Travels, work and money

I am visiting Canada in two weeks! I can't wait! I have been waiting for this ever since I left. Too bad this is just a short visit, but I am working on getting the skilled worker visa. I know that it will take a long time, so I am still actively looking for a job in Finland as well. I did send an application to a place that my ex-boss and my aunt recommended for me. I am interested in the job as it would help me with the skilled worker visa. 

Firstly I would be able to save money faster, secondly the job description would increase my professionalism and thirdly  I would be able to take another skilled profession other than ICT. I am trying not to get my hopes up, although my aunt said that they will endorse me for the job. Usually when I apply to a job, I do not have active endorsers. So I think I might be able to get an interview for the Office Manager job. 

I have been lucky in a sense that although I am travelling to Canada, it has not slowed down my savings plan. I don't have credit card debt at the moment at all (well 30 euros, but that is paid in 5 days with automatic payment). I have saved more money by traveling with car and not by train. It is freaking expensive to travel in this country!

What a busy month I have had

So first about a month ago, I drove south to help out my sister in law. The week went past fine and then I drove to see one of my friends just a bit further south from my brother. There I stayed for a night and the next day I drove to Tampere to visit punch of friends. From Tampere a day later I drove to Turku... Have I mentioned that I have been a bit busy? Due to the weather (it was a bit rainy) I had to drive back to Tampere and from there to Tornio as the car would not start if the weather was too moist.

I spent about four days in Tornio and then went back to Turku by train. I stayed there for over a week of which I watched the dogs for about a week. This time I had time to visit a friend in Nurmijärvi before I flew to Rovaniemi for a weekend. Then I went back to Tornio to help out my sister for a week. You'll never guess what I did after that! I traveled back to Orimattila to help out my brother who went to another work trip. This time I have no time to see anyone else as I need to travel to Rovaniemi to dog sit my friends dog. After that I will go to Tampere to my friends housewarming party. Soon after that I will travel to Canada! Wohoo! 

So last month and this month I am just busy busy and busy.

Au Pairing and helping

So I have been living with my sister for over 6 months now. This time I have been an au pair i.e. I've done cooking and cleaning and driving the kids around. Also traveled with the kids as my sister and brother in law have been too busy. If you are wondering, yes I will add it to my CV at some point, so I will have it as a hobby. I can't wait to move out!

I have been so busy with job searching and apartment hunting, that I have not had time to write anything here. I've been close a couple of times, but I had nothing to write about. Just that applying sucks and not getting any word about the place sucks even more. So now I have written it here and you know it. One good thing about being unemployed is that I am available more. I do not have the money to travel that much, but I am able to visit people at any time. 

So this is what I am doing currently. I came over to stay at my brother's as he is traveling in Europe (business trip) and my sister in law needs help with cooking, cleaning and driving the kids around. As I have been doing it quite a long time for my sister, so I was an obvious choice. It is a bit different considering that my sister in law stays at home due to her injuries, while at my sister's my sister would go to work.

Next I will go help my aunt with dog sitting, so she can go visit a friend who is in hospital and visit another friend who has her birthday. But now I must go and play a game with my niece...

Check list for London cont

Well kind of continuation. Just to update that I have pretty much packed all I need. Not going to take much items with me as we are going to stay in London for two days and one day in Helsinki. Thus not much is needed. 

Clothes:

Underware for all days: Check

Jeans: Check

Skirt: Check

PJ: Check

Short sleeved, 2: Check

Long sleeved, 1: Check

If I need more clothes, I am going to buy them. It is not going to rain (knock on wood) so I will not take an umbrella. I have also printed out all the tickets and some maps. Will need to print a few maps more, but I am not in a hurry. Still to do is to talk with my friend who is coming to London about if I have time to see her or not. I've been meaning to do it, but the time has just flies by.

Robin Williams RIP

Not one to write about celebrities that have died, as I do think that there are other people who do that better than I. Still this one is something I have a word or two to say. I see that almost everyone is surprised by his choice. I have to admit that to me this seemed to be the only option. Of course I wished and hoped for something else, but have you not heard his interviews? Have you not seen his eyes? The eyes have carried on so much sadness, that I am not surprised. I just wish I had not read the newspaper articles about how he was found. Luckily there has been no pictures. Just a bit too graphic for my taste. I do think that there are things that we (the people who have no connection to the man at all) do not need to know. 

I hate the guessing game that is going on in the papers. His life has ended, he is at peace. So can we just let him rest in peace and appreciate what he has done. No one is perfect, which all the nay sayers should remember. The ones that have not experienced (themselves or via a loved one) depression do not have any idea what it is like. When one is at the rock bottom, too far from the point of no return, the agony is too much. There are some who return from the rock bottom, but for some the thread just breaks. 

I am saddened by his death and would have loved to see him live longer, no matter what I just wrote. He has brought joy to many children and so I will remember him. 

My fav quotes

I believe it should be possible for someone stricken with a serious and ultimately fatal illness to choose to die peacefully with medical help, rather than suffer.

