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September 2015

Some nice links to visit before travelling to Svalbard, Longyearbyen ;)

Hourly weather forecast for Longyearbyen by yr.no

Borealis 360 panorama of Longyearbyen

A weather sation out in Adventalen

The Longyearbyen all sky camera 

A packing list for students coming to study in UNIS

How to dress in the Arctic, yes google know stuff :)

The UNIS website has some nice tips to check out, specialy if you're a student

Soon it's weekend! 

Bisous! 

Oh, and some soundtrack to get into the mood of the dusk-light:

 

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September 2014

I forgot to answer to the most important question: How do you get to Svalbard, Longyeabyen?

The easiest way is to fly. There are two flights a day to Longyearbyen at least by SAS and Norwegian. Flights to Longyearbyen start from Oslo or Tromso. Then Finair announced to start flying to Longyearbyen in the summer from Helsinki. So if you are coming from somewhere else than Norway... you have to fly to Norway first. (Or Finland, if you're coming in the summertime).

That's that :)

In the summertime you can also come by boat. Many cruise ships have a stay in Longyearbyen, but it lasts only for some hours up to a day, but even that could be enough, depends on your travelling style :) And from the boat there is actually a bigger chance to see wildelife... but the bigger the boat, the more people the less opportunity to see the smaller fjords. I have never been on a cruise ship, so i have no idea what's it like, but people i have met from those tours usually are happy and chill. I guess it's like being in a fancy hotel that moves around?

Happy Monday evening!

Bisous!

♥

Well...

That's worth the wait, isn't it? ;)

Taken 9.11.2015 around 10pm behind our house. Thanks to Asuza who taught me how. I still need a lot of work in my timing and camera setting (and tripod handeling), but it's much better than this one, from last december:

 Or the one i took before i fixed my settings (i know- i know, how is that possible?)

Sweet dreams!
The Weekend was mad: i was sick, Martin had to work, the weather sucked. So still coming out of it, takes a little while, tho. ( I know, i'll name half of Wednesday to Monday and the other half to Tuesday and count sleepingtime the new Wednesday) I. Should. Sleep. Now. !?

Bisous! :)

♥

It's 23pm and i'm obviously ...cooking jam. Miki is asleep, like Martin and Juss, who instead of the bed, are sleeping in the winter-garden, by accident. Interesting. They wanted to wait/play there until i put Miki to bed, but ended up asleep on the orange couch.

I'm gonna miss this apartment, although it's full of flaws (like last renovation was in the 90es), it has been a great two years and these walls here know it. We love the garden and foremost our neighbours. Living here has made me see how nice it is to have a small community and that they actually work. 

Last friday we had a nice brunch outside the town at our friends place. We stayed until the late afternoon. They have a big garden and a sandbox, that way the kids were entertained and we could just relax. And truth be told: it was flattering and exiting to have someone photograph me and us for a change, since 90% of all our jpg-fails don't include me, because i'm the one taking them and it's either me with the kids or Martin with the kids. Now we have some fails i think i'll even print. Yey. 

 

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I'm late! One day! :))

Here is what we did last weekend, in march: birdhouses. Martin got some old ones and put them up, they only needed a bit of fixing so they could be properly hanged on the branches. I think i mentioned it all in my previous post.

Last Friday it was party-time! I went to a birthday-party, late at night (pff... from 22 to midnight!)! It was almost awesome: i regret not eating much and being a bit tired and not doing much make-up. Then again, there was this moment i liked. Somehow i sat down with some of my friends there and then our conversation went on kids -  it kind of happened - there were two moms in the crowd! So one girl was like "Ookay... talking about children, i think i go and grab a vodka and not come back". It was funny. Because on one hand i regretted that as well: i came out of the house, so i'd like to be mentally also out of the household for a second. But. On the other hand, as fellow mom, who had hoped the same, said: "It's what we do day to day, it is our universe now", made that, what the girl had said more like: "Ookay... talking about YOUR life now? Mkm... not interested! Vodka!"

Moms: a sensitive crowd, nothing to say. 

Talking about that... ugh. I loooove the way people we meet ask me about the kids and then turn to Martin "And what are you up to these days?". It makes us both snort, because for him it's like he's not part of raising the boys and for me it sounds like I'm a nanny on a job-interview. 

