Temps Perdu

You turn your head for just one moment...

2012-01-31T22:46:00.003+02:00

...and this is what you find!

Winter

2012-01-26T21:53:00.004+02:00

I have been out skiing. Yesterday I skied 10km and tomorrow I assume I shall ski the same amount or/ and if I have time perhaps a little longer. Tomorrow I also have a sauna afterwards and dinner. If I can predict the future a certain someone will be exhausted in the evening. Skiing + sauna + dinner => sleep like a log! I do enjoy winter!
On saturday is my birthday, the most lovely person has invited me for breakfast in the morning, in the afternoon my ex-parents-in-law and my mum and dad are coming for coffee and cake and in the evening a bunch of friends are coming over for sparkling wine and bits to eat and lots of handmade chocolate;)
So a fantastic weekend ahead.

Above I´m holding a postcard with an image by artist Ulla Jokisalo. And wearing a similar pinholder as the beautiful hand in the image.

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Presidential election

2012-01-23T15:40:00.004+02:00

Yesterday the presidential election took place in Finland.
What amuses me and what also makes me happy is that this wasn´t supposed to be possible;) An openly gay man married to an immigrant voted for 2nd round in the Finnish presidential elections!

Image by Mika Niiniranta.

Romantic wabble

2012-01-19T17:40:00.002+02:00

Oh yes indeed, this girl is charmed, so I´ll warn you, skip this blogpost if you´re allergic to romantic wabble. Come back another day as I swear this will not become a habit of mine;)
I met my darling last night again. He surprised me. He had put up a tent in the guestroom, and placed fairylights on top of the tent so that I could look at the stars whilst lying inside the tent. I am so lucky.

One cannot help but listen to Norah Jones and sigh. And sigh again. And again.

Above are reflections of candles in my window.

Hello

2012-01-18T02:19:00.003+02:00

The image on the postcard is by finnish painter Elin Danielson-Gambogi called After breakfast painted in year 1890. I love the attitude and the cigarette.

But have you seen this? I do appreciate when people make an effort like this.

Tomorrow I´m meeting the most lovely person again. Today I missed my gym-class because we were chatting on the phone and suddenly I realized we had spoken for more than 2 hrs!!!! And my gym-class had already started! My goodness we are silly;) And I´m so sorry for this silly nonsense.

Picasso's jug meets fishmould in my kitchen

2012-01-13T00:57:00.006+02:00

It seems to me as if the jug wants to kiss the fish. But it cannot bend and get close to the fish because there's the plate with the fruit and they will fall and drop onto the floor and someone passing might slip on the fruit and...

This is so lovely. I even like the background sounds. It's from the film. It makes it so vibrant somehow. I know there is a cleaned up edited version of the song but I don´t find that appealing.

Rain, rain go away...

2012-01-12T18:06:00.008+02:00

...come again another day!
Or rather another month! We had lovely winter weather and now it's all gone and it's pouring down with rain. I got soaked last night when I went for a run, it was lovely except for wet feet;) And soaking wet trainers isn't at all fun.
Lovely weekend ahead. Meeting up with friends tomorrow afternoon and we shall all go for a swim in the beautiful Yrjönkatu swimminpool. The page is in finnish but the top image will give you a hint of the beautiful interiour of the swimmingpool. In the evening the most lovely person is coming to my home (we decided to skip the light fandango and have a homely night instead).
On saturday my dear friend A is coming to stay for the night, she will be leaving for Frankfurt on sunday morning, so I am very happy to have her stay with me before her departure.
My brooch appeared on "Min morgon" morning telly yesterday, one of the guests wore a large peony. And the outcome was fantastic, I got plenty new orders. So I need to get busy making brooches...and that is great as it is something I really enjoy making. Here's a poor quality pic:

Also this week, my namesigns that I made during the summer for a broadcasting company, appeared on tv on wednesday as the talkshow "Lilla onsdag" season 3 kicked off.
And klicking on this link you'll be able to see the first sign.
Here's a poor pic also:

So, it's time to wish you a good weekend. I'm challenging myself to get out into the rain and attend yoga...it's just a bit haaaaard as it's really pouring down and it's not tempting at all...and my apologies for the weather-moan!!!!

Winter

2012-01-08T19:42:00.005+02:00

We finally have snow!!!! And the past few days have been fairly cold. Walks in then park, meeting friends at cafés, holding hands in the cinema and plenty of chocolates bought in the sales, that´s what my winterdays have been made of;)
I saw a beautiful iranian film called Nader and Simin, A separation. It was very touching and I loved the persian language. If you have a chance to see it, please do, you will not be dissapointed. The acting is just such perfection and you believe each character and they become so fragile so vulnerable, so alive and real. Such a lovely sad film. I did also laugh quite a lot as life sometimes is rather funny.

Above are tealightholders I picked up at the sales. I keep saying I never attend the sales but I obviously do! Self-deception!

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T00:40:00.002+02:00

I had a lovely new year's eve. I attended a party with good friends, lovely food, pink sparkling wine and live performances. Can one ask for more? Yes! Because I even got kissed at midnight under the fireworks by the sea!

Happy New Year dear friends! And thank you all for still stopping by though my posts aren´t frequent nor all that flashy or interesting. But where they ever? Never mind, I still like to blog but I have no direction nor goals for that matter;)

Here´s a great tune by Tom Waits. I hope I don´t fall in love with you from my favorite album Closing time.

Above is a french lady. She has such an amazing gaze as if she could see far away into the future...she has a butterfly brooch, lovely.

Holidays

2011-12-28T23:08:00.002+02:00

I´ve had a wonderful christmastime, spent time with my loved ones and my dear dear friends. Lots of food and conversation and I even did a little project I had been planning for a while, just never had the time to complete it until now;)
I wallpapered the wall behind my bed with the pages of an antique german flora from year 1903. It was in very poor condition with plenty of pages missing by the time I found it at a fleamarket. So I gave it new life as wallpaper. And I feel as if the flora really came alive. As you can see in the picture above.

I hope you´ve all had a splendid christmas!

!auluoj äävyH !luj doG !samtsirhc yrreM! !leön xueyoJ

2011-12-24T15:17:00.002+02:00

Soon but no hurry

2011-12-23T00:30:00.003+02:00

Christmas is just around the corner. I´m soooooo looking forward to the holidays this year. Tomorrow I´m preparing dishes for christmas eve. I´m spending the evening at my friends house, we have decided to make wonderful vegan foods, some of it I´m preparing tomorrow.
I have done the finishing touches to my christmas gifts and listening to music, I got a real kick out of Eliza Doolittles Pack up -song. We really shouldn´t care about what other people might think, just follow your heart and enjoy whatever you do!

And above is someone pictured who really does enjoy whatever she does. My darling inside a paperbag;)

Origami

2011-12-19T07:53:00.003+02:00

My godson turned four. I made him an origami-mobile. There are 16 cranes. I also gave him a book.
Very hectic morning so wishing you all a good start to the week. Dashing to work! But first to the post-office and I think there might be a little que...

~light and flute ~ flute and light ~

2011-12-14T16:20:00.002+02:00

I saw this image in a magazine and remembered that I have the exact same lantern...but where oh where did I put it when I moved...believe me there are sooooo many things still missing...but I decided I was going to hunt it down and hooooray, I finally found it!

I have fallen in loooooove with this flute music. Turn the lights down, lit a candle, or many, make yourself a cup of tea, put your feet up and enjoy!

Soon...

