I’m back…
By eija | May 22, 2008 | Topics: Blog stuff |
…but not here. My new address is:
Welcome!
-e-
Gone looking for myself
By eija | May 8, 2008 | Topics: News and randoms |
Website stats are a funny thing. They tell you so very much - and yet nothing. I love seeing all the different flags in the list. But it’s also very easy to become paranoid because of the stats. I think I have. I wish every single visitor left at least his/her first name and maybe tell me what brought them here. Or if they know me in RL. One of my biggest problems has always been wanting to know.
My stats are telling me that my reader count looks pretty good these days. But also they’re telling me that most of the visitors are passers-by, not regular friends. I have a feeling my regular readers (all two of them) are somewhat tired of me. But that might actually be me being tired of me.
I think killing my Sitemeter would be a very good idea. Or not. I would hate not to know.
I’m quitting blogging. For now. For a day or two. Or a month. Or twelve. I might come back - or I might not. Maybe instead of blogging I’ll start cleaning my house every day like a maniac. And cooking. Or perhaps I’ll start blogging in Finnish - if I ever learn to write in Finnish again first.
I think I need to learn how to write in Finnish again. Maybe I should even go back to thinking in Finnish too. These things might not happen, though. I might be stuck to writing and thinking in English. For good. I don’t know if it’s bad or not. It depends.
Maybe I’ll start a brand new, anonymous blog somewhere else. So very anonymous that I can write about anything I want to with no need to be afraid of stalkers. Or family members or relatives - or their friends - who might get insulted by my writing and “exposing” all sorts of secrets. I wouldn’t even give my real first name. I’d go under a nickname. Like “Scarlett”. Nah, that would not be me. Then again, that would be the whole point, right? The not being me that is?
Half of the damson plum at my front yard is just about to burst into flowers. THe other half of it already did today. Behind the house I found one beautiful red tulip. On Friday - tomorrow - there’s another funeral.
So I’m off. Gone searching for me. That might take a while since I’m very good at hiding. Even from me. So most likely I’ll have to ask God to help me. You know, because He likes it when we ask. Even though He knows it already before we ask. And of course, because He’s very good at finding. And since I’m up to the asking business, I’ll ask Him about the blogging too. But although I’m very good at hiding, hearing is quite the opposite. So it might take Him quite a bit of yelling before I hear. I’m so sorry for all His trouble already…
On that note: You can still reach me by leaving a comment here. It’ll pop into my e-mail. Or you can e-mail me, if you prefer more privacy. Or if you want to be private without sending an e-mail - leave a comment with any kind of a link in it, and it’ll remain in the moderation queue. I’ll receive an e-mail of that too - and if you mention in your message that it’s not meant for public view, I won’t publish it. Oh, and feel free to use any language you like - but if you want me to understand it you need to limit it to Finnish, English, Swedish and Germany.
Oh, and my blogging break and the stats don’t really have anything (much) to do with each other. I just need to figure out… me. And to take a break.
-e-
Delicacy of the day
By eija | May 7, 2008 | Topics: News and randoms |
So… I’m back at my “home office”. It’s been a while, because I’ve been busy with the main office things. While I’ve been out there, people here have found a new kind of delicacy:
ANT COFFEE !
You can use the flavour also in your cappuccino - and tea too.
In the spring time the ants tend to crawl into the buildings here. This time they’ve taken over the coffee machine: Go and take any drink from it and you’ll have it flavoured with real, alive ants :D
Oh I’m so glad I always bring my own, good coffee with me in my thermos!
-e-
Under the influence
By eija | May 6, 2008 | Topics: News and randoms |
Oooooh, boys and girls and starry nights!
I didn’t take my new anti histamine at home in the morning but only after driving to work (Espoo again!) first. And it sure was a good decision! Even better would’ve been not to take it at all…
During the first morning meeting I started to drop. My speech got blurry and I started losing words! Good thing it was a one-to-one meeting. Now I’m waiting for the next one to start in two hours - and really struggling to stay awake. So should I have taken the pill already at home, I’d probably crashed during my one-hour drive in the heavy traffic - or ended up sleeping in the car at the road side the entire day. At least right now I’m way too stoned to even really work - not to mention drive a car!
