front, congratulations to Fabian Cancellara on a bronze medal in the Men's Cycling Road Race. It was a great performance and will only serve to reinforce his favouritism for the upcoming Time Trial. If Cadel Evans is OK after the road race, this race against the clock should be a classic.
A busy week ahead for me- hope to catch up with Big Dan and I have my fingers crossed that the Black Prince of Vaduz will also favour us with a visit.............. that will be some kind of night out! A wedding on Friday evening will finish the week (and me) off in fine style.

Congratulations to Michi, Katy and Elena

on the safe arrival of Leonie Josephine earlier in the week. Great to hear that all are well and we are looking forward to meeting your new baby girl.
I have had a busy week- sadly not so in the office, but at least I have managed to do plenty of training and had sushi for dinner this evening. The Chief very kindly invited us to his restaurant's birthday party tomorrow night but we had already accepted an invitation to a bbq near home. It will be nice and I am really excited about having a relaxed weekend away from the Street Parade!
Although my latest photo project is over, I should make more of an effort to shoot lots of frames while the days are still relatively long- otherwise I know that I will regret it come December...
I was caught in an "end of the world" type of thunderstorm after leaving the office tonight- all I could do was laugh as I ran down the steps to the railway platform. There were a few of us in the same boat- the guy with the umbrella was lucky...... only soaking wet from the chest down :-)

Although I was in the office on Friday, it still feels as if

I have had a long weekend too. We had a fun evening on Friday- bbq dinner with some very good friends and then far too much to drink with some of our young neighbours. I can't remember the last time that I slept until 11:00 on a Saturday morning......
The bbq had another workout this afternoon while we were out on the balcony taking advantage of the beautiful weather. No wine to accompany the meal today as we were heading out for a little exercise afterwards :-(
Our September holidays are getting closer and we spent some time today thinking about what we want to do. It looks like we will spend a few days in the hills and also some time at home and perhaps even have a party. Nothing concrete yet, but at least we have started to think about things.
Katy and Michi are still awaiting the arrival of their baby- and with the warm weather it has certainly become a trial for Katy. Hopefully it will all happen soon and without incident.
Back to work in the morning and if things go according to plan, I will have a new haircut and be able to get plenty of training done this week.