Greetings from the other side.
I realize that I have been absent from blogging for quite some time now. Well, over the summer to be precise. This is due to many things. Examples include, but are not limited to: work, getting married, working on a side-project, and other IRL things.
I'm still not sure how regularly I will be able to write here - it will really depend on IRL things - but I want to say that the 'Life on the Other Side' blog isn't dead or forgotten by me. I still want to keep this going, although for now at least it will have to be on a whenever-I-have-time basis.
I hope everyone has had a great summer! :)
My own summer has been an eventful one, at least to me. I only had about 2½ weeks worth of time off from work, though that is because I started working there in August last year. Next summer I should have more than that. Anyway, in those 2½ weeks I got myself married! Which honestly was one of the best things I have done in my entire life. :) Which is good, because I am not planning on doing it again. ^__^
After the wedding we had about a week off, just taking it easy at home and sort of 'landing' again after the whole experience. After that we went over to Sweden and spent some time with my family there, which was nice.
Unfortunately we didn't get a honeymoon, but that's more down to financial reasons than anything else, and we are happy anyway. :)
Now it is time for me to go and get some work done on my side-project. Until next time, my friends.
See you all on the other side!
lördag 4 november 2017
måndag 17 april 2017
My first Easter in Finland
Greetings from the other side.
My first Easter on Finnish soil is coming to an end, and I have to say it's been a good experience.
But let's start from the beginning.
As I wrote in my previous post about how I worked on Maundy Thursday, I won't go into that anymore in this post.
The Friday was spent in a calm manner. We didn't really get up to much, although I did get a lot of writing done which felt good. I've been slacking off a bit on my writing lately, so it has felt good to get back to it and being creative again.
We also had my future in-laws over for some Easter 'fika'. Though, again, I wrote about that in my previous post, so if you want to read about it you can find it here.
In the evening, after we had had dinner, my fiancee introduced me to something called "pasha", which you can see in the image below:
Granted, as I understand it, this wasn't the normal kind of pasha that they normally make, and enjoy, as that one contains lemon, something which I can't have. Never the less it still tasted really good, I thought, so I hope she will make it again some time. As I understand it, the pasha originates from Russia.
Saturday didn't get off to a great start. Looking out the window at all the snow that had fallen during the night.
Not much to do about it though. In the afternoon, my fiancee and I went over to her parents place, where we met up with her siblings and their families as well for an Easter bonfire - where we grilled some sausages over the remains of the fire - and a good time. My fiancee's sister and her husband also brought along some friends, a young couple from Afghanistan and their little baby.
On Sunday we went to church. It was nice, as always, but sadly not very many people there.
After church my fiancee and I went to her parents for lunch, and this beautiful and very tasty creation that her father had made:
In the evening we all went to a christian concert in the city church, where my fiancee's brother and nephew were performing as well. It was a good way to end the day, I think.
Time for me to sign out for today. The sun is shining and it is my last day off before heading back to work. I think I might head out for a walk, or something.
See you all on the other side!
My first Easter on Finnish soil is coming to an end, and I have to say it's been a good experience.
But let's start from the beginning.
As I wrote in my previous post about how I worked on Maundy Thursday, I won't go into that anymore in this post.
The Friday was spent in a calm manner. We didn't really get up to much, although I did get a lot of writing done which felt good. I've been slacking off a bit on my writing lately, so it has felt good to get back to it and being creative again.
We also had my future in-laws over for some Easter 'fika'. Though, again, I wrote about that in my previous post, so if you want to read about it you can find it here.
In the evening, after we had had dinner, my fiancee introduced me to something called "pasha", which you can see in the image below:
Granted, as I understand it, this wasn't the normal kind of pasha that they normally make, and enjoy, as that one contains lemon, something which I can't have. Never the less it still tasted really good, I thought, so I hope she will make it again some time. As I understand it, the pasha originates from Russia.
Saturday didn't get off to a great start. Looking out the window at all the snow that had fallen during the night.
Not much to do about it though. In the afternoon, my fiancee and I went over to her parents place, where we met up with her siblings and their families as well for an Easter bonfire - where we grilled some sausages over the remains of the fire - and a good time. My fiancee's sister and her husband also brought along some friends, a young couple from Afghanistan and their little baby.
On Sunday we went to church. It was nice, as always, but sadly not very many people there.
After church my fiancee and I went to her parents for lunch, and this beautiful and very tasty creation that her father had made:
In the evening we all went to a christian concert in the city church, where my fiancee's brother and nephew were performing as well. It was a good way to end the day, I think.
Time for me to sign out for today. The sun is shining and it is my last day off before heading back to work. I think I might head out for a walk, or something.
See you all on the other side!
fredag 14 april 2017
Easter time is here
Greetings from the other side.
Easter is here, and this will be my first ever Easter in Finland. I am looking forward to it. There will be an Easter fire lit outside, kind of like the ones we have on May 1st in Sweden, and as I understand it we will be grilling sausages etc over the fire. Sounds good to me! :) For the past couple of years, ever since my fiancee and I first met, we have celebrated Easter in Sweden. This year though, we are doing it here in Finland and, as I mentioned earlier in this post, I am really looking forward to it! My fiancee's siblings and their families are coming as well.