I’m just hoping the effect will fade away before I need to head back home again…
-e-
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Horse day
By eija | May 5, 2008 | Topics: Life, Photo |
I’m in a sort of a blogging funk again. Trying to kick thoughts like “what’s the point?” out of my head. There are certain reasons for that funk, but to avoid turning this post into a chapter of whining I won’t deal with them here. Well, maybe the funk will pass again…
Yesterday evening we had some thundering (it’s not usual at all this early in the spring) and today the weather took a turn to a colder and windier direction. Maybe now I’ll get something done in the house, too. Or not, since it’s a busy week and in the weekend it should be around 20 C again…
The mosquitoes have waken up, too - and that’s never good news for me. So today, before heading towards the main office in Espoo, I stopped by to meet a nurse. I have several very bad bites - biggest ones are nasty red circles with a diameter of 4 cm (about 1,5 inches). On the top of my left foot I have two bites that are so swollen that at times it hurts to walk or even wear a shoe. Let’s see if the stronger cream helps (and the more powerful anti-histamine) or shall I end up popping antibiotics again…
At five it was time to go horsing again. Miss 7 was happy to get her favourite pony Rozzo again. The teacher asked if I would go with her to take him to the field. It was a precaution because although the pony wasn’t big, he’s still several times stronger than Miss 7 and she’s inexperienced - and the ponies are prone to test inexperienced people. So, Miss 7 walked Rozzo and I was right next to her - when he suddenly decided to go and have a bite of fresh grass! Miss 7 flew to the bottom of the dike - I wasn’t alert enough and could only reach the stirrup. That wasn’t much help, of course… When I finally managed to grab the bridle, my foot slipped and I ended up on my behind into the dike with Miss 7! But once I got back on my feet the pony quickly came to know that I’m not one to be bounced around…
He’s a really sweet pony, actually. He just knew that he was at the hands of two people who knew nothing about horses :D
During the class everything went very well. Miss 11’s horse obeyed her very well this time (last time he was testing her, too, but since then she’s gained more confidence) and Rozzo behaved very nicely. Suddenly, towards the end of the class there was a sharp gust of wind and it startled the horses. One girl fell from her horse (she wasn’t hurt, just got scared) and I saw Miss 7 doing some rodeo moves when Rozzo too danced around a bit. She handled it very well and I was so proud of her!
And yes, it’s a very good riding school. Really. This circus was not their fault and everyone was as safe as one can be with horses.
In the photo I have Jellu - he’s a Norwegian Fjord Horse. A beautiful, calm big boy who also decided to have a bite of grass today on his way back to the stable - despite his (adult) rider :D
Daily photo - Childhood scenery
By eija | May 4, 2008 | Topics: Finland, Photo |
Sooo… Today I was on a field trip. I drove about two hundred km to the north to meet my grandmom, who will turn 92 in July, God willing.
The drive takes about 2,5 hours with no breaks - when I was a kid it took almost four hours since there was only a short bit of motorway at the beginning. Now about one third of it is 120 km/h limit! Oh - when I was a kid? Yeah. It’s the place where I spent every single summer, every weekend, all Christmas holidays and winter vacations. For a big part I wasn’t happy about it, since the place is truly in the sticks! This is how the road is for the last 17 km - and this is a straight part of the road!
This used to be the Europe 4 -highway that goes through Finland from the south to north. These days the E4 road is a bit more modern… This old road is preserved, it’s a museum road these days.
My dad’s family comes from that area. Very close to the spot where I took this road photo, my grandfather once had a tar plant. A bit further there is a house, a big lake and even a national park that each carry my father’s name - my maiden name. But it was a smaller lake that was central to my childhood. When driving down there, this is the first glimpse you get from it:
This photo is taken from the bridge that goes over the torrent that brings water to the lake. The water level is exceptionally high… The white house is where my dad grew up. When my grandparents retired, they moved into a nearby town and my dad’s younger brother moved into the house - until he divorced and his wife stayed there with their two kids. Now it doesn’t belong to the family anymore - it was sold a couple of years ago.
To the left from the main house is my parents’ summer cottage. (The picture on the right) They built it when I was just born so as a few months old baby I kept rolling down the slope during the construction work :D Even more to the left is my grandmom’s summer cottage, which used to belong to my uncle until they moved into the main house. Here is grandmom’s smoke sauna:
Oh, and sorry about the above picture especially - it was almost impossible to photograph in that sharp sunlight and from the rocking boat… And I’m too tired to edit the photos.
At the other end of the lake my aunt has her cottage - and my sister has taken over a very old granary on the small spit across the lake. My brother lives in the same nearby town as my grandmom. I have a small caravan next to my parents’ cottage, but I really don’t go there that often - and mostly when I do, I don’t spend a night there but make it a day-trip. Why? Well…
Yes, it’s amazingly beautiful a place. Probably one the most beautiful parts of Finland. But in that particular small spot of the beautiful area there are certain flaws. Like:
1. When I go there my mom is there.
2. When I go there my dad is there.
3. When I go there my mom and dad are there.
4. There’s no toilet.
Seriously. No toilet. Only a real, old-fashioned outhouse. Inside it a bench with a hole on it. I don’t mind that per-se, but the flies and mosquitoes and bees and ghosts and all other creatures that fly and buzz and ghost around (and under!) it… So I.just.hate.it. I always did and I guess always will. And in the night time…! As a kid, especially during the very dark winter nights (no street lights… the closest one was about 17 km away so no help from that direction) I used to break records when running back inside from the outhouse, trying to escape all the spookies. And I haven’t really grown out ot that yet… What can I say? Yes, I’ve ridden a ram but still I’m a city girl.
