NO Shopping Therapy in Helsinki

Today has been a hard day. The temperature outside got up to 7 degrees F. I haven't been out. Earl went and taught his class and came home with freezing hands from his ten minute walk.

He says that some days you shouldn't go outside. And this is one of them.

I have decided that part of the blues is not just the temperature but I cannot even go to Costco or Ross for some shopping. Helsinki is without a doubt the most expensive place we have ever lived. I am not going shopping for me or for babies. When a baby hat costs 30 E, all I can do is groan. I cannot see how anyone can afford to dress their children.

So I am starting one book and dropping it and starting another book and dropping it. And doing indexing and puzzles. Ready to come home and meet the new baby, Leanna. But not going to happen. I had better find a good book to read on the shelf here.

A Night with the LDS Institute

Elder and Sister Roberts are the missionaries assigned to work with the young adults in Helsinki in the seminary and institute program. Both of them are eager and dynamic. Sister Roberts is so bubbly that I feel as if I am going to float away on an effervescent sea.

A few weeks ago, they asked the professor if he would be willing to speak to the young adults who come to the institute. He agreed and we invited them to come to our apartment. Very selfish on our part because that meant that we did not have to go anywhere after dark in the cold.

Last night fourteen of them arrived at our apartment. Of course, the apartment is so big if feels as if it was meant for entertaining. As always the professor gave a very good presentation on the current presidential elections in the United States with a focus on Mitt Romney. The audience had a lot of questions and were eager to discuss the subject.

Afterwards we served store bought cookies and soda pop and water. Then the young people bundled up in their winter clothing and went off into the cold dark night.

Overall, a success with no stress for this blogger. I would be willing to have them over again with a guest speaker provided by the Roberts.

Odds and Ends

1. This afternoon as we were walking down the street, we saw two dark haired men get into a parked car ahead of us. It was surrounded by quite a bit of snow. The driver revved up the engine and turned to pull out onto the street. The next thing I knew there was his car pointing down towards the ground with the passenger rear wheel far off the ground. After a few more futile attempts the passenger got out and gave the car a push and they got out of the snow.

I told Dad, "Thank goodness. I didn't want to have to go tell him that he could get out if he would just straighten his wheels."

I have wondered if they were from Finland. They didn't look too expert about driving in the snow. I have never seen a rear wheel spinning a foot or so off the ground before. :O)

2. On January 1st the sun rose at 9:24 and set at 3:23. Today the sun rose at 8:46and set at 4:21. We are definitely moving in the right direction!!!




3. This is one of those bags that folds up into an envelope and the whole thing fits in the pocket of my blue jeans. But when we pulled it out to use it at the store, the professor was not too enthusiastic about carrying it. He thought it was too feminine.

4. Today the professor asked me, "Where do you want to go for lunch?"

Me: "Chico's. I'd like a hamburger.

He: "Or we could go to Rax again."

Surprise, surprise. We went to Rax.

And it was full of people. Saturday craziness. About a dozen 8 to 10 year olds sat right next to us. They were amazingly well behaved. If you pay for ice cream with your meal, you are given a plate, a cup for a drink and an empty cone. It didn't take me long to notice that the boys were filling their ice cream cones and then eating the ice cream with a cup. That way they could go fill the cone/dish again. Pretty clever.

On the other hand the woman sitting right next to Earl turned out to be much worse behaved. Sitting at the next table over, her son spilled his cup of soda pop all over a jacket hanging on the chair next to him. Fortunately I don't speak Finnish so that I did not understand what she was shouting at him about. She was definitely angry and let everyone know it. I understand about being a stressed out mom, but it was just an accident and he struggled to clean it up. She made no effort to help him. Sigh. Maybe we will not go to Rax next Saturday.

Watching the Snow Removal

For the past two days there have been orange cones beside the cars parked on the street opposite our apartment building. Gradually all but one of the cars has been moved. I have been waiting for a tow truck to show up and drag the lone car away. I was very surprised this morning when a man in the winter wear I have come to recognize as belonging to the snow removal crews showed up with the keys for the car. He cleaned a lot of snow off the car then opened the passenger side, got in and started the car. When the windows were defrosted, he got into the car and parked it further down the street.

The only thing that I can imagine is that the city located the owner using the license plate number and arrangements were made to have the car moved. From my perspective that is totally amazing. What a kind and civilized world Helsinki is.

