oh boy, time flies...

...even thought it's not been all fun and games. well, some of the time it has. this here is the last full moon of 2012.

i don't know where the last six months vanished. most of the time it seemed there were way too many things going on and that i had time for nothing, besides work (and on most days that ain't a picnic). instagram swallowed me and as posting there is instant (duh!) the more time consuming blogging was moved to the back burner. also, i noticed that my real cameras started collecting dust...

these two furry friends are patu from next door and the dog. patu isn't a year old yet and was only recently introduced to the dog. they've been barking at/with each other for months, though, much to the dismay of other neighbors i'm sure.

this year winter came pretty early and took a very cold start. it is unusual for the temps to drop to -20C (and below) this early in the winter. helsinki area almost broke the record of amount of snow by the end of december (record high was in 1965, 85 cm). the city of helsinki seems to take her time figuring out what to do with the accumulating snow and side streets are getting narrower and narrower and parking without a 4wheel drive and shovel are, shall we say, challenging.

but the snow, freezing temps and scarce daylight make great pictures, this one taken at the cottage.

how the squirrels at the cottage are able to haul themselves up this high on trees is beyond me. their midsections are getting huge with all the bird food they eat.

the dog has taken to sleeping on his chair, he rarely does that in the summer.

i'm not sure which one of these guys is more codependent...

some chocolate? i personally can't have another bite...

this was supposed to be the xmas card picture but...well, i noticed that the cards wouldn't arrive in time, not even for new year's, so there.

most of my moving boxes are where they are meant to be (at the new apt, at the shack, the cottage and mom and dad's garage...) and most of the things at the new apt have found their place. i'm still waiting for my murphy bed as there were unexpected difficulties in getting one (only one manufacturer in whole of finland, can you believe!) my books will need a home, i have a bookshelf designed, i only need to find someone to make it, or a workshop to do it myself (which, obviously, would the coolest option).

                                A THANK YOU FOR ALL MY VISITORS FOR 2012 AND
                                                  
                                                   HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2013!

all saints & sky

this furry fellow ain't a saint that's for sure...his favorite toy, the monkey he got from nyc, now has only 3 limbs and no eyes...i was so close to booking flights and hotel to nyc for this week, what made me not to do it, i don't know. i would love to be there, but i guess there are people who need the warmth and comfort of a hotel room more than i do. another time...

the weather was odd all day, it was foggy at 9.30am, but cleared pretty soon after that.

walking about in the garden, i noticed the pods in the martagons (lilium martagon). i was thinking of collecting the pods and spreading the seeds later in places where the lawnmower wouldn't get to them...

in the afternoon the day started to get weirdly orange. i'm sure the dog was just happy it didn't rain all day, again.

the high clouds were vividly pinkish orange.

ok, not this vivid. this one was instagrammed and i think i used lo-fi filter on it.

while certain someone was walking the dog, i ventured closer to the lake where the fog was making magic...

the camera in my iPhone just blows my mind sometimes. it's been months that i've taken my "proper" cameras out...

since it was all saints' day here in finland we went to the village cemetary to light a candle on certain someone's dad's grave. the tradition is to remember not only saints but members of the family who have died. we do the candle lighting ceremony also at xmas eve.

not sure which spooky creature this was, but most certainly he ain't a saint!

delicate to disaster

how is it that this can turn into...

...this...

...into this...

into this? we were away for a week and came home to find that a huge branch of the biggest of the apple trees had fallen off in a storm. not exactly a welcome you'd need after a week in the sun...

nevertheless, certain someone got the chain saw out and got to work. sad, sad job.

hard hat needed.

my method to the madness, crates for still good apples, wheel barrow for the not-good ones, another for bigger sticks (to be dried, chipped and used later in grilling or smoking) and a huge bag for leafy small branches.

one of the elder neighbors said this has been the stormiest and rainiest september in 50 yrs. it certainly was gloomy yesterday...

one of six (yes, 6!) barrow fulls going to the compost heap. no pigs around to feed, taking some to a colleague for her chicken, though.

found these curious formations when hauling the smaller branches to where they'll be burned.

most of the mess cleared out...

