THE ATTEMPTS OF PHOTOGRAPHING A SUN DRESS

I came back from some business in town. And as I for once because of that was somewhat dressed up -it's around +30C here now and I mostly walk around in some old tiny gym shorts and a floppy tie top here on the farm - I thought it was time for an outfit post.

Me: I’m wearing a fancy-schamncy sundress so maybe you could take some blogphotos?

Eddi: Ok sure, why not.

Me: but no no, keep the camera the other way, portrait!

Eddi: Ok

But then one of the  cats desperately craved attention.

Me: take some pics anyway, cats equals blogpoints hehe

But then a big maddafakking spider appear along my hem

Eddi: I’m still taking pictures

Me: no, stop, stop!

(The actual photo of me freaking out when noticing it won’t make it here though, as I don’t want to flash my underwear to the whole internet.)

Then Dag dropped the watering can on my foot and I lost a chip of my toe nail at the root (more painful than you’d think).

Eddi: click click

Then Dag also wanted to pose for photos.

But in the end we kind of managed to get pictures of the dress as well.

Which is, if you wonder, an Ivana Helsinki dress.

(And which I, however bubblegum coloured and nice it may be, am thinking of perhaps selling next weekend at our Raspberry Fields second hand market -where YOU should come and shop!)

AT THE MOOMIN WORLD

Last week we went to the Moomin valley with Dag!

There are certain things you need to do with your kids as a parent and earlier I thought of some with horror . We took Eddi's older boys to Legoland in 2011 and I was a bit stressed at the thought of thousands of over-enthusiastic and screaming and whinging kids all around., plus endless amounts of holes to pour your money in. But it wasn't all that bad though, rather fun actually, although the thought of one day having to go there again as I would want my own children to experience it too did come with a sigh. But now, as a parent myself I was very much looking forward to our first little summer trip with Dag to go see the Moomins! Dag is such a huge fan and I knew he would be thrilled to go!

And he was thrilled indeed! So much to the extent he was overwhelmed and got extremely shy, almost horrified, to meet his favourite characters in person.

The Moomin valley, or The Moomin World as it is called, is in the little town of Naantali in the southwest of Finland, which is a mere hour and a half away from our farm.

Dag was trying to bathe everywhere and get undressed; we've had a heat wave here for some time and the temperature was around +30C; I don't think I've sweated that much outdoors in ages!

Luckily the place is on an island and there is a beach to head out to. The water has become really warm too so even I went in for a swim!

 In the style of Moomin-mama I had packed a picnic with us, with  home-made cherry cake. There has been so much cherries this year! I had made ice tea the night before with dried apple and fresh mint that I'd put in the freezer over night. It served as a cooler in the basket until our picnic.

Dag was totally digging the character's show, getting to hear the moomin song live.

(I have a student from Naantali and she told me almost every one has worked at the Moomins at some point of their late teens. On days like this I felt sorry for all of them in their thick suits... )

Most of all Dag wanted to go see Mårran (The Groke) though. Or, to be said like this: *gasping for air* -Mårran! So we scared him for life by actually visiting her. The first time he ran out from the cave screaming, but after some time he wanted to go again. This time  safely in the lap of his father but it was apparently a very terrifying experience nonetheless, which he the following days proudly remembered.

 Afterwards we took a walk around the town of Naantali. I haven't been there before and had no idea it was such a pretty place.

We had dinner at a restaurant by the sea.

 Dag was happy with his new characters, as always organising them in very neat rows in different order, just before he fell asleep, exhausted and happy. He wanted to wear his entrance bracelet for the rest of the entire week.

(Nothing in this post has been sponsored or paid for.)

RAIN, THUNDER, AND AFTER

I love a good thunder storm, I've loved them since I was a kid (when it was a moment of scary action). When it arrives during a hot summer day it all suddenly gets so frightening in an exciting way, you need to prepare yourself and put everything outside to shelter. Then it is like someone changes the light setting to "studio"; everything looks unreal, too sharp and too saturated. And then they switch the light and colours off and it begins!