5. My mom is there.
6. My dad is there.
7. My mom and dad are there.
8. Oh, and my parents are there. Often.
Got my point? Today I spent about six or seven hours there and was more than ready to leave because listening to my mom and dad quarrel and nag at each other and slander each other to me is just overwhelming. It’s even worse than the outhouse…
For as long as I can remember I’ve been wondering why on earth do they stick together since they so obviously hate and loathe and look down each other.
It’s a beautiful place and I have loads of memories from there (even some good ones), but I’d rather stay home than go there. If it wasn’t for my grandmom, I don’t think I’d show my face there at all.
Anyway - this wasn’t all when it comes to the photos I took today, but I’ll save the rest for another day. Now I just have to crawl into bed! So good night!
-e-
Verse for the Weekend 12
By eija | May 2, 2008 | Topics: Amazing God, Into the Bible |
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.
He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.
You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.
He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.
They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
The birds of the air nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.
He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate -
bringing forth food from the earth:
wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains his heart.
The trees of the Lord are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the pine trees.
The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the coneys. [b]
The moon marks off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening.
How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number -
living things both large and small.
There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
These all look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.
When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works-
he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the Lord.
But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord.
(Psalm 104)
Actually I wanted to give you two chapters of Job, but that’s a wee bit long a text… But I suggest you go and read them anyway - it’s such an amazing, beautiful piece of the Bible! So, chapters 38 and 39 from the book of Job!
So… I went for this Psalm, because it too says so beautifully what I never grow tired of marvelling: The greatness, the awesomeness of the Lord!
The weather lately has been just wonderful. Not really even spring-like, but very summery! Sunny, warm - and tonight moist, like before a thunderstorm. In just a couple of days the birches have gone from totally naked to beautiful green. The bird cherries have big buds ready to burst into full bloom with the toxicating scent. I’ve been like in heaven while enjoying the warmth and looking at all the trees, flowers, birds… And listening to the very loud concert out there!
He is amazing. And it’s a priviledge to be serving such an amazing God. Go. Go out there and be dumbfounded by all the wonders He has created,
-e-
* * *
The verse for the weekend will be posted on every Friday evening (Finnish time, GMT+2). It is a Bible verse that somehow speaks or has spoken to me at some point of my life. Also I’ll at least try to tell you what the verse in question is saying to me - and I warmly welcome every comment and point of view - provided it is given in constructive spirit. Together we can learn more from The Word.
On Fridays I won’t post the daily photo.
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Breakfast at Tiffany’s
By eija | May 2, 2008 | Topics: News and randoms |
The title is what my family calls a breakfast outside at the veranda :D And it’s what I’m having now - my Free Friday Morning Breakfast Outside with Birdie Singing and all!
And I just heard the pied flycatcher has returned - his “tsiga-tsiga-tsee” came loud and clear between the tit tsirps :) I just hope he doesn’t do what he did last year: That is, build his nest on top of the nest of Mr and Mrs Great Tit…
The air is like bird’s milk! (Well that sounds funny in English!)
-e-
Life without kids
By eija | May 1, 2008 | Topics: Life, Photo |
Last night I stepped out to do something - it was past midnight - and saw the tender spring green birches across the street glow in the light of a street lamp below them. A couple of small stars kept them company - and I ended up trying to capture the scene on my memory card. It wasn’t that easy - it was too dark so the camera couldn’t focus. And even manual focus was sort of impossible, even with the extra light I used as a focusing aid. The night was windy, too, so the birch didn’t come out sharp because during the long shutter time it kept swinging back and forth. A couple of my shots came out as abstracts with very beautiful colours!
Today at noon we went to church. There was lunch with music as well as my photo exhibition. To tell you the truth, I was pretty nervous about showing my pics “at home”. I told God that if only someone would be blessed by them, I’d be happy. Well…
When we were hanging up the photos with my friend, she took time to look through them and the verses after we were finished. Around half way she started to cry… Today one of our evangelists told us that she had on her heart to have bible verses on the walls for today. But with all the preparing she forgot to ask us to do that - but the verses got there anyway! Our visiting singer speaker - well our friend who came to sing and speak to us - included them in his mini-sermon and later asked what would they cost if someone wanted to buy them. Erm… huh? Just a moment later another person said that I should have another exhibition where I would also sell my photos. Ehh - double-huh? What? My photos??? Get serious! Two different persons asked if the photos are coming out as a book. And several told me how this or that photo and verse spoke to him or her. And the evangelists asked me if I can leave the photos up there for longer than just today. Of course I can!
Wow. I’m overwhelmed. I said to God that ok, I think I got it, at least for now…
I am humbled. I am thankful. This audience didn’t know anything about photographing. I know photographers would’ve given all sorts of comments and critique about composition, exposures, depths of field, contrasts etc. But those aren’t the point in my photos. Their purpose is the message. The one that comes from The Big Book. And that purpose was very well met today. Praise the Lord for that!