On Wednesday had my driving-on-ice-lesson. Verb "to pirouette" has a new meaning from now on :)) I've had such luck with my driving-instructors: super nice and calm people. But how do they to it, a mystery.

It's Monday and the week is getting booked with stuff to do. See you on Sunday! (or maybe sooner!)

♥

Huh, this post has been started at least three times(nights) already. So, what was i saying again?  :))

Happy 2014!

After Christmas we decided to stay at home on new years eve, to have some quiet time. We planned to put the kids to bed and then stay up just until after midnight, before having a nice dinner. I got all ready to roll some sushi (that's what i call it) and bake a pie and all. Kind of romantic for young parents: eating good food by ourselves and then watching the fireworks form our winter-garden. There were some ingredients still missing for my sushi (like... the main things), so we headed all out on the 31th. Some kids were trying already their fireworks out and that's when our plan to escape was again on the table. Truth is, we prefer not to stay in the city/town on new years eve. It's noisy. And there's this nervousness, i think.

Since our guests, who planned dropping by, also cancelled, the road was clear. Like crazy ants we baked the pie, rolled the sushi, packed our bags and at 5pm started the car to drive 100 km south to our friends, who run a sheep-farm and to celebrate new years eve in a village centre.

Well, like a miracle our two little ones just slept almost until midnight, so we could dance, eat and converse with people. Twelve o'clock we wished happy new year through the phone to each other: i was nursing Miki inside (in solemn loneliness) and Martin and Juss were outside looking at the fireworks coming from the neighbour village (or somewhere.. i wasn't there, i have no idea). Soon after that, we headed to sleep in front of a fireplace. We snored before the babes did. 

It was an interesting evening and the following day. Some thoughts came up again and made us think. I this the year we'll making those decisions?  About that, next time.

The next day i was at loss, like always when im a guest, i don't know what to do... i feel so awkward eating myself away (there are some amazing cooks over there), so i ended up hiking outside in the woods with some of the kids of the house. That was quite amazing and i had a great time. I was not their nanny, but a friend and that's such a better position to be in. 

Winter is coming at last!

♥

Hiiumaa

Time is flying, almost racing. Our neighbourhood kids have been sleeping in the bungalow outside for a week or so, which means loud noise till midnight. I feel a bit jealous, they're having a lot of fun.  It's been raining mushroom-rain. And i've stared making to-do-lists. That can mean only one thing.... soon. These weeks will go fast.

Last days have gone sorting clothes, reorganizing drawers, making plans how to move some furniture, when and how to meet up with people and all that. It's just funny how nature works. 

Tonight we wanted to host a dinner and ended up doing so, despite the confusion about who's gonna cook the lamb, and that in the middle of my rice-cooking our electric-system just crashed. For two hours, before guests should arrive. So when the first guests arrived... we had almost nothing. Not even music to cheer us up. For a moment i felt overwhelmed and lost. It did turn around though. Juss got to play with friends and the dinner-lamb our friends cooked was just so delicious.

My try to make a chicken-quiche failed, it suffered a horrible death. The chicken never go to meet the oven. Sometimes pastry just does unimaginable things. Or i'm just not friends with it. We'll see what will happen to the chicken tomorrow.

Nighty-night!

♥

When i look outside, i see rain, some blue sky and wind bending treetops, which are heavy with apples, nuts, pears, and tiny plums. The fall is soon here. I felt it my toes, as we walked home yesterday from a dinner in my summer-shoes. Even some yellow leaves were lying around. My phone has started to ring - people are back from holidays, still going to the countryside, because the real work will soon begin, but their back in their minds from beaches and seawater and green outdoor activities, thinking about, what they'll do next year. August is the month of visiting people it seems, with watermelons, the reminder of the hot sun, and stories about how this summer has been, where everyone has been and they have done. It's a rich month. Of friends and food and life. 

The last day we didn't take the camera with us to the beach or anywhere in Hiiumaa and that was when we encountered the most calm sea, a surface like a mirror, water so clear, that we could see our feet. The sky was dark blue, building up rainclouds, and it was so warm to swim, as if being hugged by the water. Maybe it's best that there is no picture to document a fragment of it, since it could never give it all (at least my camerahandling ability doesn't). And memories start resembling more to the photographs than the memories?
One bag less to carry and eyes wide open. It was a beautiful time. Thanks for having us!