As you can tell from my photograph, the work began before the sun came up this morning. A huge truck appeared and lifted people up to eaves on the roof. They began to break away the ice and shovel the snow off the edges of the roof. Meanwhile two men were on the roof itself with shovels. Those men were tethered to something to keep them secure if they slipped or lost their footing.

Pizza Buffet

The professor and I recently went to the local Rax Pizza Buffet. When the Blogger was here we enjoyed going there because there were actually some toys for her tiny boy to play with while we ate. For a reasonable sum we could use a salad bar and eat pizza slices as well as some casseroles.

We were very surprised when we went to make a salad. All of the tomatoes were whole. And they were good sized tomatoes. Not little plums or grape tomatoes. We laughed about it and wondered if the manager was out of town for the day. A whole tomato with a salad must not have appealed to others either. The container never lost any of its fruit.

Stuck in the Snow

When I walked to the grocery store this morning, I did not have my camera with me. Among the interesting sights was a huge delivery truck stuck in the slush/snow. The driver was parked on a slight incline next to the frozen river. He spun his wheels but obviously was not going anywhere. I was surprised because I thought that his sheer size would have given him the weight and traction he needed.

When I left the store some time later, he was still there stuck on the slope. He was talking on his cell phone. I assume he was trying to get someone to come get his truck moving again.

Fry Style Thermostat

The windows have drafts and you can feel the cold air even though both of the windows are closed. Usually we have the drapes closed in the bedroom just to keep the cold out. However, we have discovered that the room is warmer if we tuck up the drapes away from the radiator.

At night when we want the room cooler to sleep, we just drop the drapes over the radiator.

Really advanced heating and cooling controls.

Letter to Grandchildren about Snow

Hi everyone,
I have heard that almost everyone in the family has had snow lately except for Kyla in Florida. Grandpa and I have had lots of snow in the last few days in Helsinki. We may look as if we are cold in the picture but we really are just fine. Both of us are wearing winter clothes and shoes that keep us warm when we are outside.

We live on a busy street called Liisankatu. Even though it is a busy street, it is not very wide. There is room for two cars on the road with cars parked on both sides of the street. With all of the snow, it is a challenge to find a place to stack the snow that has been plowed and I am sure for people to find a place to park. Have you seen the big piles of snow that are sometimes heaped up from clearing a big parking lot like at a grocery store or Target? We have piles of snow on corners of the street here and in spots where cars used to park.

Last night it snowed again. About five o'clock in the morning the small plows were out clearing the streets and the sidewalks. They seem to work most of the day in some part of town. Then when the sun goes down around four o'clock the big dump trucks come out. The snow plows turn into front loaders and they scoop up the snow and dump it into the back of the truck. When the truck is full it drives off. I have read that one of the places that they dump snow is in the empty fields at the airport.


This is a funny picture of one of the small plows trying to dig into a huge pile of snow. If you look closely you will see that the wheels are off the ground. I didn't take this picture so I wonder how they got the plow back on its wheels.

Yesterday morning as Grandpa and I were leaving our apartment building, we met four men coming in carrying shovels. They were dressed a lot like firefighters. They were going up to the roof to make sure that there was no snow there that would fall onto people walking on the sidewalks below. When we got outside, we saw that there were barriers and tape stretched out to prevent people from walking on part of the sidewalk by our building. This is a picture of some men on a roof clearing off snow.

And here is a dump truck having the snow emptied from its back.

Sometimes I wish that I didn't have to put on heavy boots to go outside, but it is interesting being in the middle of a big city in the winter time. Kimberly walked home from the Metro last year in a huge storm that hit Washington, DC and Northern Virginia. I hope that Grandpa and I will not have to walk through any big storms as she did. We'll let you know if we do.

Tomorrow is Sunday and Grandpa and I will be walking to church. We will be thinking about all of you. I wear winter boots and carry a pair of shoes. When we get to the building where church is held, I take off all of my winter clothes and put on the ordinary shoes. Both Leanna and Lisa can tell you stories about what it is like to have to go out in the snow all bundled up in order to walk or catch a bus to go to church.

We love all of you and miss you. This last picture was taken today. Tomorrow there will be a big celebration for the Chinese New Year and this square is getting ready for the event.

Lots of love,

Grandma and Grandpa

in Finland

First heavy snowfall

Behind us there are actually two piles of snow. One is on the opposite side of the road. On our street, they started clearing away the snow at about 4 am. When we went out there were several huge piles of snow by the curb. This evening, the piles have been hauled away by huge dump trucks.

