Yesterday was my birthday and on Friday hubby took a day off so that we could go to the cabin before it got dark. He was afraid that if he worked that day, he may have had to stay longer at work. After all, we only get about 3 hours of daylight now as we move rapidly towards Winter Solstice where the sun doesn't even rise at all. Since there isn't that much snow yet, we could still make it to the cabin by car. It was more convenient this way because then he could bring a lot of firewood.
It has been a cloudy weekend, so we didn't really see any gorgeous sky or starry sky, though I saw some flashes of pink sky during sunset. Usually hubby is the one who ends up doing most of the stuff, but this time I wanted to try making a hole in the ice by myself (we need the water from the lake for sauna, you see). When I stepped on the frozen lake, I was a bit afraid if it would break, but when I started using the ice pick to make the hole, I realized just how thick it was. I stopped lots of time in between picking the ice with the ice pick to take photos of the sky. It was rather fascinating to see just how fast the sky changed in just 10 minutes or so.
The ice was at least 13 cm thick, so it took a lot of time before I could finally get some water. YYYEEEEEEEEESSS!!!! It felt good to be able to do the task HE HE HE HE HE...Hubby had to get more firewood and chop them off into smaller pieces (that also took a while). After that the party began ha ha ha ha...my kind of party. Just listening to music on the radio, going to sauna together, cooking the food in the fireplace, chilling out just the two of us. Bliss! What do I feel about turning 36? Thankful that I'm still given time to be alive. :-)
The temperature was about -1'C, though it probably dropped down a bit to -5'C during the night. It was a bit foggy when we arrived there, but for some reason it made me feel even more secluded from the rest of the world, because I could barely see the row of trees across the lake.
Anyway, here are some pics that I took:
The cabin from the back side:
Lots and lots of candles!
The sky when we first arrived:
The ice pick photo with the same background (about 43 minutes later, when the sky started to open up a little):
More photos of pinkish sky:
Okay, I need to go to bed earlier now (or at least try to). I have an early shift tomorrow. Hope you're all doing fine, people!
The other day at work an old lady came to pay for her groceries, but she said to me that she didn't want the milk carton that she took 'coz she had taken the wrong one. Mind you that the milk section was at the back of the store, so I told her to just leave it at the cashier so that I could return it to the original place later on.
After serving a few more customers, there was nobody in line, so I took the milk carton and ran to the back of the store 'coz I didn't want the next customers to wait too long for me to get back. While running on the fourth aisle with the milk carton in my hand, I spotted a little girl in the middle. She was standing there in the middle of the aisle, halfway between me and where the rest of the milk was at the back of the store.
We locked our gaze at one point and we realized who it was we were looking at. She's this little girl who's been really friendly to me ever since we met at the store 1,5 years ago. Her parents are also very friendly and she has a little sister. At that time, her parents and little sister were near the milk section.
Anyway, when the little girl saw me, she smiled so widely and started RUNNING towards me with arms wide open...In my hurry, I couldn't break her heart. She probably thought that I was running towards her!!! (FYI: She did this once when they were at the store and she saw me from afar) So when we were close to each other, I stopped, knelt down, and gave her a hug.
I was a bit worried what her parents might think of me hugging her, but from the side of my eyes, I could see them turning around at us and laughing. Phew!!! She really made my day that day! :-D Before then, all we had ever exchanged were words and smiles and occasionally I gave them some candies he he...
Anyhow, here are some photos I took with my mobile camera (not such good quality), but anyway...
2nd pic: The sun peeping from behind the trees at around 2.30 pm yesterday. Felt marvelous to be able to see it again after such a long time!
3rd pic: The back of a hotel in Sodankylä.
4th pic: Very light pinkish sky.
Because I have this weekend free, I told R2 that I wanted to go to the cabin on Fri after my evening shift ended. We almost cancelled it 'coz the weather prediction said it'd be -22'C and I only finished my shift that day at around 9.20 pm, but finally we had a solution: R2 went there straight after work to warm it up and then he'd go back home and pick me up. I'm SO grateful for R2 'coz he had to do the tough work of driving back and forth and warming up the cabin and the sauna when it was that cold outside (FYI, he had to get the water for the sauna by making a hole in the ice in the frozen lake).
Turned out it was -28'C that night and it even went down to -30'C when we both arrived there at around 10 pm. The stars were shining on a cloudless night and we both had sauna first before we had supper (hamburgers and sausages) while listening to the radio.
We were already so dead tired after that, so we just lay down in each other's arms while listening to the radio for a while and then we brushed our teeth and slept. Due to the cold weather outside, R2 had to wake up twice during the night to burn more firewood to keep the inside of the cabin warm enough.
