1st Come 1st Serve (or reserved) Doesn't Really Apply

This is absurd....and not the first time to happen to me.

I shop online through the used items website on the University of Jyv�skyl� and often find great deals.  I also often set up appointments to look at something, 99% of the time buy it and am quite the happy customer.  HOWEVER I am upset this morning big time.

I found a potential children's bed a day ago and contacted the seller, who lives nearby and arranged to meet her at her home to look at this children's bed (as it's no longer on the store website - older model and she didn't have any photos).  We agreed to meet at her place at 11am, which was fine by me, until Tim told me he had to get to the university around that time.

So I emailed her again and notified her that I can be there for 6pm - ASSUMING that since I appeared to be the first person to contact her about the bed - she would RESERVE IT FOR ME.
Well, I got an email this morning before 9am stating she sold it already.

Thanks a lot Maarit.

What is it with the whole "set a time but sell it to someone else first"?!?!  There's no point in sending her a nasty email because the item is sold already.  So I shall complain here.
Had you said something along the lines like "If you cannot meet at 11 for whatever reason, then I have to sell it to the next person who offers to buy it" - then that'd be fine.

Is there some Finnish un-said law I don't know about when it comes to buying and selling things second-hand?!?!?!

And Maarit...have the decency to not do this to the next person you're selling to and remove your ad.  I wouldn't want other people to be disappointed like I am!

Happy New Year!

Well last NY, I was sick as a dog.  I had eaten far too much junk food and tempting my lactose tolerance by also consuming too much cheese.

SO! A proper post for New Year's I think is appropriate!

Because Tim is feeling a touch of a cold and so is V�in�, I opted to go to a party down the road by myself.  I had brought a nacho dip and that was warmly welcomed and got to meet so many lovely and new people.  I usually dislike "house parties" because I don't always find someone interesting to talk to!
However, that was not the case!  I went to this party knowing a small handful of people that were attending, and we all had a lovely time chatting.

The big topic was traditions for New Year's.
Well, here's the Finnish side (I made notes):

• As of 6pm on New Year's Eve, you can set off fire works....they last until about 3-4am...depends.  Needless to say, my dogs are fine indoors but were a wreck walking around outside.
• They do not do the whole "kiss someone" at midnight for luck (or whatever it's main purpose is)
• They buy tin horse shoes, melt them and throw them individually into a bucket of cold water. Whatever the shape (or shadow) forms into, determines your future - if you're superstitious!  We didn't have any horse shoes - but next year I'd like to try one!
• Traditional foods are potatoes and sausages!

You have to be 18 years old to purchase and set off fireworks.  

BUT you can be 15 to own a gun...mind you, you have to be part of a hunting association and/or have a license.

Some other memories that were shared (because Helsinki has so much snow), a lot of people cross-country ski here.  Some people just walk and use the Nordic walking poles to encourage themselves to keep going and keep the whole body swinging....but my friends recalled skiing to school and you would get points everyday that you skied to and from your school.  The schools in various communities would compete and whichever school won, got a huge trophy!

Another Christmas come and gone!

Well first and foremost, I hope you had a lovely holiday.  Whether you live in Finland or not, I hope you had a safe and warm holiday with close friends and family.

Every time Christmas comes around, I get a bit home sick...but this year I made up for it!  I had a birthday party for my son in November (I was very sad that family couldn't be here to celebrate my son's first birthday) and many great friends attended!  I hosted a cookie exchange and ended up having a lovely evening with some close friends, and then I hosted a dinner party for my knitting group I am a part of - again, a lovely time!
Also in the works, is having a dear friend (from a knitting group) come over for Christmas supper on Boxing Day.  Why wait??  Well, if you're not on my Facebook, I'll explain!

