On The Island

Yesterday I returned to my mams house in Finland.
I have been away for about 10 days and it feels good to be back again.
There are still some stuff that have to be solved after my dads death and directly after I arrived we went to the funeral company and ordered the stone that will be placed at the grave.
Oh, to be honest with you I think it´s quite expensive to die.

Today I´ve been to Vasa with my mam shopping the clothes we will wear at the
wedding on next Saturday.
We were both very satisfied with the dresses and jackets we bought and I
found some extra pieces too.

Many years ago my mam and dad bought an own island in the archipelago outside of Vasa.
There is a little summer house with 2 bedrooms, kitchen and a living room.
To get there you have to cross the sea by boat for about half a mile (about 750m), after you first have traveled with a cable ferry for ten minutes over to an other bigger island called Bergo.
This is where I am right now together with my mam.
Directly when we came back from the town today, we decided to move out here.
We packed all the suitcases and bags in about 45 minutes and left and now we will stay here for a few days, maybe til Monday or Tuesday night.
It´s very different and relaxing to stay here. We have as an example no running water and the toilet is just a small house in the backyard, but we have got electricity and a sauna which is heated by logs. Tomorrow we will have a sauna bath in the afternoon and a special
dinner in the night.
I´ll try to remember to take some photos to show you...

The terrace.
There´s actually an other one in the backyard too.

The view from the terrace.
Tonight we decided to have a small barbeque for the two of us.

We were eating outside when the weather was just perfect.

First we had grilled halloumi cheese and salad.

Then fillet steak with a lot of black pepper.

As a desert we made grilled bananas filled with chocolate.

The nights are still quite light here in Finland.


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Un Besito Para Brito

Te quiero y echo de menos. XXoo


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Seaport Hotel in Turku

It says; Dear Susan Holm, welcome to be our guest... (The text is in Finnish).

I checked in at the Seaport hotel in Turku a couple of hours ago.
Tomorrow morning I´ll board the Galaxy cruise ship and head for Stockholm, Sweden.
I´ll be back at my mams house in a couple of weeks.

It´s a lot going on this time while I´m in Finland and
I will not return to Tenerife before in August.

My son Mattias and his girlfriend Pia have started planning their wedding
that will be held Saturday the 30th of July, in Korsnas.
Their newborn son will also be baptized at the same ceremony.

And I will of course be there...

This is the dinner I had tonight, here at the hotel. It was nice.
Chicken breast with a sauce of the typical kantarell-mushrooms of Finland.


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The Best Ribs Ever

Some days ago my sister Carola and her husband Calle invited
me and my mam for a barbeque.

Calle was doing the barbequeing.


They know how to make ribs. They were just delicious!

After the dinner we went out for a tour in their boat.

The whole family. Inside: Calle and Carola.
Outside: Sandra and Heidi (daughters) with Magnus (boyfriend of Heidi) in the middle.

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My Family At Dads Grave

My brother Tore, sister Carola, sister Ann, my mam Oline and me.
The photo was taken the day after the funeral.


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The Church of Petalax, Finland

This little cross church is the church of Petalax, the village where I was born.

The church tower.


This is ´The poor man´.
You can put coins or bills into his chest to support the mission of the church.

Please, click on the little arrow if you like to watch this video clip from the inside of the church.

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Tegenaria Atrica

I'm very afraid of spiders. I don't know why but many times it seams like they know about it and like to make me scared. They always leave the people around me in peace while they walk straight up to me.

Last night when I went to bed, here in my moms house in Finland, I almost got a heartattack when this kind of spider suddenly walked up along the wall. I went to the kitchen and got a brush and a dustpan, thought I somehow must get it moved out to the yard, but it moved very quickly and I couldn't catch it.

I really tried to not make any noise, when the other people in the house already had went to bed, but in the end they all woke up and hurried over to my room wandering what's going on.

My sister Ann finally caught the spider and carried it out to the yard. She takes spiders by hand while I'm more or less hysteric just looking at them.

This spider is the biggest one of the house spiders in Finland and it was named 'The spider of Europe' year 2008.

