Porridge, Gunwharf, Portsmouth, UK

mino Posted Mar 11, 2012, 5:28 pm	i just visited the park today!
mino Posted Mar 18, 2012, 3:55 pm	Hi! I visited a park today, where I got stuck in a hedge- pictures will follow! , Porridge
mmm105 Posted Mar 27, 2012, 7:38 pm	Hi Mom! It's me, Porridge. I arrived in Finland today. I was so curious to see this new place, that I sneeked out of my envelope. "Oh, hello! Who are you? I'm Mervi, your hostmom here in Finland. I'm sure we will have so great time here! It's so nice to have you here, I was waiting for you." "Hi! I'm a newbie ToyVoyager hippo. My name is Porridge, and I come from Germany." "Welcome to Finland, Porridge! I will take good care of you. And I have many ideas, what we can do here while your visit." "You can come out of the envelope now!" hostmom said to me. Hurray! I dont have to be in that envelope anymore. I feel so welcome here. Some of hostmom's toys came to introduced themselves. It was nice to have friends. I asked my hostmom to tell me, where we are exactly. She smiled and show me the map of Finland. She told me, that we are now in town named Jyväskylä. It's a nice town in Central-Finland, and there's about 130 000 inhabitants in this city. Mom look, the city where I am now, it's there. Just where the red spot is. Just in the middle of Finland. Kisses and hugs to you, Mom! Everything is fine here. Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Mar 28, 2012, 5:25 pm	Hi Mom, Today was very fun day! First, my hostmom said that I will need something warm clothes, because we are going to do some nice things today. She didn't tell me, what we are going to do, she wanted to keep that in secret.  Ooooh, I will going to have a surprise!  What would it be? I have no clue about it... She said I would need warm clothes... hmm... Are we going to somewhere? Somewhere cold place? I'm sooooo exited! Just can't wait! Then hostmom asked me to pick 2 colours from all these strings: It was quite difficult to choose only two. But I finally decided these: And then hostmom told me what we are going to do at first. We would make me a scarf and a skicap. She told me that I'm going to need them when we are going to outside. Well, I asked hostmom to teach me chrocheting, and I learned it quite fast. And this is the result. Do I look nice? Hostmom said I look very cute. And she also said I'm ready to go outside. Hurray! I'm going to see some snow!!! Hostmom's own travelling toy kitten Luna came with us. It was nice to have company. We walked little bit, and then we stopped. I was wondering, why we stopped, why we won't go forward...? But then hostmom couldn't help herself, and started laughing, and told that we are going to make a snowman!!! Wow!!! That must be fun!!! I haven't ever before do a snowman, so I was really exited! Me and Luna was thinking that this place looks the perfect place to make a snowman. Yeah, this place is good for that. It was really hard work to roll on such a BIG snowballs. The body is ready, but snowman's head must be put to the right place... Uuhg, snowman's head is so heavy! Someone please come and help me with this thing...  Luna came to help me... ...and together we managed to put snowman's head in the right place. And then it's time to put snowman's hands. Then we put the hat... ...and a scarf... ...and I made snowman's face. Oh, how nice! The snowman is ready! We did it!  Luna was in funny mood. He climbed to sit on the snowman's nose!!!  I wanted to try it, too. It looked so funny! But when I was on the snowman's nose, I decided try to do something wild. I would go on the snowman's head! ha haa!  Hurray! I did it! I climbed on the snowman! Look Mom, I'm here!  It was fun!!!  * * * When I was back inside, I wanted something warm drink. So, I made a tea for myself. Mmmmmmm... it smells good!  Hostmom's cat came to help me, and he took off the teabag from the cup. How nice cat he is! Thank you for helping me! And then it's time to relax, and enjoy the cup of tea.  bye, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Mar 29, 2012, 3:24 pm	Hi Mom, Today we got some company.  First, we were thinking, what is that envelope... Then we saw a small tiger coming out of the envelope. She said her name is Sylvia and she comes from Germany.  I gave her a welcome hug. And we all became friends! It's so nice to have other ToyVoyagers here. Lots of love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Mar 29, 2012, 8:21 pm	Hello mommy, I was outside today, too. It was just a little visit in fresh air. Mom, look! It's still so snowy here! Snow has already started to melt away, but there's still lots of it here. Great! This is the house, where I'm living right now. My hostmom's home is there in the 2nd floor. My hostmom lives just next to the small lake. The lake is still frozen, but I didn't go walk on the ice, just in case, it might not be safe anymore. Spring is here. Look, there were some boats there. Look, there's a place for downhill skiing and ski jumping there just the opposite side of the lake. Mom, can you see me? Where I am? Was it difficult to find me? Well, now it would be easier to see me... Can you see me now? I'm toooooop of the snooooow mountaaaain!!! La la lal lal laa... (I'm singing) Hih, I like climbing. Can you see me here? Maybe I can say you a little clue: I'm not on the ground. You must look up... Well, here you can see me for sure! I asked my hostmom to come closer with her camera... ...and little more closer... ...and still little more... hi hii... bye, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Mar 30, 2012, 2:46 pm	Hi mom, I went outside today, too. Sylvia were there, too. We saw this funny, but very lovely sign. Do you like it, too? Hostmom showed some places located near her home. But then, we all get hungry, and we decided to go back inside. But mom, the refrigerator was totaly EMPTY. Can you believe it, mom? What can we eat now? We don't have any food... Well, hostmom said it's time to go shop and buy some food. So, we all went to the car, and hostmom drove to the shop. This is the place where we are going to buy some food. Inside the building there's a police car, and I drive it. Cool!  "Bevare all thiefs, here comes the police-Porridge!" Mom, hey, MOM!!! Can you believe this? There's a big cow just next to milk products there. Wow!  And guess what I found, too? I found other hippos!!!  It's just little shame, they were not real living ones...  After we came home from the shop, the refrigerator looks much better.  Now we can eat something. Love and kisses, Porridge
mmm105 Posted Mar 30, 2012, 3:23 pm	THIS IS FOR YOU, MOM!!!     I played with snow today.  First, I made a snowangel. ...and then just other snow plays It was really FUN!!!  Love, Porridge
mmm105 Posted Mar 31, 2012, 8:57 pm	Hi mom, I was helping my hostmom to prepare Easter, we sow some Easter Grass. First I put some soil... ...and then some seeds of Easter Grass... ...and then more soil... ...and then was time for water. All must be wet. It's ready. Let's hope the Easter Grass will grow fast. Hugs, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Mar 31, 2012, 9:52 pm	Hello mom, Today I had very exiting day! Hostmom told me that today we do something very special. She showed me a book, and told me that pictures and texts in that book is a clue for what we are going to do. How exiting! I was wondering, why hostmom showed me the book of heart disease? Are we going to see a doctor? Or is hostmom sick? I asked those questions from her, and she started to smile, and said that no, she isn't sick, and we are not going to see a doctor. I was so confused... What are we going to do today? Something related to heart, but what would it be? Hostmom said we must eat something before doing the thing what she has planned for today.  We will need energy to keep going. And we would need that energy. So, I decided to cook porridge. I will cook porridge in milk, because it tastes better in that way. Well, there's enough to cook little porridge... I think... ...just adding them into milk. ...and mixing them well together. ...add little bit of salt. And it's ready. I like my porridge with strawberry jam. ...and finally I can taste it.  Ooooh, I'm so full!!! I ate all.     GONGRATULATIONS PORRIDGE, YOU JUST GOT 2 OF YOUR LIFE MISSIONS COMPLETED!!!      After eating porridge, hostmom said it's time to go. We would go to the hospital. I was wondering why we are going to the centralhospital...  