Well after some dramas with getting my bags checked in the flight was as per usual. It was not pleasant to go from business class back into economy. But I kept myself occupied for the flight to Bangkok and managed to get some sleep on the second flight to Helsinki. After landing I had a few hours wait for my flight to Helsinki and I used the time to change into the more appropriate clothing that I had with me and have some breakfast that wasn’t plane food. I also managed to start checking my work emails which there was only about 200 of. I ended up getting back to Baltic just in time for lunch on Wednesday. The boat has progressed well while I’ve been gone. To someone abstract from the project it would not look like much has been done but it’s starting to get into a lot of details and there is always lots of time in them (apart from the keel structure which is still a massive void in the boat).
The change in climate was not as big a shock to the system as I was expecting. It’s been hovering below zero since I’ve been back and is forecast to get colder next week. There is snow on the ground instead of the slush or ice and there is much more light than when I left (a good 7 hours). I had a few drinks on Friday night and watched some movies last night. For everyone who asked me when I stopped, well I guess that counts as now. The only toy I have with me now is my mountain bike which I’m keen to get out and ride in the snow. But I need to get myself a bike pump first, as I left the one I had on the road bike which is now in Sydney.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Silly Season – Part 2
The last Friday I was in Finland I went to the Baltic Christmas party which I attended slightly under dressed. I would have been overdressed for the work Christmas parties I’m used too but this was a fairly formal occasion. No problem, I just looked a little out of place in my jeans and short sleeve shirt. The dinner that was served was a very large buffet and was delicious. The desert was not so great, but there was plenty to drink. We were entertained by tales (in Swedish) from Mr Winter while we ate. They also had a band and then drinks didn’t seem to slow down until they finally kicked us out at about 12pm.
On Saturday I drove to Vaasa and competed in bouldering competition (this is rock climbing but without ropes and not more than a few metres above the ground). Caj had heard about the competition from some of his climbing friends in Vaasa, apparently a yearly event this was the first year competition had been open to people outside of the Vaasa climbing club. The competition was held in the Vaasa local climbing gym which is built inside a water tower. The competition went for 4 hours and was based on an honour system of ticking off the routes that you had completed. This was a little difficult at first as the instructions and route descriptions were all in Finnish. After a little bit of help I could soon manage to work out what was what for most of the climbs without having to ask too many times which one I just did. It made for a really fun afternoon with about 20-25 people attending. Caj did very well to get the highest score of 134 and I did pretty well with a score of 104.
The Sunday I basically spent packing and working out what I would take with me back to Australia, this included my bike which involved some very careful packing. On Tuesday night I had a few people around to help me finish off the food in the fridge. After some last minute packing on Wednesday morning and a stop in at the old factory in Bosund on the way to the airport I was off on my way. I had a couple of hours to kill in Helsinki while waiting for my flight to Hong Kong. I used this time to try and find some Christmas presents, have something to eat and do some sketching on a part of the boat that I’d been given to engineer. I was a bit disappointed that when I found the Finnair lounge that I had already eaten. The business class ticket that I had somehow been gifted with got me access to as much as I wanted to eat. As well as a relatively quite space to sit and do a little bit of work before I got on the plane.
Flying Business class is a bit of an experience. You get champagne or orange juice before you even get off the ground. This was a nice treat given that it took 20 minutes to de-ice the plane, a delay that I’ve not experienced before. There is acre’s of room for your legs and a seat that is electronically controlled and almost goes completely flat. This is before mentioning the 3 course meals that got served with real metal cutlery and a wide selection of drinks. The Finnair flight was very good except that I needed to sleep and I wanted to stay awake and use as much of the perks as I could. The Qantas flight I ended up on after a slight delay was just as good except that their orange juice was real Australian juice and was just so much better than any that I’d had in the past 6 months. I kept myself awake on this flight and used the time to watch a movie or two and try and get some work done (not the most effective but I made progress at least).
Nic and Alex picked me up from the airport and I stayed at their place during my short time back in Sydney. Thanks heaps guys, it was a great. I put my bike together so I could ride to work in the morning and then tried to get some sleep. I was up as soon as the sun was though (I hadn’t seen it for a while) so I left early and got to work in plenty of time. Stopped to get some breakfast from the green grocers and bought some mangos which could have kept me going all day on the smell alone. The banana’s I bought were fantastic also. I sailed my boat over the weekend before Christmas and was at work again until Tuesday afternoon when Alastair picked me up with a large box behind his tiny Barina. Inside the box was my Christmas present to myself – a brand new boat, which I had just enough time to take a peak at before leaving in the shed at Balmoral to go catch a flight for Melbourne.
