31 joulukuuta 2018

Sparkling New Year!


In my opinion   SILVER  goes so well to New Year.
With these photos I’ll show you what happens to my house plants in a second.
This silver sprayed sedum was only a little while without its protective lantern
- and the traces of Sissi’s little teeth can clearly be seen :DDD

I don’t usually buy plants that are sprayed or artificially coloured,
but this sedum fits so well in its lantern home.



We have this great Finnish poet who writes her poems in Turku / Åbo dialect,
a city on the west coast of Finland - Heli Laaksonen.
I am not able to translate the dialect, but here a rough translation for you.
The original is hilarious indeed!

ADVICE FOR THE NEW YEAR
Take the cone out from the shoe.
Shed the water off the boots.
Lift the bucket from your eyes.
Drink the cup empty.
Be joyful, be bright, be cute.
Don't put your hand on a circular saw.
Don’t drop the ax on your feet.
Don’t forget the keys at home.
Don’t loose the hearts given to you.

UURE VUORE OHJEI
Ot käpy pois kenkäst.
Kaar vesi pois saappaast.
Nost ämpär silmiltäs.
Jua kuppis tyhjäks.
Ol ilone, ol valone, ol pulune.
Älä lait kät sirkkeli.
Älä purot kirvest kintuil.
Älä unohr kotti avaimi.
Älä karot annetui syrämei.




Sissi certainly is joyful, bright cute ❤︎

Happy New Year to Everybody!
- riitta

// Tom’s Photo Tunes
// WATW

Folkloristic Winter Song by Varjakka String Band
- Bluegrass from Northern Finland & views from the beautiful Finnish nature!
The band was grounded in 2011, have many recordings and have performed
at Kaustinen Folk Music Festival - the biggest folk music festival in Scandinavia.

29 joulukuuta 2018

Memories of 2018


January and February were freezing cold, bright & snowy months.
I did my daily Nordic walks - only short trips, half an hour... and went searching for green:






The hottest summer in a century! 
The heat started in May and continued the whole summer and meant a lot of watering. 
Fortunately the draught was not so severe in Finland as for example in Germany. 
In early June I visited the gorgeous 
Rhododendron Park Haaga in Helsinki
Roses bloomed also very well, here a link to my post about the beautiful




Bright ruska colors decorated the autumn!
Maybe you would like to revisit these posts:
Strange Grooves - my artistic collages & Esther’s poems
Squirrel’s Song by our national writer Aleksis Kivi




Darkness and lack of light were severe 
in November and early December until we got our first snow.
But I turned my thoughts to memories of summer and Christmas.
Maybe you would like to revisit:
Koiramäen pajutalli - The Doggy Hill’s Willow Stable




Thoughts of Christmas made me happy. 
We celebrated in Finland our 101th Independence and a few birthdays in the family. 
I made several posts dealing with


Ready for the New Year 2019! I have a few wishes: 
* that my ankle shall recover totally
* that I’ll be able to make a trip abroad, probably to Spain
* that all my beloved ones shall stay healthy



Wishing you all a great, happy & healthy New Year!
- riitta

28 joulukuuta 2018

Friday Bliss #16 - Glimpses of Christmas


This year's Christmas was as they use to be:
A lot of eating, a lot of sweets, movies and music... Joy & family reunions...


A bit shovelling the new snow, candles outside the house in the dark night...
Christmas Eve’s Winter Wonderland melting in plus grades...


White hyacinths in cages and lanterns... Efforts to protect them from Sissi’s teeth...


Gifts too, especially to children and Sissi who got ecstatic with her new toy...
The neat parcel card says:

Santa’s Special Delivery to Sissi who has been so cute that she deserves
her present inspite of her tiny naughty tricks. Inspected by Santa.


Ice flowers on the kitchen window & Sissi bird watching...
This is Christmas ❤︎


Looking forward to sun and increasing light, bright winter days and tulips!

