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Sunday 15-Aug-04 |
My Birthday Party |
REFERENCE No.
A031-00 |
Tomorrow is my 29th birthday, but since I want to spend that day only with my sweetheart Stephen, I invited my relatives for a small birthday party today. In the morning I baked a strawberry cake, and Stephen and I did some cleaning. At about 3 pm the "guests" arrived: my brother Nicki, his wife Elisabet and their son Jonatan, my aunt Veka, her husband Kim and their daughters Hanna, Julia, Elin and Elvira, my grandfather Manfrid, my mother's aunt Gun-Lis and her husband Olof. It was a bit crowded, and we were not able to sit together at one table drinking coffee and eating cake, but it was still very nice that we were all gathered.
When I cut the cake Stephen quickly gathered everyone and they all sang "Happy birthday" for me! After the coffee and cakes we watched some photos and Stephen showed us the video clip he filmed when Jonatan had a football game a few days ago. Jonatan was very excited and happy to see himself playing and even scoring a goal. We also watched a clip Stephen and I filmed from our house in Malta, and everyone found it very interesting to see where we live, because none of them have visited us in Malta yet.
When the guests had left Stephen and I drove to the summer cottage to spend the night there. We were welcomed by a magnificent sunset. Later it was raining a little and was very cold near the open lake, but as soon as we managed to start a fire in the cottage it was very cosy there.
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Malin 'Picu' Hagglund |
Malta (Finland) |
22-Aug-04 |
Monday 16-Aug-04 |
A lovely Birthday |
REFERENCE No.
A032-00 |
Stephen and I woke up at the summer cottage at about 9 am, but stayed a while in bed lazying around. After breakfast we sat inside the cottage arranging Stephen's photoalbum. Stephen kept his promise that it was going to be sunny on my birthday, but it still was a bit too cold to be outside, since there was a cold wind from the sea, and therefore we preferred to do the photos inside.
At about 1 pm we drove to a nearby harbour and borrowed a rowing boat there. The wind was quite strong, so we had a bit of problem to get to Kopmanholmen, but at last we managed. After arriving to the island Kopmanholmen we went directly to the restaurant, and ordered grilled salmon with chips. At first we were a bit disappointed that the portions were so small, but the food was really good and we did get full in the end. We did not even have space for any desert, we only took coffee, which was included in the meal.
We needed some exercise after the meal, so we followed the path around the island. We also climbed a tower and enjoyed the nice view of the surrounding islands from there.
Stephen insisted to treat me both with lunch and dinner today, so it was a very luxurious day. We had reserved a table window at the restaurant Pavis in Jakobstad, and it turned out to be a very good choice of restaurant. There was a wonderful sunset by the harbour today. A table by the window had been set for us, just as we had requested, but Stephen saw another free table by the window which had a slightly better view. Therefore he asked the waitress if we could sit there instead. The waitress looked a bit surprised, so Stephen felt he had to come up with an explanation why he wanted the other table. He quickly looked at the other table and spotted a red flower there and said: "because I like red flowers". The waitress smiled, said "of course" and set the other table for us instead. A few seconds afterwards Stephen realized that there was a red flower on each table, even the one they had reserved for us in the first place :-)
We ordered some wine and the starters we chose (Stephen broccoli & cheese soup and I a tartar with salmon) were really delicious. As main course I had chicken and Stephen ate perch and as the cherry on the cake: for desert I had a wonderful chocolate cake (what else?) and Stephen ate nougat parfait with fruit. It was one of my best meals ever, Stephen really pampered me today :-*
And the day was not quite over yet: when we arrived back to my parents' place Stephen gave me a very cute birthday card and vouchers to Marks & Spencers. A perfect end of a perfect day.
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Malta (Finland) |
22-Aug-04 |
Monday, 06-Sep-04 |
Mini-vacation in Gozo |
REFERENCE No.
A033-00 |
Both Stephen and I got a bit disappointed when we woke up today, because it was cloudy :-( We had so much looked forward to our three day-vacation in Gozo, and rain was NOT included in our plans. But anyway, off we went by car to the harbour in Cirkewwa. It rained a little during the drive, but at least we were very lucky with the ferry, we were the last car to enter and the ferry departed only a few minutes after our arrival to the harbour. After arriving in Gozo we drove straight to Ghajnsielem, to meet the owner of the flat we were going to rent for two nights. This flat was smaller than the one we rented last time, but it was really nice, with a balcony large enough for a table and two chairs. We were even able to go up on the roof to enjoy the scenary.