...but at least a half day's work ahead...to be done some day, when it's not raining...

certain someone thinks the big tree will still be ok after loosing the huge branch, i'm thinking maybe it's time to replace it. the trees must have been planted sometime in the early 1940s, because certain someone tells that they were big enough to climb on in late 1950s and early 1960s. if it comes to cutting it down, i know there will be a happy carpenter somewhere after the tree is properly dried and ready to be worked on...

my new deck, guest post by the dog

this is paps and me sitting on the front steps few weeks ago. i like sitting with paps in the morning, it's just that usually he talks to someone else. i think it's grandma, so it's not that bad...grandma gives me pigs ears. oh, back to the steps. paps thought that a deck in the front would be nice. bossy woman said there wouldn't be so much dirt inside, i really don't know what she meant with that.

one day paps and i got to work.

bossy woman was cutting off branches off a tree and piling them. i thought i'd give her a hand chewing them smaller.

it was fun for a while, but there was a lot and they didn't taste all that great.

fortunately i had to go and bark some at this rude and arrogant squirrel. those buggers just keep coming back, lucky for them they can go high, if they weren't that fast i'd show them...

paps got the frame done in no time. i was taken under apple trees for this part. all that better, all that banging got to my ears.

paps was even faster with banging the covering boards in place.

this is where i do my guard duties from. bossy woman says she caught me sleeping on the job, but let me correct, i was just blinking here.

don't blame this on me! paps and bossy woman had coffee and cakes on the new deck and bossy woman left the tray out. it was right next to my bowl, so what was i supposed to do? i enjoyed the milk, thank you very much.

this here is one of my better poses. bossy woman keeps taking pics of me, she must have hundreds, don't know what she does with all of them.

hmm, to my defence, i had just had my dinner and you know how you get teeny-weeny tired after dinner...

...oh get off me face, will ya!

now paps and i sit on the steps of the deck. my people say i sit funny. you don't think i sit funny, do you? is there another way to sit on steps?

bossy woman said to tell you that this is for buster's mom. i'm told she likes these. they are all over place here. i think buster's mom should come with buster and i could show buster around. we could go swimming and we could dig holes all over. oh, bossy woman just told me "no more holes in the yard".

bossy woman says she's busy cleaning, painting, hauling stuff and moving. i don't think i've ever been busy, not that i know what busy is. she also said to tell you that she'll be done in a couple of weeks. i just remembered i have hauled stuff, once. the stuff was in a big plastic bag, in fact it had all my stuff in it. i had a well-chewed frisbee, a very worn leash, a rope-toy that was coming apart and my water bowl. now i have a lot more stuff, some of them squeal. i still have my rope-toy, it doesn't make any noise, but i like when paps has the other end and i try to take it from him. gotta go now, wuf.

rare night out

oh boy, summer leave is gone, days are getting shorter, it seems nothing gets done and i'm generally feeling "quite not right". i'm trying to tell myself that "it's just life, get over it".

anyways, certain someone wanted to see this band perform and i had kindly agreed to go with him. it had been a glorious day (i was told, was working indoors) and the evening looked pretty decent at 7pm when we were walking past the helsinki cathedral towards kaisaniemi puisto where the band was playing.

did i just say decent? that cloud looked menacing, but not to worry, i had my umbrella with me.

"there will be security checks at the gate". great, had to give out my umbrella. luckily i had one of those disposable raincoats in my bag, pretty hard to cover two persons with it, though. we weren't that badly soaked...yes, it rained, on one occasion pretty heavily...

no introductions needed, i presume.

those guys started playing in 1979. i think they must have been growing out their beards ever since...

certain someone says they played well and precise, not like on some gigs he's watched on youtube. i think they were loud, but it was a ROCK concert, and maybe possibly i should have known that and brought ear-plugs.

the band was closing just before 10pm, and we headed home before the crowds. this ugly, boxy building is the annex to kansallisteatteri (finnish national theatre). the orinigal theatre was finished in 1902 and i wish the 1954 annex had been true to the style of architecture of the original. maybe that's just me.

on the right helsinki central railway station, on the left apartment buildings.

walking towards the car thru kaisaniemi park the setting sun was finding its way thru clouds and trees. by the way, do NOT go there after dark, unless, of course, you're very tired of life, seek extreme excitement, or you're martial arts expert. other than that, you might loose your last penny.

"some day I will ignore my doubts". no one knows who put it there, here's better pictures.

the top of helsinki cathedral was also basking in the setting sun...

...and made a reflection on the windows of the national library of finland.

driving home, pasila tv-tower against the pink sunset.

ps. while i've been sitting, editing, writing and whatnot, the dog has been in and out the house several times. i wish i could get it on tape, he rings the door bell, quite vigorously, if i don't go to the door fast enough. indoors he bores pretty quickly, if/when i ignore him, and wants to go out...only to ring the bell 15 mins later.