You Know You Are in Finland.....

...when you wake up in your friend's house who is in a really good mood - and on asking why, you hear her saying "Because I've just looked at the barometer and it's really warm today!" at which point you realise that it's actually minus ten.

(Admittedly better than the forecast, which was minus twenty, but still not exactly "warm" - except if you live in northern Finland, when it actually is.) 

...when you spend breakfast having a debate with everyone at the breakfast table about precisely which berries are in the homemade juice that you are drinking. I got the strawberry straightaway. Minna got the raspberry, but sadly we both missed the rhubarb. Can't get it right all of the time. Great juice though.

...when you go to the supermarket and you see your friend's boyfriend doing his shopping (and still looking manly) despite carrying a wicker basket, because only stupid people use carrier bags anymore. (Sensible, but less likely to be seen in Northern England)

....when you spend the day out, arrive home at seven o'clock and the first thing you do is go and warm up the sauna. Because it's Saturday night and that's just what you do.

... and when you can write this post on the blog and be certain that every Finnish person reading it will know exactly what I mean.

Winter in Finland. Snow, Saunas, Skiing, Salmiakki and...well you can guess the rest. No better place to be. Got your passports out yet?

Friendship and Love

With Christmas now over, today was a relaxed day. No shopping, buying, wrapping, cooking, running around or organising. And after a chaotic December, that felt nice.

I saw a close friend of mine today, and it felt lovely to share some moments with someone I trust completely. It also gave me the opportunity to think about my friends and how lucky I am to have them, especially after a year which has been more than a little challenging.

I couldn't resist putting the word "love" in the title of this blog. Every time the word has appeared in a blog title, it gets more hits than all the other posts! I guess it is something that every one of us is looking for, in one way or another.  Let's see if it works this time too. 

There has been lots of hard stuff in our family this year, but I will also remember 2012 as the year in which I met several new friends and also caught up again with some special people from the past. (Laurie and Tania from Malta twenty years ago - I am talking about both of you!)

In terms of new friends, I could not write this without mentioning all the people from the Somero English Club, for whom this blog was set up in the first place. There are too many to list individually, but I have to mention Manu, who has become one of my best friends and with whom I have laughed and cried on many occasions. I must also say a special thank you to Hannele, Kari and Marja-Leena and Kyösti and Maritta - all of whom helped us with our move in October in different ways and whose support was, and remains, invaluable.  And Heikki the wood-chopper and Soila without whom the club would not be the same.

I have to mention Katri individually - who is one of those people who gives her heart and soul to others without realising how much she is loved and appreciated in return. Well here it is Katri. We all love you! Now it is official.

I met Anne through the choir and then a phone conversation some time later in which it suddenly became clear how much we thought in the same way. I now consider Anne to be one of my soul-mates.

Kirsti came into my life through a random encounter with her dog (Topi) and I met Heidi through the church and immeditiately clicked with both of them. It was only some time later that I discovered they were sisters-in law, which then led to many shared moments enjoying biscuits and coffee in Kirsti's kitchen and putting the world to rights.

Then there is Liisa, our ex-vet, who looked after our cat Caroline in her last weeks, who had the courage to take me ice-skating and who has become like a sister to me now. Liisa and my half-Spanish friend Ella have also been the two people who have introduced me to orienteering and looked after me when I almost knocked myself unconscious during the last orienteering session of the year in September. Very undignified. Ella has now also become by swimming buddie and incidentally makes the best bread in the whole world.

In the UK I have met several special people over the last few weeks, especially through the care home where my parents now are. But if I mention one new English friend from this year it must be Rob - a great dance partner and and even better friend. Let's hope 2013 brings you all the luck you deserve.

A huge thank you to all these new friends from 2012. Together they constitute the positive side of the year and what I will take with me into the future when this year is finally over.

And there is one more person I have to mention. As a great believer in destiny, I love it when things happen in unexpected ways. I received a letter out of the blue last month which reached me by accident, and led to the most bizarre and unpredictable chain of events. I can't tell the whole story here (too complicated), but to the person who wrote that letter, a special thank you to you. Against all the odds, and despite my elevated sense of cynicism, you are the one person who has succeeded in making me believe that one day it may actually be possible to love again.  Your appearance in my life could not have been better timed, and in a year when I sometimes felt like giving up completely, I am more grateful than you will ever know.  

So you see, the word "love" in the title was not so random. I have started to believe that maybe it is not so far away after all. To all my friends currently also hoping to find love - don't give up, because you never know what is just around the corner. Believe me.... I know.

Happy Christmas

Luca, Saskia, Minttu, Niko, Lucie and Cameron

I wasn't sure what to expect from this Christmas, but in the end it turned into a lovely day. We were lucky that Father Christmas found us even though we had moved house, and the children woke up to find that the carrots and mince pies they had left for Santa had all been eaten. Quite how he got in I am not sure, as we do not have a chimney in this flat, but I guess Santa is an enterprising sort of chap.

One of my best presents was the fact that the children did not wake up until past ten o´clock, so I got the first lie in I have had in a long time. It was an excellent start to the day.

We opened our presents, then took turns choosing what music we would listen to. After my salsa selection Lucie put on something which I didn't understand (was it actually music?) but I guess that's the way it goes when you are the parent of a sixteen-year-old.  In any event Minttu kept us all entertained as she will dance to anything, even Lucie's "music".

In the afternoon we had a big Christmas dinner, roast potatoes, carrots, cauliflower cheese, broccoli, stuffing, vegetarian turkey and cranberry sauce. Minttu would not let me feed her but insisted on eating sweetcorn with her fingers. Another independent woman who knows what she wants.



We were joined by a doneky, fairy and police officer

We were not expecting guests today, but in fact we were happy to be joined by a donkey, fairy and police officer. You never know who is going to turn up at Christmas. Anything can happen. Anyway, it was all fine until the police officer got very aggressive with a cracker and then decided to arrest the fairy, which did not go down well at all.

I'm arresting you for getting down from the top of the tree...

Still, at least there was no chance of getting bored.

We have had messages today from friends all over the world which really has been the highlight of Christmas for all of us. Wherever you are as you read this I wish you all a very happy Christmas. I hope your Christmas is full of peace, love, friendship and hope for better things next year.

And just a small piece of advice - if you see a small police officer (around 98 cm) walking around Somero, I suggest you do your best to avoid him. You don't know what he might do, I'm sorry to say the power has gone to his head. At the moment he is trying to arrest anything that moves. Be warned.

Yes I AM going to win that quality plastic present in this cracker