Just because

I just love to bake.  Maybe I should have a baking blog....no, it would only cut into my baking time!  My little guy keeps saying that when the pumpkins in the garden grow, we will make a pumpkin pie.  I decided to jump the gun and use up some canned pumpkin!

Sadepäivä

I'm running a little late, because I'm the only member of the family who hasn't been sick during the past few days. If I had been, I'd be even later! I took these pictures some time ago on a dreadfully rainy day. Sometimes the best way to make the most of such a day is to take out your camera and play a little. Create some beauty when there appears to be none.

I noticed I made a funny mistake last week! (Sometimes I feel more fluent in English than I actually am.) What I meant was "creative people of diverse backgrounds". Diverse, not complex! But I'm just going to leave that uncorrected, because I believe creative people often also do have complex backgrounds. At least I do!

Rations

Lara, as I was sitting by this fire making s'mores, I was remembering being a kid and packing up a giant box filled with marshmallows, peanut butter, and other goodies (M&Ms?) to send to your family.  I couldn't imagine living without those essentials!  I'm sure there was something of importance that we were sending, and were only adding the treats as filler, but at the time I definitely thought of it as emergency rations!  I imagine you have all those things now, maybe even the same brands!

Nowadays, I wish I could share the impossible things - a cup of coffee, a beer, homemade jam (not reasonable, I looked into it!), and my backyard.  I suppose this blog will have to do for now!

Täydellinen iltapäivä

On Saturday my daughter and I headed downtown. Our destination: Aura Street Market at the old town hall (Vanha Raatihuone) in Turku.

Aura Street Market is more than an annual event, it's a meeting point for local artists, artisans, and creative people of complex backgrounds. The name Aura comes from the river that runs through Turku, right next to this place. The actual market was indoors, but the society also organizes other cultural events in different urban settings around Turku.

Just look at these color-saturated items of beauty! They are felt vests with lace made by C04 Luomus (click the name for their own site). I got one a few years ago in deep purple, and I love it.

Guess who found these kitty cat, octopus, and owl pins interesting? We bought a yellow cat and an octopus with striped tentacles. They are made by Nuttu-Liina (click the name to take a look at her children's clothing, purses, hats, notebooks... all from recycled materials).

Hooked design (or originally Virkkuukoukussa in Finnish, click click clickety click) makes hand-crocheted lace carpets from left-over material of the textile industry. The design is inspired by the windows of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.

We headed back outside to Vanha Suurtori, the first market place of Turku and the point where the town itself started evolving in the 1200s. My daughter wanted to play in the Stream of Time, one of the best known pieces of environmental art in town, made in 2000 by Kain Tapper.

We then crossed the street to the cathedral. The first version of it was built in the late 1200s, but it has suffered from many fires - just look at those layers from different centuries. It just so happened that another work of environmental art was being built there at that very moment - a gerbera labyrinth with couches in the middle!

We asked permission to go in and were for the time being denied, but were given a flower instead.

We made it back to the car just as the next rain came. It was  
The Perfect Afternoon.

Pimientos de Padrón

These peppers have long been my favorite splurge at our amazing downtown farmer's market.  I found them this spring while seed shopping, and though I am quite the novice gardener, I couldn't resist.  The packet made it clear that these peppers need plenty of heat to grow, so they needed to be started indoors in the spring.  Luckily I had enough sense to plant a test batch, because they all died.  As did the second test batch.  The third batch had a few survivors, and only six have become actual living, producing plants.

The interesting thing about these peppers is that they are known as a culinary Russian roulette; most are sweet and completely mild, while the occasional few will be insanely hot.  So far I have had 14...all mild!  Honestly, I really don't want them spicy - the mild ones are so good!  You just fry them in olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  But it would be a little satisfying to get just one spicy one, once!

Päivä kerrallaan, myötävirtaan

There are mornings when the rising sun embraces the kitchen in a heavenly light show that only lasts a few minutes. I am clinging to these moments of sunlight, as day by day we move closer to the darkest time of year when the sun will only rise for about six hours a day. The fact that we hardly got any rest this past summer makes the approaching darkness a little overwhelming. Our mornings and evenings are already clearly darker: it's no longer light at 6 am when the first members of the family get up, and there's no light to do anything outside after children's bedtime. The only comfort I find in this is that it means we are also moving towards baby's first birthday, and I hope that life beyond that date will gradually start getting a little easier. I've never experienced having a one-year-old and a three-year-old in the house at once, but I imagine it must be easier than having a baby and a two-year-old. Any of you readers have something to say on the subject? Every now and then I see a baby who is happy to just sit and observe, but that's something I've never known of. My babies have all been the high-maintenance kind - little sleep and often restless and discontent in between. But the first two did eventually learn to amuse themselves, and yes, even sleep, and are nowadays such bright and gifted individuals! So I take courage in this and say bring on the dark season. Day by day and go with the flow. Besides, there are still many brilliant autumn days ahead.

Don't ask where the veggies are...

Okay, so this summer, up until a few weeks ago, has been one of the coolest on record for this part of the state.  So my vegetables are a little confused.  Some of the cool season crops were doing okay until it recently became very hot - though I am holding out hope for the one sad little deformed purple cauliflower that just started growing!  (It is surrounded by 7 barren siblings!)  I have let the deer have my tomato plants as they will get more enjoyment out of them than I will, and they seem to be leaving the rest of the garden alone. 

The big silvery-green leaves are the delicata squash plants - my favorite type of squash, which you can see just beginning to grow if you look carefully in the photo!

Oh, and I think I will try posting on Thursdays from here on!  Thank you for letting me slack for the past month or so, Lara!

Oranssi ja violetti

From now on, you can expect to hear from us twice a week! Monday is my new posting day, or Tuesday at the very latest. Amy will be checking in later on in the week.

Amy, I have a feeling you must love orange and purple together, like I do. The dress in the last picture is one I've been wearing a lot the past summer, I found it second hand for under five euros. And those are my everyday can't-live-without felt slippers!