SUNSHINE

It's finally warm and sunny! Yesterday was the first day without socks outside!
There is hope after all!

Here I tried to swing like a happy monkey in a tree, to illustrate the fact that it's warm and and one can now go bazonkas and so on, but turns out it was harder than I thought. Plus I kind of got a little worried the branch would crack and hit me in the head and I'd basically die blogging.  But as you can't be totally fabulous or witty all the time you get my attempt here anyway.

This was also a sneaky outfit post. The top is from Freddies of Pinewood and the lurex thingies are h&m.

LAST OF APRIL, FIRST OF MAY

Iiro Nurminen 1960, Helsingin Kaupunginmuseo

Vappu.  Valborg. Vappen. The most likely biggest of the Finnish festivities!  Party-wise, I guess. If the city empties at Midsummer Vappu is the opposite - the city is full of thousands and thousands of celebrating people. We've had mead and funnel cakes and donuts for a the past days and I'm getting rather stuffed by now.

Vappen is a festivity for quirky hats and faux noses and costumes and serpentines and confetti (and just making a mess our of everything in general). Kindergartens and schools most often have a masquerade they day before Vappu. Last year Dag was a ninja, this year he went as his latest obsession: a knight!

Costumes that I wore when I was little included princess (quelle surprise), medieval lady and cowgirl.

I've spent most of my Vappu-day, as in the day after; 1st of May, out on town celebrating since early morning, and even those years I was on shift in the harbour I tried to sneak in a visit to to the park before work. Lots of fun memories ever since my early childhood years. The tradition of Valborg, which itself goes way back in time has been celebrated in today's form, with partying on the streets, balloons and picnics and such, since the 1800's. On first of May labour's day and marches meet academic festivities and a sea of white graduation caps.

First of may on the Observatory Hill of Kaivopuisto.
Arvo Kajante 1959. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

 Kari Hakli 1972. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Picnic in Kaisaniemi.

Ivan Timiriasew 1920. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

 Ivan Timiriasew 1912. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Student gathering in Kaisaniemi.

Unknown photographer, 1870. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo. 

Communist march. Simo Rista SER 1970. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Labourers' march. Unknown photographer, 1919. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo. 

 Juha Jernvall 1950, Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Above are photos from celebrations in Helsinki from past days; the Helsinki City museum has released a site -helsinkikuvia.fi- where you can browse and download their collection of 40,000 photographies of Helsinki from then and now, with a free-to-use-if credited license. A lot of interesting and nostalgic pics! So I checked out Vappu-celebrations from past times; turns out they had as shitty weather as we do back in 1899 as well for example. And 1957 and 1929. Phew.

Drawing by A.Federley of their first of May in 1899. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

But when you've blogged for a decade (!!) you get quite the archive of your own life during those years as well.
This year, as I was working in the day and as Eddi is away on work in Shiraz I am just staying at home in bed with a glass of, in fact, Shiraz as well (going for that old traditional, but with newly found internet fame, mode of kalsarikännit. Well not really, but close enough. Not drunk but no pants.) I browsed some of my own Vappus from the last years -

2010 we were out with Eddi and some friends on town. (And it was cold. Not like now, but I was freezing in my dress.Weather is such a factor here.). Just remembered that the Vappu before we had been on a day-date after having been on a break and I biked to work in the sunshine wondering weather it would turn into something or not.

2011 we got engaged in the pale May night on our way home after a long odyssey of park picnics and suburbian bars. It was warm and I wore a 50's dress and my big pink petticoat that I managed to spill beer on and Eddi picked me a yellow dandelion and gave me a ring. (We had actually booked our wedding in Vegas by then already but it was still a sweet move.)

2012 I was super pregnant amd we went to a Vappu brunch after the park.

2013 Eddi was in Bolivia and I was home on the countryside with Dag minding my flowers and drinking beer. Kind of like now, heh.
And I got carried away at my son's first chance for a Vappu balloon and got him two. Dag has a dinosaur balloon this year as well btw (< THE INTERNET HAS TO KNOW!)

