Planting Potatoes

Yesterday right after R2 got back home from work, we went to my in-laws and the cabin, of course he he he he...When we arrived there, my MIL needed our help to plant potatoes and two new plants. It was hard work for R2 to prepare the ground for the two new plants, 'coz the ground was filled with many rocks, so he had to dig them out. You'll see what I mean when you see the pics later he he...

First pic: the patch of land where we planted potatoes (the brown area, the covered area is for strawberry plants). It was the first time I'd ever done such a thing. R2 dug the ground, I "threw" one potato at a time, then he covered it up with some soil. MIL spread some plant food all over (not poo).


These two pics are the two new plants I mentioned. Some of the big rocks had been taken out a week ago, but some of them had to be dug out by R2.


See? So many small and medium-sized rocks he he he...One part I didn't like too much was when MIL spread some chicken poo he he he...it smelled so bad he he he he he he...but it was a fun day out in the sun, though it wasn't too hot he he...


Then summer signs are starting to show he he he he...




While R2 was fixing the car outside to prepare for our long journey, I spotted a family of hares from afar (there were 4 of them). As usual it was TOO hard to get near them as they were so alert and they'd run away if I reached a certain distance from them. I tried waiting and waiting for any one of them to come near me. I even sat on the ground and sat still, but to no avail he he he he...



However, LUCKILY while playing cards, I spotted one of them right outside the living room window and I took a few pics right away HO HO HO HO HO...SO HAPPY!!!!





We went to the cabin to spend a night there and R2 put too much firewood in the fireplace. We went to bed already at around 10.30 pm and at around midnight we woke up 'coz it felt as if we were inside a sauna ha ha ha ha ha....WAY too hot!!! We opened the door to let some cool air in (it was SO windy on Friday and Saturday in Kelujärvi - though the temp. reached 23'C yesterday, due to the harsh, cold wind, it felt as though it were only around 10'C). Anyway, it's just fun to spend time together without having to think of work he he he he...

Can't wait for our Rhodes holidayyyyyyyyyyy!!!! WHOOPPEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! :-D OK, time to blog-hop now he he...

Holiday Starts!!!

Sorry I haven't had time to blog-hop. I've been resting a lot, esp. since yesterday I had a slight fever and I shouldn't get sick 'coz our holiday in Rhodes starts on 7th. Today we're going to the cabin to spend quality time together WOOOHOOOOOO...

Arttu is coming back home soon, so now I have to pack. See ya when we get backkkkk...hope your weekend will be AWESOME, friends!!! Take careeeeee...

A Sentimental Day...

Before I start telling you why, let me first thank Rita for sharing this award with me:



And also for Michelle Frost for sharing this Noblesse Oblige Award with me...

The recipient of this award is recognized for the following:

1. The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervade amongst different cultures and beliefs.
2. Their Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage, and offers solutions.
3. There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Cultures, Sciences and Beliefs.
4. The Blog is refreshing and creative.
5. The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.
   

The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following:

1. Create a post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.
2. The Award conditions must be displayed at the Post.
3. Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved - preferably citing one or more older posts as support.
4. The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.
5. The Blogger must display the Award at any location at their Blog.

I'd LOVE to share one of my most brilliant-minded friends, Max!!!!

glitter-graphics.com

OK, now I'll start telling you about my sentimental day...'Coz today was my last day at the library, yesterday I bought a lime cake (YUMMY!) from the supermarket to bring there. I wanted to bake my own cake, but I knew I had no strength nor time to do it. However, I did have time to make mango pudding and rhum sauce.

So I brought them all to work today and during our afternoon coffee break, we set them up on the kitchen table. Then came the surprise...one colleague brought a digital camera and the boss held a few mementos and a blue rose for me. Everything was blue, including the thank you card that they had prepared for me. Why? Because blue is my fave colour!

I was stunned...then we started hugging one by one and I just wanted to CRYYYYYYY!!!!! Although I'd only been there for 6 months and it didn't even feel like 6 months (I can still remember VERY clearly my first day there and what they taught me to do step by step), it was SO hard to leave the place. I just love it there. I love the atmosphere and I love my colleagues and boss. They are very supportive and fun people to be with.

Ahhhh...okay...let me share with you the mementos that they gave me...




I'll blog-hop only tomorrow, OK? Today I had to do some things that I'm going to tell only later. It's already almost CSI time he he he...

