darladriver

In August before my last trip to Finland, I was not feeling all that well...I had this nagging pain in my stomach that seemed like really bad indigestion. Since my mother has pancreatitus, I went to the doc. My blood work came back with a marker for an inflamed pancreas and MS. He told me to enjoy my trip and come back and we would do tests. My first test a CT-scan showed a "spot" on my pancreas. Radiologist recommends an MRI. We discuss options and what it could mean...If its cancer its early and can be removed. If its totally involved in the pancreas, remove it you can live without it, you just live insulin dependant and taking enzymes for the rest of your life. If it has spread every one knows the outcome. MRI shows I have a Focal Tumor that is thankfully benign. Right now they don't recommend removal, however, the tumor will need to be revisited every 6 to 12 months. As for the MS, all of my test so far have not evidenced any symptoms of MS so I guess I dodged two bullets.
I am relieved yet still unsettled that 'Clyde' is a squatter who has taken up residence in my body without permission. I have named it 'Clyde' because I believe if you know your enemy you can conquer it.
Thanks everyone for your good thought and prayers.

These are the things Lady Coreopsis (daughter) associated with her mother....lol

Leamington Canada: The place I loved most as a child, where my father belly laughed with all his might. I tried to give Tiff and Raphy the same gift and we spent a good deal of her childhood summers there. Its where Tiff learned to swim, sink Shamoo, love tomatoes, eat corn on a stick and captured her PAPA's heart.

Big Teal Elephant: OK this is dating all of us, in the early to mid 80's caftans were very popular and women wore then around the house much women of the 60's wore bed jackets or moomoo's. I had a caftan that was teal green and I wore it all the time. God I miss that thing...but I digress...once while wearing it my "tween" daughter was being mouthy and I said something to her and what I heard back was "why do you have to be such a big teal elephant?" I almost fainted and was very angry...what she in fact said was, "why do you have to make such a big deal out of it?" My bad...lol!

Mudflaps: While in Finland Tiff and Risto treated me to every LOTR movie...there was this nasty creature that followed Frodo around that was this pasty white looking skink thing and he was nakie except for the "MUDFLAPS" covering what I guess were his man parts...lol What followed was an amusing feeble attempt to explain Mudflaps to Risto.

King Cobra - Kings Island: Tiffiny,"I wanna go on the King Cobra" Mom, "are you sure"...Tiffiny, "yes and I want the front seat" Mom, "ok lets go".....Reality...there are NO seats...were hanging from these harnesses with our feet dangling IN THE FIRST NONSEATS....we get to the top of the first assent and right at the peak out of my sweet daughter mouth..."GET ME OFF OF THIS FUCKIN THING NOW...I'M NOT KIDDING GET ME OFF!" After which the ride continued and so did the profanity. Sweet mother of God you should have heard the profanity...I'm blushing recallling it even now...lol

Homecooked Meals: Really the only reason Risto lets me visit....lol

Hi All,

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who said a prayer for my nephew Randy...He passed this morning without ever regaining conciousness. It was the outcome everyone was hoping for. The sub-humans that attacked him have been charged with capital murder. There is a twist of wierdness, his birthday would have been tomorrow. I will be leaving for Topeka Tuesday of next week and return that Saturday. Thanks again for all your prayers.

Hey Tiff!!! I made them!!!!! WooHoo!!!

For those of you interested, here is the progress made on the mosaic that I've been working on. The glue is still wet on the yellow leafs. All that is left to do is background glass of textured clear glass to give the feel of water movement and grout...I will be using a chocolate color grout to complete then band in copper.

Completed foreground of Cardinal Tetra Mosaic


Mosaic that I'm currently working on. Cardinal Tetra's among vegetation. Started it on a dare from a friend and just to see if I could actually do it. I'm using traditional and modern techniques.

