TervolaMuseum

I have told you before that summer is a great season to visit Finland, if you want to see what's hiding under the snow. It is a perfect season to meet local people and get familiar with the local culture. Usually people work hard over the winter time because the arctic climate. It is not only the work-work. It is the snow work (keeping the drive ways open at home), heating the houses, making sure the drains & pipes don't get frozen etc. It is very time consuming.

Usually local people don't work at tourism industry because it is seasonal and doesn't provide permanent jobs -unless it is a small family business. That's why you meet locals easier on summer season by the local museums for example where they volunteer or just pop in for a visit to support it. In July 2026 I visited Tervola's local museum Tervolan kotiseutumuseo. This was not my 1st visit there, but I think it is the 1st one I show you. 😊

As you can see from the pic above, it has been there for a long time and has had other names too. But after all, it stands there and is run by local volunteers and without public funding. That's why it is recommended always to buy something when visiting the local museums. It doesn't need to be anything expensive. Even the post cards they sell, are private funded.

Tervola's local museum is exactly by the high way from Kemi to Rovaniemi (E4). It is very easy to pop in for a visit if you are on a road trip on summer season. What is special in Tervola's local museum is that they actually have a volunteer operated restaurant. They provide perfect lunch and have also gluten free options. All in fair price. It is local food in a historical property with modern kitchen facilities. Even I can always have something to eat there. Both salty and sweet. That's how we literally call it. Salty means something food-like that is spiced with salt and sweet means cakes etc. that is spiced with sugar. 😀

Tervola's local museum has a big estate that includes traditional buildings which have been transferred to the museum estate from somewhere surrounding area to save the building. That's why it is a great place also for the ones that are interested about the local architecture.  

In Finland there are many different kind of "aitta". Aitta is a building where you can storage something. Grain, clothes etc. If "aitta" has the second floor, it usually is for sleeping over the summer season. In my culture the girls sleep in "aitta" over the summer to have some privacy. As you can notice there are no firm stairs to the upstairs. Usually the ladders are used. Even if a girl would sleep in small "aitta" without upstairs and with straight access from the ground in my Firest Sámi culture the boys/men are not allowed in without the invitation. Even the fathers ask the daughters to come out. Girls need their own space and "aittas" provide it for them over the summer season. "Aittas" don't have the fire places for the fire safety, so they can be used only when it is not too cold.

Smaller "aitta" you can see all over the fields and forests. They are used to storage hay and fire wood. Boys and men can sleep in these. Also the shepherds use them to over night stay. But they are possession of someone. That's why no one else is not allowed to go in and sleep there. Not even the hikers. If you see one in the landscape, don't go in. It is considered very rude and people think you are a thief. At the museums you can visit them and see what it is like.

This "aitta" shows well the traditional idea of building the house. Traditionally, we build it over the stones, so that there will be space between the ground and floor. When it snows, we shovel the snow around the house. Then there will be air under the house as an insulation against the frost that rises up from the ground. When the snow begins to fade, we might help it by shoveling again. Usually it fades without any trouble. When the snow is gone, the wind gets under the house and keeps the floor structure dry. Usually they don't build the houses in this way anymore. But this style was one of the criteria when we were seeking a house of our own and finally buying one at spring 2009.

Because also Tervola's local museum is funded by local volunteers and has many buildings on a big estate they renovate it slow. This is a great example how they have turn an old cow house to educational class room about farming for the school visits.

Even some of the buildings are closed because of the safety and the renovation process, you can always peek in through the windows. At a museum estate it is ok. 😅This pic is taken through a window especially for you. Even it includes a mixed room for several timing problems (because it is under the construction) there are some things I want to show you. 

At 1st, lets talk about the pink loom: It is painted. That's unusual. But perhaps it was made to fix it or cover some ugly marks on the wood. It has pink, yellow and blue paint. It seems the blue was the original paint. Blue was used widely as floor paint for hard use. This is a traditional style loom up in the north. I dream of one. Unfortunately many were burnt because of the wars.

Behind the loom you can spot a wheel spindle. It seems to miss few spokes of the wheel. It seems to be traditional Kiikka wheel spindle which were very common because of the Kiikka wheel spindle factory. But it is very hard to say for sure is it or not. Hilja is a traditional and typical wheel spindle from Kiikka factory in South Finland.

Then you can spot a sewing mannequin torso. It is very interesting that it actually is there. Around here I have never seen a vintage sewing mannequin. Not even despite my great grandma was a professional seamstress. But it might be because in Sámi culture you traditionally don't measure (or photograph) the body. Traditionally it was considered to bring bad luck.

You can also spot few interesting wood items which design obviously base on recycled wood item form or the natural arch of the wood available.

