NAME DAY

On my name day my grandmother got her engagement ring 61 years ago while an accordionist played and others danced on the dance floor. I got yellow roses, a mattress vine and a twig wreath to hang on the door. The yellow roses reminded me of these sketches I drew during summer drinking tea while elm leaves were falling to the table. Today a handful of snowflakes were floating in the grey sky while I was walking in the forest and looking what was left of the small branch lodges we used to built when we were small. Just a few branches. Good night, sleep tight!

MR. SUN AND WHAT HE CAN REACH

Sun came out with frost covering everything. Quite lovely. There are four lynxes living nearby. I was walking in the forest, but seems that today they are all sleeping, also squirrels didn´t come for nut-breakfast today and also the fox is hiding. Only the sun is outside. But he can reach every tree top, frost glittering roofs, sand on the road, last summer´s hayfields and even walls inside. Everything he makes shiny. Hello Mr. Sun, nice to see you!

HIDING FROM THE DARKNESS INSIDE TENTS

Working and dreaming of tents. Photograph from the summer of 2005 in North Iceland just after a rain shower during midnight. Have a pleasant Thursday!

P.s. Here are nice covers, one also made by me.

KUMPULA

Old friends were waiting me at home. They might be the first knitted work I did at school, it is the first time I wear them. Mieke Willems has these fellows in some beautiful color tones too.

Home smells of cinnamon buns and smoke. Also some small heaps of past snow and glittering layer of frost were waiting for me when I arrived last night after a long journey. I hoped to find the winter here already, but seems that I missed it. I thought to travel far only to return in full winter, but seems that it is not so simple with it. As I wrote in "Proof of Winter", it really is not that easy to make friends with winter. I wanted the winter to wait for me, but now I have to wait for it after all.

Home is called "Kumpula". "Kumpu" means a hummock. There are small hummocks around, but during the years these small natural hills got even smaller.

SMELL OF HOME

Almost I can smell how home is. There is firewood and smoke, cardamom and coffee, dusty electricity of the sewing machine. Old paint at the terrace with wind through open door. Woven carpets and something good baking in the ashes of the oven. Trees crackling in the wind, pine trees and moss covered rocks.

It is more than seven months when I visited home. Next week I will be there. Still a few days to enjoy the autumn in Frankfurt.

FOR GREY FRIDAY

Brown, red and turquoise on soft cotton paper. Date-almond-coconut-raw chocolate-balls aside. Fallen berry branches on the way to a grocery store. Wishing you a pleasant weekend!

POSTCARDS FROM A BIG CITY & AN AUTUMN SEA

Peeking behind new corners of the world. Found one big city (London), one lighthouse (Plymouth), one lullabying beach (Bournemouth) and silence with generosity (Brockwood Park School). Thinking of the milk bottles, being vegan while traveling is sometimes a bit of a challenge, but it makes me to see and experience more, it is not only good for my body and mind. It also makes to be grateful for the food we have and wanting to use it in its most nutritious way. Taking small steps towards raw food.

The last day there were many kind people. One gardener making it mystical and simple the same time. While drinking a rose green tea, I think of him in his rose garden raking the fallen red leaves. I wish there is not many rain showers over his garden today.

Hello dear all of you, nice to have you visiting! It makes me happy to read your words.