Afterwards everything is back to normal again.

I have been busy working and rehearsing this week (Porvoon Taidetehdas on Saturday in the early evening, "Bubbles" !) and have not been around the internet that much (well, everything is relative) and thus haven't answered any messages or the comments on my previous post although I have read them all, and will!

GARDEN LIFE

Oh summer, with those warm summer days that feel like they were endless when you think back on them but in real life went by all too fast!

Summer is not over yet, by far, I hope, but school has started and Eddi's back to work and we've moved our base camp back into the city so the change towards autumn has been made already. Well, those few days when the older boys are not with us we tend to stay out at the farm anyway, but I've noticed the change in nature too - the heatwave is gone and there is something about the wind in the trees that sounds different.

But we had some ver hot and sunny weeks when the outdoors and the indoors blended - doors and windows were open all the time, the temperature around +30C every day. I did a lot of work this summer, but spent some days in between just laying around the garden doing a lot and nothing at the same time. 

Most mornings I did my work out and stretching under a blue sky.

Then we waited out the heat with Dag in the hammock chair.

We had dinner outside too, late, when the heaviest heat was over.

(The dress is now pink-and-red btw. Damn it you, red skirt for not keeping your shit - well, colour- together!)

Every now and then Dag ran around in nothing but sunscreen.

And I could wear my thin summer dresses.

This one in particular is from Love Ur Look. Me likes.

I also picked a lot of berries. It's nice when you can do that in bikinis.

This year we had a crazy amount of cherries! I've picked around 12l and there would still be as mud left but I just can't take it anymore.

The cats took it easy in the heat too.

And some flowers bravely stood in bloom until they dried away.

#EASTERNFINLAND14

This summer all our further-away gigs were concentrated to the east of the country.

Late in May we drove out to perform our cabaret show at a private motorcycle event held at mansion.

With a rather fancy atmosphere at our backstage.


And some yellow widow to go along.

We also managed to 'throw our winter furs away' -as one says in Finnish, referring to the first swim of the season- at that trip.

In July we performed at a motorcycle festival at an island in the Imatra river. No swimming this time though, as the current there is deadly.

As you may recall from my post about the trip, we got to stay at the art nouveau hotel downtown, that I remember admiring in my childhood.

And we got to take that swim on our way home instead, when stopping by my grandmother's cabin.

In August we headed further away, seven hours up all the way to Nurmes in Northern Carelia, performing our burlesque & rock n'roll combo with Sweet Jeena & Her Sweethearts at a rockabilly & car show. Here the guitarist Risto is happily posing with our patch in his jacket.




We stayed in one of these traditional Carelian timber lodges.

(On a side note I can add that during the trip I stuffed myself with local treats like pirogs and barley bread and so called "home ale" which made me look like I was four months pregnant in the end.)

Northeast in our country. Huge woods and big lakes.

Lake Pielinen is beautiful!

Getting ready in our room.

Backstage at the venue, House Bomba, a huge traditional timber lodge.

Jeena's pre-show preparations.

Leaving back home for another gig we had in Helsinki the next day. One of my "Skoda -ads" again... It really is amazing how much we manage to fit in this car.

The next week it was time to make another seven hours drive, this time to Iisalmi, performing with the same set up at yet another motorcycle event. (The theme for this summer - motorcycles and going east!)

Most of the road is the same as to Nurmes and this time we had more time on our hands so we managed to stop at this big statue park/shop in the middle of nowhere that we wanted to see.

Something about that huge Elvis is calling out to me; I can picture him in the middle of the field by the road among our lambs. But for now he will remain with the huge chickens, cherubs and what-nots in Juva.

Our stage was at a truck. And this time our 'backstage' was a little different...

Well, we did have an indoors one as well. In -of course- a timber lodge.

And then it was, once again, showtime!