But I also brought Dag to his first First of May park experience then!
I remember he started screaming so hard in the bus (that was packed) on our way downtown I had to get off and wait for another one. Not very surprisingly we went for brunch after the park.
(Most restaurants organise late brunches on May 1st. )

Last year we stayed out on the countryside and had some friends over for bbq and fixed up my old car. And yes it was so much warmer than now. And no, that's not a real butt.

Glada Vappen!

LOST SPRING

Waiting for spring like -

WHERE IS IT!

Apparently spring is like a month late here or so by now they say on the news and in the papers.
Well yes, thanks, we kind of noticed. The true definition of "april weather". Sun and rain and random snow and temperatuare yo-yoing.

But the spring gear has however premiered. Even to the extent that I treated myself to a new vintage Pendleton and a pair of vintage boots, to stomp around in the mud over here in, via Etsy.
My pyjamas-like high waist wide-legged cropped pants are from Light in The Box.

(They promised -PROMISED - it'd be +20c this weekend so keeping my thumbs and hopes up for that. And if not, then - oh well, damn, it's the weather, then you still just can't do anything about it...)

THAT ONE ABOUT EASTER

Easter. This year I managed to plan a little in advance (as in I beat my side note challenge from last year, did them the night before; tada!) and did not have to rely on what randomness I could find in the drawers. We went feather-free and decorated the willow branches with small pom poms. The kids use these to hand out for when they go around wishing neighbours well for the year to come and expect to get treats in return. They actually turned out rather nice so maybe next year I'll make a vase for us as well. Well, we'll see about that next year then...

And then! Once a year: Mämmi. Memma. Yum. During my thirty-something years of eating mämmi I have, being the kind of person who apparently just can't do things without having to alter them a little, come to the conclusion that I prefer mine with lemon quark, with or sans fresh fruit on the side. And this is for breakfast in my book (and most likely my book only); not dessert.

Well here's another one who also tweaks traditions. For the Easter walk Dag wanted to be a knight, not a witch, which is basically the whole thing and thus pretty much the only option, apart from a bunny or the witch's black cat every now and then. Well we've seen huge eggs and chickens over here too and if the kid wants to be a knight I'll of course turn him into one!
You can read more about the candy begging-well-wishing Eastern tradition in the some past posts of mine.

And all the small witches left their marks on our door.

THAT ONE ANNUAL POST ABOUT SPRING

I guess we are at that point of the year again when small whispers and hints about a possible arriving spring start showing up in blogs on the northern hemisphere.  That, and the time when I start mentioning that I probably should wash my windows... But it's a big thing here, always, when the long winter ends and the light starts coming back (and it easily sounds all Game of Thrones when you talk about that..). We're at the yo-yo season where snow melts and returns again and those lighter shoes in the closet start getting restless but will have to wait. But at least we do have more light; longer days.

Like many others, I often get an urge to decorate and fix things up at home with the arrival of spring. Not really happening this year, as everything looks like shit still; we live in a labyrinth of ikea-bags and boxes after the move away from the city flat last November. The only decent looking and thus bearable (plus photographable) room is the kitchen, which of course means it is doomed to look like shit as well, because that's where everyone hangs out and leaves their stuff.

But it's the thought that counts (sort of, sometimes) and I tried my best and brought home a new pretty orchid, cherry tree branches and lots and lots of fruit for those more fresh springy vibes.

It worked.

FOUR THINGS A WHILE AGO : ALL THE FLOWERS OF MAY

I'm back home, after being here and there and away for about half of the month!

And it is warm and lovely and summery (which is something you will see me comment every time it occurs. Because I do live in Finland you know.)

I had a day of no-makeup and wear whatever is the nearest and comfiest (in this case my "Moomin dress") and hang out in the garden and even attended it a little - first time this year, and it looks thereafter.

We picked greens for dinner with Dag - Ground elder to sautée, dandelion leaves for salad and the flowers and buds (of which you can make "capers" too I've heard) to fry in butter and garlic.

 (Well pretty much everything tastes good with butter and garlic, right?)

I also drank some flowers. (Or well, hot water that they had soaked in...)