Terry Pratchett

The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

Terry Pratchett

Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.

Terry Pratchett

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

Aristotle

Happiness depends upon ourselves.

Aristotle

Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind.

Aristotle

So many people prefer to live in drama because it's comfortable. It's like someone staying in a bad marriage or relationship - it's actually easier to stay because they know what to expect every day, versus leaving and not knowing what to expect.

Ellen DeGeneres

Summer trip 3 part 2

How to train your dragon 2. I've seen it. I should make a post of its own  for it, but alas I am lazy so I am just going to review it here. So on Wednesday we went to see the How to train your dragon 2. I kept it a secret for as long as possible. The kids new that we were going to the movies, but did not know what we were going to see. We did buy some popcorn and drinks at the movie theater, but candy we had bought earlier from a store. 

The movie did not start from where the last one ended. Quite good start in my opinion. So the time had passed there like it had in the real world. The characters were grown, which made me think if it was a good idea to bring the kids.. Well they were old enough. Trying not to spoil anything, but this time the focus of the movie is not as much on the vikings as it is on the back story of the lead character. Lots of growing happening in the movie, and you might cry a bit at certain points. It is a bit scary for the 4 year old, so it is quite good idea to hold their hands. 

On Thursday I let my niece to choose the activity for the day. Since the bathing suites had been forgotten at home, the beach day was open for suggestions. She wanted to go back to the park we had been the day before. So we prepared us for the activity, and off we went. I had the clothes and the kids carried the food and drinks. The day went quite well, until the rain started. It was not supposed to rain at all according to the forecast. Oh, well I just informed the kids that it was time to go play in the water when the rain started. I, myself, went indoors so I would not get wet. I did not have spare clothing with me for myself. My nephew would visit me once in a while letting me know how it was going, and asking permission if he could still go outside. Once the rain stopped, I suggested that we changed the wet clothes to dry ones. Then we walked back with some sun shine. In the evening my aunt came back from her trip, and I did not need to do the late night outing with the dogs.

On Friday morning the kids woke up around 7 as usual. My aunt slept a bit later with the dogs, which seemed to enjoy the possibility to sleep late. This was our last day in Turku, as we would leave at night with the night train. No special plans for the day, just pack everything and go out to eat. The eating was a bit delayed as my aunt got some bad news and she was a bit out because of it. So the kids and I left to Rosso to start eating, and waited to see if my aunt would join us. Luckily she did, so I did not need to eat everything that the kids were not able to eat. She did take her own ice cream, so I did not need to share mine with her. In the evening we took a taxi to the train station as we had a lot of bags to carry. Luckily the taxi had a seat for my nephew, unlike the on our way to my aunt. The room we had this time was upstairs and had its own bathroom with shower. It was a small combo bathroom (toilet and the bathroom overlapping). It was really a good thing, as now we were able to go to bed much faster than we would have if we stayed downstairs. The train took about 13 hours and then we arrived to Kemi where my sister was waiting for us. 

Summer trip 3 part 1

Dog sitting in Turku. After dog sitting in Tornio (involved no traveling) I traveled with my niece and nephew to Turku to dog sit two of my aunts dogs. On Saturday evening we hopped in a night train and traveled to Turku. Best part of this travel is that my trip is paid by my aunt's ex and my nieces trip is paid by my sister. My nephew is young enough to travel with my ticket. My niece and nephew slept in the same bed (on different ends) and I slept on the top bunk. Two reasons for why I slept there. First it was hotter there and second it gave all of us the most room to sleep. 

Sunday morning we took a cab from the station to my aunt's place as the bag I had was terrible to carry. Luckily my aunt paid it, so I did not need to pay that either. She also had picked up some food for us before going on her trip. Well she was leaving on Monday, so we had the whole Sunday to spent together. I had not told her that my niece was coming until closer to the date. We did nothing special, just relax after the long travel.

On Monday morning my aunt's boyfriend arrived and they left to Lappeenranta. My niece, my nephew and I decided to visit the local library. The section where all the kids books are, were made really entertaining. There were displays for kids to look at in the bookshelves and in the floor. Unfortunately my niece had a sore throat and we did not do much else during that day. Just relaxed and drank warm drinks.

On Tuesday she luckily felt better, and we were able to go out and enjoy the warm weather. We went to a local adventure park for kids (it was a free venue), where we spent about 3 hours. The visit ended with the kids playing with water with their clothes on. They really enjoyed it, while I did not enjoy changing their clothes in a small bathroom. Yes I had planned that they would do so, and did carry a clean set of clothes and towels for them. 

The dogs enjoyed themselves quite a bit as well. They were not worried that my aunt was away. They were a bit more jumpy I assume, but I had no trouble with them. While my niece and nephew played cardboard games I entertained the dogs. 

