In Indonesia, usually Christians in my city Bandung tend to have the cremation or burial of their loved ones a few days after. The family would usually rent a room (or two if they think there'll be so many guests) in a funeral home and the casket and the body will be laid there for three days. On day three in the evening there'll usually be the "closing of the casket" ceremony after a sermon and then the next morning the casket will be brought to a cremation place or burial place. During the three days of "open house for guests", the family members will be ready to accept the guests from morning till night (because soon after the death is found out, they'll immediately contact a newspaper to put an ad about the details of the funeral and where you can visit the family and pay respect to the deceased). The family members usually provide drinks (water) as well as snacks (sweets, peanuts) and fruit (usually oranges). Guests will come along with a gift of money, pay their respect, talk to the family members present there, and then go back home. The whole thing is a tiring event for the closest family members especially. If the deceased is buried, on the fourth morning usually only the closest family members and their relatives will go and escort the body to the burial place. And afterwards usually the closest family members (the wife/husband of the deceased) would treat them lunch. Because my dad was cremated, they had arranged a specific date and time afterwards to bring the ashes and spread it to the sea, so my Mom and bro rented a car and a driver to take them there (Bandung is in the middle of Java island so it's rather far from the sea).
Here in Sodankylä apparently it's a whole different thing, even though I suppose things can also be done by request, but still...The funeral will be held on in a few weeks. Can't be done any sooner because the church is fully booked. Before the funeral, the church will ring the church bell on June 5th eighty times (the age of the deceased), so I'll be listening to that later on. So we'll have a funeral service at the church, then the funeral will commence, then we'll all go to a certain place to eat. The option to eat depends on the family members: either to serve only coffee and sweet bread/cake or to serve those after serving a main course. MIL will have to talk to the catering service about what she wants. On Wednesday first of all we went to buy the casket, then we went to church to book the funeral service. Because MIL hadn't booked any burial spot, we went there to look at the empty spots so that MIL could find a good place for FIL and herself (so she booked two plots because she wants to be laid to rest next to FIL).
After that the funeral home director had prepared FIL and laid him down in the casket, so we went there to say our last goodbye. MIL then proceeded to put on FIL's socks, covered FIL's face with a kind of face cover that was already provided, then the three of us (me, MIL, funeral home director) put the casket lid on top and then put some screws on them. Then along with BIL we lifted the casket on to the back of the funeral home director's car. MIL sat next to him in the car, whereas BIL and I followed it with his car (R2 had work whereas BIL and I were still on summer holiday). Once the casket was put in a cooler, we went back home using BIL's car. MIL still has so many things to think about...writing down the list of people who may come (if no more than 28 people, then we'll be able to use the small chapel in the cemetery area - but if there are more than that, we must use the church), the menu for the guests after the funeral, then what kind of hymns to sing during the funeral service, ordering the tombstone, sorting out FIL's stuff etc. Anyway, MIL seems to be doing better today. Calmer. Yesterday she was still understandably shaky, esp. in the morning. Anyway, preparing for things like this makes me think of my own mortality. What kind of ending do I want for myself? I'd rather have the cheapest and the most practical kind available - cremation if possible, though I'm not sure one can do it here in this village. Oh well, when the time comes, it all depends on whoever is available to take care of it. :-)
P.S. I've been browsing for flower wreaths/bouquets for hours 'coz apparently over here family members and guests would bring flower bouquets or wreaths to church. I've visited two flower shops here to find out about the models and prices, but basically speaking they can do pretty much anything per request (provided that they can get the flowers I want, because up here in the north the choices aren't as many as the south), so I really need to think of at least the colour combination of the flowers so that they can help me with the type of flowers. I also have to think of what to write on the card that'd go along with the flowers. It ain't an easy task, I tell ya (because I've never been to a funeral here and I don't really know the customs)!
Last night I found out that my father-in-law had passed away. I don't know the details yet, but the last time I visited him with MIL on Sunday, he was in a sad state. He had a hard time breathing and he couldn't even swallow yoghurt anymore. Couldn't sip a drink with a straw anymore. And he'd lost more weight. He's no more in pain and I'm glad for that, but I pray that MIL will get comfort and peace without any regrets. Mind you, MIL and FIL would have been married for 50 years soon. Goodbye, father-in-law! You will be missed...
