Finland – Blue Moment

Day 91: Spring Cleaning

May 10, 2026May 10, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Espoo, Home, Kiara, OutdoorsTagged Outdoors, Home, Kiara, Espoo, Activities, 365 Project, SpringLeave a comment

We have a huge glass terrace at the back our our house. During summer, it is the most-used “room” we have. It is our dining room, living room and outside patio – all wrapped into one. In fact, it was one of the main reasons we bought the house to start with.

The glass roof is fairly flat and keeping it clean(ish) of leaves, pine needles, pollen and dust is no small task. Not that I am too pedantic about it… And a good thing too. About five minutes after completing my task, a gust of wind brought down a fresh rain of rubbish.

Oh well.

You probably noticed I am cheating a bit in my 365 challenge here. This picture was taken by Kiara, not me. I guess the ones below should be my official entries, but who cares.

Day 90: Vappu(ish)

May 9, 2026Posted in Festivals, 365 Project, Espoo, TraditionsTagged Espoo, 365 Project, Spring, HolidaysLeave a comment

Kiara got a cold last night and was running a high temperature, so we cancelled all our Vappu plans. It has been the warmest Vappu in 18 years, so lounging on the terrace wasn’t a bad alternative.

To make it a bit festive, our snacky lunch included all the traditional Vappu essentials: sima (kind of fermented lemon mead), strawberries, munkkis, potato salad and wiener sausages.

I even wore my matriculation hat, as tradition demands. Mine is a bit small, so I rarely wear it for long, even at Vappu. Otherwise it would not be in such pristine shape.

It is the one garment where stains are worn with pride.

Day 86: Old Kokkola

May 4, 2026May 4, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Architecture, Finland, Travelling, WorkTagged 365 Project, Architecture, Finland, History, TravelLeave a comment

I travelled to Kokkola for work today. It’s a small town on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia. In spring, before the nature awakens, there isn’t all that much to see. In summer, it can be nice (so I hear).

The old town of Kokkola has some beautiful wooden houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, with a few dating back to the 17th. They were definitely worth a walk.

Day 77: Reading Nook

April 23, 2026April 23, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Espoo, HomeLeave a comment

We have a balcony upstairs that we didn’t use much at first. Our large covered terasse downstairs acts as our living room every summer, so this space was largely ignored.

Two years ago we added a comfortable chair and a small table, and that was all it needed to become a reading nook. Being a little higher up, the balcony catches the last rays of sunlight in the evening and on a rainy day it is quite pleasant to listen to the tapping on the window.

And if you close the door properly, you are not visible from the inside.

Day 73: Early Morning on the road

April 19, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Finland, OutdoorsTagged 365 Project, Finland, Outdoors, SpringLeave a comment

At the moment, the sun rises in Helsinki at 6am. In just a week, it will be 20 minutes earlier. The change is so fast, you can really feel it – and Finns are almost unrecognizable from the dark, crumpy winter dwellers of just a few weeks ago.

Getting to the office early feels decidedly more humane when you are accompanied with blue sky and the first rays of sunshine.

Day 72: Nesting Coot

April 18, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Espoo, Nature, WildlifeTagged 365 Project, Espoo, Nature, SpringLeave a comment

A few kilometres from our house is a small pond that is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Several rare birds nest there and in the surrounding area, and there is a very active community alerting people to rare sightings. I am not part of it. I mostly know about it from my walks, when I occasionally stumble into clusters of people arriving by car or bicycle, or nearly running, binoculars in hand, asking breathlessly if they have “missed it yet.”

As it was a beautiful day, I cycled to the pond to join tens of others trying to catch a photo of a bird. I just wanted a pretty picture, so I would have been quite happy with a duck. Instead, I found this Eurasian coot building a nest. Although common in Europe, the Finnish population is critically endangered.

So, am I a birdwatcher now?

Day 71: Jumping up, up, up…

April 16, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Home, Kiara, OutdoorsTagged 365 Project, Alanna, Children, Espoo, Home, Kiara, Outdoors, SpringLeave a comment

Last year Santa brought the girls a trampoline. I was a bit worried it wouldn’t be used much, but I didn’t need to worry. Last summer, there was barely a day that girls didn’t go jumping, at least for a bit. Most days, there would be several friends bouncing with them.

We set the trampoline up again today (you have to take it into storage for winter). Thirty minutes later, you could already hear the laughter of four little girls.