31 joulukuuta 2021

Friday Bliss #172 - Happy New Year!


Wishing you, my dear friends, health & happiness, 
light & stars in 2022!


New year is the glittering light to brighten the dream-lined pathway of future.
- Munia Khan



You can get excited about the future. The past won’t mind.
- Hillary DePiano



I hope you realize that every day is a fresh start for you. 
That every sunrise is a new chapter in your life waiting to be written.
- Juansen Dizon



To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.
- Winston Churchill



❤︎❤︎❤︎
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thank you for your comments & blog friendship this year. All the best for 2022!


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30 joulukuuta 2021

My December in Collage


Selma and Silva arrived home on the 11th of December and have brought so much joy to our quiet Christmas. We got our third vaccination in a fancy shopping center just before Christmas and I am happy about it. Feels a bit safer.

I told you about the birthplace of Jean Sibelius on his birthday the 8th of December and on Christmas Eve about Turku Cathedral. I also made a summary of my 2021 HERE and shared some impressions of the sunny & cold Finnish Christmas. Some luxury offered a revisit to the Sinebrychoff family's home museum.


Dear blog friends, I wish you all a healthy & happy New Year!

⭐️⭐️⭐️
#der natur donnerstag #gartenglück #image-in-ing #krapu 
#makrotex / monthly collages #mosaic monday #my corner of the world #tuesday's treasures 

28 joulukuuta 2021

Memories of 2021


JANUARY
I’ll remember the January 2021 forever of a real snow inferno - in two days we got 
50 cm new snow. There was also a period of freezing weather, under minus 20 C. 
Otherwise quite normal, if you can say that under a pandemic- endless monotonous days, tired days, 
not much daylight. But no covid nor colds - a reason to be happy about.

FEBRUARY
February was a tough month, too. The winter continued severe with snowfalls & strong colds. 
In addition we had icy rains that difficulted to scratch the car windows.
We were sick and tired all three: Sissi was very sick, started then to eat better. Hubby was 
couching for weeks and my flu (not corona said the test) did not seem to go away.


MARCH
It was a quiet month, mainly in expectation of spring. The snow slowly melting 
and the first snowdrops blooming.


APRIL
April offered all kinds of weather. There were some sunny days and pretty warm days 
and I went eagerly outdoors to plant thujas and preparing the terrace for the summer. 
But then the weather changed: it was rainy and so frightening cold, even wet snow. 
The most wonderful happening was this rare visitor
a gorgeous goshawk who sat for a while outside the window.


MAY
May did not offer the nicest weather, though in mid May we had a few wonderful & warm 
summer days. I visited children and went to see Roihuvuori Cherry Park. 


JUNE
June was a wonderful summer month with sun & warm weather. I met children & grands
& friends - so lovely. Finland was opening up after the coronavirus outbreak. 
I made a visit to writer Eeva Joenpelto’s home in Sammatti with other book bloggers and 
visited the art exhibition The Blue Planet and wrote two posts about Ainola, 
the home museum of Jean Sibelius: HERE & HERE.


JULY
Weatherwise July was oh so beautiful, hot and sunny - but torturing dry. 
I photographed practically nothing in the garden, nor wanted to see the sad withering plants. 
On the contrary I was a lot on the move, not to mourn about the death of Sissi 
on the first of July. So, it was an active month for me, visiting museums & other sightseeings 
and meeting with friends & family. If you wish to take a peak to my July, visit these blog posts:

Doll House Exhibition in Ahola, Tuusulan Rantatie
Erkkola, an artist home on Tuusulan Rantatie
Agapanthus in the Wintergarden of the City of Helsinki
Grandson Kalle’s birthday in a beautiful rural setting


AUGUST
August was mostly cool and rainy till the last week which I spent in Kustavi and Turku. 
I posted only 10 posts and shared you my experiences from Housing Fair in Lohja HERE & HERE


SEPTEMBER
The weather was cool and rainy with ocassional sunny days. The most interesting posts would be:

Round house Pyörre, Lohja Housing Fair
Ett hem home museum, Turku
Tove Jansson as painter at Didrichsen Art Museum


The most interesting OCTOBER posts would be:
But the most exciting happening to me was to see our new kitten Selma for the first time. 
Selma was born in Hämeenlinna on the 2nd of September with 5 other kittens. 
We decided to keep the name Selma that the breeder had given her. Selma is coming home 
before Christmas, in mid December or so.


NOVEMBER
I usually hate Novembers, but the month was not so bad and it practically flied. 
I participated in How to survive November challenge by Lepis. This year November was GREEN 
and the challenge really helped to survive this grey month. I visited Didrichsen Art Museum 
with a friend and we saw jewellery designer & sculptor Björn Weckström’s fabulous exhibition 
Man, machine & jewellery. Soon we’ll get Selma & Silva home! We were so happy to get them both!