However, we did not stay long in the flat, we just unpacked our things and were planning to go to eat, because it was already noon. But actually we did not feel very hungry yet, so we decided to go to a supermarket in Victoria first, to buy some grocery to eat for breakfast the following two mornings. On our way to the supermarket we passed by a small clothes shop, and Stephen spotted a pink (!) Brazilian-gear which was like made for me, since I like pink and Stephen like Brazil :-) It was really a good buy (especially since Stephen insisted to pay for it).
After our shopping we felt hungry, so now was a good time to go to one of our favorite restaurants in Gozo: Martin's Diner in Nadur. The food was really good as usual, we shared a salad with Gozo cheese as starter and ate ftiras with gozo sausage and cheese as main course. We had to wait for a while, because at first our ftiras did not have the ingredients we ordered, but we did not mind, we just sat there enjoying the view and the free wine while waiting.
Very full after the large meal we drove to San Blas bay to sleep on the beach. There were some tourists on the sandy beach, so we walked a bit along the shore and found a nice little clay beach were we could be on our own. We stayed for long in the water and then we laid down on the beach enjoying the sun. After some hours we walked up the steep hill back to our car and drove to the flat.
In the evening we decided to go to Marsalforn to eat icecream, but when we stepped out of the front door we realized that the rain was pouring down! Luckily raining never lasts long in Malta and Gozo, so after 20 minutes it had stopped and we could get our icecream. We also walked quite far along the beach in Marsalforn, and ended up sitting in a small park where Stephen invented a long and very interesting crime story :-) A nice end of our first day in Gozo.
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Malin 'Picu' Hagglund |
Malta (Finland) |
12-Sep-04 |
Tuesday, 07-Sep-04 |
Ramla beach and festa in Xaghra |
REFERENCE No.
A034-00 |
We woke up quite early, satisfied to see the sun shining through the kitchen window. We had breakfast
on the balcony and then we went for a drive with the car. First we went to some fields near Hondoq ir-Rummien,
because Stephen wanted to take photos of the island Comino and the Blue Lagoon. After the photos
(and some reading for me) we continued to take some photos of the views near Ramla Bay and then we drove
to Victoria. We were not very hungry today (maybe it had some connection with our huge meal at Martin's Diner
the day before), so we just ate some soup, gallettini and gbejniet in our flat.
We spent the afternoon in a lazy but very joyful way, namely on Ramla Beach. Stephen managed to lay in the sun for hours
without cooling down in the sea, while I spent quite a lot of time in the waves. We stayed long at the beach, but
we still had time to pick some prickly pears to have as breakfast the following morning, before we went to see the
fireworks at the fiest in Xaghra.
After some trouble we managed to find the fields where the fireworks were going to be held, and we walk around in the
large and VERY dark fields. It was quite adventurous and fun, and eventually we found a quite good place. But unfortunately
all our efforts were a bit in vain, because the fireworks were not very impressive. We had planned to stay and watch the
ground fireworks as well, but there was such a long delay that we gave up and went back to our flat to sleep.
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Malin 'Picu' Hagglund |
Malta (Finland) |
15-Jan-05 |
Wednesday, 08-Sep-04 |
Our favorite restaurant |
REFERENCE No.
A035-00 |
We allowed ourselves to be lazy this morning, and after a long sleep we ate some very tasty prickly pears on the
balcony and then we headed straight off to one of our favorite places in Gozo, Ramla Bay. We stayed for some hours,
laying in the sand and swimming and jumping in the waves.
After a quick shower in the flat we went to a place which has become tradition for us: we simply cannot be on Gozo
without eating at Ic-cima Restaurant in Xlendi. We have never left the restaurant hungry or disappointed, and this
time was definitely no exception. We ate mushroom soup, calamari and ice-cream, and all dishes were superb.
We took a short walk in Xlendi after the meal, then we went to Hondoq to pick some more prickly pears, and then
it was already time to go back to Malta :-(
We were lucky, because half an hour after we had arrived back to our house in Malta the rain started pouring down,
and there was a severe thunderstorm.
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Malin 'Picu' Hagglund |
Malta (Finland) |
15-Jan-05 |
Thursday, 16-Sep-04 |
Very sad news from Finland |
REFERENCE No.
A036-00 |
This day started in a very normal way, I woke up early and went to work. But a few hours later my dad contacted
me at work, and he told me the news I had been fearing for quite a long time. My mum has been sick in cancer for
almost a year, and her condition has slowly become worse and worse. So I have been trying to prepare myself for the
fact that she will probably not live for many years more, but still, it was a very big chock to get the news from my dad
that she was now in hospital and the doctors said it was a matter of days or even hours before she would die.