Christmas was a pretty quiet one at home and after a couple of days I followed mum and dad out to Donald to visit Jen, Harry, Xavier and my newest nephew Hamish. I then proceeded to head north again with the car to spend a week playing with my new toy and had spent new years in Sydney (which was an interesting experience – the fireworks were good though). I worked from the 5th to the 9th and also the mornings of the 12th and 13th. I drove back to Melbourne on the 15th with the new boat in tow. On the 17th I flew to Sydney for a dentists appointment and also had lunch with Ross and Gemma who were up there for the weekend. I also fitted in going to an engagement party in Melbourne on my return. Then on the 19th I went to Geelong for the moth national championships. After 5 days of racing in variable conditions I finished quite respectively and even managed to get a win in heat 2. This was a pretty good effort given the preparation that I had. Sunday afternoon was spent packing up the boat so that Marty could take it and the car back to mum and dad’s place, and then the evening was spent at the presentation night. Australia day was spent travelling back to Sydney; I shared the driving with Les to avoid paying for yet another flight (Thanks for the lift mate!). I finally caught my flight back to Finland on Tuesday the 27th.
On Saturday I drove to Vaasa and competed in bouldering competition (this is rock climbing but without ropes and not more than a few metres above the ground). Caj had heard about the competition from some of his climbing friends in Vaasa, apparently a yearly event this was the first year competition had been open to people outside of the Vaasa climbing club. The competition was held in the Vaasa local climbing gym which is built inside a water tower. The competition went for 4 hours and was based on an honour system of ticking off the routes that you had completed. This was a little difficult at first as the instructions and route descriptions were all in Finnish. After a little bit of help I could soon manage to work out what was what for most of the climbs without having to ask too many times which one I just did. It made for a really fun afternoon with about 20-25 people attending. Caj did very well to get the highest score of 134 and I did pretty well with a score of 104.
The Sunday I basically spent packing and working out what I would take with me back to Australia, this included my bike which involved some very careful packing. On Tuesday night I had a few people around to help me finish off the food in the fridge. After some last minute packing on Wednesday morning and a stop in at the old factory in Bosund on the way to the airport I was off on my way. I had a couple of hours to kill in Helsinki while waiting for my flight to Hong Kong. I used this time to try and find some Christmas presents, have something to eat and do some sketching on a part of the boat that I’d been given to engineer. I was a bit disappointed that when I found the Finnair lounge that I had already eaten. The business class ticket that I had somehow been gifted with got me access to as much as I wanted to eat. As well as a relatively quite space to sit and do a little bit of work before I got on the plane.
Flying Business class is a bit of an experience. You get champagne or orange juice before you even get off the ground. This was a nice treat given that it took 20 minutes to de-ice the plane, a delay that I’ve not experienced before. There is acre’s of room for your legs and a seat that is electronically controlled and almost goes completely flat. This is before mentioning the 3 course meals that got served with real metal cutlery and a wide selection of drinks. The Finnair flight was very good except that I needed to sleep and I wanted to stay awake and use as much of the perks as I could. The Qantas flight I ended up on after a slight delay was just as good except that their orange juice was real Australian juice and was just so much better than any that I’d had in the past 6 months. I kept myself awake on this flight and used the time to watch a movie or two and try and get some work done (not the most effective but I made progress at least).
Nic and Alex picked me up from the airport and I stayed at their place during my short time back in Sydney. Thanks heaps guys, it was a great. I put my bike together so I could ride to work in the morning and then tried to get some sleep. I was up as soon as the sun was though (I hadn’t seen it for a while) so I left early and got to work in plenty of time. Stopped to get some breakfast from the green grocers and bought some mangos which could have kept me going all day on the smell alone. The banana’s I bought were fantastic also. I sailed my boat over the weekend before Christmas and was at work again until Tuesday afternoon when Alastair picked me up with a large box behind his tiny Barina. Inside the box was my Christmas present to myself – a brand new boat, which I had just enough time to take a peak at before leaving in the shed at Balmoral to go catch a flight for Melbourne.
