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.
Somewhat by accident Alanna, Kiara and I ended up in Design Week’s kids’ workshop.
The girls got to design fashionable outfits, new houses and a – best of all – a mascot that they could then program to make sounds, flash lights, or show images.
An accident to repeat.
I love some of the new libraries in Finland. They are a far cry from the stereotypical dusty, dark rooms with a librarian angrily shushing every sound.
The library in Lippulaiva, the nearby shopping mall, is full of color, sounds and running children. There is a playground with a slide and a real car, a pool table, a few 3D printers, and a loom. There are soft armchairs, cushions on the floor, and several soft nooks tucked away in corners. And there are books that people (kids especially) actually want to read.
I sympathize with people who feel it is too much; that libraries should be quiet and calm, with a focus on education.
But I think reading should be fun.
Cycling slightly longer distances is easier when you have a fun destination. Even if it is just a picnic in a park.
I nearly craned my neck keeping an eye on the rainclouds. The forecast promised rain only later, but the 6km back home would feel long in the rain.
We made it with at least 4 minutes to spare.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Blue Moment 