Our house is in a nice suburb just next to the seashore and several small forests. Therefore, there are nice walking, cycling, and adventuring routes all around us.
Now it just needs to stop raining.
Day 62: Trip Around The Neighborhood
Category: 365 Project
Day 61: A Peanut A Day Makes A Happy Parrot
My sister has a parrot, a yellow-naped amazon called Niki. Occassionally, when my sister and her husband are both travelling, Niki comes to stay.
98% of the time, Niki is a very easy – and quite fun – houseguest. The only two exceptions are the times she starts loudly (and I mean loudly!) protesting for being excluded from the flock activities (eg., if she can’t see the dinner table from her cage) and when she needs to be moved.
For some reason, Niki does not like men. Any men. Even my sister’s husband is smart enough not to try to touch her. So, getting her from her “visiting cage” to her tiny travel cage is my problem. And Niki typically does not want to go into the travel cage.
Over the years we have become good enough friends, so she does not seriously try to bite me anymore. But it is a delicate balance of cajoling and being firm. And bribing. And in very tough spot, bribing a bit more.
Ps. My sister can handle her well. I guess Niki and I still lack a certain bond…
Day 60: Independence Squared
The girls got new bicycles from Santa. They were delivered today amid huge excitement. Six gears!
In addition to just being great fun, the return of bicycle season adds volumes to girls’ independence. We have strict boundaries on how far they can go without adults or special permission – but even a distance of a kilometer or two is much faster on a bicycle.
Easier distance means more play, more friends, and more adventures, especially with the extended daylight hours.
For Stuart and me, it means fewer calls begging for a lift home.
Day 59: Soup To Heal The Sick
When you are feeling seriously under the weather, soup is good comfort food. It helps to have leftover duck in the fridge.
Cut-all-corners ramen.
Day 58: Apple a Day
I love fruit, but I am a picky fruit eater. I only eat them when they are “perfect”. For example, bananas need to have just turned from green to yellow. Any dark spots just make them too sweet and mushy.
But there are always smoothies.
Day 57: Easter Blessings
I adore the Finnish tradition of Easter blessings (virpominen). It is such a joyful thing to do. I firmy believe one should make an effort, which is why we take care with both decorating the willow branches, and dressing up as traditional witches. These witches then go from house to house, blessing the home and handing over a decorated branch in exchange for chocolate eggs or other candy.
In addition to the nearest neighbors, in Finland you can still ring any doorbell and ask for permission to bless the house. A lot of the people in “our route” we only see this for one time a year. But naturally, after doing this a few years, we favor the houses where people have been especially excited to see us.
We clearly left a bit late this year, as almost every house commented they were already worried we would not come at all.
Day 56: The Second (Of Many)
Girls’ birthday always ends up being multi-day affair: the celebration during the actual day with immediate family, followed by family birthday with exetended family, and last (but not least) the party with friends.
The good thing about twins is that you do this once a year.
Day 55: Bake The Cake and Eat It Too
I baked a chocolate cake today. I love cooking, but I’m really not a baker. However, family is coming around tomorrow to celebrate Alanna’s and Kiara’s birthday, and the girls specifically asked for chocolate cake – so here we are.
I would probably bake more, if it would be more convenient to bake only a small batch. But Stuart eats nothing sweet and there is only so many pastries and cakes I want girls to eat…
Day 54: Cuppa
I don’t drink a lot of tea, but when you are sick (as I am now) or cold, a cup of tea can hit just the right spot. And when I do drink tea, I want the whole shebang: a special tea pot, proper loose-leaf tea, a beautiful mug, etc.
The girls have their own particularities. Alanna adores Moroccan green tea (with sugar) and in recent weeks, Kiara has gotten into rooibos – although that is mostly driven by the fact that she wants to eat as much honey as possible, since they are selling it to benefit their scout group.
Stuart only drinks coffee.
Day 53: Happiness
The girls and I decorated the willow branches for Palm Sunday. The combination of bright colors and cheerful catkins make me happy – especially as we had fun decorating them together.
Projects like this can be hard to start after a full day at work, but once you get going (typically bacause you have to, like now, with no other opportunity before Sunday) they are well worth it!
Blue Moment 