2011-12-10T01:35:00.003+02:00

...the days will become longer. Only a few more weeks. So until then we better do with plenty of candlelight. I bought extra long candles!
Tomorrow I´m meetinga friend for brunch, then we shall attend a christmas fair, dance argentinian tango in the afternoon and go for drinks after. That should be a saturday to remember!
And I´m sorry to inform you that all the brooches have been sold. More to come. I´ll let you know by e-mail, once a new bunch is ready.

Have a happy weekend!

Independence

2011-12-06T23:17:00.001+02:00

Today was independence day in Finland. I took a long walk with my dad. And later we had coffee and ate cakes. My friend came over for dinner and she only left a little while ago. I shall go to bed now as I feel a little ache in my throat and I have decided I am not going to fall ill now. I´m sure a good nights sleep will drive the flu away;)Above is the boatwreck I mentioned in my previous post.

Hat box

2011-12-04T12:08:00.001+02:00

I found an old hatbox with missing lid at the recykling center for free. I thought I'd give it new life. The bottom had also come loose. Unfortunately I could not salvage the charming original cover in orange with white small dots. I covered it with a french embroidery magazine from the 40's.Yesterday I took a long walk by the sea along a path. On the path I met a very eager little child who showed me a rusty pipe and the wreck of an old boat. I climbed a birdtower, saw swans in the distance and beautiful landscapes.Today I´m meeting a french friend for sunday lunch and hopefully a long walk (if weather allows).

December

2011-12-01T20:36:00.001+02:00

Ah bless, it´s finally december. I thought november was a rather heavy month, the darkness got to me. Luckily I have a wonderful job, wonderful colleagues, a loving cat, wonderful friends, yoga, dance and very cosy home.Yesterday I spotted this vintage painting in a charityshop, it´s painted by a very productive finnish painter called Urho Willgren. I believe he painted this in the 30's or 40's. His paintings can often be found in auctions and due to the fact he was very productive, they are not rare to come by and therefor also fairly cheap. This one is missing a frame and was therefor cheaper than cheap. I find it rather charming.

Is it really?

2011-11-29T21:26:00.001+02:00

End of November? Where oh where did this autumn dissapear?Just read that Bon Iver and Björk are performing at the Flow festival summer 2012! Something to look forward to!!!

Attending dance

2011-11-26T21:30:00.001+02:00

On wednesday I attened the dress rehersal of PLAY; Kenneth Kvarnström choreography for the Helsinki Dance Company. I loved it! Whilst in the audience I found myself thinking, imagine that I get to experience something like this. Yesterday I attended a salsa-class in the morning before going into work - the day proceeded with great flow and ended with a massage in the evening. When I got home I stumbled into bed and fell asleep almost emmediately. Today I attended an argentinian tango workshop. I had a fantastic pair and felt, I can't find words to describe it, maybe it was happiness, as we found a connection almost emmediately. Seriously, I could have carried on and on. And I'm in desperate need of new danceshoes. And here is a classic argentinian tango, Carlos Gardel!So, whatever you do, get up and dance people!

Brooches, brooches!

2011-11-24T22:34:00.001+02:00

Now you can purchaise these vintage brooches made of a vintage scarf. The back is felt. They look great on your coat, on your bag, on your hat, on your blouse, on your cardigan, on your belt...The larger ones (1,2,3,4,6) cost 15 euros incl. shipping worldwide, the smaller ones (5,7,8) cost 12 euros incl. shipping worldwide.If you are interested, please send an email to houseoftempsperdu(at)gmail.comPlease specify which brooch you would like to purchaise. I will send you a return e-mail with payment instructions. You can pay with a creditcard using paypal if you prefer.

Fun

2011-11-24T13:04:00.001+02:00

Work is so much fun! And I have also spotted a star. One of the actresses I had booked for the animation, whom had no previous experience in dubbing, turned out to be pretty darn good at the job (I knew she would!!!!). The other staff at the studio were impressed and I believe she will be booked for many more animations in the future!I have started a little art-project and as soon as I turned my back, my little helper had found one of my hatboxes open (this is where I keep materials) and spotted a perfect hidingplace. She was much too fast for me, so I only managed to catch a blurry image.It is raining today, got soaked when I cykled this morning. Luckily I have good raingear;) Keep dry and warm dear friends! I have been listening to Anna Ternheim. I really enjoy this song.

Be kind to animals or...

2011-11-21T22:57:00.001+02:00

... I'll kill you.And here's a new-ish song by lovely Doris Day.

Sunday

2011-11-20T19:37:00.001+02:00

I woke up to a sunny day. I pre-listened to the new Kate Bush album whilst still in bed. Then I got up, put my trainers on and went out for a long walk that turned into a long run! It was fantastic to be out and running. I have felt so terribly tired the past week! Then I attended yoga in the afternoon and my body was very pleased.When I got home I picked the last crop of jerusalem artichokes and made a heavenly soup. Whatever you make of jerusalem artichokes, the outcome is always heavenly! Now my body is very happy! What a wonderful sunday!

Dream a little

2011-11-16T22:16:00.001+02:00

Yesterday I thought, ok, so it is november, the darkest and longest month, why don´t you go easy on yourself! So I did, I decided I will be gentle and kind and not expect myself to have as much energy as in the summer. I go through this every year. It always hits me unexpectedly when we change the clocks to winter-time. It is soooooo dark no wonder it feels blurry and dreamy. So I will just dream a little. Lit lots of candles, drink tea and listen to Koop Island Blues, featuring Ane Brun.

More work

2011-11-14T22:31:00.001+02:00

I had a fantastic call this morning, I was offered a really fun job, starting end of this month. I will be directing an animated series. Well, productionwise (casting and schedules) it started emmediately once I said yes. This means I´m going to be super-busy as I´m still involved in another project until end of the year. But I like a challenge and it´s super fun!The weekend was wonderful. On saturday I attended a party. I danced and enjoyed very good company, lovely food and wine. On sunday morning I met up with a bunch of friends for brunch that lasted until the afternoon! Sunday evening I spent with the most lovely person.Above is a chair in our garden.

Call your girlfriend

2011-11-10T16:30:00.002+02:00

You must all have seen this already. Aren't they charming? I adore the empty cottage cheese containers...Above is a candleholder purchaised from Butik Sophie.So winter has suddenly arrived. We had frost this morning! Oh yes, this means it´s time to start wearing those über-sexy long-johns when cykling into work;) Stay warm dear friends!

Breakfast

2011-11-07T20:03:00.002+02:00

Since I had work in the afternoon I had time to bake carrotbuns for breakfast this morning. Perfect way to start the week, large pot of tea and freshly baked buns with butter, tomatoes and basil. Put on some Rachael Yamagata and enjoy a slow start to the week. Flowers given by the most lovely person. It is lovely and wonderful to have something tangible of a dear person, when I look at the flowers I think of my lovely person and that feels so very good. So if you want someone special to think of you - give them flowers! Have a good start to the week!

I have no plans for the weekend!

2011-11-04T12:02:00.002+02:00

Oh Whiskers!

2011-11-01T12:49:00.001+02:00

It´s November!Above is my daaaaarling enjoying a bit of autumn sun <3 We've had a very mild autumn this year and apparently that's how it's going to continue. I enjoy it as I can still cykle and it's not cold at all. Happy November dear friends!

You've been framed!