Christmas Eve is "the day" to open gifts in the evening, have a visit from Santa (usually a neighbour or a rental Santa), have the huge meal with family and Christmas Day is the day for Mass and visiting other family and friends.
By 12pm on Christmas Eve, everything is closed.  By 2pm, the buses do not run at all, nor do they run on Christmas Day!  In Halifax, the buses have a set schedule for Sundays and holidays (including Christmas), so the buses will be running as per normal.  I'm sure it's a volunteer basis for the drivers.
So the dilemma was that my friend Susanne, could not join us for Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, because she wouldn't have a way back home and crashing at our place wasn't an option, because she has two dogs of her own that need walking.  So!  Boxing Day I will be very excited to prepare a large meal of stuffed roast pork fillet, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies and home made apple crisp!

Some traditional Finnish foods for Christmas include:

• Carrot, root or liver casserole - sold in a tin foil rectangle-shaped pan.  I have not had the liver one but the other ones are fabulous!
• Rossolin salad - a friend made some for me!  It contains chopped beets, carrots, onions (raw), apples and pickles.  A lovely side dish...I've already eaten a third of it but am saving it for Christmas dinner with Susanne.
• Ham - the hams here are quite huge, which I find hilarious because the ovens are quite small!
• Christmas Tart - it's in a shape of a star and has plum jam in the center and sometimes dusted with icing sugar.

I'll be visiting some more friends after Christmas and I'll take photos of their food!

Holiday Cheers to you and yours,

Dominique

Temperatures are wild

The big thing to do when living in Finland is to wear layers.  Think of Shrek and his ogres are like onions and have lots of layers theory.

Typical person living in Finland would wear this on a cold winter day (today is -29*C with wind chill and last night was -34*C with wind chill!):

Long underwear (along with regular underwear and bra if applicable), t-shirt, sweater, pants, snow pants, jacket, neck warmer (sometimes known as a collar here), hat, two layers of mittens, two layers of socks (one pair being knitted wool socks), winter boots, sometimes a scarf and a hood of their jacket.

I strongly recommend bringing with you good moisturizer - they have some pretty good stuff here, but Aveeno is my personal favourite and it is not sold here.  Also ensure that you have LOTS of lip balm or chap sticks!
Because the air is quite dry here, I've been licking my lips like crazy.
Lip licking + cold dry air =very painful lips!  I have found that I was very keen on putting lip balm on during the other seasons too!  (Yes they sell Blistex and some Lip Smacker flavours here).
For you mothers out there, nipple cream (lanolin) is an awesome moisturizer and can be worn by those allergic to wool because it is hypoallergenic.

For awhile it was about -20*C and the lakes were frozen over and that was all fine.  But then it warmed up briefly to -13*C for a few days...the lakes were still frozen solid!  But suddenly it just plummeted to -25 to -35 out of nowhere!

The Finns are reporting that last summer was the hottest it's ever been with the temperature once reaching 37.2*C!  An all time record in several decades....and we got to experience it!  Tim was in Greece at the time and it was only 34*C there.  HMMPH.
Since fall, the Finns have been reporting that this winter may be the coldest of winters ever....lovely.

Incredibly cold weather in some parts of Canada can mean power outages if the electrical lines break.  However, that does not seem to be the case here.  I may have mentioned this ages ago in earlier postings, but the electrical lines are under ground...Yes water pipes can burst due to the coldness, it happened to a friend nearby recently.  But in general, one can survive in Finland.

And yes, we have lots of snow but so far not too much ice!  I hate ice...it's so dangerous for everybody!
So another white Christmas it is!  The snow falls here like flurries in Nova Scotia.  That is typically their equivalent of a snow storm.  So you can still walk in it and not feel like you're getting "nowhere" thanks to white-out conditions.  Because as far as I know, they don't really have "white-out conditions".  Perhaps it is different for a driver of a vehicle.

Happy Holidays everybody, don't drink and drive and best of everything in the New Year!

A Christmas Treat

Typically around the holiday season there is a Christmas Tart that is star shaped with a dallop of plum jam in the center.  Those are really great and supposedly very easy to make, but I have yet to try.

