The longest day of the year

Today is summer solstice, the longest day of the year 2008. From now on it´s downhill; every day is going to be shorter than the day before until we reach winter solstice on December 21st.

Back in Finland this weekend is an official bank holiday weekend. Everything is closed. In all official buildings and homes flags of Finland were hoisted at 6 pm on Midsummer Eve (yesterday) and flown all night till 9 pm tonight. Finland is full of festivals and happenings. People are celebrating the light. Traditional bonfires can be seen all over the countryside. In region Lapland people all over the world come to see the midnight sun.

I´m thinking all of this now, sitting alone here in our second home in Solingen. I came here a few days ago to work a little; Angie is on her way arriving later this afternoon.

We´ll get visitors from Finland tomorrow morning. My sister Maukka and brother-in-law Arska are coming to a late honeymoon. The wedding took place in Salo, Finland, on February 16th but only now could they take some days off from work and kids. The all-inclusive trip was our wedding gift to the newlyweds.

It is really nice to have my sister here. Too bad the visit is so short, they´ll stay with us only five days. We will pick them up from Düsseldorf Airport tomorrow at noon, staying here until Tuesday afternoon and then drive through Germany to Leipzig to show our real hometown. Thursday evening I´ll take them to Berlin, only an hour and half’s drive from Leipzig, where they stay a few days by Claudia. She´s the German exchange student who spent a year in Finland by Maukka´s home a couple of years back and is now considered as one of her own kids, sister for Aino, Venla, Santtu, Eero and Lauri. Maukka and Arska are flying back to Finland from Berlin Sunday week from tomorrow.

Claudia is by the way the only German I know who speaks perfect Finnish! She´s finishing her school this week (abitur in German, about the same as A-levels or High School Diploma, or YO-tutkinto in Finland). Maukka and Arska decided to come now so they can have a few days with us and then celebrate with Claudia.

I like my sister a lot. I think in Arska she found a real soul mate. I´m really happy to have them here.

Have to start cleaning, Angie arrives about 3 pm.

Welcome Maukka & Arska!

Hyvää juhannusta, as we say in Finland (have a great midsummer).

Nice memories

"Mein Schatz" (literally: My Treasure) Angie sent a photo a few minutes ago. She left Rome yesterday evening so late she could drive only about 400 km (250 miles) before stopping to sleep. She spent night in Lerici, near Ligurian border to Tuscany in Italy.

Small coastal town of Lerici is for both of us a really nostalgic place. We met when both of us were living in Italy. On our first date we had a typical Ligurian dinner in this restaurant Angie photographed this morning.

Believe it or not, but it´s true: I still remember exactly what she was wearing that night, a hundred years ago. Clothes, jewelry, everything. I remember how she had her hair. But I didn´t remember this restaurant, until I saw the picture.

She did.

I am a happy man.

YES! Angie comes home!

Eyesight is back, a ten-day sickleave is over. Work keeps me busy. Life goes on, summer is really here (see the picture).

Angie called a few minutes ago. She´s seen enough of Rome to last a while so she starts late tonight or early tomorrow the long drive back home, arriving here in Solingen late tomorrow or early Wednesday.

I can not describe how much I´ve been missing her. And, according to her, she feels likewise. This past two weeks was ment to be a holiday for her, to let me to concentrate for my work so I could have a full week off when my sister Maukka arrives here with her husband. They´ll be here Sunday 22nd for a weeks visit.But like almost always with our plans, this one backfired when I got ill. Angie offered, of course, to drive straight back here when she heard about my eye infection, but I said no. She had plans for this holiday, a lot of friends to see, a lot to do. I had all the help I needed here. Not only my cleaning lady made an extra effort to assist me when I couldn´t see a thing, but also my friends and neighbours here helped me a lot with cooking, cleaning and shopping.

Now I can see myself. Tomorrow is a preparation day for operation "Welcome Home, Honey!". Shopping and cleaning, preparations for a romantic candlelight dinner.

Old cliché, but so true: I´m only half without my Angie!

Alone again

The weekend was as nice and relaxing as I had hoped. Angie arrived late Friday afternoon and left yesterday to Rome, Italy. She´s back here in about two weeks, and then we´ll drive home together. My village here, this small second home, is really a nice place to be and to work but enough is enough. I miss home in Leipzig. Sunday lunches with my mother-in-law, my friends there, the most beautiful Zoo, the pulse of a big city after weeks of small village life and intensive working.

Like I said, we really enjoyed each others company. Bobi from Paparazzi cooked us a marvelous dinner Friday night, as well as Pedro from Casa Pedro on Saturday. Nice walks and talks, a good movie (DVD) with a couple glasses of heavenly wine. Long periods hand in hand, close. Quality time together; I even managed not to touch my computers nor made I any work related calls during the weekend. I know Angie likes that.

Our village had a also special happening this weekend, the 11th "Classicar" old timer race. It is a meeting of old timer enthusiasts, organized by a local automobile club. Here´s some photos:

Nice weekend ahead

Over a week now without Angie. Because of my work situation, I´ve not been home in Leipzig in three weeks. On the other hand, Angie´s mother has been needing her help and care there. We´ve met weekly, of course: two weeks ago two days in Nijmegen, Holland, and last week she was here from Monday to Wednesday.

The project I´m working now keeps me occupied until mid June. Angie could now have a couple weeks off, so she said yes when an old friend from Rome asked her help. She wants to move back to Germany and Angie goes to help packing.

But first we have a full weekend together. She drives here (Solingen) tomorrow, bringing back my laundry which she took home to be washed after her last weeks visit. Doing the laundry is always a problem when I stay here longer. Home in Leipzig Angie keeps always an extra stock of clothes for me so I just change my luggage when staying home before returning here.