I Woke Up this Morning

I woke up this morning with freezing feet. The room didn't feel colder than usual and my sleep had not been interrupted because they were cold. I was very surprised. When I put my right foot against my left calf, I could hardly believe how cold my foot was.

When I finally got up the courage to get out of bed and put on two pair of wool socks, I started to feel better. I headed to the kitchen and put the electric kettle on to heat some water for hot chocolate. Suddenly it occurred to me that maybe the cold is the reason that the Finnish are so addicted to coffee.

I am missing my flip flops as usual now that I am dealing with cold weather and more substantial footwear. It takes me so long to put on my snow/hiking boots. And it is definitely necessary to sit down to put them off. Fortunately getting them off does not present as many challenges.

Home Sweet Home

The home that we own in the United States was built in 1963 or 1964. That means that this year it will be close to 50 years old. Not too surprisingly, we have had several problems with house.

These two pictures are of a rotten pipe in our basement. Not just in our basement, however. Under the concrete floor. Our friend and handyman had to chip away the cement before he could get to the area where water was leaking.

We are so grateful to him for his help. And to the Blogger and her family for enduring living in a falling apart house.

By The Way

Our Marine is home from Afghanistan. We have not seen him, but have talked to him on the telephone. This picture has a typical "Steve goofing off expression."

We love him and are very proud of him and his desire to service our country.

My dad was a farmer at heart. Every house we lived in had a place for a vegetable garden. Most of the houses we lived in were fixer-uppers. Until I was 14 years old and living on the south shore of Montreal, I don’t think we lived in a house where the bedrooms were heated. In the winter time, the single paned windows would be brushed by Jack Frost’s artistic hand. I can remember taking my thumb nail and pushing it across the window pane. A long curl of ice that had formed on the interior of the window would peel away from the glass.
Some mornings were so cold that I would dash out of bed and grab my clothes then take them back under the covers to dress in the warmth created by my body overnight. We always had flannel sheets and rough wool blankets to keep us warm. The flannel sheets had been washed and dried on the line in the winter cold so they were never soft or fluffy against my cheek. It made no difference though. I would pull the blankets up around my face and cover my ears so that I would be as warm as possible on those cold nights.
After more than fifty years, I still sleep at the bottom of the bed with the sheets and blankets pulled up over my ears. When I glance over at my husband who was born and raised in California, I wonder how he can sleep with the blankets leaving his neck and shoulders bare.



When I was 5 years old, we moved into a house in need of enormous amounts of work. It had no bathroom and only had a pump at the sink. I remember my mother sitting on the floor reading my father the directions as he assembled the plumbing and built a bathroom at the end of the large kitchen. Now when I think about it, I assume that he must have dug a huge hole for a septic tank as well. In any case, Dad and Mum were the ones who turned the small cottage in the country into an inhabitable house.
I know there were not enough bedrooms for all of the family. That first year I slept on a bunk bed that was set up in the kitchen. I have a clear memory of lying on the top bed and looking down upon my mother. She was making cinnamon rolls. She rolled out the dough and sprinkle sugar and ground cinnamon on the flat surface. Next came scattered raisins. Then the magical dough was rolled into a tight tube and cut into individual rolls. I have no memory of eating those rolls. I cherish only the wonderful feeling of being alone with my mother and watching her making this delicious treat.
The small house that we lived in was about a mile from the local elementary school. Grades one through eight were taught there. Four grades to a room. The small village of Lisle, Ontario lay close to one of the gates to Camp Borden where both of my parents worked. Dad was in the Royal Canadian Air Force and Mom worked as a typist for the Army.
One Sunday after attending a conference meeting for the Church, we slowly drove towards home in a snow storm. When we reached Lisle, Mom and Dad decided that they would park the car in a parking lot for a business in Lisle. They knew that the road to our house would not be plowed in the morning and that they would be unable to drive to work unless they left the car close to a road that would be cleared of the heavy snowfall.
We always had blankets in our trunk in case of a winter emergency. The six of us got out of the car and wrapped blankets around us for the long walk home. As a small girl the snow seemed so deep. It came up above the top of my boots. I can remember the snow falling and my eyelashes sticking together as if by glue. My face was so cold, but my small right hand ne

stled in my father’s large one was warm. I asked him how come his hand was warm when mine was so cold even with my mittens on. It was so stormy and cold. I have no memory of his an
swer. I only remember the safety and security I felt with my cold hand resting in the warm hand of my father.

