These photos were captured using the Sony Mavica MVC-FD91 Digital Camera. All images are © TomSettle.Communications.
Wednesday 21 June
Sunny and warm…great weather for the first official day of summer. We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, then later went to sauna. I also went for a late evening walk, first up to the main road and then back to the beach.
Thursday 22 June
Liisa ordered groceries from Harri Kuokka’s store in nearby Ravijoki…he delivered them in the afternoon. Another sunny day so I worked on my tan for a few hours. Our friend Leena arrived from Helsinki…she also has a country house a short walk from our cottage. She took Liisa and I to Virojoki to buy some drinks for tomorrow’s Juhannus (Mid-Summer) eve celebration. I helped Leena hook up her new TV.
My cousin Tapio, his wife and younger daughter also arrived from Helsinki. They’re staying one night at Teuvo’s. We visited with them there, later Tapio stopped by our cottage.
Friday 23 June
It was a warm and breezy day for the Juhannus eve celebration. Unfortunately, there’s a fire ban in effect so we weren’t able to light our the traditional holiday kokko (bonfire). Went to an early sauna, then Leena, her son Jorma, wife Jaana and daughter Juuli came for dinner. Jorma and Liisa manned the grill.
We later walked over to Leena’s for some Finnish pancakes. Stopped along the way to wish Teuvo and Meeri a happy Juhannus. While Leena cooked up the pancakes, Jorma offered us some 40-proof “moonshine” that he was given at work. They also gave him a special hangover mask that both Jorma and Ron were only too happy to model for the camera.
After the pancakes and some more wine and coffee, I snapped a picture of the beautiful sunset and we called it a night.
Saturday 24 June
We had some light rain in the morning. Later, I walked over to Leena’s to return Juuli’s bottle and took the trash to the local dumpster. Teuvo and Meeri joined us for afternoon coffee…later we went to their house to watch a movie (Blind Date, starring Bruce Willis and Kim Bassinger).
Sunday 25 June
Leena, Jorma and family stopped by and we walked down to the beach for a little picnic. Juuli had a good time playing in and out of the water.
After evening sauna, we heard on the radio that more than 25 people died in accidents over the Juhannus holiday weekend, over half the victims had drowned.
Monday 26 June
We had some heavy thundershowers overnight…Meeri told us their electricity was knocked off for a short time. Did some weeding and wrote some postcards. With the flower garden in full bloom, Liisa started worked on a rock garden behind the cottage. She also cleaned up the old cottage…her sister Terttu will be visiting from Germany soon.
My cousin Tytti called while I was at Teuvo and Meeri’s…she and her family may be visiting Ala-Pihlaja in July. They live in central Finland, a few hours drive by car.
Tuesday 27 June
We were running low on food again, so Liisa and I grabbed some backpacks and walked to the store in nearby Ravijoki. It’s about 5 miles roundtrip and it rained the whole time. Still a good walk though! Later it cleared up and we had a sunny afternoon and evening.
I visited Teuvo and he showed me some pictures he had taken last fall and winter. After sauna, I went out and took some pictures of the mist in the fields and the sky behind our cottage.
Continue to Week #3