There have been lots of goings on since my last post. We have been to the Opera, which I enjoyed very much. Although Risto's father is very proud of the Opera House, having built it, I'm not sure he likes Opera very much...LOL So we had the added joy of his occasional comments of displeasure when the singers hit really high or bad notes. The set and staging were wonderful.
Lumi has been sick all week which meant that she was home with me, and for my part a sick Lumi is better than no Lumi. We have spent so much time together, she is very sweet and smart. We have learned two new songs since I have been here, honed our peek a boo skills, body parts and dog barking noises. She already knew how to pant we just filled in the growling and barking part. And she is a down right master at the feet smelling game, I'm talking world class foot smeller. When asked where is Gammy, she points right at me.
We have been shopping until it hurts. Tiffiny took the day off work yesterday and we did what I imagine is power shopping. I have purchased so much stuff, I am embarrassed to say I will be returning with one of Tiffiny's pieces of luggage.
Today we will spend the day just being together, packing and for me saying goodbye to Lumi, since I have a 6:00 am flight tomorrow, we need to be at the airport at 4:00 and no baby should be up at that hour except to eat. It has been a wonderful trip for me and I look forward to coming back in a year and a half. Going to sign off now will fill in the blanks when I return to the US. Ah to be home have breakfast at the Coney and get my nails done...LOL!

	Old Towne in Estonia the date on this building is 1422
	Hey! it did snow only an inch
	Lumi in her sled
	Me infront of the Mosaic Clocl in Old Towne
	The entrance to Historical Building in Old Towne Estonia
	Sir Chris and her sidekick Risto
	3 generations of Murrell women in center square
	Authentic tavern where we had meals as prepared in the 14th century
	Gated entrance to Historical Tallian Estonia Old Towne
	Entering second gateway into Tallian
	This town and its buildings date back to the 14th century
	One of the fortress towers to the left
	Row houses in Old Towne
	From outside the Fortress of Tallain
	Clock tower in center square

This past weekend we sailed across the Baltic Sea to the county of Estonia. It was a night crossing and much to cold to go on deck. In the morning we left the ship and made our way to Tallinn Estonia. This is an international Historical site. Old Town is a Fortress which dated back to the 14th century. We had 6 hours to discover Olde Towne and we needed every minute. There is so much history here. This is something the kids can lookup online or at the media center.
We ate lunch at the Olde Hausa an eatery that prepares meals in the same way they did in mid evil times, even the costumes are authentic. Tables and chairs, everything the same as in the 14th century. There is a custom here that I like, out side the eateries there are lighted candles in tins that tell customers "we are open come and try our food". In the soft daylight the area of Finland and Estonia the candles give off a golden glow that is warm and welcoming.
This time of the year there is very little daylight here in Finland. The sun will rise at 8:38 and set at 3:30 today, the rest of the day it will be dark. But during the summer it is daylight for most of the day, with the sun often setting around mid-night.
This next passage describes an incident on the boat that required some life saving skills, I will try to be descriptive without being scary. Teachers you may want to preview this before reading...
We returned to the ship from our lovely trip to Estonia, went back to our cabin unpacked our loot and went looking for a mid-day snack. When we arrived at the galley there was a young man frantic at the hostess desk telling her "this is not a game, my father is dying". Risto, (my son-in-law) translated and we asked where. We ran back to the rear of the galley to find his father was indeed very blue and choking to death. No one was doing anything he was just sitting there choking to death. I made the international sign of choking, (by this time Risto had ran to the Reception desk to try to expedite the arrival of medical help so I had no translator) and people began nodding, so I ran around behind the man and began doing the Heimlich maneuver on him. Over and over I tried 6/7 times and still nothing. He was a very big man and it was almost impossible for me to get my arms around him. I finally rolled him out of his chair, unto the floor and unto his side, when I did this he actually vomited, this was a good sign, you can't vomit without breathing. His color was beginning to pink up and he was talking and moving as the doctor finally came. I was appalled by the fact that none of the staff in the galley were trained. They were actually doing nothing except for screaming at the family of the man. Risto has written a letter to the Ships owners and the papers in Finland to let people know about the danger. For my part, I came away with a rib injury (I think its broken but will wait to get home to be sure) a couple of bruises and thankful that I was there and knew what to do.
On Saturday Tiffiny and I were treated to a rare experience that many native Finn's never experience. We were treated to a trip to the Sauna Society. A sauna club that only the creme-de-la-creme are members of and bring guests. We were met there and shown around. There are 6 saunas there 3 normal saunas of various temps and 3 smoke sauna, the oldest form of sauna. we were left on our own to explore. There was a dinning room with wonderful Finnish foods. A pier that you could walk out into the Baltic Sea. We did normal sauna first, mild then hot, which I preferred then had a bite to eat. We then went to smoke sauna, worked up a real sweat and then made the walk to the Baltic. This wasn't just any walk. It was evening the air temp was 28F it was sleeting and the wind was blowing 16/20 mph you do the wind chill math. We got to the Sea and I said to Tiff, "I'm not gonna flinch I'm just gonna g...and a huge wave swept me under. In the excitement I realized that the water temp was 39F. We got out and thats when it got cold, that getting out part. We went back into sauna and did the whole thing all over again, so our stressful weekend ended on a wonderful note. Now for the picture spam...