Christmas was a pretty quiet one at home and after a couple of days I followed mum and dad out to Donald to visit Jen, Harry, Xavier and my newest nephew Hamish. I then proceeded to head north again with the car to spend a week playing with my new toy and had spent new years in Sydney (which was an interesting experience – the fireworks were good though). I worked from the 5th to the 9th and also the mornings of the 12th and 13th. I drove back to Melbourne on the 15th with the new boat in tow. On the 17th I flew to Sydney for a dentists appointment and also had lunch with Ross and Gemma who were up there for the weekend. I also fitted in going to an engagement party in Melbourne on my return. Then on the 19th I went to Geelong for the moth national championships. After 5 days of racing in variable conditions I finished quite respectively and even managed to get a win in heat 2. This was a pretty good effort given the preparation that I had. Sunday afternoon was spent packing up the boat so that Marty could take it and the car back to mum and dad’s place, and then the evening was spent at the presentation night. Australia day was spent travelling back to Sydney; I shared the driving with Les to avoid paying for yet another flight (Thanks for the lift mate!). I finally caught my flight back to Finland on Tuesday the 27th.
Silly Season – Part 1
I have to apologise for it being so long since my last post. As tends to happen at this time of year I’ve been pretty busy. Allot has happened since the last post I made. I’m now working from the new factory in Pietarsaari which is great. It’s closer to home and only a 10 minute drive as opposed to 25. I now have a desk in the same building as the boat, and no longer have to brave the cold just to go and check on things (or use the facilities). I’m also in the same space as the project managers and local design team. This both makes me feel a bit more involved in the project and is also providing me with more things to do as it’s so much easier for questions to be asked.
In the middle of October I was discussing with Gaby going to visit Lapland, and we spent some time looking up Hostels and what to go and see and then kind of forgot about it for a while. I did book a day off work but apart from that we didn’t do anything more about it until the 1st of December. Even then we were unsure about what we would do. On the evening of 3rd we finally had a plan. Luckily Peter had found out we were going and thought it would be fun. A friend of his dad had a Cottage in Muonio which we were able to use which gave us both a place to stay and a destination to get to. Peter was also happy to drive which was much easier than having to catch the train.
So at stupid o’clock on Friday morning (the 5th), Gaby, Mariona, Peter and I got into Peter’s car and hit the road. After a couple of hours of driving we stopped briefly near Oulu for a Coffee. Back in the car and after a couple more hours of driving we arrived at Ranua. We only had a short stop on the way when some reindeer were on the road. We got out and tried to get some photos but they ran off into the forest.
Ranua is a pretty small town, but the reason we passed through was the Zoo. The Ranua Zoo has at least 30 different mammals and species of bird. We didn’t get to see all of them due to the season. Much of the birds were elsewhere (likely flown south), the brown bears were hibernating and the weasels were not making themselves known. We did see a beaver, an otter, a number of different owl’s, a golden eagle, hawks, ravens, wild boar (although not very wild), polar bears, wolves, lynxes, wolverines, various deer, moose, and a few foxes as well. The owls were all very cool, as was the golden eagle. The real highlight was the polar bears, unfortunately the male seemed to be sleeping (we think we could just see him up the back of the enclosure. But the two females we having fun digging apples out of the snow. The lynxes were playful and were running around. The arctic fox came and said hello and gave us a really close look. The deer were many and the moose were big. Probably the most unfortunate thing was that all our camera batteries died about half way through (except Peter’s camera phone). After the Zoo we visited a local Pizza place call Hakuna Matata. Then it was another hour and a half north to pass through Rovaniemi and enter the Arctic Circle.
We stopped for supplies through Rovaniemi and then continued on to Santa Park which is five or ten minutes extra drive. The park is built into a natural cave (which has been further excavated) so after entering the front doors you descend down a long ramp and into a foyer where there is a big Christmas tree and a ticket booth. After being a bit taken back by the entry price (25 euro each) we finally gave in and paid the happy elf who assured us it was worth it. With map in hand we then descended down another ramp into the main area of the park.
It took us all of 15 minutes to see the whole park, including take a ride through Santa’s workshop. We got a photo with Santa at great expense, we looked through the post office and decided that we didn’t feel like decorating gingerbread men. The ice bar was cool (pardon the pun) but we didn’t have a drink as we still had a while to travel. We just missed entrance to the last elf school session of the day, and although the ice gallery looked really good we didn’t want to pay the extra to get in there. Just about the only thing inside that was free was the Elf dance which went for about 5-10 mins, granted it was entertaining but not really worth €25. I think in total we were there for about an hour and as we left and the happy elf at the door asked us if we had enjoyed our stay we couldn’t really say that we had.
