Kuukausi: elokuu 2019

Culture and cows

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I was going to write this earlier, like last Friday evening but since I was so awed and also tired I try to write something now.

Last Thursday I met my friend Mirva. She lives north of Helsinki, in a city called Jyväskylä which is near our summer cottage. We first met and became friends some years ago when we were studying Information sciences in an Open Uni web course and met on the first live study group-day as I sat next to her and we begun chatting like old friends. Some people just are like that and it’s wonderful.

Mirva was here on a work business and we had dinner and then went to the AmosRex Museum to see the Ars Fennica finalists. Mirva had not visited the museum before and liked it a lot. The exhibition was awesome too, I especially liked the painting of a forest which took up a whole wall and also Aurora Reinhard’s little dolls were awesome. Afterwards we had coffee and a long and nice chat about all things at a nearby cafe and it was lovely.

Friday morning we woke with a downpour, it rained so heavily that the Main railway station’s underground stop flooded and still the lifts are unavailable. Helsinki got about 6-7 cm of rain. I had my red wellies and a raincoat plus umbrella with me so I didn’t mind. At my work we got some of it right inside at the 4th floor too, the caretaker guys were furious. Last time 4th floor was flooded in spring when the snow begun to melt on the roof.

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At home before leaving to work

On Friday evening me and my friends Heidi and Kristiina went to see the latest Tarantino movie ’Once upon a time in Hollywood’ and I must say it was very good. None of us is a great fan of neither Brad nor Leo but we all agreed that they did good roles and I personally think that Leo is quite a talented actor. The story was also very though provoking as in ’what if..’ sort of scenario.  I loved the little details and photography, and I really liked Margot Robbie ans Sharon Tate. I think it also shows how much Tarantino loves movies as an art form.

The weekend passed.. On Saturday I had terrible migraine. I haven’t had one in about six months and this one was really awful, I didn’t know if I should throw up or not or faint or not and it made me a cry-baby too. Not nice. Luckily after two pills I managed to even vacuum the house and read but I still felt dizzy and sweaty. On Sunday I felt all right and managed to sew new curtains to the kitchen, I really like them.

We are having a late summer and lovely nice and warm weather so on Monday morning I biked to work. My biking route is 14km from door to door and it goes via the University cow pasture which is quite nice. I really love cows 🙂 What I don’t like are the two or three hills I have on my route, they are loooong and slow and drag all my juices off.I almost fell at one point as I accidentally gripped the front brake and did a really short stop and now I have a deep bruise on my left calf from the pedal. I was lucky not to go over the handle bar.

Yesterday evening I finished reading ’Fools fate’ (Tawny Man trilogy part 3) by Robin Hobb and I think I need to have a short break of the Six duchies and River Wild for now since I tend to drown into them and forget everything else.

I took the bike also today and now I must say I’m exhausted now but I have biked 113 km which is good. Tomorrow We have the new teacher’s night at my work and I’ll do a longer work day and Thursday we have the all teachers meeting night.  They are always fun happenings and it’s nice to meet old and new people.

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The brown lumps in the middle are the cows
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Some crops coming and the Viikki suburb (middlest son’s high school is there)
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Vanhankaupunginlahti = the old city bay. This is where Helsinki was first located when Gustav Wasa established it. The technical museum is under construction but the rapid was lively. There were also some hook and line fishermen long the banks.

 

 

Wild things

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I’ve been so tired every day during this first working week that I have only been reading in the balcony with the cat in the evenings.

I’ve had fun in the work too. On Tuesday we stood two hours on the street to give passers-by our new study catalogue and it was nice. Most were very eager to chat with us and some cyclists even made a de-tour to come and grab a copy. Luckily the weather has been good too, not too warm but a bit windy but not rainy.

On Wednesday as I was trying to find a seat in the underground train I spotted a young man sitting with both legs up on the bench so I went to him and said ”Take your legs off the seat and let us people sit” and he did. Maybe I sounded like a mother since he didn’t complain.

On Thursday I received an e-mail from the Finnish blood donor bank and since I had time I went there after work. I got a nice nurse and we chatted all the time I was laying there. here blood donors don’t get any payment but we get a nice cup of coffee and different sandwiches, cookies and ice cream afterwards.

Yesterday I met my good friend Kristiina at one of the City museum’s called the Hakasalmi Villa which used to belong to a lady called Aurora Karamzin. There is an exhibition about Helsinki during the 1920’s and it was very good, funny and charming. It was inspiring and I’ve always loved the 20’s, my granny used to show me how to dance Charleston.

Later we had coffee in a small cafe situated in the museum’s garden and a little wild something ran from behind us to the nearby flowerbed. Ladies next to us asked if we saw what it was and we said that we had just agreed it was a yellow-necked mouse and we all laughed.

Well, now I’m going to watch Downton Abbey since the movie comes out in September and I can’t recall anything of Seasons 5 and 6.