During our trip to Kuusamo, we visited Kuusamo Predator Centre (click on the link to view the website - they also have photos and links to video clips of the animals). The centre has reindeer, lynxes, bears, and a fox. It has also web cams in different areas, so you are able to view the animals activities from within their cages. When we waited for our guide to take us around, we watched video clips of the animals from inside the coffee shop. It was fun to watch two bear cubs playing around in the yard!!! :-D :-D :-D Anyway, if I remember correctly the centre used to be government funded, but nowadays not anymore. Here's a video clip of the lynx I fell in love with ha ha ha ha ha...Yes, I'm a cat person indeed!!! I've added annotations so that you can read some info, but you'd better watch it in a bigger version of the clip 'coz the text is kinda small. Enjoy!!! P.S. I wanted to take clear pics of the lynx, but it was impossible 'coz we weren't allowed to be too near the cage (not near enough for me to be able to squeeze my camera lenses in between the cage wires to take a clear shot of it - thus I opted to just take a video clip of it). The reason was that the lynx would either be aggressive enough to claw us or it'd pee on us. Not a very good idea ha ha ha...
P.P.S. LOVE our guide! :-D She was very informative and it's clear that she loves the animals living there. :-D
Hubby and I went for a week trip to Kuusamo (about 3 hours away by car to the south from here). We rented a cabin 'coz we found a good price for it and we just relaxed a lot during the week. That's also one reason why I haven't been blogging or blog-hopping too much. We did bring a laptop with us this time, but I didn't want to spend too much time online. It was 24'C when we arrived there last Saturday and it was also around
24'C on Sunday. During the week the temperature went down to around 15'C
during the day with some cool wind and it got colder during the night, but the sun was
shining almost the entire week. :-D Friday morning was cloudy, but it got
sunny during the evening (it went up to 18'C even in the evening). Now
we're back in Sodankylä and its 20'C and cloudy. Not bad! :-D
Here are some photos that I took. The surrounding area of the cabin. We went for a walk around the area...
R2 watching some geese from afar...
A closer pic of one of the geese. :-D
A pic of me bowling. Photo taken without flash. Because we went in there at around 7 pm, they turned off the lights and then went for a bowling with bowling pins that glowed in the dark. Dunno what it's called in English, but it's called "hohtokeilaus" in Finnish. My first time bowling ever ha ha ha ha ha...
A sneak peek for the rescue centre that we visited (I'll write another post for it along with the video clips). The caretaker feeding a bear...
And a pic of a sleepy fox named Mikko. :-D Ain't he gorgeous? The caretaker said that they fed him lots of reindeer bones and salmon.
A pic of a reindeer and its youngling. It just so happened that two reindeer fawns were born the day before we visited the place he he...I didn't take a pic of the lynx, 'coz I thought it was better to take a video clip of it (couldn't get closer to the cage due to safety reasons).
OK, I'll go unpack now and cook and stuff. Lots of things to do still, but thankfully I still have another week of holiday to go he he he he he he...
1. It took a wooden splinter in my ankle and a sore back to remind me of how amazingly the body works when it's fully well. That it takes so many muscles to move without pain when you try to get up from a lying down position and when you try to move around and change your positions. And the piece of wooden splinter reminds me of the fact that my body is still able to send me an "alarm" when something foreign is entering my body.
2. Yesterday hubby and I visited a couple of animals in captive, namely bears, a sleepy fox, and a lynx. I took some videos, but they have to wait until later. :-D Btw, I fell in love with the gorgeous lynx. :-D
3. We did go bowling and it was fun. :-D My first time ever!!! And I even accidentally scored a strike!!!! YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!! :-D
4. Mirrow-like surfaces. They always take my breath away.
5. My Mom's going to visit some relatives with her sister and nieces. Glad to know she's going to have fun with them. :-D
6. Hot ginger-orange flavoured tea on a cool day. Mmmmmmmmm... 7. Getting along well with not only parents-in-laws but also BIL and SIL is a blessing. :-D
3. Quality time with hubby without having to think of work (or without wondering if I'll get called to work to sub in for a sick coworker LOL!).
4. Ice-cream (the regular types that I like as well as tasting new flavours).
5. Hiking in a new area, taking the easy route (of course, we're not that sporty LOL!!!) 6. Finding two DVDs on a discount, one of which I saw last night.
