XÀBIA

In the beginning of summer we went on holiday to Spain. We had a great Air Bn'B in Xàbia / Jávea; spent a week swimming and sweating and drinking sangria. Or well, juice; kids and children and so on - we were a big lot with the whole family, but the teenagers (my oldest stepson and his girlfriend) were being super teenagy and kept to themselves so no photographical evidence of them.

After almost a decade of blogging I have now let go of my constant 'thinking-my-life-trough-blog-posts' and 'must-take-photos-all-the-time' so I took less pictures than normally. Which afterwards when browsing trough is a bit sad but then again sure feels more relaxed on spot.

Spot the monkey.

 

My own little monkey in the ninja-suit I made him.

Dag turned five during the trip and I broke a couple of sunglasses and now it's almost October and we'll have to wait for true sunshine for months but I can still remember the hot salty sand between my toes.

FOUR THINGS A WHILE AGO: UNDER THE TREE

Doing my barre workout in the garden. Organising things with the help of a glass of bubbly. Reading in the hammock chair under the tree.  And the wind is warm.

HAIRCUTS, SUNSHINE AND MILKSHAKE

Heya internet!
Long time no see.

 Yesterday both dag & dad went to the barber shop to get their hairs cut for vacation mode.

 This little fella is turning five in four days and he's wearing a lion shirt that I sew him the other day.

Afterwards we went out in the sunhine to zip milkshakes from Kitty's Milkshake Bar (the best).

And hanged out by the orbs in Hietalahti.

And now it's off to Spain with the whole family, boys and girlfriends and bags and what not. Sangria and sunshine here I come!

PIMP MY WATER / THREE WAYS TO FLAVOUR YOUR H2O

I have noticed that keeping a jug of water on the table with stuff in helps me get closer to the goal of drinking enough water during the day (as in opposite of having a jug with just plain water, or no jug at all). And even better, it also helps the kids and man in the house to drink more too, which is a big bonus. The water we get is good and tasteless, but a hint of berry or herb in it makes it more appealing none the less, and is also pretty to look at.

Here are three ideas on how to spice up your water -

Strawberries, cinnamon-basil and a dash of apple cider vinegar.
I came across cinnamon-basil in the store the other day but any kind  of basil will of course do.

Orange and rosemary.

My colleague Tink came up with this one: Pineapple chunks and fresh mint. Try it by putting the pineapple bits in the freezer for a while before dropping them in the water.

Enjoy!

FLOW

I'm back home again and now straight off to enjoy Flow for one day and then to perform at Huuhkajavuori Blues tomorrow!

I am actually rather excited to be able to catch a day of Flow Festival - the other years I have been busy or not even thought of attending (and sometimes also slightly annoyed over the hype for the coming festival that begins as soon as the past one is over, although, there is a reason for that- Flow is an extraordinary happening) -I was at Flow back in 2008 but not since. This year however with Iggy Pop and Massive Attack and a clear spot in the calendar I gave it a go and got Eddi and me Friday tickets for his birthday.
Flow is a lot more than just the music acts though, with arts, installations and talks and food experiences (Yazzz!) all sustainably organised - the carbon footprint of the festival is neutral.

Then comes of course the question of what to wear! For now in a vintage dress and Hasbeens, but there's still some time to go, and a risk of rain, so this might still change a few times...

RED AND STICKY

Phew!
I've juiced and jammed and refridgerated berries like whoah the past day - black currants, red currants, cherries! And the kitchen looks like a murder took place; it's red and sticky everywhere.

All the juice-and jam making is a bit funny though as I don't consume that much of neither and also try not to let the younger ones get too much of those...

But  -sometimes homemade cherry juice is just the best thing there is.

And now I'm off to Reperbahn to dance for a few days! Ta-ta!

AN HOUR BY THE NORTH SEA

When we were in Denmark, in the middle of Jutland (for our Legoland visit)  a couple of weeks ago we took a drive west to the coast and it's endless beaches.

It was the only moment of our trip (apart from a sudden rain in Copenhagen) that it wasn't super hot and sunny. But sometimes weather doesn't matter.

I remember we've been somewhere around the same beaches with my family as well when I was a kid, in the late eighties. Not sure where we were then exactly, but the sand was white, the wind was hard and there were jellyfish everywhere.

This time we only found one and it seemed pretty much not-that-alive-anymore.

And mini starfish!

You may stumble upon jellyfish at home but along our coasts in the Baltic Sea there aren't really any starfish.

Waiting for the waves.

I collected some rocks and sea shells. You have to do that when you go to the beach.

 Dag then got a little carried away.


All soaked but happy.

 But you can dry yourself in the wind!

Although later having to go home in mommy's clothes he was not that happy anymore.

PONIES AND BABY GOATS

This summer we have ponies!

And goats!

BABY GOATS. (+ one mom)

And two mini-lambs that kind of look like goats as well.

Lulu, who always follows me around when we leave the yard, was also keen - albeit a little careful - to check out the ponies.

They are not really ours though, but from some farms away, spending summer on our meadows.
It is good for the natural fields to be munched up by animals every once in a while.  Our farm's last lambs left last autumn, so it's also fun for the kids to eye this out instead.

The goats are also rather skilled at eating up this invasive bush that was planted along the road some decades earlier. Munch on, little fella, munch on!