Ariel

We got to know a family with one pony, one horse and two cows. And two kids. Nice parents. I'd say 18 minutes with the car from here. I told this to a friend yesterday, and she said "that's something I really don't miss. Making so much effort to have some social contacts." They just moved from the countryside to a town, but not back to Helsinki. That's a heavy thing, with V in this age that she really misses to have friends of her own age. She's not in the kindergarten now, because all her friends started pre-school and there was some personnel changes that make a big difference. I wanted to take her to another place, but it was full. I can't help but feel a bit sorry for her. Not a bit sorry, a lot. With the coming winter it feels even heavier.

I feel like I'm practicing so much positive thinking on this blog that it's a bit untypical for me. It's not difficult to see the good things. But it's not like we just made a big change of life and everything is fine. This is my sad post.

Ariel is the name of that pony.
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"Lähellä" asuu perhe, johon olemme tutustumassa. Heillä on poni, hevonen ja kaksi lehmää. Se on hyvä juttu.
Mutta koko ajan surullisempaa on se, että 5-vuotiaani on vailla seuraa, ikäistään seuraa.

panda music

(V started missing us and is sleeping downstairs again.) I suggested to Y that we get her a cd-player for christmas. The result is that he spent hours(?) looking for a player, a pretty&good one, to find out that cd-players hardly exist anymore. But he found this panda and now V is using an ipod. We can attach a cd-player to it later (I'm guessing playing vinyl with this is not an option, but she will have access to vinyl records too). She's listening to music a lot, and we're trying to widen her horizons little by little (well, not trying so much, but it's nice for her to have a selection of stuff to listen to, there's not too much good kids' stuff out there). There are some things from our shelf that she has asked for. Oh, and yes Y couldn't wait until christmas.

We still didn't decide what to do with all this wood surface upstairs. There are not so many options. But that has to wait until the log-house has a roof.
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V sai yläkertaan omat musakamat -- kauniita hyviä cd-soittimia ei ole (ehkä liian kalliita on), mutta Y löysi tutkimustensa päätteeksi pandan, jossa istuu ipod ja sieltä V oppi jo valitsemaan levyjä soimaan. On aika ihanaa, kun se kuuntelee tuolla Pekka Strengiä ihan itsekseen! Yläkerran seinät edelleen puupinnalla, kyllä niille vielä jotain keksitään ja tehdään.

eight days

I wish I had one day for sewing.
One day for knitting.
One day for crocheting.
One day for printing foxes.
One day for cleaning and organising.
One day for reading.
One day for writing letters.
Sleeping.

Some time ago I finished making these slippers for V. They were meant for her birthday in May.
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Kaipaan aikaa kaikenlaiseen, en osaa käyttää aikaa hyödykseni. Kai sitä aikaa tässä koko ajan olisi, jos siihen tarttuisi. Minä haluaisin kokonaisia päiviä.

from an airplane

We climbed up on this hill very close by on a sunny evening. Any little trip includes some kind of snacks. Even little V was a very professional snacker. That was some days ago, I'm not a real-time blogger at all. After that day many things. Pony riding etc. But the evening light was so pretty, and it feels like looking down from an airplane up there.

They have made a Finland book! I just got it today. Very few names in there I wouldn't know at all.

I'm knitting very pretty green and going to Turku tomorrow.
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Läheiseltä kukkulalta. (Maisemakuvat on niin tylsiä.) Pienilläkin retkillä on aina eväitä. Uusi Suomi-kirja, jossa tuttuja naamoja. Kudon vihreää, huomenna kudon autossa, joka ajaa Turkuun.

Brooklyn

I pre-ordered and received Brooklyn Diary just before my birthday. Dangerous book for me. I wish I could split my time between New York, Tokyo, Helsinki and here. And Berlin. I'd like to name a child (girl) Brooklyn, but it would be a bit stupid in Finland. Maybe if I have another cat one day. Our smaller cat has gone missing again.
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Kirjahaaste Celialta. Kirjoitin kaikki hienot kirjannimet vihkoon, sitten koetin käyttää niitä vastauksina. Monta nimeä jäi käyttämättä, olisi niin monta vaihtoehtoa. Otan vähän vakavasti tällaisen, tekisi mieli selittää. Koko kyselyyn vastaamistakin pitäisi selittää. Kiva katsella kirjahyllyjä.

