Friday Bliss #86 - Happy First of May!

Today we celebrate Vappuaatto / Walpurgis night in Finland.  

Walpurgis night and the First of May are great carnaval days in Finland, in the past for left wing political parties but today mainly for students. Celebrations are going to be modest this year. 

It is a long tradition to cap the statue Havis Amanda on Walpurgis night with a huge student cap.

This year this ’capping’ is going to happen virtually.

Havis Amanda dates back to 1906 and is one of the most central statues in Helsinki,

 situated at the market place, sculptor was Ville Vallgren.

Vappu is the time for sima and tippaleipä / funnel cakes.

Sima is a sweet sparkling brew that is mainly seasonal. It is usually spiced by adding both 

the flesh and rind of a lemon. The alcohol content is very low due to limited fermentation. 

🍀🍀🍀

#FRIDAY BLISS

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FROM FRIDAY 7 AM TILL THE NEXT TUESDAY 4 PM

Helsinki time

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My April in Collage

April flew away quickly and that is good. Weatherwise we got a bit of it all:

fantastic & warm spring days, new snow and hail showers as well.

This week we have got typical Finnish First of May weather - id est very cold & rainy.

Night frosts have slown down the progress of spring.

Wishing you a good start to May - let’s hope it brings the world better news.

❤︎❤︎❤︎
#all seasons #der natur donnerstag #digitalart dienstag #foto-tunes #gartenglück 

#image-in-ing #makrotex #t in die neue woche #the weekend roundup 

#tuesday’s treasures #värikollaasit #willy-nilly

Spring Woods

This week I used Jutta’s original and created a spring woods

with blooming wood anemone carpet.

Jutta’s model photo.

Here wood anemones are not yet in full bloom, but soon.

For Makrotex - Kukka, Flower. Photo from earlier years.

🍀🍀🍀

#all seasons #der natur donnerstag #digitalart dienstag #foto-tunes #gartenglück 

#image-in-ing #makrotex   #my corner of the world #t in die neue woche 
#the weekend roundup #tuesday’s treasures #uudet värikollaasit #willy-nilly #watw

Colors of Sumac

This week’s colors come from sumac, that can be used as spice.

Color Collage 17/2020

T in die neue Woche

I took the photo last summer when visiting Halosenniemi Art exhibition. It is a handsome
log building, home & atelier of painter Pekka Halonen. See the link for more photos.

All the best, stay well and have a fine Sunday & the coming week.

🍀🍀🍀

#all seasons #der natur donnerstag #digitalart dienstag #foto-tunes #gartenglück 

#image-in-ing #makrotex  #mosaic monday #my corner of the world #t in die neue woche 
#the weekend roundup #tuesday’s treasures #uudet värikollaasit #willy-nilly #watw

The Weekend Roundup Q

Starts with Q & my favourite:

Queen of the house! Me and my husband are her servants fulfilling
every wish of her Royal Highness :))

Starts with Q:

Empire style Quarters around the Senate Square, Hlsinki are beautiful

Starts with Q:

Question: For how long do Quarantine-like restrictions last?
My digital work.

Tom’s choice Quality:
 Quality over Quantity - Haruki Murakami is one of my favourite writers.

🍀🍀🍀

#all seasons #der natur donnerstag #digitalart dienstag #foto-tunes #gartenglück 
#image-in-ing #makrotex  #mosaic monday #my corner of the world #t in die neue woche 
#the weekend roundup #tuesday’s treasures #uudet värikollaasit #willy-nilly #watw

Friday Bliss #85 - Blue Spring

We have had some gorgeous sunny & warm days and plants are slowly starting

to grow. The scillas are at their best right now, but shall wither soon.

I have been out in the garden a lot. Garden work is tough as you know :))

I haven’t had the energy to visit your blogs, sorry for that.

Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea, Aureum’ starting to sprout.

Omphalodes verna & Guardian Angel from 2016.

Stay well, take care!

🍀🍀🍀

#FRIDAY BLISS

The link is open

FROM FRIDAY 7 AM TILL THE NEXT TUESDAY 4 PM

Helsinki time

There seems to be problems with Inlinkz now and then...

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Life Under Threat

Life Under Threat / Sinebrychoff Art Museum

I have not yet shared with you these photos from my art museum visit in February - no one knows when the museums shall open their doors again. The exhibition was about animals & nature. The pandemic had not yet exploded in Europe and the USA, now human lives are threatened, too. 

"The exhibition presents visions of animals and nature from the 16th century to today. The artworks convey the relationship humans have had with animals and with nature through the ages. In the western worldview, animals and nature are viewed as something that exists for humans. In reality, humans are merely a part of the whole. Understanding co-existence helps to preserve living space both for humans and for all other creatures." 

