Despite my grumpiness about the spring and rain… summer is coming.
Day 65: The Little Flower Who Could
Category: Finland
Day 64: Next-Level Egg Hunt
In my family, escape rooms are a thing. We regularly go with my siblings, their partners, and sometimes include our parents. The girls have tagged along for a few times as well – and keep begging to come again.
So this Easter, I built them their own escape-room-style egg hunt. They had to solve puzzles, break codes, search for clues, and even reveal invisible writing. Along the route they had to uncover boxes and find matching keys or number codes.
A few of the challenges were quite hard, but the girls managed to locate all of their eggs. Apparently, it was more fun that our “typical” hunt, so I have a feeling we may have started a new tradition.
A great addition the already existing tradition of spending the Easter in our summer cottage with my parents
Day 63: Finnish Spring
Is there anything more over-romatisized than spring? Maybe Paris. Or worse: spring in Paris.
Maybe in warmer climates spring bursts in to flower the moment winter ends, bringing sunshine, birdsong and love. But not in Finland.
After 6 months under snow, there is not a lot colour in Finnish nature in early spring. The frozen ground needs time to thaw before anything green dares to show up. It’s wet and brown. It is a challenge to find much beauty anywhere.
Those warm, sunny moments can be glorious, though. Finns peel off their winter jackets and run out with the first signs of milder weather – enthusiastic for light and already waiting for summer to begin.
In other words, the best thing about Finnish spring is its proximity to summer.
Day 62: Trip Around The Neighborhood
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 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 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!
Day 48: Early Signs of Spring
It’s been several weeks of above 0°C temperatures, and the snow is gone – except for the random piles covered in sand and pebbles that typically only melt at around midsummer (or at least it feels that way) and the sea ice. Plenty of ice left.
The sun was shining brightly and the neighborhood forest felt like spring. It is still early in the year and the nature seems unsure whether it can trust the warmth. There are no early flowers or green shoots in the trees yet. The first shoots of grass are rising from the forest moss.
Day 46: Long Way Up
Most often, when I go to the office, I take the metro. I live almost at the end of the line, so even on the busiest of mornings, I can get a window seat, close my eyes, and listen to my audiobook.
Almost without exception, I come home after rush hour has passed. Rarely more than a handfull of people get off at my stop. I get the long escalator all to myself.
One of these days I will get off one station before, as that apparently has the longest escalator in Finland. So far, I have never prioritized the experience over getting home faster.
Day 44: Bad Mood Weather
In Southern Finland, there is no weather worse than +2°C and rain. My foreign friends think I’m nuts when I say I’d take -25°C any day over +2°C.
You can enjoy the beautiful crispness of -25°C if you wear the right gear. But nothing improves +2°C and rain. It is miserable, depressing, gloomy, and, because it is Finland, most often dark.
I think my opinion has only gained credibility now that my South African-born-and-bred husband has started to agree with me.
Day 40: Light in the dark
Days are getting longer with spring, but even that does not help, when your workday extends to late evening. Luckily, our winter lights are still in on.
Blue Moment 