The main reason why this space is closed for the visitors is the traditional stove oven on the left. It has sink from its front part. That makes it to be dangerous. Obviously the frost has done its damage. But, pay your attention on the space behind the chimney over the oven. Take a look at it.

Then take a look at this oven. Notice the space over the oven and behind the chimney. It is made for the arctic climate, so why they have not piled the stones all the way up to the ceiling to make it storage more heat? Well, this is a bit newer oven than the previous, but this shows the idea too.

Can you spot the stairs behind the oven? Between the wall and the oven & chimney? They don't lead to attic or anywhere upstairs.

They lead behind and up the stone made wood burning oven. The stairs and the stair case is very narrow. Only small adults and children can get through. The stairs lead to a space that's built behind the oven, over it and by the chimney. There is -usually a dark- space for small adults and children to sleep over the cold winter nights when the stones of the oven still stay warm. Just image: few sheep or reindeer skins under you and a blanket over you and your tiny love ones. Silence. Darkness. Warmth. Safety. And when you close up your eyes you see in your mind the stars of the sky and the Northen Lights. 💕

At Tervola local museum you can spot many different kind of fire places. This one shows one option to get warm water. There is a fire place next to and under the round water tank. 

This picture is from a traditional big smoke sauna. There is no chimney so the smoke gets in. That's why it is a smoke sauna. And that's why the timbers are dark.

There's a fire place under and the round stones over. You can see there really is not a chimney. Usually it is made of natural flat stones.

The traditional saunas usually have two levels. The floor level and the upper one. And a window to bring some light. Traditionally you place a lantern outside the window, not inside -for the fire safety. Traditionally you were born, healed, died and cleaned for the burial ritual in sauna. 

Tervola local museum includes also an old school building. Can you see how also it has been built over the stones. The stones must be big enough to bear the weight of the huge timbers of the huge building.

You can experience the spirit of the old fashion school there. I would love to have this kind of class room for me at work!

If I can't have the bigger one I could do just fine with this smaller one. I love the light that arrives through the huge and high windows. And the spirit of course.

The smaller class room has one fire place at the end of the class room but actually another by the teacher's desk corner. Here you can see also the hand washing place. The water stays warm longer in the tank by the fire place.

The bigger class room has 2 fire places next to each other. One really is not enough during the coldest season.

Despite I have shown you several pictures and told many things about Tervola local museum and themes connected to it, it is best for you to pop in yourself. There are a lot to see. Like these fabric shoes, which were very common during the wars and after the wars when there was lack of everything. Fabric shoes were made of old clothes. Real old fashion recycling. And The Planet Earth says thank you. 💚

Shortbread

Past summers we have had some kind of catastrophes in the house. Just to mention few: 

In summer 2023 I had 3 jobs because I wanted to change my job in the way that I finish all the courses with my students on the courses planned at the old and new places meanwhile I received and started the new job. It meant a lot of work.

In 2024 in our village started the sewer network renovation. It broke a drain that lead into our just few meters away. It meant we were not able to use our water in over 7 weeks except in washing (not your teeth)!!!! That was a long time and made us to hesitate the ideas for more sustainable garden with the ideas born during the local garden competition: to create our own source for the water.

In 2025 we were not able to continue with the project well because of Poor Pii and building the new fire wood shed. Poor Pii is now ok and happy dog. It all was worth of the trouble.

That's why I have been walking on tiptoe when the holiday season was about to start. I dropped my smart phone at a grocery when fetching a parcel. It was not the 1st time but definitely it was the last time. I was able to save most of the pictures, data etc. but still lost some because of failed back files. It really was not easy to set up my new smart phone because I could not confirm anything by my old phone. It took for about 4 days (!!!) to get everything on function. 

He told me to get Xcover because you can drop it down from 1,5 m and I am 1,59 m -so, that should be enough. I drop my phones quite a lot. The problem is that my hands are so small. When it's cold no one's fingers work proper. I can't have (= reach by my fingers) a proper crab of the phone. That's why they fall. Except last time I broke my smart phone by throwing a fresh and hot blueberry pie to it. Yep, the pie to the phone, not the phone to the pie. Gosh! Yep, it was messy. And nope, smart phones are not made to bear 200 Celsius degree hot pie. Why we even created smart phones because they are so weak!?

The time of the roses has arrived into my arctic garden and still no any huge catastrophe in the house, or outside. I still keep on walking my tiptoe and am not cheering up "Hello Holiday!" Hope the fate don't see me. 😅

This summer we have no changes to travel away. That's why we are going around local targets. Last weekend we drove to Pajala, Sweden. It is an old and historical location in Sweden Lapland. Every summer there is traditional Pajala Marknad. It is not Sámi markets or craft markets. It is more like traditional summer markets with all king of stalls. Definitely worth of visiting if you are around.

