Today is/was Saturday, which is a pretty slow day for me. I don’t even get close to my 15,000 step goal; usually just about half that. I woke up late, nearly to 10am (!!!), and took Shiva out. The dog park was empty, per usual, and she kept going to the gate, I think to look for our walking companion. 🙂 So I decided to take her out and about for a bit of an explore. The landscape is really pretty in the winter, and I can just imagine how gorgeous it is going to be come springtime. I can’t say that I’m tired of winter…but I’m tired of winter.
We were leaving the second stop at the dog park when we ran into a girl and her playful pup heading to the park, so we turned around and joined them. The dogs played for a while, and we chatted about how difficult it was to learn a new language, especially when everyone around you spoke a common one (in both cases, the common language is English, but she is Finn, trying to learn Dutch, when she was in Holland). After that, Shiva and I made our way back home.
This evening, we went to some friends’ apartment and brought Shiva. They are going to watch her while we are out of town for the winter holiday, but we wanted to give it a test run since they have a four year old and two cats. This was a photo they sent me about 20 minutes after we left (and of course, I could hear her whining as we walked away. Apparently she stopped pretty quickly).
Anna is like way pregnant, so I feel for her taking this on, but they both said they love dogs (hopefully they still do after tonight!), and Shiva pretty much ignores Werner and the cats. So hopefully all will be okay. This is my first time since we got here that I’ve left Shiva in anyone else’s care, so I’m just like a nervous mom. So far, the worst thing she’s done is left fly a few stink-bombs….those I don’t miss!
Something about being in Finland:
Tracie and I were talking the other day about the little things that make all the difference in life. Things that are different here versus the States. One is the little fabric loop on the towels to hang them up with. I know that’s not a huge thing, but it’s so smart and convenient, and I can’t understand why it’s not done more often.
The other thing is the over-the-sink drying rack. I love this! If I build a house (or anywhere I move), this is going to be one of those must-haves. Washing dishes has become rather zen for me, and having a rack like this to dry dishes on makes so much sense. You’d think this would ALSO be on the list of common things to have, especially in apartments or smaller places.
Genius!
Genius, too!
We are heading to sauna, and since I don’t have to be up early in the morning for the walk, I think I am going to head to bed, and sleep in late. Mmm…that might be a nice change of pace. 🙂
Moi moi!
P.S. Ran to (and back) sauna, wearing my robe and CudleDuds (only) while the snow was falling. This is what our windows looked like when we got back an hour later (brrrr!):
![20150131_215640[1]](https://finlandadventures.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/20150131_2156401.jpg)
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Shiva is such a good dog; I’m sure they will fall in love with her, as I did!
I was thinking just the other day about the dish draining rack over the sink. What a great idea! And the loops on the towels, too…we think we have the corner on good ideas here, but we don’t!
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We never counts steps, but kilometers. Monthly we walk between 120 – 160 kilometers. Last year my best month was 169 kilometers in a month.
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That’s quite a bit! I can change mine to show miles/kilometers, but it still counts the steps as the main unit of measure. For example, last wees distance comes out to a little over 83km. Which sounds pretty impressive! I might have to change over, but I’m still getting used to Celcius and the 24 hour clock. Baby steps! 🙂
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what a yucky night to be out wandering in your robe! ha! glad you got in your sauna time though.
lots of new snow out there this morning. will be heading out soon. total lazy butt today so far.
we brought back some nice towels from the US and i sewed loops in them. simple must have them on all towels now.
on little things. we use the toilet paper brand that has a flushable paper tube. i think that’s BRILLIANT.
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Yes! I accidentally bought the ‘wrong’ kind of toilet paper that didn’t have the flushable tube.
I’m heading out to Itäkesksus to go pick up Shiva now. This should be a fun ride! Reports back said she did very good and was a very well-behaved guest. You love hearing those things about your “kids”. 🙂
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You shouldn’t flush those flushable tubes anyways. They cause unnecessary extra load on watewater treatment plants. Also this http://yle.fi/uutiset/flushable_toilet_roll_rated_most_useless_product/5469387
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I saw the article, but it’s nearly 3 years old. Plus the article even says that the roll is made of the same material as the toilet paper, so I’m not quite sure how it could be any worse. An expert in the field says that the roll breaks down to nearly nothing and doesn’t contribute to any extra load. However, people flushing the WRONG kind of tube down the toilet could certainly do that. Personally, I think it’s a brilliant “invention”. 🙂
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It says on the Helsingin seudun ympäristöpalvelut (HSY, The Helsinki Region Environmental Services) site https://www.hsy.fi/en/residents/water/how-to-use-your-sewer/Pages/default.aspx that “The sewer is not a trash can [… ] Waste that goes into a biowaste container [… ] flushable toilet roll shells.”
Those tubes do indeed dissolve but that fine mush must still be separated at the treatment plant meaning some extra load is created.
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I don’t know enough to get into a debate about it, but it seems to me that whether the toilet roll goes into the toilet and dissolves to be treated at the plant, or gets into the recycling container to get recycled…someone has to deal with it in one way or another. What creating a flushable tube has done is just change where and who recycles it. I think in the case of the sewer treatment, there is likely less impact than from an incinerator or however the paper waste is treated. But we shall just agree to disagree on this topic. 🙂
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Don’t worry about the winter. February is the classic “doesn’t this winter ever end” month. But before you know it, it’s March, the amount of sunlight explodes and spring begins.
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That’s good to know! I think the winter is starting to wear on me, and it doesn’t make me feel any better when people tell me, “…and this has been a mild winter.” Bah! This is the winter that I am enduring and I am getting tired of it! 🙂
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I just leave this here but unsurprisingly the drainer was invented by a woman as they did most if not all of the house work back then.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dish_draining_closet
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