Drum Practice

Just got back from dinner at a Viking theme restaurant here in Jyvaskyla. Between the appetizer sampler and the entrees, I had a variety of things ... fried goat cheese, smoked reindeer heart, a couple different kinds of fish (smoked and marinated), mead (honey beer), and wild boar. The sides were a nice cheesy potato casserole, roasted rutabaga and carrots, and a fresh rhubarb sauce.

Now we're home and settled in for the evening. Drew is practicing his drums, Steve is watching some TV, Barbara is working on the computer, and I have a batch of laundry in the washer. I need to repack this evening, since we have to leave the house by 7:00 tomorrow morning for the train station.

Mass at St. Olav's was nice... there were about 30 people. Drew served. Afterward, there was coffee and cakes and I visited with people from Finland, Venezuela, India and France. The Pastor is a priest of the Diocese of Rome (Italy) who has been loaned out for mission work in Finland for the past ten years or so. The young man from France remarked that he was surprised when I introduced myself as a monk from the US ... I said we have a saying at home *Join the monastery and see the world.* He laughed.

Tomorrow I take the train to Helsinki, fly to Zurich via Berlin, then get a train to Einsiedeln. If things go according to schedule, I should be in Einsiedeln at 6:12pm (the trains are very precise). It's supposed to start snowing here this evening, so that should make for a scenic trip south to Helsinki.'

Drum practice is over ... in a small house, 15 minutes is a long time.