Heat Wave

We've been having very hot weather during the day for at least a week. It reached 30'C under the sun and sometimes it felt even hotter when there was less wind, though some days thankfully the wind was rather cool. Plus it helps that the temperature goes down during the night/morning. So on a very hot day I went out biking the other time. I went to the river area and was amazed at how striking the difference was between summer and winter. The bushes were so lush and tall and I did take some photos. 

Here goes...Lappish summer at its best! The weather report site says that this has been the hottest period ever in 50 years all over Finland with the mean temperature of 20,7'C. Amazing! And many people thought it would be a crappy summer after last year's super glorious and long summer and the fact that the beginning of summer here was cold. I'm glad to report that today has been raining and it's been cool, though. It's nice for a change. Plus people here aren't really geared up for super hot weather non-stop because they're more prepared for cold winters ha ha...

Enjoy the photos! Oh, and the house in one of the pics isn't ours. It's just one of those that attracted my eyes. Have a blessed weekend, people!

P.S.: As contrast, here are other photos of the river area (taken from different sides) at different times of the year:

Spring
Autumn
Winter

After Holiday Cold

The reason I've been silent lately was because we went on our winter holiday and then I caught some cold when I got back. Plus I promised myself to stay away from the internet as much as possible during our holiday. 

We went for a week to Tenerife with my mother-in-law this time. It was the first time going there for us, though she had gone there before. We went to the north side, which was greener and less hot. Well, it wasn't that hot there yet because it's not high season yet, but still much warmer than here he he he...The temperature was probably around 16-23'C. 

I'm not going to write long here yet, because my head still feels weird, but here are some photos. We stayed in an area called Puerto de la Cruz on the northern side of Tenerife Island. I liked the fact that it was green there considering the fact that there's still piles of snow here and we still can't see any grass yet. Flowers were blooming so beautifully over there already. Here's a map of the island. Puerto de la Cruz is on the top middle part (click to view a bigger version).

Here's a pic of me with some HUGE flowers near our hotel.

Here's some pics of our hotel Apartamentos Casablanca. We stayed on the fourth floor. I must say it's a pretty good place to people watch from there he he...We were all always amazed at the fact that at 8 am in the morning when the pool was open, there were always a group of people swimming already, though it was still cool and the sun wasn't even shining on the pool area yet. Amazing! We didn't end up swimming at all - partly because it wasn't that hot yet and partly because R2 got sick there as well. He had a cold and fever and for one whole day he stayed up in the hotel room to get some rest. 

I ended up going to the supermarket to cook him some chicken soup for his resting day so that he didn't have to go anywhere. Luckily the hotel room was an apartment and it has a kitchen, so it was easy for me to cook.

The list of activities for guests. There's a green bowling competition every week as well as an aerobic session.

OK, I'm going to take it easy and rest some more. I'll blog-hop and blog some more about our holiday later on. I'm glad I still have some days off before going to work, so I have time to rest and try to get better.

6th Wedding Anniversary Cabin Trip

Yep, just got back from the cabin again. R2 took two days off 'coz I've been getting work during the weekend so it's kinda hard to go there then. Didn't take too many pics, but I did take some ha ha...but first of all, here are a few pics of the cakes I bought. Yep, the first one I bought a few days before our anniversary already LOL!!! Couldn't stop myself 'coz it looked SO delicious (and it was!!!).

The second one I bought for all of us (it was a frozen one), so I brought it along to MIL's place. Luckily BIL and SIL also came over that day, so we shared the cake with them, too. Otherwise we'd have been eating too much cake HA HA HA HA HA HA...

We arrived in Kelujärvi at around 5.30 pm yesterday and it was SO dark already. Mind you that the area had no electricity (the path towards the cabin near the lake, I mean). Usually we had a flashlight with us, but this time each of us had a head light (the one with the rubber band that we could put on our forehead) hi hi hi...I bought it a few hours before we left at a nearby store. It was only €3 (it included the batteries already!). Pretty cheap!!! And it was nicer to walk in the dark without having to carry a flashlight in your hand ha ha ha...

