Lake house in Finland - Mökkeilyä Saimaalla

Summer house terrace overlooking the lake Saimaa

Our summer house was featured in the Finnish summer house magazine Meidän Mökki this month. It is actually a little bit 'before' -article, as the interior (AND the exterior) are on their way to be painted and insulated again. Floors will be grey, and walls will turn white. The exterior is going to be the same color, but will receive an additional layer of wood on top of the currently visible logs.

White and blue interior rules during summer

Like many Finns, we love our summer house days. It is a very simple, down-to-earth way of life. As much as possible the days are spent outdoors, and it is quite alrite indoors, as well - from the very beginning we made a decision that this will not be one of those 'oh, we don't need it at home anymore, let's just bring it to the summer house' kinda summer houses ;). Yes, most of the furniture is one their second round from extended family, or from our home, but we (I ;)) only 'accept' the things that are actually needed. We've had loads of all kinds of things offered, but no...it's been a good decision. After 10 years there's still lots of space in our few closets!

Summer house living

It feels a bit strange to be posting these photos here, because our summer house living is so - I don't know - normal, I guess you could say. We go around wearing 20-year-old pyjamas and rubber boots. Sometimes all day. We try to find ways to agree on living space with the ants and wasps, and billions of mosquitoes. Freeze in the lake, until it finally warms up and it is time to leave ;). It is such a Finnish way of spending the summer, and our kids love it. And we love it. There's nothing special about it, and that is what makes it so special. Can't wait!

Summer house living

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Meidän mökkyrä pökkyrä oli Meidän Mökki lehdessä tässä kuussa. Artikkeli tuntuu itse asiassa vähän 'ennen' -kirjoitukselta, koska mökillä, sisällä ja ulkona, ollaan aloittamassa maalaus- ja eristysprojekti. Hirret on tummuneet (onneksi eivät kovasti kellastuneet, muuten en kestäisi katsoa näitä kuvia ollenkaan, koska ne oli enemmän tai vähemmän lämpökäsiteltyjä alusta alkaen), joten ne saavat valkoisen värin, ja lattia samalla harmaan. Hirret peitetään ulkopuolelta lautaverhoilulla vain ja ainoastaan lämpöeristyksen vuoksi. 

Alusta alkaen tehtiin päätös, että tänne ei sitten raahata vanhoja rojuja. Ja se päätös on ollut täydellisen hyvä, ja pitänyt. Toki lähes kaikki kamat on kierrätettyjä ja uudelleen maalattuja tms., mutta mitään ei tänne olla hyväksytty, mitä ei oikeasti tarvita. Ja kauheasti ei oikeasti tarvitse. Se on ihana tunne, kun kaapit on yhä 9 vuoden jälkeen aika lailla tyhjillään!

Enpä osaa oikein suomeksi suomalaisille kirjoittaa mökkeilystä - vähän kun kirjoittais näkkärin syömisestä. Tiedätte, mistä puhun - reilut 20 vuotta vanha yöpuku, villasukat ja kumpparit päällä. Joskus koko päivän. Jatkuvaa taistelua elintilasta punapeppuisten muurahaisten, paarmojen ja byrjardien hyttysten kanssa. Tehtiin me pieni, hieno kivikkopuutarhakin - muutamassa vuodessa jouduimme luovuttamaan kanerville, vadelmille ja mustikoille. Ei luontoa voi kahlita (hyvä niin!). Uidaan jäätävässä järvessä, kunnes vesi lämpenee ja on aika lähteä kotiin :). Niin kauhian suomalaista, eikä mitään spesiaalia. Ja se varmasti tekee siitä niin spesiaalia. Lapset rakastaa ja kyselee jo, koska mennään. Muutama viikko vielä, muutto Suomeen ja SITTEN auton nokka kohti Saimaata!! 

Cottonhut for Spring/Summer 2013

Cottonhut (cottonhut.se) story began at our summer house in 2003.  A log house, to be precise. Being here again, it felt right to share some thoughts, and post a few images of Cottonhut spring/summer 2013 collection.

In the old times in Finland, the main buildings of the farms were always  built of logs. The logs were cut from your own forest, taken to the mill, and then used for construction. When ready, very often  the house was insulated from outside with additional layer of wood, but inside the logs were visible.

The house was decorated with traditional, often self-made, wooden furniture and textiles. Rag rugs, chip baskets for storage, self-woven linen for the kitchen and bedroom. Hooks and lanterns from the local black-smith.  Bread and butter baskets from the local artisans.