The picture above are of some chocolate balls that my fiancee made today. I can assure you they are very tasty, and healthy too! :) She's very into healthy eating and living.
Later today we are having my future in-laws over for some Easter "fika". If you don't know what "fika" is, then I guess the best explanation I can give is that it is a Swedish thing, and it basically means meeting up for coffee or tea and some kind of cookies or buns or similar thing. Essentially it is a social thing. Look it up on Google, or something similar, if you want to know more.
Yesterday I worked as a "kyrkvärd" (not sure what it is called in English, and honestly a bit too lazy to look it up at the moment), at church. First time doing it on Maundy Thursday (according to Google. Don't blame me if the translation is wrong.) or "Skärtorsdag" in Swedish. I've been to church on those days before, but it was my first time ever working in church on that day. Nervous at first, but it went well. I had my future father-in-law there with me to help as well.
That's about it from me for this time. I hope you all will have a wonderful Easter and until we meet again.
See you all on the other side!
söndag 9 april 2017
Stockholm tragedy & birthday celebrations
Geetings from the other side.
This feels like a strange blog-entry to write. I've wanted to write another one for a few days now, but then the attack in Stockholm happened and...well, my focus went elsewhere for a while. Which is understandable. Even though I now live in Finland, I am still a Swedish citizen. It is still the country where I grew up and where my heart lives. When a tragedy like that happens, it affects me. I am thankful that my brother and his girlfriend, and other friends and relatives I have down there in Stockholm, all seem to be ok. But my heart also goes out to all those who were there on that tragic day, and especially to the friends and families of those who lost their lives on that day.
In other news...
Last weekend my fiancee and I went over to Sweden to celebrate a relative of mine's 90th birthday. It was a calm, but very nice, celebration together with him, his wife, and some of their closest relatives and friends. We all met up at my parent's place for a while, then we went to dinner, and then it continued at my parent's place until the evening. One of my most vivid memories from the day was another relative holding a short speech in the restaurant and then getting the entire restaurant to stand up and sing for the 90-year-old birthday-boy. All in all it was a memorable day, and one which I think was greatly appreciated by my 90-year-old relative.
My one regret was finding out that Sabaton was playing in Umeå at the same time as I was home, the day before my relative's 90'th birthday celebrations. I had missed that completely. Would have loved to go see hem play. Oh well, maybe some other time. I only have myself to blame for that, really.
Spring is really here now. Even though we saw snow falling as late as Tuesday last week. Still, there is that sense in the air that spring is finally here. :) It's a good feeling. Everything is starting to come to life again.
We're still finding carpenter ants in the house, although in smaller quantities than before and mostly around the bathroom. We're going to give it some time still, to let the poison work and see what happens. Hopefully we won't see any more of them soon.
That's all from me for this time.
See you all on the other side!
This feels like a strange blog-entry to write. I've wanted to write another one for a few days now, but then the attack in Stockholm happened and...well, my focus went elsewhere for a while. Which is understandable. Even though I now live in Finland, I am still a Swedish citizen. It is still the country where I grew up and where my heart lives. When a tragedy like that happens, it affects me. I am thankful that my brother and his girlfriend, and other friends and relatives I have down there in Stockholm, all seem to be ok. But my heart also goes out to all those who were there on that tragic day, and especially to the friends and families of those who lost their lives on that day.
In other news...
Last weekend my fiancee and I went over to Sweden to celebrate a relative of mine's 90th birthday. It was a calm, but very nice, celebration together with him, his wife, and some of their closest relatives and friends. We all met up at my parent's place for a while, then we went to dinner, and then it continued at my parent's place until the evening. One of my most vivid memories from the day was another relative holding a short speech in the restaurant and then getting the entire restaurant to stand up and sing for the 90-year-old birthday-boy. All in all it was a memorable day, and one which I think was greatly appreciated by my 90-year-old relative.
My one regret was finding out that Sabaton was playing in Umeå at the same time as I was home, the day before my relative's 90'th birthday celebrations. I had missed that completely. Would have loved to go see hem play. Oh well, maybe some other time. I only have myself to blame for that, really.
Spring is really here now. Even though we saw snow falling as late as Tuesday last week. Still, there is that sense in the air that spring is finally here. :) It's a good feeling. Everything is starting to come to life again.
We're still finding carpenter ants in the house, although in smaller quantities than before and mostly around the bathroom. We're going to give it some time still, to let the poison work and see what happens. Hopefully we won't see any more of them soon.
That's all from me for this time.
See you all on the other side!
onsdag 29 mars 2017
The ant war continues & Concert for a 90-year-old
Greetings from the other side.
A quick one today, as it is a very busy day.
Yesterday we had the same guy who had been here before regarding the ants, visit us again. We had removed the skirting boards ('golvlister' in Swedish. Blame Google if I got the translation into English wrong. ;) he he ) and he drilled holes into the walls behind them and pumped them full of ant-poison. Now, last time he was here we didn't have much luck getting to the ants. This time however, we had almost immediate success! 10 minutes after had had done that, we had about 10 dead ants on the floor. The following day we were up to about 30. We spent the night at my future in-laws place because my fiancee didn't quite feel like sleeping here with the poison in the walls and the ants crawling out of the walls. I can't say I blame her for that.