Wishing you all a Great, Healthy and Happy 2019!
- riitta


The link is open
FROM FRIDAY 10 AM TILL THE NEXT TUESDAY 4 PM
Helsinki time


21 joulukuuta 2018

Red & White Christmas


RED is The Christmas color. So I searched for you some red flowers
 added with white and a bit sparkle to bring the right festive mood.
We have here in Finland Winter Wonderland and white Christmas even in the south.
So even Santa is happy and Rudolf the Reindeer has an easy way to homes!





THANK YOU all my dear blog friends for your pleasant company this year.
May your Christmas be merry and may the year 2019 bring
Health, wealth and love. And time to enjoy them!
❤︎
Salud, amor y pesetas. Y tiempo para gozarlas!
Gesundheit, Geld und Liebe. Und Zeit, sie zu genießen!
Terveyttä, rahaa ja rakkautta. Ja aikaa nauttia niistä!
❤︎

I’ll add here a newly released video that was filmed this autumn in the center of Helsinki.
Unfortunately not snow yet. The interpretation is a modern one of Hosanna.
Maybe my foreign readers are interested to see.

// Angie’s Mosaic Monday #8
// Tom’s Christmas Day Willy-Nilly
...
// Gartenwonne’s Winterglück
HIER zeige ich auch mein Winterglück - Bilder vom ersten Schnee.

Merry Christmas! - Frohe Weihnachten! - Feliz Navidad! - Hyvää joulua!
- riitta

Friday Bliss #15 - Peaceful Christmas!


THANK YOU all my dear blog friends for your pleasant company this year.
May your Christmas be merry and may the year 2019 bring
Health, wealth and love. And time to enjoy them!
...
Salud, amor y pesetas. Y tiempo para gozarlas!
Gesundheit, Geld und Liebe. Und Zeit, sie zu genießen!
Terveyttä, rahaa ja rakkautta. Ja aikaa nauttia niistä!
- riitta







We Wish You a Merry♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Christmas♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪
We Wish You a Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♥ ♥ ♥
We Wish You A Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸
♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ And a Happy New Year!!!


The link is open
FROM FRIDAY 10 AM TILL THE NEXT TUESDAY 4 PM
Helsinki time


19 joulukuuta 2018

First Snow


White Christmas at sight! 
Today the temperature is around zero and the first snow is wet and heavy. 
But more snow is forecast and also temperatures below zero.
...
Anyway the snow covers beautifully my untidy garden.
This autumn most of the garden tidying was left undone: 
perennials uncut and clematis left on their supports. Not a pretty sight.





Sissi isn’t too happy - she can’t stand wet paws!

// WATW

Wishing you a lovely week - soon it’s Christmas!
- riitta

16 joulukuuta 2018

Color Collace - Cypress Green


Nostalgic memories of snow from previous years.
At the moment we have no snow, only a slight frost on branches.


// COLOR COLLAGE 51/2018
// MAKROTEX CHALLENGE / Seasons of the year
Vanhoja kuvia talvesta - lunta tuli eilen ❤︎



We Wish You a Merry♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Christmas♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪We Wish You a Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♥ ♥ ♥We Wish You A Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ And a Happy New Year!!!

- riitta

14 joulukuuta 2018

Friday Bliss #14 - Dendrobium Spring Dream



I recently got this beautiful orchid - Dendrobium Spring Dream Apollon -
as a present. Because of Sissi I had to buy a huge lantern to host this beauty.
Now the lantern keeps safe also a small white poinsettia and a white Christmas cactus.




I’m very happy with the lantern. Its windows are big and it is not too much decorated.
In the future I can keep there a bouquet of tulips or flowering pot plant - out of reach of Sissi.




The link is open
FROM FRIDAY 10 AM TILL THE NEXT TUESDAY 4 PM
Helsinki time

Wishing you a peaceful Third Advent Sunday!
- riitta