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Sirius saw a new friend
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The amusement park Linnanmäki. My workplace is almost next to it.
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Two old villa’s. The one on the left is called Villa Kivi, it’s the local authors working recidence. Hubby’s aunt had her wedding there since she is a poet, it was a very nice place. The Blue Villa has a very nice summer cafe.
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The Caretaker’s house at the museum’s garden. Now it serves as the work rooms for the museum staff.
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A bright Dahlia at the museum garden.

 

23 years

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It’s been 23 years since we got married with my husband. It’s been a long time but also it feels like just yesterday.

During these years we’ve built a house, raised a family and buried parents and one dearest cat. We’ve had our ups and downs and it’s not always been just sunshine and roses but that’s life. I wouldn’t change a day ❤

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Fall is coming

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Youngest son’s school begun yesterday, he is now on middle grades and at least two of his teachers remembered his big brother. His ’own class’-teacher teaches Finnish and her husband is the Math teacher who was middlest son’s ’own class’-teacher, they were nice and good teachers imo.

We are having an abundance of cucumbers and zucchini. I have tried to eat them but every day we get more so I barely make a dent in the numbers. I must check zucchini baking recipes.

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I’ve once again listened to audio books. I finished one (The Midnight Witch by Paula Brackston)  I started in May because it was such an annoying novel and I deeply disliked the female protagonist. After that I’ve listened to Kelley Armstrong’s Lost souls (Cainsville 3.5) which was nice and short and the reader had a lovely voice, especially when he narrated Gabriel. Oh my.

After finishing that I’ve once again started ’The Tawny man trilogy’ by Robin Hobb and totally dived into Six duchies again. It may be I’ll stay there for a while, except my work begins next Monday *sigh*.

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ETA Once again I don’t know why the Goodreads widget doesn’t show all of my read books, it’s really annoying.

Summer reading

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Some of the books I’ve read during this summer holiday. In June I read mostly chick-lit due to the travelling and easy beach reading.

Trollope, Joanna: Marrying the mistress

Well, just as the header says. A judge finally divorces his wife of decades and decides to marry his longtime mistress. The ex-wife is mentally ill, the older son acts like he was the spouse and not son and younger son has delightfully a decent head on his shoulders. The mistress is a reasonable woman and in the end the whole thing wraps up nicely but not quite like one expected. I gave it 2 stars in Goodreads just because it was a bit too long.

Kelly, Cathy: Once in a lifetime

I had to check the story from Goodreads since I couldn’t remember anything. Normal Kelly novel, nothing surprising except the white witch woman who was introduced in the beginning and then forgotten.

Harris, Jane: Sugar money

This could have been interesting but sadly it was so slow, predictable and boring I just leafed it through. A story about two slave boys at Martinique who try to save their former slave comrades from Grenada. Part of the not-engrossing was the thing that the boys talk in Creole so I had trouble understanding them.

Walker, Fiona: Lots of love

Finally a chick-lit I enjoyed a bit more even thou it’d have been more interesting with fewer pages. Some nice witty bantering, crazy villagers and ’hot mess’ as someone said in Goodreads made it a nice beach book.

Matson, Morgan: Save the date

Oh dear, where to start. A highschool girl’s sister is getting married at their house and everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. At first it gave some chuckles but in the end you just wait what the author has decided. The plot itself promised so much more as the mother is a cartoonist who has been drawing a strip of a cartoon family with nation wide following and the family is of course the base for the cartoon. One of the son’s isn’t talking to his mother due to that and there’d be so much potential for a different kind of book but it all gets steamrolled under the disasters happening. So it was okay but not what I expected. I also got mixed up with the family members since there was so many of them.

Hoffman, Alice: Rules of magic

A prequel for Practical magic which I read years ago and liked a lot. So I really enjoyed reading this one too. I like Alice Hoffman’s style and now I’m thinking of rereading Practical magic too. Beautiful writing provokes thoughts about living and loving and life.

Carey, M.R. : The girl with all the gifts

I seldom pick up books about zombies and I really haven’t watched many movies etc about them so I was a bit surprised when I realized this novel was about them. An interesting dystopian thriller about what it is to be human and what makes one human. For some reason I went to the Net and watched the movie trailer and it made me just angry. So don’t do that. This novel deserves so much more.

Ng, Celeste: Little fires everywhere

A novel that leaves you thinking about all kinds of things. Very good story about a small town and the people in it. I really liked the way Celeste Ng describes teenagers. I bought this one at Honolulu airport because I had just finished ’The girl..’ and I didn’t have anything to read on the plane and then I couldn’t read this in the plane because it needs commitment and space to think about it all.

Rowling, J.K. : Casual vacancy

OMG. Just saying that this one makes me feel sorry for the trees. A small town in England and it’s local people trying to bully and bullying each other to do what they wish. In the end teens save the day again. Really a waste of paper, ink and Rowling’s talent.

