Arto & Miki's diary

Arto has a very nice mother . Arto's mother was very good to me... I felt very sad when I had to return to Japan...

Arto's mother made salmon soup for me. I was really looking forward to her salmon soup. Now, I know why Arto is very fond of her salmon soup . Her salmon soup was very good... I would try to make salmon soup with Arto in Urayasu .


I am fond of pickled cucumbers. How about you???
I think that Finnish cucumbers are much bigger than Japanese cucumbers... Both Arto's mother and my mother make pickled cucumbers. The Japanese cucumber does not have a thick rind, so we eat a cucumber skin and all. Arto's mother takes off a cucumber skin. I wonder if the Finnish cucumber has a thick rind... I would ask her... .
I found Japanese rice at a supermarket in Kuusamo. You can have Japanese rice in Finland too, but the price is high... . Arto also has rice. He puts strawberry sauce on his rice. I have never had rice together with strawberry sauce, so I needed some time... But, the strawberry sauce was very good .

We tried to roast two potatoes in a fireplace... I made a fire in our fireplace and Arto put our potatoes in it. We were waiting for our potatoes in front of our fireplace... Unfortunately, our potatoes were burned . Needless to say, Arto wrapped our potatoes in foil... We had our black potatoes with butter and salt. They were not bad... . I enjoyed our black potatoes very much... I believe Arto also enjoyed... .

We had a barbecue at night. I made a fire again and Arto put our potatoes in it again. Unfortunately, our potatoes disappeared... . We could not have our potatoes... . We had only our sausages... Our sausages were good... I put cheese on my sausage. It was really good... .

I show you our good potatoes. Well, I like our potato memories very much .



I made miso soup for Arto and his mother. I was very happy they liked my miso soup . Actually, they sometimes make miso soup by themselves . Arto made miso soup for his bosses and co-workers last week. They seem to have enjoyed his miso soup... . If you have a cold, you should have miso soup... Miso is good for your health . But it has a lot of salt. You should avoid having a lot of miso at the same time...

I enjoy cooking with Arto . I am sure that Arto would make miso soup for me someday... .

Arto took me to a nice flower shop. They had beautiful flowers and nice ornaments... I liked that flower shop very much... . Arto gave me beautiful flowers. His flowers made my birthday so wonderful... . I believe Arto would allow me to show you his flowers... .

In Finland, most people often use candles. Arto's mother welcomed me with many candles . Her candles were so beautiful... . Arto would come to Japan soon... He would be welcome with my parents' smiles... .

I think you can see a candle in this picture. We made a funny memory with this candle... .
We were also lighting our candle. Unfortunately, our candle spilled on the tablecloth... Arto worked hard for the tablecloth... . I think you can find an iron in the picture... .

I wonder if you know where Urayasu is...

Urayasu is a famous city because of Tokyo Disney Resort. Urayasu is just 10 km from downtown Tokyo, and is easily reached by train .

According to the local newspaper, 67,042 Japanese families live in Urayasu. I prefer Urayasu to Tokyo (my hometown) because there are still some quiet places here .


As you may know, almost all of the Japanese train stations have ticket gates. I wonder if you can see the ticket gate of my station... Most signs in Japan are written in Japanese and in English. You do not have to worry about the language .

Arto enjoys taking pictures. He has already taken a lot of beautiful pictures . We might make some postcards in the future... The price of 500 postcards is 11,000 yen. If we sell one postcard at 200 yen, we would be able to make some money... Arto would be happy if many people enjoy his postcards and pictures... . Arto's physical therapist Mari believes he can make beautiful postcards. I believe so too .

Incidentally, I also enjoy taking pictures. I might take some beautiful pictures in the future... .

I believe Arto would take a lot of pictures in Japan. I would show you some beautiful pictures .

To all who gave warm messages and nice gifts to us:

We really appreciate your warm messages and your nice gifts... . As you know, we grew up in different countries. We know that our future would not be easy... Even if we have some problems in the future, we would always try to find the best way together... .

I would close this diary soon... My messages and pictures would appear on our webpage. I am going to write about my trip to Finland first... . Thank you very much again for visiting this diary. Please visit our webpage when you have time...

http://www.naturalfinland.net/

Thank you very much again for your warm messages and your nice gifts... .

I would like to tell you a little about us...

Arto is from Finland and I am from Japan. We met each other in January of 2005. We have lived in different countries, so we could not meet each other easily... The long distance between Finland and Japan made us uneasy and sad, but even this long distance could not separate us... . We kept in touch with each other through the Internet almost every day. Actually, we always tried to talk frankly . It was always very important for us... Well, our computers worked hard for us... .

We are engaged... Arto always tries to make me happy... . He always tries his best... He knows what I really need in my life, so I have decided to get married to Arto . It would be very hard for me to live in a foreign country, but I would live in Finland with Arto . Finland is a very wonderful country, but I would miss Japan from time to time... I think so...

Arto would come to Japan on June 15 . He would stay in Japan with me until next May. I have work until next May, and besides I have some problems in my family... We are going to move to Finland together... .

Of course, we do not think that our future life would be easy. We would have some problems in the future, but we would always try to find the best way together... We would try to make a real family as long as we live... .

I am sure that you are enjoying this Christmas season... .

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
And Children listen to hear
Sleign bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
"May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white." .

Both my bosses and co-workers are funny... .

There is a nice restaurant near our company.
http://www.tokyodome-hotels.co.jp/e/restaurants/pierview.html

There was a company party at the Pier View restaurant the other day. I had to work a little overtime. When I arrived at the restaurant, my bosses and co-workers had already enjoyed the Japanese beer .

One of my bosses gave me a big glass. She is always good to me. I also enjoyed the Japanese beer . I wanted to have custard pudding, so I did not drink much. When I was talking with my co-workers, my boss gave me a plate filled with mushrooms and custard pudding. As you know, I do not like mushrooms... Although my boss knows I do not like mushrooms, he enjoys giving me a lot of mushrooms every year... . He is a very bad boss... . Fortunately, one of my co-workers took the plate for me. He likes mushrooms. My boss does not like crabs very much. Les and I gave him a lot of crabs . He was trying to give his crabs to his people... .

I left the restaurant earlier than them because I wanted to go to bed early... I heard that my bosses and co-workers enjoyed the company party until 9 pm... I also enjoyed the company party... .

Is your work getting along well???

As you know, I have been very busy with my work recently... I work overtime almost every day. Fortunately, I am getting along well with my work, bosses and co-workers . My co-worker, Les warms my cold hands very often. She enjoys exchanging greetings with my Arto .

Both my bosses and co-workers like beer very much... . Incidentally, my father also likes beer. If I remember correctly, my father is going to a drinking party with his co-workers tonight . I am sure that my parents' dog would avoid being with my father tonight because he does not like drunken people... .

I would enjoy Japanese coffee with Arto and his mother in January . I found good Japanese coffee the ofther day... We would enjoy cooking together. Arto has a very nice mother... . Arto baked good cookies for us. We liked his cookies very much .

I enjoyed the company party with my bosses and co-workers... I would write about the company party next time... .