Cooking, Dog Parks, Pigs and more

Sunday was a relatively lazy day, although we did take a few walks with the in-laws. We decided to check out the two prospective dog parks, so I would know in advance where to take Shiva for some exercise. Unfortunately, both parks are a bit of a hike away. Not so much in distance, but in terrain that has to be covered. The dog parks are nice, however, and I think she’ll have fun running in them, as they are wooded and have more vegetation for her to go sniffing through.

I got a picture of the first dog park, but we got a bit turned around looking for the second one, so by the time we got there, I forgot to take a picture of it. It is one that I can reach by bus, so we can head there when the weather is colder. I think, however, when it is really cold, Shiva will be just as content to get outside, do her business, and get back inside where it is warm!

For lunch, it was my turn to cook. I’m not a cook by any definition of the word, but I wanted to impress the in-laws. Wellu suggested the chicken I had made a few days before, which made me feel good, as for a Finn to add, “it was very good” meant that it was REALLY good. So the pressure was on to recreate the meal. I decided to go all southern on them and cook white rice to go along with it, and THEN I decided to get crazy and try to make some country gravy, as well. Now in the past, when I have tried to make this gravy, it has turned out like wallpaper paste and tasted about the same. This time, however, I nailed that sucker, and it was perfect! Fortunately, everyone really liked it! 🙂 Below is a quick shot of a heavily carbed plate:

(sorry that it’s upside down)

During our walks, we visited the Devil’s Cauldrons, or Witches Kettles, depending on how you translate it. They are these deep rock pits that were naturally formed eons ago in the rock walls that the area is comprised of. They fill with water, and do collect some trash, but are pretty fascinating to see.

While walking through through the campus, I convinced my inlaws to ‘ride a pig’, which are these little concrete statues scattered throughout the campus. They’re so cute!

And finally, just for interest’s sake, there is some major construction going on near us, where some new apartments are being built. You can see why Finnish homes stay so warm in the winter — they are built out of concrete! No frame construction here. In any case, I am going to try and take some weekly pictures to keep up with the construction. I missed the first two weeks, in which this level was built, but they are starting another building, so I’ll use that one as the starting point. I figure it might be fun. Of course, when the snow falls and it’s dark 24/7, I might become rather lax in that picture taking!

Construction 28/9/14

Today (Monday), I have a lot of action going on. I’m going out this morning (on the 70T bus) to pick up a standing fan for the apartment at the Kauppakorkeakoulat stop (that’s a mouthful!), and then coming back with it. Then I head to the City Center on the 75 bus around noonish to go get my monthly bus pass, now that I have my Finnish ID number, meet Wellu for lunch, go get a bank account open (so I can register for services), then head back home so he can be back for a telecon by 5pm. Whew! I’ll let you all know how that goes!