A few minutes down the road was the Santa Clause Village where you could walk around without having your wallet go on a diet. This was basically a number of buildings with shops and restaurants, spread out and dispersed with giant snow men and appropriate decorations. There was a sign post here pointing to a number of major cities around the world (just like in the cartoons).
After a few more hours driving we eventually made it to the cottage in Muonio (which was very nice and could have housed 8-10 people even before venturing upstairs). We got settled in and had a few drinks and got the sauna heating up. It was a bit colder that far north and there was a good half meter of snow outside. It was surprising how refreshing it is to go outside wearing virtually nothing when it’s below zero and role around in the snow. Then go and step into a steaming wet room at about 60 degrees. It may have been the beers helping but this was thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable.
On Saturday morning after some breakfast we left the cottage a little before 10am. The plan was to drive north and see the Arctic Ocean. So we spent another long day in the car and gradually made our way north. This was slowed down a bit once the sun rose and the amazing scenery we were driving through became apparent. At one stage we seemed to be stopping once every ten minutes to take photos under the glow of the orange sun which was barely holding itself above the horizon. Eventually, just before sunset we made it too our destination, the town of Alta in Norway. We managed to get a few photos before the light faded and then went into the small museum where we had stopped. This was more to get out of the cold than anything else as it was well below minus 10 outside. After a quick look through the museum we went down to the shoreline and touched the water. We then started on out way again. Once back at the cottage we ate and then went outside and played in the snow including a quick step over the boarder (bridge) into Sweden. We finished the evening with another session in the sauna.
On Sunday morning the thermometer was showing minis 17 degrees when we left the cottage to make our way back to Pietarsaari. This was again a long trip, we stopped in Levi and saw the ski fields and were again slowed down by the beautiful landscapes once the sun was rising. We also had another look around at the Santa Clause Village as Gaby was fixated on getting a photo standing on the line marking the Arctic Circle. We eventually made it back without too many more stops after the light disappeared again.
In the middle of October I was discussing with Gaby going to visit Lapland, and we spent some time looking up Hostels and what to go and see and then kind of forgot about it for a while. I did book a day off work but apart from that we didn’t do anything more about it until the 1st of December. Even then we were unsure about what we would do. On the evening of 3rd we finally had a plan. Luckily Peter had found out we were going and thought it would be fun. A friend of his dad had a Cottage in Muonio which we were able to use which gave us both a place to stay and a destination to get to. Peter was also happy to drive which was much easier than having to catch the train.
So at stupid o’clock on Friday morning (the 5th), Gaby, Mariona, Peter and I got into Peter’s car and hit the road. After a couple of hours of driving we stopped briefly near Oulu for a Coffee. Back in the car and after a couple more hours of driving we arrived at Ranua. We only had a short stop on the way when some reindeer were on the road. We got out and tried to get some photos but they ran off into the forest.
Ranua is a pretty small town, but the reason we passed through was the Zoo. The Ranua Zoo has at least 30 different mammals and species of bird. We didn’t get to see all of them due to the season. Much of the birds were elsewhere (likely flown south), the brown bears were hibernating and the weasels were not making themselves known. We did see a beaver, an otter, a number of different owl’s, a golden eagle, hawks, ravens, wild boar (although not very wild), polar bears, wolves, lynxes, wolverines, various deer, moose, and a few foxes as well. The owls were all very cool, as was the golden eagle. The real highlight was the polar bears, unfortunately the male seemed to be sleeping (we think we could just see him up the back of the enclosure. But the two females we having fun digging apples out of the snow. The lynxes were playful and were running around. The arctic fox came and said hello and gave us a really close look. The deer were many and the moose were big. Probably the most unfortunate thing was that all our camera batteries died about half way through (except Peter’s camera phone). After the Zoo we visited a local Pizza place call Hakuna Matata. Then it was another hour and a half north to pass through Rovaniemi and enter the Arctic Circle.
We stopped for supplies through Rovaniemi and then continued on to Santa Park which is five or ten minutes extra drive. The park is built into a natural cave (which has been further excavated) so after entering the front doors you descend down a long ramp and into a foyer where there is a big Christmas tree and a ticket booth. After being a bit taken back by the entry price (25 euro each) we finally gave in and paid the happy elf who assured us it was worth it. With map in hand we then descended down another ramp into the main area of the park.
