SUNDAY UPDATE from Torquay and Helsinki!

I'm going to work on this on Saturday night as I'm planning to go to Weyburn tomorrow morning after church in Torquay.  I went uptown this morning, got the mail and delivered some flatbread.  There are a couple places where drifts are gathering, but nothing that a Ford won't go through!

It was fun to hear from Todd and Kristy in Finland.  I haven't asked their permission so hope they don't mind me sharing their email on my blog.  It saves me telling about it!  They will be back in Kristiansund on Sunday evening.


Hi all,
This is our last night of our traditional pre Christmas trip. In the last 4 years we have travelled to all of the Scandinvian capitals before Christmas. We have completed the last being Helsinki this year. St. Petersburg Russia was a bonus as there were visa free ferries being offered. We just couldn't let that pass us by.
Our days in St. Petersburg were of amazement.
This city is only dated back to the 1700s if you can believe it. A really young city in European standards, or even Norwegian standards considering Trondheim is 1000 years old.
The city was covered in snow. We really took notice of the people out shovelling snow. Our tour guide told us that people shovel snow in to the  street and the street snow movers come and move the same snow again onto the sidewalk. A lot of snow moving that is for sure.
We had to be careful of the enormous hanging icicles from all of the buildings. We were told they were dangerous and people are often killed due to the falling ice. They would close off sidewalks in order to shovel snow off roofs and break off dangerous icicles.
We saw the main sites in St. Petersburg thanks to our private tour guide. We did a 5 hour walking tour around the city with her. She was around our age and very honest about how things really are in Russia. She discussed freely the beaurocracy that still shadows the country as well as the daily life in St. Petersburg. The metro was 300 feet below street level. It has only been since June that you are allowed to take photos so we took the opportunity to have our guide show us some of the stations which included glass chandeliers and mosaic murals and mirrors. That was off the beaten track for sure.
The Chrsitmas markets were for sure a highlite too. We enjoyed the lights in the darkness.
The thick ice on the Baltic was also something to be seen. We were surpirsed our boats could even sail through such ice.
Helsinki also brought three wonderful days. The Chrismtas markets here were also really special. The special food at the markets such as mulled wine and reindeer balls were highlites.
We took in a concert at the Lutheran Cathedral which was a boys choir of 70 singers. Hearing familair songs in Finnish was interesting. Silent Night in Finnish really brought tears to our eyes. Todd wanted his picture by a huge Luther statue. We reminisce as we have shared pre Chrismtas memories with all of the Ledenes and Mom and Dad Johnson. Those were precious memories.
Today we saw yet another UNESCO world heritage site.
It is really neat to complete the Scandinavian Capitals Christmas tour. We have now done Copenhagen, Reykjavik, Stockholm, Olso and Helsinki. Scandinavia is conquered!!!!
We are vikings.
Christmas traditions are quite different in each of the coutries. The markets were the highlites.
We will send some pics when we arrive home again.
Looking forward to visiting with all of you again this next week.
Please write us a line back.

Hyvää joulua
Merry Christmas.
The Finnish language is unlike any other Scandinavian language. More like Hungarian actually......
XOXX
Kristy and Todd

 It will be exciting to see their pictures.  They usually send them to a website for viewing so I'll put a link on my blog for anyone who is interested.

Clare took Howard out for a drive this afternoon.  They stopped at the house before he headed back to a chicken supper with gravy and potatoes.  That's what Howard likes, a meat and potatoes meal.  I think he is anxious to come home so I hope he is soon able to try it.  He says he is sleeping well, thanks to a yellow pill that he takes.  I'll find out more from the nurses tomorrow.

There were many cards and letters in the mailbox today.  My letters are still waiting on the dining-room table. I'll take them along tomorrow and have Howard help put stamps and return address labels on them.  Laurel made labels for the back of the pictures so that was a big help.

I might even get a few presents for the grandkids wrapped tonight!

Happy Birthday to my cousin, Diana (Haaland) Nadeau, in Pincher Creek, Alberta.  (They have a daughter-in-law from Finland!)

Good morning,

I'm up and pleased to be able to see yard lights from the neighbours.  That means no fog or snow this morning, at least not yet.  I'll head off for church in an hour and decide from there whether to head for Weyburn.

Ambrose, ND has a winter storm watch on for Monday morning until late Monday night so I'm not planning to stay overnight as I have things to do here at home before company comes on Wednesday.
Have a good week and safe travels home to Todd and Kristy later today.