♥

We decided spontaneously to go back to Hiiumaa on Thursday. Deciding the last minute brought questions on the ship like "Where are Juss'ss sandals? We didn't take them!?", but we managed despite all little inconveniences quite well. Going like that was even a bit more relaxed, 'cos we'd already done this once, so we knew what to expect. 
Sadly we left in a hurry, so coming back on Monday evening, we had a nice view of a mess of toys and all sorts of things. I've been trying to clean this place for two evenings now. It does look better :)

Connections are slow, for now it'll be it. Need some sleep too!

♥

Juss meets a grasshopper on island Hiiumaa.

When we were heading back from the island, i noticed the boat was full of people behind screens, phones and pc's illuminating, it was almost a bit scary. Beautiful people sitting next to each other and not communicating, not going to the deck to see the sea, the lighthouse, the sailing-boats that passed by. Im someone who enjoys surfing the net as well and is amazed of what great interviews you can find, what great articles, wonderful art, awesome ideas... but it's also tiring, extremely tiring. It's not like reading a book, where you gain energy i think, but this mosaic or rather fragmentation of the attention, that i can jump from one tap to the other, hear one thing and read another. It makes me stressed out somehow, as i am overflown by ideas and thoughts and impressions. A week long pause was just right and i might want to repeat it soon :) or make my internet -usage somehow more regulated, so that stuff gets done.

But before that, i enjoyed the interview with Jennifer Aniston inside the Actors Studio, being impressed how humble she is. And Dustin Hoffman just stole my heart; what a presens and emotionality.

Talking about books, last year i got a book for my birthday from Mervi Juusola, in English the title would be "..so that mom can handle it/deal with it(all)". A motherhood energy-book. It seems that it's only available in the finnish and estonian language. I tried reading it some time ago, but now i feel that it's time has come. Maybe i should do a little summary of it, when i finish?

Another finnish book i read some years ago is Kari Heusala's "Womens sexuality". I couldn't finish it, because i had to return it to the library, but i remember how the fist chapter about the history of the sexuality of women was just so hilarious. Im thinking of getting it again and posting some of the facts here. Just for laughs. 

To talk about our week on the island... well, there are words like beach, sea, sun, food, driving and then this emotional level, which i don't know yet how to share or if to share at all. I felt cleansed after we arrived back: was it the lack of a computer screen to hide behind, or just the idea of being so far away from everything/one else? But being together? The chance to go through a rainbow of emotions? Or the chance to hold hands, while lying in the sun, or just forgetting to worry in general? The chance to sleep long hours? Well.. all that.

Now i want to listen to a good old song...what could it be? The second one, that comes to mind:

 

.

♥

Just wanted to let you know, that we're back on festland. Arriving home was like the best thing ever. Being on a trip is great, but home is home, that's like your castle, your stronghold. I was amazed how much energy we had after arriving from a tiresome- tiresome drive, while we could only think of getting upstairs and going straight to bed. But we cooked (Martin did :P), filled the washing-machine, twice, had dinner, unpacked everything and, when Juss went to bed, even watched a movie. Wow. We could see that Juss was equally happy to be back;  he was like all over the place, going through his toys and running from one room to the other. In that sense i can understand my friends well, who, having been living in France for two years, decided that it's easier to return, than to stay here for the summer, living one week in one place, the next one in another, until they find a new home.

The apples on the tree tops are getting ready. And sometimes the wind brings the smell of autumn. Not yet, but it'll come. We're heating the apartment for the first time this summer,' cos it's been raining all day and the nights tend to get chilly. Only +10C. Our tomato-experiment is doing okay. I guess it's just nice to have the plants around, the amount of tomatoes doesn't matter. It's almost as if they had been waiting for us to return and two turned red for celebrating. 

For now: i want to snuggle up in a blanket and sleep. I'll just stare a while into the fireplace, before i go. 
Hope to share some of the photos of the island this week too.

♥

Today we start our trip to the island! And we won't take the pc with us,  a whole week without it, if me manage to stay there as long, of course! 