Hopefully we have been able to deal a decisive blow to the carpenter ants that had taken up residence in our home. Granted, there's no guarantee they won't come back later, but we are hoping they will at least be gone for now. We still have to wait and see how it goes though.
After some warmer days we now have somewhat cooler days again. Not 'cold' per se, but we do get temperatures that drop into the minuses at night.
As we are heading into the warmer periods of the year, Spring and Summer, I will start to see my work-load increase again. Both at work, and at home around the house. I have quite a few little projects I want to take care of this summer, so we will see how that goes. I'll probably write more about them in here as I get to them.
On the Sunday, last weekend, my fiancee and I, together with her parents, went to a concert at the city church which was held to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the school where my fiancee's brother works. He was there as well, playing the piano for several of the acts that were there, as well as performing a beautiful piano piece which he had composed himself. In all honesty he is probably one of the best pianists I have ever heard, and it was a pleasure hearing him play. All in all it was a good concert with a lot of good music.
That's about all for this time.
See you all on the other side!
A quick one today, as it is a very busy day.
Yesterday we had the same guy who had been here before regarding the ants, visit us again. We had removed the skirting boards ('golvlister' in Swedish. Blame Google if I got the translation into English wrong. ;) he he ) and he drilled holes into the walls behind them and pumped them full of ant-poison. Now, last time he was here we didn't have much luck getting to the ants. This time however, we had almost immediate success! 10 minutes after had had done that, we had about 10 dead ants on the floor. The following day we were up to about 30. We spent the night at my future in-laws place because my fiancee didn't quite feel like sleeping here with the poison in the walls and the ants crawling out of the walls. I can't say I blame her for that.
Hopefully we have been able to deal a decisive blow to the carpenter ants that had taken up residence in our home. Granted, there's no guarantee they won't come back later, but we are hoping they will at least be gone for now. We still have to wait and see how it goes though.
After some warmer days we now have somewhat cooler days again. Not 'cold' per se, but we do get temperatures that drop into the minuses at night.
As we are heading into the warmer periods of the year, Spring and Summer, I will start to see my work-load increase again. Both at work, and at home around the house. I have quite a few little projects I want to take care of this summer, so we will see how that goes. I'll probably write more about them in here as I get to them.
On the Sunday, last weekend, my fiancee and I, together with her parents, went to a concert at the city church which was held to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the school where my fiancee's brother works. He was there as well, playing the piano for several of the acts that were there, as well as performing a beautiful piano piece which he had composed himself. In all honesty he is probably one of the best pianists I have ever heard, and it was a pleasure hearing him play. All in all it was a good concert with a lot of good music.
That's about all for this time.
See you all on the other side!
söndag 26 mars 2017
Spring-time is a comin'
Greetings from the other side.
Last week I helped out in a different place to where I normally work. It was only Monday and Tuesday, but that was about all I could do since I also had my regular job that I needed to do. It was good to see a new place, meet new people and see how they did things. I really enjoyed my time there.
Life moves on at its own pace here in the countryside. Spring is coming, and you can really feel it in the air now. It's a really nice feeling! Spring does something to you, I think. It revitalizes you after the long, dark winter, and helps to lift your spirit up. We are moving towards warmer times, and it feels great! I think we all need to stop sometimes, take a deep breath and just enjoy the now. That goes for all seasons, but perhaps especially for spring. Take the time to enjoy the blue sky, the sounds of the birds coming back to life, the sunshine on the green pine and spruce trees, etc. It can really help give you some energy back. At least, that's how I feel.
Yesterday, we went to a jumble sale ('loppis' in Swedish) at the school where my fiancee's brother works. They are tearing down the old buildings and building new, so they needed to get rid of a lot of stuff. There were a lot of things there, and a lot of people. It was difficult moving around to look at things. We managed to get a couple of items though. I was hoping to find a guitar, but unfortunately not. Oh well, maybe next time.
After we got home from that we sat outside in the sunshine for about an hour, drinking tea, eating a cinnamon bun, and talking. It was really nice just sitting on the stairs looking out over the fields and towards the forest. It was warm, the wind was calm, and it is moments like that that really make you appreciate living in the countryside.
Last week I helped out in a different place to where I normally work. It was only Monday and Tuesday, but that was about all I could do since I also had my regular job that I needed to do. It was good to see a new place, meet new people and see how they did things. I really enjoyed my time there.
I keep learning new skills since I moved here. Latest thing I have tried is that I have cut down my first two trees using a chainsaw. It's a lot of fun, and I do enjoy the physical work. I'm still very much a beginner at it, but I am learning.
This will be all for this time.
See you all on the other side!
See you all on the other side!
söndag 12 mars 2017
Good times & hindsight
Greetings from the other side.
Last week was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The week before we had been away, together with my fiancee and her sister and brother-in-law, to a place called Ukkohalla on a ski trip. The weather was overcast and the snow messed with our skis a bit, but other than that it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. When it came to the skiing we did the cross-country variant. It had been years since I last did any kind of skiing, and it was a bit of a strange experience being back on a pair of skis again. It was fun though, and I think I ended up doing something like 13 km in total. Compared to my fiancee's sister and her husband that was nothing though. I think they ended up doing something in the region of 86 km in total.