2011-10-31T14:45:00.002+02:00

I have plenty of old frames stucked away. If I stumble upon a nice frame I usually purchaise it as I know that I eventually will find the perfect image or artwork for it. This frame was perfect for the image I showed in my previous post. I like the idea that this is a detail of a large painting at the Sistine chapel, I doubt many remembers this background figure. If you google "Sistine chapel prophet Ezekiel" you'll see the fantastic painting in colour.I´ve bee humming to this all day. Oh my!Happy monday my lovely!

Sunday evening

2011-10-30T22:41:00.000+02:00

Tonight I cykled along the shores of the city, the air was mild and damp. The city was quiet and fairly empty. I do enjoy cykling alone, especially in the evening. It has been a very good weekend. Now it´s time to say good night, turn off the computer, light a few candles, enjoy a warm cup of herbal tea and enjoy a quiet sunday evening.Above is an image from a 1920's german folder containing details of the artwork at the Sistine chapel, here is a detail of the prophet Ezekiel painting (this is not the prophet, this is one of the background figures). I simply adore the colours.

And yet another weekend ahead

2011-10-28T14:26:00.000+03:00

This week has been filled with yoga, trying to dress according to weather and finally give in and turn on the heating, dates with the most lovely person, fleamarket finds (I found a gorgeous vintage handbag!) and THIS has made me smile. Oh look what classy souldancing, and what style! Tonight I´m changing music styles, going to see Gimme another country. A country musical! And after the performance I´m going to have a few drinks with my colleagues. The annual Helsinki book fair is on and I´m going to pay a visit tomorrow. My absolute favorite cartoon-artist Nina Hemmingsson will be a guest, one of her albums has finally been translated to finnish. So I hope to catch her. I have her albums in swedish as it´s my mothertongue, but always happy when good stuff gets wider publicity.And on saturday evening I have been invited to a huuuuge housewarmingparty, a collective in the citycentre. Should be good. Lots of friends attending.Above is a old chandelier from a piano. I placed it in front of a mirror, it reflects a very warm light.Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm!

Risotto

2011-10-25T18:43:00.002+03:00

I am making risotto. With funnell chanterelles that were actually given to me, I have not picked them myself. Delicious. I looove risotto. And a glass of wine and some good music and then this tuesday has it´sperfect peak!Above is a shot I took yesterday.

Drawing challenge

2011-10-22T12:27:00.001+03:00

Renilde of Stroke of the brush challenged us in drawing bottles. On her blog you will find all the other participants. I really enjoyed the bottles by Ariane.I personally interpreted the challenge literary: "draw a bottle". As can be seen above. Thank you Renilde, it was fun to participate!

Angels and links

2011-10-21T13:09:00.002+03:00

I received a little surprise in the mail earlier in the week. Inside the little envelope was a beautiful vintage necklace, seen above. Sorry for the poor quality of the picture, it´s taken with my mobile just now. As my camera is located elsewhere;)The angel that sent this wonderful gift is my dear blogfriend at A Kiss from the Past. Kiitos!!!!! Tonight I´m going to see the last Helsinki performance of YOUMAKEME by K. Kvarnström & Co./ Helsinki Dance Company. I have been looking forward to this for a long time.Tomorrow morning my friend A is arriving to Helsinki for the weekend, we shall start of by brunch and I have tickets for a consert in the evening. Suvi Isotalo and Sansa at Korjaamo. Should be a great night! In fact, I believe this weekend will be great! I wish you all a great weekend!

A paintjob

2011-10-19T21:16:00.001+03:00

I painted my old crappy shoes. They attracted quite a few positive comments when they were out and about today.Not sure how well these will last, but as they were old and crappy, I thought, they will last for as long as they are meant to last.And it was fun to do. I cannot take credit for the idea. I saw an image in a magazine once and thought, mmm, that is a great idea. need to try that sometime. And sometime is now. I cannot for the life of me remember who's image it was nor how the boots looked like.I have just come home from joga. I shall warm my soup from last night and enjoy a glass of organic red wine, I also have some dark chocolate that I will enjoy as desert.And as there is a storm out there, I will snug up with a good book and a warm cat and wish you a wonderful evening dear friends.

2011-10-17T17:38:00.000+03:00

"If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks me, I do not know. "St. Augustine, on the question "What, then, is time?"

I am blessed...

2011-10-17T12:51:00.000+03:00

...with beautiful friends. I am so happy and grateful.Yesterday I spent most of the day at my friends house, H and B were cooking and had invited friends around. So I sat on a chair in their kitchen, pampered with affection and great food and great conversation. I felt I was almost glowingh when I cykled home late in the evening.The consert on friday was so wonderful, I had goosebumps most of the time and even shared a few tears, so beautiful was it.Now we have wonderful sunshine and a good week ahead. I have been listening to Robyn all morning. Great pop-music. This is sooooo wonderful, Hang with me. Get up and dance friends!

The weekend is here again!

2011-10-14T16:43:00.001+03:00

I´ve had a wonderful week. The most lovely person stayed with me and we had time for each other. I shall spare you the romantic wabble. This time;)Tonight I´m attending a recordrelease consert. My friend is part of duo called Sepia. I have the cd already and some of the tunes are just so powerful that I crave for the music!I am so much looking forward to tonights consert. Here is a song called Envoi. Enjoy!Above is a certain someone caught admiring herself in the mirror. In this pic she just acts cool, as there was no mirror at all. I'm glad she likes herself, it's healthy!Have a wonderful weekend dears!

Autumn

2011-10-10T13:07:00.001+03:00

We had the most wonderful autumnweather during the weekend. I believe most people in this country did their best to enjoy the outdoors. So did I! Above is a small oilpainting from the 40's I picked up at a fleamarket for a few euros. I also found a winterladscape by the same painter.

I love yoga!

2011-10-06T12:31:00.000+03:00

I have trained Ashtanga yoga for a long time and since summer I have tried to do yoga daily and my body really is craving for the training. So I decided to broaden my training slightly and tried Kundalini yoga this morning for the first time. It was very interesting and not as hard as Ashtanga. In fact I think Kundalini is very good as a morning training . My body seems very happy. I love yoga!Have a wonderful thursday dear friends!Above is a little box from Habitat, very handy to store coins or earrings in;) The silk-covered box is made of a vintage sari and were sold at Designers Guild soon ten yrs ago!

Monday moan

2011-10-03T15:20:00.002+03:00

Now it´s all back to hectic monday after a wonderful weekend filled with friends, friends and even more friends.For those of you who despise moaning about weather should probably check out now. So I cykled into work this morning and it was pouring down with rain. My raincoat is leaking. My blouse is soaking wet! I feel cold and lousy. Please send me a dry blouse and some hot chocolate and a hug. Thank you in advance!Above is a weak rose from last week that I forgot to water. But I think it's beautiful even though its best days are gone...

Tampere

2011-09-30T14:23:00.001+03:00

The weekend is here. I have a few very nice things ahead.This afternoon I´m meeting my swedish friend L, she has just arrived for the day in Helsinki and so happy that we have time to meet! Later an exhebition opening. The one I posted about previously. I shall attend.Tomorrow I'm off to Tampere for the day. This is just a short post to wish you a wonderful weekend.Above is the back of an antique religious relic.