Then hostmom told me she is a nurse in profession, and she will take me to her workplace today. How awesome is that? Wow! This is the hospital, where my hostmom works today. It's not the main door. Now we all are ready. Hostmom has changed her clothes. Now we are going to take care of patients who has heart diseases. How cool is that? There's some EKGs there. And a stetoscope Here is my hostmom in working. Can you see me? Just take a look hostmom's front pocket. Now I'm tired. The day was long, and so exiting. I'm going to sleep now... See you soon, mom! Love and kisses, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 1, 2012, 5:40 pm	Hi mom, Today I was helping my hostmom about her postcrossing hobby. She aloud me to pick postcards to send someone. I wrote the addresses of the receivers... ...and clued stamps... ...and priority stickers, too. And offcourse I dropped them into the mailbox. That was fun! bye, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 1, 2012, 7:01 pm	Mom hello, Guess what I did also today? I visited in 2 small islands!!! And guess what? I didn't swim or fly to the island, I walked to there!!! Hostmom was thinking, that because there's several people are skiing on the lake, the ice must be enough strong to walk. So, we walked on the ice of the lake. It was sunny day, but the wind was quite strong. This is the first island where we are going: Now we are in the island. It's time to see landcapes and take a little brake. And just enjoy! Mom, I'm here! Sitting on the end of the pier. Can you see me? I'm just thinking that I could go to swim, if it'd be summer... Mom, can you see that other small island? Guess what? We will go there next! I can visit another small island!!!  Sitting and relaxing in this second island. Now it's time go back. In this picture you can see the white house (behind those trees). There's my hostmom's home. She lives so close to this lake. While walking on the ice I noticed this weird thing. I went to closer to see, what it is. My hostmom told me, that there has been a hole in the ice, and through the hole some humans are fishing. I looked through the hole, but it was already frozen, and I didn't see any fish there. Mom, in this picture you can see both small islands where I visited. First one was the island in right side of the photo, and second island was the smaller one in left side of the photo. When we were back inside, hostmom showed from the map, where those islands are located. And mom, look those small arrows, and you can see where exactly we were walking. and same maps, but satellite maps Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 2, 2012, 2:44 pm	Mom hi, Today we got some company here! Small ToyVoyager sheep Mo arrived here. I gave him a welcome hug. And there we are, small travelling friends, all together. We have a little party. It's a welcome party for Mo, but we also celebrate completed life missions of me and Sylvia tiger. We both got one or two life missions completed here! How cool is that!  And here I am. Happy and celebrating my completed life missions: making and eating porridge. I was outside today, too. There was snowing hard all day long. Lots of love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 3, 2012, 3:52 pm	Hi mom, Guess what? We got company also today! Cute ToyVoyager Tokki came here from Canada. This is also his very first journey abroud, as like mine. So we have something common. And here I am, giving a welcome hug for Tokki. Today we all decided to play little in the climbing tree of hostmom's cat. It was really fun! Cat came to play with us, too.  Then we all hear something weird sound from outside. We wanted to know, where that sound comes from. So, we all went to see trough the window... ...and we saw a big car, who removes snow. Awwww, we all stared that big car.      Oh no, hostmom's car is under the snow... We must do something about it... hmmmm... We all were thinking, how we can solve this problem.  We decided to go outside and clean hostmom's car out of the snow. Here I am, cleaning the car: I'm so exited about tomorrow! Hostmom told me she has something very special plans for tomorrow. What it might be? Just can't wait!  Lots of love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 5, 2012, 5:30 pm	Hello mom, I had a wonderful day! Guess what my hostmom has planned for today? I can come with her in a postcrossing meeting. Wow, I meet new Finnish people there, and chatting with them, and offcourse write many postcards. (Mom, keep on eye in YOUR mailbox! ) The meeting was in Harjun Paperi, the wonderful little postcard shop in this town. You can see from the following pictures, that I had really good time there!  As you can see, there's something little to eat (pizza, Karelian pies, cookies, chocolate eggs etc.)  Here I am, eating a Karelian Pie with egg-butter. It's something really Finnish thing. It was good! The Wikipedia tells this about Karelian pies: Karelian pasties or Karelian pies (South Karelian dialect of Finnish: karjalanpiirakat, singular karjalanpiirakka; North Karelian dialect of Finnish: karjalanpiiraat, singular karjalanpiiras; Karelian: kalitt, singular kalittoa; Olonets Karelian: šipainiekku) are traditional pasties from the region of Karelia. Today they are eaten throughout Finland. The oldest traditional pasties usually had a rye crust, but the North Karelian and Ladoga Karelian variants also had wheat alongside of rye to improve the baking characteristics of the available rye breads. The common fillings of this era were barley and talkkuna. The 19th century first introduced potato and buckwheat as new fillings, and later due to trade, also rice and millet. Nowadays in the most familiar and common recipe the pasties are made from a thin rye crust with a filling of rice. Butter, often mixed with boiled egg (egg butter or munavoi), is spread over the hot pasties before eating. And here I am, drinking milk. Then it's time to write some postcards Mom look, how cute Easter things and postcards there was!!! Can you see me, mom? Riding a bike, hi hiiii!!!!  Look mom!  There's flowers in shoes!!!  Here are we all toys. They are my friends! Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 5, 2012, 7:47 pm	MOM, HAPPY EASTER HOLIDAYS! Hugs and kisses, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 7, 2012, 7:57 am	Hello mom! Easter is coming, so I made some Easter preparations with my ToyVoyager friends: Amie, me, Luna, Tokki, Niiskuneiti, Sylvia and Mo. I painted an Easter egg. It was nice! Then hostmom put all eggs (painted Easter eggs and chocolate eggs) to the nice yellow cup. I got hungry while painting eggs. Hostmom suggested me to taste and eat something really Finnish Easter thing: Mämmi. Mom, this Easter dessert looks very suspicious!!!    ...but it tasted yummy!  Now you might wonder, what Mämmi is... Well, let me tell you... Wikipedia tells that mämmi is a traditional Finnish Easter dessert. Mämmi is made from water, rye flour, and powdered rye malt, seasoned with dark molasses, salt, and dried powdered Seville orange peel. The mixture is then allowed to go through a slow natural sweetening process before being baked in an oven until set. Preparation takes many hours, and after baking the mämmi is stored chilled for three to four days before being ready to eat. Generally mämmi is eaten cold with either milk or cream and sugar, and less commonly with vanilla sauce. Happy Easter mom! xxx Porridge
mmm105 Posted Apr 8, 2012, 10:23 am	Hi mom, It's Easter now!  I found a small chocolate egg inside of hostmom's book. I decided to get the egg out there. The front side of the book is too heavy for me, so I asked help from other ToyVoyagers. Sylvia, Amie, Niiskuneiti, Tokki and Mo helped me. Together we did it!!!  Can I eat it? It looks so yummy!  Hostmom said no, not yet... First we need to help others to find their chocolate eggs. ...helping Mo... ...helping Sylvia... ...helping Tokki... Now we all can eat our chocolate eggs!!! Mmmmm, so delicious!  xxx Porridge
mmm105 Posted Apr 10, 2012, 3:23 pm	Hi mom, I was visiting my hostmom's work. She had a night shift last night. I was helping my hostmom keep awake the hole long night, I keeped a company to her. Look mom, I found new friends there! There's a small nurse doll and a small teddy bear, and offcourse ToyVoyagers Sylvia, Tokki and Mo, were there, too. And there's me taking a little brake... my hostmom drank a cup of coffee while I was talking with friends. Hugs, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 10, 2012, 8:55 pm	Today I went outside to play with snow. It was so fun!  At first me and ToyVoyagers Tokki, Niiskuneiti, Amie, Sylvia and Mo cathered together to think what we would do. Then we decided to make a small snowman.  First need to make 3 big snowballs... And then we put those snowballs together The snowman is ready!!! Jey!!!    This snowman is funny, because he is going to sailing!!!    It was a nice day! xxx Porridge
mmm105 Posted Apr 11, 2012, 12:40 pm	Hi mom, Today I learn some Finnish language. My hostmom teach me. And I teaches some words of German to my hostmom. Mom, you can learn Finnish now!!!  Love and kisses, Porridge xxx P.S: Mom, guess what?  Hostmom has planned something special thing for the end of this week! Ooooh, what it might be? I'm so exited!