In Pajala Marknad we found a street food stall that sold only 100 % gluten free food. I was extremely happy to be able to have a proper lunch there!

Because we can't get away we have already had some visitors and more are about to arrive. That's why I have been baking gluten free. I bake apple pie, saskatoon pie and cocholate muffins. They all have the same basic idea:

Basic short bread

Mix well together:

200 g grease

2 dl sugar

Add and mix well one after another:

3 eggs

2 tea spoon baking powder

3 dl guten free flour mix 

Pour it into a baking tray. 

Pour over 3-5 dl fruits or berries or ½ dl 100 % cocoa powder.

Bake in 175 Celsius degrees for about ½ hour. 

Make sure it is well-done until you take it away.

Water

At late autumn 2023 we had some exciting moments in our garden. I ordered 4 concrete well rings (size 1 m diameter, á 420 kg) which were delivered on our driveway at late September. We had exciting moments because we feared the frost arrive before the digger. In that case the rings would have got frozen on our drive way and been there until the next summer. The digger arrived actually only few days before the frost in late October 2023.

I wanted the well to be built at the furthest corner in my garden, because when we moved in there was a tiny duck pond with real ducks. We filled it because wild ducks and hunting dogs are not very mindfulness combination in your garden. It's not relaxing to the ducks, dogs or me. The pond was natural and just 2 m2. It is the part of our property where used to be a swamp. So I knew there will be a proper source of the water. And that's why I wanted the well to be dig there. 

Because of Poor Pii we didn't do much in our garden last summer. This summer the project well has taken few steps forward. We did got water into it immediately but only now have started to decorate it. On the video you can see how to get the water up and how bright it is. If you drop the bucket upside down into well it gets filled up easier.

Our water it is not suitable for drinking. We use it to water our garden. Because of the climate change and sustainability we wanted to have the water source of our own and free access to it anytime. In our arctic garden we grow mainly plants for our food. We do have flowers too, but they all are planted with the idea to create habitat areas for pollinators from May to September (October), when they can fly. In a sustainable garden you need to provide all year around sanctuary for the creatures to make them stay.

Later I will show you how the decoration of the well turns out.

Candles

Since January 2024 I've been saving candle ends. This time also from the memorial candles which we've taken to the graves of our love ones. I've been collecting them into a shoe box. It's not the best possible storage because during the time the candle wax gets absorbed to the card board material and I needed to put it into a plastic bag. For the future purposes I will need a plastic box to storage candle ends through which the wax/oil can't get through.

Nuka thought it all smell so good greasy food that I really needed to keep my eye on her that she would not try to eat anything. At the end it is oil and fat that's used in the candles. If you do this and have pets, make sure they don't eat it.

I had difficulties to find candle wick yarn. I finally found one pack of 6 ready made wicks. Later I found a small ball of candle wick yarn. I bought also that. The 6 ready made were not long enough to have any extra so I needed to figure out how to make them stand up right. I used small wooden cocktail sticks and masking tape. Not very professional looking but worked well enough. 

I used also recycled memorial candles made of glass which I had taken home from the family graves. The shades of the candles come from the different shades of candle ends. I had white, bright red and tarry ones. The white on the bottom of the candles are the old remaining which I didn't even try to get out. Instead I poured the new candle wax over them.

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Visiting the cemeteries and taking the candles to the graves is an old cultural & pagan tradition in Finland. As Forest Sámi we may bring there also something else than candles. That might be a pine cone, feather, a special looking branch etc. Food is not allowed because of the church rules but candles and flowers are very common. Visiting a cemetery is a common habit and it doesn't need to be any special day for that. You can even go for a walk in there to reach peace. If you do so on your visit in Finland, do it silent, with respect and small 1-3 person groups.

HandleTheDoor

We live in Kemi, Lapland, Finland. Few are the days every year when we want to keep the doors open to my arctic garden. That's why, when needed, we have always just placed something to keep the door open. During all these years we have found out it is quite unpractical because the wind from the Baltic Sea hits straight to my garden after speeding up all the way from Denmark to here. We often hear the wind to bang the door closed. On that moment, if being in the garden and hearing the bang, you wish you unlocked it just in case.

That's why we have set our brains to active creative mode to figure out an simple and budget way to keep the door open. We wanted the result to be easy to use. Here you can see the result. It matches with the brush sweater. I love these "here lives artisans" signals.💘

I maid the handle band by plaiting 3 different shades of rug weft. This tricot weft is flexible so the plaited handle band stretches gently with the movement of the door the wind causes. Brilliant, isn't it! You can easily plait yours by up-cycling your old T-shirt if you don't have any weft. See how to cut your own weft in Rag -tutorial post.