1. Oletko mies vai nainen?
Donna Quijote

2. Kuvaile itseäsi?
Oikukas tuuli

3. Kuinka voit?
Still moving

4.Kuvaile nykyistä asuinpaikkaasi?
Mehiläispaviljonki

5. Mihin haluaisit matkustaa?
Brooklyn diary

6. Kuvaile parasta ystävääsi?
Elegant intimacy

7. Mikä on lempivärisi?
Kesän varjot

8. Millainen sää nyt on?
Aukeavat sormenpäiden silmät

9. Mikä on paras vuorokauden aika?
Valvottu yö

10. Jos elämäsi olisi tv-ohjelma, mikä sen nimi olisi?
Satu tytöstä, joka etsi onnea

11. Päivän mietelause
It's a good life, if you don't weaken

12. Millainen on parisuhteesi?
Reilua peliä

13. Mitä elämä sinulle merkitsee?
Lumottu tie

14. Minkä neuvon tahtoisit antaa?
Pidä kissasi terveenä

15. Miten tahtoisit kuolla?
Unessa ja valveilla

16. Mottosi?
Kiireettömyys

kitsune

V went to a masquerade. She's a japanese fox. Easy, as we have the beautiful mask from Puhti. Her obi is a knitted fox scarf, so she got a tail too. And little V also got his nose black and some whiskers on his cheeks.

The log house out on the yard is getting very high. Y had a helper today. Looks like it will get a roof before winter, yea!

I watched "Away we go" yesterday. I saw it once before, but now I have it on dvd. I like it so much. Especially the ending. I don't like it how the character of Maggie Gyllenhaal is so crazy, she's anyway right on many things. I talked about raising kids with I today. (Oh the trailer looks stupid, don't watch it!) She often says incredibly nice things to me. And she made goat milk yoghurt for Y.
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Japanilainen kettu menossa naamiaisiin. Helppo juttu, kun meillä on Puhdin kettunaamari. Ja kettukaulaliina obi-vyönä, josta tuli häntä samalla. Hirsiaitta kohoaa, kohta puuttuu enää vain katto. Eli ennen talvea ehditään! Katsoin eilen uudelleen "Away we go"-leffan ("Kohti uutta"). Sain sen omaksi. Tykkäsin taas, siinä on ihanin loppu.

36

I have spent the loveliest birthday today. V thinks it wasn't much of anything, no guests or nothing, but we weren't at home. We met at the exhibition and had lunch with my sister, whom I haven't met in about 2 years. That might sound strange. She's a stepsister, very dear. Oh, I'm not gonna make a list of what made me happy today, but it was a good day. I bought a ring for myself (?) at Sopiva shop. I don't really use rings.

These photos are from last week. Little V likes tomatos. I guess a birthday should be celebrated with some kind of a mug shot... It's too late now. I have so many photos I should post. Where does this "should" come from, I don't know.

Yesterday we visited Minja and family, it's just 25 min drive from here. Such a nice day. Funny getting to know someone via blogs. It was only the 3rd time we met, but there is so much I anyway know.

Tomorrow will be a home day, I want to look at my new books and eat cherry jam.
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Ihana päivä oli, täydellinen. Näyttelyitä, pikkusisko, aurinkoa, kirsikkahilloa, kirjoja. Jotain semmoista. Nyt olen sitten 36-v. Ei se mitään, ihan hyvä ikä. Vähän sellainen väli-ikä. (V sanoi mua vähän aikaa sitten 53-vuotiaaksi.) Eilen oltiin Minjan luona, myöhään asti, pilkkopimeässä tultiin kotiin. Oli mukavaa, ihmeellisen tuttua. Ihmeellistä tutustua näin, kun tutustuminen etenee silloinkin kun ei tapaa. Huomenna on ihanaa olla kotona vaan.

mummo

It doesn't look as grandma style as this in real life... maybe. I've had two good flea-market days in a row. More mummo-stuff. Mummo is grandma in finnish. My mum wants to be called "mimma" though.