mmm105 Posted Apr 12, 2012, 9:21 pm	Hello mom! Today I walked soooo many kilometres!!! Ooooh, my legs... Hostmom show me Jyväskylä city. This is a nice statue. It looks like two humans are flying!  This is very usual view of this town at this time of year. Isn't this big one? This is the orthodox church of Jyväskylä. And this is the evangelical lutheran church of Jyväskylä (Taulumäen kirkko). Hih hii, here I am!  ...and walking continues... We found stairs. There's a small river inside of the town, named Tourujoki. Look mom!!! Animal friends!!!  Nice statue, isn't it? Look mom!!! The bear!!! It's lucky that it's not a real living one... This is also quite pretty statue. What do you think it is? Look mom, how funny sign I saw!!!    Do you think those humans are going to crash? I made this snow-heart to you, mom! <3 We all are friends! Mom, look how far away I am from some other countries! Wow!  This place is Harju. It's just in the middle of Jyväskylä. It's famous sport center. ...and walking continues... This old war machine is a statue nowadays. It reminds and respects all Finnish soldiers who were in the war many many years ago. So long stairs... Mom, you can see the city center down there! This is the town hall of Jyväskylä. I went to library, too. Look, there's a table for Titanic books! Soooo many books and other things...  Look mom, this funny art sculpture is in the library. It's "Tiedonpuu" in Finnish, "A tree of knowledge" in English. How many Jyväskylä flags!!! Hostmom told that Jyväskylä has 175th anniversary in this year. This is another church of Jyväskylä. Look how funny tree there was! Can you see me in the picture, mom? I found very old train!!! Can you see me in this picture? "Mitä kello on?" (How much the time is?) Oh, there's a new train! This is the Matkakeskus. There's the bus station and the train stations in the same building. This moose was in front of the Matkakeskus building. This is the main street. It's the street, where the most of shops are. It's kävelykatu in Finnish. And this is the plaza ("tori" in Finnish) It was nice to see this city, and different places in it. Tomorrow I will have an exiting day... just can't wait... You might wonder now, why tomorrow will be exiting. hih... well, I don't tell you that yet. It's a surprise. Lots of love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 15, 2012, 7:43 am	Today I had a nice day. Hostmom has many ToyVoyagers with her, and she was thinking it would be nice if all can meet other ToyVoyagers, too. So, together with her friend Reissari, they planned a ToyVoyager meeting! They decided to meet with all their travelling toy friends in the Natural History Museum of Central Finland... The Natural History Museum's website (click) tells that "The Natural History Section serves as a preservation unit for natural scientific research, and displays environmental subjects and research material. It takes care of the living plants of the botanical garden on the campus. It also receives wild animals found dead and prepares scientific samples of them. The section has a collection of over 250 000 samples, the most numerous being invertebrates, plants and moss." I met many other ToyVoyagers, and we all became friends. How nice is that! Here we are... all sitting together in front of the big sized bear. This place was really exiting!!! I saw many animals. ...and some flowers. I want to show you, where this country is. Finland located on the north side of the Earth, in scandinavia. It might looked funny to be on the planet Earth ball, because others came on it, too. Look mom, I'm climbing on the border of the Finland!  xxx Porridge
mmm105 Posted Apr 15, 2012, 8:00 am	TOYVOYAGERS MEETING, PART 2: Hi mom! After visiting the Natural History Museum of Central Finland, I was really hungry. So, we all went to eat something at the restaurant named Food. It was nice place. There were small sized menus for me, too! Hmmmmm, let's order something...  Here we are, waiting to have something to eat. They served ice water in these huge things. We had to climb on each other to get a chance to drink it. Hih, I was just kidding, mom!  Offcourse we got drinking glasses to use.  Here we all are eating some nachos, mmmmmmmm, yummy!  I like nachos!!!  Mom, do you want them, too? Ooooooh!!!  Soooo big portion of food! Jey! Yummy!  Oh, my tummy! I'm so full! After eating I wrote a postcard to you, mom!  ...and clued the stamp on it... ...and mailed it.  Mommy, look carefully your mailbox!!!  This day was a FANTASTIC day!  Lots of love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 15, 2012, 8:51 am	TOYVOYAGERS MEETING, PART 3: Hello mom! Here I am, in Kirkkopuisto (= a church park). ...And here I am again, sitting with ToyVoyagers friends on the stairs of that church. There's Sylvia, Tokki, Sweetheart-, Krok Little, Mo, Ape Apina, Bzzzzz, me, Amie and Niiskuneiti. This day was a FANTASTIC day! I really liked this ToyVoyagers meeting! I just wish you were here, too. Hugs, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 15, 2012, 2:07 pm	Hi mom! Yesterday I was in ToyVoyagers meeting (as you already knew), but guess what I did today? I was in postcrossing meeting!  The meeting was in the café named Wilhelmiina, in Jyväskylä city center. Mmmmmmmm, I tasted a piece of cheece cake and hot chocolate. Delicious!  Oh, my pour tummy! It was so yummy! Mommy, look how many postcards!!!  Other ToyVoyagers were there, too. And then it's time to mail all those postcards. We went to the local post office. Post office is posti in Finnish. Behind us there's a Hockeybird flyers. The charachter Hockeybird is the official mascot of ice hockey World Championships in this year. Love, Porridge  xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 15, 2012, 6:03 pm	TVs are eating TVs and watching TV, and there's a picture in TV where are TVs eating TVs and watching TV.  There's Ape Apina, Bzzzzz, Porridge, Niiskuneiti, Mo, Sylvia, Tokki and Amie.
mmm105 Posted Apr 16, 2012, 11:36 am	Hi mom! Today I said goodbye to 3 ToyVoyagers. They leave from home today. Bzzzzz goes to Austria. I gave her a goodbye hug. Amie goes to Germany. and Niiskuneiti goes to Germany, too. I hope they all will have a great journey! xxx Porridge
mmm105 Posted Apr 17, 2012, 6:29 pm	Hi mom! Today I learned to make origami. It was fun! It is a heart for you. Is it nice, mom? bye, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 18, 2012, 6:19 pm	Hello mom! I watched through the window that it's snowing outside. So, I asked hostmom if I can go outside and maybe playing with snow. She smiled and said that off course I can go. Mom!!!! Guess what I did? You can't believe this, but I was skiing!  Others were there, too. There were skiing: Ape Apina, Luna, Mo, Tokki, Sylvia, Hipsu and offcourse me. It was really fun! Lots of love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 18, 2012, 6:27 pm	Hi mom! Today we got more company here. Two ToyVoyagers came here. PinkLady-bunny and Finfin-ladybug. I gave them both a welcome hug.  Hugs, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 19, 2012, 8:42 pm	Hello mommy! Today was beautiful day, so I was outside. Hostmom showed me more this nice town. We visited in the harbour of Jyväskylä. But hey, mommy!!!! Where are all boats? I can't see any of them!  Ooooh, there they are. We all went to see boats little closer. There's Finfin, Sylvia, Mo, me, PinkLady and Tokki. The ice looks cool!  This is the harbour building / harbour café Is there anyone who need help? I'm here! Count on me, the lifesaver Porridge. Here are some views from the harbour Mom, do you like this building? It's cute, isn't it? This is the bridge of Kuokkala (Kuokkalan silta). It starts from the harbour area and ends in the neighborhood named Kuokkala. Ooooh, what on earth that human is doing?      It must be dangerous to swinging under the big bridge. Hih, hostmom told me that it's not a real human. It's art sculpture. Wow!!! It's the one I never forget.    It's very cool! This nice signs is in the harbour. Finnish text means: "Keep the archipelago clean - On behalv of clear lakes/water." It's nice!  The harbour area of Jyväskylä is quite pretty, don't you think? Hostmom told me that the area is even more pretty in summertimes. But I think it's nice at this time of the year,too. Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 20, 2012, 2:22 pm	Hi mom! I was walking just next to the lake Jyväsjärvi. The lake is quite small, and there's a nice little street for pedestrians around the lake. All these photos are from next to that lake. I climbed on the birch (koivu in Finnish). Birch is a very common tree here in Finland. Look mom, how beautiful the nature is! That white building is one part of the Jyväskylä University. It's the apartment of the math and science. The famous architect Alvar Aalto has designed it. Hhmmmm...  What is this? Hostmom told me it's an art sculpture, named Suuri Kompassi (the big compass). Artist's name is Markku Hakuri. And it has made in the year 1991.  