Roses as an award

2011-09-27T11:51:00.001+03:00

I received roses from A kiss from the past, a humble thank you for the generous gesture.With the roses arrived a little request to have me reveal five things about myself. Here it goes.I think I may by mistake have been born in the wrong century, especially when it comes to visual preferance, I seem to always want to choose about 100yrs old rather than todays preferences.I have a tiny spider living in my chandelier. I have not yet seen it, but I have seen the web it is making, fabulous piece of craftmanship. I know it is by no means ready yet! It doesn´t bother me and I also do not feel I ought to get rid of my spider lodger...well, if it turns out to be a very hairy and large tarantella type of spider, then I´ll even get help to have it evicted. But a small hairy one, I don´t mind, there ought to be room for us all;)I flirt. I seriosly think am a cat-whisperer. I have taught my cat a few tricks. And she has only been living with me for soon 4 months. For ex. when I am about to hoover, I knock on a wooden box under my bed and say that now I will hoover and belive it or not, my cat climbs into this box and I can hoover without first freaking her out (she is oh so terribly scared of the hoover). And I find this amazing. And I also think I ought to write a bestseller book on the topic and it will most probably end up a hollywood movie. I think Robert Redford could play me in the movie.I could not live without music. There´s always a tune in me. That vibrates in me and that I secretly hum, and sometimes not so secretly...I share the roses with all of you dear readers. I could not pick one, nor pick five.

Coincidence on a sunday

2011-09-25T14:05:00.002+03:00

I have a favorite blog called Five from the ground. They also have a shop and an online shop. In Japan. What I love about the blog is the art of composition in the images. It is such a visual pleasure to visit. I have ordered a wireflower by Masao Seki from their online shop some years ago, and you might remember it beeing featured before on my blog.Above is my wireflower that I have placed inside my huuuuuuge glass dome. And have a look at this image from Five from the ground. What a coincidence;) I bought a pair of red tights on friday. Oh what joy! Especially combined with red nailpolish and red flower in my hair. Happy sunday dear friends!

In love with Miranda

2011-09-21T20:21:00.001+03:00

The 24th Helsinki International Film Festival Rakkautta & Anarkiaa is on right now. Unfortunately I didn't have all that much time to see many films, but today I saw The Future by Miranda July. I've seen her previous film, Me and you and everyone we know and have her two books. I became a fan now I saw this film. She really has a wierd way of looking at the world, but very humane and it is fascinating yet sad to see her characters act so irrational. But that is what makes us human, we do at times act irrational.I'm in love with Miranda July <3Above is Paw Paw.

Last of this summers roses

2011-09-17T13:09:00.001+03:00

Hopefully not the last, but among the last.

Romantic wabble in the middle of a storm

2011-09-14T14:47:00.001+03:00

There´s a strong storm here in Helsinki. It was a wee bit heavy to cykle home last night! Had a warm shower, made some soup and wore wollen socks. And listened to the wind howling outside. And dreamed about a certain someone who unfortunalety is stuck in St. Petersburg and will not be back until next week :( But I can wait. I feel I could burst! But I assume there´s simply no point in bursting now when there¨s very little left of waiting.Be warned, following is over the top sweet. So if you are allergic to hollywood romance, skip this part. (I did not know I had this in me?!!!) And when he finally arrives there will be plenty of this and this. And this. I´m sooooo sorry for beeing this silly! But I have waited for sooooo long for this certain someone and now when he was due to arrive, it got postponed and I feel so dissapointed (which is silly really!). But next week he will be here. Happy midweek to you all. Above is an old tin from my childhood home.

Rose's theme at midnight

2011-09-12T20:45:00.001+03:00

Last night the moon shone straight into my home. There it was, behind the trees. Lighting up my room. I was listening to Angelo Badalmentis music (Written for the film Straight Story. A lovely film by David Lynch.) I simply love this music. I love to play it in the evening, light plenty of candles and just breathe in and enjoy. So please, if you´ve had a hard day, dim the lights, lit a few candles, pour yourself a glass of wine or a nice cup of tea, find a good position and listen to this, this is Rose's theme. And if you haven't seen the film yet, I do recommend it.

Pink

2011-09-10T23:29:00.000+03:00

I had a lovely meeting with my knitting-group on thursday. There was lots of laughter and I´m very much looking forward to our next meeting. I really am lucky to belong to such a group. I even managed to get some knitting done;) Yesterday I rented a film called Another year by Mike Leigh. It left a very sad feeling on my skin. I had to drown my nose in a furry ball (my cat!) and sniff and remind myself that things are really fine, they really are. And to tell myself it was only a film. I liked all the characters. I loved the music. Oh we must make sure we do not end up alone. I´m not saying we must all find partners and get married and all that, and even if we have partners or are married we can still end up alone. What I mean is that we must try to be present in our lives. And to have people in our lives. Friends and lovers and relatives and husbands, girlfriends, neighbours, colleagues. And do things. I know at times it's easier said than done, but it was so sad how lonely some of the characters in the film were. There was happiness too. But it was surrounded by sadness. Today I met a client. She came to my house. I do not suggest meeting at my home, but she suggested she could collect her piece from my home today. I invited her in and she emmediately spotted my cat and they got on very well. She ended staying for quite a while. She now wants me to help her decorate a room in her home. We already started planning what changes she wants to have made and I look forward to proceeding. She adored my home. She asked so many times for permission to photograph corners and nooks...of course it is flattering to have someone drool over your home. I like it. No in fact I love my home. So does my cat by the sound of it! She is purring away next to me. Sweet little furry thing.Above is my pink line that has had a little scented addition since last. The pink soap. It's a chinese soap. You can buy them in asian stores for 20p. I think they are so sweet, wrapped in silkpaper, and the pretty labels and the scent. I usally have a bunch of these soaps stached in my drawers, they are really handy when you quickly need to have something or anyhting to give. I also have a box of wonderful postcards to write your greeting.

Knitting

2011-09-08T13:29:00.001+03:00

Tonight I´m meeting up with my knitting group. That is something I´m very much looking forward to. We have met up every second thursday for 2 yrs now! Except during the summer. We know quite little about each other, but we have very personal and at times even serious talks. I find that very fascinating. I couldn´t for ex. say what profession some of the members have but at the same time I know very personal things about them.I´m knitting a scarf. For a certain someone. I was thinking it could be a christmas-present...maybe I knit socks and mittens too. This certain someone is currently in St. Petersburg. But will hopefully pay me a visit end of next week. Or I´ll die of longing! Above is my basilplant. I purchaised it in may!

Fête

2011-09-04T11:24:00.001+03:00

This weekend has been a feast, a loooong long party! On friday I attended the dress rehersal of La cage aux folles at the Helsinki City theatre. My friend is dancing in the production. I have to admit that I am slightly prejudiced with some musicals and farces. So I had very little or no expectations, and ended up clapping hands to the beat and had a great time! I left the theatre with a huuuuge smile on my face and humming the tune for "We are what we are" whilst cykling home.Yesterday I attended the "closing"-party of Ihana kahvila, my favorite café that opened this summer at Kalasatama ex-harbour area. It will resume next summer, but it is farewell for this season. Once again, a beautiful warm autumn night, spectacular view of my city, a great dj, dear friends and we danced for hours under a velvet sky. I simply love dancing! Cykled home with a smile on my face (again!), thinking, this was the summer when there was the Ihana kahvila and how nice it was to cykle out there, to meet up with dear friends. It was always such a pleasure to introduce the café to friends who had never been there or heard of it before. An oasis in my city. Tonight my dear dear friend and father of my godson, P, turns 40. And there is a party. I have been asked to sing, so I shall soon meet up with my friend M to rehears, she will accompany me on piano. There will be so many lovely people, so many dear friends. I have been looking forward to this party for a long time. I predict there will be many glasses raised, smiles, laughter, kisses and hugs, perhaps even a few tears. Happy tears.Have a wonderful sunday dear friends.Above is Jesus that I found at a fleamarket in Lovisa last weekend.

