SpringTrip

Yesterday we made the first cycling adventure for this spring. We biked 24 km. The final target was this small fishing harbor nearby. Immediately when I saw it I knew I need to make a pic of it for you. It was 27.4.2024 and +3 C. My sea Gulf of Bothnia is still frozen.

I still have my old bike which is not buried in snow anymore. Also this spring he dig it up, like many springs before. Last summer I had it serviced and fixed. Its basket really grew moss and lichen when I took it to service and was a bit upset when it was return without. They had washed away the whole small ecosystem of my bike! My red bike was customized for me by a professional bike seller so it has been perfect mostly because of that. None has similar. But, it is actually 27 years old. It still works well and is perfect for me. Past few years I have been seeking a new bike for me because at the end it is 27 years old and I fear it might get broken forever some day in the future. 

Finding a bike for a small adult person like me is not easy when you cycle in extreme climate and off roads. I have already been in few shops where they professionally sell bikes but now I visited Keinänen for the first time ever despite it has been there for years, since 1978. I can tell this was not the last time I was there. 

I have been looking for a new bike for few years but have not bought because I never found a good match for me. They never understood my needs until now. I was serviced by a young man. I had something in my mind and went to see if they had it because it is a very big shop in my perspective. They had the bike but when he heard my needs he said I do can buy that bike but he recommends me something else. It is more expensive but better for my needs. He told the one I was interested in is actually designed for city purposes and because of comfortable cycling I should consider a trekking bike. I claim they are too big for me but he said he has one small & low adult trekking bike in the shop. So, we took a look at it. Yep, only one, but I don't need more.

Here it is! It is Haibike Trekking 4 low & size small. It is not red (like I secretly dreamed) but it has a red lock so I see it in dark and find easily if I drop it in the woods (or snow). It is eBike and never before cycling in uphills with him (behind him and trying to catch him) has felt this easy. It is perfect size for a small adult like me despite it has 27,5" wheels. The frame itself is designed for short persons. For little people like me I recommend not to fasten anything in the frame except the lock like it is fastened for me. Otherwise and for other purposes use the back of the bike to fasten and carry things. Otherwise it makes it again more difficult to get on and off. I never dared to order a bike online because as a small person I need to test it before buying. If you are my size (159 cm) and need a bike for your adventures Haibike Trekking 4 low and size S is perfect for yours size (or anything else you find to match its measures). Yesterday I mostly used asphalt roads in +3C weather and it worked just fine. I cycled 24 km and the journey hardly impact on the battery. 

I don't get any financial (material or immaterial) benefit for advertising this (or anything else). Only the joy of sharing this with you and the ones who have similar problem than I did: hard to find a bike for a small person for challenging use. This is actually job bike so my employer charges every moth a small amount of money from my paycheck until it is paid. Before that it is a leasing bike, not actually my own. I save the taxes and interest compared to it if I had to take a loan to buy it. I recommend a job bike for everyone who has a change to grab on that benefit. Cycling is a good way to get familiar with surrounding area and nature, it is a good exercise also for overweight person or the ones with arthritis etc. Also, it makes good to your mental health. 

Remember to wear a helmet every time when cycling! 

QueenBee

I made a scissor holder. Originally it is a free kit called Queen Bee that origins to Cross Stitcher Magazine (September 2022, issue 387). It was designed to be a card but I made something else of it. 

Bees are very important creatures and need protection. They also play an important role in biodiversity. You can help out in nature conservation by protecting bees and supporting the work that is done for them. You can read more on internet and get familiar with the issue.

Also, other insects are important for the biodiversity. In our gardens we should welcome them all and create natural ecosystem in there. When it works right and proper you don't need chemicals in your home garden!

SpringIndeed

When you look outside you see the spring. This year it is more snowy that in past years. The climate change means more rain and the rain means it falls down as snow around here.

You can see and hear the signs of the spring everywhere. We still keep our eyes on birds and feeding. There are days it is better still provide the feeding. They are already working hard in my garden but we still help them to survive over the snowy season.

Some days there is snow free areas and some days not. This path leads to our bird feeding station. For the next week they have forecast rain. This week it arrived as snow. If it arrives as water it  makes the snow melt faster.

The waters are still frozen: sea, bays, rivers, lakes... Only the stream and rapid places are open now. But it is enough for the swans, ducks and geese to eat and stay, not to fly back to south.

The quality of this zoomed smart phone pic is not so good but hope you can spot out a bit of blood and two pike heads. An otter has caught some spring time pikes for lunch.

Also, some warm shores of the bay seem to be exposed for the sun-sun-sun! Today the daylight time is 16 hours 36 minutes and keeps on increasing until MidSummer.

The spring means also school end season at work. 

It means also visits. Kirke and Kusmi have turn out such a good voyagers that even a taxi driver got worried and asked if they are still alive because they were so quiet and well behaving. Usually they travel in a bus instead of a taxi. They can use even a portable litter box so it is just fine to make a 12 hour long journey with them. 

The cats and dogs get along very well. The dogs, especially Nuka who is already 9 years, loves to watch them like a TV. There's always something going on! 😄

This spring means also a voyage for me. At work we were accepted in Erasmus+ accreditation so it has become a time to renew my ID-card. I am leaving the town... not quite yet but soon. Flights are already booked.

HobbyBag

I designed and sew another big fabric bag. It is for my bobbin lace base made of Finnfoam frost insulation sheet (you will see it later). 