And this is also an art sculpture. The name is Exit. The artist is Reijo Veijalainen, and it has made in the year 2002. Ooh, even more art!!!  This one's name is Tähystäjät. The artist is Virpi Lehto. It has made in the year 2002. It's a nice view... And here's more art. This one's name is Kakophone. The artist is Harald Karsten. It has made in year 2002. "HELLO MOMMY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?" There's nice buildings, and so funny small trees (the small ones!) in front of the building. This is quite cool bridge!  The white building is one part of the Jyväskylä University. I'm on the bridge now. This is the one view from that bridge. There's little part of the city center and the harbour of Jyväskylä, and the bridge of Kuokkala. Just in front of the Jyväskylä University building there's this art sculpture. This one's name is Hyöky. The artist is Kimmo Schroderus. It has made in the year 2006. And what are those weird white things there? Ooh, more art, offcourse. I should know that...  The name of this art sculpture is Weimar-Chicago. The artist is Jaakko Valo. And it has made in the year 1991. Mom, look!!! Another bridge! Well, this one is quite small one... but cute! Mommy, I got new friends! How cool!  The footprints of those wild ducks! Have you seen them before? Me and other TVs Tokki, Mo, PinkLady, Sylvia and Finfin were all watch them very carefully. bye for now, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 20, 2012, 4:50 pm	Hello again mommy! Guess what? Hostmom just told me, that I can come with her for a little journey. Hostmom will go visit her parents in North Karelia, Eastern Finland. It's over 300 kilometres away from here.  I can see the other side of Finland, and I will spend the next few days there! So, because we will leave tomorrow morning, I decided to pack. Hmmmm... what should I take with me?  a toothbrush, a mirrow, clothes..... hmmmmm....  Ok, things are packed now. I'm ready to go! Hugs, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 23, 2012, 8:04 pm	Hello mom, I had a nice weekend. I was in a village named Ilomantsi, in North Karelia, Eastern Finland, visiting hostmom's parents and her godchild. In Ilomantsi there's living about 5 000 people, and there's many sub-villages there. There's also the easternmost point of Finland, and the easternmost point of the continental European Union in Ilomantsi. This village located so east, that it shares about 100 km long border with Russia. Well, here I am, in front of the house of  hostmom's parents. After long drive a car, we were so hungry. So, we decided to cook. And I was there helping to barbeque! Yummy!  There's sausages, beef, chicken and apple slices... ...and offcourse some salad, too. ...and for dessert BIG sized pancakes (in Finnish: lettuja). It was really good!!! And I ate a lot!!!  After eating I had enough energy to help changing tires of the car. There's no need to use winter-tires anymore, it's already time to use summer-tires. That was little dirty work, so we all went to wash ourselves. Look, I am in the sauna. This is very Finnish thing.  There's so warm and relaxing!!! Awww!!! I'm in heaven!!! It's so nice to become clean again. Look mom, I met so many new friends!!! Many toys of hostmom's godchild came to meet us and play with us. It was really fun!  Look, I met two other hippos there!  We were sailing! And we had a party! This instrument is kantele. It's the national instrument of Finland. More infos about kantele you can found for example from here: (click). I want to mention that kantele exist also in Finland's national epic Kalevala. Then hostmom showed me this village, Ilomantsi. the main street the town hall of Ilomantsi a dog statue in the park lots of trees! pitkospuut (a way for pedestrians to be able to walk through the swamp) The small ladybug was our guide and she showed us places of Ilomantsi. We all followed her. The evangelic lutherian church of Ilomantsi. It has buildt in 1796. Some nice landscapes The lake is still frozen and there's snow on the ice. This is the swim hall of Ilomantsi. Spring is here! Look, those little soft round things in the branches, they are in Finnish pajunkissa. Awww! I'm chilling in the sun!  This place called Sankarihautausmaa. It's a cemetery for those people who fighted in war many many years ago on behalv of Finland.  Hostmom told that there was a storm last winter, and the wind was so strong that some of these big spruces fall down then. And guess what? I am sitting right now on the root of one of those fallen tree. It's quite big, isn't it? This is the orthodox church of Ilomantsi. It has buildt in 1892. It's the most biggest wooden orthodox church in Finland, and it is dedicated to the prophet Elijah. After long time for walking outside, I need some sleep. Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 24, 2012, 4:20 pm	Hey mom! Today we got company. A cute frog Telie arrived here from Luxembourg. We all gave Telie a group hug as a welcome. And here we all are: Ape Apina, PinkLady, Hipsu, Telie, Finfin, Sylvia, Mo, me and Tokki Telie showed us some pictures of Luxembourg. I think it is a beautiful country. Hugs, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 25, 2012, 7:26 pm	Mommy hello! Guess what? There was an envelope today, too! And there came a cute teddy bear Ronja from Germany from that envelope. There's starting to have so many TVs here right now. But I think that the more, the more fun we all have!  We gave a group hug to Ronja as a welcome. Love you mommy, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 25, 2012, 8:17 pm	Hey mommy! In the morning I watched through the window, and I noticed there were so many clouds in the sky. Everywhere looks blue and gray, and that was so sad... I was thinking that there must be at least one way to feel better, and bring sunshine and happiness inside. So, I decided to make a sun myself. Maybe my sun will bring some light here... And I did it!  Others did, too!      And it worked, we all feel much better now. xxx Love, Porridge
mmm105 Posted Apr 25, 2012, 8:46 pm	Hello mommy! The making own sun was really powerful thing, because in the afternoon it was sunny weather outside! How cool! We had sunshine inside and outside, too! Because it looked so nice outside, I went there, and relax in sun bath.  Look mommy, so much of snow has already melted away. Spring has come, and snow is dissapearing really fast. And the ice on the lake is melting, too. Yeah, summer will come soon!  xxx Hugs, Porridge
mmm105 Posted Apr 26, 2012, 8:41 am	Hey mommy! Smile, please! Say cheese! Thanks!  xxx Porridge
mmm105 Posted Apr 26, 2012, 9:18 pm	"Hi mommy! ... Hello! ... Are you there? ... It's me, Porridge, I'm here. Wow, this macine is amazing! I can chat with you, even though I'm so far away from home. It's so nice to talk with you, mommy! Hostmom told me this small macine is a phone, and in Finnish it is puhelin or kännykkä. Well, let me tell you something, mom. Today was quite boring day, just because it was raining outside during the hole day long! So, I couldn't go outside to play or see places at all today.  We all were inside and tried to think something nice things to do. But guess what? None of us has any idea, and it made us all very sleepy. And we went to sleep... Quite boring day, isn't it? Hmmmm, nothing else to say for today. I hope tomorrow is the better day, and fun. Bye for now, mommy! Love and kisses! Porridge"
mmm105 Posted Apr 28, 2012, 9:27 am	Hey mom! Today was much better weather outside than yesterday, so I went to outside to play. It was really fun! I was in the playground to have some fun time there. The place's name is Eilan puisto, and it's located very near of hostmom's home. I was swinging. It was really fun!  Others came, too!  There were Ronja, Telie, Mo, Sylvia, me, Finfin, Tokki and PinkLady. Then I was swinging in other swing! I was in the same side of the swing as Ronja, Mo and Tokki Then we all decided to go to slide. First must climb the stairs... ...and then it's time for the funniest part! We decided to slide all together in the same time. Oh, how crazy idea!  But before that, we must climb the stairs once again. Paikoillanne, valmiina, hep! (Ready, steady, go!) It was fun!  Look, mommy! We all are having really much fun together! Jey!!! I'm on the head of this bird!  Others came, too. We wanted to go flying... As the way back inside, I saw some real living birds there. And there were so many of them! Cool!  While walking back inside, hostmom took some other photos, too. It was really nice day!  Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 28, 2012, 9:12 pm	Hello mommy! Today I played chess with Sylvia. It was really fun!  hmmmm... hmmmmmm...  It's my turn now... hmmmm... let me thing, what I would do next... Guess what mommy? It was draw. Neighter of us didn't win, or lose. After that chess match, I was hungry. So, I made a sandwich with a funny smiley face on it. It was yummy!  Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted Apr 29, 2012, 4:25 pm	Hey mom! I was outside today, because there's so nice sunshine there.  