Minkä värinen on tiikeri?

Can you guess what color is Tiger?

Last Christmas my daughter received this set of rainbow colors from Grandma. Grandma is picky about artist supplies, so we knew from the beginning these would be quality pencils. But it wasn't til much later that I realized why this is the best set ever!

One day, when they had already been in use for some time, I suddenly noticed each color had a name! Here's a few themes I put together. I'm sure there are many different interesting combinations!

Creatures...


Night-time...

and Fantasy. But there were a few mystery names that didn't speak to me.

Is there anyone out there who can put Mr. Gosh, Flip's Vest, and Whangdoodle in context for me?

Chocotherapy

This one's for you, Lara...a recipe in disguise!  Enjoy!

Merellä

So I posted dark pictures last time, did I? Instead of having the patience (or time) to re-edit them, I decided to go for a whole new try. So back on the ice I went, this time on a bright February afternoon which I talked about in my last post. With the sun out and no wind, the weather didn't feel cold at all, and Amy, I think you would have agreed. I wish we could go for brunch and then skating here! It was the perfect winter day to be out on the sea, and as you can see, a few other people also though so.

It was fun to watch people using every imaginable kind of equipment to move on the ice: skates, skis, kick-sleds, bikes pulling sleds, baby carriages... did you spot them all? Sunborn Princess, by the way, is a cruiser that is used as part of the local spa's hotel services. It is anchored next to the spa all year round. We have decided to treat the kids to a night in the Princess as part of our winter vacation!

Brunch

A lovely morning with a lovely friend! 

... and yet a little colder

Amy, you are entitled to your complaints about cold! Your cold and my cold mean different temperatures. We grew up in different cultures of cold, and those cultural issues are part of what I hope makes this Finnish-American space of ours interesting! For me, cold is easier to deal with than rain, especially when cold is compensated by clear skies. We have had plenty of those recently, and this is what the rest of the week looks like. Last week we experienced colder than -20 degrees Celcius (below -5 Fahrenheit), which is exceptional even here, but you must have learned by now that even in temperatures like that life just keeps on rolling. Kids go to school, grown-ups go to work, the most resilient do outdoor sports, and little children play outside, if even for a short while. Practices vary, but in my daughter's school kids always go outside for recess, even on days like these, at least for a few minutes. One of the things I love most about cold is thick natural ice on the sea. Of course it is most enjoyable on sunny February days of about -5 C (23 F). Those days are not far away! These pictures are from a day of about -10 C (14 F).

Cold and colder

I know I'm really not one to complain about the cold, but it's been creeping up on us, little by little.  Now this morning, I realize that I have done nothing to protect my cold-sensitive plants, like my hebes and star jasmine.  The pellet stove runs full blast all day, my skin is dry, and all I want to do is stay inside and eat and drink coffee.  This morning, I decided to finally embrace the cold and make some ice rings, but then I saw that today will get up to 50 degrees (10C), so I guess I will just dump them out as they will not fit in my freezer!

This holiday season was marred by food poisoning (Christmas Eve) and strep throat (New Year's Eve), so my apologies for not having any holiday pictures!  At least it kept off the extra holiday weight!

The picture of the boy eating was the first time we made the avocado pasta.  That one was really delicious!