When the sun is setting, between dusk and darkness, there is a moment when the light turns blue. And the world stops for a heartbeat.
Several years ago, my dad decided to get a quad bike for the summer cottage. He said it was to help with work around the yard, but none of us siblings believed him. We were convinced it is just his latest toy.
But admittedly, it has turned out to be really useful thing to have around. The yard is big, and there is a never-ending list of things to do.
The girls think it is the best toy ever. They especially love the adventure rides they take with ukki along the nearby dirt roads.
Pan-fried muikku (vendace) is a Finnish delicacy. The girls and I absolutely love it. Stuart thinks it is good, but as with many good things, Finns tend to overdo it.
You can get muikku at many lakeside restaurants during the summer, and I even make it myself from time to time. But the best muikku is made by ukki in the boathouse. The boathouse is as important part of the meal than the muikku itself.
Today, we laid our beloved Merlin to rest.
He passed away back in January, but we wanted to bury him at the summer cottage, the place he loved more than any other in the world.
Merlin came to our family a little over 10 years ago. He was an intelligent and curious little pup who simply could not fanthom that anyone would not love him as much as he loved them. There was nothing he loved more than being included in… everything.
He was especially certain that all hadedas (type of ibis) thoroughly enjoyed the one-sided game of tag he invented. (Except for the one that decided to chase him back).
Merlin was very obedient, calm and caring. Nowhere was it more evident than in the way he cared his two “sisters”, when they arrived. He kept bringing his favourite puppy toy to the babies, although he clearly found it rather strange that they did not play with it for months.
As they grew, he remained endlessly patient, no matter how loud, rough, or devious they became – even when they stole his food. For his entire life, he kept an eye on them. It caused him great concern whenever they disappeared from sight on walks (for example, to kindergarten or school).
The move from South Africa turned his life upside down, but in Finland Merlin discovered his inner husky. Rain or darkness no longer bothered him. And he absolutely loved snow. And forests. Most of all, though, he loved the summer cottage.
Merlin was a very special little dog. Six months after his passing, we still unconciously reach out for him every day. We miss him tremendously!
Alanna suggested that we light a candle to Merlin every year on his birthday. She said he was such a brave dog that his soul was half fire. So through the candle, he will hear us singing Happy Birthday to him.
Rest in peace, Merlin. ❤️
Finns are always surprised when the weather is good at Midsummer. Although, I could be a spoilsport and note that every single one of the five Midsummers since we moved bach has been beautiful.
Then again, I still remember the years of +9°C and rain, so I mostly let people enjoy their weather debates.
Anyway, it is hard to capture the essence of Midsummer in single picture. I cheated and made a collage. Good food, good drinks, the midnight sun, summer…
There are many truths about how warm a lake needs to be before it is warm enough for a swim.
Stuart, being South African, thinks 28-30°C sounds about right. Or 25°C with a sauna. For a Finn, that is pure folly.
I am happy with 20°C and 18°C respectfully. But then again, I do not particularly like cold water (for a Finn).
Alanna prefers warmer water too, but anything above 10°C is fine as long as it only comes up to her knees and there is a sandy patch to play in. Swimming requires 18°C or a good reason. And whether something counts as a good enough reason depends entirely on her mood. This spring, she went gor a swim when the sea was barely 13°C.
Kiara doesn’t care. As long as there is no ice on it, it looks good. Above 15 °C, she will happily swim around until she turns blue (and mummi tells her to come out).
In case you were wondering, the lake was close to 20°C.
As the girls have been learning to read over the past year, I have been marvelling at how anyone ever learns to read in English. The spelling makes no sense.
In Finnish, every letter is always pronounced the same way, so once you know the letters, reading is pretty straightforward. To make up for it, Finnish words can be ridiculously long, and tiny changes can completely change the meaning of a word. But still. At least it is consistent.
I was well into my teens before the concept of a spelling bee made any sense to me whatsoever.
Despite being a foodie, even I admit that frying sausages over the fire is part of summer at the summer cottage.
According to my dad, my mum and I cook far too complicated food in the summer cottage. Then again, he considers anything more time-consuming than fried sausage or pasta too complicated. (Unless it is fish, in which case it is never too time-consuming.)
To be fair, we do occassionally go a bit overboard. Or rather, we like trying new things. And more often than not, one element doesn’t quite work out, so we end up improvising as we go.
Generally, though, we have fun.
And my dad has yet to refuse any of it.
So I would call it a win-win.
I went to my first proper music festival in years – and it was pouring down for most of the day.
But once you get soaked, you do not really get wetter.
The gigs were fantastic, it stayed warm and the company – most importantly my sister, brother-in-law and parents – never let the rain get in the way of a good time.
Great day!
I did feel a little sorry for some of the bands on stage two, which was not exactly waterproof. Unbelievably, most of the equipment kept functioning even through the worst downpour.
Food tastes better when eaten outside.
The nearest “beach” to us is just a quick hop away. It’s a secluded little strech of sand, and you can’t get there with a car. Consequently, it is often pretty quiet.
With the weather being great, we went for a picnic on a whim. We grabbed whatever we fancied from a store and cycled to the “beach” for a few hours of games, snacks and scenery. The girls even waded to the water, but it was still way too cold for a swim.
Best night of the week.
Blue Moment 