Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Poll results!

Even though there are two days left to vote, technically, I think everyone who is likely to vote probably has, so I'll end the suspense that I know you have all been waiting in and just tell you. That's a picture of David Hill Winery about 10 minutes from Mom and Dad's house in the great state of Oregon!! :) fooled you!!! But not four of you, I see. I shamelessly procured that photo off the winery's website last week when I was looking for a good Oregon picture to post on my blog.

Gregg (who voted for Germany because he said Switzerland would have been too obvious) said, "why would you put a picture of Oregon on your Switzerland blog?" I said because I felt like it, but there were two reasons really. First, I'm headed home Monday, and I wanted all of you here to see where I'm headed! Second, it really does look a lot like the landscape here (as evidenced by so many votes for CH and DE)! It's easy to overlook the beauty around us and dream of visiting someplace far away, like Switzerland or like the States, when one is just as pretty as the other. So take the time to enjoy the view out your own window today! There are some great views to soak up!

Daniel was surprised that we grow wine in Oregon--thought it rained too much there. It's true, it does rain a lot in Western Oregon, but the area has been gaining noteriety for wine ever since an Oregon Pinot Noir beat fancy pants France in a wine contest. If you're interested in wine, here's an intro to Oregon wine, www.oregonwine.org/ and if you go to the press room and click photo credits, you'll see some more lovely pictures of my favorite state.

ok, 'nuff about that.

So, back to my brother's observation that putting an Oregon photo on a Switzerland blog didn't make any sense. I was reading a Time magazine article yesterday about birth order and how it affects children. It could be argued that Gregg's little comment supports one of the main distinctions of oldest children, which is that they have higher IQ than later-borns. I'm sure Gregg would agree, at least. Time's report seems to hold true for last borns in our family's case too--Brian is indeed very funny and agreeable. Middle children, however, are supposed to have low self-esteem and get less attention, and in some cases, depending on how successful the older kids are, middle kids are more prone to drinking themselves to death, like Teddy Roosevelt's little brother did. So...if my self-esteem plummets and I take up drinking (oregon wine, anyone?!), blame it on being the middle kid. :) and that goes for my IQ too.

And on that note, I'm off to study!

3 comments:

  1. Well, I must relativise my vote. I thought we were voting on the picture with you next to the Blasiwald sign, so I voted for Germany. I guess voting for the wrong picture puts a serious dent in Time magazine's theory about the firstborn having an extra high IQ.

    I did wonder about the picture with the vineyards, because although they look similar to what you might find in Aesch, just a few kilometers from your town, Switzerland rarely has plots that big and that "flat" - the only place I could think of that might look like that would be la Côte, the lake Geneva shores near Morges and Nyon, but those areas are actually a bit flatter. Anyway, thanks for sharing Oregonian beauty, and 'tis true: beauty starts at home.

    Of course, for me, home is Switzerland...

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  2. You're not the only one who thought I was referring to the photo directly above the poll...so apologies for that. :)

    Flat!!??! It looks flat to you?? Maybe it's just because I know the area, but to me that looks like beautiful rolling hillside!! If you look close, you can see more hills in the background even. But it reminded me of the area around Lake Geneva too. It also looks a bit like the hills around Arlesheim, out near the Ermitage park, if you have ever been out there.

    I think I know you...but I can't remember who "thduggie" is. Stephan, perhaps?? hmmm...such a mystery.

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  3. You guessed correctly. Sorry, I thought you knew who I was - from my e-mail address or my blog.

    As to "flat:" Walk through the vineyards in Aesch and tell me they aren't steeper, deeper, and plain wrinklier than on that picture. Even around the Ermitage the hillsides are steeper and rise higher, as far as I can tell. Maybe I'm fooled by the picture.

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