It's size can be up to 10 cm in diameter but the one in my room was about 5-6 cm.

It's not dangerous and it doesn't bite but looks like a monster and many people are afraid of it.

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Cutting Grass

Today I was cutting the grass at my mams house.
Please, click on the small arrow if you like to watch me working in the yard.

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My Dad

Charles Osterbro
21.08.1932 - 26.06.2011

My dad was moved up to heaven Sunday morning 26.06.2011, 9am.
He had been suffering from cancer, which finally was spread
all around inside his body.

Our hearts are heavy with sadness and tears, But our
memories are full of the love and kindness you
gave over the years. Missing you always.
R.I.P.

After the funeral a memorial service will be held in the assambly house of the church.

The Moon Eclipse

Tajao.

My last night on Tenerife, before I went up to Finland, was a little bit special. We went up to a small fishermens village called Tajao to watch a moon eclipse.

The nature in Tajao is special because of the rockets.

Me.

Brito.

The moon.

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Vacation

I will go to Scandinavia on Thursday morning.
My last night at Lewinskis will be on Tuesday night.
I don't know yet how long I will stay but I will tell you when I know.

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I'm a Grandma'

My son Mattias and his girlfriend Pia got a son on the 4th of June.
He was 51 cm(20.1 in) and 3800g (134 oz).
It's my first grandchild.

Congratulations Graphics & Comments

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Carpaccio

The other night Brito made 'Carpaccio' for us.
He is very handy in the kitchen and in the home in general.
He,he! I live more like a princess now!

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Buena Vista

The balcony view at the hotel.

The hotel is only a few meters from the ocean.

A group of 50 people booked the Lewinskis terrace last Saturday and I got an extra night off.
I would normally have been singing 2 hours before the Canarian band that
sing there Fridays and Saturdays.
Brito also arranged an extra day off and Friday afternoon we went up to the north of the island.
We stayed in a hotel in Puerto de La Cruz and went the next day for a trip to Buena Vista.
Imagine I've been living on Tenerife almost 7 years and I've never visited
'Punta de Teno' in Buena Vista before, which is the most north-west point of Tenerife.
It's a very beautiful place and I recommend you to pay a visit if you've got time while
you are on Tenerife.

We stayed on the 11th floor and it made me a little bit dizzy when I look down.


Friday night we had a dinner in this Guacinche in La Ursula.
I think I was the only 'extranjero' (foreigner) among all these Canarians.


Me in Garachico, next morning.


This monster is in Los Silos.
What animal is it? Anybody knows?


When you go to 'Punta de Teno' in Buena Vista you have to drive through the small 'eye'.
After you have passed it you have to drive through a horrible tunnel.
More about this in the video clip below...


The view at the 'eye point'.



There's also this beautiful rock.


'Punta de Teno'.


A tourist skip in Punta de teno.


The beach in Punta de Teno.


'El Faro' in Punta de Teno.


Restaurant El Burgado at the Golf area in Buena Vista.
We went here for a tapas...
This is one of my favorite restaurants now.


The interior is very special with a small bubbling rivulet inside the restaurant.


The wine, the bread and the mojo sauce were excellent.


I had 'Chopitos' for the first time in my life and I just like them.


'Queso frito' was also very nice.


On the way back to the south we went down to 'Los Carrizales'
which is the neighbor village of Masca.


We visited this house where Brito often stayed,
with his aunt, when he was young.



The valley of Los Carrizales.

This is how the normal tunnels are here on Tenerife.
The one on the way to Punta de Teno is horrible. If you are suffering from
claustrophobia you shouldn't go there. It's quite scary.
There's no lights and it's very low and narrow with no protection on the
walls inside and I think it's about 300 yards long (about 270 meters).

Please click on the small arrow if you like to join us through the tunnel.

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Dia De Canarias 3

This is the third and last video clip from our day in El Medano.
Brito had a dip in one of the pools at the shore.

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Dia de Canarias 2

This is a video clip from the picnic we had in El Médano a couple of days ago.
After the meal we had a stroll among the rockets, down at the beach line, to see if
we could find some interesting animals there.

Please click on the small arrow if you like to watch the video clip.

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