Humming the Hymns

Barbara, Steve and Andrew have been very conscientious about introducing me to people, places and all things Finnish.

Thursday evening we went bike riding around the lake, and had dessert at a little place by the harbor. For Friday's supper, Barbara made a Finnish soup with fresh salmon (kind of a cream-chowder thing, only different). Then, after supper, Steve and I met some of his friends at a pub in town, where I snacked on moikku, a popular bar food, which are these little fish lightly breaded and fried ... heads, fins, tails and all... with a light dip on the side. Very tasty.

For Saturday evening Barbara and Steve had invited some friends over for a grilli (cookout) so Barbara and I spent much of the day in the kitchen. She made cornbread, coleslaw and fruit salad, I made spongecakes to go with fresh berries. Steve grilled hamburgers and makkara (sausages). One of the guests brought wonderful homemade Finnish cinnamon rolls. It was a fun evening, and as it is said, a good time was had by all.

Yesterday (Sunday) I went to Mass with Barbara and Drew to the local parish. Roman Catholics are a defintie minority in Finland ... the entire country makes up one Diocese, and there are only seven parishes in the whole Diocese, Jyväskylä being one. The Bishop and most of the priests are Missionaries of the Sacred Heart from Poland. This was Confirmation Sunday here, so the Bishop presided and preached ... four young women were confirmed. Drew was one of the servers, and I was very proud of him. Everything was, of course, in Finnish, but English translation fo the Readings was published in the bulletin. The words were beyond me, but I could hum the hymns ... Holy, Holy, Holy, the Veni Creator for the Confirmation, Holy God We Praise Thy Name. At the reception afterwards, I greeted the Bishop in Polish (Praised be Jesus Christ...) which I think caught him a bit off guard. After I introduced myself (I was wearing the habit) he invited me to come work in Finland.

After we got home from Church we changed clothes and all drove an hour or so north to a lake cabin belonging to woman who was a Fulbright Scholar in the US back in 1962-63. We took stuff to grille, but she had prepared a wonderful soup and a berry cobbler. I also did the full Finnish sauna bit ... sweltering in the wood stove heat and jumping in the cold lake complete with two rounds of rinse and repeat. By the third time, it wasn't so bad, and I actually stayed in the water for a little bit. Steve and Drew did a little fishing, and I just enjoyed being around a lake again with the childhood memories it stirred up.

We headed for home just as it was getting dark, and since it was Drew's bedtime (after a very active day) he quickly fell asleep. When we got home he didn't even stir, so I carried him up to bed. I liked that.

After a very leisurely morning, Barbara and I did a little shopping this afternoon before picking Drew up from school. This is Grownups' Night Out, so a neighbor is going to stay with Drew while B, S, and I go out for dinner.

The preliminary Finnish chocolate research is yielding quite accpetable results, but more indepth study is needed. Stay tuned.