Summer reveries

Oops! Over two weeks gone without a blog post... in summer reveries. This is an old picture and actually taken in early September, but it fits the mood. It's been +25 C or more every day, only now a bit cooler (but still over +20 C). The sort of days when you feel like you want to do nothing, just be.

The 'being' in this context involves, e.g., going to the beach to swim (almost every morning) - I consider myself a contemplative swimmer: I'm not fast but I AM tenacious and can go a long distance. And it's the process of swimming that counts, not how fast you can go a distance.

And sitting in the deck chair in the balcony, reading. Lately, The Stone Gods and Gut Symmetries by Jeanette Winterson. She can use words to make them dazzle and keep you in their spell. I also finally read the autobiography of Mark Everett (of the Eels) which I'd bought ages ago, Things Your Grandchildren Should Know. He seems a wonderfully sweet man, and optimistic despite a hard, hard life. And Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, they are entertaining and very very funny but also have more than meets the eye. I've plenty of books in my shelf that I've bought at one time or another and haven't got 'round to reading. The deck chair awaits again?

I DO have work to do, too... but I'll get to that tomorrow? August starts tomorrow. If I get back to work tomorrow, it'll be nice and organised, to start right at the beginning of the month. Oh, I was planning to go to the Alppipuisto Jazz tomorrow if the weather is good. Maybe I'll get to work on monday? Monday is good for work. August and monday.

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The 10 days at the countryside up north were very lovely. But too many mosquitoes and gadflies which all seem to target me specially! Back in the city, an entertaining morning with the nephews on the beach. Plenty of fighting imaginary pirates who sure got a good whupping. Good that my 5-year-old nephew was commander of the good guys, otherwise the battle would've been lost. In the middle of the fierce battle, the young sir asked me: "So, are you not a grown up yet?" Hm... :-)

Also, a lovely trip with brother's family to the Pihlajasaari island, a popular summer place for Helsinki residents for over 80 years. It felt good to be a part of continuing the tradition. We swam at the beach where the ferries to Tallinn pass very close, (just outside the swimming area), then ate at the restaurant in the old wood villa and spent a while climbing and investigating underwater life in the puddles on the rocks by the shore.

On a different day, my elder nephew went to his first ever rock concert with his parents (Muse), whilst I kept company to the younger. Computer games, watching cartoons, eating ice cream cones (alternating with bare waffle cones), Wii Sports, legos. Quite an active evening that was. My elder nephew suggested that as a payment for my babysitting his brother, he will grant me a free audience. The cheek. He's 10. :-)

Another lovely half-day with sister at the beach and then lunch and a glass of white in the restaurant Wanha Mylly, located at the Herttoniemi manor park (used to be the manor of the last Swedish commander of the Suomenlinna sea fortress) some way towards the city centre. It has the most wonderful shaded patio and a great selection of wines, and the river crab salad was delicious.

Now I'm hoping that the swimming weather isn't over yet (+20 C sea water is still ok, +18 C starts to get too chilly). I wouldn't mind if it rained properly on some days, though. I LOVE mushrooms - no silly jokes about magic mushrooms, thank you - and it's been so dry that I'm worried I won't find any chanterelles at all this year. Of course there's always some to buy, but that doesn't involve the joy of discovery. Besides, the ones at the fruit and veg stand at the mall have looked a bit mangy. I went to look for mushrooms the other day and walked through a large field of clover. It was such a sad sight: all the flowers dead, dry and brown.

I'm also waiting for my annual already-tradition, Flow Festival, held in mid-August at the site of the old Suvilahti power plant right in the city. New and exciting music, gourmet food and central location, just a couple of metro stops from where I live. My kinda festival. :-)

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Sorry about the slow passing of some comments lately. I had to turn on comment moderation because of Chinese spammers but forgot that it was turned on and therefore forgot to click 'accept' on the notifications that came to my inbox. Also sorry for not visiting blogs. It's all due to summer reveries.

Hope everyone's had a great summer!

A Sky Job

This was in Väike-Õismäe. I actually like the area, quite an impressive plan the suburb has. I also like the building, at least with the balconies repainted. 

No doubt it's the ideal job for someone who likes mountaineering and other high places stuff, and being outdoors. I wouldn't even consider it. I don't like heights!

I've been having pleasant summer days at my parents' house in the countryside near Oulu where I used to live, 600 km up north from Helsinki. That's not to say I've done nothing at all, on the contrary I've been working on an article text and my photos. Oh, and eating strawberries freshly picked outside. Very warm, like today it was +28 C out there. Luckily, the old house stays fairly cool, and furthermore at one end of the house I can keep two windows open and have a pleasant, cooling wind blow through the room. Another thing I've been meaning to do is to go out some night and take pictures, because it doesn't get dark here now, just kind of a milky dusk. But I was scared off by the hordes of mosquitoes! I hate mosquitoes, and at night time they would come at you in clouds!

Oh, I was also bitten by a wood tick. Quite amusing in retrospect because it bit me in the arse. I can just imagine a tiny, little wood tick labouring up my leg and sinking its teeth (or whatever it has) in the best meaty part. :D Nothing happened there, there's no sign of infection or anything, it didn't even manage to draw any blood. But I did panic for a little bit before I found out that the chances of getting Lyme disease from a single tick bite are basically zero. It's just that it's so much in the news, whenever they talk about ticks and tick bites they talk about Lyme disease.

Next thursday it's back to Helsinki. They're saying it's going to be +31 C on the weekend, but luckily I managed after all to find a cheap table ventilator online. They'll even carry it to my door with no extra fee.

The journey's end

I have finally come to the end of my pictorial journey of Lasnamäe. All pictures - about 70 of them - are now uploaded. Here is the link again:


PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY OF LASNAMÄE

Of course, there's plenty in the area that I haven't explored, so I've good reasons to go back to Tallinn. One way would be to thoroughly explore each of the sub-districts of the suburb at a time. Another idea is to go in a really miserable day to get lots of dark looming :-) I'd also be interested in seeing how it looks like in winter.

Now to editing the pics I took at Väike-Õismäe and elsewhere in Tallinn.

Riverman

Still a LONG way to go in my pictorial journey in Lasnamäe. Just wanted to upload this one on the blog as I like it a lot. Taken on the bus towards central Tallinn. On first round, last monday, I got as far as the Laagna subdistrict, then went back to the city centre to get the hotel room and get something to eat.

I called this picture 'Riverman' because Laagna tee is an asphalt river that runs through Lasnamäe, and like real rivers it has bridges and people live on either side of it. This fellow, then, is a passenger on the asphalt river.

Modern fairytale illustrations

I've added many more pics to my photographic journey of Lasnamäe:

LINK: PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY

A few pictures here.

Imagine driving along Laagna tee here in a grey, cloudy, dark day. These buildings looming just above might not be a very reassuring sight. But they also made me think of modern illustrations to fairytales. I'm thinking of those tales that feature giants or stone trolls (or dragons too?) that you have to pass very quietly so that they don't wake up. Another element I recall is unpassable guardians of gates: they appear to be statues but when you try to pass, they come alive. I think such creatures are guarding Sauron's gate in Tolkien.

And now, clash of the titans. It looks like a battle is about to commence here. These two giants are clearly facing off each other. Will one of them give in? Well, this is actually some of that Transformers stuff more than fairytale. Know those robot mechanic toy thingies that can change form, like from a robot to a car or a plane?