As well, another popular treat (besides chocolate of course!) are ginger bread cookies.  Big deal right?  Well, for my knitting group the other night, I hosted a Christmas roast chicken dinner.  A guest brought a box of ginger bread cookies and a package of blue cheese.

You can scrape your jaw off the floor now, it's really not that bad of a combination!  It's like chocolate covered potato chips (you can buy these in PEI)!  The combination of sweet and salty was nice.

While visiting another friend for dinner over there, they had the same thing set out for dessert (along with chocolates and fresh fruits) but they also found a goat cheese made with cranberries mixed in.  Well, I typically hate cranberries but this was really lovely with the goat cheese and then spread onto a gingerbread cookie!

It's been over a year...

So now what shall I do to update this blog more?

I'll still post the little bits and pieces I learn about...but I was thinking of giving reviews of places (mostly restaurants and areas in Jyv�skyl�)....so keep an eye out!

A Newfie Joke for my Finnish friends...

Newfies are people from Newfoundland, Canada.  There are many hundreds of jokes about them, just like blonde jokes or insert another culture here jokes.
Please do not take offense if you are a Newf.  I DO have multiple friends that are from Newfoundland....

Anyhow, the purpose of me posting this in here, is to somewhat explain how Newfies speak.  They sort of have their own way of saying things (often known as Newfinese) and I cannot describe it to my Finnish friends, as I haven't been around a Newf in ages!
So here's a cute little joke I got in an e-mail a couple days ago...and hopefully this explains Newfinese to my Finnish friends.
The accent is something else...that I could never mimic!
Oh and my husband is part Newfie...somewhere in the history...last name Riggs is a very Newfie last name, as far as I know...and he went drinking with some Finns last year for Vappu and he said "It might be possible that a Finn can out-drink a Newfie!"

Lubricant
Murphy's' old lady  had been  pregnant for some time and now  the time had come. 

He brought her to the   doctor and the doctor began to deliver the  baby.

She had a little boy, and the  doctor looked over at Murphy and said. 'Hey,   Murph! You just had you a  son,!

'Ain't dat grand, !!' Murphy got  excited by this, but just then the doctor   spoke up and said, 'Hold on! We ain't   finished  yet, !'

The doctor  then delivered a little girl. 

He said,  'Hey, Murph! You got you a  daughter, !!!!  She is a pretty lil ting, too....'

Murphy  got kind of puzzled by this and then the doctor  said, 'Hold on, we  aint got done yet,  !'

The doctor then delivered another boy  and said,  Murph, you just had   yourself another boy, !'

Murphy  said to the doctor, 'Doc, what caused all of dem   babies,?' 

The doctor said, 'You  never know Murph, it was probably something that  happened during  conception.'  

Murphy said, 'Ah yeah, during  conception.'

When Murph and his wife went  home with their three  children, he sat  down with his wife and said, 

'Mama, you  remember dat night  that we ran out of  Vaseline and we had to use dat dere 3-in-1  Oil.'


She said, 'Yeah, I   remember dat night...'

Murph said,  'I'll tell you, ......it's a  f*c kin' good ting we didn't  use WD-40."

Card Making

I am expanding my horizons and going back to card-making.  I am going back to making cards and thoroughly enjoying it.  I used to scrapbook a lot in Canada and I miss it!  However, there does not seem to be a Scrapbook Club or Group I can meet up with in Jyv�skyl�....so maybe I can make the first!

Yes, it's time consuming and yes it CAN be expensive but does not have to be.

I'm thinking of teaching classes for holiday cards at the local community center and see about making a company for myself and teach card-making at people's homes.  Similar idea to having a pampering party with Mary Kay or a Candle Light Party.  But you get to do things during that time slot.

I also have plans to make card-making kits and go from there.  I am offering card kits in packages of 3, 5 or 10 cards with 99% of the materials supplied.  A glue stick, confetti, ribbon, cards, envelopes, patterned paper, small ink pad and rubber stamps too!