We also had some really good laughs, enjoyed a really delicious lunch and made a pretty decent money for the church. So a pretty decent result for an overcast day? *grin*
-e-
Insertatitlehere
By eija | April 30, 2008 | Topics: News and randoms |
Why is it that posts need a title? I always have the hardest time figuring out one! Anyway…
I noticed I haven’t posted since Sunday! Well, I haven’t really had time to… Work has been busy (I’ve actually needed to work there, fancy that!) and all sorts of program during my “free” time. And you know, one has only so much energy - my level hasn’t been very high lately.
Monday was taxing the kids around. Tuesday was a long day at work, then chasing after my photos that were supposed to arrive by mail from my friend who disassembled our exhibition back in January. Well, they finally arrived around 5 pm - better late than never: Less than an hour later I went over to my church to glue them up to the walls with my friend for another exhibition. The photos look pretty neat at that big wall :)
Today I had an early morning - to drive to Espoo for work. On my way home I stopped to take a couple of photos for you. This isn’t from the main office windows - the view from the fifth floor is just amazing - but I was too shy to use my camera there… So these photos are from the ground level and the main office is on the other side of the bridge you can perhaps see in the first photo. But basically these photos show what I see from the windows while I’m at the main office, Gorgeous, huh? With Swans and Seagulls and Canadian Geese and all!
It’s sometimes hard to concentrate on the work - I’d rather stare into the sea and dream on :D
Oh, and please don’t look at these photos as if they were supposed to be brilliant landscape photos. They aren’t. I just took a couple of very quick shots, had to adjust the levels and contrast - and even crop the other pic a bit because my lense hood was crooked and gave a nasty shadow on two corners…
Now it’ll be no work until Monday. I’m sitting in the garden swing after eating outside. The girls just left for the country with my parents and Mr Right is trimming the bushes. Life seems quiet around here, I guess all people are celebrating “Vappu” (1st of May) somewhere further away, probably in the centre. They’ll probably come home with a lot of drunken noise around 3-4 am…
I think it’s time for me to swing on and read some camera magazine again and just relax. Nice…
-e-
Winks and stuff
By eija | April 27, 2008 | Topics: Life, Photo |
Last night I watched a series of the weirdest movies. So I didn’t feel really rested in the morning - and I woke up too early! I went outside to have my morning coffee - the sun was there again, but with a rather chilly wind. But gorgeous and nice anyway :) Yesterday’s sunbathing seemed to have been too much - I had a “sun hangover”: A nasty headache and a feverish feeling. Finally I gave in, took a pill and went to sleep.
After my nap I put my sunglasses on (yes, inside!) and cooked a delicious (seriously!) meal of chicken and rice. However, I still felt so shaky that I skipped church today. Instead I caught this fellow digging up the sunflower seeds. I think he has a nest inside the roof of our shed. I’m just thinking, there must be something wrong with the climate around here - first the Greenfinch scratching his ear, then today I saw a Sparrow do the same thing (and shortly after that it was Miss 11 - maybe it goes around?) and now a squirrel winking his eye. Wonder what’s next…
Mr and Mrs Magpie have built their nest high up into our big fir tree and a couple of great tits as well as blue tits keep circling around as if they had something going on. The pied flycatcher that nested here last summer hasn’t showed his face yet, but it’s probably still a bit too early for him.
Thursday is the First of May. It’s a free day in Finland and this year my church will arrange a lunch event with music and stuff on that day. I’m participating (among other things) by setting up a photo exhibition - probably the same photos I had on display in the winter exhibition, but maybe a couple of new ones too. We’ll see - it depends on my energy level.
So… that was this weekend and tomorrow morning it’ll be all work again. I’m very glad it’ll be a three-day week! I’m taking Friday off, so I’ll have a long weekend - even though with lots to do…
-e-
O sole mio…
By eija | April 26, 2008 | Topics: News and randoms |
Last night I turned in early. I was soooooo tired! Mr Right went to sauna, I went to bed. I heard him come out of the sauna when I turned off my light, but didn’t hear him come to the living room - I was all out by then! In the morning I woke up at seven, but closed my eyes again and slept on… Alltogether maybe 10-11 hours!
Today I’ve been outside. The entire day! Well, I did make a quick soup and dash the dishes into the washer, but that’s it. The weather has been beyond gorgeous - I’ve been sitting in the garden in a t-shirt, reading a camera magazine and chasing various objects with my camera. This is one of the things I caught:
Got an itch?