September

2011-09-01T14:27:00.000+03:00

If you look at the horses, the one on the right has just dropped some heavy news and the horse on the left seems shocked to hear that it´s september! No, it can´t be! Yes it is! It's my favorite month. Ot at least it feels great to call it my favorite month. Please let it not rain every day, please. I'm not very good at predicting weather changes and my mind seems to be wondering on other planets and I keep forgetting my raingear at home and it is not funny at all to be soaking wet, even if it´s on your way home. Your glasses are sliding along your nose filled with water, you get blinded and it´s also a little colder now and my shoes take ages to dry and there´s no point with cykling if this is the way to go. So please, let it not rain every day.

Lovisa

2011-08-29T18:09:00.011+03:00

These are some of the details I shot this weekend in Lovisa at the Loviisan wanhat talot happening. The three last images were shot with my phone.

Gaslight

2011-08-28T18:27:00.002+03:00

I´ve had the most wonderful fun and exciting weekend!
Friday was filled with laughter, dance, great performances and a beautiful warm velvet night spent with dear dear friends.
On saturday me and my friend A drove to Lovisa. A beautiful small town. There was a happening called Loviisan wanhat talot (old/ antique houses of Lovisa) and lots of flea- and antiquemarkets. The town is very charming and many houses have open doors and you can also learn old skills and get advise on how to renovate. We made the same trip today. It has been such fun and we both said it felt as if we had been away on holiday. It is so wonderful to visit places with a friend who shares the same interests. My friend saw when I looked at an old tin at an antiquemarket yesterday, the price for the tin was 70euros and I thought it to be just too much for my budget. Today at a fleamarket A found the same tin but with the lid missing for 15 euros. I bought it emmediately! I also spotted a few vintage paintings for my friend.
I found this old movieposter of Gaslight, an Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer film. The film premiered in 1944 so I believe my finnish poster must be fairly old too. It´s huge (1m x 1.5m) and painted on canvas. I hung it in my little toilet.
Now dear A has left and I'm going to have a shower, make a sallad, pour myself a glass of wine and enjoy the lovely company of my cat and my home.

Thank you for your sweet and kind comments. You are the best!!!

Content

2011-08-26T11:20:00.002+03:00

I´ve had the best start to my day. A way back I told you about a commission I had, a broadcasting company ordered namesigns for an upcoming talkshow that they are shooting right now. The deadline for the namesigns was end of this month. This morning the producer collected the lot. He was pleased. He hugged me so many times, more times than there were signs. Even when he left, he returned to hug me and praised my work. That always makes me happy. I was pleased myself and it was fun to plan and make, but obviously I am happy when my client is happy. So I have enjoyed a cup of coffee, enjoyed the feeling and, well, it´s always a special feeling to turn in your work. I´m sure you know what I mean.
Now I´m soon off to have a massage. Lucky me - I am so spoilt!
Later this afternoon my friend A is coming to stay for the weekend and a few of our friends are coming around and I´m making dinner. It´s the night of the arts so we will not stay at home all evening - we will attend a few happenings.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Busy bee

2011-08-24T15:18:00.004+03:00

Tonight I´m going to enjoy a french performance called Eloge du poil by Jeanne Mordoi.
Here is a german clip about her show. It is part of the Helsinki festival. Later I shall try catch Timo Lassy at Bar 9.
But first I´m off to an exhebition opening. Busy bee is what I love to be <3

Mes amies

2011-08-22T21:17:00.004+03:00

Had a wonderful weekend! Lots and lots of laughter, cykling, delicious food, wine, sunshine and great talks. Merci Jo-Jo, Nadine et Sylvie. À bientot à Paris! Bis <3

Bonjour Mia Farrow!

2011-08-20T12:02:00.005+03:00

I have french guests arriving this afternoon. They have rented bikes and I´m taking them to my neighbouring neighbourhood, Käpylä, to enjoy a village-feast. Lots of performers and fleamarkets, stalls and people from near and far. At the same time some 5000 (and more) runners hit the streets to run the Helsinki City Marathon. The weather is treating us all, beautiful sunshine.
In the evening I´m meeting up with my dear friend Nina who is currently working on a theatre project in Finland, she is a goddess when it comes to dress design. She resides in the US so I seldom see her. But tonight she is all mine. Though, I might have to share her with other friends;)
I myself am enjoying life as short haired! It´s apparently very very very similar to Mia Farrow´s hair in this picture:

It was my sweet neighbour who pointed ut the resemlance. She even said I was a lookalike to Mia but that is stretching it a bit too far in my opinion...

Have a wonderful weekend dear friends!

Re-framed!

2011-08-18T12:40:00.005+03:00

A few weeks ago I told you I had my latest art-purchaise re-framed. As the white frame it had simply did not work on my walls (I sensed it from the start that it wouldn´t work, but I decided to give it a try). It just dissapeared. So what I did was, I took an old shabby frame to have it fitted to the artwork. The girl working in the shop said she had never had a similar order, to replace a new frame with a shabby broken frame - it´s usually the opposite way! But I love the fact that the frame has pieces of gilding missing, it gives character to the frame. And it somehow goes so well with the artwork, in my opinion, it makes it timeless. And that is how I like it. See for yourself.

Before:

After:

Béarnese poems

2011-08-16T15:08:00.005+03:00

I have fallen in love with Marilis Orionaa. She performs in béarnese language, a Gascon dialect spoken in southwest France. I find her music and way of performing so beautiful.

Here is a song called Sent Jan and this is a poem called Atau com la tortora, enjoy!

I have today also planned what course to take this upcoming term at the Aalto university - school of art and design in Helsinki.
I have decided to do fabric printing and dyeing. Should be fun;)

Success

2011-08-15T17:06:00.002+03:00

"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it"
~ Maya Angelou ~

Full moon

2011-08-13T23:53:00.005+03:00

Today has been one of those really lovely sunny and warm august days. I baked ryebread. And made salmon soup. Delicious combination. Today was also the annual "claim our street" -event in my neighbourhood. All the neighbouring houses carried out tables and had dinner in the street. And so did we. No cars allowed!

It´s full moon tonight. I can see it clearly from my window. August full moon.
The Neville Brothers Yellow Moon is such a classic. But the moon I see from my window is not yellow, it´s actually silver.
Last night you could apparently see lots and lots of shooting stars. I did not see any though I stood for quite long in the garden looking up at the stars. I saw a star that was flirting with me. It kept blinking;) Or is it perhaps called twinkle. Anyway, it was defenatley more than just "I´m a star in the sky and I twinkle". I also saw a few stars that weren´t all that sure if they were shooting stars or satellites or just space waste...so to be on the safe side I decided to secretly wish as I wasn´t all that sure if I saw a shooting star or if it was just my imagination!

Above. Le chat. Not noir, but the tail resembles the famous Steinlen poster Le Chat Noir.

Médecins sans frontières

2011-08-11T15:11:00.003+03:00

I am worried. I am worried about what is going on in the uk. And worried about what is going on in other parts of the world too. Somalia is in crisis, well, unfortuantely too many african nations are. As I simply cannot do very much more than inform about the injustice in the world and obviously give to charity, I have today paid my today´s earnings to Médecins sans frontières, and I challenge you to do the same. Click on the link below and find your country or neighbouring country to make a donation. It will make a difference. Thank you! Merci!