I am curious to know what YOU think of this?  Whether you live in Finland or Canada...or anywhere in the world really....what is your opinion and what would you want to be able to do in a course?  I do have lists of ideas written down but am curious what other people's opinions are.  Especially those that DO the craft or participate in courses to learn different crafts.


My aims and goals are to: educate, have fun, meet new people and help relieve some everyday stress.  Scrapbooking and card-making is not a matter of "just glue and paper and some glitter".  
It's a means of expressing yourself and keeping memories safe and alive.  There's a lot to it, but to quote my friend who tried out clear stamps the other day, "This is so relaxing."  She was trying out an acrylic block, a couple rubber stamps and coloring it in - and I am glad I was able to relieve some work and home stress (who couldn't use some stress-free time?) in less than 5 minutes!


I'm looking forward to hearing from you!!
Thanks everybody!

Tampere's Craft Exhibition

I got the chance to go to a super huge Craft Show in Tampere with my friend Anna and her mother.  We drove down (about 2 hours) to Tampere and paid our fees and walked around.  It was held in a sort of stadium and there were two separate halls for various kinds of vendors.
Unfortunately no photos were taken as there were signs at the entrance noting no photos to be taken.  Which is a shame (yet understandable, to protect artist's work) as there were SO many cool vendors there.

I didn't buy a lot, shockingly, and it was in partial thanks to the Sampo bank for having a system crash (yet again).  I did manage to remember to bring cash with me (however early during the morning of our trip, I stopped at the library to return DVDs in the drop-off slot and noticed the closest ATM was boarded up!) and was able to use my card at some vendors.
I picked up 3 hand-made glass figurines: a snake, an ox and a tiny tiger for my family, as these animals represent my husband, my son and my (respectively) Chinese zodiac symbols.  I'm sure a Feng Shui rep would think it's the "wrong animal" to have in the home - but ah well.  They were super cute, reasonably priced and lovely to look at.
I only picked up 1 ball of yarn, it's a sock yarn and psychedelic.  When you knit it, it looks like dyed blotches in a sort of pattern going up the length of the sock - very cool.  It's an item that I know has been ordered by Popelli (or will be) and hasn't been received and put on the shelf yet...sooooooo it was a must.
I went back to the glass vendor before we left and found a little green dragon for my son.  I told my husband that I want to get V�in� one little animal/creature a year (as this is a hobby that's going extinct and these were made in Russia I think) that really defines his character.  Unfortunately a monkey was not available.
Then there were so many scrap-booking stands....wow.  I settled on a "Stack of Boy Stuff" papers with lovely boy-related prints (super hero, cowboy, etc.) and some black ink.
I'm sure you're thinking, "Black ink? Why not get it back home?"  Ink in the art shops are ridiculously expensive...I recall last year, thinking of hand-printing V�in�'s hands onto cards with ink, and I was looking at a price of 14-16 Euros for a pad of ink.  So 50% off at the craft fair was definitely worth it.

I attempted to purchase (at a different stand) some really adorable English written, Christmas-related stamps (AND SUPER CHEAP!) but that's when the card got declined.  Stupid bank.  Anyway, maybe it was a sign I shouldn't get it?  I texted a friend who was selling there today and hopefully she was able to get away to pick them up for me...if not - I'll just be sad and go on the hunt for other affordable stamps.
I'm nervous about carving my own - but maybe I will have to give it a shot!

It's been getting colder in Finland....still have snow - so I do not worry about having a grey/brown/icky Christmas - so it seems!
Because of the darkness being so dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists, there is a law that everybody must wear reflectors of some sort - to make themselves visible, so they do not get hit by vehicles.
I recall last year when the early darkness was settling in, I mistook a night reflector, for a price tag on the back of someone's coat...I was also pregnant and not thinking and it was day time - so I couldn't see the purpose of a "price tag" dangling from the back of his coat would do to anybody.
There are various shapes, characters, colors and levels of brightness that you can purchase.  Some of the fancier ones are 3-D when you un-fold them....you can knit or crochet yourself one (which I have done)...and you can hang them from anywhere.  We have one on the stroller and one on each of our jackets.
If I go walking with a dog at night, I have a Mountain Equipment Co-Op (Canadian hiking/outdoor equipment company, also known as MEC) bike light hanging from my coat and from the dog's harness- so people can see not only me, but my dog too!
Another common reflector is in the shape of a wrist bracelet and you attach it to the outside of your coat sleeve.  Most children's outdoor clothing comes with reflectors stitched onto the clothing - which is lovely, as I have a children's sized coat! :P
 

