Birthday

320 years old.

Stop!

After a busy week full of scheduled work and hobbies I used wisely the only day off I had last week. Packed my bags hurriedly, picked up my friend and off we went. That was the end of schedules and rushing from one place to another.

All we had 

was

time.

And starry night

- the amount of stars is unbelievable when there's no light pollution!

And great food

- on wood heated stove and on campfire.

There was nothing special to do

- which made it special.

Slow down, people! Make an effort to find even just a few hours to go out to the shore or to the forest or what ever you have near your home. And decide to do nothing.
That's my free advice for you (and for me) this week.

What makes a perfect weekend?

- Slow cycling around the lake that doesn't exist (could have been a lake if one of the neighbours didn't disagree). But don't get me wrong, the fields are nice, too.

- Landscape full of rich colours.

- Grandma's old bike which skips a cycle every now and then when you paddle. Hence the slow speed.

- Afternoon coffee outside in the sun.

- Great food on open fire in the evening, followed by sauna (wood heated, what a luxury!)

- To top it all, thick fog rolling in from the 'lake'.

I think this gets pretty close to being a perfect weekend.

Old

Old.

No longer young.

They all tell a story.

Sightseeing

Sometimes it's good to look at the most familiar places with new eyes. Walk one street further than you normally do and you'll find a hidden gem! I found my dream house (not in these pictures). Of course it was not for sale and even if it was, it would be out of my reach. But it was worth finding!

Yesterday

Dinner in candlelight during Earth Hour.

Somehow the candlelit evening helped to get tired earlier, go to bed an hour earlier and helped to get adjusted for the morning that came an hour earlier.

The giveaway wasn't really a mass magnet, but I could still make a draw. Thanks for your comments! Sarene, please send me (contact details on the sidebar on left) your address to get the gift!

Slowly but surely

The lazy gardener in me (who also happens to be very allergic to apples) left the apples on the tree in the autumn. Even the neighbour became curious because the apples would hang on to the tree all winter long and no birds would touch them. "What did you do with your apple tree?"
Nothing. I did nothing. And I still haven't.
But then came the birds, the Bohemian Waxwings, who, in a split second had eaten almost all the apples.

Snow is melting, hanging and dripping. Turning into slush and water and then disappearing in the air.
Slowly but surely spring is showing it's force.

Slowly but surely I'm welcoming spring. I think it's time. And it's been a good winter.

Winter camp

We had winter camp this weekend. 

Plenty of snow and mild temperature were perfect conditions for snow soccer!

How it all begun and a giveaway!

This is how it started.
I was 4 years old. Dad taught me how to knit. I've never seen him knit other than when he was teaching me. But he has always liked to do woodcrafts and to build stuff - he's even built the house where lived in back then, and where that picture was taken.

Mum on the other hand did handicrafts, and grandmother even more so. She's the one I've taken after the crafty spirit, especially sewing. I always used to stand next to her sewing table and watch her sew clothes.

About the same age, 4 or 5, I made myself my first skirt. But it turned out half too small, because I hadn't realize there had to be a front AND back piece.. I learned my lesson and have never made that mistake again! After that it was Barbie clothes and then all kinds of clothes and other crafts.

Do you still remember how you started with something you still do on your free time - or even as your job? Share your story in the comment box by March 25! By doing this you'll have a chance to win something I made!

Christmas

Our Christmas is filled with traditions. A lot of them have something to do with food.

Just like before, after a few meals of Christmas food, we headed to the snowy forest, set up the fire and had some sausages. Despite the frozen feet eating out was a welcome change!

And, as usual, on Christmas day the old oven was heated up. Pizza dough was rising (nearly all the way upstairs, as someone put it), and in no time 11 pizzas were baked and eaten (well, almost all was eaten, and the leftovers carefully labelled to ensure that no-one lost their own).

Between the meals there was plenty of time to enjoy each other's company, play games, go to sauna, and go for a walk or a kicksled ride..

Longmilk

"Viili (Longmilk, Finnish viili, Swedish fil) is a type of yoghurt (a mesophilic fermented milk) that originated in the Nordic countries. It has a ropy, gelatinous consistency and a sour taste resulting from lactic acid." (Wikipedia)


I don't buy often longmilk, but when I do, I use it as a starter for a whole batch of longmilk. This homemade longmilk tastes nicer (less sour) than the industrial ones and is very easy to make: Just mix 1-2 spoonfuls of longmilk with about a cup of milk, cover it and leave on the table for about 24 hours. When ready, keep refridgerated.
Enjoy with berries, cinnamon, sugar, or like I do: just on its own.

In a fairytale

It's overwhelmingly beautiful.

Frosty trees.

Amazing.

(And of course, the photos don't do justice.)

Each time I've gone out today or looked through a window it feels like we're living in a fairytale.

Usko tai älä! -- Frost's Believe it or not!

En olisi ikinä uskonut, että vielä jonain päivänä bloggaan ruuasta (muusta kuin nuotiolla valmistetusta)..

Ne, jotka tuntevat minut, tietävät, että en erityisemmin tykkää ruuanlaitosta. Teen ruokaa henkeni pitimeksi, mutta en mitään ylimääräistä enkä turhan monimutkaista. Tästä kertoo ehkä sekin, että eräs ystäväni antoi ystävilleen joululahjaksi esiliinoja, mutta minulle hän oli leiponut kakun!

Pari viikkoa sitten toinen ystäväni, bonFire, antoi minulle kourallisen kuivattuja sieniä. Tein niistä ihanaa keittoa. Kiitos, bonFire!

No, se ei ollut vielä mitenkään poikkeuksellista kokkausta...

Never would I have thought this would happen. Never: Blogging about food (other than that made in the forest on a fire).. 

Those of you who know me, know that I don't really like cooking. I cook when I have to, but wouldn't do anything extra or too complicated. A proof of this is that a friend of mine gave aprons to her friends for Christmas present. But instead of giving me an apron she baked me a cake!

Couple of weeks ago my other friend, bonFire, gave me a handful of dried mushrooms. I made some lovely soup. Thank you, bonFire!

That wasn't too much out of the ordinary...

...Mutta kun surffasin tv-kanavalta toiselle, näin Jamie Oliverin tekemässä jotain mielenkiintoista: kotitekoista ketsuppia. En voinut olla kokeilematta sitä itsekin.
Illalla yhdeksän aikaan aloitin. Illan tunnit ovat aina olleet tuotteliainta aikaa minulle, yökukkujalle.



...But when I was channel surfing, I saw Jamie Oliver doing something interesting: Homemade tomato sauce. I couldn't get past it, I had to try it for myself.
It was 9pm when I started - the late hours have always been the most productive time of day for me, being such a night owl.

Siinä touhussa menikin sitten tovi...

It took quite a while...

...mutta siitä tuli m a i n i o t a!

...but it tastes d e l i c i o u s!

Lähipäivien menu sisältää ketsuppia! Nam!

I'll be eating some ketchupy food soon! Yum!