family – Page 2 – Blue Moment

Day 132: Diving In

June 28, 2026June 29, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Asikkala, Family, Kiara, Outdoors, Stuart, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, family, Holidays, Kiara, Outdoors, Summer, Summer CottageLeave a comment

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.

Day 128: Just A Bit Better Food

June 24, 2026June 24, 2026Posted in Activities, Cooking, FamilyTagged 365 Project, Activities, family, Food, Summer CottageLeave a comment

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.

Day 127: Once You Get Soaked

June 23, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Family, Festivals, Finland, night, Outdoors, People, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, family, Finland, Holidays, SummerLeave a comment

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.

Day 126: Late Arrival

June 22, 2026June 22, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Asikkala, nightTagged 365 Project, family, Summer CottageLeave a comment

The more firmly you intend to leave early on Friday, the more likely it is you end up putting out some random fire at work.

Even when we arrive at the summer cottage too late for the girls’ bedtime, driving out on Friday is always my preference. The weekend feels longer, when you wake up at the summer cottage on Saturday.

Being able to sleep in while the grandparents entertain the kids is just an added bonus.

Day 123: Seaside Picnic

June 19, 2026June 19, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Family, Kiara, Outdoors, Stuart, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, family, Food, Kiara, Stuart, WineLeave a comment

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.

Day 116: Pop the Cork

June 11, 2026June 11, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Europe, Family, Luxembourg, TravellingTagged 365 Project, family, Travel, WineLeave a comment

I enjoy sparkling wine in any occassion, but still it remains the drink I most associate with my mum. And, to a slightly lesser degree, to my sister.

We’ve drunk it together on many occassions over the years, but I think the connection was born in Luxembourg. Stuart and I lived there for a few years, and my entire family came for a spring visit. We spent a whole day in the Mosel wine region, walking, eating asparagus dishes and drinking wine – both sparkling and not. My mum, Noora and I bought a magnum-sized bottle to take home and top the weekend off. If I remember right, we ended up giggling a lot.

Day 115: The Last of First

June 10, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Alanna, Family, Kiara, Stuart, TraditionsTagged 365 Project, Alanna, family, Holidays, Kiara, Learning, Stuart, SummerLeave a comment

The last day of first grade: report cards received, flowers given to teachers. We all even survived singing Suvivirsi (you need to be a Finn to understand that).

Done.

Ten weeks of summer holiday deserve a celebratory pastry.

Day 110: Summer Cottage

June 5, 2026June 5, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Alanna, Asikkala, Family, Finland, Kiara, Nature, OutdoorsTagged 365 Project, Alanna, Children, family, Finland, Kiara, Nature, Outdoors, Summer, Summer CottageLeave a comment

Swimming, boating, fire-cooked crepes, sauna, bbq, hammering, hand-picked wildflowers, ice cream – long days outside and never-ending bedtime giggles.

A perfect day for little people.

Day 106: Drip By Drip

May 30, 2026May 30, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Everyday objects, Family, WaterTagged 365 Project, Children, Everyday objects, family, MakroLeave a comment

People are always curious what is the hardest thing in raising twins. They expect me to describe jealousy, trouble finding own identity, or sharing (or not sharing) friends and hobbies.

No-one ever understands that the hardest thing is to stay patient in the face of stubborn insistence of getting exactly what the sister does.

Exactly.

Even when it makes no logical sense.

The biggest daily fight in our household is whose turn is it to wash teeth first. Every night!

Somehow it remains irrelevant that the other one will go 2 min later.

Day 103: The First Is The Best

May 25, 2026May 25, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Espoo, Family, OutdoorsTagged 365 Project, family, Finland, Food, Outdoors, SummerLeave a comment

The first ice cream of the summer!

Well, of course,we have had ice cream in the past months. Actually, in the past week. But not from an ice cream kiosk. (At least, not most of them. A mall kiosk does not quite count.) And we had not eaten any outside. (Almost none) And nothing in our T-shirts, with the sun shining.

Hard to explain why, but this was definitely the first ice cream of the summer. And it was great.