ISLAND GARDEN PARTY

Last weekend we went out to the summer house in the archipelago. I don't make it out there that often anymore, just a few days per summer, but it is still the ultimate summer place for the, as it is there that we spent the whole season when we were children.

 This time we were here to celebrate my nephews first birthday.

  Garden party.

I made a vegan chocolate cake with banana and cocoabutter (and a lot more). Will get back to that one later!

 This is my dad's old stroller from the mid 1950's.

And here's the birthday boy riding it.

It's funny; I somehow remember Dag being so much "older" when he turned one but I guess that is a parent-thing. Or forgetting-the-baby-phase-thing. Or, things-go-so-fast-thing. Something it anyways is.

 My other nephew just turned eight months.

 Opening presents.

And of course, the older kids are very eager to help with that one...

Fast forward to ending the day with a archipelago sunset.

The sun suddenly sets so much earlier. August, snap, the evenings are dark!

HELSINKI STROLL

Yesterday we went into town for a stroll together with Dag's oldest (half)brother . Which does not happen that often, having a day off and haning it in town, when you spend most of your time way out in the countryside.

Walking in Ruoholahti, which is something I almost never do; walk around in, other than walk just trough. I used to come trough here almost every day when at lunch from the harbour.

Some hundred meters further a whole new part of town has sprung up during Dag's lifetime on parts of what was once the old harbour. It looks different every time I pass. When I left work before Dag was born this was all just one big construction site. (And half of it still is.)

Do you know how many times I stared at those shipyard cranes and the blue dry dock wall opposite of our spot in the harbour? Do you know how many times? Of course you don't, but many, many times I tell you.

 We popped by the flea market. Dag got a red smiling tractor.


Had lunch at Moko market. Salad with kale and marinated carrots and fresh pea puree. Nom.

 Moko is also an interior store, with lots of wonderful useful-and-less usefull stuff, books and some foods as well.


 Moko has a playground space for kids too. Convenient.

I used to go there and shop all the time before, you know, when I had a job with a steady monthly wage and could do shopping just for fun. When you work solely by yourself things are so much more uneven. (I might have to get myself some pineapple and palm tree boxes though. Because they are always good for somehting...)

But I wasn't really there to get anything for myself but to pick up some things for our studio. Which I will get back to later. (And get back to a lot to; you'll see.)

 Later we did some toy shopping -there are a many small misters all turning one year old in August.

Sometimes I wonder how these small stores that are specialized in something can pull trough when rents in town are what they are - I remember thinking so about this toystore too when walking past it before, do people really buy enough to make it go around? But now I get it, in this case at least, I just wanted to buy everything in there.

Then we went to join up with some 15,000 other people at the Citizen's Square. 

The rather impromptu manifestation for multiculturalism and anti-racism; We Have A Dream, took place. It was organised in just a couple of days as a counter-reactions to some writings of a politician and the discussion it sparked.

Then the teenager got tired.

So we had burgers at the new-in-town hipster burger place Friends & Brgrs. (Everything there is made from scratch and with clean ingredients. The queue in the restaurant is thus thereafter. Here's my veggieburger. Approved!)

And strawberry milkshake. Made on actual real berries, not just aromes.

More days should end with strawberry milkshakes.

WORK AND PLAY

Work. I've been re-rehearsing (and re-blinging, phew!) a couple of my old acts, one is this winter themed one. A number that you'd think be suitable for this time of the year but it's plus something and raining. Well, I'll be a dream of a white Christmas then.

Lots of white and lots of sparkle. There's been a lot of beading and rhinestone applying, but with the headdress I have spared myself and had it made.

Dag was eager to try it out too. And the rest, and mimic what I do.

Because he had been such a patient boy watching cartoons during my practice, I then took him to the indoor fun park to play afterwards. Altough this is from ikea where I picked up some things (and had dinner. Quick and easy!).

Came home to watch me talk about - surprise- burlesque for a few minutes on TV (at Efter Nio).

Then worked on preparations for our upcoming event tomorrow - or today, actually, my days tend to linger way into the next one -Under the Mistle Tease; the Showgirl Edition. It's a Christmas party-club-show we organise for our students, to showcase what we have been doing with them this fall.

Our new and biggest coached troupe The Shangrilettes will perform their debut, for which the sneak peak above is. There are a few tickets left at the door so head over to Wäiski at 20hrs to have some fun!

FARMER'S & SLOW FOOD FAIR IN OUR HOODS

This weekend there's a farmer's market and artesan food fair for locally and mainly organically grown and produced products at a farm close to ours.

After a storm last night autumn was as it's best this morning, crisp and sunny.

Suitably for the occasion I put on my cowboy boots that I got from Ina for making her some promo material for her shop.

Dag got to wear a team shirt.

The fair is at Mangs which is just around the corner (in countryside measurements) from our farm. It's a very idyllic place. The fair itself is rather small but with a huge amount of visitors.

Eddi & his brother's farm is all-organic. Here's the stand.

We have linseed, fava beans, honey, rolled oats and rye flour. (Or well, "we"; I did not make that much to produce those. But I have made the packing and print material for all the products.)

We also had sour dough bread that a local bread enthusiast has baked of our products.

And care products for home and house, like linseed soap which is an all-natural product that can be used to clean anything and everything.

The boys had also picked linseed flowers which they sold. Not Dag though (although he did a nice try to pick some with me earlier this fall; they are rather hard to collect neatly actually).


He spotted the tractors right away and it topk many tears to get him off the BIG TRACTOR after some time of admiring.


I took him to admire the alpacas instead. Which are super cute. Such cuddly shape! And they  make cute noises as well.


A couple of our lambs are also admirable at the fair for the kids to pet and feed. Dag was super excited because you know, he can also see them almost every day at home.


To let him try out something he does not get to do all the time like look at tractors and lambs, he got to ride a pony. And then we got cinnamon rolls made with goat milk and they were so good.
(They sell them close to the yellow house just next to the pony rides, if you happen to go there. YUM!)


Here are some more alpacas BECAUE JUST LOOK AT THESE!

The market is open today on Sunday from 10 to 16hrs. To get to Mangs turn off road 51 at Degerby and then follow the signs to the market, which is a 10-15 minute drive from there.