office prank

in Swedish, “kontorsskämt”

Once in a while, we stumble (online) upon these crazy, over-the-top office pranks:

Well, well, who would have thought that Jaakko would witness it first-hand at work today.

Lucky for him, it is intended for a colleague who will celebrate his 50th birthday on Monday.

Despite being obviously annoying, this gesture is undeniably…ehem…creative. And aren’t those balloons just cute?

So I hope that guy will be flattered. If someone put hard thought and meticulous effort just to make me feel special on my big day, I would be, too.

:-)

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scenes from the week’s end

in Swedish, “motiv från helgen”

On weekends, we escape the confines of our apartment by taking short drives and walks. This is actually our version of a romantic getaway.

These are some photographs we took over the weekend. I find them strangely “poetic”.

a bend in the road

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a meadow, hidden

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…and found!

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lovers

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…in the lake of shining waters*

__________

*  The term “Lake of Shining Waters” is taken from my beloved Anne of Green Gables Series by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

an unexpected present

in Swedish, “en oväntad gåva”

This morning, my husband and I woke up to something unexpected. This bright beauty bloomed right in time for my birthday today and Jaakko’s tomorrow.

Unlike most people in my family, I do not have a green thumb. In fact, in our former apartment, all of our house plants — save one pitiful yucca — died. When a friend gave us this plant as a house-warming present last October, I did not have the heart to tell her that she had just given it a death sentence.

This banana-look-alike barely survived the winter; it hardly grew new leaves and looked…well, frail. I wanted to throw it away already (Sorry, Cleide!). But J somehow saw its potential and encouraged me to be faithful in keeping it moist. As winter drew to a close and the days became longer, we noticed that the leaves appeared perkier, shoots became abundant, and the soil dried faster. And when we transferred it to a new pot, we even had to cut away and replant separate growths. Hurrah, it was really thriving! Gramma and Papa would be so proud.

Now call me crazy, but I believe that the plant understood and appreciated our devotion to its growth. Just look at how it has rewarded us!

P.S.
Yes, spring has finally arrived in the north, Joy!

P.P.S.
Jaakko did a bit of research and found out that our beautiful surprise is a canna lily.

Oh, and Gramma said that in the Philippines, they call it Bandera española (the Spanish flag), obviously derived from the color scheme.

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a drive up to avholmsberget

in Swedish, “ett åk up till avholmsberget”

The sun was out and shining, the wind was calm, and the temperature rose to plus 10 degrees. Ah, ’twas a beautiful day in early spring!

Jaakko decided to drive us to what he called an utsiktpunkt (lookout/viewpoint) over the Dellen Lakes: Avholmsberget. A quick read in Wikipedia tells us that the Dellen lakes were actually formed by a meteorite impact millions of years ago. These twin lakes are located in Delsbo, about 30 km east from our Lilla Ljusdal.

these were taken from a picnic area by lake dellen last summer.

We have heard about Avholmsberget (translates to “The Mountain of Avholm”) through our friends, Martin and Helena, who held their wedding reception there a few years back. The restaurant closes in the winter season but opens next week for the Easter celebration.

The photos above were lifted from the restaurant’s website. They claim to have “Hälsingland’s most beautiful view”.

And here are some vanity photos we took today.

while Jaakko gases up the car

all set to go!

upon reaching the top

whee!

his head always gets cut off when we do this.

i’m in contemplation. stop pestering.

i love this shot of him but i wish he had taken off his glasses.

overexposure. nonetheless, i like…

okay, last pose

finally! this is really what we came for.

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Hmm, I wonder where we will drive to next weekend.

P.S. Please click on the panorama shots so you can view it on a bigger scale.

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when first i learned to ski

in Swedish, “när jag lärde mig åka skidor för första gången”

Our friend, Kim, recently moved from our “Lilla Ljusdal” to the neighboring town of Järvsö, just a 20-minute drive away. So four of us ladies from church, with Jaakko on the driver’s seat, trooped down to visit her.

After lunch, a tour of the house and a few games of bowling, boxing, tennis and baseball on Wii, she excitedly brought me outside to ski. I was the only one in the group to have never tried it. Luckily, there was a spare of size 40 ski shoes! I excitedly put them on and this is what happened next:

Kim, my “instructor” and I, just before the first slide

I was not dressed for the occasion at all. One must have those waterproof pants, for obvious reasons.

I thought I was a quick learner and got too confident, sliding “fast” down the driveway.

I was fearless!

Until…

Poink!

I couldn’t get up!

Ouch! Pride, indeed, cometh before the fall.

It was a hard fall, but I couldn’t help laughing anyway. I actually then became scared that I might eventually break my ankles. So I cried out, “Jag vill inte längre!” (I don’t want [to do it] anymore.)

But Kim prodded me on and asked me to follow her on a softer path with less slope.

Evidence of the fall: a sorry snowy butt

And I skied up and down and back again…

I was, of course, very awkward and careful of every step, er, slide.

Oh, but it felt so good to be out there, with the crisp cool air and the warm afternoon sun — I was playing again!

“Jaakko, I think it’s about time we get us some of ‘em skiis.”