As the agriculture way of life slowly faded away, were those, who still have the log-house to deocrate, forced to order the traditional items one by one from artisans becoming fewer and fewer, or purchase decoration items, which never really match the walls around them.

Cottonhut Collection was created to answer this demand.  We see our products used in a summer house by a lake, a mountain hut built of large logs, or a country home where the center is a large, all-purpose kitchen.

Traditional styles and materials. Simple, yet soft forms. With a modern touch. Carefully made by artisans, small businesses and certified producers around the world.

it's raining it's pouring

Part II from yesterday...let's see if I manage to write this one, as well, before the life calls...<3

Pancakes always work for the kids. And a tent. So yesterday afternoon it became both, and we actually had a really good time despite the rain.  Kids' tent was made in a very sophisticated manner of 3 hay poles and couple of white sheets,  and the kids enjoyed a great deal (making it was another story, as my dear husband wasn't overly keen on the project after woken up from his afternoon nap and thought that I could be a little more supportive rather than asking, how come the whole thing fell apart while I ran inside to get some yarn...:D) making a mess inside with blueberries and 2 liters of juice...

Luckily our summer kitchen is covered, otherwise this summer would've been quite disasterous...will be taking some photos for you, when the weather allows...now it's just SAD...

 

The process of eating these pancakes took around, well - 2 minutes, and we even saw some fighting (seriously, it was like 17 pancakes for each kid..) over the last one - but - mission accomplished. The nothing-to-do whining stopped.

They didn't have any of their supper, but couldn't care less - it's summer time... :)

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lettuja, kesäkeititö

it's blueberry time

Remember I said when we arrived to the summer house, that this summer I will learn to use a camera? Well, finally I thought to charge the thing (until now it's been my phone) and start using it.

I had a grand idea to buy one of those proper cameras, but then someone close by had the wisdom to tell me that I will not have the patience (as I tend to press the ON button on my Canon IXUS and then take the photo) to use it, so don't bother. And and and - guess what? Even the little IXUS has quite many functionalities, when you press the func. set button :).

The hardest parts (my dear professional camera user friends, who are many, pls. feel free to comment ;)) @ this stage of my learning seem to be:

1. have the camera straight (impossible)
2. have whatever you are shooting in the middle of the picture (impossible)
3. have some space around the thing so that the STUFF (wrong coloured and wrong kind and simply STUFF) doesn't come into the picture (completely impossible)
4. to think of the numerous details you would need to think of to have it done proper (like your kids clothing, the spots on the table OR the floor, naaaaa....)
5. Have the white WHITE. GRRRRRR!!!!

Well, it's rainy and while the pancake dough was sitting before the actual frying of the pancakes, I took a few photos. If you are in Finland and listening to the the rain, hopefully these road-side daisies get a smile on your face :).

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mustikka-aika, päivänkakkara, valokuvauksen opettelu (ei valokuvaus ;))

Crochet sausages

Fender cover

You know those not-so-nice-to-the-eye plastic fenders? Last summer I figured they need some clothing, like they had in the old days! My dear sister was laughing so hard at my efforts last summer to sit down and crochet away, while our 1-year-old was busy trying to get hurt somewhere around the yard. She was convinced they will NEVER be finished. Well  -she didn't know that mom would be coming for a visit... ;)

Fender cover

I know...it looks like a silly, laced sausage in these pictures :D, but really, they turned out super nice :). I promise you - you buy a roll of the thick 100% cotton  fishing thread (kalastajalanka in Finnish), (this one is 15-ply made with 3,5 crochet hook) and crochet away - even sitting in your boat enjoying the sun!

Simple double crochet stitches, and for the larger fenders here I needed 60 rounds to complete. Just remember to adjust it tight onto the fender so it doesn't stretch and get all sloppy when the fender gets wet.

Fender cover

Fender cover

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lepuuttaja, lepuuttajasuoja, virkkaus

Herb table inspiration

Got me a herb-table - made by my father-in-law <3. It is just gorgeous! Someone was wondering a couple of weeks ago, what kind of shop-keeper are you? Always talking about self-made and upcycled and inherited treasures.

What can I say? If you buy something, do it with good conscience. But especially for the summer house - there is so much you can make yourself or have custom made by locals. Or then you do like me - ask, very very kindly, from someone extremely handy - or ask your Mom ;)).