Hey! It snowed...not so much just a dusting, but it's really icy and very scary to walk...The Finns us spikes on their shoes. Tiff said she would get me a pair...I was worried about getting Lumi's pram (look this word up online and find out how mamy different words are used to call this thing) up the hills. Going to the day care it was all down hill and I was afraid of falling on my butt, coming home is all up hill and I was afraid of falling on my face and having the pram run me over...LOL(means laughing out loud)
We are leaving in a few hours to go by boat to Estonia. We need to leave throught the straits of Helsinki which are very narrow, just enough room for the big boats. There is a wind problem even for the big boats...if the wind is blowing over 20 mph we will not be able to get through the strait because the winds may cause the boat to rock and run aground ao if the winds are up we will not leave. As I type the winds are at 13 mph and holding. Once we put to sea, we won't be under the same limitations, the port in Estoniais an open port. We will sail all evening and through the night spend the day in Estonia and then leave that evening and sail back to Helsinki through the night.
Will post more later...

Its day 5 already...Today is a Lumi Gammy day. She stayed home from Daycare for some super Gammy time. We woke up, and after Tiffiny gave me every Finnish 911 number she and Risto were off to work. We got dressed and ventured out on a sunny Finnish Wednesday for a walk to the SMarket to buy some Chicken for dinner.
Finnish pastry is soooooo good and fresh. Most of the pastry has the same base dough, its what they do with the topping. My favorite topping are butter; marzipan (this is a word the kids can look up online or in the media center) and cheese. I didn't buy the pastry for dinner, but I will eat one while Lumi is taking her nap. It is 12:30 pm here and lumi has been napping since noon. I was able to clean up; prepare for dinner and spend some time relaxing and catching up on my mail and diary.
Tomorrow evening we will be leaving Finland by cruise ship to a midevil country called Estonia (look the up on a map,online, or in the media center)to the town of Tallin. I hope to post some pictures tomorrow as well. I will close for now, more later.

Some instructions: I you want to post a comment you do not need to set up an account, you can post an annonomus posting. Just let me know who you are. Good luck!

This morning both Tiffiny and Risto were off to work...Lumi woke me up with a key to the house and a sour face. She was on her way to daycare and didn't seem very happy about it. After a quick shower and cleaning up a little around the house I spent some quiet time. It's always nice the 3rd/4th day just to lay around and rest, it seems like you go full blast and never have time to crash. This morning was crash time. Tomorrow I'm hoping to take Lumi to Helsinki (this is a place that you kids could look up on line or in the media center) and do some power shopping. We must ride the bus to get downtown and then the tram. (tram is another word you could look up on line or in the media center)
Soon Lumi's other Grandparents Riitta and Vejo will come to the house. Riitta will follow me to the Daycare just incase I forget the way. I don't think I will but its nice to have the back up and I have yet to see them this visit.
Tonight we will go to a popular place to eat that translates to "The Road House". Tiff says its kind of like the Coney Island of Finland. Hey guys at Coney if you're peaking in I miss my mornings at Coney...I haven't seen an egg since I've been here..,LOL. I wish you could all Sauna...I'm thinking of having Rob build one at home for me...RIGHT!!!!! More later