I love greenfinches. They sing beautifully and they are beautiful. But they’re very shy, so taking pictures of them isn’t so easy. This one let me amazingly close and I had my 70-300 mm telephoto lense, but still it’s a heavy crop! I wish I would’ve had my tripod - shooting freehand at these focal lengths without an image stabilizer isn’t that easy. But a couple of my shots came out pretty good anyway. This one isn’t that good in quality, but I found it pretty funny :D
My face, part of my neck and my arms are slightly sunburned. Or not really even sunburned, but almost. Maybe it’s time to buy some sun lotion - my skin really doesn’t handle sun very well. Maybe it’s because of the Finnish red-hair-genes I have in me. I always tell everyone that I get sunburns just by seeing a weather man show an image of the sun in his chart! Well I’m glad the situation isn’t really that bad.
Anyway, the day was warm, long and wonderful.
-e-
Verse for the Weekend 11
By eija | April 25, 2008 | Topics: Into the Bible |
Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
(Proverbs 27:1)
This verse came close a week ago: Last friday my brother-in-law went to bed as always. It was a very normal Friday evening and no-one had a slightest idea of what tomorrow would bring. That it was the last time he would go to bed. That the same morning was the very last time he’d ever wake up. That we wouldn’t celebrate his 39th birthday in July.
Tomorrow came, but he didn’t wake up. He wasn’t with us anymore.
Truly, no man really knows what a day may bring forth. But as I told Miss 7’s doctor today, it’s a comforting foundation to know that everything works for the best, even though even though the situation would seem totally absurd and we might not understand it at the moment.
And… when we’ve committed ourselves to Jesus Christ - as my brother-in-law had - our brightest morning will be the one when we don’t wake up anymore. So we don’t need to be afraid. We can trust the merciful, loving, loyal God, who was, is and will be.
-e-
* * *
The verse for the weekend will be posted on every Friday evening (Finnish time, GMT+2). It is a Bible verse that somehow speaks or has spoken to me at some point of my life. Also I’ll at least try to tell you what the verse in question is saying to me - and I warmly welcome every comment and point of view - provided it is given in constructive spirit. Together we can learn more from The Word.
On Fridays I won’t post the daily photo.
Surfacing
By eija | April 25, 2008 | Topics: News and randoms |
I’ve been exhausted. Big time. So there’s been no blogging - my eyes have been burning so badly that I’ve left the pc pretty much alone - after working long days in Espoo. Now Pepe is much better and I’ve managed to sleep some, so I might even post the weekend verse post later today.
Now, at 11 am I’m at home. In the morning I took Miss 7’s pee sample over to the lab and now I just came home from the health centre with her. She has many different symptoms which can’t really be connected other than psychologically. So I think she has a couple of different health issues which have gotten worse because of the traumatic incidents lately. But at least her doctor seems to be taking things seriously, so we’ll wait and see what happens.
Anyway - even though I’m at home, I’m supposed to be working. So I’d better go and dig into my work computer. Maybe I’ll do it outside in the garden, since the weather is gorgeous!
-e-
Update: I’m sitting in the garden, with my work pc, a thermos with coffee in it and my camera. The sun is shining (hot!) and birds are singing, the pooches run around and yell at ghosts at the neighbours and bark at the passers-by, the daffodils and Siberian squills are blooming… The only problem - other than having to work - is that seeing what’s on my computer screen is pretty difficult due to the brightness. I think I’ll go get myself some ice-cream :)
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Daily photo and news - Doggy business
By eija | April 22, 2008 | Topics: News and randoms |
Sooo… After another night with very little sleep I called the vet. Pepe started coughing badly last night - and I mean BADLY. Poor dog. I tried my best to make him feel a bit more bearable, but nothing helped. I even called the vet that was on call but she couldn’t help either. Finally Pepe fell asleep - and that’s when Mr Right started snoring again! Sigh. Well, I didn’t want to sleep anyway…
So today I took the pooches and went over to the vet. She checked their lungs and hearts etc and described some cough syrup. Now it’s only a matter of waiting - Pepe should be better within two weeks. If he gets worse we need to go back for antibiotics.
Two weeks! I think I’ll take my pillow and go up to the attic tonight and leave the coughers and snorers downstair to have a slumber party together…
-e-
Daily photo - Broken string
By eija | April 21, 2008 | Topics: News and randoms |
You know the tv cartoon The Simpsons? I hate it and I never watch it - and don’t let my kids watch it either. But at the beginning of each episode there are those clouds, white fluffy clouds in a medium blue sky. Today we had clouds and sky exactly like those. We had simpsons-clouds! Colours, shapes and all - the whole thing! It was weird - I think God was playing tricks on me!
When I got home from work today I took my guitar and meant to play some. But…
Yeah, I know, it’s dusty too. I don’t use it that much these days… But I did have spare strings - they just take a while before they start keeping the tune.
-e-
Just another post
By eija | April 20, 2008 | Topics: Amazing God |
Just noticed that my post count shows a number that gives me the creeps. So I have to post another post to change that number.