Check list for London

Check list:
Vaccinations: Check: Just got my Tet -d on last Friday. (Free)
Train tickets: Check (85,-)
Flight and accommodation: Check (231,-)
Hotel in Vantaa: Check (50,50,-)
Passport: Check
Gatwick to Hotel: Half check as I have checked the trains but not have bought the tickets as it can be done at the airport.
Currency: To do at Jumbo Forex on 18th. (I've used all from my stash)

So this few day trip to London is about as expensive as trip to Bulgaria or Turkey. So far the total is about 370 euros and we still need to add the train/bus to the hotel in London. That is about 50 euros (return ticket) added to that. So rounding up the whole thing is about 420 euros. This is mainly because we have to travel from Kemi. It adds to the cost about 100 euros. Oh, I forgot that we are going to try and get a bed for the return trip (in the train) so it will be about 30-50 euros more. 

So far my credit card has not suffered from this trip, meaning I have paid it off so I can use it when in London. Also my savings (for moving to Canada mainly or moving to another country secondly or generally moving southern Finland) is untouched. I do have some money coming to me from a loan I made and from my old boss for going to dogsit his old dogs. Also the earnings-related (ansiosidonnainen) money is coming before the trip, so I will be okey. 

As I have applied for work in UK as well, I am considering this trip as a possible interview trip as well if I get a call. If I do not get a call I will not take my certificates with me, but if I do then I am carrying them around. So far no contact from Canada, US or UK (nor from Finland).

Dog sitting

I am currently dog sitting my friends dog. It also means that I have some time for myself and don't have to babysit currently. Also I can sleep as late as I want. The benefits are that I have the internet to use and no-one watching over. A bit weird "living" in someone-else's home, but luckily it is just temporary arrangement for few days. Next I will go dog sit my aunt's dogs in Turku. Similar arrangement with the difference of the kids coming with me. 

 Whopsie, this post is really short. I though I had a bit more to say about dog sitting, but I don't. I am having free time now and not so much when I am in Turku. I don't mind though cause I would not be able to travel if it weren't these small tasks. Oh, it is Sunday, so I do not need to make a long post (in reality I am arriving Turku as you read this).

Youtube favourites

I have been watching quite a lot of YouTube as I now have the free time to do so. Well I have watched it before just because I have not owned TV. So from the music I have to say that I have found the most amazing a Capella group. They are called Pentatonix, and yes I had to buy all their CD's once I found them. Luckily they only have made Pentatonix vol I, PTXmas and Pentatonix vol II. I have many favourite songs, but my first one ever was Daft Punk medley. Then for some reason I have also liked Love Again, which is their original song, as well as Run to you (original song). And please use your headphones while listening to them! One other favourite of mine is I need your love -cover. I prefer it to the original. 

Summer travel part 3

Originally I was to go dog sit on my own, but the plans have since changed into me traveling with my niece and nephew. Main reason for this change is the roof renovation. It is better for the kids to be with me than play around the house when there are men working on the roof. This means that my sneaky plan to visit friends on my way to Turku or on my way back from there is not possible. So I will need to think something else (have not found an apartment yet, so moving is not a solution at the moment). However I am traveling to Turku soon to look after my aunts two dogs. Benefits of this trip are that my trip is paid by my aunt's ex-husband and the kids trip is paid by my sister. So no cost for me, nor am I being paid...

Other trip that has been finalized is with my school colleague to London. My first trip abroad this year (Canada is not counted as I have lived and returned there) and hopefully not the last. The trip to London will be in August, and I am so exited about it. Our plan is to take it easy and play it by ear. So no real plans have been made so that we can maximize our relaxation.

One plan that I also have is to visit Canada this year as well. This would be later this year and not during the summer months. I am hoping to be able to travel with a friend, but I am not making any final plans yet as I hate when the plans do not come true. So I am keeping the planning as open as possible until the last minute. So many things can still change, so better be safe than sorry.

As mentioned earlier I have the desire to see my friends in the southern part of Finland. I have tried to see them couple of times already, but I have not been successful. This is one reason why I haven't advertised my arrival to south too much. I hate it when I have to say that I cannot come, although I would be driving (or going by train) right through where my friends live. I would prefer to spend some quality time and not just see them in the passing. So fingers crossed that I will be able to make a trip by myself at some point or move closer. (Problem with the moving is, that it will start eating my finances. The rent has to be under 500 euros for me to get by, and I have not found any good places that would fit the bill.) 

Summer trip 2 part 4

My sister had informed me that she and my brother in law had plans of their own for the weekend, so I would need to organize my own ride if I arrived on Saturday. My sister informed me this about eight o'clock in the evening. Thus I had really no time to plan or organize my next day. Had she informed me earlier, say in the morning, I would have been able to opt to stay at my brother's place.

So in the Saturday morning after going to Prisma's restaurant to have some breakfast (well I took only hot water and milk for the kids as I had quick porridge with me) my mother suggested that I would come with her to Kaukonen. This was what I least wanted, but as I am unable to say no to my mother, I said yes. So instead of going back to the train station, we all went to Kaukonen. It took us about 1,5 hours to drive from Rovaniemi to Kaukonen.