It was nice to walk next to the lake and see how spring is totally here.  I saw the first small flowers of this year's spring, and first leaf in the trees. Also some birds and beautiful landscape! Hostmom is living just next to this beautiful lake. Oh, she is so lucky! Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 1, 2012, 4:56 pm	Hey mommy! I have had such a great time today!  It's a day before the May Day, so it's time to celebrate and have a party!  In the May Day Eve (April 30th) and May Day (May 1st) Finnish people are celebrating, too. May Day is almost like a spring carneval or festival in Finland. We decided to have a fancy dress party. It was really fun! We dressed ourselves as ourselves. Mommy, I'm here!!! (No, I was only kidding!!!  It's Mo, who has dressed and now pretending to be me!)  But here are we all: Mommy, guess who I'm pretending to be. Yes, I'm like PinkLady  We all have so much fun!  Telie is pretending to be Mo, Tokki is pretending to be Ronja, PinkLady is pretending to be Finfin, Ronja is pretending to be Sylvia, Finfin is pretending to be Telie, Mo is pretending to be me, Sylvia is pretending to be Tokki.      Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 1, 2012, 8:23 pm	Hello mom! Party goes on! How cool!  It's May Day Eve today, and I tasted something Finnish May Day sweet. They called it as tippaleipä (=funnel cake). Wikipedia says this about funnel cakes (click) "Funnel cakes are made by pouring unleavened batter into hot cooking oil in a circular pattern and deep frying the overlapping mass until golden-brown. When made at concession stands, a pitcher with an integral funnel spout is employed. Funnel cakes are typically served plain with powdered sugar." And a drink is sima. Wikipedia says this about sima (click) "Sima is a sweet mead, still an essential seasonal, sparkling brew connected with the Finnish Vappu festival. It is usually spiced by adding both the flesh and rind of a lemon. During secondary fermentation raisins are added to control the amount of sugars and to act as an indicator of readiness for consumption — they will swell by absorbing carbon dioxide and rise to the top of the bottle when the drink is ready." It was so yummy!  Every year in May Day Eve, the statue of Minna Canth has got a special hat, ylioppilaslakki (=white cap). It's always few students, who can put the hat on the Minna Canth's head. Here's some pictures about that seremony: Hostmom told me, that not all can own this special white cap. Only they, who has successfully completed the upper secondary school final exams, matriculation examinations, can have those white caps. And this time of the year, Vappu (May Day), is the time for celebrate this.  When we were back inside, I could try hostmom's white cap. Do I look cool, mom? Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 1, 2012, 9:26 pm	Hi mommy! Because it's May Day, there was a flag of Finland in the flagpole. The flag looks quite nice, when the sky is so blue (today it was!) Today I did also something exiting! I went to see some very cool cars!  There was a Car Show in Jyväskylä, so there were SO MANY old and new, and cool cars there!      Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 3, 2012, 9:08 pm	Hello mommy! Ooooh, I found a picture of a cow who slides!  The picture is in a milk carton. Mommy, do you think they got milkshake in Finland by shaking cows by letting cows to slide?    Well, I was kidding!!!    It's only a picture. But I think it's a cute one. Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 3, 2012, 9:28 pm	Hello mommy! I found this cute thing today. It's quite interesting... What it might be? Mommy, is this thing perhaps a rocket? Is it going to space?    Can I go in? Mommy, can I go to travel in space? I would visit the Moon, and many planets, and I want to see the black hole, asteroids etc... (I'm dreaming...) Ooooh, mommy! Look!  There is happening something! The white part on the bottom is being bigger!!!  Hmmmm...  ...maybe it is not a rocket... This is so exiting! The white thing is moving, and it changes its shape all the time!  I have to take a look little closer. How cool!  Hostmom told me that it is laavalamppu (= a lava lamp). It's magical, isn't it? I could stare it the hole day...  Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 4, 2012, 9:23 am	Hello! We got some company today. There were an envelope in today's mail. And yes, there was a ToyVoyager inside!  We all were wondering, who this new TV might be.  We only saw a brown head and two big white teeth peeking out of the envelope. I haven't ever seen that kind of creature before.  The new TV came out of the envelope, and introduced as a B.o.B. the beaver. B.o.B. gave us some candies.  I gave B.o.B. a hug as a welcome. And then we had a welcome party for B.o.B. Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 6, 2012, 5:22 pm	Hi mommy! At first, I want to say this warning to everyone, who is reading this... IF YOU ARE AFRAID OF SPIDERS OR SOME OTHER SMALL BUGS, DON'T READ THIS UPDATE! Well, now it has been said, and I can continue to tell you, what I have done. I did today something really exiting! Mommy, can you guess what I did? It's related to spiders!!! How cool!  I tell you that little bit later... First, I need to go outside, because we all walked to this "secret-spider-place". But, it was raining, and it wasn't quiet raining. It was raining a lot! But don't worry mom, I didn't get wet, I got my umbrella with me.  And now it's time to tell you, mom, where I was going. I visited to see the Tarantula Birdspider Exhibition (more info: click here ) <--- I'm sorry, it's Finnish There were many different big spiders, tarantulas, and other bugs and butterflies, too, showed from all over the World. First, I saw some really beautiful butterflies. Some of them were SO BIG sized. ...And some cool and BIG sized spiders! This one was the biggest tarantula in the exhibition. I'm sorry about the quality of photos, but there were difficult lights for taking photos in that exhibition room. I saw a real living scorpion, too! And here are the most beautiful butterflies of the exhibition in closer look: Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 6, 2012, 9:32 pm	Hello mommy! I was watching the really B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L sunset in hostmom's backyard today. I think the nature in Finland looks very beautiful, indeed! And I think my hostmom is really lucky to live in this environmental, just next to this small lake. It's just funny, that only some time ago this lake was frozen and I walked on the ice. Now it would be impossible. Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 7, 2012, 8:49 pm	Hi mom! Guess what? Another ToyVoyager arrived here today! He is Erol the Pirat from Germany. We all gave him a group hug as a welcome. He showed a postcard from his hometown, and we ate candies what he has brought from his home. They were so yummy!  Hostmom's cat came to say hello, too!  Love Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 8, 2012, 7:13 pm	Hi mommy! I had a fantastic and so funny day today!!! I visited in the amusement park named Suomen Tivoli!!!  I was there with all other ToyVoyagers. And guess what? We met a new puppy toy (look the second photo).  He wasn't a ToyVoyager, he was with one employer of the amusement park. He came to sit next to us to the bench, and he was in the same photo with us!  There were so many crazy things in that amusement park. And I was so brave, because I went to The Giant Wheel. It was so exiting, but I really liked the views. Hostmom took good care of me, I was in her lap or in her hands all the time. Hostmom told me this Suomen Tivoli is the travelling amusement park. It stays some times in one city, and then it travels to the other city, and it travels in different parts of Finland. I had a really great time today!  Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 9, 2012, 4:20 pm	Hey mommy! Because hostmom feels like she propably going to have a flu, we all stayed inside today, and just relax. I found today's newspaper Keskisuomalainen, and I read it. But mommy, all is written in Finnish! So weird language!!! So, I concentrated to watch the pictures, and offcourse the weather forecast. Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 10, 2012, 12:42 pm	Hello mommy! I had a fun day today, as you can see from the pictures. Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 10, 2012, 8:07 pm	Hi mom! Hostmom told me, that I will soon continue my journey. It's nice! I have had great time here in Finland, but it's always nice to see different places and countries.  Hostmom told me there's already someone waiting for me in Lithuania. Wow! I searched some info about that country from the Internet. Maybe I can start travelling tomorrow, when post offices are open again. It so exiting!! Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 11, 2012, 12:14 pm	Hi mommy! It's time to say goodbye to all my friends here. I'm going to start travelling again. First hostmom's cat came to say goodbye to me and Tokki, who is leaving here today, too. Then other ToyVoyagers say goodbye... ...and give a goodbye group hug. After that I went into my envelope. Love, Porridge xxx