But this herb table and it's contents - it is a perfect sample of the values us kids were raised with, spending long summers with our stay-at-home-mom and her parents at our seaside summer place in western Finland:

DIY, if you can - you always get better quality and exactly what you want:

DIY Herb table

Herb table which can be dismantled

This one - the pieces are numbered, you can dismantle it and store it away for winter. I promise you - this baby will last for generations :).


Whatever you make or buy, it needs to be practical: knowing her daughter, mom has used 6 self-watering planters in this one. No, not the prettiest, for sure, but very handy. 

This one made me hysterical (it screams MOM!!) - she buys lettuce in the small planters, you know, if she hasn't got any from her own garden yet. Then she sticks the remains to the ground, and it actually starts producing more lettuce...NEVER throw anything away you can reuse :) :)!

The signs here come with blackboard, available from Weranna's HERE. A small hint for outdoor use: Use those kid's crayons which you've stacked away because they are hard to get off - rain don't do anything.

I am now so happy with my little garden - it even has some flower. A little flower does always good :).

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Keittiöpuutarha, yrttipöytä, yrttipöydän teko-ohje

Picnic for kids

Second-hand ragrugs, old milk churn and - an antique bushel as a bread basket

It has been one of those PERFECT midsummers this year. Sunny, warm (the Finnish way ;), but still) and most of all - relaxing. The kids have been running around the forest and the yard all day and fallen asleep like small potatoes in the evening (like right now...)

Summer picnic

Flowers from the yard in an old milk churn

Somehow Midsummer seems to be such an adult celebration with the staying up late and looking at the bonfires being lit up at midnight, drinking alcohol and - well.  We thought to change that a little this year, and have been enjoying ourselves - but also preparing some fun stuff for the kids, as well, like a picnic on the pier after their 1-of-the-many swims.  Preparing the picnic took perhaps 15 minutes, and we all enjoyed so much. Unfortunately I was able to post here only one photo with a kid on it, as there was someone's naked bottom in each of the pictures ;). It was somewhat hysterical taking these photos...


The ingredients: second-hand rag rugs, vintage milk churn together with flowers picked from our yard (and one flowerpot...), and an antique bushel I managed to find during the winter!! It is GORGEOUS. And in perfect shape.

Turkish cherries (love)

These Rice shopping bags - they take me and my family EVERYWHERE this year...

 Below all of it is starting to be gone...

Yeezzz - I like the chocolate stuff...

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kesäpicnic, picnic lapsille, leipävakka, maitokannu, räsymatto

Preparing the smoke sauna for midsummer

This spring and summer I've been so crazy about dark blue, lavender and pink that I couldn't help myself even for midsummer...last year it was birch tree, this year it is clearly the road-side wild lupines.

The sauna is now almost ready, so this will be now a quick post with photos - enjoy you all out there, we certainly are :)!

So hard to capture the smoke coming out of the door - but it's there :)

Old fish-net - from 1948, it says.

Our tradition - the men go first and use the sharp heat from the stove. Ladies turn...milder, with some champagne ;).

The water is there so you can rinse your feet when running back to the sauna from the currently freezing cold lake...

Our above Peshtemal towels from Turkey have been in great use in the smoke sauna for years - some of them have faded a bit when they've spent too much time drying outside (like over the winter or so...), but I can't do anything except recommend these.

Ready to go...

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Savusauna, juhannus, juhannussauna

Summer fun in Finland

Sure - it rained again today ;), but it is like this always in June. Next year we might skip these first 2 weeks at the summer house - just so that we don't need to drag the winter clothing with us...

Very close to our summer place there is a place called Niinipuu. Kids love the place, and usually it is an enjoyable boat ride to go there. Well - this mommy of theirs still hasn't learned to operate the parking part (among other parts, which are on the to-learn list for this summer...), so that didn't happen today.

Okkolan lomamökit has a number of summer cottages for rent by Lake Saimaa (their books are full for the next 2-3 years, if I recall right, but you may always check...) and a perfect, traditional Finnish restaurant in VERY traditional surroundings.

Their speciality? Smoked salmon, directly from the smoking oven, served on a piece of wood...our 5-year-old loves the fish so much, he walked right in and ordered a portion for himself ;).

There were geraniums and violets (the trendiest flowers at least in Sweden at the moment)...

...and some special characters scaring away the unwanted guests :).

A lovely day despite the rain :).

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kotimaanmatkailu, Niinipuu, Niinisaari, Okkolan lomamökit