The Interview + A Few Photos

The interview went okay enough for my first job interview in Finnish. I faltered a bit when I was asked about my strengths, though ha ha ha ha ha...but I managed to get around it 'coz the question was rephrased.

The bottom line is that I haven't got the job yet, because the boss wants me to do a 3-month-training before deciding anything. This is good in some ways 'coz I've never done such a thing before and I also have plenty of time to decide whether it's something I want to do for a long time or not. I mean...if we've signed on a job contract, then it's harder for me to stop working. But if after the training I decide that the job doesn't suit me, it won't be a problem for me to stop after the 3 month period is over. BUT if the job does suit me, well...it all depends on whether the boss wants to hire me or not he he he he...

Anyway, I'm just GLAD it's OVER HA HA HA HA HA...Actually, since I had to wait for about 25 minutes before the interview was done, I had plenty of time to calm myself HI HI HI HI...

Oh yeah, the training will only start after we get back from Rhodes, so now I only need to go to the library tomorrow and on Wednesday and then I can start browsing for all the good things that we can do in Rhodes!!!! YIIIPPPIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!! :-D

Last Saturday I went to my friends' place and we played Snakes and Ladders, Uno, and Mikado he he he he...I brought some food and they also offered some food, so it was a fun night. Here's a pic of me and the girls...


On the way back home, I managed to take these pics at around midnight...These are all the view of Kitinen river nearby our place. It was nice to get out at night since the air was SO fresh after the falling rain...and then I also got to see this beautiful view...ahhhhh...

Job Interview on Monday!!!!!!!!!

ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!! I'm SOOOOO excited and a little bit stressed out (you know I've only done a face-to-face real job interview twice in my entire lifetime) ha ha ha...My heart is beating fast he he he he...

I'm gonna have my first job interview on Monday (in Finnish, of course, though the boss speaks English well). I just called the boss to set up an appointment. This morning my friend told me his phone number. She's going back to her home country soon, so she sent her resignation letter today and she told the boss that I would be interested in taking her place.

It's a part-time office job, so we'll see how it goes. One thing I have to negotiate if they decide to hire me is our two-week summer holiday in Rhodes. But I don't want to get ahead of myself...just wish me luck, OK?

P.S. At least on the phone the boss' voice was clear enough, though I could hear background noises HE HE HE HE HE HE...Phew!!! So it should be easier to speak to him face-to-face.

A List of Events...

Sorry I haven't had time to blog-hop. I was feeling a bit under the weather so I took a nap every day after coming back from work. The library's closed tomorrow, so tomorrow I'll have some time to blog-hop. Let's do some recap about the things I've been doing, shall we?

1. Last Saturday we went to my in-laws and as I was walking across the field to take pics, I saw a creature moving so fast nearby (approx. 2 metres away from me). Since I knew it was moving too fast for me to take a solid pic, I decided to take a video instead. I still didn't know what it was after I took the video, so I showed it to my MIL, who said that it was a "kärppä". I looked it up in my dictionary and it means an "ermine/stoat".

Here's the video clip:



Here's the link if you want to see it in HD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWxfcg_uqtE

I've taken some pics off the video, but unfortunately they're not too good, but here they are anyway:





I was actually trying to get good pics of these hares when I came across the ermine he he he...As you can see, the mother hare's fur has turned more and more brown as time goes by.



I also took these pics:






2. Went to the birthday party late from my in-laws' place. The birthday girl was so eager to ask me to colour some princesses with me HA HA HA...She also showed us all her gifts and her beautiful dress and she sang a few songs for us! :-D We both got a hug from her, too! SO SWEET!!! :-D

Oh, almost forgot...while we were colouring some princesses, she told me, "You colour the pics very well."
I said, "Why, thank you. You've done a great job, too."

Then she said all of a sudden, "I think you have a beautiful voice."
I was SO surprised to hear that, but I managed to say, "THANK YOU, you have a beautiful voice, too...And face, and hair!"
She nodded. :-D

3. Went to church today for the first time to hear the sermon and I must say that I didn't get the sermon except for some phrases here and there. I understood the songs more than the sermon 'coz I could read the lyrics from the hymn book. I understood the MC better than the priest who gave the sermon 'coz the MC is a woman, so her pronunciation is naturally clearer than the male priest's (if you know how Finnish language sounds like, you'll know that it's harder to listen to a man's voice when speaking rather than a woman's, esp. if the man is using a microphone and you can hear the echo of his voice).