7. Planning to go for a swim/bowling sometime this week. 8. Taking pics and finding bargain long johns. :-D
1. After a long and crazy day at work, I came home at night in a famished state, but I was sweaty so I had to take a shower first, so I asked hubby to fry an egg for me so that it'd be ready right after my shower. :-D THANK YOU, hubby!!!
2. My bro asked me to give name suggestions for their second baby (along with the meanings). THANK YOU, bro, for involving me. I'm SO touched!!! Bless you!
3. A nice, long, restful sleep in the cabin where I could hear no noise at all where I saw a totally gorgeous sunset. Ahhhhh...what a wonderful world!
4. Today has been a very sunny day at 22-24'C. I spent time sunbathing in the swing then spent a few hours mopping the floor and cleaning the windows wearing a tank top and shorts!!!! HA HAAAAA...
5. I got stared at by a very cute squirrel in MIL's garden LOL LOL!!!!
6. My first batch of summer holiday has officially started. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!
My alzheimer-stricken FIL has been suffering from pneumonia for weeks and the docs have tried different types of antibiotics, but they didn't really help much. They tried the strongest type of antibiotics, but to no avail. His condition has been stable so far, but it seems that they've prepped MIL to say goodbye to him. He was supposed to be brought back to the main old people's home yesterday, but the doc has said that it would be unnecessary and that he'd take care of him in the hospital until his last breath. In the beginning of treatment he was still eating well, but gradually reacting less and less. Today I asked MIL about his condition and it seems that he hasn't been eating well anymore. So it seems that it's only a matter of time... At least I'm glad that MIL has had time to let go, but I pray that she's given peace of mind and no regrets. After all, she's done all she can to be with him and to take care of him with so much love...
Just as I had been feeling almost perfectly well for the past 1,5 weeks, I had another BPPV extreme episode on Friday in the middle of work. It was very strange 'coz I wasn't feeling any dizziness at all before it all happened. I had been working for about 4,5 hours and then at the beginning of my lunch break, when I was about to warm up my food in the microwave, I felt the room spinning around me and I was so scared of falling down, so I had to hold on to the edge of the kitchen cabinets until the strong wave passed away. But right away nausea took in and I had to throw up in the toilet.
I tried sitting down and then I started eating my food VERY VERY slowly 'coz I still felt nauseous and dizzy. Couldn't even finish my food and then I went to the toilet to throw up again. Great! I tried sitting down some more and it always felt better to close my eyes. Dizzy, dizzy, dizzy, nauseous...I had left the anti motion sickness arm-bands at home 'coz I hadn't felt dizzy at all for 1,5 weeks. Too early to think I've been cured! Doh!!!
I told my coworkers about it and then tried to be at the cashier after my break was over, but being there only made it worse 'coz I had to move around a lot and the nausea kept on going, so I asked the supervisor to be sent home (I threw up once more before going home). I didn't even dare ride my bike home. Though I was sure I could walk back home, it would be such a slow progress, so I called hubby to come and pick me up. Spent hours on the sofa, fell asleep for a while, browsed the internet for a while to try to find out what could have triggered that episode that came out of nowhere (as long as I stayed still it was fine and sitting down was no problem 'coz many sites suggests even sleeping in a half-sitting position).
Saturday went to MIL's though I still felt like a "drunk" person (never been drunk before so dunno how it actually feels like, but many have described such a sensation). I felt like being on small waves or a swing, going back and forth or sideways the whole time. At one time I felt nauseous again, so I took an anti-motion sickness pill, which only made me MORE tired(nausea gone, though). Went back home and browsed around for more information and found out why I was so tired (even after the anti-motion sickness pill's effect had worn off). Found the answer fromhere:
"Fatigue. This is common with inner ear problems as the brain is putting all of its energy into keeping you balanced - where as in normal people balance is an automatic process.
No wonder!!! Slept 13 hours last night and right now I'm feeling better, though I still feel imbalanced and tired (I can feel my eyes being overworked by trying to adjust to the wrong signals sent by my body due to the problems in my inner ear). I've been trying to do Epley maneuver once a day, so hope that also helps.
Sometimes words just can't express the magic that we've witnessed in life, so I hope this time this short video clip that I'm sharing gives you a glimpse of the kind of magic I saw last night...It was so gorgeous that I wish each of you could be there and just bask in its breathtaking beauty...