DECEMBER
Selma and Silva arrived on the 11th of Dec. and have brought so much joy
to our quiet Christmas. We got our third vaccination just before Christmas and am happy about it.
I told you about the birthplace of Jean Sibelius on his birthday the 8th Dec. 
and on Christmas Eve about Turku Cathedral.


When reading my monthly posts, it is clear that the pandemic has been present in many months.
In Finland the summer was fortunately free and the museums could be safely visited.
I enjoyed the summer & family gettogethers very much. Now the pandemic situation is worse again
and the weather has been bright and sunny, almost -20 C. Today a bit warmer.

Dear blog friends, I wish you all a healthy & happy New Year!

❤︎❤︎❤︎
#der natur donnerstag #gartenglück #image-in-ing #krapu 

27 joulukuuta 2021

Sunny & Cold Christmas!

 

During the night till Christmas Eve we got a beautiful snow blanket.
So glad we had a White Christmas that we Finns wish every year!
It has been clear & sunny, but pretty cold: temperatures daily around -17C.
I have not been outdoors much, breathing in such cold temperatures doesn’t feel nice.
I’ll share a few photos of my garden.



There is a rowan outside my window and there has been a lot of birds
munching the berries.



My husband put on his Santa costume and delivered the Christmas gifts to his children.
One family had Omicron, but not severe. We spent Christmas by two of us,
due to the worsened Omicron situation. It was a bit lonely, but the kittens brought so much joy.


My son Harri and grandson Hannes have this Ugly Christmas Sweater tradition.
I find it nice. Silva and Selma have been furious with their new toys.
They play hide and seek by themselves and never get tired of playing.



Our thuja Brabant is our Christmas tree and gets bigger year after year, ecological!



Wishing you all fine last days of 2021 and healthy & prosperous New Year!
Thank you for your comments and blog friendship this year.

❤︎❤︎❤︎
#makrotex  #mosaic monday #my corner of the world #tuesday's treasures 

26 joulukuuta 2021

Warm Shades in Cold Winter



This is the last color collage of 2021 with yellow, orange and light brown. 
Thanking Aino for hosting and wishing everybody a happy & colourful New Year!

The future meets the Middle Ages - seen in Häme Castle in Hämeenlinna
by Belgian contemporary artist Nick Ervinck who is known for his colourful 3D sculptures. 

23 joulukuuta 2021

Friday Bliss #171 - Peaceful Christmas!



I visited Turku Cathedral in early September, that is why the first two christmassy photos are from online, others are mine. Turku Cathedral is the previous Catholic cathedral of Finland, today the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. It is situated in the heart of Turku by the river Aura and is also central to Finland's annual Christmas celebrations.

Every year, at noon on Christmas Eve, the Christmas Peace is declared from the city of Turku and this tradition is broadcasted over the country. The declaration is read out loud in Finnish and Swedish to remind people that Christmas peace has begun, to advise people to spend the festive period in harmony, to threaten offenders with harsh punishments, and to wish all a Merry Christmas. The declaration’s wording is traditional and I try to translate it in English.

Tomorrow, if God wills, is the gracious birthday of our Lord and Savior; and thus be proclaimed universal Christmas peace by urging all to celebrate this occasion with appropriate devotion and otherwise behave quietly and peacefully, for the one who violates this peace and disturbs Christmas peace by any illegal or inappropriate conduct is to be sued for the punishment specified by law and regulations of each offense and delict separately. Finally, a joyful Christmas is wished for all the residents of the city. 


The cathedral was originally built out of wood in the late 13th century, and was dedicated as the main cathedral of Finland in 1300, the seat of the Catholic bishop of Turku. It was considerably expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries, mainly using stone as the construction material. The cathedral was badly damaged during the Great Fire of Turku in 1827, and was rebuilt to a great extent afterwards.


Painting of the Cathedral and the Academy building after the fire, 
by Gustaf Wilhelm Finnberg whose atelier also burned down, 1827. Public Domain.


The cathedral was shady, so photos are a bit unsharp.






Votive ships have been donated, for example, in accordance with the promises 
made to God in a maritime distress. The tradition was strongest in coastal areas. 
About half of the more than 200  votive ships that have been or are in the Finnish churches 
date back to the 17th and 18th centuries.


High up in the attic there was the Turku Cathedral Museum that displays 
statues of saints and altarpieces from the Catholic Middle Ages. The time after the Reformation 
is told by church textiles and silverware by skilled artists. 
In the museum you can also get acquainted with the construction phases of the Cathedral.




Swedish-born Per Brahe (1602–1680) served as Finland's governor general in the 17th century. 
He developed the Finnish administration and established ten new cities in Finland. 
Sculptor Walter Runeberg has portrayed Per Brahe as a confident ruler. The monument stands 
in the Brahe Park next to Turku Cathedral. There is a sentence on the pedestal: 
I was satisfied with the country and the country was very pleased with me.




❤︎❤︎❤︎
PEACEFUL CHRISTMAS!
Thank you for your blog friendship this year. All the best for 2022!


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