Because it was so dark already, I didn't take any pics. The lake was already completely frozen, though I didn't dare walk on it yet 'coz the river water downtown Sodankylä is still running like normal (only parts of the surface is covered with thin ice). But that helped us a lot in getting some water for the sauna, 'coz R2 didn't have to dig too long to get the water hi hi hi...It was a glorious starry night, though. The sky was very clear and the stars were twinkling happily up there.

We went to bed early 'coz R2 was too tired already and I woke up at 6 am due to my screaming bladder. Had to get up and go to the outdoor toilet. R2 woke up as well to burn more firewood 'coz the cabin started getting cool already, then we went back to sleep HA HA HA...At around 9 am the sunlight woke me up. It was SOOOOOOOOOOO bright outside and just lovely (around -8'C). Thankful that we got a chance to enjoy the sun, 'coz at around 12.30 pm it went cloudy again and the sun was already hiding behind the clouds.

OK, here are some pics...enjoy!!!

This is the frozen lake. Don't the funny-looking small piles of snow on the surface of the lake remind you of a meringue pie topping? (click on the pic to see a bigger version)

Plenty of birds were eating and chirping happily outside the cabin. Had to fix the colourings of the pic below 'coz I took the pic against the sun (there was no other way I could take the pic):

Ice crystals. Marvellous under the sun!
 

More ice crystal pic. This one below is from the car window:

Another one. This one is formed on the car door:

Here's the original photo:

Playing with my shadow HA HA HA...

Had to fix the colourings of the pic below 'coz I took the pic against the sun (there was no other way I could take the pic):

A one-winged angel? :-D

Web of...deceit? LOL!!!

OK, that's all for now. Take care, people!!!!

Long Overdue Photos

I haven't been taking photos with my camera in a while and the battery was dead, so here are two pics from the end of August he he he...taken during our cabin trip at that time. 

And here are two pics taken this weekend. MIL bought some liquorice pipes and we had fun posing hi hi hi...

And some outdoor photos:

And here's a pic of our hands just for size comparison. :-D

Hope you've had a lovely weekend, people! :-D

Winter Is Coming Soon!

Last Friday we had a chance to finally go to the cabin again. The weather that day was awful (it rained during half the day and it was so windy), but we had a nice, relaxing time there anyway. I bought some fruit-scented candles to make the cabin smell nice. R2 had a tough time lighting the fireplace in the cabin, though he didn't have any trouble making fire to warm up the sauna. When we got there, the weather outside was probably around 3'C and the cabin was 7'C, but after a few hours, the cabin was as warm as 21-22'C.

We ate before heading to sauna and we were in sauna for a LONG time. We got outside a few times to cool down (it didn't take long to cool down 'coz the wind was strong and chilly) and then we got back inside the sauna.

We listened to the radio and I realized something. Years back when I first moved to Finland, we went to the cabin and when the radio show hosts were talking about something or even joking with each other, the only person who laughed would be R2, but now I am able to laugh at the jokes as well. It's a nice feeling - looking backward and realizing that I've made it this far. The road ahead is still long and winding, but it's encouraging to see progress. :-D Any kind of progress - no matter how little it is - should be celebrated, don't you think? :-D

Before we went to bed at around midnight, R2 burned some more firewood in the fireplace, but when we got up at around 9 am, the cabin's temperature had dropped down to 14-15'C. No wonder when it's really cold outside, whenever we stay at the cabin, R2 has to get up during the night to burn more firewood to make sure that we won't be freezing in the morning he he...

Anyhow, let me just share some pictures...for some reason I'm in no mood to talk about our Indo/Bangkok holiday yet, so you just have to wait ha ha ha...




Below is a pic of the fruit-scented candle:


Yesterday it snowed a little. I was working when I saw the snow. First snow in Sodankylä this year on October 9th, 2011. SO VERY BEAUTIFUL! Just like the scene of my dream years and years ago - I was inside this room filled with huge windows, looking outside a snowy village. I can't wait to have everything white again (of course the snow didn't last yet 'coz the temperature is still a little above 0'C during the day) 'coz it'll make everything brighter.

Anyhow, take care, people! I think I should start my light therapy again before SAD attacks with full force 'coz I'm starting to get lethargic again (sleepy, not in the mood to do anything).