Among the first things that happened after we got there was that I managed to 'wreck' the bed. It's not as bad as it sounds though. Basically, I was trying to move the bed slightly to the side when it suddenly collapsed. It turned out that, unbeknownst to me, by moving it I had disturbed an upright-standing logg underneath it that was holding the length-wise running beam in place, which in turn supported all the lateral-running supports underneath the bed. I'm not sure if that description paints a good enough picture of what I mean, but I hope it does as my tired brain is currently struggling a bit to think of a better explanation.
Anyway, we managed to fix the bed fairly quickly again.
The trip to Ukkohalla was a lot of fun, and it is certainly something I would definitely do again some day. It was nice to get away for a few days and spend some time with my fiancee and her sister and brother-in-law.
In Sweden we have a saying that translates roughly to "Away is good, but home is best" (Sv: Borta bra men hemma bäst). As fun as it had been to be away for a few days, it still felt good to come back home and sleep in your own bed again.
However, starting the next day I wasn't feeling too well. I felt really stressed and tired, and not really myself. It's been a long time since I had felt that high levels of stress, and seemingly for no apparent reason. It took me most of the following week to get back to normal again. Hopefully that was a one-off thing, but I would really like to know what caused it. Maybe it was a lot of little things that just came together to cause it? I honestly have no idea. Whatever it was, it continued to influence my week though.
I am so glad to be passed that now. Hopefully it was just a one-off thing.
Yesterday I was pretty nervous though. I was set to work at a memorial service. Now, I have done that before, but this was the first time I was going to do it completely on my own. All sorts of thoughts were flowing through my head, and I was trying to remember everything I needed to think about and prepare. I'd lie if I said I wasn't nervous though. Looking back at it now however, I would say that I did a good job. So maybe I didn't need to be so nervous about it, but that's the benefit of hindsight and all that.
Yesterday evening, we had a couple of friends over and we all sat down and watched Melodifestivalen. which is the Swedish competition that decides which entry we send to the Eurovision Song Contest. Did the right song win? I have no clue. I guess we'll find that out when the actual ESC competition is held. After that it is really down to personal taste whether you liked it or not. The main thing though was that we had a great time yesterday evening, together with good friends. We laughed a lot and I think I needed that having been so nervous about the memorial service job earlier in the day.
It's been two week since I was able to really do any world-building or writing, but yesterday evening after our friends had left, I started sitting down with it again and it was such a good feeling. I've missed it more than I thought I did, so being back at it felt really good.
Until next time.
See you all on the other side!
Last week was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The week before we had been away, together with my fiancee and her sister and brother-in-law, to a place called Ukkohalla on a ski trip. The weather was overcast and the snow messed with our skis a bit, but other than that it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. When it came to the skiing we did the cross-country variant. It had been years since I last did any kind of skiing, and it was a bit of a strange experience being back on a pair of skis again. It was fun though, and I think I ended up doing something like 13 km in total. Compared to my fiancee's sister and her husband that was nothing though. I think they ended up doing something in the region of 86 km in total.
Among the first things that happened after we got there was that I managed to 'wreck' the bed. It's not as bad as it sounds though. Basically, I was trying to move the bed slightly to the side when it suddenly collapsed. It turned out that, unbeknownst to me, by moving it I had disturbed an upright-standing logg underneath it that was holding the length-wise running beam in place, which in turn supported all the lateral-running supports underneath the bed. I'm not sure if that description paints a good enough picture of what I mean, but I hope it does as my tired brain is currently struggling a bit to think of a better explanation.
Anyway, we managed to fix the bed fairly quickly again.
The trip to Ukkohalla was a lot of fun, and it is certainly something I would definitely do again some day. It was nice to get away for a few days and spend some time with my fiancee and her sister and brother-in-law.
In Sweden we have a saying that translates roughly to "Away is good, but home is best" (Sv: Borta bra men hemma bäst). As fun as it had been to be away for a few days, it still felt good to come back home and sleep in your own bed again.
However, starting the next day I wasn't feeling too well. I felt really stressed and tired, and not really myself. It's been a long time since I had felt that high levels of stress, and seemingly for no apparent reason. It took me most of the following week to get back to normal again. Hopefully that was a one-off thing, but I would really like to know what caused it. Maybe it was a lot of little things that just came together to cause it? I honestly have no idea. Whatever it was, it continued to influence my week though.
I am so glad to be passed that now. Hopefully it was just a one-off thing.
Yesterday I was pretty nervous though. I was set to work at a memorial service. Now, I have done that before, but this was the first time I was going to do it completely on my own. All sorts of thoughts were flowing through my head, and I was trying to remember everything I needed to think about and prepare. I'd lie if I said I wasn't nervous though. Looking back at it now however, I would say that I did a good job. So maybe I didn't need to be so nervous about it, but that's the benefit of hindsight and all that.
Yesterday evening, we had a couple of friends over and we all sat down and watched Melodifestivalen. which is the Swedish competition that decides which entry we send to the Eurovision Song Contest. Did the right song win? I have no clue. I guess we'll find that out when the actual ESC competition is held. After that it is really down to personal taste whether you liked it or not. The main thing though was that we had a great time yesterday evening, together with good friends. We laughed a lot and I think I needed that having been so nervous about the memorial service job earlier in the day.