It has an important pocket to carry things but also point out the side I need to place up when I carry it with me and place on the car seat or on anything else.

The opening of the bag's mouth is huge so I use a cord to close it up to prevent anything roll out.

Carder'sBag

At work I designed and sew a big fabric bag of left over fabric.

I need to carry something with me every now and then. For practical reasons I need a bag for it. But it came without a bag when I ordered it at work for the students' use.

It is a bag for Golden Fleece drum carder for spinning and felting. The students love it and I am satisfied on it too; both drum carder and bag. The carder and equipment fit in the bag so it is easy for me to carry it all around without fear dropping something into snow and lost forever.

RelaxedMind

My Northern Lights puzzle is finally finished. Before it was completely done I had to face the most difficult part which was the top edge sky. The sorting out puzzle boxes were really helpful in the process.

Finally I managed to do it. It is a beautiful winter scene from Lapland, Finland. I had a great time making it.

I don't know which one brings more satisfaction and pleasure: making a jigsaw puzzle or breaking it back to thousands of pieces. It is a proof of it that I was able to steal some me-time for absolutely non-productivity oriented busy work and world. Absolutely good for ones mental health! 

WeavingAndSewing

Last Autumn I participated on tablet weaving course at work which we arranged in co-operation with local museum Tornionlaakson museo. It has been a busy year but now I am about to finish the tablet woven band basing on 14th century textile in a burial from Valmarinniemi, Keminmaa. It is going to be a sample for my band weaving course in May 2024.

I have started also a sewing project. It is time for a new dress. I need a costume for an upcoming jubilee in May 2024. 

I can't do much gardening yet because the world still looks like this. 

Chiengora

It is early April and furry time of the year. Last Friday the morning temperature was -20 C (in some villages around -25 C). Yesterday morning -10 C and this morning only -6 C. My garden is still 100 % covered by the snow. The statistic fact is that average the snow stays on the ground for 6 months around here. It arrived (permanent) 10.10.2023 and seems is not melting away yet. 

Spinning dog wool (chiengora) is a warm thing to do. Spinning is for sure slow craft and can be very much up to mindfulness after you have learnt the technique. I love to spin with Liinu. This month I again have one spinning course and Liinu will come with me.

The Reading Challenge No4

The Reading Challenge 2024 is here!

On 2024 I encourage you to read books in different genres. No other rules but the genre. The meaning is to introduce different kind of literature and authors to yourself. But, you can still choose your favorite one if the genre is familiar to you. Notice, you can always drop out the book if you dislike it. It is highly recommended to use second hand books, borrowed books and your local library collection. If possible, read in all the languages you can. Also, don't be afraid of to pick up a book you have already read in the past. The second round at different age may bring you new experiences. 

April 2024 theme is SPEECH!

Yes, a speech. It doesn't matter who wrote it or when. The point is to read it, not listen to or watch it. You can find speech on internet, library/museum collections etc. Perhaps someone you know, wrote a speech or you were in a lecture where someone made a good speech. You can ask if you can see it and read it. Let's start to find an interesting speech to read!

BearGoesFishing

On 2024 I encourage you to read specific genres of literature. March 2024 theme is fable. Typical to fables is that -because they are spoken tradition- the story depends on the speaker but the basic idea stays the same. 

My favorite fable is Bear Goes Fishing. It tells about a bear who wakes up too early and is very hungry. It meets a fox who has got a lot of fishes (stolen) but doesn't want to share. The fox fools the bear to go ice-fishing by his long beautiful and furry tail to get his own fishes. The bear is very patient despite it hurts and sits there all night long. The fox makes people to chase the bear so he gets frightened and pulls his tail out of the ice hole to escape. Because the tail has got frozen into the ice hole during the night it snaps and the bear looses his long tail forever. The story is very educative and has many perspectives and the result is always the same: because it happened the bear doesn't have his tail anymore and the tail is could be useful in his life.

ThisEaster

My Easter and Spring are snowy. Today we had a small snow storm and my garden is still 100 % covered by the snow. Still it is spring and the first swans have arrived already. Still it is spring and time for outdoor adventure and Easter decoration. More about decorating the willow twigs for the witches who make good fortune spells you can find here.

I usually dye the eggs by onion peels but this time I tried out two different kind of onions and a tea bag. I included some chamomile with the yellow onion peels. The egg shells impact on the shades so the plants give different shades on eggs than on yarns. Anyway its fun scale of brown.

Of course I did also some spinning. You can't avoid that if spending traditional Easter and follow traditional lifestyle at this corner of the world. 

Our special family tradition is try out something new every Easter. It may turn out a disaster or discovery. This year it turn out discovery. It is traditional Swedish bacon pancake. Poor Pii who had her 4th birthday almost starved because she really was not allowed to taste despite it smelled so good! The recipe is very simple also for gluten free baking. We will definitely use it many times in the future. 

Gluten free bacon pancake

approx 200g bacon

chop & fry

pour over a baking tray covered by a baking paper

4 eggs

1 liter milk

4-6 dl gluten free flour mix

1 tea spoon salt

mix well together

pour over the fried bacon

cook in 200 Celsius degrees until beautiful color (30-40 min)

notice pan cake seems and feels a bit raw when you take it out from oven

let it cool down so it gets its final form

serve as cold with lingon jam (or your favorite)