My nephew was not that pleased with me coming along as he had been promised that I would continue elsewhere and he would be traveling with his sister and granny. No temper tantrums at all, just vocal displeasement. I started to feel anxious the closer the place we arrived. I had not visited her before, nor had I planned to do so. Now I have been to Kaukonen before, one time I was doing some babysitting there. Anyway, I was promised earlier that if I happened to come I could be at peace with no babysitting what so ever.

During the weekend spent at Kaukonen I baked, helped with computers, cooked and babysat. My niece and nephew enjoyed the stay, although there were quite a lot of mosquitos there. I was also the one that helped with the mosquito bites... Anyway, the kids enjoyed their time there and were happy to give me a ride to Kolari on Sunday. From Kolari I jumped on a train and traveled to Tornio (this time my sister was available to pick me up, although I could have walked home from the station.) We were there (in Kolari) quite early and went to Sweden to buy groceries. Still having more than an hour before my train left, granny and the kids decided to head home as it was quite a warm day.

There ended my second summer trip.  

Summer trip 2 part 3

We arrived at Orimattila at the perfect time, as my sister in law sent me a message that she is home just as we were arriving. Well I do think she had been there a bit longer as we walked in in time for catered snack. The plan was to spent the evening there and the next morning wake up and then leave to Lahti at our leisure as I knew that my sister in law would be working. What I did not know was that she was going to work from home. The evening went past quickly and the evening dinner was a late bbq. My sister in law was able to reminisce of her son's younger age (well there is only one year difference between my nephews) as my nephew was asking as many questions as the other nephew. 

In the morning my nephew informed me that he did not want to go yet and that he wanted to stay longer. Luckily this was okey with my sister in law so we stayed. The morning was a slow start, with my nephew watching TV and occasionally playing with cars. After the sun really started to shine, we walked to a store leaving my sister in law to work in peace. After lunch (we went to the store to buy the ingredients) we went to a playground which we had seen while walking to the store. While there my sister in law informed me that my brother and the kids had arrived (with their granny). 

We returned soonest to the house. I did not mention this to my nephew so he was surprised to see someone mowing the lawn. He said some man is mowing the lawn which I corrected that some uncle is mowing the lawn (in Finnish it was joku setä leikkaa ruohoa and I corrected it to joku eno leikkaa ruohoa). He got so interested once he realized that it was actually a relative :) We got in to meat the cousins. One of the first things my nephew did was to go sit on their granny's lap. I did have to ask him if he wanted to do so as he was leaning on the chair so much. Basically when he got the permission he was already sitting...

The end of the day went on with playground visit and other playing around. I helped around the garden a bit and then it was time for us to leave to our train. My brother and sister in law gave us a ride to the station before heading our themselves. The train took us to Riihimäki, where we had to wait over half hours for the night train to come. Luckily there was none in the compartment when we went in, so we had time to go to bed in peace. In Tampere the other lady for the top bunk came in with furious knocking and no understanding at all why the door was closed... She did not seem to understand that the conductor would have let her in. She left almost immediately. After a while I hear a small knock and I opened the door thinking she was coming back. Well it was the conductor who was just checking if she had arrived or not (as they mark everyone who comes, so they know if there are any no-shows) to which I informed him that she went to the restaurant. 

The night went with a little sleep (my nephew slept a lot with only one "wake up scared" moment). In the morning we arrived to Rovaniemi and we walked to a gas station near by. The plan was to stay there and eat breakfast until my mother arrived to pick him up. Well the gas station was closed... Someone slept a bit late (she arrived about 2,5 hours after the gas station was supposed to open.) We waited there as it was not raining and it was warm enough. We had some snacks with us and drinks, so we were not hungry. Before long my mother arrived with my niece. The story continues in the next post (and hopefully it will be the end of this trip.)

Picture update part 4

Lots of pictures of playground from Orimattila. 

This is what the travel from Lahti to Rovaniemi came down to. Luckily this included my nephew although this is just a ticket for one adult.

From Kolari to Tornio was done via train as well. This time I was able to buy the student ticket.

Such a lovely day! 

Summer trip 2 part 2

So the trip with my nephew continues. On Wednesday I went to city train with him. He had waved at the train the day before so I thought it to be a perfect start for the day. It took us about an hour, as we walked from the apartment to the sand castle where we hopped in. (The distance was about 1 km.) After the tour around the city we stopped at the harbor to get some snack and headed back to the apartment to eat. (Only walking about 300 m.) Soon after my dad arrived to take us to Rapattila to the farm where I grew up and where my aunt and granddad still live.

We arrived there before my aunt arrived from her work, as I wanted to spent some uninterrupted time with granddad. My aunt has this problem of telling what she thinks is true and best for her. This time I had no problem with informing him that we were coming as I sent him a text message that we are here and coming there. I had organized the arrival with my aunt earlier, but she had not reported it to my granddad. So if I had not done it, he would not have known that his great-grandson is here. (Remember what happened when I went there with my niece.)