An Evening at the Pool...

My friend P�ivi and I decided we'd celebrate our boys' birthdays together quietly by having a trip to the local swimming pool and then a bite to eat after.  Which worked for me, as we were both too busy to attend each other's parties.  Her son Petrus, is a little over a year older than V�in� and his birthday is a few days prior - so it really worked out well.

We went to the pool on Pitk�katu and I was really amazed at the inside of it.  I've never been to Aalto Alavari (sp? It's the name of one of Finland's most famous architects and designers)'s swimming pool before and was impressed!  There was a huge wave pool with a large and tall slide, a small children's pool with warm water, a cold pool for lane swimming and another one with a small slide...oh and there was also a pool for diving in.

I think it was about 7 Euros and we went for almost two hours (we could've gone earlier of course but made it there for shortly after 4pm)  and we received a little card.  You take the card and swipe it to get into the pool area and I had brought a lock with me thinking I would need one - but I didn't.  Every lock has it's own key on a red rubber band (a thick one) and everybody just slipped it onto their ankle to keep hold of it.  How handy!
And everybody was parading around naked (in the shower rooms and change rooms)!  I had to remember that I was in Finland, because I recall in Halifax that not everybody is comfortable enough with their body to just strut their stuff between the changing room to the shower room (which was very large and spacious...) and then to the pool (WITH THEIR SUITS ON!)...Oh and you have to put your card into a slot inside the locker in order for the key to work....
One thing I really loved about the shower room is that there was a bathroom in there, a lot of cubby holes to put your things (even if they were wet as it was slotted so the water could drip straight down), lots of towel hooks and little/short showers for kids...including sturdy stools for the mom to sit with their child and help them shower before getting in the pool and after!  Obviously I did not take any photos in fear of getting in trouble and so I did not capture anybody in the background naked - sorry!
Also there was a staff member constantly hosing the floors down which was nice and regularly changing the garbage bags too!

So I got V�in� ready in his swimming diaper (I had already packed away his swim suit for the season-silly me) and was already wearing my bathing suit under my clothes, threw on a tank top and was ready to go.
My friend and everybody else took a shower (without bathing suit) before getting in the pool - I felt a little silly as in Halifax, I only rinsed prior to hopping in the pool and with my swim suit on.  So..............now I know.

After lots of swimming and bouncing around with our boys, we showered again and then there was a sauna in the shower room.  There were two saunas which was nice, and there were 3 levels to sit on.  I was a little nervous about bringing V�in� in there, not because he's a baby boy, but because of the warmth and heat.  So we sat on the bottom level and he seemed very content to sit there and play with his little plastic rings we brought with us.  Excellent!

So all in all - it was a lovely experience, despite the incredible amount of Speedos I saw on every aged man there.

(Oh yes and the key card you got at the beginning? You just put it in the machine to get out of the pool area and voil� - you've been swimming!)