Btw, I finally got a chance to test my three-legged tripod (the first pic in this post was taken using this tripod below). It's a very light tripod and the three legs can be bent as you please. For the first pic, I wrapped the legs of the tripod to a tree branch. :-D Very handy, eh? :-D And it wasn't expensive at all, either. :-D

3BT: Random Days

1. My boss has read the note I made and said that in the new worklist, I'll get less hours. YEEESSS!!! That starts in a few weeks, so until then I'll still be a bit busier he he...but I'm glad I did decide to give the note.

2. The kind old guy who once gave me flowers gave me another pot the other day. I almost couldn't contain my happy tears from flowing (PMS mode) and believe me, it was SO hard to control myself when I still had other customers to serve. Some of them probably saw my wet eyes and wondered what went wrong HA HA HA...I don't know why the old guy is so nice to me, but I THANK GOD for having customers like him.

Before he came, it had been hectic hours at work and I was feeling tired, but after he gave me the pot of flowers, nothing else mattered and I felt SO refreshed. ;-D It felt like drinking fresh water in the middle of a very hot day in the desert.

3. A little girl who's been very friendly to me has been asking about me whenever she and her parents go out to buy groceries. I'm SO touched that another person's child remembers me, even though I don't really know her, but she's SO cute!!!

4. A male customer asked me the usual stuff (where I come from, etc.) and after that he said, "You're brave for moving here." I thanked him, though I don't really feel brave, but I TRULY appreciate people who give others encouragement. They're angels on earth.

5. Christmas holiday is coming soon. Dinner with family, playing cards and drinking some cider and eating chocolate...just the thought of that brings warmth to the soul, 'coz we'll never know how much time left we have with one another.

6. We're going on a short trip to Rovaniemi sometime. YAHOOOOOOOO!!! It wasn't exactly planned - sort of just on a whim and I'm glad I found a hotel with a good price (and the room price includes breakfast). I'll write about this later on when we get back. YEEESSS!!!!

7. Taking these pictures make me happy:

Decoration behind a bed and breakfast in Sodankylä:



Saw pink sky again the other day, so I had to grab my camera to take some pics...

On Being Flexible

How flexible you should be when it comes to work? I'm still trying to figure out the balance here. I've stated to my superiors that I feel like I've done too much work and they say that they're going to reduce my hours ('coz I've done MANY more hours than what is stated in my contract) when the new workers they hire start working next month.

I don't know if I'm lazy or not, but I feel that I don't want to work too much 'coz I want to live a balanced life. First of all, even though I DO appreciate being able to get the extra money by doing overtime, but I appreciate MORE having spare time to do other things I want to do 'coz we've got more than enough anyway even when I only do a certain amount of hours per week.

Secondly, if I can help it, not being burnt out is better 'coz then I can do my best when it's time for me to work (remember that I have to communicate in Finnish and that takes mental effort to do, esp. 'coz I have to count money when I'm at the cashier). After all, when I signed up for the job, it was for a part-time job only, not a full-time job. The other week was really rough and I felt like my brain wasn't working well anymore and I wouldn't be able to give the best when I'm like that.

Anyhow, enough contemplation. Now on to some more wintery pics...

First pic: Another attempt at taking panoramic pics. Click to view a bigger size. I cropped out a bit of the right side of the pic he he...


2nd pic: As we were about to leave the place, the reindeer came to the field to find some food. The leader of the pack is busy digging for food in the pic below...



The two other reindeer in the herd:


Trick of the eye pic that I took of the cabin window that reflects the lights from the oil lamp and the candle inside the cabin he he...


I'll go blog-hopping now while I have a free day he he...

Today's Pics

No time to write long 'coz gotta go to sauna soon. Just wanna share some pics that I took with my mobile on the way back home on my bike at -21'C.

First pic: Yep, that was how the ends of my hair looked like after being outdoors for about 15-20 minutes (I stopped a few times on the way home to take pics).



The lovely sky at around 12.30 pm...


Cycled back to the old neighborhood and took a pic of one of the houses I've always loved there...


Last pic of the lovely sky before coming home...


OK, now sauna time!!! ;-D