Sunday, September 28

on a sunday two weeks ago



My brother-in-law recently said that if one was to know me through my blog only, my life would seem idle and leisurely, with lots of sitting in cafés and days spent doing mostly nothing. I admit that might be true; I am not one of those people who can turn the most ordinary, everyday life into witty and funny stories, so I tend to skip most of the everyday life stuff, like sitting in classes and working.




Even though this post only reinforces the aforementioned false image of my life (although I'm sure most readers understand a blog rarely portrays the blogger's life realistically), allow me to show some photos from a visit to a café two weeks ago. This café is near my home in Helsinki, but somehow I had never visited it before, only peeked in the windows when the café was closed (it's not open in the evenings). Now that I know how cosy it is, I will visit it more often!






But I really wanted to tell you how I happened to visit the café. Sometime in July, a girl I used to work with some years back, Hanna (hei!), left a comment on my blog. She had found her way here by reading my comment about shoe shops in another blog, which led her to believe (correctly) that the person behind the alias had worked in the same store with her. Wow! Another good thing that's happened to me because of the blogosphere - actually I ran into her a couple of weeks after she left the comment, as we lived near each other in Helsinki, and we then agreed to meet for a cup of coffee (so I could fondle her Nikon). Hanna suggested this little café, and it was really lovely to catch up with her; I'm looking forward to our next meeting...






Um, after looking at the previous few posts in my blog, I understand what my brother-in-law meant! I don't even have time for cafés that often nowadays, I swear... I just seem to document every single visit here.




Wednesday, September 24

finally...



I'm blogging again. I'm not quite sure what's happened in the past twenty days, but classes have begun, I've gotten a new job, and I've been more or less ill for most of the month. And apparently time moves faster than it usually does...





Last week I really was quite ill: Sunday was the first day I was well enough to enjoy a walk. The day couldn't have been better; it was quite a warm day, and there were blue skies, sun, and lots of maples dressed up in all their autumn glory. And you know how good just being able to walk around feels when you've been under the weather for a long time?





After living in Tampere for one year (well, minus the three months in summer), I finally managed to see some must-see places. First I visited a lovely café called Amurin Helmi* - and ate some yummy apple tart - and then my guest and I walked to Pyynikki observation tower. The tower is not that tall, but it's situated on a hill, and with the sky clear, the view was great. I haven't got that many photos though, since I was with someone who seemed to think it's more fun to hold hands than snap photos - I know, some people are strange.





There's also a café there in the observation tower, famous for it's delicious munkkis (Finnish doughnuts), and obviously I have to go back, since I didn't have one. Maybe on a weekday though, as it seems plenty of people come on Sundays, just for the doughnuts. The queue was long!


*Thanks for the hint Heidi!






Thursday, September 4

this morning


It rained all day yesterday.

But this morning there was light. (In my new home the sun will shine at my face in the morning if I do not draw the blinds in the evening.)






(Marimekko glass, they were on sale so I got four for 12 euros. I like them a lot.)


Later I took a train to Helsinki (still some things to do there); it was a lovely, warm afternoon, so miss A and I enjoyed our fika outdoors.




Monday, September 1

new month, new home


In late August I had a hard time admitting autumn had come already (maybe that's why I got the flu I have at the moment - I stubbornly wore no socks). But now that it's September, I'm ok with it - after all, early autumn with sunny, crisp days and colourful trees might be my favourite time of the year. Now I only have to find that early autumn enthusiasm somewhere; I'm sure it'll come when my nose is less runny.





There were a busy couple of days last week: I took the exam required for getting Swedish translation as a minor (though I'm having seconds thoughts about that - I used to be fairly competent in Swedish in school, but that was a long time ago) and moved to a new flat in Tampere. The long anticipated, but also dreaded, move (my former flat was shitty, I couldn't wait to get out of it, but I don't particularly like the packing and carrying and unpacking part) went really well, thanks to J who was an angel and drove with me from Helsinki and kept his cool even when I felt like I'm going to cry any second (we had some trouble with the rental wagon, plus I was really stressed out) and was really efficient. I know who I want to help me with my next move!





Now I've got a new home. White, clean walls, a cute small kitchen, and a roll top bath! Bathtubs weren't that popular in Finland in the past few decades, so not that many flats have one left. Tonight I'm going to light some candles and take a bath, and sip some read wine and munch on chocolate while bathing. Red wine and chocolate are good for you, you know.