In english: http://www.msf.org/
In french: http://www.msf.fr/

Easy sundays

2011-08-07T13:04:00.007+03:00

I have always been a sunday person. I like to sleep late, eat breakfast, climb back under the covers and listen to music and snooze...
I bought the geranium, or as we call it pelargonia for one euro the other day and during the night the buds have opened. My great-grandmother Alma-Emilia looks (fairly) pleased.

Yoga again in the afternoon. My body is longing for it!

Funny, I listened to a song by Gotye feat. Kimbra over at Hello My Dear Blog and now it is playing in my head...

Happy Sunday dear friends!

August it is

2011-08-04T12:01:00.003+03:00

The past days have been warm and sunny during the day and slightly coler during the night. I still have not taken out my duvet nor closed the window for the night.
I ahve taken up yoga again. Second time this week yesterday and I feel a bit taller and I breathe so well. My instructor is the sweetest, she is like a small sun and so warm.
I´m taking my latest art purchaise into a frame shop today. The white frame that came with the artwork is just not working on my walls. I feel it just dissapears. So I´m taking a rather worn golden frame to have it remade for the photo.

Dignity

2011-08-01T18:21:00.007+03:00

This morning I felt a little twist in my tummy as I realised it´s august. I´ve had this august-tummy-twist forever. I don´t know why I feel a little sad, schools start in augusta and I used to like going to school. Autumn is so beautiful and I like the velvet skies in august...but something changes, the light and the colours change. Perhaps I don´t like change?

I made the most delicious zucchini-soup. I gently fried an onion in oil, added a large sliced zucchini and poured water that just covered the ingredients. Add vegetable bouillon (I only had cubes). Let boil until the zucchini has gone soft. I used a blender to puree the soup. Then I added two large spoons of unflavored soft cheese, white pepper and two spoonfuls of dried chantarelles. Let boil to let the cheese melt. Enjoy with dry white wine and dark bred with butter.

Above you can see that at least someone in this household knows it's dignity :D

Nostalgia

2011-07-30T13:48:00.003+03:00

I received an invitation to an exhebition opening in the post. The artist is someone I used to date. The invitation took me way back in time, to the late 80's my dears. We didn´t date for long, but long enough to leave retainable memories. I still remember how I liked his smell. He lived in a cottage and he always smelled of wood or perhaps the forest. He spoke with a beautiful dialect, he was from Joensuu and I can recall the way he laughed. I used to be a bit of a clown when I was younger and I made him laugh, well, not sure if I was all that funny, he might also have been just kind;)
He has made a name for himself as an artist. I´m very happy for him.
I´m not going to the opening. I wouldn´t know what to say. But I will see the exhebition. There was no drama involved in us breaking up, I believe it was more a coincident. We were supposed to meet in a certain place at a certain time, but I couldn´t make it. And there was no way I managed to let him know, he didn't have a phone in his cottage. I did leave a message at the place were we were supposed to meet, but I doubt he ever received it. So eventually when we met, we were quite distant and far too clumsy somehow to find a way back. And very young.
I do take responsability for what happened. You see, what we used to do was, when we met we decided on our next meeting. But we never had a plan B in case one of us couldn´t make it!
He did something very special for me once, he had a glass porch and one winternight, when he came to meet me at the bus-stop and we had walked through the woods and when we were approaching his cottage I could see it glow in the dark. He had lit the porch with lots and lots of candles. For me. I never forget that glowing cottage.

Nostalgia. On a saturday.

Algebra while washing

2011-07-27T17:44:00.002+03:00

I had a fit today and the outcome of this fit was I washed my huuuuuuge carpet, I have a large rose-kelim. It is now drying outdoors. Took a little nap with my darling cat once I had finished. Woke up to my neighbour offering zucchini-soup. Delicious! The cat also enjoyed some.
I bought a year 1916 edition of Algebra at the fleamarket. Hilarious! The language is just fantastic. Some of the tasks are too difficult for my little brain, some have been very very exciting. I used to love maths and algebra at school. Or I loved the tasks I felt I could comprehend.

Above are my frogs.

Seamonsters on a windowsill

2011-07-25T14:00:00.005+03:00

In the weekend I listened to my Mariza cd´s. I have not listened to them in ages. I have been so lucky to have seen Mariza in consert many times. Last time I cried at the Barbican centre in London some yrs ago, I believe it must have been in 2008 or 2009. My oh my, how time flies! Transparente is my favorite album. I lay in bed, cat by my side and breathe in the wonderful music.

I have been painting a plank. I´m making a windowsill for my cat. She has enjoyed the view from an upperwindow I keep open all the time, but autumn will eventually be here and I´m going to have to close the window, so therefore I´m making a windowsill for her to sit by the window.

My caring present has been well received. And used! Oh joy! They returned to basecamp on saturday and it has been in use since, apparently a certain someone has a stiff back. Poor thing.
Now my P is driving to lake Inarijärvi where he is kayaking until mid august. The "wrap" is apparently also travelling to Lapland;)

Oh, a funny and scary incident from last week. I decided to enjoy a nightswim by myself. Cykled to the sea and whilst enjoying the soft warm seawater I suddenly felt something touch my leg!!!! I emmediately thought it must be a seamonster of some sort so I swam ashore in less than a few seconds! So there I stood on the shore, out of breath, heart beating like crazy and slowly realizing I will probably never be grown up!

Things, tap-dancing and first love

2011-07-23T11:48:00.006+03:00

I bought this bracelet in Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy in 1983!!! I was 14 yrs old and in love with Jean-Luc. I´m not sure Jean-Luc was aware of my romantic feelings - I did blush fairly often and stumbled upon words when we spoke.
Still, quite fantastic that I still have this bracelet. I never use it. Perhaps I should;)

Woke up this morning to a soft and hairy paw kicking my leg. A little someone was tap-dancing on my thigh in her sleep. Proof below;)

I have no words to express the horrible news regarding Norway. I cannot comprehend where all this hate comes from? It will take a lot of time to come to terms with these kinds of horrible actions taking place.

A little caring on the way

2011-07-20T01:07:00.004+03:00

I also managed to complete the "wrap" for my P (not really sure what to call him) today. I shall send it to the base-camp tomorrow. I believe they are returning to base-camp on saturday afternoon so then he will hopefully receive my little package. And perhaps my wrap will bring ease to his tired body. Not that he has ever complained about beeing tired;) Not even after completing a 800km ski-excursion last winter in arctic conditions. I just assume that having a physical profession, he might occasionally have some exhaustion in his body.

Good night dear all!

Rakastan

2011-07-19T14:08:00.002+03:00

Rainy grey day here in Helsinki. I use the day for planning work ahead, next month will be hectic. Fun work, to complete custom made namesigns for an upcoming talkshow made by an indipendent tv-production company.

But a furry little friend keeps stealing my attention;) Rakastan. That is finnish. It translates "I love". I do love this sweet thing. She has brought soooooo much pleasure, laughter and affectionto to my life.

Terrible blogger...

2011-07-17T21:13:00.006+03:00

...award goes to me! I´m sorry for very bleak posts lately and for not commenting on your posts. I do read all your blogs!

End of week turned out rather more active than I had planned. My friend T came to visit saturday and she wanted to work with me on my allotment (yes I am very spoiled with friends who want to do things with me and for me - unconditionally and without asking!). It now looks so well organised and clean of any weed I hardly recognise it as my allotment;) I shall enjoy it while it lasts...for a few days the most! How come weed grows so fast and not all the lovely edible stuff I have planted!
After hard work on my allotment I prepared dinner and we enjoyed some rosé wine. Rosé is just perfect for summer, isn't it?

