Most items were simple to complete:
(3. Hold mail. 4. Cancel newspaper.)
Some were easy but important:
(1. Tell bank we'll be abroad so they don't put a hold on my credit card like they did last year when I didn't tell them I was going to Italy.).
And by tonight, when we deliver our Manx cat to my parents, we will have completed phase one of the all-important "Dispersal of the Pets." Phase two occurs on Friday when we deliver the three dachsunds to the kennel. Only when the animals are out of the house do I truly feel a trip is imminent.
Last night I accomplished a very important piece of my travel preparations, which is the "Choosing of the Travel Blog Title." While I was amused by my son Tim's recommendation of "Eternal Sunshine of the Finnish Mind," I decided on my own (with a little tweaking from Geof).
I've already realized one potential problem with documenting a trip to Finland: I keep omitting necessary vowels (so many vowels!) and umlauts.
As I consult my Lonely Planet guide to Finland, I see that July is a good time to visit. Not only will there be something like 18 hours of sun, but it also seems replete with festivals, most of which seem focused on jazz, the Sulkavan Suursoudut, and the Jyväskylän Kesä, to name two. Unfortunately, we just missed the Wife-Carrying World Championships (with beer prizes), and we'll be gone before the Air Guitar World Championships in August. Nevertheless, we will be just in time for Sleepyhead Day, on which the people of Naantali vote on the laziest person in town, drag him from bed and fling him into the sea.
I still have time to practice my Finnish pronunciations (some of which involves an excessive rolling of Rs, a thing that cursed my study of French in high school), and imagine what my visit will be like. For now, I will rely on this little movie extolling Finland's virtues.
