Sunny By The River

click to see the photo larger

Finnish Summer

Finnish summer is short compared with winter. Winter lasts for six months. At least. Summer is short as the flutter of a butterfly.

Summer is the first clear blue sky of May. 

Sitting with a friend in the sun, cherishing the incredible feeling of the first moments on summer terraces.

Seeing new places is a thing to do in the summer. To find light is easy. You just follow the sun.

Sea glitters in the sun. You feel the scent of salt, and the thirst for summer grows in you. You must have more of this: light, warmth, the never sleeping sun.

Bonfire salutes summer. Flames caress your skin, and it’s impossible to dream about winter. Summer is so much stronger.

Wild flowers colorize fields. The number of colors is more than one can realize or count. Every color is the color of summer.

Even black.

And snow white.

Summer is visiting places, seeing friends.

Summer is exhibitions.

Summer is searching for the blue sky among the ruins of oneself, the shattered pieces broken by winter.

Summer is galleries and the thrill of finding perfect lines.

Picking berries, eating them. Swimming, sleeping, drinking, reading, laughing with friends. And so much more. Finnish summer. Not yet at the end.

Summertime

Billnäs

"Old industry milieu founded in 1641, Billnäs Ironworks in Raasepori is a centre of various events.

Billnäs Ironworks hosts different kind of events such as public events, corporate events and meetings. In addition to restaurants and cafes also accommodation services are being developed in the area in the near future.

Billnäs Ironworks is a part of the national landscape of Finland. The traditional buildings and the beautiful view to river Mustio offer a unique setting for both small and larger events. "

Quote from here.

I spent a day in Billnäs with my friend (check her fabulous photos!) and made a video of our visit. Hope you enjoy watching it!

Childhood

When I was little, we used to spend some time of those long, hot summers of childhood in Hanko. We made daytrips to the beaches of this southern town, and occasionally we lived in some villa. Hanko is famous for its villas, some private, and some turned into boarding houses for the summer people who invade this otherwise sleepy town.

I remember the sunny days, the beaches of golden and hot sand, the ice cold water in the beginning of June turning into a sea of hotness when reaching August. The taste of strawberries with whipped cream, the softness of the cup of hot chocolate in the morning.

Tender times to reminisce when you’re growing old.

Old

The weekly theme for Thursday Challenge is old.

Morganism(i)

My fellow blogger Lepis (check out her marvellous macro photos!) offered me a ride and we drove to Sysmä for a couple of weeks ago. In Sysmä we stayed at a local blogger’s house, and celebrated also the publishing of this blogger’s, Morgan’s, new book.

Morgan has a place called Morganismi. It’s a magical place with art among the trees, all kind of fun stuff here and there, touching moments in th shades of the bushes. A place worth visiting, if you happen to be near Sysmä. The summer opening for the exhibition is next weekend.

I took a lot of photos there and made a video about the place. Hope you enjoy peeking at Finnish do-yourself-art! I did.

Hvitträsk

Animecon 2008 in Tampere

I’m back, at least for a few days.

Maybe.

The weekend in Tampere was colourful, sunny and lively. Look at yourself!

Here's Stockholm for you!

I'll be here during the weekend. See you!

Yellow

The weekly theme for

Thursday Challenge
is
yellow

On the Move

Summer is to be on the move, and while I have been home, I’ve been rewriting some of my old short stories, that have been published in Finnish women’s magazines in the 90’s. My intention is to self publish a collection of these short stories. Why? Because it’s fun. Not to rewrite old stories, that can be a bore, but to publish.

In my Finnish main blog I’ve told about this project, and I asked the readers to come up with a name for the collection, and I’ve got plenty of good titles. I have also been making some cover designs for the collection and I shall set up a vote for the cover I shall use in my collection.

Blogging is interactive indeed.

Because of the rewriting, I haven’t had so much time to post in my blogs. Hey, I do have eight blogs….but, autumn is coming, and there will be those long, dark days and the time to post more again.

Tomorrow I’ll leave for Stockholm for a few days. Meanwhile, here is a photo story I made after staying in the countryside. I’ve published it in my Finnish photo blog and in my Swedish blog, so if it’s familiar to you, that is why.

See you.

The Medieval Market in Turku 2008

****

A short stay for me at home, I'm on my way again, see you some day.

Huerto del Cura

I’ve put some new photos
in the photo gallery of my homepages.
The photos were taken in Elche, Spain,
where I visited the palm park called
Huerto del Cura.

Elche

My feet were aching, the climb -163 stairs- pained my muscles, blood was pounding in my head, and I felt exhausted. I cursed to myself of ever wanting to climb the spiral staircase, and my thoughts escaped to a big glass of cerveza, which I surely would buy after descending to the ground again.

Dry in mouth, pushing sweaty hair straws from my eyes, I leaned over the edge of the roof. Sierra Elche was hiding in smoky grey and blue shadows and the town beneath my feet was wrapped in dull and lifeless shade of beige.

I sighed; the breed of tourists had no sense at all. Instead of sitting in a cosy café chair, sipping their wine, they climbed to a clock tower of a church.

Then the sun came.

*****

You find more of my photos of Elche in Spain here.

*****

The weekly challenge for Moody Monday is beautiful

Here again!

Well, I’m back, Tired, but pleased.
Been busy all day: washing clothes (one does sweat a lot in the sun…), looking through photos I took during my vacation, reading newspapers in Finnish (I did look at the news in the TV, but my Spanish isn’t that good –una cerveza, por favor is the most I can manage).
A whole week without the Net!

And tomorrow work. It’s raining, it’s grey, but I know now for sure that the sun does still exist! She’s just too damn lazy to travel here!

I’ll be visiting your blogs in some days, now I have to get some sleep. Meanwhile, enjoy photos from my trip: