Late December Saturday

It's a saturday before noon. We all slept late (until 8 o'clock at least) and M is having his late breakfast. The kid is in a hut made of pillows and blankets. I am going to get dressed and become effective - there is a lot to do.

Our guests from Japan are now safely back home. Before they left I was honoured to see baby guest's first steps. It must be a good omen for a little girl to start walking in Finland. I miss seeing her ever so happy "ohayoo"-face in the morning. I hope I will see them soon again.

My sister and her boyfriend came to have fondue with us last night. It must have been more than 8 years since we last prepared fondue. It was delicious. We should have it more often. The secret of good fondue is good cheese. We used Swiss Gruyere and Finnish well stored Emmental.

But that's about cheese for now.

The picture on this post was taken on christmas eve sometimes around one in early afternoon. Sun stays low this time of the year.

Merry Christmas

Merry christmas to everyone. Eat a lot and drink enough.

We'll head for a three days' tour from a christmas table to another. Our lovely ex-neighbour from Japan will be with us to share the fun - with her super cute baby girl.

I'll be back a bit heavier (thanks to all the christmas food) and a bit more rested (hopefully). Until then, be good.

Busy Hostess

I have been tagged again by lovely Tim. I will return to her tagging once I have other than a Japanese toddler's book or a Finnish translation of latest Harry Potter next to me.

It's fun to have visitors: my friend from Japan with her super-cute, 10 months old baby girl. I have enjoyed their company a lot as well as showing wonders of Finland to them.

Next on our scedule is to get ready for christmas, that is to increase gradually our food intake to be able to survive all the christmas gluttony.

Potatoes

Potatoes are important part of a Finnish meal. They are usually served with a sauce. The sauce often brown and has meat in it. And that's about it.

Of course I am not telling the whole truth here. Now a days pizzas and pastas are often seen on dinner tables instead of the traditional potatoe+meat-surprise. But still, Finns eat loads and loads of potatoes.

(If someone wants to know what Finns really eat and how to cook that, you can check it out here.)

My kids doesn't like potatoes. My kids doesn't like food in general. He agrees to eat pasta with ketchup or pesto, oat meal, rice with soy souce, fish fingers, tomatoes, nori seaweed, soba or udon noodles, sushi and french fries. Who knows, he might eat meat too, but we haven't given him any, because we don't buy or prepare it to ourselves. If he could choose his meals himself, he would live on ice cream.

I used to love cooking. Since I started house-wifing I have lost my inspiration to cook. I hope it comes back someday.

And here's what I wanted to share: tomorrow my lovely neighbour from Japan will arrive here to delight our dark days for two weeks. I am looking forward to see her and her little daughter again.

Berries and Suicides

Trees and bushes are full of berries this year. They say it's a sure sign of a coming especially cold winter. We will see if that's true. So far this been the warmest and rainiest winter in 40 years, during my life time.

I wouldn't put my money on betting for white christmas this year.

We spent the weekend at my mother-in-law's. On the way there our train killed a man. Just before our station there was a sound of a food processor under the train, then the train stopped and a shocked voice announced that there had been an accident. Then came two abulances and the police. Ambulances left the place and the police begin to inspect the scene and pick up pieces of a former human being. After hour's waiting another train stopped next to ours. We hopped on that one and soon reached our destination.

Everyone's guess was that the crash victim commited a suicide. For him, I assume it was a man, it was a quick end. He got what he came for. For the chap who drove the train it was a terrible tragedy and he will surely see the accident happening before his eyes for the rest of his life. I think it's cowardly to commit a suicide: everyone dies for sure anyway. But I guess you don't give a shit about your own cowardliness if you are determined to end your life, all the same, it's double cowardly to make someone unwilling do it for you.

No Ball

It's rainy, it's dark and it's cold. It's Finland!

Tomorrow is the independence day. Our Mrs President will have a huge ball and as before, I haven't been invited, which itself isn't a wonder: I haven't done anything I would be mentioned for in history books and I am not Mrs President's personal friend or even a member of the parliament.

Of course I would be panicing, if I suddenly found a forgotten invitation under my doormat. I have no dress to wear and my hair looks like a jungle so much that I am half expecting to hear Tarzan doing his howl any time, the Johnny Weissmuller way.

Oh well. A friend has asked our family unit to join theirs tomorrow afternoon and we'll have a nice dinner together. I can wear jeans and these people won't ask me if I have taken a perm. When people ask that, I wonder how low they think I've gone during my years away from this arctic land. If I saw a perm that looked like my hair, I would feel sorry for him/her.

Why don't I do something to my hair disaster? Well, I am lazy and I secretly like looking like I didn't give a poo about my looks.

Five Things, Instead of Three or Four

I got tagged by Timorous Beastie. Now I am wondering what five things I could tell about myself that I hadn't told already.

Thinking, thinking, thinking...

1. Long ago someone told me to start modelling. She arranged me to a shooting and that was the only one I ever did. The photographer complained about my bad skin (at that point my acne wasn't that bad anymore) and I didn't think I had looks for the job anyway. So I quit before I even started.

2. I think "the natural way" to give a birth to a baby is the most unnatural (been there, done that) and everyone woman should have a right to have a cesarean section, if they wanted one. Or even better: men should carry unborn babies. I guess I have to consult Universe's Biological Design Deparment (UBDD) about these improvements.

3. I used to have a sweater saying: "I love mankind - it's people I hate". I wish I still had it.

4. I am in an acute need of a vacation. I know, I've told that about 100 times before, but I still am.

5. A palm reader told me that I have been a sailor during three past life times. That explains my shameless swearing (in Finnish).