Today when I came home I found my orchid had dropped one of its flowers. And it had dropped it on my knitting-project. It looked very sad but beautiful against the grey yarn. I´m knitting some sort of a "wrap" to be used on aching or injured bodyparts. The yarn is called Kipuapusilkkivilla and it consists of 70% handwashed sheep wool and 30% untreated silk. The wool and silk are combined during the carding phase. The combination works well on various symptoms, for ex. rheumatic pains. I am making this "wrap" to a certain someone whom I´ve mentioned a few times on the blog. No, I am not dating anyone. But occasionally I meet with a very nice person. This very nice person works as a wilderness guide and canoeing instructor, so I imagine he might have a few sore muscles at times...and as you probably can guess, this is his high-peak-season so we haven´t met in a looooong time. Not that I would keep count or anything. But I knit. And spoil a certain cat with plenty affection. Not sure what knitting and spoiling a cat has to do with anything really. REALLY!

And yes, it´s him I sang to on the phone if you have to know;)

Time

2011-07-13T18:21:00.003+03:00

With some friends, it feels as if no time has passed. Though in fact it has. I met my friend H last time one and a half yrs ago! But it felt as if we had met yesterday. H has now left for Gothenburg and I hope to see him soon again. We had a wonderful wonderful time. The most memorable moment for me was when we jumped from a platform into the sea and there was that little hesitation just before jumping, that do-I-really-dare-to-jump-moment. And how it felt like forever before you hit water!

Now the house feels empty, it´s just me and my cat. And a huuuuuge pile of laundry.

Above is an old watch my mother gave me.

Summer

2011-07-09T13:33:00.002+03:00

Summer at it´s best!
I have my swedish friend H visiting and we have been busy enjoying the summer. Beach, swimming, sunbathing, cykling (I managed to borrow a bicykle off a friend), cafés, night-movie coming up, meeting friends, cooking together...

We´re soon off to the beach again. Tjohooooo!

Cloudy days

2011-07-04T14:46:00.004+03:00

It´s cloudy today. That´s good. I get things done. The heat is really lovely but it also makes me feel rather drained! I don´t mean to complain about it - it is just silly that we try to go on our normal ways when the heat is at it´s peak. I´m glad I live so close to the sea and the beach.
This week my friend H arrives from Gothenburg and there´s also outdoor-cinema on the agenda.
But forst I´m going on a hunt for a small shelf where I can store my spices. Update on that later.

Above is the door to my bathroom cupboard.

July

2011-07-01T22:42:00.006+03:00

I have spent plenty of time in the sea and on the beach. I have also spent plenty of time riding my bicykle. And spent time with friends in water and on bikes. Occasionally at a wonderful café in Kalasatama called Ihana kahvila. Today I met a man at the café who started talking to me and told me it is possible to swim nearby, in fact at Kalasatama harbour. So me and my friend explored the area and found the place where you can in fact jump (approx 3m high) and there is a ladder to climb. We will try it out within the next few days. He was very nice and I bumped into him later and I swear, I did think for a split second that he was going to kiss me, so happy was he;) He was very straight forward, he said "I like it that you are so curious and excited about swimming". He is right. I am related to fish. I love to dive and swim. And I love to jump from high places into deep water.
Next week my dear friend H is coming to stay for a week. He lives in Gothenburg.

Happy july dear friends.

PS. He did call back (I´m referring to my previous post). And I did sing.

Vulneral

2011-06-28T12:42:00.004+03:00

I must say, I did not know before I wrote my previous post, that the sore memory of betraying my mother at the age of seven, could actually be healed.
Thanks to comments made by P.K. , Agneta and Jackie, my inner seven yrs old is no longer feeling guilt and the memory has taken on a new form.
Those comments were the best thing my inner seven yrs old could have. She needed someone who gave the exact right words, so that she could let go of guilt.
I have always trusted that if you are brave enough to show your vulnerability and be honest, you will be met with love. And this proves it.

I found my old Art Garfunkel cd. I have been singing along to this.
Last night I tried to call a special someone to sing a song on the phone. He had tried to call me twice last night when I was at dance-class. I tried again once I got home. I still have not sung:(

Betrayal

2011-06-26T15:12:00.004+03:00

I was seven years old. I wanted to say something beautiful to my teacher. The most beautiful thing I could think of in that moment was "I wish you were my mother".
They were not the best choice of words! First of all, I did not wish her to be my mother. And secondly, I felt I betrayed my mother even though I didn´t mean what I said. Terrible dilemma for a seven year old. I can still feel how that memory twists inside me.
I cannot for the life of me remember what my teacher replied.

239

2011-06-23T21:12:00.003+03:00

I purchaised a photograph by Sami Parkkinen at Galleria Volga. I am in love. I will hang it on my wall next week but for the midsummer it will stay on my ladder. Pardon the bad angle - but otherwise you would have seen my reflection in the glass;)

Happy midsummer! Enjoy!

Bonjour!

2011-06-21T15:12:00.005+03:00

It´s a hectic fun time, not much time to blog really. Summer at it´s best and loving this city with all its cafés, my friends, Charlotte Gainsbourg, my bike and my daaaarling K.
Midsummer just around the corner and today it´s the solistice.

Helsinki Night Bike-Riders

2011-06-19T15:00:00.004+03:00

Last night I attended a nightride on bike along the shores of Helsinki organised by Helsinki Night Bike-Riders. A beautiful sunset for almost 200 attendants! We ended the ride at Kalasatama and I enjoyed green tea and a slice of quiche at Ihana kahvila. There were two DJ´s and I danced for a few hrs to great music in the beautiful night. What a fun event!

Unfortunately I didn´t take my camera with me last night, but the pic above is from Kalasatama that I took a few weeks ago.

Love is...

2011-06-14T15:14:00.002+03:00

... lovely cat paws underneath your laundry;)

Rainy days and mondays always gets me down

2011-06-13T15:09:00.003+03:00

Well, to be honest, rainy days and mondays do not get me down. It just happens to be very suitable today, well you might have guessed by now, it is monday aaaaand it´s, yes, go on, say it, it´s r...a...i..ning! Well done!

It was a very humid weekend, I enjoyed every moment of it. I had friends over on saturday, both during the day and in the evening. I mainly entertained guests in the garden! I served plenty of ice-cream, strawberries, ice-tea, coffee, sparkling wine and sangria.

This youtube clip of Porkka Playboys cover of Bohemian Rhapsody has become a hit in Finland. It is great fun! Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irLsjBDPe5c

Summer in the city

2011-06-10T18:39:00.002+03:00

Helsinki is a wonderful summer-city.
Yesterday I rode my bike along the shore to meet up with my knitting-group. And rode the same route back and saw a spectacular sunset. Unfortunately my camera run out of battery after the shot above, so you just have to take my word for it - it was fantastic! It´s very very hot here in Helsinki and humid, perfect weather for cykling.
Today I had a shiatsu-massage. After the massage I enjoyed vegan lunch with a dear friend. What a wonderful summer day. Now I shall spend some more quality time with darling K.
Have a wonderful weekend!

I wore flowers in my hair

2011-06-08T14:43:00.006+03:00

We´ve had guests daily and received plenty of gifts and flowers. On monday we had a lovely guest whom we both wished could have stayed longer longer longer. I painted my nails red, wore lipstick and flowers in my hair. I slept in his arms. And darling K slept in his clothes;) And once he left the next day, I felt that feeling again that somehow could relate to longing. I felt it last time he was here and he left and I wrote about it here.
We have a heatwave in Finland. It is really hot! + 30 degrees C in the shadow!!!! So plenty of water, fruits and ice-cream! In fact, I´m going to have another ice-cream!

