The Penguins are Extremely Satisfied

I finally got to take the Sustainable Building Advisor exam that I missed last Friday... and I passed! Woo Hoo!

So, now I can be fancy and put the letters CSBA after my name. Not that very many people would know what that means.

Anyway, I know it's been forever since I took any photos. I hope to be back to my regular picture taking self this weekend. In the mean time, enjoy this cute penguin joke Agnes sent for me and Sami.

Sami Loves Google Street View

It's our house, and our street! (and Melissa's truck in our driveway)

Kinda scary and kinda cool.

Sami played with this tool for nearly three hours, walking around all the old neighborhoods we've lived in. Then he started checking out other places like Alaska, and the ghettos in LA.

I think someone should build some kind of car race/chase game where you get to drive around in google street view. It would be great fun.

Missed Exam!

I was scheduled to take my certification exam for the National Sustainable Building Advisor Program but something went wrong with my online registration and I wasn't properly registered. I panicked a bit because the next scheduled exam is not until October. I just knew that if I waited that long, I would forget everything. Fortunately everyone was very helpful and I will most likely be able to take the exam this coming Thursday.

Happy Nameday to Me!

Hey, it's my nameday!

(at least in Finland)

I'd totally forgotten since none of our calendars have the namedays listed. Thank you Karoliina for remembering and wishing me a "Happy Nameday!"

My name happens to fall in the "women's week" in the calendar. That's July 18th - July 24th. If you're curious to know more about namedays, here's the wikipedia article, and here's a calendar listing the dates for all the Finnish names.

Scotch Thistle - Onopordum acanthium

I saw these thistles growing by the road on my walk to work this morning, but I didn't think they quite went with the Calla Lilies post.

Calla Lilies

Calla Lily - Zantedeschia sp.

I love Calla Lilies, but I've never tried to grow them in our yard because they like really damp areas and I know they wouldn't get enough water in the summertime.

I found these lilies growing in the flowerbeds just outside the library. they looked like they were struggling even with the automatic sprinkler system.

Calla Lily - Zantedeschia sp.

I thought the tiny little white spider on this flower was so cute... but unfortunately the camera didn't want to focus on him. He was too small.