This is rosebud tea that Eddi brought home from Teheran. He was there a few weeks ago for work. (My father happened to be there the same time, working with same-same-but-different things, and he told me my blog would not open up there on the web.  As a little interesting side note.)

And the appletrees are blooming here now; and I am happy I managed not to miss it, as it still is only such a short time that it stays like this.

The appletree is full of the sound of a soft warm wind and the sound of hundreds of bees buzzing about. For the moment it makes me think that that is like the sound of life.

And on many levels it is, because bees are important you know.

FOUR THINGS RIGT NOW: SUNSHINE, WARM WINDS, HAPPY CATS AND MOTHERSDAY

It's finally warm and sunny  -yes I know I said that already but it really has such a big impact on everything around here!

Dag and I had our first outdor lunch on the back porch.

 And I opened my mother's day card and gift - the bracelet on my wrist- he'd made me in playschool today already as I will be away tomorrow on the actual day.

And look! My tomato plants planted from tomato slices a month ago are growing! They seemed to do so earlier but then disappeared back into the soil and I though they'd died but here they are making their way up towards the sunshine!

BUNNIES AND OTHER EASTERY THINGIES

Easter. Felt it was really early this year as I am not sure it's quite spring yet for real, at least not in the kind of way you'd dare to be sure about This year I learned how the dates are set, how it goes related to the first full moon after spring solstice. Aaaahaaa.

Dag bought home easter-grass they'd grown in his kids' club plus a black witch's cat he'd made. Milk cartons and toilet paper rolls, forever strong in the kids' crafting departement. I've made a ton of these as a kid myself; there would be some Christmas elves and angels and Easter witches and bunnies in every corner at every holiday of the year in our home when I was young. I was too small to remember what I thought of my creations myself, but when my sisters started bringing them home some years later I remember thinking they were ugly and started dreading the day my own offspring would clog the surfaces of my future lovely home with their cardboard-glue-and felt pieces. And then BOOM that day comes and you go aaaaaw and think everything is just adorable. Meow!
(Even though that cat obviously is a little drunk. )


On Friday I drove into town for a late night gogo-dance-and-eat-whipped-cream-on-stage gig (in other words nothing different from the usual) in the same time stressing for the following day's Easter-treat collecting that the children do on Easter Saturday, which I had not had the time to prepare properly. Or, I had kind of prepared it already as I had indeed stuffed some material in a plastic bag at the same time I packed my gogo gear at home in the city the day before, but not put into realisation.

(Backstage photo by Antti Vuorenmaa.)

So the next day I had a super-domestic-day and got up early to sew Dag a bunny costume. Well, a bunny hood, not top-to-toe (phew!);  he wanted to be a Easter bunny this year. This time I had also remembered to bring the face paint ton the right house (one of the things I stuffed in that bag)- last year I had to improvise with whatever I had in my make up bag - and Dag turned into a little bunny boy.

His older brother had misplaced his bunny costume I'd made him some years before and after some panicked searching we got a little creative and he became a cartoon mushroom instead. Because why not!
Dag's oldest brother is 15 already so he has skipped out on this for some years now already.

And then those damn pussy willow branches. The ones the kids hand out so they get candy. Let's just face it, I'll probably never manage to have them done well in time.  (Challenge for next year: do it! Well in time might mean I could get the kids to actually work on them themselves too). Usually they are decorated with feathers and crepe paper. But you take what you have and what time you have -  I added gift ribbons like last year and turned a couple of A4's into quick decorations and they did turn out rather decent.

And then the boys were ready to join up with a gang of some small yellow baby chickens, an Easter egg and some witches to go collect sweets.  It's a mix of eastern (Orthodox) and western pagan-meets-Christianity-traditions to go around houses, either on Palm Sunday (east) or Easter Saturday (west), and wish the people well for the coming year. And get lots of candy.



Meanwhile it was time for some (very quick and easy) baking as we had people coming over. Woom woom super Saturday.

Later I turned into the actual big B and hid some eggs around the house for the kids to search for the next morning.

It's always fun! Although one may bump into the ones that were the most well hidden later during the year...

The kids' sugar-rush stash.

Well, it's only once a year...