Edvarsson, M.T.: A nearly normal family (audiobook)

Okay. A Swedish detective story about a family with father (a priest), mother (a lawyer) and 18-y-o daughter. The daughter is taken to custody for killing a man. Firstly I really didn’t realize it was a Swedish novel until I heard RA saying the names in English (I do wish they had someone teach the Swedish pronounciation) and then I had trouble keeping listening to the story because Swedish thrillers are boooooring. Sorry. Secondly I really don’t like reading legal procedures since they are quite boring. I think mostly I just enjoyed hearing Richard’s voice in my ears because I knew the culprit quite early on. And I admit, I have a mild dislike on Swedish thrillers, they are usually slow and dragging.

Doerr, Anthony: All the light we cannot see

A lovely book. I had some distrusts with it in the beginning due to all the good words I had heard and read but in the end it was really a lovely story about how coincidental life is and can be. At the beginning the chapters changing felt a bit awkward but once the story got me I got used to it. A blind French girl and a poor German boy during WWII about once again being human and moral compassion and love. Luckily the story continued past the war too but a bit differently than one expected.

Tudor, C.J. : The taking of Annie Thorne (audiobook)

As I’m not a great fan of horror I thought that this was just another detective story. So I was not thrilled with it. For me it was also a bit sloppy mix of Stephen King’s ’Shining’ and ’Pet semetary’, I think C.J. Tudor climbed over the fence where it was lowest. Once again Richard’s voice forgave a lot, he is honestly one of the best audio book actors there is. The story itself wasn’t frightening at all, I liked some of the characters (especially the school mistress) but it’d have been better with more editing. Again sorry for the trees.

So there, some books were really great and some were really not and then there was the middle ground. All in all quite a good reading and I still have a week left to read from dawn to dusk!

 

 

 

 

Back in town

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And city life. Schools begin next Thursday and I’m having my final holiday week beginning Monday, it’s early fall. And I wonder where the summer did go.

Two weeks ago hubby drove me and youngest son with the cat to the summer cottage. The drive itself went pretty well except of the cat pooping in her box ten minutes after we left home so we did a service-drive back and started anew. Everything went well until the last leg before arriving to the cottage when the car (Volvo hybrid) told us that it can’t load the battery and the a/c went off.. Hubby had a deep think and said that he can’t stay at the cottage and he’ll keep the car running in case it doesn’t start again. So we took all our things from the boot and he got on his way back to town.

About 90 minutes later he calls me that he had got to Heinola which is about at the middle of the route and that the car had finally given up and he had just got it to a truck resting park when the brakes went off. Luckily we have Volvo service so he called them and the car was taken to a car repair shop in a nearby city called Lahti and he got a rental car so he’d drive home.

Well, to make a long story short we are still waiting for our car but since the guys at Lahti couldn’t do anything it was taken nearer to us to Volvo’s own car repair shop on Thursday and there the (hybrid specialist) guy said that he’ll look at it on Friday so with any luck we’ll get it at the beginning of the week. He told hubby that the a/c fuse burning had caused and all-around short circuit in all of the hybrids electrical components. Yay.

At the cottage we enjoyed the warm weather until last Sunday, we had +34C degrees on Sunday and then it dropped to +14C on Tuesday and stayed there. My brother came on Wednesday and on Thursday we all drove home. The cat pooped again after ten-minute-drive but my brother has five cats so he just said we’d stop at the nearest gas station and there me and youngest one took the cat box to the handicapped toilet and cleaned her and the box which luckily wasn’t as bad as before since I hadn’t given her any food on the morning.

At the cottage we swam in the lake and the water was really warm, it was lovely. We did small tasks my brother had made a list of: we cleared all the small trees off the platform side which helps the wind blow to the shore so there’s not so many mosquitoes, I cut the black currant bushes and picked the berries so he’ll be able to build new supports for the bushes and then I uprooted all the fireweeds off my mom’s old veggie garden which only grows weeds now. Meanwhile Jimi played with the cat outdoors and learned how to throw darts. We also had some visitors; my blog-friend from a bit further with her son who is Jimi’s age and then my old message board friend who lives nearby. My brother also paid us a visit on the previous week on Thursday to Friday since he can adjust his work schedules as he likes to. It was nice since he loves to bbq (he is sort-of like a CEO in a German bbq manufacturer’s Finnish office) and also took us shopping with him.

Yesterday I was browsing the Net and happened upon this article in BoredPanda. As I scrolled through the pics I was stopped short with this one. It kind of reminds me of a certain someone, maybe it is his forefather. And now I wonder how Richard would look with a man bun..

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I guess this is all from me for now. The washing machine is announcing again that it’s done and I need to get the load out. Sometimes I wonder why the men who tried to invent perpetual motion machine never asked their wives.