It took us all of 15 minutes to see the whole park, including take a ride through Santa’s workshop. We got a photo with Santa at great expense, we looked through the post office and decided that we didn’t feel like decorating gingerbread men. The ice bar was cool (pardon the pun) but we didn’t have a drink as we still had a while to travel. We just missed entrance to the last elf school session of the day, and although the ice gallery looked really good we didn’t want to pay the extra to get in there. Just about the only thing inside that was free was the Elf dance which went for about 5-10 mins, granted it was entertaining but not really worth €25. I think in total we were there for about an hour and as we left and the happy elf at the door asked us if we had enjoyed our stay we couldn’t really say that we had.
A few minutes down the road was the Santa Clause Village where you could walk around without having your wallet go on a diet. This was basically a number of buildings with shops and restaurants, spread out and dispersed with giant snow men and appropriate decorations. There was a sign post here pointing to a number of major cities around the world (just like in the cartoons).
After a few more hours driving we eventually made it to the cottage in Muonio (which was very nice and could have housed 8-10 people even before venturing upstairs). We got settled in and had a few drinks and got the sauna heating up. It was a bit colder that far north and there was a good half meter of snow outside. It was surprising how refreshing it is to go outside wearing virtually nothing when it’s below zero and role around in the snow. Then go and step into a steaming wet room at about 60 degrees. It may have been the beers helping but this was thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable.
On Saturday morning after some breakfast we left the cottage a little before 10am. The plan was to drive north and see the Arctic Ocean. So we spent another long day in the car and gradually made our way north. This was slowed down a bit once the sun rose and the amazing scenery we were driving through became apparent. At one stage we seemed to be stopping once every ten minutes to take photos under the glow of the orange sun which was barely holding itself above the horizon. Eventually, just before sunset we made it too our destination, the town of Alta in Norway. We managed to get a few photos before the light faded and then went into the small museum where we had stopped. This was more to get out of the cold than anything else as it was well below minus 10 outside. After a quick look through the museum we went down to the shoreline and touched the water. We then started on out way again. Once back at the cottage we ate and then went outside and played in the snow including a quick step over the boarder (bridge) into Sweden. We finished the evening with another session in the sauna.
On Sunday morning the thermometer was showing minis 17 degrees when we left the cottage to make our way back to Pietarsaari. This was again a long trip, we stopped in Levi and saw the ski fields and were again slowed down by the beautiful landscapes once the sun was rising. We also had another look around at the Santa Clause Village as Gaby was fixated on getting a photo standing on the line marking the Arctic Circle. We eventually made it back without too many more stops after the light disappeared again.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Croissants?
I had Croissants for brunch yesterday after a run in the snow. It was well below zero outside so I thought it a good excuse to use the oven and eat something warm. I picked up the “ingredients” to make croissants a few weeks ago but had not got around to it yet.
It’s kind of an odd process, the sides of the can are cardboard, and when you rip it open the dough bursts out and expands to about 3 times the size of the can. You end up with a roll of dough, which is ready to be cut into triangles and individually rolled into croissants. After baking for ten to fifteen minutes they look quite good, (well the ones that I rolled up well anyway).
However they don’t have the finest taste. They were not bad, but not quite the texture a croissant should have. More like bread than pastry unfortunately. I think next time it might be better to start from scratch.
It’s been blowing a gale this afternoon and I hate to think what the wind chill would be. I went out to the harbour to see how far the ice extends. It’s completely frozen over at the sailing club, except for the edges which are broken free with the tide. I’d take a very un educated guess and say it was maybe 20mm thick. I walked out on the sailing club pontoon and could hear it cracking underneath the floats as I walked out.
I was in and out of the car a fare bit (with the heater on full) and hopefully got some good photos. I haven’t looked at them yet though. I have a feeling that the ones from yesterday are better.
It’s kind of an odd process, the sides of the can are cardboard, and when you rip it open the dough bursts out and expands to about 3 times the size of the can. You end up with a roll of dough, which is ready to be cut into triangles and individually rolled into croissants. After baking for ten to fifteen minutes they look quite good, (well the ones that I rolled up well anyway).
However they don’t have the finest taste. They were not bad, but not quite the texture a croissant should have. More like bread than pastry unfortunately. I think next time it might be better to start from scratch.