We had pleasant time before my aunt arrived. After that the conversation changed to polite chit chat... After a while my nephew wanted to go out, and gave us an out of that situation. As seen from the pictures I posted, we went for a little walk in my old "playground". (We walked about 700 m.) My nephew was so fascinated by the small lake and ditch. We had to stay put for a while so he could look around. On our way back from the lake, we stopped on another ditch which had the same water running. He was so exited and amazed. My dad took him to the old faithful tractor that was new when I was a kid. There was another one that was even older, but we did not have time to go see it. My nephew "drove" the tractor and after that we noticed that the wheel gave some color... So his hands were all black :))

We ate at my aunt's side of the house, and then went to visit Nuijamaa. Well more precisely we went to the graveyard to see our family grave. We also did a sightseeing tour as while almost nothing has changed there were some big changes i.e. the customs had changed its place. Nuijamaa is right next to the border, which means that in some areas you'll need a permission to go to. There were lots of people going to Russia, but luckily there weren't that many trucks so driving was quite easy. My dad then drove us back to the city and we made plans for the next day.

On Thursday my nephew and I did a museum tour in the fortress. There is three museums to which if you buy an all access ticket you only need to pay 9 euros. My nephew got it for free (he's so young). He was quite interested in the idea, but was not that interested (yet) about the museums themselves. Most interesting thing that he saw two days ago was the lawn mower. Today we were not that lucky, although we did see a truck that had a claw (so it could lift things). Our snack break was held in Majurska in the fortress. It is a wonderful historic place to go. The snacks there are to die for! So good! I miss that kind of cafeteria in most all of the other cities that I have lived. (We walked about 2,5-3 km.)

We then headed back to the apartment to pack all our stuff and eat everything we had in the fridge. My dad arrived to help us with the task. Then my dad drove us to Orimattila, but more about that part of the trip in the next post. 

Picture update part 3

At the Sand Castle with my nephew

This was taken by my nephew with my phone...

My dad and nephew. It is my purpose not to show them too clearly. This is from Rapattila, from the farm where I grew up.

A small lake where I have swam and skated. 

My nephew "drove" this :) This is an old faithful tractor. I think it is still operational if you tinker with it a bit.

On Facebook I said this is my old playground. It really is. If you have grown up in a farm you'll know what I mean.

From a museum in the fortress. You can barely see the Sand Castle from here.

Snack at Majurska cafe. Wonderful place! Need to go place if you ever go to Lappeenranta.

Rakuuna statue. There is also a museum in the fortress. Lappeenranta is filled with history

In my imagination this is the gate to another world... :)

At the harbor playground in the boat. My nephew played pirates a lot in there.

Summer trip 2 part 1

My nephew, my dad and I left from Tornio on Monday morning. My dad promised to give us a ride, so we decided to go with him instead of taking a train. This would mean that as my dad had a specific date that he needed to return, that our travel would start on that specific date. Too bad we came to this conclusion just two days prior. Too bad because we were not able to make very specific plans on where to go. Our main plan was to go to Lappeenranta and that would be done. Rest was still a bit of unknown.

So on Monday morning we left with my nephew not knowing how the drive or the travel would go. We took the same route as earlier with my niece, with the difference that we did not make a detour in Pieksämäki. First my dad drove to the first rest stop (Pulkkila) and then I drove to Kuopio and Mikkeli. We had a plan to give my nephew something to eat in the car, so he could just play in the rest stops. We were in luck and the day was not too hot. We drove in a small car, so the heat would have been a real problem.

In Lappeenranta we spent the nights in our aunts city apartment. The days we spent walking around the city. During the first day i.e. Tuesday we walked to Sand Castle via the Fortress. We walked about 2.5 km (which is not much for me, but my nephew is 4 years old) and then had some lunch from Satama Sanni. Mmmm Vety and Atomi are the best! While we were eating the lunch at the apartment my dad came by. We then went out again and walked another 2.5 km route. We walked through the church park (and my nephew played in the playground for a while) to the market place. My nephew wanted to listen to live music (violin and harmonica) so we stayed at the market place for about 25 minutes. 

Then we walked back to the playground for another spin. From there we walked to the fortress and continued to the playground at the harbor. Then it started to be so late, that it was time to think about what we were going to eat that night. I decided (we had talked about eating pizza) that instead of fast food we would go and eat out. The benefits would be that we would be out, and the place that I had in my mind had a playground. So he would be entertained. We separated from my dad and went to eat at Rosso. The food was good and we spent there almost two hours. Unfortunately the food contained quite a lot lactose which we found out the next day. But for Tuesday, we ate and felt good.

Then we walked back to the apartment and I let my nephew to play with my phone a bit. I laid down on the bed next to him, and fell asleep while he played. When I woke up about an hour later, he was curled next to me also asleep... Oh, well we did have a long day but I had hoped that he would not fall asleep yet. So I had to wake him up, take him to shower, feed him one last time and put him back to bed. Well of course he was quite woken up by the time it was time to close his eyes. We did stay up a bit later than normally, but he did not have any trouble falling asleep again. 