It's been two week since I was able to really do any world-building or writing, but yesterday evening after our friends had left, I started sitting down with it again and it was such a good feeling. I've missed it more than I thought I did, so being back at it felt really good.
Until next time.
See you all on the other side!
lördag 25 februari 2017
A beautiful winter's day
Greetings from the other side.
Today is an incredibly beautiful day outside. The ground is covered in snow, the sky is blue and it is essentially a very beautiful painting as you look out over the landscape. Each season is beautiful in its own way, but I think that a really clear winter's day with blue sky and lots of white snow is among the most beautiful. We had guests over today and I spent a good chunk of that time looking out the window at the beautiful wintry painting that nature had painted outside.
This winter has been very mild, and so we haven't really had the amount of snow outside that I had wish we'd have. I guess that is why you notice a day like today even more. I've been spending some time outside, shoveling snow, bringing in fire wood, etc. It's a pleasure working outside in beautiful weather like this. :)
In other news my future father-in-law celebrated his 70th birthday last weekend. It was a very fun event, with lots of good people and good food. :) His children, grandchildren and sons-in-law and me sang a song for him as well.
It was less fun to come home and find about 30 carpenter ants over the following 2 hours crawling around our living room and hall. We've had a guy over to look at the issue and take care of the problem. Unfortunately we don't know yet where they have their nest in the house, so we need to wait until we can find it. There is a problem with that though, and that is that it has been too cold so they haven't been very active since last weekend. So we'll have to wait until warmer weather comes along and they become active again before we can start locating their nest. We're hoping that will come soon.
As we understand it the nest in our house is probably a satellite-nest, with the main nest is located somewhere else in the vicinity. This means that unless we can find the main nest this spring/summer they might return. Wish us luck!
In more positive news, my fiancee and I are going away together with her sister and her husband this week on a bit of a skiing holiday. It's also to give my fiancee a chance to get away for a bit and rest up.
I think that'll be all for today. Feeling a bit tired so going to go rest my head a bit.
See you all on the other side!
Today is an incredibly beautiful day outside. The ground is covered in snow, the sky is blue and it is essentially a very beautiful painting as you look out over the landscape. Each season is beautiful in its own way, but I think that a really clear winter's day with blue sky and lots of white snow is among the most beautiful. We had guests over today and I spent a good chunk of that time looking out the window at the beautiful wintry painting that nature had painted outside.
This winter has been very mild, and so we haven't really had the amount of snow outside that I had wish we'd have. I guess that is why you notice a day like today even more. I've been spending some time outside, shoveling snow, bringing in fire wood, etc. It's a pleasure working outside in beautiful weather like this. :)
In other news my future father-in-law celebrated his 70th birthday last weekend. It was a very fun event, with lots of good people and good food. :) His children, grandchildren and sons-in-law and me sang a song for him as well.
It was less fun to come home and find about 30 carpenter ants over the following 2 hours crawling around our living room and hall. We've had a guy over to look at the issue and take care of the problem. Unfortunately we don't know yet where they have their nest in the house, so we need to wait until we can find it. There is a problem with that though, and that is that it has been too cold so they haven't been very active since last weekend. So we'll have to wait until warmer weather comes along and they become active again before we can start locating their nest. We're hoping that will come soon.
As we understand it the nest in our house is probably a satellite-nest, with the main nest is located somewhere else in the vicinity. This means that unless we can find the main nest this spring/summer they might return. Wish us luck!
In more positive news, my fiancee and I are going away together with her sister and her husband this week on a bit of a skiing holiday. It's also to give my fiancee a chance to get away for a bit and rest up.
I think that'll be all for today. Feeling a bit tired so going to go rest my head a bit.
See you all on the other side!
lördag 18 februari 2017
Finding the rhythm
Greetings from the other side.
Getting back into the regular blogging thing has been a bit more difficult than I envisioned when I decided to slow down my blogging output over the holiday season. There are many times when I have thought I should write something, but then something else comes up and I end up postponing writing a new blog entry for another time. Oh well, such is the way of life I guess, and I will have to see where it takes me. The blog is still there though, so maybe I can get into a better writing rhythm with it again, eventually.
Last weekend we had a visit from two good friends from Sweden. It was the first time they were here since my move, and it was a real pleasure to have them here for a visit over the weekend. Having friends or family over to visit is always a good feeling. Even though I like it here in Finland, and I am very happy here, there is always that part of me that misses my friends and family back in Sweden. So whenever people have a chance to come over here for a visit, or I get a chance to go over there to visit, it is always a good feeling.
Tomorrow we are going to celebrate my fiancee's father's 70th birthday. His actual birthday is on Monday, but for convenience sake the celebrations are being held on Sunday instead. It should be a good time, and my future father-in-law has made the food and cakes himself, so you know it will be really good. Being that he is a chef and all.
In a couple of weeks time my fiancee and I are also going away for a few days together with her sister and her husband. It will be nice to get away for a little bit and see something else. There might be some skiing involved as well, if there is enough snow. Either way, I am really looking forward to it. It will be nice to get away and see a different part of Finland as well. :) Hopefully I can remember to take some pictures while I am there and possibly post some of them on the blog.
That will have to round off a relatively short blog. Before I sat down to write it I thought I had a ton to write about, but when I actually started writing most of those things just disappeared. Oh well, maybe for the next blog post. :)
See you all on the other side!