It’s been blowing a gale this afternoon and I hate to think what the wind chill would be. I went out to the harbour to see how far the ice extends. It’s completely frozen over at the sailing club, except for the edges which are broken free with the tide. I’d take a very un educated guess and say it was maybe 20mm thick. I walked out on the sailing club pontoon and could hear it cracking underneath the floats as I walked out.
I was in and out of the car a fare bit (with the heater on full) and hopefully got some good photos. I haven’t looked at them yet though. I have a feeling that the ones from yesterday are better.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Wine, Beer and Snow
I’ve just had quite a nice weekend. On Friday evening I went to a friends house for a wine tasting. There were four bottles of red wine, and we each got given a list of the wines and their characteristics. Colour, smell and taste were described in detail in Swedish, which made it a little harder for me. So we got a taste of each wine and had to guess which was which based on the descriptions. I got two out of the four right. Out of the six of us I believe that 4 got them all correct. After the wines were revealed we ate cheese (and drank more of the wine).
We also scored each wine so that we could see which one we liked best. According to my scores my favourite from the bunch was a 2005 Palandri Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Western Australia. This surprised me a bit, as I had thought it was one of the other wines (which I hadn’t liked). I was a bit doubtful of this scoring because I always find that the more wine I drink, the more I like it. So it didn’t surprise me that my favourite was also the last wine we tried.
On Saturday after getting up late, then going running followed by a nice lunch. I made dinner early before going to a house warming party a few doors down. The party kicked off at 1800 which I thought was a bit early. I’d picked up some beers in the afternoon and they hadn’t had long to cool in the fridge, so I was glad to find that at the party they had plenty of space. Although the fridge was full, the drinks just went outside on the balcony. This worked an absolute treat and did a better job of cooling the beers than the fridge would have anyway.
It had started snowing about 1700 yesterday and it didn’t seem to stop for some time. When we left the party to go into town we played in the snow for a while as we waited for the taxi. Just as we got in the taxi I realised that my glasses were no longer stuck to my face. Not to keep the taxi waiting I made sure I’d remember to look for them later. After a pleasant walk home from town in light snow later, I decided it best to look for the glasses with a touch in case it continued to snow overnight. The search was unsuccessful.
So when I got up this morning the first thing I did was go out to the car park and have another look. After a few minutes I found them laying behind my car, relatively intact. There is a deep scratch on one lens (quite annoyingly positioned) and the frames were a little bent but didn’t take too much to straighten out.
There was more intermittent snow falls today and because the snow looks so inviting, I went for a run again (although not quite as long as yesterday). I took my camera and stopped a few times in the forest and took some photos. I think I need to work on the camera settings for snow pictures.
We also scored each wine so that we could see which one we liked best. According to my scores my favourite from the bunch was a 2005 Palandri Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Western Australia. This surprised me a bit, as I had thought it was one of the other wines (which I hadn’t liked). I was a bit doubtful of this scoring because I always find that the more wine I drink, the more I like it. So it didn’t surprise me that my favourite was also the last wine we tried.
On Saturday after getting up late, then going running followed by a nice lunch. I made dinner early before going to a house warming party a few doors down. The party kicked off at 1800 which I thought was a bit early. I’d picked up some beers in the afternoon and they hadn’t had long to cool in the fridge, so I was glad to find that at the party they had plenty of space. Although the fridge was full, the drinks just went outside on the balcony. This worked an absolute treat and did a better job of cooling the beers than the fridge would have anyway.
It had started snowing about 1700 yesterday and it didn’t seem to stop for some time. When we left the party to go into town we played in the snow for a while as we waited for the taxi. Just as we got in the taxi I realised that my glasses were no longer stuck to my face. Not to keep the taxi waiting I made sure I’d remember to look for them later. After a pleasant walk home from town in light snow later, I decided it best to look for the glasses with a touch in case it continued to snow overnight. The search was unsuccessful.
So when I got up this morning the first thing I did was go out to the car park and have another look. After a few minutes I found them laying behind my car, relatively intact. There is a deep scratch on one lens (quite annoyingly positioned) and the frames were a little bent but didn’t take too much to straighten out.
There was more intermittent snow falls today and because the snow looks so inviting, I went for a run again (although not quite as long as yesterday). I took my camera and stopped a few times in the forest and took some photos. I think I need to work on the camera settings for snow pictures.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Farewell to a Friend
Today a close friend of mine passed. We hadn’t known each other that long, and he was only young. But I felt over the past few months we’d become quite close, he’s even helped me cook dinner on a number of occasions.
