The past few weeks have been quite tiring with half of the family having the flu. First it was J-P to catch it, then Little Ruu got ear infection and then I had sinusitis. Antibiotics, nose spray and Panadol were written on the shopping list three times during that three-week period. Now we are all better, I’m still coughing and J-P is still tired but hopefully this was it for this winter (or at least for this year).
Regardless of all the flu going around, Frans and I flew to Finland this past weekend. It was just a super quick trip from Friday afternoon till Sunday morning. I met a few au pair applicants and had a chat with each of them. I haven’t picked anyone yet, though, as I will still talk with one girl via webcam this week and hope to be able to make a decision after that. Tatu is going back to Finland already in two weeks and we hope to have a new au pair starting right after New Year’s.
Frans had absolutely great time in Tampere with his best friend Joonas! For these guys it really does not matter when they last saw each other: they just started talking from the first minute they saw at the airport and talked and played and hardly slept during those two days. I had some time to walk around downtown Tampere and buy coffee and chocolates and rye bread and a few books. There was just a little snow but still enough to make it feel like a real winter. On Saturday night our ‘Club Lemon’ had a Xmas party: we made salmon sandwiches and fillets of reindeer and enjoyed some Kumala (red wine) and Bailey’s, too, and had Irish pudding and apple pie for dessert. - To specify, Club Lemon is a ‘club’ of 4 ladies, we are all colleagues since around 2002 or so (well, I’m an ex-colleague nowadays). ‘Lemonism’ can be defined as a special attitude towards life, a value so sour it makes you laugh…
Now we are doing the ‘normal Christmas stuff’ at home: the kids are writing to Santa, Santa is chasing after presents, I’m planning our Christmas menu… All 80 something Christmas cards are written, I just need to go and buy stamps. As we are staying here at Christmas, we are mixing the best of Finnish and Irish traditions. I plan to have ham at Christmas Eve and turkey on Christmas Day. The kids are actually suggesting that mixing the traditions means definitely two visits by Santa: first one at Christmas Eve like in Finland and second one during Christmas night like here in Ireland… Well, I think I have found a solution to this: the Finnish Santa will come at Christmas Eve and then during the night the Irish Santa will fill the stockings (as stockings are not really a Finnish tradition). The kids are also arguing what should be left for Santa to have in the night: Saaga says it must be a cookie and a glass of milk but Frans says Santa has to have a piece of lamb pie and a pint of Guinness waiting for him. And Roosa seems to be acting as the moderator as she just said to Frans that leaving Santa what he suggests will be too risky as instead of Santa it may be J-P who will enjoy this special midnight snack and Santa will not fill the stockings after all… I don’t know who had the last word, but Roosa did not continue arguing after Frans insisted that not leaving a Guinness may be a bigger risk as there is a slight chance Santa and J-P are the one and same person…
Actually, I just need to make sure we have Guinness in the fridge as right now there really is no need to buy a single can of beer: in one of the pics from last week there are five boxes of beer on our kitchen floor… I won them (112 bottles!) in a raffle a week ago when J-P and I went to the annual wine fair organized by Gibney’s of Malahide. I hardly ever buy raffle tickets but now I did, lucky me :D
Before celebrating the real Christmas, both J-P and I will have the company Christmas parties: on 12 December I will fly to London for the Canonbury Group Christmas lunch. I booked the latest possible flight back to Dublin that evening and hope to have a couple of hours for Christmas shopping at Oxford Street, too. - J-P will have their company Christmas party on 20 December at a restaurant in Dublin City Centre.
So it will still be quite busy until the 21st. I’m happy there is a whole weekend before Christmas Eve to cook and bake :)
Regardless of all the flu going around, Frans and I flew to Finland this past weekend. It was just a super quick trip from Friday afternoon till Sunday morning. I met a few au pair applicants and had a chat with each of them. I haven’t picked anyone yet, though, as I will still talk with one girl via webcam this week and hope to be able to make a decision after that. Tatu is going back to Finland already in two weeks and we hope to have a new au pair starting right after New Year’s.
Frans had absolutely great time in Tampere with his best friend Joonas! For these guys it really does not matter when they last saw each other: they just started talking from the first minute they saw at the airport and talked and played and hardly slept during those two days. I had some time to walk around downtown Tampere and buy coffee and chocolates and rye bread and a few books. There was just a little snow but still enough to make it feel like a real winter. On Saturday night our ‘Club Lemon’ had a Xmas party: we made salmon sandwiches and fillets of reindeer and enjoyed some Kumala (red wine) and Bailey’s, too, and had Irish pudding and apple pie for dessert. - To specify, Club Lemon is a ‘club’ of 4 ladies, we are all colleagues since around 2002 or so (well, I’m an ex-colleague nowadays). ‘Lemonism’ can be defined as a special attitude towards life, a value so sour it makes you laugh…
Now we are doing the ‘normal Christmas stuff’ at home: the kids are writing to Santa, Santa is chasing after presents, I’m planning our Christmas menu… All 80 something Christmas cards are written, I just need to go and buy stamps. As we are staying here at Christmas, we are mixing the best of Finnish and Irish traditions. I plan to have ham at Christmas Eve and turkey on Christmas Day. The kids are actually suggesting that mixing the traditions means definitely two visits by Santa: first one at Christmas Eve like in Finland and second one during Christmas night like here in Ireland… Well, I think I have found a solution to this: the Finnish Santa will come at Christmas Eve and then during the night the Irish Santa will fill the stockings (as stockings are not really a Finnish tradition). The kids are also arguing what should be left for Santa to have in the night: Saaga says it must be a cookie and a glass of milk but Frans says Santa has to have a piece of lamb pie and a pint of Guinness waiting for him. And Roosa seems to be acting as the moderator as she just said to Frans that leaving Santa what he suggests will be too risky as instead of Santa it may be J-P who will enjoy this special midnight snack and Santa will not fill the stockings after all… I don’t know who had the last word, but Roosa did not continue arguing after Frans insisted that not leaving a Guinness may be a bigger risk as there is a slight chance Santa and J-P are the one and same person…
Actually, I just need to make sure we have Guinness in the fridge as right now there really is no need to buy a single can of beer: in one of the pics from last week there are five boxes of beer on our kitchen floor… I won them (112 bottles!) in a raffle a week ago when J-P and I went to the annual wine fair organized by Gibney’s of Malahide. I hardly ever buy raffle tickets but now I did, lucky me :D
Before celebrating the real Christmas, both J-P and I will have the company Christmas parties: on 12 December I will fly to London for the Canonbury Group Christmas lunch. I booked the latest possible flight back to Dublin that evening and hope to have a couple of hours for Christmas shopping at Oxford Street, too. - J-P will have their company Christmas party on 20 December at a restaurant in Dublin City Centre.
So it will still be quite busy until the 21st. I’m happy there is a whole weekend before Christmas Eve to cook and bake :)
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