Picnic

In case you haven't heard, I landed myself a job!  It's only supposed to be part-time, but for the past few weeks it's been pretty much full-time.  And it's making me really, really, miss great summer days like this one here.  I hope you all are continuing to have a wonderful summer!

Luomisvirtaus

I'm just stopping by to let you know I haven't forgotten. I'm experiencing the dilemma of summer: there would be plenty of lovely things to post about, but they are so lovely that they are sweeping me off my feet and far, far away from the computer. I love the internet, but I find that it's good for me to take a break once a year. This year that break seems to be coming very naturally. I've reached a creative state of flow that is preoccupying me enough to keep me from missing the online world. However, maybe the fruit of that flow will reach the online world in the near future! I hope all of you who have been following are also enjoying your summer so much that you will barely notice if disappear for just a little while longer. I will be back soon, at the latest when the sun stops shining on these walls after 9 pm.

Finally ringing in summer...

Happy 4th of July!  The little carnival rolled into town, so we met our parental obligation of spending way too much money on rickety rides and unhealthy snacks.  Check out some of our adventures!

Uutisia takapihalta

 News from the back yard:

- It's looking wild! Everything green has exploded all over the place.

- I'm still waiting for the new greenhouse to be assembled.

- It turns out we will have something to put in there, too! For a long time, despite my best efforts, it looked like the tomatoes, broccoli, and eggplant were not going to make it. I wasn't sure if they were even fighting for their lives anymore, but I still didn't have the heart to throw even the smallest ones into the compost bin. Now suddenly they are all flourishing, though I haven't changed anything!

- My beloved wild twinflower (Linnaea Borealis) is blossoming abundantly. The one who noticed it was my three-year-old daughter. She came to me with a single flower in her hand and informed me with the correct name that vanamo is blossoming! I was so proud!

- Something that looks like a wild raspberry is blossoming for the first time. There are also a few wild strawberry blossoms. Waiting eagerly...

- We moved some rare sinivuokko (Anemone Hepatica) from the border of our yard to a place where we can enjoy it more.

- On many days we don't even move beyond the back yard. Well, maybe to the mailbox. Happy July, everyone!

Father's Day

Yup, this is how us Americans eat every day.  Just another day in the life of a public school teacher's family.  Actually, this is the first time I have cooked live crustaceans as an adult!  I had a moment of sheer panic before I cooked the first one, but thinking about how much these things cost motivated me to get it done!  The reason I picked these for Father's Day dinner was because a local grocery store had them at an incredible sale price.  So I don't think this will be a part of my regular menu!

After this, the story is too messy to tell with pictures! 

Juhannus

Happy midsummer! Ihanaa valon juhlaa kaikille!

Kotitöitä

Most days I'm overwhelmed by housework, especially the number of hours I need to spend in the kitchen preparing meals and cleaning up after them. I wouldn't mind it as much if the kitchen was on the sunny side of the house, so I could make the most of all this abundant light that is nursing away our state of deprivation which developed over the winter. But day after day I find myself standing on the North side much longer than I would like. To make it more complicated, my younger children are at an age when "helping" is a favorite activity. The truth is, though, that their "help" often creates even more mess, and that we could move on to enjoy the lovely day outdoors a little sooner, if they would just get out of the way for a minute. One solution is to take the "helping mess" outside. It's astonishing how participating in real or even almost-real work brightens their spirits, and I don't have to dry the floor afterwards. It also helps to get out the vintage aprons (and if anyone recognizes them, I hope you don't mind we are using them)! Now, ready for some vigorous dish washing?
 
The room where I blog is also on the North side of the house, which is disturbing my blogger's enthusiasm a bit. So if you don't hear from me, I'm probably prioritizing my maximum dosage of light. I'll still try to check in with you every week, but for the rest of the summer it's going to be whenever!