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.
Alanna and Kiara are at their most creative when it comes to inventing reasons to postpone bedtime. More often than not, giving in to one extra thing helps to move things along.
One of the favourite distractions is listening to “just one last song” before brushing their teeth. It’s a great and joyful idea – if you can actually stop at one.
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.
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.
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.
As a kid, I loved Finnish baseball (pesäpallo). It’s quite different from American baseball – most notably, because you pitch the ball up, not across.
So, when I came across a set of used pesäpallo equipment for kids at some sale or another, I did not hesitate for a second.
The girls’ success rate of actually hitting the ball is still low enough that we can practice in our backyard. I do not expect that to last long.
I would still love to pick the sport back up myself, but unless you are part of a fairly serious team, you can only really play in summer. And in summer, there is so much else to do.
When it is not homework, it is fun.
As a summer activity, we are collecting flowers with the girls to press them. With my mum, they are also catching bugs to inpect and draw.
Anything to keep them engaged in reading and writing.
We had a very relaxed office afterwork today. The weather was fantastic, so we ditched some other plans, headed to the park with picnic blankets, and ordered pizzas. To top it all off, the coworking space we work in had some beers that were about to expire. We were happy to dispose of them.
After several shorter nights, I was planning to leave early. But it was pretty easy to convince me otherwise. Again.
Girls’s night out.
For dinner, Alanna and Kiara chose a sushi – one of their all-time favourites.
After dinner, we headed to a Hevisaurus Musical. I think Hevisaurus is a concept that could really only exist in Finland… Its a band dressed up as dinosaurs, playing heavy metal for kids. And they are pretty good too!
Alanna especially was into every song. She knew the words to half of them and danced passionately to the rest.
As did most of the audience.
I am not sure if I’ve ever seen that many 5-8 year olds headbanging before.
Räyh! is their best song. Or the ballad, ‘Goodnight, Last of the Mammoths’ (Hyvää yötä, viimeinen mammutti). Both are worth a listen.
Blue Moment 