17 versus 15

So in case you haven't heard of it - Canada has "The Young Offenders Act"...which pretty much states that if someone does something under the age of 17 and charges are not pressed against them (I am not 100% sure of the full definition - this is just the gist of it), then the crime they've committed will not reflect on their criminal record once they've turned 18.
For example, someone who is under 17 years of age beats up someone to the point that surgery was required to correct their body (i.e. cheek plate) - is protected in the sense that their name would not be released to the media and they do not go to jail.  The previous is an example of what happened to an old friend's father.
So if you're -17 and murder someone, rape someone (or multiple somebodies), etc. then you're criminal record free until you turn 18 is how I understand it *but might not be 100% correct if formal charges are laid*.
This works out in favour of the criminal every time unfortunately.  Sure, there's the guilt factor - but how many people who are guilty actually FEEL bad and remorse for what they've done?  Probably not many if they end up in jail after 18 years of age for a similar offence.
Personally, if you're old enough to get dressed, have a job, go to school and do not have an un-stable condition or mind-frame - yes you should be tried as an adult.  Age varies - not really sure what I believe in at this point because there are SO many factors...anyway - what scares me about this YOA is that their identity is protected...if a child was beaten and raped and left for dead pretty much - and I lived in the area - I would certainly want to know who was behind it.  Not so I could go after them - but to protect my family and friends...you would think it would be fair information to share...however - someone COULD turn over a new leaf ...

So how does this tie with Finland?  During our knitting group I hosted tonight, the topic of the 4-year-old girl who bumped into an elderly lady on her bicycle and she broke her hip and eventually died (but not sure if that was the cause of death) a month later - came up.  We discussed our opinions and what had happened via English and Finnish translators.  I then brought up the Youth Protection Act and the bits that I knew about it and I asked if they had anything similar...and they said the age is 15.

After the age of 15 - you are tried and charged as an adult committing the crime.  (I do not know if their name/identity is fully protected like in Canada - if anybody knows feel free to comment.)  Thanks!

Birthday Party Stuff

A lot of people are probably thinking, "Why bother having a birthday party for a baby's first birthday?  They're not going to remember - what's the point?"

I somewhat agree to this!  You're right, they're not going to remember, but you know who will?  The parents and friends/family who visited.  Since we do not have any family in Finland - we figured this would be an excellent way to see many of our friends, some whom we haven't seen in a few months and some whom are leaving the country for over 6 months...so it was definitely worth it.  And whatever new friendships were formed during this time - all the better.  As well, we were able to take lots of photos and videos and send it to our family back home - who I'm sure would've had a small party for V�in� if we lived in Canada.
Also, I think of a baby's/child's birthday party as a celebration for the parents too!  That's right - I looked at my husband and clinked my paper cup of apple juice to his coffee mug and said, "Congratulations - we're still parents and still alive."

My theory with birthday parties is this: "Presents are nice but your presence is better..." and for all those that came and brought gifts - we thank you!

V�in�'s first birthday party was pretty much a huge play date/pig-out fest.  The pigging out mostly done by the adults.  Seeing as we have a million puzzle pieces and all kinds of toys for kids of various ages - it made sense to just have it at our place, as I chickened out of asking the MM Playground to rent their indoor play-cottage (with full sized kitchen!).  At first we were not expecting many people because 6 November is a holiday (the day for the Swedes - everything's closed and the Finnish flag is raised) - so many people took advantage of visiting their families and so on.
We ended up having a total of 17 (big and small) people in our flat and we had to close off Tim's office room as it was the "clutter and hide everything we can't put away right now" room.  The balcony was home for the dogs temporarily during the party and when the children were present.  But nobody passed out from the heat - not that it was super hot and sweaty anyhow as I wasn't cooking food.

Mmmm food.  What did I make for the party?  Here's a photo:

For food on the huge table (1st photo) I made/served:

• A meat platter
• 4-cheese platter (Gouda, Swiss, Blue and Mild Cheddar)
• 2 bowls of candy
• 2 bowls of nuts
• Home-made guacamole
• Nacho dip (cream cheese, black beans, salsa, shredded cheese)
• Veggie platter
• Dip
• Assortment of crackers
• Juice, milk, coffee and tea
• Birthday cake was a home-made carrot cake and chocolate or lemon cup cake with cream cheese icing (also home-made!) and SPRINKLES!!!

Now in the second photo are treat bags.  Little bags of goodies for guests to take home.