I liked the fact that the exhibition featured both newer and older art and many styles. My own favorites were eg. Akseli Gallén-Kallela’s series of small landscapes and the mysterious plant painting of Hjalmar Munsterhjelm. I’ll share some paintings, unfortunately I don’t know the names of all the artists.

Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865–1931) / This set of small paintings was wonderful!

Sunset on the Savannah, 1909 / Ateneum Art Museum

Eero Järnefelt (1863–1937)

Frog with Marsh Marigold / Ateneum Art Museum, photo Jenni Nurminen

Karl Wilhelm de Hamilton (1668–1754)

Forest Floor Still Life, n. 1735

Sinebrychoff Art Museum, photo Hannu Aaltonen



Hjalmar Munsterhjelm (1854-1926)

Unknown artist

Flowers and parrots / Sinebrychoff Art Museum.

I wish you all are well and are able to enjoy the spring. I am ok, but less online,

because there is so much to do in the garden right now.

All the best, riitta

❤︎❤︎❤︎

#all seasons #der natur donnerstag #digitalart dienstag #foto-tunes #gartenglück 
#image-in-ing #makrotex  #mosaic monday #my corner of the world #t in die neue woche 
#the weekend roundup #tuesday’s treasures #uudet värikollaasit #willy-nilly #watw

Vanilla Colors

Color Collage 16/2020

T in die neue Woche

The charming & calming inner courtyard of Basilica di Santo Sprito, Florence.

❤︎❤︎❤︎

#all seasons #der natur donnerstag #digitalart dienstag #foto-tunes #gartenglück 
#image-in-ing #makrotex  #mosaic monday #my corner of the world #t in die neue woche 
#the weekend roundup #tuesday’s treasures #uudet värikollaasit #willy-nilly #watw

The Weekend Roundup P

Starts with P:
Poetry Performance

Starts with P:

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty is in Finnish

Tavalliset Pikku Pihajuhlat - I had a Picnic Party with strawberries then...

Tom’s choice Pair:
Pink Peony & Gillenia trifoliata are a good Pair

Starts with P:

My son’s Pet Rufus

Starts with P & my favourite:

The Beatles pronounced in a Finnish dialect - Piitles.
Mauri Kunnas is a very popular cartoonist in Finland.

❤︎❤︎❤︎

#all seasons #der natur donnerstag #digitalart dienstag #foto-tunes #gartenglück 
#image-in-ing #makrotex  #mosaic monday #my corner of the world #t in die neue woche 
#the weekend roundup #tuesday’s treasures #uudet värikollaasit #willy-nilly #watw

My Blue & White Finland ❤︎

Finland is a good and beautiful northern country. We are few and we have space. 

The nature and air are clean; society works well and our social security is good. 

My identity is Finnish. I wouldn’t change that - but I would gladly change one thing: 

It would be so nice if the summer was longer and the winter shorter! 
But you can’t have it all.

There is little to photograph in the garden. There have been a few snowshowers this week 

that have covered small spring flowers. That's why I made you a tiny blue and white, 

Finnish still life. The result was no good, for I don’t have any real macro lens and this year 
my snowdrops are petit, petit. Here some photos from April 2016.

During this Covid-19 pandemic I've been thinking about, how much better off we are 

compared to our ancestors during the Spanish flu in 1918. We have access to the internet 

and social media, we don’t have to live in the dark. Of course, this has its distressing side: 

we see all the terrific news.

I have listened as audiobook A Wonderful Life: Insights on Finding a Meaningful Existence by Finnish Frank Martela (b. 1981) PhD, Visiting scholar at University of Rochester, NY - See his blog!

"There is much that is beyond our control in this situation, and occasionally it can feel overwhelming and scary. To remain sane and functional, it is crucial to focus on those areas of life that are within your own control. Instead of ruminating over what you can’t influence, identify what you are still capable of doing to improve your own situation and the situation of those around you. Concentrating on that is enough to make your life meaningful. Washing your hands have never been as meaningful and as valuable act as it is today. By doing that regularly you participate in an activity that literally saves human lives.”

Enjoy your life - this video with elderly people dancing brought me so much joy!

Million de Roses par l' Orchestre Dominique Moisan

❤︎❤︎❤︎

#all seasons #der natur donnerstag #digitalart dienstag #foto-tunes #gartenglück 
#image-in-ing #makrotex  #mosaic monday #my corner of the world #t in die neue woche 
#the weekend roundup #tuesday’s treasures #uudet värikollaasit #willy-nilly #watw