![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I'll try to make this coherent, but we're just in from tobogganing (well, plastic bagging, if you want to get technical) down dedicated slopes near the local elementary school with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
inannajones' mother, and I'm a bit stunned by that and the shower.
So, Christmas in Finland is a routine I know by now. Like any such thing, it's never quite the same two years in a row - there are different members of the family around, the weather is different, and there are small changes in the local landscape as bits of forest are harvested and areas I've only known as open land begin to produce new forest. There are elements that are always the same, though. We will always decorate the tree on the morning of Christmas Eve, always go to the graveyards with candles at dusk, always go to the sauna when we come back, always eat a staggering huge meal, and distribute presents afterward.
This year,inannajones' uncle Jukka has finished building a gorgeous new house next door to her grandmother's place, where he and his new wife (Mira) and new child (a daughter, Inga) are living. There was snow this year, which hasn't been the case for a while, and temperatures below freezing, but still comfortable. inannajones' cousin Janni has got to the stage where her English is now confident (it was probably perfect last year, mind), so I can hold a conversation with her. She's not-quite-fifteen, and if she comes to visit in the summer as planned, I may have to get a shotgun to keep the boys at bay. She has a horse, who we went to visit at the stables on Christmas Day, where he galloped in circles and snorted and posed and was generally a fine example of equinity.
The Big Black Cat, Kalle, had been missing all summer and well into the autumn, and was presumed to have met a bear he couldn't handle (an unlikely prospect, I felt). He turned up about a month ago, demanding food and warmth for the winter. He is, if anything, denser, more muscular and more panther-like than ever, and I reckon he was actually off working with the Justice League for the summer. His stay-at-home counterpart, Killi, menaced my legs during the nights, and slept on the bed during the day. Killi always looks like a peaceful cat, but after a savage attack on my feet at five in the morning about four summers ago, I treat her and her dagger-like claws with respect.
I have a working theory aboutinannajones' family. Her grandmother claims to be from Karelia, but I reckon she's actually from Faerie. This is evidenced in the way the family can regress in age whenever they want. Her grandmother herself is in her early eighties, and still chops logs when necessary. As far as I can see, she has shown no signs of aging further in the nearly ten years I've known her. Her uncle had grey hair and looked old two years ago; he's now back to blondish hair (right down to the roots, before anyone points out the miracles of hair dye) with some grey streaks and a sprightly attitude. And her mother, in her fifties, was the one leading the charge on the playground facilities when we were out walking last night, and is the undisputed champion plastic-bag-tobogganeer. I reckon she's got younger while I've known her as well. Not to mention the party games she comes up with. Like I say, fey blood.
I've had a slight cold, which has slowed me down a bit, but it seems to be pretty much gone now. I've clearedinannajones' mother's front yard of snow twice, walked about six miles in total, examined bird and mouse and hare tracks in the snow, taken photographs of falling snow against trees at night, and seen the way in which birch branches look red in the distance.
Great-aunt Hellä brought over some photographs, and two more boxes were produced as well, some very old indeed. I was fascinated by some old school pictures, from which you can construct an easy chronology, and see that clothes and hairstyles didn't change at all in the 50s, and then had begun to change rapidly in the 70s.
I'm still processing some bits and pieces, aided by the very deep sleep that I usually enjoy here, and no doubt they'll make appearances at later dates.
inannajones' mother, and I'm a bit stunned by that and the shower.So, Christmas in Finland is a routine I know by now. Like any such thing, it's never quite the same two years in a row - there are different members of the family around, the weather is different, and there are small changes in the local landscape as bits of forest are harvested and areas I've only known as open land begin to produce new forest. There are elements that are always the same, though. We will always decorate the tree on the morning of Christmas Eve, always go to the graveyards with candles at dusk, always go to the sauna when we come back, always eat a staggering huge meal, and distribute presents afterward.
This year,
inannajones' uncle Jukka has finished building a gorgeous new house next door to her grandmother's place, where he and his new wife (Mira) and new child (a daughter, Inga) are living. There was snow this year, which hasn't been the case for a while, and temperatures below freezing, but still comfortable. inannajones' cousin Janni has got to the stage where her English is now confident (it was probably perfect last year, mind), so I can hold a conversation with her. She's not-quite-fifteen, and if she comes to visit in the summer as planned, I may have to get a shotgun to keep the boys at bay. She has a horse, who we went to visit at the stables on Christmas Day, where he galloped in circles and snorted and posed and was generally a fine example of equinity.The Big Black Cat, Kalle, had been missing all summer and well into the autumn, and was presumed to have met a bear he couldn't handle (an unlikely prospect, I felt). He turned up about a month ago, demanding food and warmth for the winter. He is, if anything, denser, more muscular and more panther-like than ever, and I reckon he was actually off working with the Justice League for the summer. His stay-at-home counterpart, Killi, menaced my legs during the nights, and slept on the bed during the day. Killi always looks like a peaceful cat, but after a savage attack on my feet at five in the morning about four summers ago, I treat her and her dagger-like claws with respect.
I have a working theory about
inannajones' family. Her grandmother claims to be from Karelia, but I reckon she's actually from Faerie. This is evidenced in the way the family can regress in age whenever they want. Her grandmother herself is in her early eighties, and still chops logs when necessary. As far as I can see, she has shown no signs of aging further in the nearly ten years I've known her. Her uncle had grey hair and looked old two years ago; he's now back to blondish hair (right down to the roots, before anyone points out the miracles of hair dye) with some grey streaks and a sprightly attitude. And her mother, in her fifties, was the one leading the charge on the playground facilities when we were out walking last night, and is the undisputed champion plastic-bag-tobogganeer. I reckon she's got younger while I've known her as well. Not to mention the party games she comes up with. Like I say, fey blood.I've had a slight cold, which has slowed me down a bit, but it seems to be pretty much gone now. I've cleared
inannajones' mother's front yard of snow twice, walked about six miles in total, examined bird and mouse and hare tracks in the snow, taken photographs of falling snow against trees at night, and seen the way in which birch branches look red in the distance.Great-aunt Hellä brought over some photographs, and two more boxes were produced as well, some very old indeed. I was fascinated by some old school pictures, from which you can construct an easy chronology, and see that clothes and hairstyles didn't change at all in the 50s, and then had begun to change rapidly in the 70s.
I'm still processing some bits and pieces, aided by the very deep sleep that I usually enjoy here, and no doubt they'll make appearances at later dates.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
From:
no subject