Getting back into the regular blogging thing has been a bit more difficult than I envisioned when I decided to slow down my blogging output over the holiday season. There are many times when I have thought I should write something, but then something else comes up and I end up postponing writing a new blog entry for another time. Oh well, such is the way of life I guess, and I will have to see where it takes me. The blog is still there though, so maybe I can get into a better writing rhythm with it again, eventually.
Last weekend we had a visit from two good friends from Sweden. It was the first time they were here since my move, and it was a real pleasure to have them here for a visit over the weekend. Having friends or family over to visit is always a good feeling. Even though I like it here in Finland, and I am very happy here, there is always that part of me that misses my friends and family back in Sweden. So whenever people have a chance to come over here for a visit, or I get a chance to go over there to visit, it is always a good feeling.
Tomorrow we are going to celebrate my fiancee's father's 70th birthday. His actual birthday is on Monday, but for convenience sake the celebrations are being held on Sunday instead. It should be a good time, and my future father-in-law has made the food and cakes himself, so you know it will be really good. Being that he is a chef and all.
In a couple of weeks time my fiancee and I are also going away for a few days together with her sister and her husband. It will be nice to get away for a little bit and see something else. There might be some skiing involved as well, if there is enough snow. Either way, I am really looking forward to it. It will be nice to get away and see a different part of Finland as well. :) Hopefully I can remember to take some pictures while I am there and possibly post some of them on the blog.
That will have to round off a relatively short blog. Before I sat down to write it I thought I had a ton to write about, but when I actually started writing most of those things just disappeared. Oh well, maybe for the next blog post. :)
See you all on the other side!
torsdag 9 februari 2017
A very mixed bag
Greetings from the other side.
Another couple of weeks have passed (give or take) since my last entry on this blog. It has been a time of ups and downs, I must say. On the whole though, I don't have much to complain about.
Granted, I say that even though yesterday my father-in-law had to put his best friend, and long-time partner, Bamse to rest. I am of course talking about his dog here. That kind of puts a sour note on everyone's day. We all miss him. :(
A couple of weeks back, we also had a day where things just seemed to go wrong for us. It started when my fiancee was in the kitchen as an oven form suddenly exploded right next to her. There were big pieces flying everywhere and it kinda felt like a miracle that she wasn't hit by anything. The reason it had exploded was that she had accidentally put it down on a hot plate on the stove. There was nothing in the form yet, but she was planning on using it for cooking something in the oven. Anyway, she was visibly shocked by what had just happened, but I was just relieved that she hadn't gotten hurt.
The second thing that happened on that day was that the hose that leads away the water from the washing machine came loose and we had sudden flooding on the bathroom floor. After that we had to keep watch over the hose, and sure enough it came loose one more time before the machine was finished.
Now, please don't think that it has been all bad. There have been good things happening as well!
For example we've had a planning meeting with my future brother- and sister-in-laws and their spouses (unfortunately one was away on a trip and couldn't make it). Feels like we got a lot done, which was good. There's a lot that goes into planning a wedding, even though we are trying to keep it relatively simple and we are going for a more rustic theme. I am sure it will be good once it is all done. :)
We have also collected the addresses to everyone we want to invite. Again, we are going to keep it relatively simple, so we are not aiming for a huge thing here. But we should probably end up somewhere around the 60 people mark when all is said and done. The invitations should be sent out in the not too distant future.
Two weekends ago we went to visit some friends of my fiancee. It was the first time she had seen them in a while, so she was really looking forward to it. It was nice to meet some more of her friends, and as always it turned out to be really good people. :)
I have to say, I've been sick since last week. The fever is gone, but I still have a bit of a throat problem and a runny nose. My head hasn't completely cleared up either, which is a shame. I hope it will get better soon though, as we are getting visitors from Sweden this weekend. :) I am really looking forward to that!
That's one of the things I guess I miss most being over here, my friends and family back in Sweden. I know they technically aren't that far away - only a 4½ hour boat-ride - but still. Anyway, it will be good to meet a couple of them again. :)
I think I am going to go lie down for a bit before lunch.
See you all on the other side!
Another couple of weeks have passed (give or take) since my last entry on this blog. It has been a time of ups and downs, I must say. On the whole though, I don't have much to complain about.
Granted, I say that even though yesterday my father-in-law had to put his best friend, and long-time partner, Bamse to rest. I am of course talking about his dog here. That kind of puts a sour note on everyone's day. We all miss him. :(
A couple of weeks back, we also had a day where things just seemed to go wrong for us. It started when my fiancee was in the kitchen as an oven form suddenly exploded right next to her. There were big pieces flying everywhere and it kinda felt like a miracle that she wasn't hit by anything. The reason it had exploded was that she had accidentally put it down on a hot plate on the stove. There was nothing in the form yet, but she was planning on using it for cooking something in the oven. Anyway, she was visibly shocked by what had just happened, but I was just relieved that she hadn't gotten hurt.
The second thing that happened on that day was that the hose that leads away the water from the washing machine came loose and we had sudden flooding on the bathroom floor. After that we had to keep watch over the hose, and sure enough it came loose one more time before the machine was finished.
Now, please don't think that it has been all bad. There have been good things happening as well!