In the morning at around 10 am, I woke up to pee in the outside toilet (turned out during the day the temp. went up to -16'C only) and I realized that the sun was just about to rise, so I went back inside to get my cameras - yeah, I brought both the Panasonic and Sony to compare and contrast the pics taken with both cameras ha ha ha...While taking some pics, I heard some kling-klong-kling-klong (bell sound) so I knew some reindeer must be nearby 'coz sometimes they put a bell on the neck of a reindeer. I waited but couldn't see any...After taking some pics, I got hungry and I realized that R2 had woken up and he had started warming up some hamburgers HE HE HE...He knew I'd be hungry again. ;-D
After that, I went back outside to take more pics and I saw a reindeer standing alone on the frozen lake. It must've been a young one 'coz it had no horns yet. It stood still as I took pics of it and after a while the parents came to the spot and the dad took the lead to guide the way towards the forest. 'Coz I didn't have time to take good pics of the parents, I went to chase them. Thankfully they walked slowly, so I managed to catch up with them, but when they realized I was chasing them (we were only about a few metres apart - they were on the forest, I was on the path leading to my in-laws' place), the dad decided to turn back towards the lake...
I followed them again and then they turned back again towards the forest HI HI HI...I followed them again, but this time I stopped near a clearing 'coz I knew if they passed by the clearing, I would be able to take some pics of them there. The dad hesitated before he crossed over the clearing 'coz he was probably afraid I'd do something bad, but at last he led the way and I took some pics. After that I left them alone he he he...I had bothered them enough that day HA HA HA...
So here are the pics...
1st pic: the kiddy.
2nd pic: Staring at me while I took pics, not knowing what to do.
3rd pic (taken by Sony, thus difference in hue): Daddy led the way to the forest...
4th pic: This was taken after I followed them toward the forest and then they turned back towards the frozen lake. Daddy was wary of me hi hi...
5th pic: The clearing I mentioned in the post. Even though it can be REALLY cold here up north, but usually it means I've got more chance to see beautiful pink skies like in this pic. It's just breathtaking...
Below are two group photos...
And last pics of the day: the gorgeous sky and frozen lake at around 10.30 am. If it hadn't been cloudy, the pink area would've been even wider he he...
OK, now I have to cook and dunno if I have time to blog-hop today or not. We'll see. Take care, everybody!!! Hope you've had a blessed weekend! I know I have he he...
1. The most amazing hues of colours in the sky. I never thought that Finland sky could be such an amazing portrait of God's work of art. It's just breathtaking to see. Unfortunately you have to see it yourself to truly enjoy it. I keep on sighing and sighing here in wonder...ahhhhhh...2. The patch of sunbeam on my balcony's wall, penetrating the kitchen window, making my living room aglow gorgeously.3. Thoughtful friends out there who really make my day just by showing they care.4. Passion. (I'll explain later in a different post)
5. The interchanging of sunshine and rain, reminding me that the world keeps on turning and that if you're feeling down, it won't last forever. There WILL be sunnier days. ;-D
Darn coffee kept me awake again (my bad he he...) so let me just spend some time here before I try to go back to sleep again. Sometimes I'm tempted to drink coffee even when I know I shouldn't. It'd be okay if I drink coffee in the morning, but if I drink even only a cup of coffee in the evening, then this is what happens.Oh well...there are a couple of things that I wanna write down. Just random thoughts, actually.1. I LOVE the feeling of being SWALLOWED UP by the sky here in Finland. I never felt that way back in Bandung, as I lived with my parents in a small alley where houses' walls stuck together so if there were a fire, then it'd be VERY dangerous. There are no buildings higher than 3 stories in Sodankylä, especially around Kelujärvi (where my in-laws live). There are lots of vast stretches of land there and whenever we drive to and from Kelujärvi, I can see the sky enveloping us and the world really seems unbelievably HUGE.2. I LOVE sitting on Arttu's lap. If you ever see us like that (probably never as I won't feel comfy showing off affection in front of other people), you'd think of a father and a daughter ha ha...Why? Because I'm only 145 cm, whereas Arttu's 177 cm. Another reason why I love sitting on his lap is because his body is SO MUCH warmer than mine, so if I feel a bit cool or cold, he's like my personal "blanket" he he...3. A while ago my friends and I were talking about God's ways in our lives. I think that life is mostly like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book. You know, the kind of book where you get to choose what to do next in some parts (like forks in the paths of our lives), so there are several endings depending on what you choose. I think in most cases, God gives us the freedom to choose, whereas in some cases everything depends on Him. 4. I think I'm luckily enjoying my Mum's "karma". She's a GREAT cook and she loves feeding people (if you ever come to our house in Indo, Mum'll DEFINITELY give you some food). She sells food in the traditional market in Bandung and if there are leftovers, she'd give them away to relatives and neighbours. And now my mother-in-law LOVES giving us food every time we visit them on Saturdays. Well, the good thing about it is that it drives me to experiment on cooking and baking so that I can at least bring something for her to try. :-)))5. It's GOOD to have dreams and goals in life to boost us, but sometimes having too many wishes (in an obsessive way) can be the source of your sorrow, as well, if you don't seem to get nearer to getting them. Especially if you see people around you and they've actually gotten what you wish for "seemingly" effortlessly. Okay, enough for tonight. I'll continue again later. :-))) Sweet dreams, everybody!