mmm105 Posted May 11, 2012, 12:19 pm	Oooooh, it's so dark here... I can't see anything... But maybe now it's perfect time to get a sleep and dream about what kind of place I'm going. Lithuania, here I come!!! xxx Porridge
coraline Posted May 16, 2012, 6:16 am	Hi!! I finally arrived! Hello, Lithuania, hello, my new host mum Karolina! When I came out from that envelope, I saw two friends - Kit-Kat and Dottie Mouse from Germany. They gave me a big hug! Then we all read the postcard and ate a sweet candy which my other host mum mmm105 had put in the envelope. Thank you!! I'm sure I'll like it in here I also felt the spring spirit in the house! Look, I'm almost under the flower tree And here we are next to the Karolina's rabbit. He is so cute and he eats all day Well, that's all for now. I'm a bit tired and the weather is not so good, so I'm staying at home. Me and other two girls had a great chat and I think that we will become great friends! Love, Porridge
coraline Posted May 20, 2012, 7:57 am	Hi, mom! My first week was not so well - when me, Dottie Mouse and Kit-Kat with our host mum wanted to go outside, it started to rain or thunder. I almost got wet on Friday, when Karolina celebrated her friend's birthday and decided to show me the most popular place in Vilnius. It's really stunning - The Cathedral and The Bell Tower. Look at this dramatic photo! And The Bell Tower... Then we walked through Gediminas avenue. What a beautiful avenue! So big and full of friendly people Here we are near the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences: And here I saw ice cream!! Mmm, looks delicious... Look, what we found! A funny smiling sticker on a pillar! Though it was a bit cold, I still enjoyed this Friday. Hope to see more of Vilnius soon! Love, Porridge
coraline Posted May 20, 2012, 8:10 am	Hiii! This Saturday was so bright and sunny - not even close to the weather which was all week. We all went oustide and decided to go to the Old Town, because May 19 was "GATVĖS MUZIKOS DIENA" ("STREET'S MUSIC DAY"). We listened to all kind of music and had a great time! First, we sent some postcards: Then walked through one of the oldest streets in Vilnius - Pilies Street. There we found this church! It's Vilniaus Šv. kankinės Paraskevos cerkvė, the church for orthodox. Phew, that was a hot day! We all went to the fountain because we wanted to refresh. Here we stopped and listened to alternative music. Look how many people were in the Old Town that day!: And this is the City Hall of Vilnius. So white, big and beautiful! Look what I found! A poster showing an exposition with Germany older architecture in the Contemporary Art Centre. Too bad it's already closed This is St. Anne's gothic church. It's very old and big, also very stunning. You can see it from the picture: Well, that's how I spent my Saturday. Now I'm a bit tired, so I think I'll go and take a nap. XOXO, Porridge
coraline Posted May 22, 2012, 6:34 pm	Hey, mommy! The week began with nice weather - way different than earlier week! It was great to see the sun and feel good. When Húlí hútú from USA arrived, the day became even greater! We all gave this toy voyager a big friendly hug: We decided to go for a walk near the house. There was Neris river near us (2nd biggest river in Lithuania), so we went there for refreshment. We found a small bench on the beach and enjoyed the sun. The water wasn't very warm, but some people already swam in it! With a nice little flower... Feeling like a hippie!  In the nature: Now I'm sitting in the balcony, writting my travelog, chatting with other TV's, drinking tea and enjoying my life. Hugs, Porridge
coraline Posted May 26, 2012, 8:22 pm	Hii!! Today me and Huli had to say goodbye to our friends Kit-Kat and Dottie Mouse, because they were travelling to other countries. Byee, we're going to miss you, friends! Have a great time in Germany and Finland! After we went to the post, we decided to go to a mall, called "Ozas". There was an expo of "Interesting Physics": This poster says: "Be amazed, explore, understand." I tried! Before I've seen this... thing.... Whoa, what happened? I don't remember anything after looking at this magic thing! Well, I guess I have to rest for a while. Hugs, Porridge
coraline Posted May 27, 2012, 5:47 pm	Hey! Today I've visited Trakai. It's a historic city and lake resort in Lithuania, which lies 28 km west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. This town was built and preserved by people of different nationalities. Historically, communities of Karaims, Tatars, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews and Poles lived here. Sounds interesting! We went to the Trakai castle, but before that I've seen some souvenirs in here. Look at those kittens! I look so small next to them And here is "Lithuanian gold" - amber: A scarf with a sign "LITHUANIA" on it... Here you can see beautiful plates with Vilnius and Trakai views: Well,this is it! The Trakai Castle! It's on an island in Lake Galve. Looks so great! The castle is sometimes referred to as "Little Marienburg". The construction of the stone castle was begun in the 14th century by Kęstutis, and around 1409 major works were completed by his son Vytautas the Great, who died in this castle in 1430. We are inside it: After all that trip to the castle I felt a bit hungry, so we went to the "Kibininė" to eat some kibinai. What does it mean?My host mum Karolina explained me, that it's a traditional Karaite dish with meat inside. You can see it on the plate - I couldn't wait to try it! And I also drank kvass - it's a fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread. Mmm... delicious! The first part of the day was great, but then it started raining and we had to go home. I hope I'll see more great views like this in Lithuania! With love, Porridge
coraline Posted Jun 1, 2012, 9:19 pm	Hey! Today we planned to go to the city, but it was raining once again, so we decided to have fun at home. Me and Huli ate some fresh strawberries on the first day of the SUMMER! That was great After eating some berries, we wanted to see some views of Lithuania. Karolina showed us a book where we could see mostly all of the cities. I liked Klaipėda, a city near the Baltic sea! I decided to take a bath... And then eat a cupcake! Yummy!  Huli found a red tiny camera, so we took a photo. Look at us! What we did later? We helped Karolina to send some postcards through postcrossing! I chose this one with a teddy bear: And that's all for today. I hope tomorrow will be a sunny day! Love, Porridge
coraline Posted Jun 6, 2012, 7:12 pm	Hi! Today me and Huli went for a walk because Karolina had to do some important stuff near the city centre. We were sunbathing and reading a magazine in Lithuanian (well, we tried to.. ): We were right next to the Palace of Concerts and Sports! It was built in 1971, now it's closed. It's a big building! When we came home, we found a nice surprise - a new voyager Finfin! I was very happy to see my friend which I've met in Finland when mmm105 was hosting us both. I gave her a big hug and Finfin met Huli too! That was a cool day Love, Porridge
coraline Posted Jun 10, 2012, 7:51 am	Labas! I said 'hello' to you in Lithuanian! Karolina said that today we will learn more Lithuanian words and I can't wait, but now I want to show you what I did yesterday. At first, me, Huli and Finfin went to the mall "Panorama". It was quite early, so not many people walked around. Then we went to another mall VCUP where we saw a poster with a first toy musieum in Lithuania! You can read more about it here. We've seen an exhibition of some of the toys from the museum's collection. I've seen what games and toys children used to play in the last decades of the 20th century! Really amazing. I hope this project will keep going on and all donated toys will find a great place to live. With already vintage dolls: VCUP is in the New Vilnius, so when we went outside and walked on the White Bridge, this is what I saw: We went to the park and then had a walk in the Old Town. I saw The Cathedral once again and showed it to my other TV friends. We decided to rest for a while in a small park near The Presidential Palace. It is located in Vilnius Old Town, is the official office and eventual official residence of the President of Lithuania. The palace dates back to the 14th century and during its history it has undergone various reconstructions, supervised by prominent architects, including Laurynas Gucevičius and Vasily Stasov. After this journey we went back home Hugs, Porridge