For example we've had a planning meeting with my future brother- and sister-in-laws and their spouses (unfortunately one was away on a trip and couldn't make it). Feels like we got a lot done, which was good. There's a lot that goes into planning a wedding, even though we are trying to keep it relatively simple and we are going for a more rustic theme. I am sure it will be good once it is all done. :)
We have also collected the addresses to everyone we want to invite. Again, we are going to keep it relatively simple, so we are not aiming for a huge thing here. But we should probably end up somewhere around the 60 people mark when all is said and done. The invitations should be sent out in the not too distant future.
Two weekends ago we went to visit some friends of my fiancee. It was the first time she had seen them in a while, so she was really looking forward to it. It was nice to meet some more of her friends, and as always it turned out to be really good people. :)
I have to say, I've been sick since last week. The fever is gone, but I still have a bit of a throat problem and a runny nose. My head hasn't completely cleared up either, which is a shame. I hope it will get better soon though, as we are getting visitors from Sweden this weekend. :) I am really looking forward to that!
That's one of the things I guess I miss most being over here, my friends and family back in Sweden. I know they technically aren't that far away - only a 4½ hour boat-ride - but still. Anyway, it will be good to meet a couple of them again. :)
I think I am going to go lie down for a bit before lunch.
See you all on the other side!
lördag 21 januari 2017
New experiences and wedding planning
Greetings from the other side.
It's been about two weeks since my last post. I guess part of it is a busy schedule and other things to think about, as well as possibly having fallen out of the habit of writing a blog a bit. I'll try to get back into it though, as I do enjoy it. It's a good way to communicate, and to write down the thoughts I have.
This might turn out to be a short-ish post though, as I have other things to do as well today.
I had my first attempts at using a chainsaw yesterday, helping my father-in-law to cut up some logs. It was quite fun. I enjoy working outside like that. :) I also think it is a good lesson to learn for the future, how to use a chainsaw properly, seeing as how I am probably going to be using it in my work at some point in the future, and possibly in my personal life cutting up firewood, etc.
My fiancee and I also went out for a date yesterday. We went to a restaurant together, something we haven't done in a while. We had a pleasant evening, and the food was great. We discussed plans for the upcoming wedding, the wedding budget, and such. I've never been to that restaurant before, but I enjoyed the atmosphere there. It was a cozy and slightly rustic place.
Today, my fiancee has gone off to a wedding fair ("bröllops mässa" in Swedish. Yes... I actually had to look up the translation for that using Google. So if the translation is wrong, blame my Google searching skills) together with a friend to look for more inspiration. I'm looking forward to hearing what she's found when she gets back. :)
I've also spent some time with my father-in-law in the woods helping him cut down trees, cut them up and then move them. Granted, he was the one handling the chainsaw as I hadn't yet even had my first try at it yet. It was fun though.
Right now it is a bit icy outside. I'd much prefer it if the ice would be replaced by a bit of snow. There's very little snow on the ground today. Almost feels like spring is on it's way, but we're only in January still. Feels a bit odd for the season.
I think I will end this post here for today. I'll try to get back with another post as soon as I can.
Until then, take care.
See you all on the other side!
It's been about two weeks since my last post. I guess part of it is a busy schedule and other things to think about, as well as possibly having fallen out of the habit of writing a blog a bit. I'll try to get back into it though, as I do enjoy it. It's a good way to communicate, and to write down the thoughts I have.
This might turn out to be a short-ish post though, as I have other things to do as well today.
I had my first attempts at using a chainsaw yesterday, helping my father-in-law to cut up some logs. It was quite fun. I enjoy working outside like that. :) I also think it is a good lesson to learn for the future, how to use a chainsaw properly, seeing as how I am probably going to be using it in my work at some point in the future, and possibly in my personal life cutting up firewood, etc.
My fiancee and I also went out for a date yesterday. We went to a restaurant together, something we haven't done in a while. We had a pleasant evening, and the food was great. We discussed plans for the upcoming wedding, the wedding budget, and such. I've never been to that restaurant before, but I enjoyed the atmosphere there. It was a cozy and slightly rustic place.
Today, my fiancee has gone off to a wedding fair ("bröllops mässa" in Swedish. Yes... I actually had to look up the translation for that using Google. So if the translation is wrong, blame my Google searching skills) together with a friend to look for more inspiration. I'm looking forward to hearing what she's found when she gets back. :)
I've also spent some time with my father-in-law in the woods helping him cut down trees, cut them up and then move them. Granted, he was the one handling the chainsaw as I hadn't yet even had my first try at it yet. It was fun though.
Right now it is a bit icy outside. I'd much prefer it if the ice would be replaced by a bit of snow. There's very little snow on the ground today. Almost feels like spring is on it's way, but we're only in January still. Feels a bit odd for the season.
I think I will end this post here for today. I'll try to get back with another post as soon as I can.
Until then, take care.
See you all on the other side!
lördag 7 januari 2017
Welcome to the new year!
Greetings from the other side.
And thus I return from the holiday season, bringing wishes of well-being and happiness for you all. I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years together with family, friends, loved ones, etc. I also hope that the new year will be a good one, for everyone on this blue marble in space that we live our lives upon. May this new year at least see the beginnings of an end to wars, abuse, poverty, loneliness, and all the other things that ails the world. At least that is what I hope for, and pray for.
