My in-laws got a new puppy and since we don't have any schedule, we drove to their summer place to meet him and, also celebrate my father-in-law's birthday too. We took their care and they are getting old, so while he drove there, I drove back. I think it is fast becoming the time where someone has to take his license away, as I don't feel comfortable with him driving. The thing that likely has kept him going this long, is that the car has a lot of safety features.
That aside...
Look at this little guy!
He only weighs a couple of hundred grams!
He isn't a very good guard dog though, as when we arrived, he was sleeping and he slept for the next hour so without even noticing all the noise. When he was finally up and had shaken the sleep from his eyes, he was playing around with us for about another hour, before retiring back for a nap.
It's a dog's life.
Their summer place is an old farm house that they have renovated inside with a country style and they spend a few weeks there with the family each summer. They occasionally are there in the winter too, but last winter the cost of heating it was so high, they kept it on the bare minimum to stop the pipes from freezing, and didn't visit much.
They used to have a house not far from where we live, but they decided to move into an old apartment in the city and renovate it. Now that life doesn't include maintaining a family home, I think they are also more interested in spending time at the cottage. The father is a specialist doctor, but raised a farmboy, so during the summer he helps out on the farm (where the cottage is) and rebuilds this and that. Finns are generally pretty handy.
Smallsteps had a ball there playing with her cousin on the trampoline and kicking a football. It hasn盲t really stopped raining, so her dress was soaked through and through and had to be dried in the machine before we headed home. They have a saying in Finnish "Summer dries" - but it is only 13C (55F) here today, which isn't really what most people would consider "summer".
There are a couple neighbors in the area and they have some horses which we went to have a look at. They were so bored and as soon as they saw us entering into their line of sight, they were really excited to get some visitors. Due to the mud, I wasn't able to get close enough for a pat, as even though I don't ride horses, I like petting them :)
And the view looking out in the other direction, with grain fields stretching into the distance, and plenty of forest breaking up the scene. It is quite a beautiful area, even with the heavy clouds hanging over the lush green. We might visit again when the weather is warmer, which I am looking forward to, as there are heaps of interesting flowers and bugs to take macro shots of and, it relaxes me.
What wasn't ideal...
As said, I drove my in-law's car the hour home and then just as we were in our driveway, I realized that I had left my hoodie at the cottage. Not a big issue except, my wallet and house keys were in the pocket and since I am having blood tests tomorrow morning, I need my wallet.
Then, my wife didn't have her keys on her either, which meant we were locked out of the house and had to drive to our in-laws (they had already left) to pick up a spare. Thankfully, they only live a few kilometers away, but I still had to drive the two-hour roundtrip back to the cottage, just to b there for 30 seconds to get my belongings.
Normally I don't forget stuff like this, but there was a "change in routine" with me driving the other car, and those change in routines kill me. I am not very good these days at pivoting quickly, so changes tend to make me miss what I normally wouldn't. I think this is normal for many though, where disruptions that break the flow of a routine, means pieces of the routine get missed.
There is a lesson in there somewhere.
It wasn't the end of the world, and it isn't bad to have a couple hours to my own thoughts along the drive. My imagination isn't what it was, but spending a little time reflecting still has some value. Though, it started raining very hard again and the driving conditions were terrible, so I had to pay attention to the roads too.
Not quite to plan, but a nice weekend to start the vacation season nonetheless. :)
Taraz
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