Sunset at my parents' summer place around midsummer.
Good old Finnish sauna. Gentle warmth.
I made some roses out of egg cartons. These just need to be dipped in melted parafin and then can be used to light a fire.
New potatoes with dill, yummy. This was what we had longed for in Costa Rica. And liver casserole.
Gravad salmon. Just makes my mouth water. These with new potatoes and dill, dill, dill.
A Finnish butterfly.
The mouse game the boys loved to play.
My mother-in-law turned 70.
We spent one week in central Finland visiting DH's aunt.
Tuomas riding Gloi so fast that it made his Great Aunt almost scream with fear. He was a natural on the horse!
DH's birthday was celebrated in advance. Aunty made a cake with strawberries and I candied pansies.
An old door with an old key.
A small forest lake in central Finland around 10 PM. Only the bears watched us swimming naked.
Another scene from the lake.
There were a few ripe cloudberries near the forest lake. This one is still a bit raw. The ripe ones are golden orange.
We picked some wild strawberries and bilberries.
Yay, one of the fish Jaakko caught. It was big enough for the neighbor's cat.
Tuomas caught some, too.
Risto played golf while we were fishing.
DH turned 40.
For his 40th birthday DH got to go flying above Helsinki and Espoo. He was joined by Tuomas and Risto. Jaakko and I were very happy to stay on solid ground.
Helsinki City seen from the air.
One of the few pictures of me taken at DH's birthday party.
Art above the streets in Helsinki.
Finnish summers have never been so warm and gentle as this summer. But after five weeks it was time to say good-bye and head back home to Costa Rica.
This time we flew back to Costa Rica via Newark and slept one night there. It was a good choice, getting over the jet-lag a bit.
My trio in Newark, waiting for the ride to New York.
New York seen from New Jersey.
New York looked spooky.
Risto said he didn't sleep while we went for a quick spin on Manhattan. I tried to shake them awake, they opened their eyes, but registered nothing.