These photos were captured using the Kodak EasyShare DX4900.
All images are © TomSettle.Communications.
Monday June 30 2003
A quiet day. Worked on editing photos for the website. Heated up sauna…this time temperature reached almost 90C/195F! A proper Finnish sauna 🙂
Tuesday July 1 2003
Sawed up some old trees and moved branches from the forest. Went shopping in Virojoki, then stopped at Teuvo’s for coffee. Visited Leena’s in the evening to play cards.
Wednesday July 2 2003
Hottest day of the summer…about 30C/85F in the sun.
Went for a long walk around the countryside, taking lots of pictures: the remains of my Grandfather’s old boat, the river, part of an old barbed wire fence, the local strawberry field, some wildflowers, Terttu’s cottage, Teuvo’s barn, Jouni’s old car, Iines the cat, Teuvo gets down, the main road through Alapihlaja (the former grocery and bank buildings are seen in the distance).
Grilled at Teuvo’s in the afternoon, later Terttu came to our cottage to play Rummikub. Went swimming at the Pihlaja beach for the first time this summer.
Thursday July 3 2003
Our water pump died during the middle of my shower. Fortunately, we still had some water in the sauna so I was able to “finish” that shampoo job!
Went to Hamina to pick up Liisa’s cousin Sirkka. Had some coffee and went shopping. Visited Sirkka’s brother’s widow for afternoon coffee (yep, Finns love their caffeine!)
Stopped at Teuvo’s on the way back, then Liisa made a few phone calls regarding the water pump. Got hold of a plumber..he’ll be here tomorrow afternoon.
Sirkka and Terttu visited in the evening. We’re invited to their cousin Pentti’s cottage tomorrow.
Took a couple of night photos: the moon, our cottage.
Friday July 4 2003
Liisa, Terttu, Sirkka and I went to their cousin Pentti’s cottage this morning. They have a great view of the water.
Pentti prepared some smoked fish for the group, then took us by motorboat to Virojoki. Along the way, we could see the local ski jump in the distance.
Pentti kicked up the motor on the way back and got us a little soaked. Had some Finnish pancakes for dessert when we returned.
Got back to Alapihlaja in mid-afternoon. The plumber showed up and told us the old water pump isn’t worth fixing.
Sirkka’s niece Johanna (my second cousin) and her family visited Terttu’s cottage. Her husband gave Liisa a lift to Virojoki to buy a new pump…the plumber will return tomorrow to install it.
Saturday July 5 2003
Went with Terttu and Leena to drop off Sirkka at her friend’s house. Shopped in Hamina and had coffee in the marketplace.
The plumber returned mid-afternoon to install our new pump. Went to Teuvo’s to check e-mail, later Teuvo came here for sauna.
Heard something on the radio about an accident near Vaalimaa (the nearby Russian border town)…apparently a 9-10 hour backup. Leena and Terttu went to a concert and dancing place this evening.
Sunday July 6 2003
Liisa and Terttu went by rowboat to sunbathe, I worked on updating the website.
Went to Terttu’s for dinner, Leena stopped by first and later my cousin Jouni and his daughter Marjut dropped in for a visit. They came to our cottage for awhile, then we walked down to the beach.
I looked outside around 10:30PM and it seemed like the sky was on fire…quite a breathtaking sunset! Grabbed my camera and snapped a bunch of pictures, including the burning sky, the river, trees by the river.