Naturally it was impossible for me to concentrate on work after this, I just left the office to get some fresh air and to phone
my boyfriend. Or actually I did not feel capable of speaking on the phone, I sent him an sms and he immediately phoned me up. He
realized how upset I was and came to pick me up straight away. We drove to Buskett, a green area were we could be
undisturbed to try to calm down. We stayed quite long, just lying on the ground resting and talking, and slowly I started to
feel a bit calmer. In the evening we went to a travel agency to arrange for flight tickets to Finland, and they did a very good
job by managing to fix flight tickets for us two days later. It felt good that Stephen decided to come with me, it would be much
harder to have to go alone.
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Malin 'Picu' Hagglund |
Malta (Finland) |
15-Jan-05 |
Monday, 20-Sep-04 |
At the hospital with my mother |
REFERENCE No.
A038-00 |
My mother is very weak and needs someone by her bed in hospital all the time. My father sleeps at the hospital, but
has to go to work during the days. I am glad I was able to come here to Finland to be with her, although there is nothing I can do
to ease her pain. It is so hard to see someone in so much pain, and when it is the person closest to your heart it is so much worse.
But I am trying to be strong in front of her, although I know she can see that we all pity her and that we are so sad
she has to go through this.
I am now spending most of my days here at the hospital, to keep her company and help her.
In the afternoon my father, brother or my mother's sister come there, so today I spent the afternoon and evening with Stephen,
first we went jogging in the surroundings, and then we went to do some shopping. In the evening we went out to eat some
junk food and went early to bed.
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Malin 'Picu' Hagglund |
Malta (Finland) |
15-Jan-05 |
Wednesday, 29-Sep-04 |
Gungerd 01.01.1947 - 29.09.2004 |
REFERENCE No.
A039-00 |
I know my opinion is very biased, but in my eyes the best mother in the world left the earth today. I wish she
would have got more time here, she enjoyed life very much and had so much more love to give. I have so many
good memories together with her, although in this moment it is difficult to feel comforted by that.
Another thing I might be able to comfort myself with in the future is that she got rid of her pain at last, and that
she had all her loved ones around her this last day. I was alone with her at the hospital in the morning when her
breathing was getting heavier and heavier. The nurses then advised me to call my father, and both he, my brother and
his wife and my grandfather quickly came there. Even Stephen managed to get there, although he had to come the 10
kilometres by bike in the strong wind. Once we were all gathered there my mum looked around at everyone of us,
I think this was the moment when she said goodbye although she was too weak to speak. After this moment she fell asleep and
a few hours later she quietly passed away.
It might sounds strange, but I was surprised over how hard the sadness over my mother's death hit me. I had
prepared myself for this moment the last week, and some days my only wish was that she would die soon, because
it is not a life to just lie in hospital and have terrible pain. But still, it seems impossible to prepare for a thing like this.
Stephen had to go back to Malta today, and although it was very tough to say bye to him at this moment he has been
an extremely good support for me during this hard time. And I know I will soon see him again in Malta. I of course arranged
to stay a bit longer in Finland now, to be able to attend the funeral.
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Malin 'Picu' Hagglund |
Malta (Finland) |
15-Jan-05 |
Sunday, 10-Oct-04 |
My mum's Funeral in Finland |
REFERENCE No.
A040-00 |
My mother's funeral was held in Pedersore church in Jakobstad, and many relatives, friends and neighbors came
to pay a last tribute to her. First the closest relatives gathered in a small chapel to pray and sing, and then we drove
to the church for the mass. It was very beautiful with a lot of music, just as she would have liked it herself. She used
to sing in a choir for many many years, and this choir came to sing on the funeral, and one of my mum's friend's son
played the trumpet, one of her favorite instruments. Many people brought flowers that they laid down near the
coffin, and the most touching moment was when some children from the kindergarten where my mum used to
work sang a song and laid one rose each near the coffin.
After the mass everyone walked down to the cemetary, where there was a short ceremony before everyone gathered
in a nearby building to talk and share memories.
It was a very hard day, and we were all totally exhausted in the evening. But even though we cried a lot and are
very sad, it was still a very beautiful goodbye. In the evening I went one more time to the cemetary, I wanted to say bye
one last time, since the following morning it would be time for me to return back to Malta.
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Malin 'Picu' Hagglund |
Malta (Finland) |
15-Jan-05 |
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