Moving To Finland

The kitchen is slowly coming together. Always wanted a wood stove/oven like this and a place to hang the cast iron.  Have to figure out the oven part as it seems one puts wood in the actual oven, sweeps it out and then the breads go in. Might take a failure or two to get it down pat. That’s OK, we bought extra flour. Larry’s going to experiment with sourdough bread but first we have to capture a culture. All in good time, we have the rest of our lives to get it done. Today we’re going for a beef stew and creating a little warmth as it is snowing outside.  Weather as crazy here as in TN, one day 50F next day snow! A bit of a mess still but here are some pictures of the kitchen as it stands. Someday we will put in new counter tops. Hope you and your loved ones are all well.  Finland seems to be shutting down in stages and we’re fine so far.

Morning tea on the swing. A tour of the outside. Get out in the sun today, on the porch, in the backyard or at least open the window and let some fresh air in!

Yes, it’s advertising for something I sell and I only sell, or recommend products that work, are useful and worth the money you spend.  Lilla Rose is one of those products. Sale begins Today at 9am central and ends on Saturday the 21st at 2am 50% Off Surprise Flexis and Surprise Items!  Also, Retiring styles are 50% off. 20% Off Everything Else!  Plus  FREE Standard Shipping on orders $40 or more  (after discounts, excluding tax and shipping).  Must select free shipping at check out.  PLUS an order of $60 or more gets you a free mini clip (good for pulling back part of your hair) PLUS a gift certificate for $17 from me (for anyone who purchases on the website before April 30th, 2020) to spend on my Lilla Rose website. www.lillarose.biz/belindashairsolutions Percent off  amounts are as shown on the website. All items are while supplies last, no backorders. Sale begins Today at 9am central and ends on Saturday the 21st at 2am  www.lillarose.biz/belindashairsolutions Ha

Posted about these wonderful chips a while back, maybe just a Facebook post. And now a short warning. They are delicious, salty, and perhaps better for you than potato chips but, DO NOT eat half a bag.  At least not if you plan on being around humans.  Half a bag produced an enormous amount of really smelly farts!  Soooo bad I wanted to leave myself outside. That concludes this Public Service Announcement

 Yeah, you guessed it, food is important.  Pea soup was easy.  Cooked a ham, took the hock and peas are abundant here so add a few carrots and an onion, soup’s on!  Cornbread took some help from my Finnish family as corn meal is not that common in these parts.  Found it but the lard....in a land of pork how can there be no lard in the stores?  This is a problem for us as we are accustomed to keeping the 25lb bucket in our kitchen.  What would you use to substitute?  Suggestions are welcome. Then there’s this.  Cigarettes are kept hidden as they fear seeing them will create a desire to smoke in youngsters.  It’s order by number and the pack shoots out from a secret hole at the register.  We are obviously not as worried about diabetes or obesity. This is the candy counter for just the “loose” candy.  Bagged candy is in another aisle. Any wonder my jeans are a bit snug?? Next adventure will be to produce biscuits and gravy without lard.  Stay tuned!  LOL

Rainy day trip to the tax office in Pori was a success.  Larry got a number!  And that’s not all. We were a bit worried about driving the cars as our permit to drive was up on Monday and here it was Tuesday and we were headed into the city where the police might work more than two days a week.  The permit was good for 7 days and then you have to register the car so they can figure out the car tax. Cursed at the forms online over the weekend with no success, trip to the tax office was necessary, no way out. Aimed to get there early and our arrival one half hour before they opened had us number one in line, by opening there were at least 10 people behind us and when we came out all the chairs were full of pissed off people. Our system worked! Young woman helped us figure out the form.  Actually she printed out one for me in Finnish and Larry in English.  I was waiting for her to tell us to go out in the lobby and fill in the info but she was wonderful!  We sat in her office and she

Can you imagine not having a social security number in the USA?  Well, give it a go while I tell you how it’s working out for Larry in Finland. Can’t have a bank account or be on mine. Bought a house, need to pay the tax. As we bought it jointly I am able to pay my half but Mr No Number needs his Number to pay his half.  Went to the  local tax office to see about getting it done a couple of weeks ago, no word yet. Picked up our cars in Helsinki.  Next day went to get them inspected.  No problem with the car, just the paperwork.  Mr No Number has to have the insurance on his car in my name as a person with no number...well, perhaps you’re getting the idea. And there’s a car tax.  Pay it online they said. Can’t as he hasn’t got a Number so he hasn’t got a name on a bank account.  I can’t as I don’t have a magic card from the police that assures people that I am who my passport and two driver’s licenses say I am! The plan?  Tuesday it’s early rise and off to the tax office (o

When do we go pick up cars in Helsinki?  When it finally snows, naturally! Funny story at the end. So, no city pictures, windy and cold then rain and snow.  Mean looking barking dogs and just being in a hurry to get where we wanted to go. We will be tourists in the Spring and do pictures then. Hadn’t been on a train in years and years. Sophie said it was a damn sight nicer than the plane from Helsinki to Pori and she’s happy to try it again. A man and his car are reunited.  His fancy car with all sorts of bells and whistles lost its bells and whistles so we have to figure out how to get them to pop up.  My car immediately recognized my phone, pulled up my tunes on Spotify and we were off!  Snow was coming down pretty fast but so wet it really wasn’t a problem. Now for the funny story. Take a good look at these next two pictures.  What’s missing? Sorry about the sideways no idea how to fix that. We went by a couple of cop cars and they either weren’t

First let’s start with a report from the weekend, snow!  Some, not much but snow. Backyard  Walk to the front door So, that’s the snow storm, all gone now. Big news today was our letter from the Minister of Defense. We have permission to buy the house we bought a month ago and are living in. LOL  This is a good thing. Next news, both cars have now gotten the OK from customs and we are going to pick them up tomorrow.  We will take the train to Helsinki, about a three hour ride.  Sophie’s first train ride. Larry’s car came through with the rest of our things while mine came all on its lonesome. For whatever reason customs had to see a copy/photo of our insurance in the US to prove that I’d owned the car for at least six months (less than 6 months would have resulted in customs duty). They already had the bill of sale, title and registration.  We figure somebody didn’t get any over the weekend. This hurdle has the cars here and inspection scheduled for Thursday mo