As the church has this program for foreigners, one of the priests had invited us to come to lunch at their camp site after the sermon was done, so four of us went there with them. We had a nice lunch and there the priest also gave us a short sermon (this time I understood the sermon MUCH better 'coz it was a small room and no microphone was used).

Then we were interviewed HA HA HA HA HA HA...The priest asked us some questions and she also encouraged other people to ask us questions. Interesting. It was SO hard for me to try to explain my life in Indonesia, 'coz EVERYTHING is SO different!!! Anyway, we had a good practise to speak Finnish, though he he he he...

OK, I think this is long enough. Time for me to read some Finnish!!!

Silenceeeee...

Yeah, been lazy blogging and blog-hopping again. I've spent my days reading and exercising, preparing my body for our summer vacation next month he he he...That's also why I've been tired so easily, 'coz I exert energy by exercising and by forcing myself to read more Finnish every day - besides watching TV series with hubby.

Yesterday hubby told me that our niece will turn 5 tomorrow and they're going to throw a party for her, so today I went to the bookstore to find a gift for her. I figured that buying her a book would be better than buying her a doll. However, the tricky part is that I don't know what kind of books they have already he he he...Well, I know that they have so many DVDs and video tapes and some books and CDs, so I hope that she hasn't got the book I chose for her. It was hard to pick something for a 5-year-old. Ummm...

GOOD news is that while browsing for a gift, I found out that the book that I'd been wanting to buy for a while was on a 50% discount, so I grabbed it right away HI HI HI HI...I also found Winnie the Pooh stickers on a discount, so I bought a pack for the birthday girl. I figured that little kids love stickers, don't they? Don't they? At least I do know that she likes Winnie the Pooh he he he...

glitter-graphics.com

Anyway...my training at the library will end on 27th this month and I'll then try to find a part-time job. We'll see how it goes. Someone tells me that there might be a job opening somewhere, so I'll try applying for a job there. Wish me luck!!!

I've actually never worked for a long time in an office or stores. This training at the library is the longest time I've ever spent in an "office". When this training ends, it means that I'll have been there for 6 months! :-D When I was in Indo, I could only stand working in an office for 7 weeks hi hi hi hi hi...

A few weeks ago my Mom got sick and it seemed that she didn't get well easily, so my bro took her to a specialist and she had to have proper blood tests. Everything came out fine except for the cholesterol level and another thing whose term escaped my mind right now...anyway, at least now she knows what to do. She's changed her diet intake and she's lost 2 kgs already. GOOD for her!!! :-D

My slight worry is my Dad. My Mom said that he's getting thinner and thinner, 'coz sometimes he forgets to eat. If he stays home, it's much easier for them to notice whether he's eaten or not...but 'coz he loves playing chess outside of the house, it's hard to make sure that he remembers to eat. Uhhhhh...I sure hope he won't get sick. I think he was already too thin when I met him last October!!! Ah well...such is life...at least my brother and his wife and his wife's family will be there for them. :-D

OK, I'll end this rambling post. I'll blog-hop on Sunday 'coz now I'm dying to continue reading the new book I've just bought he he he he he he...

3BT: Random Days

1. Giving two surprises for my MIL on Mother's Day: a printer and a poster-sized photo version of them while she hugged my FIL he he he...And in return, I got two HUGE hugs from her HE HE HE HE HE HE...

2. Though it's been raining quite much and the weather's been so unpredictable these days, I got a chance to see double rainbow the other day. My first rainbow in Finland. Here it is:


3. Looking at the rainbow scene reminded me of one lovely church song, which if translated to English would be something like this:

"Life doesn't always look like dark clouds. God's promise is real, you just need to wait for His perfect timing. Even though you can't see the sky 'coz of the thick, dark clouds, beyond it there's God's loving rainbow."

4. I've finished reading one children's novel in Finnish and now I'm trying to read a Finnish chicklit that I bought a while ago on a discount. It's gonna be tougher and slower 'coz it's much thicker than the children's book and I try to look up every word I don't know in the dictionary he he...but I'm NOT giving up!!! :-D Cheers to determination!!! :-D

5. Finally able to take such a LONG sleep today after having had restless nights for a few days (dunno why 'coz I'm usually a sleepyhead!).

