Activities – Blue Moment

Day 190: Fight for Relevance

August 30, 2026August 30, 2026Posted in 365 Project, ActivitiesTagged 365 Project, ActivitiesLeave a comment

Just like everyone else I know, I rarely go to a movie theater nowadays. The last two times I remember going were to see Oppenheimer with Stuart and then Emilia Perez with my sister. But I”m sure I’ve been since then… at least once.

It is hard to justify the cost, unless the movie is one that “should be seen on a big screen”. And even then, not really.

But as I go so rarely, I’m surprised by the experience every time. Theatres come up with all kinds of innovations to justify the cost and effort: big comfy chairs, snack delivery to your seats… All standard nowadays. But not sure it’s working

I went to see Odyssey. With eight other people.

Day 186: Return Drive

August 26, 2026August 27, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Alanna, Europe, Kiara, Nature, Outdoors, Stuart, Travelling, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, History, Holidays, Kiara, Nature, Outdoors, Scenery, TravelLeave a comment

The drive home from a holiday, especially with forecasted rain, is rarely fun.

But when it is, it is a lot of fun.

A morning walk (with a breakfast that, according to Kiara, is worth moving to Haapsalu for), a submerged limestone quarry, an abandoned prison, and a real submarine – a few worthwhile stops. And Stuart drove faster than the wind, as the rainclouds never quite reached us.

And at the end is home.

For good and bad.

Travel diary: Saaremaa

August 18, 2026August 18, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Animals, Europe, Kiara, Nature, Travelling, WildlifeTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Animals, Holidays, Kiara, Nature, TravelLeave a comment

The real post for this day (day 181) was about the fountains. However, I just had to include a “bonus post” for the rest of the day, due to the pure momentousness of it.

The girls met – and even petted – capybaras.

All little girls go through phases. Our girls, especially Kiara, are going through a major capybara phase. Her school bag, pencil case, favourite shirt, eraser… all feature capybaras.

As luck would have it, they are one of Saaremaa Zoo’s main attractions.

Kuressaare, the attractive capital of Saaremaa, was cool. But only “next level” cool.

Whatever that means.

Day 180: Blue Fox called Katri Helena

August 16, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Architecture, Europe, Kiara, Outdoors, Stuart, Travelling, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Architecture, Children, Holidays, Kiara, Outdoors, Stuart, Summer, TravelLeave a comment

Lotte is not a character I was familiar with. So we approached Lottemaa with some trepidation, especially as we knew everything would be in Estonian.

But children have an amazing ability to throw themselves into the parts of the story they understand – and just ignore the rest. The park had sufficient things to do, even beyond the story itself, especially as (totally out of character) I actually looked at the website beforehand and knew about the hidden adventure trail…

And everyone told us about the Finn in the village, the blue fox called Katri Helena.

The “quick stop” to cool ourselves off in Pärnu beach took a lot longer than expected. Mostly because even the girls had to walk about 100m in to the sea before the water reached their belly buttons. The shallow water felt above 30°C, though, so I didn’t mind a bit of splashing.

Day 176: Washing Rugs

August 12, 2026August 12, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Asikkala, Kiara, Outdoors, Traditions, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, Finland, History, Kiara, Learning, Summer CottageLeave a comment

Washing rugs on the summer cottage pier was fun as a child. Mum would throw buckets of water on my feet as I scrubbed as hard as I could. I still love the smell of Mäntysuopa (pine soap).

As we cleaned the wendy house today, the girls tried the traditional method of cleaning a rug.

Their comment was a dry, “Clearly kids in the old days had a different way of having fun”. Apparently, it was hard work.

Day 175: Little Big Adventure

August 11, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Asikkala, Family, Kiara, Outdoors, Sport, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, Holidays, Kiara, Learning, Outdoors, Sport, Summer CottageLeave a comment

The best purchase of the summer – if you ask the girls – has been the massive, almost 5m-long swimming mattress Ukki ordered.

It easily holds both girls standing up, so, wearing a life jackets, Alanna and Kiara have been allowed to push it almost to the middle of the lake by themselves. This is, of course, infinitely cooler than doing it with an adult. Ukki even towed the girls and the mattress all the way to the other side of the strait.

In the deep, the mattress becomes a platform for jumping, diving, kicking, pushing and generally messing around in the water. The best game, naturally, is trying to stay standing when the waves from a passing boat rock the mattress.

Great fun and a great way to build even more confidence in the water.

Now we just need to figure out where an earth to store a thick, 5m mattress for the winter.

Day 174: Stop And Smell The Mushrooms

August 10, 2026August 10, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Finland, Kiara, Makro, Nature, OutdoorsTagged 365 Project, Activities, Finland, Makro, Nature, OutdoorsLeave a comment

In Finnish forests, the flowers tend to bloom early and only briefly. Season is short, so this time of the year, forest are mostly a sea of different greens.

Mushroom season is starting, tho, so it’s worth keeping your eyes on the ground!

Day 170: Game of Cards

August 6, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Asikkala, FamilyTagged 365 Project, Activities, family, Summer CottageLeave a comment

Playing games in the evening is as much a part of the summer cottage holiday as the sauna.

When I was a kid, we played cards with my parents and grandma, mostly Marjapussi and Lupaus. We still occassionally crack open a deck of cards, but we have expanded our repertoire to include all kinds of card and board games. My brother has become our game-finder-in-chief, so we usually discover approximately one new game every summer.

It’s not easy to find a game that works. There are usually 7-8 of us, with very different intrests and attention spans.

Deciding what to play can sometimes take almost as long as playing it.

Day 169: The Longest Streak

August 5, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Family, Finland, Outdoors, SportTagged 365 Project, Activities, family, Outdoors, Sport, SummerLeave a comment

Today, I have officially surpassed the number of days I managed in my previous 365 challenge, nine years ago.

Still posting.

To mark this momentous day, the weather turned foul with high, gusty winds and intermittent rain.

The perfect occassion to go frisbee golfing with family. We will enjoy the summer, perkele!

Day 168: Local Sights

August 4, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Asikkala, Finland, Kiara, Nature, Outdoors, Sport, Stuart, Travelling, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Finland, Kiara, Nature, Outdoors, Scenery, Sport, Stuart, TravelLeave a comment

When something is close to home, you rarely see it as anything special.

Pulkkilanharju is a narrow esker gormed during the Ice Age. It is surrounded by the open waters of lake Päijänne, with small green islands dotting the landscape. It is often listed as one of the most scenic drives in Finland.

But because it is so close to the summer cottage, years can pass without us visiting.

This year, we decided not only to drive across it, but also to walk the short nature trail in the national park. The girls insisted the terrain was so challenging they couldn’t possibly have finished the walk without the 1,5l of bilberries they ate along the way. It really wasn’t. But the bilberries were clearly excellent.

We finished the adventure with lunch and ice cream at Vääksy Lock. Another piece of Finland’s must-see scenery.