He’s been looking a bit tired and limp for the past week or so. He’s not from around here so I think that the lack of light and cold finally got to him. I spent the evening tonight saying goodbye.
He was the little guy sitting in the corner. He didn’t stand out greatly and was a bit shy, but he shared himself generously and had great taste. He will be remembered.
At least until I finish the last of the pasta sauce we made tonight.
Goodbye Basil.
He’s been looking a bit tired and limp for the past week or so. He’s not from around here so I think that the lack of light and cold finally got to him. I spent the evening tonight saying goodbye.
He was the little guy sitting in the corner. He didn’t stand out greatly and was a bit shy, but he shared himself generously and had great taste. He will be remembered.
At least until I finish the last of the pasta sauce we made tonight.
Goodbye Basil.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Some More On Finnish Food
I picked this up at the super market the other day. It’s marinated Herring. It doesn’t look that great, but it tastes ok. I’m not sure what it’s marinated in, but seems to be almost a sort of balsamic vinaigrette. It’s obviously been in there for a while as it falls apart pretty easily. I’m not sure exactly how it’s suppose to be eaten. I think it would possibly go well in small pieces on dry biscuits, or perhaps even in a sandwich.
The food I’ve been getting at Baltic for lunch is generally quite good, sometimes a little odd and once or twice I’ve not finished. There is always a Soup on offer, and generally a potato based meal and a more meaty dish. Then there is a big basket of Finnish bread and a salad so if I’m really not impressed I still have something that is reliable, even if not that interesting.
Problem is that I have to order what I want at the start of each day, and as my Finnish and Swedish is not very good, this can be difficult. So it’s a bit of a lucky dip sometimes. I have a much better feeling now for what I’m going to get, and at bare minimum can expect to know what sort of animal I’m consuming (although one day I wasn’t sure, and wasn’t pleased). The menu for the week appears on Monday morning, so on Monday morning I usually decide for the whole week. If I’m not happy with my selection of food for the week, I have at least one reliable choice. Every Thursday the same Pea Soup appears, it’s a thick green soup with a variety of split peas and minced beef. It’s quite good although can create some excess gas and may become a regrettable choice latter in the day. The sweat on Thursdays is always Finnish Pancake which is very good, and no unpleasant side effects that I’m aware of.
For this reason I searched the web on Sunday and after finding a number of different recipes I tried to make my own Finnish Pancake. It’s pretty easy to make with a very similarly recipe what I would consider normal. However it is baked not fried and it becomes sort of half way between light fluffy cake and custard. I claimed it successful. It didn’t come out exactly like the Baltic version, but it was pretty close and I think probably mostly due to having to significantly reduce the quantity’s such that I didn’t waste any and also so it would fit in my meagre cooking utensils.
The food I’ve been getting at Baltic for lunch is generally quite good, sometimes a little odd and once or twice I’ve not finished. There is always a Soup on offer, and generally a potato based meal and a more meaty dish. Then there is a big basket of Finnish bread and a salad so if I’m really not impressed I still have something that is reliable, even if not that interesting.
Problem is that I have to order what I want at the start of each day, and as my Finnish and Swedish is not very good, this can be difficult. So it’s a bit of a lucky dip sometimes. I have a much better feeling now for what I’m going to get, and at bare minimum can expect to know what sort of animal I’m consuming (although one day I wasn’t sure, and wasn’t pleased). The menu for the week appears on Monday morning, so on Monday morning I usually decide for the whole week. If I’m not happy with my selection of food for the week, I have at least one reliable choice. Every Thursday the same Pea Soup appears, it’s a thick green soup with a variety of split peas and minced beef. It’s quite good although can create some excess gas and may become a regrettable choice latter in the day. The sweat on Thursdays is always Finnish Pancake which is very good, and no unpleasant side effects that I’m aware of.
For this reason I searched the web on Sunday and after finding a number of different recipes I tried to make my own Finnish Pancake. It’s pretty easy to make with a very similarly recipe what I would consider normal. However it is baked not fried and it becomes sort of half way between light fluffy cake and custard. I claimed it successful. It didn’t come out exactly like the Baltic version, but it was pretty close and I think probably mostly due to having to significantly reduce the quantity’s such that I didn’t waste any and also so it would fit in my meagre cooking utensils.
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