The night before yesterday I sat up until 4 or 5 am playing a tabletop roleplaying game over the internet with my friends. It was so much fun, and I have missed it dearly. I don't get to do that too often these days. Then I ended up getting about 4 hours of sleep, before I got up because I had to be at work the next day. Granted, I didn't need to be there until 1 pm, but I had some other stuff to do before-hand as well. It is safe to say that I was pretty knackered by the end of the day. So early night for me last night and then I slept for about 10 hours. I guess my body needed it. It's good that the weekend is here now.
So, my last post was on December 20, which you can find here. Since then I have had my first Christmas here in Finland, and it was a fun and enjoyable time together with my fiancee and her family. Next year we will be celebrating Christmas with my family in Sweden, and then probably do an every-other-year kind of thing. Anyway, focus on this year, and this was the first time I had ever celebrated Christmas away from my family, so it was a bit of a strange feeling. In the end though, it was an enjoyable time surrounded by good people and a warm atmosphere. It is definitely something I am looking forward to do again another year! :)
Even the family dog, Bamse, got excited about Santa's visit and all the presents. Sadly I don't have a picture of him at that moment, but here's another picture of him taken on the same day at least:
He's a big Newfoundland boy, and at 10 years of age he is currently older than the average life-expectancy of dogs of his breed.
There were a few new food-items among the Christmas food that I hadn't tried before. I honestly don't know what to call most of them in English,so I won't attempt to. I will say however that I enjoyed everything that I tried.
Oh, and I also worked during Christmas service on Christmas Eve, as well as during mass on New Years Day.
Christmas Day was spent taking it easy and having lunch with my fiancee's parents. On Boxing Day (Annandag Jul in Swedish) we went to visit my fiancee's sister and her family.
In the days before New Years both my fiancee and her mother got ill. We had intended to celebrate New Years with my fiancee's parents, but in the end we went over for dinner and then went home again. My fiancee went to bed early and I stayed up chatting with friends online for a while. Luckily they are both feeling better now. Though her mother had to go to the hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia, something which she has since then been going to the health clinic 3 times a day and gotten regular doses of antibiotics intravenously. My father-in-law and myself have luckily managed to stay healthy so far.
All in all it has been a good time, and I can look back to it with fond memories. Now we have a new year in front of us. Let's do the best we can out of it! :)
I wish you all a happy new year. May the new year bring happiness, peace and love to all.
Until next time.
See you all on the other side!
And thus I return from the holiday season, bringing wishes of well-being and happiness for you all. I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years together with family, friends, loved ones, etc. I also hope that the new year will be a good one, for everyone on this blue marble in space that we live our lives upon. May this new year at least see the beginnings of an end to wars, abuse, poverty, loneliness, and all the other things that ails the world. At least that is what I hope for, and pray for.
The night before yesterday I sat up until 4 or 5 am playing a tabletop roleplaying game over the internet with my friends. It was so much fun, and I have missed it dearly. I don't get to do that too often these days. Then I ended up getting about 4 hours of sleep, before I got up because I had to be at work the next day. Granted, I didn't need to be there until 1 pm, but I had some other stuff to do before-hand as well. It is safe to say that I was pretty knackered by the end of the day. So early night for me last night and then I slept for about 10 hours. I guess my body needed it. It's good that the weekend is here now.
So, my last post was on December 20, which you can find here. Since then I have had my first Christmas here in Finland, and it was a fun and enjoyable time together with my fiancee and her family. Next year we will be celebrating Christmas with my family in Sweden, and then probably do an every-other-year kind of thing. Anyway, focus on this year, and this was the first time I had ever celebrated Christmas away from my family, so it was a bit of a strange feeling. In the end though, it was an enjoyable time surrounded by good people and a warm atmosphere. It is definitely something I am looking forward to do again another year! :)
Even the family dog, Bamse, got excited about Santa's visit and all the presents. Sadly I don't have a picture of him at that moment, but here's another picture of him taken on the same day at least:
He's a big Newfoundland boy, and at 10 years of age he is currently older than the average life-expectancy of dogs of his breed.
There were a few new food-items among the Christmas food that I hadn't tried before. I honestly don't know what to call most of them in English,so I won't attempt to. I will say however that I enjoyed everything that I tried.
Oh, and I also worked during Christmas service on Christmas Eve, as well as during mass on New Years Day.
Christmas Day was spent taking it easy and having lunch with my fiancee's parents. On Boxing Day (Annandag Jul in Swedish) we went to visit my fiancee's sister and her family.
In the days before New Years both my fiancee and her mother got ill. We had intended to celebrate New Years with my fiancee's parents, but in the end we went over for dinner and then went home again. My fiancee went to bed early and I stayed up chatting with friends online for a while. Luckily they are both feeling better now. Though her mother had to go to the hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia, something which she has since then been going to the health clinic 3 times a day and gotten regular doses of antibiotics intravenously. My father-in-law and myself have luckily managed to stay healthy so far.
All in all it has been a good time, and I can look back to it with fond memories. Now we have a new year in front of us. Let's do the best we can out of it! :)
I wish you all a happy new year. May the new year bring happiness, peace and love to all.
Until next time.
See you all on the other side!
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