I've arrived, but the yarn hasn't

We made it! A week ago today we landed in Helsinki, Finland with many, many bags and made the trek to our new home in Tampere, about 160 km north. (That's about 100 miles... I don't think I'll ever be able to think in kilometers without doing a conversion!)

The week leading up to our trip was a tough one. Saying goodbye to almost 17 years of memories in our house and to good friends and family is not easy. This is the obligatory "last day of school" picture.We really only do "first day of school" pictures, but since there wouldn't be another first day picture at this house, we thought we'd capture this one. We spent 2 nights at my parents' house in Waterbury before we left. We packed, unpacked, packed and unpacked. It was hard fitting everything in! It was a beautiful weekend, and we enjoyed all that we love about Vermont.The trip was long (20 hours total) but the cats made it safely. Maisy doesn't look thrilled here, but she was sedated so...Our two seriously "scaredy" cats rode in or on cars, trains, monorails, elevators, escalators, and luggage carts, and were subjected to all sorts of loud noises like PA systems, jet engines and NY traffic & lots of beeping horns (we had to go out of the terminal and cross the street to get to the other terminal). The hour of bad turbulence around Iceland was not good for Lucy. She foamed at the mouth the entire time, poor thing. So if they made it through all that, it should be a good sign? They've already picked out some new favorite sleeping spots in the apartment. Lucy's favorite is the sunny window in the sauna. (Clearly NOT when the sauna is on!)

The girls got right down to business and decorated their room. Our days have been filled with unpacking and organizing, and trips to the grocery store to attempt to find things we are used to and like to eat. We've walked around and explored the town, and even dipped in the beautiful lake. We've gone on several bike rides by the lake, through the town, and through wooded areas. This place is just beautiful and it's fun to have everything be new and exciting. Last night after dinner, we went for a stroll downtown and then came back to sit outside in front of our apartment. This picture was taken at 9:00pm. The sunsets are just incredible - the colors seem more vivid here. This was the sky last Friday at 11:12pm... the longest day of the year. Now that we are mostly unpacked, I have work to do! I have to set up my office and figure out how to get my 19 pound "stash" to be delivered! On June 15th I sent over a bunch of my knitting things from the shop... needles, some stash yarn, paperwork, patterns, office stuff, etc. I just received a notice in the mail yesterday... it was addressed to ME, said "posti" (mail) on the outside, and showed the shop's address on the inside. From what magic I could work with Google translate, it seems my box arrived in Helsinki on June 21st and it has cleared customs. I have no idea how or when it is going to get here. Marc took the notice in to work today to have someone translate it for him.

Do you know how hard it is to go this long with NO yarn and NO needles? It's torture. I usually take a project on the plane... but limited carry-on space and 2 cats in bags got in the way of that.

So I patiently wait...