I guess you can see that basically I have nothing to say now. Cant´t concentrate, can´t sleep, can´t read, nothing in TV. Always the same feeling when waiting Angie or closing this "home away from home" and heading towards the real home; I love and miss "Mein Schatz" (literally "my treasure") very much and can´t wait to see her on the doorstep.

Almost everything is ready. Fridge full, tables for dinners for Friday and Saturday reserved, apartment cleaned. Tomorrow only fresh sheets, fresh bread from local bakery and some flowers. And a long wait: she can leave home about noon and 500 kilometers on Friday afternoon traffic takes almost five hours; no speed limit is a nice theory but on Friday and Sunday afternoons autobahns are really full.

Sunday afternoon Angie starts her two day drive to Rome, where she stays at least 10-12 days. I am missing her already. I hope I don´t ruin our weekend by thinking the next two weeks separation too much. I must really work with myself to prevent that feeling to come between us this weekend.

I want to have fun with my wife this weekend!

Work versus Relationship

Last weeks have been very busy. A couple of work projects have been taking almost all of my time. Every now and then a couple of days home with Angie and then on the road again.

This weekend we celebrate our birthdays (me Tuesday last week, Angie yesterday) together with our German friends and family. I will arrive in Leipzig about 18:00 (6 PM), reception starts 19:30. Early Saturday some customers of mine will arrive, I´ll take them to see AMI, one of the main European car exhibitions. Nothing to do with my work but a nice way to corrupt the customers. Traditional Sunday brunch with Angie, my mother-in-law and Angie´s aunt, and Sunday evening on the road again on a two week trip.

Those who read my old blog know one of my eternal themes: Is this work-oriented life really the only alternative we have? Simply, I do not spend enough time with Angie. When we have an argument it is normally because of this lack of time together. Going to bed alone in some remote hotel is not nice when your biggest desire is to fall asleep enjoying (and be waked up by) the warmth of the body of the love of your life.

As a young man I decided I´ll save money so I can retire when I am 50. That Big-Five-Oh is now only a year away and now it seems I´ll have to work quite a bit longer than planned. To pay the bills is keeping me on the road.

Life sucks! Today. Not always, but clearly it sucks today. Tomorrow evening, home with my Angie and our friends, I will not think so. But now, LIFE SUCKS!

Happy Easter

This winter has not been a normal one. End of January and beginning of February we were enjoying the sun. Daily temperatures between 8 and 14 °C, about 46 to 57 °F. Street bars and coffee shops were open, people were talking about an early spring.

Now, end of March, we´ve got snow here in Leipzig, first time this "winter". It´s cold, windy and dark.

Anyway, Easter is here. Long weekend with Angie. No work, no stress. Picture here shows Easter decorations at Leipzig Hauptbahnhof, central railway station, where we went day before yesterday to buy some flowers and Easter eggs to our friends. Click to see it full size.

Happy Easter to everyone.

Logistics of love and family

Maukka´s wedding week and a half ago brought us a logistical problem. Angie´s best friend’s birthday was only two days before the wedding. Angie had long ago promised to organize the party. Problem is this friend lives in Rome Italy. From the beginning it was clear she makes the trip with her car, so she can bring back some important things from the warehouse where we still have a lot of stuff, put there after selling the apartment summer of 2006. She enjoys driving; we both like the trip through Switzerland very much and make it normally very slowly, 2-4 days for a bit over 1300 km from Leipzig to Rome. When you for example check Morcote (homepage and map), a small town by Lake Lugano, you understand why it is almost impossible just to drive through.

The plan was OK, we both thought. She drives alone to Rome, I stay at work and fly later there for a few days to visit some friends, too, and to help her to pack stuff from warehouse to car, and then we would drive back together.

When the invitation to the wedding came it was too late to cancel everything we (she!) had already organized. It was time for Plan B: she drives to Rome, I drive to Solingen to work a couple of days on that side of Germany. Friday 15th she catches a plane in Rome, I do the same in Solingen (Düsseldorf Airport 30 km from home), and we´ll meet at Helsinki Airport driving together to Salo. Sunday after the wedding back to Helsinki, nice and quiet evening in hotel, next day some work stuff of mine and then rental car back to airport, late lunch together, Angie flies back to Rome, me to Solingen to work. Then yesterday evening I was supposed to be on a plane heading Rome, to drive back home to Leipzig with "Mein Schatz" (= My treasure) over the weekend. In Leipzig on Monday next week, 3rd of March and following day, Tuesday the 4th after the work, this already routine 4-5 hour drive to Solingen to pick Eero and Teemu up from Düsseldorf Airport late same evening.

Plan B worked until yesterday. Like always, something came up. This time only five hours before I was supposed to be on the plane heading Rome, having a cold Campari Soda in my hands and anxious to meet Angie after a week’s break. Now, instead of drinking cappuccino in Piazza Navona hand in hand with a beautiful lady, I am in the middle of nowhere in the Dutch countryside working with ugly men. Luckily from this part of Holland I´ll drive home to Solingen only an hour and a half, so I can sleep home. Spare parts to fix the crashed system, ordered earlier today, will arrive sometime Friday. I assume the job is done late Friday / early Saturday.

Plan C is now active. I have to finish this job. Then maybe late Saturday evening I can drive to Leipzig. It is a 511 km drive one way; there is also a 60 km shorter route between our homes but it takes about an hour longer to drive. Sunday lunch with my wonderful mother-in-love and her sister, Angie´s aunt. Schatz arrives late Sunday or Monday, depending on the conditions when crossing the Alps.

After that back to Plan B: on Tuesday back to Solingen to pick our Finnish visitors from the airport.

Motto: Life is a logistical nightmare!