Suomi Finland; A land of lakes and sea, of water and wild flowers, family you already love and know well, and those you never met until now. Young and older and very old! Helsinki lay bathed in sunshine and for some days it was non-stop happy chatting with friends and cousins and second cousins, meeting in town and country, sipping champagne above the roof tops and relaxing in the loo with the best view in the world.
Great nephews and nieces had come to Finland for the summer, and we got to know each other ... delightful children! Cavorting freely in nature, all business possible done outside instead of inside. Nobody missed California or Niqaragua. Bare bums is freedom!
Taklax, close to Vasa up north along the coast, was a sleepy little village where my sister lives and as she was due for a holiday, me and Eija papa-sat for a few weeks, while going for swims, visiting museums and weeding the garden. With visions of a great harvest, come autumn. The neighbours spoke such a quaint dialect, shyly scuffing their shoes in the dust, that I wanted to listen to anything they said. Life ambled along at the pace of the 50`s.
A special place was a tiny russian church along a leafy lane, that was always open. Icons glimmered in the dark interior, their eyes searching for believers. A young priest came and told us about it, how the icons "had found their own way" into this little sanctuary. A tiny flame burned in the lamp...
Swallows darted in the sky, the day gave only a small fraction of its light to the night and the sea lay reflecting the next day already at midnight. Summer is so short, so treasured because it is. Soon the cold winds will howl again, but for now, Suomi is pockets of hidden strawberries warmed by the sun and the cool touch of the sea on the skin.
Great nephews and nieces had come to Finland for the summer, and we got to know each other ... delightful children! Cavorting freely in nature, all business possible done outside instead of inside. Nobody missed California or Niqaragua. Bare bums is freedom!
Taklax, close to Vasa up north along the coast, was a sleepy little village where my sister lives and as she was due for a holiday, me and Eija papa-sat for a few weeks, while going for swims, visiting museums and weeding the garden. With visions of a great harvest, come autumn. The neighbours spoke such a quaint dialect, shyly scuffing their shoes in the dust, that I wanted to listen to anything they said. Life ambled along at the pace of the 50`s.
A special place was a tiny russian church along a leafy lane, that was always open. Icons glimmered in the dark interior, their eyes searching for believers. A young priest came and told us about it, how the icons "had found their own way" into this little sanctuary. A tiny flame burned in the lamp...
Swallows darted in the sky, the day gave only a small fraction of its light to the night and the sea lay reflecting the next day already at midnight. Summer is so short, so treasured because it is. Soon the cold winds will howl again, but for now, Suomi is pockets of hidden strawberries warmed by the sun and the cool touch of the sea on the skin.