More of our trip in a next post! 

Mid Summer

The mid summer has come and gone. Some of you know that it is a big celebration here in Finland. One could say that I spent quite normal mid summer with bbq. The most annoying thing was that my sister said the whole time that this mid summer sucks as we are not doing anything. Then she continued to play on her phone... So instead of doing something about it, she did nothing. Then complained about doing nothing. So my mid summer was also ruined. I actually quite enjoyed the free time, but since I had to listen to constant complaining, my mood went from up to down. 

Also instead of calling dad herself she kept asking me of his agenda. Really... She is older than me and acts the way she complains others behave. Grr. Anyway, we planned a bit about the next trip with my nephew. We were wondering what the best time would be as this would be his first trip without mom and dad. So to us it was basically a normal weekend with a bit crappy bbq (some food was cooked way before the rest of the food...). Have not found an apartment or a job yet. Wondering what the best time to move would be. Agh, this sucks!

Picture update part 2

At Sand Castle in Lappeenranta. The theme this year is music.

Quite entertaining visit, although there was no music

My favourite! You can see the Linnoitus i.e. fortress in the background.

At Tykkimäki a water slide. I did not go as I had the important part of taking care of the stuff.

My niece went on this upside down ride...

Look what we found! It was almost impossible to find big enough tea pot. Well the difficulty was on finding a tea pot... All were white (3 found) or glass (2 found). 

Juhannusruusu i.e. Mid summer rose.

Pretty flower.. lily I guess.

My very first parking ticket. The car was parked on an allowed spot, but my tiers were on the greenery. It is such a big car, that I did not even think twice that I need to park it differently. (It was a narrow road.) Can you guess that it was raining on that day :)

Summer trip 1 part 4

Saturday morning my niece was still feeling a bit sick so I popped in a store to buy something that she could eat. The chips my dad bought helped with getting my niece to eat. She watched Youtube videos and accidentally ate half can of chips. From there it was just waiting few minutes (10-15 mins) and then pushing something else for her to eat. In few hours she was quite all right. My dad came around and we decided to go to the harbor as the weather was great. There was a sand castle there, but unfortunately it opened on Sunday. So we ventured to a playground next to the harbor. We did not stay too long as my niece was still a bit out of power. 

Sunday started with very energetic child and very sleepy aunt. Once we got moving, we went to the sand castle with a friend of mine and her family. The rides were free, as it was the opening day (there was only two rides for the kids). After a quick lunch we went to visit my aunt and see if the farm was still up. One of the least favorite things of the trip. Due to some miscommunication or rather discommunication between my grandpa and aunt, he did not know that we were coming. All I had to hear from my aunt was that my grandpa is a drunk and no good. I did not enjoy the stay. My niece luckily did not hear this and had better time. We ended the day at my friends place in Koria.

Monday was a busy day. My niece and friend's child spent the morning together and then we went to Tykkimäki. I was warned that he might not like the rides, but it would be good for him to go. I knew that my niece would like to have company on the rides so I took the bracelet for the rides for him anyway. The gamble payed off as he went on 12 rides and she went on 18 rides. My niece did have a little accident when she ran towards a vertical pole (she thought she was shorter and could run underneath it) and hit her nose. She got a drip of blood from the nose which actually was the most terrifying thing for her. Luckily it all was forgotten quickly. We got some BBQ in the evening to end the perfect day. My friend was happily surprised by how his son had enjoyed the day.

On Tuesday we went shopping to Lahti before ending the day in Orimattila where my brother lives. The day ended with BBQ as well. As other niece was in her summer travels there were only other nephew at home to play with my niece. (My brother and sister in law were there as well.) On Wednesday we spent a home day and went around playgrounds with my niece and other nephew. It was really nice to take a day easier, and not have to run around everywhere. On Thursday morning we left Orimattila and headed to Riihimäki. There we did a pit stop at my cousins place and I collected a parking ticket. Everyone else were more concerned about it than me. It was my first ever parking ticket :) Also it was 40 euros so it was not that bad. Then we went to see my other aunt and spent the night in Tervakoski.

Friday was our driving back day, and that what I did the whole day. I drove and drove and drove. We did have a few stops, but the last 3,5 hours we drove straight home (my niece wished it so). This was the end of the summer trip 1. Oh boy was I tired after this 12 day vaycay.

Summer travel part 2

I am in middle of describing the summer trip with my niece but I need to update the summer travel plan list on the next travel. As I mentioned I am unemployed at the moment (have applied, have not received any invitation to be interviewed yet,) so I do have a bit of free time on my hands. I promised my sister to take my niece which I have and my nephew if it is possible. We have planned a little trip to see a few relatives and then come back here. The time is not quite clear as my niece and nephew are going to visit their granny up north, and we are not sure it is going to happen or not (she is not the most reliable person). 

So the second trip I am going to make is with my nephew to south to Lappeenranta at least and maybe somewhere else if he does not get home sick. We will see. The original plan is to travel by train at least some leg of the journey, it all still depends on many many things. (Not really, but we finalized all plans very last minute as my dad arrived at a perfect time.)

Summer trip 1 part 3

On Friday 6th of June I picked up my other niece first before heading to the camp site to pick up my niece. We had a nice little ride (under an hour) there. As we had arrived a bit too early, we had time to take my nieces bags to the car. Once we were coming back, I saw a familiar figure throwing up... All I could think of was "great! I really hope she is not sick because my sister in law will not like this". Luckily the situation seemed to be over fast, and after drinking a bit of Fanta my niece seemed to be okey. We were rushed out from there, but as everything seemed to be fine I decided to drive back to Pieksämäki. 

The girls were fine in the back although it was really hot outside and inside of the car (no a/c). I might have driven a bit faster than usually, but knowing the car I was not speeding. We made a small stop at my granny's and granddad's grave, where my niece looked really red. From this I knew I had to get to my friends place as soon as possible, so I can re-hydrate my niece. It seems that the okey she was when we left was not all okey but a temporary okey and the hot car made it all go wrong again. We stayed at my friends place for few hours. My niece slept most of the time (and threw up a bit) and other niece ate and rested. 

Then we continued to the other niece's granny. It took less than an hour to get there, but it was done in a hot car and my niece was getting worse. She would not drink but only wanted to rest. As I had a timetable to keep I knew I had to go go go. Had I known my niece would be like this I would not have picked up the other niece first but waited that she would be more okey. Alas,  I had given a few days less and I had to promise to do things before hand. At the granny's the same thing continued. My niece slept most of the three hours I was there. The other niece had arrived to her destination we took all her things inside. To our surprise my sister in law came earlier (than rest of the family) to surprise and see us. The day was the hottest day of the summer (so far). 

After we left there it started to get a bit cooler, but I still worried what was ahead of me. My niece had started to throw up a bit more frequent (Still about once an hour so it was not sickness but something else). I sent a text to my dad to pick us something (it was red light when I sent it). He called to ask what we needed and I was able to explain the situation that I think my niece has sun stroke or something like that or at least she is dehydrated and I hadn't forced her to drink before driving (so she did not need to throw up that much in the car). He promised to buy something and go check if he can get our cottage key for us (in case I do not make it). I have to admit that I did do some speeding while driving to Lappeenranta and I did see the police, luckily I did not get any ticket. 

We made it, and I received extra bags for throwing up from the reception. We stayed at Huhtiniemi Camping area in a cottage which was one of my niece's wishes (the cottage not the camping area). My dad brought us something to drink and some salt snacks to eat. My niece went almost straight to bed (once I had made it) and laid there drinking sip by sip some Jaffa. I can wrap things up a bit by saying that she continued the sip by sip technique till wee hours of the night. We had the conversation of drinking some fluids, where she said she had just drunk a sip to which I had replied that a sip is not enough but it should be the whole (small) mug as her stomach is empty. She drank it and some more, then slept till morning. 

Summer trip 1 part 2

As from the picture update you can see we chose to stop at ABC, which is a rest stop place here in Finland. They have a place for the children to play, and they offer food and other merchandise. It is good as the offering is pretty similar in all of the ABCs around country. The play ground is a bit better in others, do to space. In some, it is really small and contains just a few toys or mats while in others the playground is really extensive. The reason we chose these rest stops was easy, as not all other available places offer as extensive service from once place. Basically the smaller the children are while traveling, the more suitable ABCs are. 

Our first part of the trip was to travel to Pieksämäki. It took us about 6 hours to drive plus two hours of rest to get to our destination. So on Monday night we arrived at my friends place and stayed there for the night. In the morning I took my friend to see her relatives (they lived close by where I took my niece to camp) and my niece to camp. It took me about 40 mins to drive there and then an hour to drive back. We took a detour with my friend and visited a graveyard where her parents were buried. On our way back we also visited a graveyard where my granny and granddad are buried. I was displeased to see that the grave was not taken care of. I have relatives that live in Pieksämäki and in close by cities. None of them had taken care of the grave. So we agreed with my friend that I would take care of it and but some flowers in it. 

Then in the afternoon I drove us to Mikkeli. My friend went to visit her husband and I met a friend of mine. We spent about few hours in Mikkeli before returning back to Pieksämäki. I had been warned that the tires are quite slippery when wet, so I was already expecting trouble when I had to drive back in rain. The material they have used to fix the road (the patches) were like ice when wet. So let me just say that I was really really glad to be back at my friends home when we got back. I did not like the experience at all. Luckily we did not have much rain before that or after that in our trip. 

On Wednesday I went shopping for flowers and took care of my grandparents grave. We went to Mikkeli again with the same arrangement as the day before. Then in the evening we went to my friends summer cottage (see the pictures for the view) with amazing and tranquil view. We went to sauna and returned back to the city for the night (we were too hasty to go to the cottage and did not think it through as we could have stayed there for the night). The sunset picture is from the way back to the city. 