6. A few weeks ago when it was icy, the guy who rarely smiled whenever he came to the library to bring packages saw me ride my bike and told me to be careful. That's SO nice of him to do that! :-D

7. Having a peaceful mind. Some days a while ago I had such a noisy inner mind and that drove me crazy!!!

8. When I was questioning some things that made me feel sad, I read something in Our Daily Bread that really answered them.

9. Having fun during our Finnish study group with the girls. :-D

10. The flower plants in my MIL's house seem to be growing well. Now they don't need to be covered by plastic anymore. Here they are:




11. When we were about to go back home from my MIL's place, I saw two hares in a distance. I managed to get closer enough to take this pic. As you can see, now the fur is turning brownish in some parts!!! :-D

Suicide Rate

Found this text while browsing through Time Magazine today. It's pretty disturbing, but it also made me think.

"A lot of Asian people just work without any other things to make life more interesting; if they lose their jobs, it throws their life into total disarray," said Paul Yip, director of the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention in Hong Kong. "If the financial crisis is going to have an impact on suicide rates, it'll be more serious in Asia."

Rises in male suicide rates a year after the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

South Korea: 45%
Hong Kong: 44%
Japan: 39%

Anybody has an opinion? I don't think I have enough general knowledge to make any statements on this quote, but I just think it's interesting what he said about Asians. At least this quote is totally valid when I try to think of what happened to my Dad after he resigned from work. He suddenly lost sense of his own value in life and his whole life went into "disarray". Glad to say that now Ken's existence has given back his sense of value in life.

I think one of the things that Indonesian needs is a place where the elderly can do plenty of activities together ('coz I know my Aunt who lives in Canada with her hubby can still do plenty of fun activities with other pensioners). Unfortunately I think if they do build (or have built) that kind of place in Indo, it's going to be SO costly that the elderly can't afford it. Back to ground zero then.

Oh well...just a little something to think about.

Support Found in Written Words

One of the things I love about reading is that when I find something I can relate to that I haven't found elsewhere, I feel that I'm not so alone. I feel understood. And that gives me TOTAL comfort. The person doesn't even have to actively encourage or comfort me. Simply by sharing his or her experiences lifts up my mood.

In times like this, I just nod my head eagerly over and over and over again and I want to shout at the top of my lungs, "YES, YES, that's EXACTLY how I feel!!!!! SO TRUE!!!"

And my heart finds solace...through the written words of God's angels around the globe...

The Promised Hare Video Clip

Finally converted the clip to avi and uploaded it to youtube. Here's the jänis or Finnish hare in actiooonnnn he he he he...If you think my hand is unsteady, it's 'coz I used FULL zoom and when using full zoom, your hand mustn't move AT ALL in order for the camera to be steady, but it's rather impossible to do it without using a tripod he he...Anyway, enjoy!!!

Rambling Post

Can't wait for this evening when my BIL comes with his girlfriend to have our Wii game night ho ho ho ho ho...and this time if we play tennis, I don't have to play TWO characters on my own against both my BIL and hubby HUE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

Anyway, Mother's Day is coming soon (May 10th) and I've ordered a big poster of my in-laws' lovely pic. Remember the pic of them hugging each other that I posted here? Well, yesterday I picked it up at the PO. I tried finding the suitable frame for it, but no luck yet, 'coz the poster is about 50 times 35 cm. I added a few more pics on the right side of it (on a smaller scale of course). Hope my in-laws love the poster he he he...

Yesterday after work it was such great weather. Sunny at around 10-15'C (depending whether you're under shade or the sun). So I decided to ride my bike to the farther store to find the frame. I LOVED biking on a long stretch of road where there were no other bikers or pedestrians HO HO HO HO HO...I feel SO safe riding my bike here.

When I went back home, I was already in sweat, so I decided to shower. It was actually getting so hot that we had to open all the windows and the balcony door, 'coz the sun was shining straight into our kitchen and living room. LOVE this place!!! :-D So bright and sunny!!!

OK, now I think I'm gonna go read some Finnish after blog-hopping a bit. Today I have this thought in mind: "You're to allow yourself enough time to grieve before you can let go and move on. If you don't allow yourself to grieve, then it's going to come spiraling down."

Now song of the day...one of my fave songs of all time: "In Dreams" by John Waite. Here are my fave lines:

Where are you is where I'll be
That's all that really matters to me
The world out there can kiss my ass
But as long as I've got you I'm free...free...