A close-up and personal look at Switzerland
As of April 15, 2026, after being away from Cowbells and Chocolate since January 2022, I’m back! I hope we have solved all the technical problems and all the posts are just the way they should be. Now, back to… Read moreBack on Track!
The German saying ‘Gesundheit is nicht alles, aber ohne Gesundheit ist alles nichts.‘ means: ‚Health is not everything, but without health everything is nothing.‘ sums up how important health is. So obviously keeping healthy is the way to go. But… Read moreIs There a Doctor in the House?
If ever a name is intertwined with independence and Switzerland it’s William Tell. The Legend According to the tale, Tell is a peasant and expert crossbowman from Bürglen in the canton of Uri. As a sign of submission to the… Read moreSwiss People: The Legend Wilhelm Tell
It’s everywhere there’s no denying that. English words are in the German language to stay. But there are a lot of similarities in the two languages without having to dig around in the fashionable words of today. And when the… Read moreEnglish in the Swiss German Language
There is at least one restaurant in Switzerland named “End of the world“ [End der Welt]. It’s near Magglingen, north of Biel-Bienne and located on the “End of the World” street [End der Welt-Strasse]. My husband, Ben and I were… Read moreThe Middle of Nowhere
This is a small slice of the story of an American immigrant, Henry. He was born in 1839 near Zurich in Switzerland. I want to tell you a little bit about Henry and his life in the United States around… Read moreA Point in time – 1860s when Genealogy meets the Civil War
As I’m sure that I’ve mentioned before, when my husband and I started on our genealogical journey there was little to nothing available digitally. That meant taking vacation time to go places to find the information we were looking for…. Read moreGenealogy at a Glance – Oh Man!
I like pineapples, I like the way it tastes. It’s sweet, juicy and tangy all in one. Christopher Columbus, in 1493 made an early references to pineapples. It was in the Caribbean, during his second voyage there on Guadeloupe that… Read moreThe Pineapple
November 24, 1972 was the day that Mani Matter died. But let me start at the beginning. Who exactly was Mani Matter and what did he do? If you’re Swiss, then of course you have heard of the man. You… Read moreA Point in Time: 1972 – Mani Matter
Here it is, the third part of my three steps in understanding the context of any 17th or 18th century text, or any text for that matter. Step one: you have know what letters in which alphabet you are looking… Read moreGenealogy at a Glance – Understanding 17th and 18th Century Texts – Step Three
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