I watched this beautiful tutorial about digital multiple exposure and tried it out with our pentax K-r. Well, i still need to figure out some of the things, but it made me happy that it has this option. I hope to get some good shots on the island to share later. 

Meanwhile friends stay in our house, to water the plants (Tomatoes!!) and enjoy the townlife.

Enjoy the sun! See you in a week!

♥

How is being pregnant with a toddler different, than being pregnant the first time?

This question seemed more complicated at first, than it really is. The difference is simple actually: you have two kids now. One in your arm, and one in your belly. That also means that the attention is divided. That's where my partner plays a big role, by letting me take time to point my focus also to the the new coming baby, while he's out doing fun things with the older one. 

I was once told, that making a drivers license or any kind of exams, while pregnant, is impossible, because the brain just doesn't want to focus on "unnecessary" tasks and thoughts. It instinctively wants to prepare for the upcoming birth and motherhood tasks. While i thought that my memory during my first pregnancy was terrible, then now i could say, that the disc is simply full. I have forgotten to answer emails, texts, even to call back the next minute. No to mention one of my friends job, that she described just a week before. Then again i have no trouble of remembering what we need from the grocery-store, or what to pack, when going on a trip. When it's family-oriented, i still keep it together. But it also makes me more tired, than i expected. On our latest trip to the national park i didn't take our camera with us, because i felt that my brain couldn't handle one more item to look after, while we hike around. And i was right: the pocket-camera we took, we also forgot there at some point.

The second main difference is that, when before my partner could take care of me solely, now we have already a family to take care of. That's maybe the main reason why the second pregnancy feels more exhausting: i still have to do the things i have to do. Maybe feeling a bit more lonesome is something that is connected to it. While waiting for Juss, i did prenatal joga, went to a water-gymnastics class and met up with many other pregnant women. Now i use the time, when Martin is out with Juss, for sleeping, cooking, cleaning, .. and thinking about all the other things i need to do :)) and often end up waisting time on the net... sadly-sadly.

What will be helpful? I realized recently, that maybe it would be a good idea to make a plan, like for the whole week. So that time would be organized better and i could take time and invest it in something meaningful. Taking time for doing the dishes is okay too, but it can lead to somewhat frustration as well ;) 

We still haven't tried it out, but i hope we get there. It would mean, that i have something to look forward to and would feel fulfilled and accomplished later. 
This time around i also feel that we are both a bit pregnant. We already share the weight of responsibilities and tasks, we've been without any good sleep (like 10 hours straight) for over a year now, we both have backaches and get easily irritated when tired. So no princess treatment is possible, from any side. There is just no energy for that. This one is, egoisticly, the hardest one to accept. 

As my midwife said, this is the second pregnancy and it just is that way.

But i hope i could give an answer, that said more than  "it's hard" or "difficult" or "complicated". 

Ps. Thanks M for a wonderful lunch! It made my day :*

♥

 

 

Pärnu. The ultimate Summer-capital. I never got the idea of summer resorts, but now i'm slightly turned. Of course i end up going with a "little"(as mentioned around me) cold - that's that for going for a swim in the sea. The food in the restaurant took forever to arrive, the wind was cold, the people too many. The avocado on our friends avocado-dish was raw. The supermarket was out of eco-friendly diapers and... we still kind of had a nice time. Mystical.  

We arrived home late and exhausted from the long drive, all three of us. That's why today is "do-nothing-monday". No plans, no engagements, nada. Chocolate cake for breakfast and hopefully a watermelon for dinner. That's it. (Of course, Juss has regular meals :))

♥

On Saturday we went to our friends U&L wedding. 

I took three dresses with me, just in case, and ended up wearing all of them. The butterfly was the first and i'm showing it off, since it's custom made by a young designer Ilona Ait. She created the fabric and made the dress. I ended up wearing a jacket, because it was so windy and i still suffered from my "little" cold. But the dress is so gorgeous, right! :) Butterfly-belly!

The night got colder so i changed in a long dress, then got strawberry and/or cherry spots on it, and changed again. The thing, when having kids, you either need always one pair (at least) a change of clothes, or an attitude where you just don't care. Usually i have the last one, but since it was a wedding and all, it was kind of nice to look neat for once.

