The herkkutatti are out in force now. We found at least a dozen nice ones today in the forest behind our building. There were more old ones, but they are no longer good.

Congratulations to Anneli.
posted by Lee at 9:52 AM

 
That is crazy, but you hear about the people in California who want to tear down homes but end up doing remodels around the fireplace.

I saw Mars the other night on the way to Houston. I was 35,000 feet closer than the Earths surface, the closest I will ever be to Mars.

That is great about Anneli , and how was Micheals next game?

I am in Manhattan now. I flew into Newark and had to split a cab with a guy to 81st ST and Park Ave. It was $30 a piece. We just missed the train that would've been $10 to Penn Station, and then a lot of public transportation from there... So maybe $30 was a good price. Anyway, we are off to South Hampton tomorrow. It should be fun.

-Keith
posted by Keith at 1:06 AM

 
It's been cloudy for about 2 weeks now and is cloudy this morning, too. But last night it was clear allowing me to see Mars. So pretty lucky.
posted by Lee at 1:03 AM

 
Last night we had a blackout of about 30 minutes. It went on longer (an hour or two) in other parts of southern Finland. It must have happened because the officials were so sure that a blackout like the one in American could not happen here because the system was "so good." Ha ha...

Mom, the hotel we will stay at is the Hotel Baudelaire Bastille. If you click the link you can get the address. I will have my phone with me if you need to call me.

Looking at the Old Navy website they have these Henley shirts which are like the ones I was telling you about, except they don't snap underneath. I guess 3T is the right size, if you see them. They have the snapping ones, too, the largest size is only 2T, which is the same size as what he has now and it does fit fine and would probably get him through the winter. But whatever is fine. This Flannel shirt would be good. It's too bad I didn't look here earlier and so I could order them with time to get to you.
posted by Lee at 11:27 PM

 
I figured.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 9:30 PM

 
Sounds fun. By the way, Keith, we have your CTR ring and are holding hostage to ensure you come back. In case you were wondering.

Thanks for the card for Owen, Cindy...
posted by Lee at 12:08 AM

 
We visited the Epcot Center today. There was only a light sprinkiling today. No hurricane like winds or anything. Epcot was cool. We were there 12 hours or so and didn't get to everything we wanted to. We did go to Mars, and back. That was fun. We tested some vehicles for GM. We ate in Mexico and visited amny sites around teh world. It was fun.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 7:21 PM

 
My morning commute has changed. It's nice to watch T??l?'s ornate buildings rattle by through tram 8's scratched up windows. I like seeing Apollonkatu's little park, where skewed streets come down a hill, past Olaus Petrin kirkko, intersecting Runeberginkatu. I like spending a half hour with Matilda.
posted by Lee at 6:42 AM

 
We just finished a long day at The magical Kingdom. It was a lot of fun. We had dinner at Cinderella's Castle. That was fun. The day was very nice and then there was a nice long downpour. The rain never stopped and we got soaked through. We go to Universal Studios tomorrow.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 9:50 PM

 
Mom, we're not getting to Paris until 21:45 on the 11th. I'm not sure that works for you. We got a good deal for those times, that's why we're going then. Also, we'll leave the next morning before 9:00 to Marseille. On the 16th we'll take the train straight to Charles de Gaulle airport from where our plane leaves at 17:30 (I think.)
posted by Lee at 3:01 AM

 
That sounds fun. How was Matildas first week?

I am going to Orlando tomorrow to join Cindy for the week. That should be fun. I think we are going to Disney World on Monday. Talk to everyone later.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 8:09 PM

 
Hello,

Matilda started 1st grade on Tuesday. She was really excited, always saying, "I can't believe I'm starting school", etc...

We had Paula and Tom to dinner last night. It was odd to see Tom in Finland. Melina's mom came, too. It was nice.

Lee
posted by Lee at 11:49 PM

 
I meant Uncle Timo. I forgot about the confusion. She'd posted that I should contact him...

We played our last game today in baseball and we finish 4th (out of six teams). It is our highest finish ever. The top three team go to the finals.

posted by Lee at 2:10 PM

 
I figured he'd would be in the Turku University Hospital. Not good news. Did you call Timo?
posted by Lee at 2:10 PM

 
Keith lost 5 points??? More like 1! In one hand three of us (there were 4 players) bid 0 and Keith (bidding last) bid 4. He got three. That was the oddest hand of all.

It's been fun having him over here. Helsinki is a great city in the summer. You all should come and experience it again...
posted by Lee at 12:01 AM

 
I work the 28th, but have the 29th and 30th off. We will see. Why aren't you leaving on the 28th? That would be a good day to fly.
-KJH
posted by Keith at 11:30 PM

 
We have had some exciting rounds of Xactika. LEe has won two of the three games we have played. Tonight he was very "lucky" and managed to win by bidding 4 and hoping I would go down 1. It happened. I lost 5 points to come in second place. I miss playing with Amanda and Timo where I would always win. We have been to the beach every day except Sunday. I have been to all the beaches in Lauttasaari. The weather has been beautiful. It is finally cooling down a bit. It is midnight now and the twilight is finally fading to black. I fly home tomorrow leaving here at 2:20 PM and arriving in New York later that afternoon.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 3:07 PM

 
Hello all,

Keith came through for our team trying to finish the year in 4th place for the best Urhot finish ever. If we'd forfeited we'd lose 1 point and be in 5th place, whereas losing gives you 0 points. We all pitched in and bought Keith his playing license and like he said, he even made a play.

We went to Suomenlinna yesterday and it was fun exploring the caves and tunnels and swimming at the beach. The weather is extremely hot for Finland. It's hot for most places. Owen has taken to Keith like a duck to water. It's amazing to see how much he likes him. After sauna he imitated every move Keith was making towelling off. He even said "Uncle Keith" though his vocabulary is pretty small. And while I carried him at Suomenlinna he asked me to give him to Keith. Funny.
posted by Lee at 3:10 AM