Saturday, the First Day of December 2007

Can't believe that it's December already. Yesterday I even "forgot" that it was already the first day of December he he he...Anyway, when we arrived at my in-laws, my mother-in-law hugged me right away and then she served coffee and my strawberry-cream birthday cake.

We had a little talk while Arttu and Dad were busy fixing the car. For some reason our car's heater didn't work well, so they were tinkering with it. I told my mother-in-law that my mother send regards to all of them. She looked happy and she sent regards back to my Mom he he he he...Then I got to ask her about her rashes. You see, ever since last summer, there were rashes all over her arms. At first she said it was due to allergy, but even after she applied some medication all over it, they were still there. The rashes looked like mosquito bites...red and itchy.

Then about two weeks ago she finally went to the doctor and the doctor took a bit of sample from the rashes to find out what it was. Yesterday I got a chance to ask her what the doctor said. She said that it was because of stress. I began to wonder what made her stressed. Arttu said that it must've been because of Dad. You see, a few weeks after I moved here, Arttu's Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. I thought he was still doing fine even though sometimes he seemed disoriented. Turned out that nowadays he grows restless during the night, so he walks around the house and urinates in weird places. Yesterday he urinated in a bucket. Gladly the bucket was empty.

I feel sad for my mother-in-law. The love of his life is now deteriorating mentally and she must be worried whenever he gets up during the night while she's sleeping. I remember Arttu telling me their story. They met when she was 19 and he was 31 and even from the first meeting, she knew she'd marry him. And they did get married!!! They'll have been married for 45 years on December 26th. Unfortunately, I don't know what to do to help. All I know is that I'll remember their situation more specifically in my prayers, especially since her rashes aren't getting any better yet.

Talk about stress...turns out my brother's girlfriend's mother is also in stress. She's also suffered from rashes or itch over the past few weeks. It seems that she's stressed over the "upcoming loss" of her daughter. My mother's told her that she can come and visit anytime she wants to. Gladly their house is near my parents' house so they can definitely come every day (literally) if they want to.

One thing that makes me SO RELIEVED...is that my Mom is able to let go of me. Yes, she did cry, of course, but she didn't get stressed out about me. At least not that I know of he he he he...

OK, now on to a lighter topic then...here are some pictures I took yesterday while walking to the frozen lake. I also took a video clip of downtown but I still have to edit it to make it more presentable.

First pic: my birthday gift from my BELOVED mother-in-law. Since I've never had plants before, I asked her how many times I should water it he he he he he...Hey, I just realized last night that this is my first "pot" of FLOWERS!!! Nobody'd EVER given me flowers before in my life HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...YIIIPPPIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! ;-D



Second pic: Pic of the lake again. It was around -9'C when we went to Kelujärvi, but when I walked to the lake, it was already down to -12'C. Then when we were about to go home, it dropped to -20'C. It's again -19'C today he he he...BRRRR!!!!!!!!












Yeah, tried to make footsteps on the snow picture he he he...Hope you like it! I also wanted you to know how thick the snow was. Actually on the left side (the huge field), the snow was MUCH thicker, but I didn't want to walk there, thank you very much ha ha ha ha ha ha...


This last pic was taken from inside the car. This is the view of the river in Sodankylä. I just want you to see how thick the snow is at the side of the road since the snow truck comes every day and moves the snow from the road to the sides of the road he he he...There are MOUNTAINS of snow here and there (I'll take more pics later on, OK?)



I just uploaded this video of the frozen lake, so it might take some time before it loads. If it doesn't show yet, try again in a few hours, OK? He he he he he...

Car and Weather

First of all...Sorry, Karen (Water Learner), my strawberry bread came out weird. As usual, the taste is GOOD, but the form isn't he he he...so you have to wait until next time. I don't want to take a pic of it here (too embarrassed) hi hi hi...

Speaking of weather, Saturday morning when we were about to leave to my in-laws', there was a thin layer of ice all over our car's windshield. At first I thought it was morning dew, but hubby had to scrape it with a kind of tool so that we could see ahead.

He said that it was 'coz the temperature had been below zero during the night. When I woke up, it was only 0'C but then the day turned out sunny, so the temperature rose to 8'C. In the evening, it went down again to 4'C. I'm writing this down so that I can compare it with next year's weather he he he...

Speaking of car inspection, turned out our car didn't pass the inspection. And since it's already old, we were thinking of buying a newer one on installments (a used one, of course, not a brand new one). Coincidentally, hubby's eldest brother wants to sell his car and it's within our price range. So we're applying for a loan from the bank. The good thing about this is that we're going to visit them in Pori (southern Finland) to get the car. YIIIPPPIIIEEE!!! It'll be my first time to Pori!!!!!!!!! (I've only been to Helsinki and Kemi)

Since it's a long drive (about 12-hour per trip), we'll probably spend a night at their place. I'd LOVE to see their house (I've only seen pictures of it) he he he...

Okay, enough about this. Here are some pics I took yesterday. ;-D

First pic: my mother-in-law's orange tree. Yes, she puts it inside the living room he he he...



Second pic: a close-up look of the oranges. I haven't tried them yet, but they look yummy. ;-D



Here's a pic of leafless trees. Lots of trees have gone bare these days. ;-D What I find interesting about this type of tree is that the berries stay there even after the leaves are gone he he he...By the way, you can't eat those berries, though.



Here's a close-up look of the bare branches and the berries.



And this is a pic of Saturday's twilight. ;-D