coraline Posted Jun 10, 2012, 12:39 pm	Hi, mum! Today our host mum showed us this chocolate in the shape of Lithuania. it looked so great that we started to explore it right away! Then Karolina told us some lithuanian words. Did you know that AČIŪ means THANK YOU and ŽAISLAS means TOY? I wrote something: Yep, a HIPPO means BEGEMOTAS in Lithuania! Other friends did the same game with their names. While me and Finfin were finishing our first lithuanian words lesson, Huli thought that he could make a prank and scare us! We didn't see him at first... Almost there to scare us... BOO! Oh, I really didn't expect this! Huli said sorry for his joke, because we at first seemed to be very frightened, but we started laughing right after this. We also made a funny photo with mustaches: That's what I did today. I guess I'm going to watch a movie or chat with my friends. I feel a bit lazy now Love, Porridge
coraline Posted Jun 14, 2012, 7:26 pm	Hi! Today Karolina showed us a bit of Zirmunai (in lithuanian it's Žirmūnai). It's the most populous administrative division in Vilnius. It is also a neighbourhood in the Lithuanian capital city Vilnius, encompassing the city district of the same name, built in the 1960s. And you know what? We are living in Zirmunai! The house where I'm staying right now is in this administrative division Here I'm next to the fountain: This poster which we saw at the bus stop is about a great poetry writer Maironis: And this is a very old fountain which was built in Soviet times. It's not working now. Can you see us? Here, take a closer look! It was a short journey, but I enjoyed it. We had to go to the Old Town because our host mum had to meet her friend there, and before that we stopped to take a picture near the Pranciškonų monastery: It's already been a month today since I've arrived in Lithuania. Great! Love, Porridge
coraline Posted Jun 19, 2012, 10:15 pm	Hi! This Sunday we had a nice picnic outside because my host mum aunt had her birthday. We wanted to go to Swedbank terrace at first... ...but then we decided to be in Zirmunai, near the Neris river. We helped with the food... ...then we were sunbathing... ...even ate sushi! That tasted really interesting! When we came back home, we had a chance to taste this delicious cake. Yummy! This week we might go to a short trip to another country. Whoa, can't wait! Love, Porridge
coraline Posted Jun 21, 2012, 1:32 pm	Hello! Today a new toy voyager arrived - it's Zed Dog! We all gave him a big and friendly hug We decided to see what's new outside, because Karolina felt not very good today and she stayed at home. We went to the balcony: We played hide and seek! Nobody can't find me here, haha! It's cloudy outside and a bit cold, so we all decided to sleep for a while. Hugs, Porridge
coraline Posted Jun 24, 2012, 12:15 pm	Hi, mum! Today we went to Latvia because Karolina with her family wanted to see some relatives. It was a great journey, though it was raining in the morning. We had so much fun in the car, too! Here we are in our new house in Riga, Latvia: After some time spent talking to all aunts and uncles (they're all very friendly ) we went for a walk in the city. Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of the river Daugava. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture! Here we are at the Bastion Hill park: And these are wedding locks on the bridge. So romantic!.. What a great fountain! Near the Latvian monument to Freedom (for Heroes killed in action during the Latvian War of Independence) : Musicians of Bremen Monument, Riga. How cool is that? Do you know that you have to make a wish and touch all of the 4 animals noses? Not many people touch the top of it, but everyone touches the donkey's nose. You can see it from the picture (unfortunatelly, I couldn't get other three musicians in the photo): Cool T-shirts! And here we are all in the flowers: The Old Town... Near the monument with my friends: Talking about the public transport - trams are very popular in Riga! We were in Latvia when they had their public holidays. June 23rd is Līgo, a day before Jāņi. It's a Latvian festival held in the night from 23 June to 24 June to celebrate the summer solstice (Midsummer), the shortest night and longest day of the year. Many people that day were wearing a "crown" made of leaves and flowers, and the public transport was free. So, we were inside of the trams, too! We had to go back, so I stopped to take a picture in the park with PINK roses: It was great to see another country, even if this journey was that short. I hope to visit Latvia again one day, I liked it! After we came back from our short trip to the Old Town, we went back home to Lithuania. I was a bit tired, so I took a nap. Love, Porridge
coraline Posted Jun 27, 2012, 7:32 pm	Hi! Today was our host mum's BIRTHDAY!!! Yayyy!! We all gave her a big hug and said many beautiful words. I wished her a beautiful life with many good friends Here we are with the chocolate cake! I also gave Karolina a pretty flower. Then we all sung "Happy birthday". Our host mum seemed very happy! Of course, I was a bit sad that day, because I had to leave. My journey in Lithuania was very cool - I met many wonderful friends, saw Vilnius and had a great time Maybe I'll come back here one day, who knows... Thank you, Karolina, for hosting me, thank you, my friends, for being so nice. I'll miss you all! My journey continues and it's time to go to... ENGLAND! I hope I'll get there soon! Love, Porridge
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jul 4, 2012, 9:19 am	Hi! I arrived in England yesterday only to find that everyone had gone to London without me. I was very upset. When they got back late at night, NoMi, Rosalind and Mimi and George helped me out of my envelope and told me the good news. Although I had missed going to London, they were all going today as well and I could come with them! So this morning we were all on the train, and MySongIsLaughter handed us a flag. I was a bit confused, until I realised it is Canada Day today! So we went to Trafalgar Square to the Canada Day party there. It was raining a lot, but we enjoyed the live music, and the hockey, and all the while Nelson was watching over us from his column. I guess he's not scared of heights!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jul 14, 2012, 12:41 pm	Today, we had to go to the train station to buy tickets for when we visit Scotland! (which will be on Monday - I'm very excited!) Just as we were about to leave, Kasimir Kashmir arrived. This is very fortunate, as today was the last day for TVs to be able to join us! We enjoyed the rare moments of sunshine while we were out, and so we ended up going to an empty park and playing on the swings and the slide! It was good fun!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jul 20, 2012, 8:43 pm	Hi! I did a spot of baking with my friends today! Frances needed to make a cake to take to a Baptism tomorrow, so we all decided to help out! I helped measuring the ingredients, but I had to be careful not to sit on the scale so I wouldn't mess up the measurements!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jul 20, 2012, 9:47 pm	Hi! I arrived in Scotland today! We've been travelling all day, but it was a nice change from travelling in an envelope. I got to chat with all of my companions on the way, and we even had some time to run around at King's Cross station so we went into a few shops, tried some chocolate samples, then found Platforms 9 and 10 so we could say we'd been close to the Hogwarts Express! On the way from London to Edinburgh, there was a free window seat next to Frances, so we were able to sit together and watch the scenery outside the window as we travelled further and further North. Now, I'm excited to see what adventures we'll have while we're here!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jul 20, 2012, 11:10 pm	Hi! The sun's shining today, so we took a walk around Strathclyde Loch! It was nice to get some fresh air, and we visited the ruins of some Roman baths. We also saw lots of ducks, geese and swans, but unfortunately no hippos.
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jul 31, 2012, 5:32 pm	Hi! Today I went for a long car journey, because my host wanted to go to a course. On the way, we stopped off for a walk through a beautiful forest. There was a big waterfall and lots of trees, including one which is amongst the tallest in Britain!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Aug 1, 2012, 2:04 pm	Hi! I have come home from my holiday in Scotland! I had a great time, but I'm a wee bit tired now! We have a new friend staying with us now! It's Cheney! I'm very excited to see what we will get up to together!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Aug 3, 2012, 8:32 am	Hi! Virgo and Rosalind both left us today, to see what adventures they can have in Germany! It was sad to say goodbye to them, after all the fun we've had together, but I'm glad they are going to have more adventures! Who knows, I may even see them again some day!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Aug 15, 2012, 8:29 pm	Hi! For the past week, I've been camping in the Forest of Dean with a Scout group. It was really cool! We went into some caves, and climbed up a cliff, and also explored the forest by foot and by canoe. I had a lot of fun, but I couldn't take any photos because I had to make sure I didn't get hurt or left behind so couldn't stop.
