Geocaching

On Sunday we were wondering what to do. The lazy weekend had already got to us and we were already getting irritated by each others constant presence. We both wanted to go for a walk but couldn't figure out where we wanted to go. I thought we could go walk part of Birgitan Polku this trail that goes from Tampere to Lempäälä but I couldn't find a proper map so we could have decided an appropriate length. During my internet I found this website listing Geocaches along the trail. I'd heard about Geocaching before but had thought that Finland wouldn't have that many. However as it turns out Finland has loads! So we decided to start a new hobby.

Picking berries on the way to the cache.

Bobby sensing we have found something. (A staged photo since Bobby couldn't find something even if it bit him in the butt.)

I decided to sign up to Geocaching: wrongwayfast if any one is interested. We realized that there is a couple of places right by our apartment. So, off we went. And we actually found the Voimalenkki treasure! Woohoo!

Yay! Treasure!

This treasure is mine! Muahahha...

Weird fungus.

Irony sucks

The day I suspect that I have something wrong with my liver because I'm an irresponsible idiot who drinks too much my gran gets bloody sent to hospital because of hers... shit.

3rd Postcrossing Card

Yay! This one is from Weedland... Emma told me to lick the stamp to see if I could get hight... I didn't (lick the stamp that is).

2nd Postcrossing Card

Woohoo! Second Postcrossing card! This one is from Sofia who lives in Portugal. See delicious picture of Portugese delicacies mmm... seafood... *drool* She suggested we should trade recipes which sounds like a super idea. Mmmm... Portugese food...

Getting Ready for the Cold

I've been knitting myself some leg warmers and finally got one finished the night before. So, basically I only have 1 leg warmer so far. I was watching TV with the dog and fitting the leg warmer on my leg. After a while I got bored of that and decided that the dog wanted to try it on...

1st we tried the head/neck scarf model. But I don't think Bobby liked that one much since his ears were covered.

So, then we tried the poncho model and that seemed to satisfy him more. Sooo guess I'll be knitting 3 leg warmers in anticipation for -30C weather.

1st Postcrossing Card

Today I got my first Postcrossing card! It came from Berlin, Germany from a Brasilian café mmmm... *drool* food *drool*
Jördis (the person who sent me the card) suggested two artists I should check out: Camille and Antony and the Johnsons. Both were good but I totally dig Camille! She is so going on my next 10 ten hype list.

Creamy Tuna Spaghetti

Well, after the fish and chips disaster (the fish plummeted down to the fry basket and got stuck) I decided that I would do something I knew how to do... i.e. tuna spaghetti. Samuli doesn't really like tuna and then he went on a rant about how fish and spaghetti/pizza/Italian food does not go together. Pfft... so I had to prove him wrong.

I boiled the spaghetti al dente and poured out most of the water. Then I put some garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper into a small pot and heated until the tomatoes and garlic went all mushy. Then I took some cream cheese and threw it in with the pasta. Added a can of tuna to the mushy tomato mixture. Mixed the cream cheese until it melted into the pasta while heating the other mixture. Then poured the sauce into the pasta pot and mixed.

Well. I liked it... AND Samuli said he liked it too! Although I suspect he was a little intimidated by the fork I was waving at him.

Smooth and Sweet Southern Iced Tea

Last week I was walking the dog and listening to food podcasts, as always. And Evan Kleinman of KCRW Good Food was interviewing Chef Martha Hall Foose about Southern sweet tea. It sounded really good since Finland sucks for finding good ice tea. I mean in Switzerland you could get it in bottles everywhere and also that powdered stuff from Migros. I always buy tens of those ice tea packets when I go there.

Anyway it's been really hot over here lately and I've really been craving for something refreshing and preferably non-alcoholic (for the time being). So this whole interview couldn't have come at a better time. I mean I've been wondering how to make ice tea without getting all the bitter taste that comes when simply letting tea go cold. I searched the internet and found out the secret ingredient and it is... BAKING SODA! Yes, it makes tea smooth and gives it a nice dark color! The recipe I used was one I got from AllRecipies called Smooth Sweet Tea. I decided to make it with mint tea bags and it turned out really good! I didn't think it was too sweet and the baking soda worked wonders. So yes I can say I'm a fan of Southern Iced Tea and will be making loads of this stuff for the rest of the summer!

And for those who care...

... here is my leg post-graduation party i.e. after I went running up the outhouse stairs and on and on and on and on into the mess of prickly bushes and things beyond. (Yes, I am aware that I haven't shaved for several months...)


I also have a bruised knee... and a weirdo bruise on my upper arm... hmmmm... My dad is right, I am a bit of a moron when I'm drunk... heh heh...

Saturday Evening Walk

Since I spent most of Bobby's birthday (yesterday) feeling dizzy, throwing up, groaning about a headache and menstruating today we decided to do something special. We got pizza from KotiPizza. Samuli got the Berlusconi (a shameless reference to his comment on Finnish food) pizza which had smoked reindeer, chantarelles and red onion. I opted for the Parmiamo, prosciutto, rocket (arugula), cherry tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. My pizza was damn good. I finished it all! And that's unusual for me because I don't usually like pizza that much. Bobby on the other hand devoured bits of crust and Ceasar gourmet dog food whilst playing (or rather running away from) his birthday toy, a red chewy frisbee.

So, after lunch/dinner we did what any nice respectable family would do on the weekend... We went for a nice evening walk...

Setting out on our respectable family evening walk.

Bobby sniffing some bush/signpost for 10 minutes.

Damn lamp posts! Why why oh why do there have to be so many of them!! And more importantly why do we have to stop, sniff, sniff, sniff, piss on every single one of them??

Teaching Bobby to cross the road sensibly... not to run mindlessly in front of cars even if mommy is on the other side of the road.

Doggy park FINALLY! After about 100 different bushes/posts/benches/other things that must be pee-ed on.

Waiting around while Bobby and daddy have some fun...

...Bobby and daddy having some fun...

Time out.

Daddy is worn out so Bobby goes to make his own fun...

... soooo mommy and daddy decide to have their own kind of fun...

... little Bobby doesn't notice a thing... too busy digging away... (which I know you're not supposed to let your dog do in the dog park... we filled it up before we left... honest!)

...mommy and daddy continue with their fun...

...until suddenly they are... BUSTED!! Sneaky little baby we have...

Yes, I know we have a ferocious digging machine disguised as a dog...

...even Samuli is confused by the ferocious digging...

...but then, before we can call the vet Bobby returns back to normal...

So, we decided it was time to leave the park with the nice holes that we filled in... honest! And started to make our way back home. But then suddenly...

... something rather disturbing caught Samuli's eye...

... "OMG! WTF! ROFL! LOLZZ! Look at that lamp post" he yelled...

... and there it was a magic crooked lamp post and when I went to lean on it everything changed to psychedelic retro mode...

...but thankfully I have a strong handsome fiancé who came to the rescue and tugged the lamp post back into place and everything came back to normal...

... or did it?? And more importantly did alcohol have some part in it??? (Surely not on a RESPECTABLE evening walk with the family!!)...

...and sure enough, before we knew it retro mode came back when we were standing outside our corner store!

...thank goodness for Samuli's quick thinking as he swung into urban rapper mode and managed to get everything to go black and white...

...then we found some magic mold on a rosebush which in turn made everything go back to normal... YAY!