Minun aamuni on sinun iltasi

I never meant to give up on our project, but it so happened that sometime last summer I was overcome by the demands of everyday life, and have increasingly been forced to compromise little things that I used to enjoy. I am hoping this is temporary and that there are better times ahead, but am making no promises as to what will happen to this blog!

Now, I just had to make the time for a special post because a very exceptional life event has just taken place! Here's what I would like to say...

This blog was originally created to be a dialogue, a place where two cousins who used to know each other could re-establish their friendship despite the miles in between. Now that both of us have been preoccupied with other things and haven't been communicating regularly through pictures and stories from our everyday lives, I can really recognise how important our shared space was when it was still in bloom. I think we can say that we succeeded in what we set out to do! This blog has truly been a shared experience and a friendship, and now that it's been on hold, I'm missing not only my co-author but also the sense of sharing with our readers!

I seem to remember that somewhere along the way I wrote that the blog should exist at least until we have met again in one of our home countries. While our life circumstances have still not allowed that to happen, something unexpected happened instead. As I am writing this, my first-born daughter and my mother are visiting Amy in Oregon! When Amy and I last met, my daughter wasn't even born, and now we have made it possible that she could make this trip in my place!

Would she be there now if the blog had never existed? Perhaps, but I wouldn't be experiencing as much joy about it as I am now! While she is gone, I will be living in two time zones simultaneously. My morning is your evening.

(The pictures are a set I meant to post last fall. May the yellow make them an Easter post now!)

Family of friends

Thank you, 'Cil, for that wonderful guest post...maybe I should hire myself a guest poster of my own!  But first I want to share some really special people in my life.  You may know that I play the ukulele, which was an accidental habit I picked up a few years ago after having given up music over 20 years ago.  I had picked up a cheap ukulele for my son, hoping that he would carry on the musical nature of my family and pick up an instrument.  I figured I might as well get it in tune, right?  Then I had to learn a couple chords to show him....and the next thing I knew I just couldn't put it down.  And now here I am, four years later, with a whole new family of people in my life that bring me the joy that only creating music can bring.  These pictures are from a wedding this past weekend that brought together so many of us in that circle.  Thank you, T!  You were one beautiful bride and you sure know how to throw a party!

Celebrating family

Week by week I'm wondering will I ever have time to post again. Recently we celebrated a very special family occasion, but I didn't even manage to get any pictures. Then while visiting my mother one day, it suddenly occurred to me that she should share it with you! Hopefully she will soon be creating her own blog full of stories about expatriate life in Finland. As we wait, I hope you enjoy this post by our guest author! 
- Lara

I was invited as a guest to try this whole blogging thing out. American by birth, I just recently passed the 40-years-in-Finland milestone and am toying with the idea of my own blog to share some thoughts and experiences. So thanks for the chance to try this out! Bear in mind, I'm just a gran'ma with a point-and-shoot in her pocket.

It was Sunday of Midsummer weekend when we were welcomed to this rustic Finnish fisherman's cottage by the sea for the baptism/christening of the newest little family member. On the surface day-to-day life on the west coast of Finland can appear remarkably similar to America, but differences can often be better observed at times of celebration. To me, many Finnish traditions and customs seem fairly formal in contrast to the otherwise generally informal approach to everyday life here.

Midsummer weekend is already a very special (nearly sacrosanct?) time in Finland and the weather was at its summery best on this particular occasion.

A baptism celebration is the only traditional party for a new baby here, although in recent years there has been some attempt to import the baby shower tradition. Aside from any religious significance, this event functions as a formal occasion to celebrate a new family member. To start, the minister arrived to do the deed with a group of about 25 relatives gathered round for a short ceremony. The Paul Revere bowl used hints at something not-so-Finnish present in this little boy's family tree.

Afterwards everyone adjourned indoors for coffee, cake, and other goodies, as well as catching up with family members that we don't get to see very often. The Finnish coffee service is as traditional as an English tea party, I would say, and as the coffee maker I was reminded by my daughter that it's a matter of honor to brew it up strong.

My impression is that these baptism parties are usually private family affairs here, one where the baby's name is finally revealed. Until then it's a carefully guarded secret (if the parents have indeed managed to make a decision) and often a temporary working name is used meanwhile.

The upcoming generation of cousins took their freedom out under the incoming crop of apples while the older ones lingered over coffee.

Anyway you look at it, the girls have had a clear majority in this generation so I think that most of us were happy to have at least one more little boy join the group.

Eventually everyone settled down together outdoors to enjoy a bit of music by the family band including a very gentle version of "We Will Rock You" adapted for the occasion. In the past Lara and her younger sister have sung at our family celebrations, accompanied by their father. This time it was lovely that the older children wanted to take part too.

As the afternoon drew to a close, some headed off to play frisbee or do a little wading down by the water's edge, while those who had longer trips home, just headed off.

Sea and sky

Once again, the lovely Oregon coast.  I don't think I could ever get tired of watching the ever-changing water and sky, it's so mesmerizing!  I think this would be the perfect location for a cousins reunion....

Tervetuliaisjuhla

Amy, I remember Seattle from 10+ years ago! I would have loved to be there, but as you know, meanwhile we had an adventure of our own. Exactly one month ago I woke up in the middle of the night, as usual. This time I recongized something was going on. We arrived at the hospital sometime between 5 and 6 am, and at 7.52 he was born! My memories from the morning include a festive symphony of birds as we were leaving home at dawn, driving into town with no traffic, and a bright sunny view over the rooftops from my ninth floor window. He arrived when the sinivuokko was in bloom. What a welcoming celebration spring had prepared for him!

All in a day

Lately it seems we have had more adventures than free time, which is great for the kiddo but terrible for this blog!  A broken camera lens and a finicky computer haven't helped the cause.  Please excuse my tardiness and enjoy one of our recent adventures to Seattle!

I also learned on this trip that the more expensive an activity is, the less likely a child is to enjoy it.  The much-anticipated first train ride was completely trumped by the 50-cent plastic shark.  Lesson learned!

We even happened to be in Seattle during the Swedish parade in Ballard!  I really wish we could have shared that one, Lara!

Tässä veneessä

I can't believe it's been over a month since Amy's last post and a disasterous seven weeks since mine! And this is only the fifth time I'm showing up this year. Is there anyone out there still following? I so miss being able to post regularly, and every week I have been trying to return... and failed. The grown-ups in this house are just seriously overworked at the moment. All my computer time is being consumed by my online studies, which will soon pause for the summer but which I'm trying to wrap up in advance because of another approaching deadline, otherwise known as a due date. By summer we will no longer be five but six! I'm convinced these studies were the right path to take, but with all my heart I'm looking forward to a few months of only childcare and homemaking! This year summer might actually feel like a vacation.

I find it comforting that I'm not in this boat alone, but that despite all our previous plans both Amy and I seem to be struggling with keeping this blog rolling. However, since this project was orinally meant to reconnect two cousins separated by ten time zones and ten years, I feel it should be kept alive until we have managed to meet again. What do you think, Amy? By the way, we had a birthday recently! This spring My Morning is Your Evening is three years old!

Here's a picture of someone looking into the horizon after waking up from his nap with kitty. At this point in my life I find some symbolism in it! It was taken this week on a day's cruise on Viking Grace (24 hours to Stockholm and back again).

Please be patient, I'll be back!