Funny, though (not!) when you think of all the evil things that I told you about in my previous post - and then its number is the magical (!?) three sixes in a row. Reminds me of a story that a lady evangelist told us a while back:
Because of her job she travels a lot. Last autumn she had an accident with a moose. It wasn’t pretty (it usually isn’t with those animals) but she got out of it unharmed. During the following months she had at least another moose accident (not sure if she said two more), once a close call with a wild boar. The next thing was that a huge stone hit her windshield. That was the last straw and she found herself shouting in the car:
“Who are you - the one harassing me?!”
When she got home, still in the car she still asked that same question. Then, suddenly, her cellphone beeped - as if someone had sent her a text message. When she took her phone out of the pocket, the screen had three sixes on it.
Creepy? I think so. But this is reality. We live in a world that’s torn between the Good - God, and the evil. But we don’t need to be afraid because Jesus overcame the evil through the cross. We’re safe with Him, the Mighty One. The evil doesn’t have a chance. The poor s***er just doesn’t know that!
There. This was post number 667. Problem solved.
-e-
And then some - plus daily photo: Reflections
By eija | April 20, 2008 | Topics: Photo, Struggling |
First the good news: Asko’s wife is responding well to the antibiotics. She still has a long way to go but for now she seems to be out of the woods. Thank you all for your prayers!
So… A bit over two months ago Mr Right’s older brother died after a short illness. MIL was left alone with an old dog and her youngest son. About three weeks ago the dog had to be put down. So it was down to MIL and her youngest son, T. A sweet soul, but seriously disabled as well as a bit retarded - and needed help in just about everything. Yesterday morning the home aid came to help him get up from the bed - but he wasn’t in this world anymore.
Pepe has a head cold. His nose is so full of stuff that he occasionally gasps for breath through his mouth. So he couldn’t sleep last night. And that meant that I didn’t either. I tried to breath mint fumes into his nose - that didn’t help so I cooked water and made him breath the steam. Then he had to go out and we walked around the garden in the moonlight. I didn’t mind because I didn’t actually feel like sleeping anyway.
Today I went to church and saw my dear friend H who had been away for the weekend and now seemed somehow confused. I thought it was because of T’s death (he was her cousin) - until she told me that on the way home they’d been in a car accident! A spin at a busy motorway in a speed of 120 km/h - but they must’ve been guarded by an army of angels, since nobody was hurt and even the car remained unharmed! Some of you might remember, that just last autumn H was in an accident where the car was totally crushed…
We told Miss 7 the news about her uncle today. She seems to be taking it pretty well but is already showing some stress related symptoms - again scared of getting a water poisoning and who knows what.
Again it’s time to reflect the heaven on earth. Despite the thought of the two brothers celebrating with Jesus without any deficiencies it’s hard to accept this all. Yes, we all know that God knows best and we can also see at least some good things in this - but that somehow makes the whole thing even more upsetting and more difficult to accept. I haven’t even been able to cry, until at church when I pretty much lost it while our guest was singing…
What ever, my limit for bad news is full. There’s absolutely no room for more. Yet the coming week doesn’t seem very promising.
-e-
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Too much
By eija | April 19, 2008 | Topics: Painful |
This morning I was up because of the dogs. Mr Right was still asleep when his phone rang, so I answered. It was his mom’s number, but the caller was the home aid. Tage’s last brother has slept away this morning.
Only two months ago MIL lost her first born son. A couple of weeks ago her dog died. And now her youngest son. I just can’t take this anymore, it’s all too much! So I can’t even imagine how Mr Right feels, not to mention MIL.
So that was this beautiful, sunny, relaxing weekend. I don’t want to tell the girls, they’ll be crushed.
-e-
Verse for the Weekend 10
By eija | April 18, 2008 | Topics: Into the Bible |
Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
(Matthew 7:9-10)
I am really, really, really tired, so I’m just hoping you’ll understand something of the following words that don’t seem to go into a proper order…
Today Miss 7 asked me for a glass jar. She wouldn’t tell me why she needed it (it was a secret!) so I told her that I can’t give it to her. I explained that she needs to have a very good reason for having it, because a glass jar can possibly be dangerous, should it go broken. She didn’t like my answer at all and was very upset about not getting the jar.
The incident reminded me of the above verse - in a new meaning. Not just that if we ask God for something, He won’t give us something else that is bad for us. But also, that sometimes when we ask for something, He might say no, because a seemingly harmless, good thing might for some reason become a hazardous thing for us. A fish could become a snake, if we get it at the wrong time.
He knows best. Even when we don’t understand.
-e-
* * *
The verse for the weekend will be posted on every Friday evening (Finnish time, GMT+2). It is a Bible verse that somehow speaks or has spoken to me at some point of my life. Also I’ll at least try to tell you what the verse in question is saying to me - and I warmly welcome every comment and point of view - provided it is given in constructive spirit. Together we can learn more from The Word.
On Fridays I won’t post the daily photo.
Daily photo(s) - Two happy girls
By eija | April 17, 2008 | Topics: In action |
Today I made two girls Very Happy. Oh yes I did. I took them riding (without telling them in advance). Miss 11 has been wanting that for years I think.
