It’s the school holidays this week. Mummi invited the girls to Tampere for a few days. Several people from the office are also on holiday.
So, despite full days at the office, it feels almost like a holiday.
Day 249: Almost A Holiday
Category: Fall
Day 248: Winding Down
When I was a small child, our summer cottage (with no electricity or inside plumbing) was not suitable winter use. We would come for a day (or more) in autumn to rake the leaves and close everything up for winter.
I mostly remember having hot chocolate and sandwitches in the sauna steps with my brother, while the adults did… whatever adults do in these situations. We would spend the night at my grandmother’s house in a nearby town.
Now we can stay overnight and cook proper meals in a warm kitchen.
The girls spend time on the shore, doing many of the same things I did with my brother.
Unfortunately, I am now the adult doing whatever adults do…
Luckily, that is not too much.
Day 247: Family Halloween
Our family tradition of celebrating Halloween at the summer cottage started somewhat by accident. It is the right time of the year for some autumn maintenance and gardening. A few years ago, our work weekend happened to fall on Halloween, so we turned it into a celebration.
So now, even though we were several weeks early (calendar juggling is a reality even within the family), there is no reason small enough for a celebration.
Halloween is definitely not a Finnish tradition, and has only caught on here in the last 10 years or so. When I was a kid, it was as distant as Carnival in Brazil. You had heard of it, but it had nothing to do with you.
So, I still find it hard to believe my kids will grow up carving pumpkins every year.
Day 244: Short Days
Even though it happens every year, it is still a shock to the system how quickly the days get shorter in the autumn. All of a sudden, it is dark when you go to work, and dark when you get home. And it’ll only get worse from here.
It says something about how extreme the change is that, in Finland, the winter blues (or kaamosväsymys) typically start in the autumn, rather than in the dead of winter.
Combine that with the usual (predictable) chaos of life – most intense preparations for peak season at work, the girls’ schoolwork and hobbies – and it is no wonder one feels a bit weary.
But a few sunny, brilliantly colored days do wonders.
Day 242: Ruska
Ruska, in Finnish, is the word for the time in autumn when the leaves change color. It encompasses the colors, the season and the particular affection Finns have for the phenomenon (or, at least, for the few beautiful, sunny days we typically get at this time of the year.
In our household, the season is more typically marked by going through all the “midseason wear” the girls need between summer and winter. And buying six pairs of waterproof gloves to replace the ones lost during sping.
Day 241: Crackling Fire
Fire is hypnotising.
A long time ago, I had a friend visiting from Hong Kong. She could not tear herself away from our fireplace. Living on the 32nd floor, she had never seen a real flame bigger than a candle flame.
One of the first (and best) things we did when we moved in to the house was to replace the fireplaces iron door with a bigger glass one.
All the wonder, without the smoke.
Day 240: More Mushrooms
I went mushrooming on my own. Major feat. Actually bringing home almost 10l was an even bigger feat.
Good mushroom spots seem to be big secrets, shared only with the closest family. Asking experts (or anyone who regularly picks mushrooms) where to go is almost sacrilege. You either get a very vague answer, or they tell you outright they only go to their family spot. Even internet forums come up empty.
Having no family who go mushrooming – especially not in Espoo – I was on my own. I used AI to identify a right type of forest. And went in blind.
The first hour was pretty desperate… Not helped by the fact that it had been windy, so the forest floor was covered in fallen leaves – each exactly the same shade as the mushrooms I was looking for.
But then I found them. And the best thing is that where you find one, you are bound to find another.
I marked the spot.
Day 237: Imprint
Sometimes little things will stay with you for a long time.
For example, when I was maybe 14, I read an article about a study that found that the first stall in public toilets is, on average, ~30% cleaner than the others. Apparently, people don’t like to use the first one,
I have always picked the first stall since.
And I don’t even know if it is true.
Day 235: A Rosebud
Amidst the red and yellow leaves, a freshly bloomed rose and a rosebud stand out. Call me old-fashioned, but it feels wrong. Roses belong to summer.
Someone ought to have a word.
Day 230: Colour Me Cold
It’s here. All the prettiness.