Walking to Church in mid January

I put on tights and a heavy skirt today. Earl and I bundled up in our outerwear. Both of us wearing boots, scarves, hats, and gloves/mittens. Walking to church was fine. I got there and took off my boots and put on my shoes. Walking home we walked into the wind. A little bit cooooolder. Earl's hands were cold in gloves and my thumbs were cold. We bunched our hands up inside our gloves/mittens and got home with all of our appendages. Earl says we will not go if it is blowing and howling out. Ruth says to call. She'll come get us in a blizzard. I think I love her more all of the time. I don't think I'll be calling in a blizzard. She can go back to bed and cover her head with her pillow just like I will me. She lives about two miles from church in the opposite direction from us.

The Mark, man in the bishopric who is American (teaches at the international school) says that sometimes the temperatures drop to below 0. And that Finnish meteorologists never factor in the wind. So we will never know what the temperature is including the wind. Burrrrrr. It was about 19 degrees today.

On our way home we walked with a young couple. They have a new baby and a three year old girl. The baby was completely covered so that no one could see her. The three year old (who was in a stroller) apparently thought that mom should carry her. Just like kids. They had been late for the tram and rather than stand in the cold waiting for the next one, they decided to walk. So we had company for about half of our trip.

The meeting house is about 2 miles away and takes us about 30 minutes to walk there. We still have not found any transportation that makes sense to take on a Sunday when fewer trams and buses run. Either that or we are a little crazy. That could be it. :O)

Feels like Winter

It is already lighter longer in the day than it was at the beginning of December. It is three thirty and it does not feel as if twilight has arrived. The high today though was about 19 degrees. Walking we periodically walked into a very cold wind. Amazing how one's teeth can feel as if they are freezing.

Here are a few pictures from today. We walked through the park and watched two little girls at the top of a very steep hill. When they finally got on their sledge together, they came flying down the hill and stopped far across the path that we were walking on. The little girl being pulled on the sled kept saying "Mamma! Mamma!" while her mother responded, "Yo, yo." The other two pictures are from the ice rink by the train station. The children playing on the hill of snow are playing on the snow removed from the rink.

I think there were moments when Earl/Dad felt cold and wished he had a second scarf. I am so grateful for Leanna's winter coat. Only my legs under my corduroy pants felt cold periodically and I wished I had put on my "long Johns."

It definitely is winter.

Back in Helsinki

I took the shuttle to the airport on Monday morning. Everything went so well. The traffic at seven in the morning was moving quickly and I got to the airport two hours before my flight left.

The scales gods must have been with me because the man at check-in did not even put the bag on the scales. He just put on the tags and sent me to the big x-ray machine to drop it off at SLC.

I got to Dulles okay but from there it went downhill. Nothing that couldn't be managed though.

We boarded the plane in Dulles and were delayed over an hour because someone checked in luggage but did not get on the plane. When they finally located and extracted the luggage, we had to wait in line to be de-iced before we could take off. My connecting flight in Munich going on to Helsinki left at 8:50. We arrived in Munich at about 9 am. That meant there were about 200 people standing in line hoping to get their flights rerouted to their final destinations. Sigh.

When I finally got to the front of the line about an hour later, the agent told me that I had already been rerouted on a flight going to Warsaw and from Warsaw to Helsinki. The alternative? Stay in Munich until 2:45 pm to get the next direct flight on the airline to Finland. I opted for the later flight. I had no desire to see the airport in Warsaw.

The next problem was, how was I going to let the professor know that I would be arriving about six hours later than we thought. No free internet. Well, I could have had 30 minutes free if I had given Telekom my phone number. No phone. And the airline would have called him but no telephone number. Bigger sigh.

By then I was so tired that I propped my carry on luggage against my leg and fell asleep on a chair.

On the flight from Germany to Finland, I had seat 6C which was great. So close to the front. I slept every minute we were in the air on the way to Helsinki. When we landed the door was frozen shut so no one could get off the plane. Fortunately there was not a very long delay.

The very best part was that when I got my luggage and walked out of the door, there was the professor waiting for me. If it had been a movie there would have been fireworks or at least a crescendo.



We got home and I took my travel weary body and had a hot shower. Clean clothes. Here with my sweetheart. Who could ask for more?