♥

On the longest day of the year (the 21th June) we decided with some friends to make a evening picnic on an old football-field. Nobody took a ball with them, but maybe it was for the best. Us and all the babies got to stay up quite late, firstly because it didn't seem to get late at all :)) On the picture i think it's already past 10pm.

When we arrived i was so hungry, that i only managed to get the camera out, when our picnic blanket looked like a big mess. It's evidence of how relaxed and easygoing everyone were, i think. With 5 toddlers running around, it was only natural :) and unavoidable.

Now it's July. Already. Three months to go with my grand belly. 

Summer, be gentle and nice to us!

♥

For the last two weekends we're been to a national park in the south part of the country. Since we have some really nice friends living there, it's always like a treat. On the 22th we went to our friends who just bought a farm there last year. It's the collectors house, that they try to get to look like a farm- and a home again. Martin and a bunch of people where there to help out. A lot of work got done, but a lot is still ahead. Since the owners are such active people, i think they'll get there. It might take 5 years, as i learned, but it's all worth it and faster is not possible. That's life in the countryside.

To celebrate midsummer on the night of 23th to 24th we went to our other friends who have a sheep-farm and have lived there i guess now like ten years (?). Both of them have a master degree in something completely different. We've seen their progress from afar and it's amazing to where they have come. I always learn something new when im there. 

It was an untraditional midsummer night, because the weather was so beautiful and warm, not a drop of rain. Some friends of friends made sauna in their unimaginably awesome home, with a big lake attached to it. A great evening!

Only the big midsummer fire we didn't see, because we had to drive and put our son to sleep. The sunset though (as much it actually set) was like a bonfire itself.

Pictures from 23th June.

♥

This photo is taken by Hirohisa, when he was visiting us in the end of January. I'd recommend to take a look around his website, because I've for sure have found one of my favorite photographers in him. There are gorgeous colors with some unfamiliar yet known reality. Have fun looking around!

As for this picture:  Don't you just think, that you could easily put another baby there? Like the compositon would only win from it ;)!

Have a nice weekend!

♥

Where to start? Last week? Weekend?

Is it too much to say i had a reincarnation during this weekend :) To make it short: i think we ought to live in the countryside,  even just for Juss's sake, or our mental health's sake. I had more people around me than here for weeks, nobody had issues about running noses or anything else. We went to the smoke-sauna with our whole family, (tho my mom was saing not to take Juss, because...cold and hot and getting a cold..) AND it was amazing. Juss was so interested in all, there were other babys there aswell. I think sometimes i worry too much about stuff or am thinking how to do it logistically too much ahead, solutions happen also by just happening, by just you being there, acting the way you see fit. 

So, we had sauna, then the next day we went skiing, all together. I think i did that maybe 10 years ago. Juss sat on Martins back and slept the whole time. Later he got to sleep in a sledge, between sheepskins. 

And today.. no sign of our running nose. 

Im over the moon anyway. Im so proud of us and happy to have tried new things together and not backing out, like i usually do, as to be careful, too careful as i now see. 

I want to also share some thoughts from Dylan Moran, (my favourite comedian!). Just to share his views on the matter:

To be honest, i think i've been here in the city as lonely in the past weeks, as i would be somewhere in the woods with my goats and sheeps and potatofields :)

(as there is potential, that people drive miles to drink tea the whole day, maybe even less lonely)

Have a great week! 

( I hope to post soon about our lovely evening with Hiro and Laura, and about the coming friday... big day for our university)

♥

♥ Looking back at 2012 ♥

Part III

For this part i took pictures that were taken with film, to keep it on balance. There would be a lot to write about as well. But another time, we'll see :) 

♥ September- my favourite month (with october)♥

♥ October ♥

♥ Novemeber we met some friends! And a film that would be ruined by a clerk in the shop ;P ♥

♥ December brought snow!♥

We had a great new years eve, with my best friend from childhood times. It was a wonderful night, we saw some beautiful fireworks from the livingroom window and my mom was happy that we came, since on christmas i had a fever and we didn't go anywhere.

And yes, i also think that there should be more pictures with me too! So this year, honey, you take the snaps as well ;) !