I was told that the group had already ridden a couple of times, but my girls could join in and we’d see how it goes.
Miss 11 has ridden a few times at my brother’s; he has an Icelandic horse, one at the moment, but earlier two. Sadly, he lives 200 km away from us, so the girls can’t go there that often. Anyway, Miss 11 knew something about riding, but in no way anyone could say that she could ride.
Miss 7… well, she’s sat on a horse a few times, with someone leading it. So she knew absolutely nothing about it.
When we went to the farm it quickly became clear that this group was all wrong for my girls: It was something like the 15th lesson for the other girls! Miss 11 went with the others, Miss 7 rode in the middle of the field with some special help from a girl who happened to have nothing to do. And what do you know!
The teacher said it’s obvious they both have the talent for riding. Miss 11 had a perfect posture and after some difficulties she got the horse do what she wanted him to do. Miss 7 went around on her pony, and when the lesson was only half way gone the helper-girl had to step out for a while. Miss 7 continued alone with the others: She stopped the horse when told to do that, made it walk and even trot and was far from the least skilled one in the group! She even rose to trot and made the horse back up! Wow.
I was amazed. And very proud of my girls, of course! Miss 11 looked gorgeous and very stylish on her horse, Miss 7 was going around with her face shifting from serious concentration to utmost thrill and a huge grin.
Next week will be a gap but then the next Monday they’ll both start in a real beginners class. That way they’ll learn all the terms and basic stuff which is very important to know.
You can imagine they were all smiles when we came home :)
-e-
Luxury…
By eija | April 17, 2008 | Topics: News and randoms |
For who knows how long (that is almost 2 years…) I’ve been using a laptop as my only computer at work. I’ve had an external screen for it, but I never used it, just the laptop’s own 14″ screen (yeah, I really mean 14″). The external screen was big, old, ugly and not good.
Today they brought in a brand new laptop for me - plus an external keyboard and TWO external 19″ screens! Now I have so much room to spread all my windows that I’m having trouble finding them at times :D
Still have to tweak the contrasts and stuff, but at least working gets easier now. Speaking of which, it’s noon already and I haven’t gotten anything done because of this computer project - and the list is LONG.
-e-
(Having trouble with this new keyboard - I’m used to a laptop keyboard and this one is so different. I’m not sure I like it at all…)
Daily photo - wrinkles and cavities
By eija | April 16, 2008 | Topics: Life, Photo |
At 2 am Moriz had to go. I mean HAD to GO. His stomach has been slightly upset but now it was beyond soft. He went straight to the lawn and produced two puddles. Did I mention it was 2 am?
I’ve been like comatosed for the entire week. Yesterday I crawled to work switched my computer on and while waiting for it to get ready dozed at my coffee mug. Today it was already 9.30 am when I finally dragged myself into the office - a colleague came to pull faces at me about finally waking up, but I told her that being in an upright position doesn’t mean being awake…
The weather was gorgeous yesterday. Miss 11had a short day at school. When she got home she went outside with the dogs and started training them. When I came home a couple of hours later with Miss 7 she was heading to the library by bike. Right after coming home again she took the dogs and headed out with her classmate who has a young cocker spaniel and didn’t come home until two hours later! Miss 7 has been cycling something like two hours (or more) every day since Saturday!
Today Miss 11 made us scones! She has cooking as an elective at the moment, so who knows what other treats we’ll be facing soon :D
Today’s photo is from the day Mortti was at the dentist and I was photographing at the riverside. This is one of the old trees down there :) The softness in the photo comes from packing the image - the original is very nice and sharp!
Tomorrow I’ll probably be photographing horses. But don’t tell my girls, it’ll be a surprise for them ;)
-e-
Daily photo - Buds in the plum tree
By eija | April 15, 2008 | Topics: Photo |
Daily photo - Geranium
By eija | April 14, 2008 | Topics: Photo |
Sometimes…
By eija | April 13, 2008 | Topics: Life, Ranting, venting and irony |
…it just doesn’t happen.
So, I didn’t feel like going to church (see the previous post). And felt guilty about it - I skipped it last Sunday, too, because of my head cold. But I hit the shower and whilst there I actually started to look forward to going. So all dressed up we headed out of the door and packed ourselves into the car. So let’s go!
Zzzzzrrrphh.
Huh? The car didn’t want to go anywhere. On Friday it worked just fine. Yesterday I didn’t use it but Mr Right moved it a bit and washed it. And today - nothing. We thought it was the battery - so we pushed the d**n car in all our church clothes - in the rain - to the van and Mr Right tried to start it with cables.
Zzzzzzrrrmrrphh.