I can't believe I still didn't go to Pentti Sammallahti's exhibition! I will fix that this week.

I wanted to add a hurrah! for the Nobel prize for Liu Xiabao! (It is the Great wall of China on our wall.)
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Lähimatkailupäiviä ja kirppislöytöjä. Mummokamaa. Ja hieno neulemekko. Toivottavasti se on sopiva, oli niin tunkkainen haju, etten kokeillut vielä. Tällä viikolla vihdoin Pentti Sammallahden näyttelyyn, Valokuvataiteen museolle. Olin siellä töissä joskus kauan sitten.

Gobeliinissa on Kiinan muuri, ja sanon hurraa Liu Xiabaon Nobel-palkinnolle!

golden light

Little V has started to wake up at 7 instead of 8. The one good thing about is that I get to see the sunrise. It's magical every time. He's fun company in the morning.

I should link again to Children's Sun Festival pages, that's where our kids' party inspirations are coming from. I can't wait for next summer... Oh I'm quite terrified about the coming winter, can't help it!

My mum was here, so nice to have her here and to see how my kids like her. There was a long break because of her hip surgery.
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Kultainen valo, valoisa kulta. Aamumme ovat aikaistuneet. Saa nähdä auringonnousun, se on kaunis joka aamu. Lasten aurinkojuhla-linkki taas, meidän tapahtumamme inspiraatiolähde, unohdin sen aiemmista. Olisipa jo ensi kesä... talvi kauhistuttaa, ei voi mitään. Minun pikkuäitini oli täällä, mukavaa, kun se taas jaksaa. Sanoo V:tä Hannaksi koko ajan.

jewellery

Some more photos, this was the pearl-making workshop. They're very nice as window decorations. I have a lot of pictures from this day but none from the next day which was little V's party day...
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Koru/koristepajasta. Näitä kuvia riittää, mutta seuraavan päivän pikku-V:n juhlista ei ole yhtään.

for kids

We had a little kids' event as a part of an autumn fair (which is a pretty dull event). An indoors event felt a bit boring, but I think we managed to turn a boring classroom into something inviting. Playing with cones, sticks, rowan-berries, rose-hips, leaves... And a fairy-tale of Elsa Beskow with a slide-show. It was nice, very nice and we got good feedback. But S and me want to make it outdoors and as our own event the next time.


Little hands.

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Kuvia lasten meidän "satumetsä"-tapahtumasta. Tuntui aika tylsältä osallistua mielikuvituksettomille syysmarkkinoille ja olla sisällä koululuokassa, mutta se menikin aika kivasti! Luokka peittyi mattoihin, peittoihin ja kankaisiin, ja lapset leikki ihanasti. Ja kaikki sisälletulijat huokailivat ihastuksesta ovella.

1

He was one serious guy with his presents. A perfect present for him would be a box and some stuff to put inside the box. I went to a toy-shop in Helsinki and wanted to buy something, but the shop-keeper lady didn't want to sell me anything: "be happy about the things you already have at home". She made me an even more loyal customer. Something new anyway. V wanted to buy him a book. A beautiful book. And "Animals of Finland", it's not yet time of puzzles though.

V in her 1-year photos. This is a tradition, 6x6 birthday portrait. She's so small!!
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Synttäriaamun kuvia. Olisin ostanut jotain lelukaupasta, mutta myyjä ei halunnut myydä. "Ole iloinen niistä tavaroista mitä sulla on." Mahtava tyyppi. Pikku V sai kuitenkin uusia asioita. Palapelin, joka on isosiskolle sopivaa puuhaa ja ihanan Kameleontti-kirjan, V halusi antaa kirjalahjan.

Alakuvassa on V 1-vuotispäivänään, miten pieni!