Monthly Archives: May 2014

We went back to the market square and went on the boat to svomenlinna island.  Leo thought his ancestors may have worked on the island and he wants to see it.  Watched a movie about the history of the island in the museum.  It was actually very interesting to me.  They had parties for the officers and their families on the island.  It is not a big island and I can’t picture how they can fit the elaborate parties.   Afterwards, we  walked around a bit more, took lots of pictures and came back to the market square.  Had lunch at Penisulla, a Chinese restaurant.  There was a big group of Chinese that stayed in the same hotel and happened to be at that restaurant also.  They kept the serving staff busy and they seemed to have a very high standard for their food.  We saw the serving staff bringing big dishes back from their room to the kitchen as rejects.  One of them actually showed up at our table as a freebie for us because they want to apologize for the slow service for our order.  They didn’t say it was a reject from the other room, but we knew.  It was called “Eggplant Dragon”.  It was breaded and deep fried and looked like a dragon.  That night, I had stomach problem because I ate too much of it.  Maybe there was a reason for the reject.

When we got back, Leo went back out trying to find a Starbucks to look for a mug for Tom, but arrived 15 min after they closed.  He came back empty handed.   There are actually only two Starbucks in Finland.  One in Helsinki and one in its airport we found out.  They planned to go to an italian restaurant for dinner, but Dale didn’t want to go and I was going to skip it because of my stomach problem, so Leo and Deborah decided to eat at the hotel restaurant again.  Leo came back to ask if I want to join them there, I decided to go and enjoy their company.   Lo and behold, the Chinese party was there too.  And they were doing the usual salute with each other over and over again.  Each time, they had to stand up to cheer and drink their booze.  It went on and on and on.  Always a different combination of people standing up and saluting to each other.  This time, we didn’t get any reject from their table.

I had a small appetizer and a drink, we talked till 11:30.  There was still light outside and we didn’t realize it was that late already.  It was an experience to have light till the wee hours of the day, you tend to stay up later thinking it is still early.  This was a full day and fun too.

http://youtu.be/kJuKePBbu4E

i taped this with my ipad so the audio is really bad. But I’m glad I remembered to do it.

View from our room in Helsinki.  Tried to upload a video but it didn’t make it.  A bird and two geese were lounging by the shore near our room.  It is a very nice day.  A special treat after 20 hours of travel.  The exciting part was the  30 minute between the flight from Stockholm to Helsinki.  We had to go through customs and security and we made it with 5 minutes to spare.  It was a bit nerve wrecking.

Leo went back to the airport to get his brother Dale.  He just can’t wait to start exploring the city.  He already got a 3 day bus pass and he’s taking the bus and the tram back to the airport.  Dale doesn’t even know he is going to meet him. Hope they get connected.

i am taking it easy here at the hotel.  Made a cup of tea and enjoying the view.  And try to jot down some memories of the flights.

The big trip is finally here.  Leaving in a couple of days.  Leo is excited and anxious and nervous, I can tell.  When we had breakfast at Eddy’s, he got unusually adamant about only using the tram and no, absolutely not, we are not taking the Taxis at all in Helsinki.  I didn’t get argumentative about it but it did worry me a bit.  What if I am exhausted and want to take a Taxi back to the hotel?  Last time we went to Taiwan and we took the bus to Taipei 101 from our hotel, it was such an ordeal physically for me, I don’t think I want to go through that again.  I have no confidence in my endurance after the stent any more.  But we will see.  Maybe I will be able to handle it this time.  If not, I will do what I have to do.

Benny got a haircut today.  He is still making noise when he breathes, sometimes better sometimes worse.  The doctor never found out what the problem is.  Maybe we need to see a different doctor next time when we get back.

Got DIYFISH personal LM 2.1 life mapping system and printed and cut the pages for my daytimer.  They fit just fine.  And the hole punch I bought for the Filofax works great.  Saved lots of time with it today.  I now have the calendar and paper to jot down the places we go and tidbits of information along the way.

Since I had the conflict with the studio’s receptionist, I have been in a funky mood.  Not able to get out of it.  When I stay home, I get really tired and stayed in the bedroom all day.  No motivation to do anything.  So I went out after breakfast by myself and did a bit of shopping.  Hobby Lobby, Dollar Store, Office Max, Kohl.  My mind wasn’t dwelling on the negatives that way and I actually was in a creative mood.  Wonder if working out does the same thing to your brain.  

Cant decide whether to take the backpack or the wheeled one.  I never liked to use the backpack because of the weight.  Even though it is much easier to get around, I’m afraid my back will not be happy.  Still can’t decide yet.  Tomorrow, we will get it together, tomorrow.

Took Benny to the vet again today to follow up on his gagging cough issue.  The doctor still doesn’t have a definite answer just expensive tests.  $430 dollars later, we are waiting to hear from her about the Xray, blood work and urine test.  She suspected collapsing trachea but after looking at the x-ray she didn’t confirm, just said she will send it to the radiologist to look at it with a trained eye.  Not really trusting this doctor.  We have been back for the same issue for 3 times now and still just more tests and no diagnosis.

We do know however that we should put him on a diet and lose some weight.  He is 22 lbs and overweight being a bichon.  She suggested vegetables for treats.  I just gave Benny some apple slices and he seems to accept it.  We’ll have to see.  Definitely need to reduce or stop the begging strip treat.  I made some quinoa and soybeans for dinner, maybe some for Benny later as a treat.  

The finland trip is coming up in 2 weeks.  Whatever is happening to Benny, we won’t be able to do anything major till we come back early June.  

There is a couple of geese that are protecting their eggs by the lake in the back.  We saw a confrontation between the lone swan and the parent geese.  One tried to lead the swan away from the eggs through the other side of the lake, but when he came back, the swan was still at his heels.  The last thing we saw was the swan patrolling the edge in the lake while the geese looked on on the shore by their eggs.  Nature’s war…  The other swan that got injured a few weeks ago and taken away to be taken care of is not coming back because they said it’s not safe for it.  So the lone swan now is really alone now.  Poor guy or girl.