MySongIsLaughter Posted Aug 15, 2012, 8:58 pm	Hi! Today I visited Stonehenge! I really enjoyed walking around the stones, which have been there for 4000 years. No one's really sure why the people put so much effort into putting such big stones there, but it was very fun to look at and I enjoyed listening to the audio guide which told me that some people think the stones might be a calender, or maybe a temple, or maybe a sun temple that's also a calender!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Aug 20, 2012, 9:53 am	Hi! I'm in Scotland again! How great is that? I get another week to try and see as much of this lovely place as I can! So today we went to Edinburgh to see the city. It's a lovely city, and we got to see the whole thing from the Camera Obscura which projects an image of the city onto a curved table. The Camera Obscura is the city's oldest tourist attraction, and when it was first created people were terrified as they had never seen moving images before! We also visited Edinburgh castle, which is a nice building! We heard lots of people playing bagpipes which sound very interesting!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Aug 20, 2012, 10:57 pm	Hi! Today, I visited a transport museum in Glasgow. It was so cool! There were loads of old cars and bikes and boats and other vehicles, and even things like clothes and chairs. We even found some toys from the 607s and 70s, who told us a bit about what life was like back then!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Sep 7, 2012, 1:26 pm	Hi! Today I went on the train with Frances and the other tvs so we could enjoy the journey to her friend's house. It was a very nice journey - we could see some great places out of the window and we had a very yummy breakfast! On the way home I got a bit scared because it was dark, and even more scared because the train got stuck, but we had a magazine and some chocolate and everyone looked after me!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Sep 16, 2012, 9:25 pm	Hi! Today, the weather was nice so I went for a bike ride with my friends! It was very fun! We got a little bit lost, but that meant we got to see loads of interesting parts of the city and we made it home safely! We had to take a break, because it was very sunny, so we had some water and also picked some blackberries which were a nice treat
MySongIsLaughter Posted Sep 30, 2012, 7:59 pm	Hi! Today I went into college with Frances and my friends. It was really good fun! Well, aside from having to get up really early and go on a crowded bus. Hippos aren't meant to go on crowded buses. It's not our natural environment! When we got to college, we had some time before the lessons started, so we went into a small room so Frances could practice her flute and we could hear some of the music she was working on. It was really cool! The first lesson was performance. Everyone was trying to be confident and assertive, so they were doing some rather funny things! After that, there was a class where everyone was preparing for the community project they're going to do later. They were all practicing teaching each other different songs, which was quite fun! After that, we had a lunch break so we went to a cafe in the college to have our packed lunch which was some wraps and a muffin. It was all very yummy! In the afternoon, we had two lessons that were both about Baroque music! One was an understanding class, where we listened to a lot of music and talked about how we could tell what type of music it was, and the other was a harmony class where we learnt a bit about how to write music like Bach! It was good fun
MySongIsLaughter Posted Sep 30, 2012, 8:31 pm	Hi! Today another toyvoyager arrived in Portsmouth! It's all very exciting! Spikey Dragon got here this morning, but we had to wait until Frances got home from college to get him out of his package. It's quite exciting to have another friend to have a few adventures with
MySongIsLaughter Posted Oct 4, 2012, 9:13 pm	Hi! I made some muffins today with my friends. We broke up a chocolate bar to use as chocolate chips, and then melted chunks of it on the top. They tasted very good, and were fun to make! We tried not to make too much of a mess, but I did get a bit of flour on my nose!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Oct 5, 2012, 7:32 pm	Hi! I said goodbye to my friend Kasimir Kashmir today, because he's going on to have some more adventures in Germany. I'm very excited for him, although I'm going to miss him. I hope I see him again someday!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Oct 26, 2012, 9:07 pm	Hi! Today we weant for a walk along the seafront, as it's getting colder and darker and we might not be able to soon. It was quite clear, so I could see all the way to the Isle of Wight! We got a bit cold, so after a while we stopped off for some warm chips which I enjoyed a lot!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jan 5, 2013, 6:47 pm	Hello! I've been helping Frances decorate for Christmas. We put on some Christmas music and ate mince pies while we put tinsel and lights up, and decorated her little metal trees. It was very fun! She doesn't have any hippo decorations, though, so I nominated myself!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jan 24, 2013, 7:26 pm	Hello! I've made a new friend! His name's Phog and he's come to stay for a while! I'm very excited about what adventures we might have together. To celebrate, we ordered pizza (and some other yummy things!) There was a lot of food, but now there are a lot of us so we enjoyed eating it.
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jan 24, 2013, 7:40 pm	Hi! SNOW! IT'S SNOWING! I could hardly believe it when I saw the snow this morning - it rarely snows this much in England! But it has today! We went and played in the garden once it was light enough to. It was very fun, running around, throwing snowballs and building snow characters. We got pretty cold, though, so we had to go and sit by the radiator.
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jan 24, 2013, 7:51 pm	Hello! The snow didn't last, unfortunately. It all melted, and then froze again as ice so we couldn't go out. I was a bit bored, having to stay indoors, but then we decided to helpt Frances with her music homework. That was fun! We played on the keyboard, trying out all the different sounds we could make!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jan 24, 2013, 7:57 pm	Hello! I played a game called Dungeons and Dragons today! It was really fun. We all got to make up characters, and roll dice to see what was happening. Every time we rolled the dice we got quite excited about what might happen, so we were always excited about what would happen next!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jan 28, 2013, 9:29 pm	Hi! I'm in Durham! Although what I've seen of it so far is mostly ice and darkness. We travelled a long way to get here, though, so I'm assuming when the sun comes out it'll be something special! We had to get a bus and 2 trains, as well as 2 underground trains, to get here. It took about 6 hours in total! So when we arrived, we went straight to the hotel. There is a huge comfy bed, so we're watching television until we fall asleep, so we have energy to explore tomorow!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jan 28, 2013, 9:46 pm	Hello! Durham was so cool! Literally, it was freezing! But also, it was a really nice place. Our first stop was the cathedral. We had a look around, following the history of Durham in the stained glass windows, visiting the tombs of St Cuthbert and St Bede, and listening to someone practice the organ. We weren't allowed to use a camera in the cathedral, but you can see it is also beautiful outside. The cathedral was very close to the university music department, so we could see where we would be going for the event that Frances wanted to go to to help her decide whether or not to accept her offer from Durham. We had some more time before the event, so we went for breakfast at a nice cafe, and wandered around the indoor and outdoor markets. It was a very fun day, but after another long journey I am quite tired now!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Feb 7, 2013, 8:58 pm	Hi! Today, the sun was shining brightly so we went for a walk to see Frances' favourite place. From her house, it's the closest part of the sea. The tide was out, though, so instead of water there was a lot of mud that we had to be careful not to step on in case we got stuck! There were lots of birds there, which we enjoyed watching, and we also liked looking at the scenery and the wrecked boat stuck out in the mud. I wonder what it's story is!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Apr 9, 2013, 11:19 am	Hello! I'm in Birmingham! It's a very cool city. From our hotel, we could see so much of it! We went for a walk when we unpacked, so we could see things up close. We walked along some beautiful canals! I want to live in a houseboat now, they look so pretty and cosy!
MySongIsLaughter Posted Jun 7, 2013, 9:37 pm	Hi! Today, we went for a day out in Portsmouth. It was a really nice day, so we could spend some time outside! First, we went to the park to see the animals! There are lots of cool animals, and they have pictures up on the fence to show where they come from! We then went to Gunwharf. It used to belong to the Navy, but now it's a tourist attraction with lots of shops and restaurants and things. They have many artefacts reminding people of the naval history, like this torpedo and this figurehead, and also the Spinnaker Tower which you can see for miles! We went for a meal in a Japanese restaurant. Look at this tea - it has a flower in it! It smells really nice too, but the camera couldn't capture that! We then went to the Historic Dockyards, where they filmed a lot of the Les Miserables film. They had a costume display - look at me with the costume that Enjrolas wore!

Back