SUMMER!

I am going to the sea for two weeks. Season's Greetings!

Kauvatsa Moped Festival 2011

Damn! It was good to hear 139 mopeds start their engines. They are now collector's items and expensive (museum registered and renovated pieces up to 3500 €). Mopeds were traditional vehicles at the countryside from the 50's to 80's. A Finnish response to Italian scooters. The last classic ones were manifactured in 1987.

Gardening, Renovating and Soap Bubbles

It's not easy to work when there is a little demanding daughter hanging around. Maybe we have spoiled her, but she wants us to play with her right from the early morning hours. Aww... and we are renovating the house (Riitta is doing a great job with the windows, but it is definitely slow work, which has to be done step by step). My job is to change roof tiles and boards. Luckily, the roof is in good condition and the boards are mostly perfect. Maybe next summer we will have enough money to repaint part of the house, sauna and the long shed.

Summer

Life is great, even though this little girl gives us lots of trouble when we want to renovate the old grandfather's cottage... We have again too much to do...

Bugs, Insects, Again

Well, our mosquitoes do not seem to give it up! I am back in the old Grandfather's Cottage with the whole family and the mosquitoes are bloodthirsty again this summer. We bought this stuff from Aomori, Japan back in 2004, and it still works very well. The label is quite funny, though I can not even understand it... Does anybody know how to get it within EU?!? Seriously, we are facing full two months of vacation and the stuff is running out!

Face Painting

The first mask is supposed to be an ape... my most sincere apologies, if the artwork (by your's truly) looks liks like a cat!

FINALLY

... I got some holidays and I got time for paddling. I'm sorry folks, posting to this web site is sometimes painful: the images pile up and I have too much to do (again) in too little time. I got nominated this January as the chairman of the board of the Union of Artist Photographers, Finland, and I am therefore also a board member of the Artists' Association of Finland. My daughter also takes quite lot of my time, so occasionally, I am full of anxiety and got a strong need to go out to the sea.

Spring Flowers

Spring Fairies Are Here

This little girl breaks my heart. We have now discovered fairy tales and
-unfortunately- pink colour.

Jurmo Island in 2011 (#4)

Dad's little helper! The nightdress got quite wet, though...

Jurmo Island in 2011 (# 3)

Blizzards and a backpack... we headed to the lee side of the island, where Lumi was hunting for treasures by the seaside...

About Instant Coffee and Quill Pens (Jurmo #2)

Lumi found several swan and gull feathers, mummy made a quill pen for drawing. The final product was a treasure map made by thick (and quite awful) instant coffee... yes, I am an espresso man...

Jurmo Island in 2011 (#1)

Oh boy, what a holiday. After furious driving during early hours we entered a boat to the one of the outmost islands, Jurmo. I fell in love with the island in the late 90's, and visited the island by kayaking several times. Now it was just below zero Celsius, but the wind in gusts was in storm readings. The boat could not enter the harbour due heavily packed ice, so we walked, both ways.

Did I deserve this, and why?

I did turn to 50 (yes, 50 years) just about week ago – how in the hell I got a huge PIMPLE straight onto my nose?

Ice Fishing and Other Sports

... at the first time, skating was painful and Lumi hated it. It was too difficult to stay on the skates, but now she is developing. Ice fishing, though, was easier: she managed to wait for the fish almost for 15 minutes! And she looked quite professional.

Lumi Drumming

Aww...

holiday shots, old... we made our own rules for playing chess.

-19 Celsius and...

..she keeps telling us that the snow is melting and the spring is coming (temps about 66 F)!
One can't beat that kind of optimism, so I did a little foxhole for her into snow.



.

Season's Greetings!

Lumi made an elf at the Kindergarten!

























We are leaving for our mid-winter holidays. The first week will be from -15 to -22 Centigrades. HUH! Heating the old sauna and grandfather's old cottage will be an interesting task... See you next year!
[photograph by Riitta Päiväläinen)

Shooting at Hanko beaches

Oh boy, it was great, though sleeping with a daughter and my wife in a low two-person tent was painful. And we didn't have enough time for enjoying the kayak gathering together. I'm starting to whine and whimper again... missing the summer...
(images by Ilkka Salmi)