On Thursday we shopped a bit, took books to day care and visited Nukkekoti (Dolls house) which has a playground for children and where the imagination is allowed to run free. After that I decided to bake a bit for my friend while I could. We received happy news that my friends husband had been relocated back to Pieksämäki, and she did not need to drive to Mikkeli. This was the last day of the trip that I had for myself, as on Friday I picked up my nieces. More of that on the next post. 

Picture update part 1

At ABC Pulkkila on our way to southern Finland

At ABC in Kuopio spending few hours letting my niece play. The road is right next to us.

My granny's neighbours cottage. Or the view from there. Very tranquil. One reason to love Finnish summer.  

On our way home we saw this! Ain't it beautiful?

At Nukkekoti in Pieksämäki.

This is a really good place to take you children to

Just amazing artwork everywhere!

And of course there are puppets everywhere

I also baked a bit. My friend asked me to do something with chanterelle, so I did. This is a pie with chanterelle and cheese and something I am not able to find a good translation to (sulatejuusto).

Chanterelle horn with onion

And of course I had to make some of these. I baked more than just this. About double the amount. My friend is getting older so she likes to be baked for although she is quite capable of baking herself. 

Summer trip 1 part 1

First summer trip is done. I will be updating the events more closely. Now this is just a quick update that all is well and trip was eventful. I am so tried and happy that I do not need to drive anymore. Phew! I left on the second of June and arrived on 13th of June. I drove about 2,500 km total. The last day I drove about 700 km. So there has been lots of driving, but luckily also days when I did not drive.

I did not take my laptop with me, so I have not been on computer the entire time I was away. I did use my phone for internet access, so I cannot say I was totally out of the grid. I did not have time to send anything as it is very slow to write on my phone. Anyways, I am now home, and will next update some pictures from my travel.

Unemployment

I know that for some, it must be really hard to be unemployed. For me it is not such. I feel free-ed. I did not have very nice workplace the last time, so I need some time to relax. I was so close to being burned out, that I actually might have been. So for me being laid off was a blessing. I have been applying for a new job regularly, but so far have not been even asked to come to an interview. It is a bit of bummer I admit, but at least I am able to have some free time before going back to work. 

Money is an issue for many. As I was laid off and did not quite myself, I do get money from my union. It means that now after the employment office has said that they do not see my final month of studies affecting my working ability, I can apply for money. I have saved some money, so I know I can manage until the union pays me. Also I am living with my sister, so I do not have extra expenses. Planning is everything when you are trying to save money. I admit that I did not wish to use much of my savings, but I have had to use some. 

Summer travel part 1

I promised my sister that as I am unemployed and have time, I will be taking my niece for a short vacation. First I will be dropping her off to a camp in the mid Finland for four days. Than we shall continue to visit friends and family until 12 days later returning back home. It is going to be fun! Well for her at least. I will be doing some baking at my granny's neighbors place. She got same sad news (husband was taken to hospital) and some good news (he has awaken), so I am not sure if I will be able to do all that I had planned, as I wish to stay and help her as much as I can. Then when my niece's camp is over I can't help anymore. 

I had planned us to visit more places than we are actually going to this time. One reason being that there is another camp for my niece before mid summer. Other being that the timetable that I have now does not allow me to visit everyone I want to see. They are working during the day and with a little girl the best visiting hours are the days. Have in mind we have to travel too. We are lucky that we only needed to stay in a cottage once during our trip. Otherwise we are staying with friends and family. 

Tomorrow this adventure begins!

I will graduate

There is no doubt about it. Still when I today received an email from the language checker I almost through all hope out of the window. I was not able to read it fully, just a word from here and there. After a while I read the email again. It was not as bad as what I had built up in my head. Some of the mistakes were something I had thought I had already fixed. Gah! I am so done with the thesis. It was a bad subject to write in a way. 

I can tell you that I got a grade 3 out of 5. I would have received better, if the company I did it for would have operated with me. My teacher told me so. They would have given me 4 if it was anyway possible, but the UAS grading system is quite clear of the involvement of the case company. Just if I had received a reply from my old boss earlier, I would have 4 or 5. But no. My supervisor told me that she and the second reader had the same opinion. My text is better than grade 3, but their hands are tide. Oh, well. At least I am graduating. 

Text seminar

My text seminar was quite eventful. None of my classmates were there. Some other students were. Normally it lasts about an hour and mine lasted about two hours.... Partially because my computer crashed, and it took me about 10 mins to get back to class. My sister brought me her computer so I could continue. Hers is slower so I could have used mine faster but I did not want it to crash again.

My thesis progress

I have had my text seminar, and have now submitted the thesis to be graded. I have about week left, so I hope I will be able to do it all. I still have my presentation and a test left. Due date is June 4th.

Food picture update

This is what I have been up to:

Lasange from scratch

Spaghetti sauce from scratch

Spaghetti...

Spinach soup from scratch

Spinach soup needs some boiled eggs

Bad picture of sauce + grounded beef

And with the sauce is potatoes.