Long time no see. Long time no sea.

Blogroll, Finland, Picture a day, Traveling

No, there was not much sea lately, partly due to me being abroad and around, partly ’cause the spring has not really broken out in here.

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No, this is not Finland. Gotcha.

THIS, however, is. The picture is take about 3 weeks ago, the ambience prevails. The fence was full of wind-torn adverts, above all election posters.

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But the sun shines even in the north, about 23 minutes per day. Such moments remind me of the extra long golden hours we get here in the summer…

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… long time no sea? Time to travel to the archipelago then!

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I admit the following pictures was taken by mistake. Makes a perfect background material for further projects though!

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Dear burglars, we are in Lapland at the moment. Our flat is flat-sat though, so don’t get excited. Dear faithful readers, you can look forward to a lot of snow-covered pictures. It has been rather cloudy lately, so no winter wonderland I’m afraid.

Darkness.

Blogroll, Helsinki, Immigrant integration, Picture a day, Sunsets

Is here, it’s in our bodies, minds, it is slowing us down and make us appreciate light in all forms – fire, candles, stars, precious rays of sunshine, smiles, sparks in eyes, hugs. And occasional walks on the freezing cold sea promenade.

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And otherwise I’ve been learning more about what it is like to be a refugee, a newcomer to a society, and what kind of treatment one would wish to experience in this situation. Was invited to one’s home, I feel very honoured. I will inform you once it has materialised. Oh and I gave my first lecture, 90 minutes of stress + IBS + sleepless nights beforehand, but I think it went quite well and made my mum proud. Apparently that was just the start, but maybe there will be others who see some sense in what I’m doing.

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Sorry, these pics has been inserted kind of randomly, but don’t you love the sun reflection in the windows? And the evil looks?

I’ve been also thinking about the concept of home, about family and other essential questions, but posting these thoughts would have been unnecessarily messy and uninteresting for this blog. Or would you really be interested in my recent favourites when it comes to housing or taking care of children? 😉

So instead I follow the fashion of like 95% of female bloggers and recommend making yourself a nice cuppa, light up a scented candle and snuggle in the bed watching Netflix or reading books from Helsinki Book Fair (well THAT would be my October haul! 3x Tove Jansson – for adults mostly – and a free mug, oh and numerous magazines and magazine samples, some literature reviews, catalogues aka wishlists, some inspirational talks heard a random old book on something Finnish army related… not bad!).

Speaking of Netflix, I subscribed. I feel so mainstream again, I guess it’s what I needed right now. That and some clothes shopping and I feel much more self-confident to be, look, think and behave in alternative ways. How bizarre.

Besides I’ve been trying to take on drawing more seriously, some attempts can be found on my instagram (feel free to follow). And drinking tea.

Summer frolics.

Blogroll, Finland, Helsinki, Lifestyle, Sunsets

So I’ve been enjoying the summer, right, because that’s what just about everybody on the Northern hemisphere is doing right now. Oh. Never mind the rain and storms – and whatever preceded the rain (check out my Instagram @milleristine for more info).

On Friday I was asked to take some pictures of a folk-dance event in Grankulla/Kauniainen, Espoos cute little sibling. That was genuinely so much more fun to watch, not only through the lens!

My two favourite shots: notice the perfect “x”. And the facial expressions.

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Today another lovely sunset happened (in fact it is still happening, white nights are the bestest thing); this time my beloved Karhula food jars noticed as well.

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