Moving To Finland

Firewood has arrived, 10m3.  We'll be carrying this into the woodshed throughout the summer, no need for a gym membership here! Watching what’s going on in the USA makes me sad for the folks in confinement.  Stories about having to have papers to show you’re allowed to be out and about sounds kinda crazy. Larry and I are doing pretty much what we’d be doing even without the virus. We’re shopping for groceries, hitting the hardware store for supplies, checking out the numerous parks and doggy friendly areas. About the only thing that is different is our staying away from the kids when they have a runny nose. Once the weather warms up we are planning on some sort of something for friends and family.  For you farmers out there this is how seed comes in Finland.  We were at the hardware/agriculture store and saw these big bags of barley seed.  Bigger than the ones we saw at the feed store in Crossville, TN!  The tractors that drive by our h...

Here she is, pointing the way to the tree rats! Thinking all the while, if I could climb that tree... Today we ran into, or ran off a pheasant, a pair of hedgehogs and two squirrels.  Very exciting day for Sophie.  Spring has sprung in Finland! With a little help from Lilla Rose products you can make your own mask.

Today we celebrated Larry’s birthday by going out to the park and indulging in some sausage with our friend, Ute. After all the rain, snow and slush it’s time to play outside.  Yesterday it was back to painting pickets and, naturally a walk at the park.  Sophie saw a squirrel and nearly pulled Larry off his feet. Saturday’s trip to the store we found this. My first thought was cat food. What do you think? At the local nursery they sell more than just plants.  Man’s dreaming if he thinks he’s getting one of these! Driving the backroads home had to take a picture of this huge pile of logs.  Piles are everywhere but this was soooo tall.  Called green gold. Just something to make my US friends jealous.  Haven’t noticed a shortage yet. Saturday was a sunny day and we managed to plant about 160 spruce trees.  Thought is that they will grow to be a nice hedge in the back much like what we have on two sides already. ...

The limited banking hours had me looking for a more simple way to pay bills. Going into the bank was getting a bit old.  So I called and got these sent to me as well as prepaid envelopes. Here’s a video to explain how NOT simple this is. Will try the video again later.  😡 Hope you are all well. Cold, snow and rain slowed down our painting operations but tomorrow looks good and we’ll be back at it again!

It’s come to this. Me, never let the dogs on the furniture. Oh well, there’s no dog door here and no cow pies either, guess we’re OK so long as she has a pillow. And here we are guarding the perimeter.  Keeping those pesky squirrels on the other side of the fence.  If only Daddy would quit putting out peanuts for them, they’d go another yard for a buffet. Pitkäjärvi is our favorite place and with all this painting of fence going on we hadn’t been in a few days. Today was a bit windy but the sun was warming things up nicely. Last, a baby picture. Taken on the way home for the first time.

First step in building a picket fence is painting the pickets.  Larry’s allowed to use sharp power tools so the pile of pickets are his doing. Then, before I can start painting we check the weather, zero chance of rain.  Paint, roller, brush and TUNES!  There’s no work without the wiggle music.  How many pickets can we distribute around this place?  Well if you use a windowsill and a wall? Lots! And the two horses we bought.  Total painted on one side, 62.  This isn’t happening overnight.  LOL Just a picture of two flies together forever. 

First, can you believe how much hair I had back then?  You young folks best enjoy that hair while you’ve still got it! I mean really, that mop!  The Lilla Rose clips range in size from XX small to Mega, I’d probably have used a large or xlarge.  Now I’m a xsmall for a ponytail...enough of that. We continue to go to a nearby recreation area almost daily.  Thought I’d just post some pictures. A little snow here and there where the sun hasn’t hit. Where is Sophie leading us today? Waking and ski trails go every which way.  Area is large enough for us to be able to avoid people and Finns aren’t all that interested in making contact. Trip home started to get snowy but a mile down the road and the sun was back! And now for a brief infomercial about a Lilla Rose product that could help anyone having to wear a mask.  One of our stylists is a nurse and she came up with this idea.  The elastics are adjustable and washa...

Was asked what I might be missing, things that are not readily available in Finland. Not that many but there are some things we’ve been missing.  Keep in mind that these things might be available but we may not know where to look. Twist ties, you know the stuff Americans use to close bread bags. Here we have these small, pretty much useless things that won’t wrap itself around anything but the thinnest bread bag. No tying a trash bag shut with this! And the dark. Streetlights everywhere. One does not need a nightlight as lights shine in from the front and the back. Contemplating getting a BB gun in the near future. Would probably be missing cheap gas if we were going anywhere but we’ll save that whine for another time. Dip, bought some, packed it, unpacked it and now, somehow it has disappeared.  Dip...must look in the store. My clothesline is a fond memory.  This thing is what I’m hanging clothes on outside on the back deck.  Yes, we can put u...

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 ...

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 ...

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! ...

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 ...

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...