Love

2011-06-04T22:03:00.004+03:00

My darling K has settled in well. We´ve had absolutely no problems at all. Well, a minor incident that perhaps could be worth mentioning...this morning when I flushed the toilet I noticed it sounded slightly different and emmediately noticed my toilet freshener was gone. How could it be possible as I´ve kept the lid closed. So I figured my darling K has managed to loosen it from the outside. I called the plumber. He arrived and in the end he had to remove the toilet seat and eventually we found the toilet freshener! It cost me 250 euros so I guess I shall not be using them again!

She is very sweet and warm and loves to be near me, and I´m certain we shall have a very happy life together. Thank you for all your kind comments and wishes. She has already given me so much joy and love and I cannot think of life without her. She really has melted my heart.

We´ve also had guests and at first she was a little shy and scared, but today she even slept in my friends lap!

Above is a little letterscale from my childhood. And origami I´ve made from old booksheets. A little stilleben where I used to have my "enormous" glassdome. I´ve packed it away for the time beeing until darling K has settled in properly and knows her way around. She is very curious and wants to explore places. She is still very cautious. It is such fun to see how how she no longer gets scared if my phone rings or my neighbours walk in the hallway, we said hello to them last night as she had been "on call" everytime she heard a noise form behind the front door. Now she doesn´t really pay any attention to them.

She also played with me today. I´ve tried different toys without any success but today I tossed a ball back and forth and eventually she started chasing it. I was also quite happy to find she has played with my toiletroll, I mean that she finds pleasure even if it is only toiletpaper (and obviously with the toilet refresher). She will be more playful as time goes by and that makes me happy.

My new boss

2011-06-01T22:23:00.004+03:00

Today Kille moved in with me. She is adopted from the catshelter in Helsinki.
She is obviously a little nervous but all has gone remarkably well. Let´s keep our fingers crossed she will settle in well. She is very charming. She sounds like an old engine so loud she purrs. Not all that fond of her name...but I assume I can always give her a nickname.

Piquant details

2011-05-31T13:23:00.004+03:00

On saturday I found this photo for 0,20 euro! I thought it so charming with it´s awful 80's (or 70's)frame and all. There is also a little piquant detail (that unfortuantely cannot be seen propeprly from my image), there´s a hair that has been on the lense or the film and is now decorating the forehead and ear of the dog in front! There´s so many funny details, the leg of the dog in front, the eyes are all freaky green, the wallpaper, the paintings, the lamp...
I think this would make a fantastic LP cover;)

Time

2011-05-30T11:38:00.004+03:00

Time flies by when you´re having fun. Who said that?
Well, who ever it was had a point there. My weekend just flew by. And I had plenty of fun. Saturday was Fleamarket-day in our "village". My street was cut off of traffic and turned into a fleamarket. I sold everything within a few hrs!
In the evening I attended Anna Järvinen's consert. I sooooo enjoyed it. And there was a magical moment. They finished the gig with Hur man lättar helt enkelt and when they returned for their encores and the audience silenced I shouted "Kom hem" and unbelievable, they played the song! After the song she asked who wished for the song and people pointed at me (I was close to the stage, "third row") and I waved and then she looked at me and said "this song was for you, we played this for you" and then she laughed and said they had not rehersed it! My friends were kissing and holding me and I felt it was magical. We cykled home through a beautiful city and I can tell you, life doesn´t get much more wonderful!

On sunday I attended the World village festival. Plenty of interesting perfomances, food, friends and meetings.
The image above is from one of the tents. Ballons;)

Allotment flirt

2011-05-27T11:34:00.004+03:00

I believe I have a little flirt going on with my allotment neighbour. He is charming and he seems to enjoy my wabble (he said so himself. He didn´t say wabble though!). I act a little different when he is around, I tend to do all the work facing his allotment, even if it would workwise be smarter to turn around;) I also jump alot I noticed the other day. Or skip around. Strange. He doubleckecked my name the second time we met. Serious business.
I even went as far as to suggest I water his allotment while he is away travelling for 3 weeks. I expect at least a proposal of marriage when he gets back from his conference. And lots of presents, all things that I really wanted. This reminds me of a Smack the pony sketch, The perfect man.

Happy flirty weekend to you!

This video has been around facebook today, thought I share it as it is über cute!

To let

2011-05-25T10:09:00.003+03:00

A knot in my hair. Suitable for small, preferably quiet elderly bird to nest in. Reasonable rent. Some cleaning required.

Above a sentence from a poem...Ma pensée te suit partout...

It is!

2011-05-24T12:11:00.005+03:00

The first thing that came to my mind this morning was the guitar in the song La vita è bella. I just could not for the life of me remeber the title of the song, nor the film...but all of a sudden whilst laying in bed enjoying the sunrays dancing on my wall it hit me, life is beautiful!

Enjoy!

Above is an old mirrorpanel.

Coming home...

2011-05-23T10:49:00.004+03:00

... is wonderful! It was good to be away - but very happy to be back home again.
On my agenda today is taking care of my allotment, write a report and end it all with a massage appointment. Not at all bad!
I shall make dinner with spinach tonight. I purchaised a huuuuuuge bag of fresh spinach. Isn´t it funny how spinach decreases when you prepare it! Like mushrooms. You have lots of spinach or mushrooms and think no this is too much but once prepared you wish you had doubled the amount from the beginning;)

Allotment, here I come!

I travel

2011-05-17T19:36:00.002+03:00

Not on horseback though;)
I shall be back sooner than later.

Tant pis (second try)

2011-05-15T17:40:00.002+03:00

Blogger deleted my previous post called Tant pis. So here comes a new try. I assume quite many bloggers had similar problems.

On thursday I was invited to see Tiger Lillies Freakshow at the Savoy theatre in Helsinki. A few of their tracks were very beautiful. I liked Rosa with three hearts.
On friday I received a very nice pleasant guest who stayed until saturday mid-day. Then we had to take farewell and I feel a little, but just a tiny little feeling that distantly resembles longing...a very very very talented scientist could perhaps be able to spot it in a microsope. It´s higly unlikely though. And so irrelevant even irrelevance is feeling rather awkward about the whole issue;)

I watched Joyce Jonathan's music video for her song Tant pis and spotted a few familiar items...for ex. at 0:48/ 3:34. I have this standing on top of my ladder.

Happy end of week folks.

Somewhere...

2011-05-11T13:18:00.005+03:00

... in the distance I can hear a flute. As if time had slowed down...
Above - refections in a mirror.

I have never felt like a birchtree

2011-05-10T11:56:00.005+03:00

It is a beautiful sunny summerday. Birds and insects are busy, the nature is about to blossom.
I love how we use nature as metaphor. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day is perhaps the most common...

I once saw an interview with Vishnu Khare who had translated the Finnish national epic Kalevala to hindi (!).
The interviewer was in my opinion not all that professional as she often interrupted him with rather banal comments like "I´ve always felt like a birchtree..."...and it had no relevance to what Mr. Khare had said. In fact I could not watch the whole interview...

I have never felt like a birchtree. I wonder what it feels like.

Above we have a bride from amongst my vast collection of old photographs. I know she is somehow distantly related to me. She married in New York. That is unfortuantely all I know. And the ones that would know are no longer with us.