THIS IS NOT COMMON IN FINLAND....although the shops sell the items for it - it's not a common thing.  It's slowly becoming popular - but very slowly from what I was told.

So I got little cellophane bags and each bag had a mini Play-Doh, a happy-faced slinky and a little puzzle.  The bigger kids or adults (friends who do not have kids but came anyway) also had a little lollipop in theirs.  Then I just tied it up with a piece of yarn...red for candy bags and blue for bags without candy.

I'm pleased with how everything turned out - as I've never hosted a "birthday party" before - just pot lucks at work...but this was definitely fun.

See you next year!  

If V�in� understands games - maybe I'll incorporate games then...too early to start planning...?

Santa on the Roof...or through the door?

I'll admit it first - I was always under the impression that Santa Claus wore a nice red suit with white trim, a handsome beard, a big belly, twinkling eyes, drove reindeer in a magical sleigh (Rudolph leading the way of course), was from the North Pole, ate cookies, drank so much milk he probably went into a lactose attack every city he visited and nobody ever saw him.  Oh and he lands on your roof quietly and leaves the presents behind for you to open on Christmas DAY morning.

Well here's the Finnish version (but in English):  Santa's NOT from the North Pole, but from Lapland which is in Northern Finland....he doesn't give gifts for you to open on Christmas Day morning - but visits the children on Christmas Eve and makes an appearance - so the kids DO get to see him.  He does drive reindeer but they are not "parked"  on your roof.

Not safe for kids to read below............





Usually someone (i.e. an Uncle or neighbour) dresses up as the big Jolly guy and does the rounds for the communities.  You can even HIRE a Santa Claus and request a "sober"  Santa...people put ads out there all the time apparently... "Sober and non-smoking Santa available for hire..."

So there you have it my Canadian friends....Finns disagree with the "Coca-Cola version of Santa" (as a Finnish friend once described it to me) - and believe he's from Finland....

Let the debating begin....now.

Mmmmmm smells like TAR

While visiting our friends (and V�in�'s honorary Finnish Godfather), Taneli, Jessica and Sulevi, we were discussing the difference between Finland and Canada, as we just got back recently.

Taneli brought up "Tar Ice Cream"...yes tar as in the oil (? I had no idea) and as in the stuff used to fill pot holes with.  After discussing the smell and taste of it (we did not try it but apparently it's in stores now) - Taneli told us that his shampoo is "Tar" scented.
WOW....I'm thinking "gross - who would want to smell like TAR?!" But once we smelled the bottle - it turns out that it's more of a smokey smell if anything.  As if you were at a camp fire...it wasn't too bad to smell after the initial shock.

I guess tar-related things is very popular in Finland and majority are men that use it...
Taneli's shampoo is in the men's section - sorry ladies.

November = many things

So I don't know EVERYTHING in Finland about November...but one major thing is that Vitamin D supplement sales go up through the roof.
Why?  Because there is pretty much no sunshine at all during November....I guess it's the way Finland is positioned for the month...away from the sun!  It's cloudy and gets dark by 5pm!
It's a very hard and difficult month for many people who rely on sunshine to get through the day and many end up going to brightly-lit places like bars for example...and end up getting super drunk - just so they can be happy for a bit.  I'm not saying everybody is depressed!  It's just quite common from what I hear.

The sales for UV lights in the home - like a light panel so you can get some Vitamin D - are a popular item to buy during this dull month also.

Father's Day is in November - the first Sunday actually...weird eh?
Father's Day last year was the day we got to bring V�in� home from the hospital....it'll be something I always remember!

For those that are in the military or part of a military family (or Veteran family) - they do not sell poppies here.  The red flower with a black center and a little bent pin...nope.  I'm not a history buff - but I don't think Finland was involved in any major wars - they were certainly affected by wars...poverty and such - but I don't think Finland has a big military like Canada or the USA does.

And of course - the month before Christmas - so everybody is scurrying around picking out Christmas gifts and candies and getting ready to send off packages...