Dead is dead and that’s it. A phone call to mil that we aren’t going to pick her up. I got my evening at home after all, even though I actually wanted to go to church. BUT…
Tomorrow is Monday. And I’m supposed to go to work - all the way to Espoo for a meeting and some other stuff. Ouch. Walk? Well, it’s only 60 some kilometers - one way! Great… So I was all miffed and wondering how to solve the problem (even my dad is out of town, otherwise I could’ve asked if I could’ve borrowed his car) folding laundry and loading the washing machine when Mr Right came in from the rain again.
Him: “It works now.”
Me: “What was it with it?”
Him: “No idea.”
A mystery indeed. Maybe the car too wanted to stay home all day in its pj’s? I’m just hoping it’ll start in the morning when I’m supposed to leave. And that it’ll take me back home too, when the day is over.
What ever, but instead of going to church we ate ice cream.
-e-
Daily photo - cycling
By eija | April 13, 2008 | Topics: News and randoms |
Yesterday was a pretty good day. The fore cast had said overcast and possibly rain, but the entire day was sunny.
In the morning I updated Mr Right’s company website. B-o-r-i-n-g, but now it’s done. Then I took the dogs with me and went over to my mom’s - my sister came there with her two kids and Moriz’ brother Tälli. The kids had their birthdays this week and yesterday was Miss 7’s nameday, so we were celebrating at my mom’s.
On our way home Miss 7 started worrying about her cycling - when would she ever learn that. I told her that never, since she’s never even trying! “But mom nobody gives me my bike!” (it’s been in our greenhouse through the winter). I said no, since she hasn’t asked for it. So, when we got home we took out her bike, filled up the tyres and off she went - wow, I said, you can do it!
The training wheels didn’t even touch the ground, so we went and took them off. Some more practising and sure enough, she new how to ride a bike! Yeah, steering was a bit iffy at times and braking didn’t always happen very well, but those things are just fine tuning. She called grandmom and insisted that daddy had to come outside to see her cycling. We were out there almost two hours and still I had to drag her inside. So here’s the happy camper for you. Miss 11 is at the background.
This morning Pepe woke me up by throwing up, it’s been raining like during Noah’s days and I’ve been tired. But now I need to drag myself into the shower and then church. I’d just like to stay at home in my pj’s!
Oh, and over at Pepelandia there are some speed filled doggy photos from yesterday!
-e-
Daily photo - Hepatica
By eija | April 12, 2008 | Topics: Photo |
***
The verse for this weekend is below - scroll down!
***
A couple of days ago I found this small lonely Anemone Hepatica bud raising up its head under our plum tree. It’s very small, only about 3-4 cm (a bit more than an inch) and easily goes unnoticed. Yesterday I tried how my new tripod works in photographing small ground level targets. Turned out to work pretty well :)
Hepatica in Finnish is “sinivuokko” (blue anemone). It’s a species placed under protection, so one should let them grow where they do, but we’ve brought some roots from my parents’ summer place. It seems they’ve survived the move :)
Verse for the Weekend 9
By eija | April 11, 2008 | Topics: Into the Bible |
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
(John 10:14-16)
Remember how Paul became an apostle to the Gentiles? The thing is - “I am” was God only to the Jews. Jews were His chosen people, Jews only. Sure, throughout the Old Testament He shows mercy and love towards other people than Jews, too, but the Jews always came first. And since there’s not a drop of Jewish blood in my veins (as far as I know) this fact always used to make me feel a bit uneasy. Until…
Once again I was reading this oh so familiar verse. I had heard it so many times: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Usually this was the finish line, but this time I read on:
“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.”
Umm… What? Other sheep? What other sheep? “I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”
Wow. I mean WOW! Jesus himself said this to the Jews! The Jews were, are and always will be His beloved people, His cultivated olive tree - but He has chosen to graft into that tree all those wild branches who believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 11:11-28). Jesus said that. Already before Paul’s revelation!
Amen.
* * *
The verse for the weekend will be posted on every Friday evening (Finnish time, GMT+2). It is a Bible verse that somehow speaks or has spoken to me at some point of my life. Also I’ll at least try to tell you what the verse in question is saying to me - and I warmly welcome every comment and point of view - provided it is given in constructive spirit. Together we can learn more from The Word.
On Fridays I won’t post the daily photo.
Twilight zone
By eija | April 11, 2008 | Topics: Struggling |
I’m getting absolutely.nothing.done today. Maybe walking in the sun yesterday without my sunglasses was a bad, bad, bad idea for my dusk-adjusted eyes: Today they hurt so much from every movement or touch or even when left alone!
Moriz woke up at 7.30 this morning - full of energy after all the sleeping. He jumped up from between the covers and was instantly at full speed. Pepe, who yesterday was worried of M just sleeping and not playing, quickly seemed to be missing the peaceful time of last night: Moriz was all over him as if he was five griffon kids instead of just one… Talk about energizer bunnies!
I think I’ll soon give up and go home. No point wasting my time at work today… And I need to go and buy some diet-food for Pepe who’s a bit too thick and some soft goodies for Moriz since he’s not allowed to eat anything hard until Monday!
-e-
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