For my adult friends these post are also being viewed by my children's class and may seem understated to you, please bare with me.
Monday we woke up early to see Risto (my daughter's husband) off to work, by 8:00 Tiffiny and I were walking Lumi to daycare. I will be picking Lumi up in the afternoons so it was important to remember the way. In a strange country it would be very scary to be lost. Not everyone here speaks English and I might not even be able to ask for help. So Tiffiny made me find the way home by myself and I did that with ease. I think driving a bus back home was helpful, because I taught myself to remember landmarks. Its like taking a picture in your head of where you've been and because this is my 3rd trip here, I actually remember how to take the bus to downtown Heksinki. After we dropped Lumi (this means snow in Finnish)off we walked to the bus stop and went into the center of Espoo (this is the city in Finland where my daughter lives) for some serious shopping.
Tonight we will have Sauna again. Sauna is a wonderful Finnish custom, and for the kids at school this is something you could look up on line or in the media center. Sauna's are in most Finnish homes and are a very special way to relax. Next week, I hope to swim in the Baltic Sea...(another place for the kids to look up on line or the media center) and then Sauna after. Hey! look up the water temp of the Baltic right now...Burrrrrrrrrrr but Sauna is very very warm. I'll type more later, enjoy your assignments...

My flight to Frankfort was very nice. I was in a row of 4 with no other passengers, so I was able to stretch out and actually sleep for 5 hours. There were some down sides to this however. I was the row right next to the toilet...lol and there were 4 babies crying for most of the trip. Thank goodness for headphones and what I wouldn't have given for nose plugs about and hour after dinner...YIKES!!. We arrived in Germany an hour early, so the dreaded layover was 4 hours instead of 3. To my relief I left Germany without incidence and arrived in Helsinki on schedule.
Tiffiny, Risto and Lumi were there waiting for me and as we left the airport I was surprized to see that there really wasn't a trace of snow anywhere and it was not as cold as I had expected it to be. Tiff and Risto's new place is so much bigger and very nice, they did all of the improvements themselves. We had a wonderful dinner and the rest of the evening was spent getting aquainted with Lumi and sharing presents.

Well, I'm just a day away from leaving for my trip to Finland and Estonia. My one real concern is the layover in Germany. Its more than enough time to make flight connections, but just the right amount of time to draw attention to myself. After my first experience in Amsterdam, I will do just about anything NOT to draw attention to myself. Packing has been a real issue. Everyone has been using me as the "WellsFargo" of Michigan...LOL. Although it wasn't as easy as my last 4 trips it is finished and I am offically ready to go. I have an 8 hour flight to Germany; a three hour layover and then a 3 hour flight to Helsinki.
The weather there has been equally freaky as it has here in Michigan. Not very much snow and very mild temps. The Baltic hasn't even frozen over. I hope to be swimming in the icy cold Baltic and then hopping into the Sauna at least once. I think I have enough of my Dad's stamina to enjoy a couple or more dips. I love sauna and am looking forward to maybe being at the summer house having sauna and then jumping sans clothes into the snow then right back into sauna.
I hope to be posting everyday with pictures of my beautiful Lumi and just everyday shots of Helsinki and the trip. Risto and Tiffiny have been generous enough to give me a cruise to Estonia for my Birthday. I'm really looking froward to this trip, from everything Tiff has told me, its a beautiful country with lots of history.
Home without Mom...not really, there will be lots of "MOMS". My sister Nan and her girls Wendy & Ashley will be lending a BIG hand while I'm away. Christian and William love them and enjoy being with them. There are big plans while I'm away. The Lyman Family Holiday party is the Weekend I leave...an overnight at the Hotel and and big pool party...Movies with Dad, Raphy and the Boys...and coming home from school to find DADDY there. WOOHOO!!!! Dad will be catching up on some Radio projects and finishing that basketball thingy for the boys and napping everyday...LOL How he sleeps during the day, man I'll never figure it out. Hopefully I've covered all the bases and thing will run smoothly while I'm away...off to finish cooking that last home cooked MOMMY meal...the boys wanted 'sketty' and so they shall have it.

I entered Live Journal at my daughters urging. I gave birth to her at an early age, we kind of grew up together. After a few ruff teenage years I actually came to see her as much more than my daughter, she was a bright; creative; friend and confidant. She now resides in Finland with her husband,a native Finn and my precious baby granddaughter. Since there is so much distance between us, she suggested we supplement phone calls and video chat by posting on this site. Maybe meet a few friends on line. I'm hoping to post a photo ID soon once I get the hang of this.
I will once again be visiting Finland in Jan.2007 for an extended visit. I really like the Finish culture and look forward to spending my first Winter visit. Summer and Autum are beautiful. Each of my previous visits I have been blessed with wonderful weather. Looking forward to sauna in the snow. Enough for now...going to try to post this...