Pumpkins and mitre joints

Well the new seasonal header image from the Linnänmäki Valotkarne kurpitsat photo seemed appropriate for the weekend. You won't be surprised to hear that Konna has bough a mini one to make a lantern from.

With Konna busy at work and me busy preparing for a new 'project' not much we can write about at the moment... except that as Konna is ironically doing project information in English (again) she keeps asking me what the English for such-and-such architectural term is, either by description ("you know one of those metal bars that presses the timber down" which turned out to be a compression rod/bolt) or by it's Finnish term - "what's Haapa and Terva Leppä - they are good for sauna's as they don't have much pihka - and I need to say make jiiri corners".* Usually after a bit of head scratching, leafing through dictionaries and quizzing wikipedia (suomeksi ja englanniksi) we work it out. Maybe I should start an English-Finnish Architectural Terminology Dictionary website/wiki...

*That's Aspen, Black Alder, Resin/Amber and Mitre joints, in case you were wondering.

Are we here yet?

Kurpitsat! From Winter 2009 - Helsinki & around.

In case you were wondering we didn't turn into pumpkins, but did actually come back to Helsinki. So what's been happening to Emmdee and Konna?

• A fancy dress party where we went as teenagers c. 1987 (for me think black jeans, sister's of mercy T-shirt, studded belt...; for Konna think language student - complete with EF rucksack)
• A week dog/house sitting (good weather for walkies in the central park - where Konna had never been!)
• Mennimme Linnänmäkiin - katso valot karne kuvista (see Linnänmaki Carnival of lights pictures on Picasa) - the lazer show was crap though...
• Five (more) boxes of stuff arrived from UK: we now have more clothes, a TV, DVD/home cinema, and A3 printer again after a year! Hurrah! (But where the heck do we put it all?)
• DVD player and printer aren't working! Boo! Where's that insurance claim form...?
• Konna is working for a small but successful and critically acclaimed practice doing very interesting buildings (down to the doorknobs) ... can't say any more than that
• We (or I as Konna is working full time now) may have some small projects coming... the big problem is of course what to call the company if we do
• Menin hämmäsläkkärille / suunhygenistille, ja nyt minun hampaat ovat (melkein) valkoinen... ja hän sanoi minulle - sinä puhu hyvin suomea jos olet assunut suomessa vain yhden vuoden (!) Well who says Finns aren't polite?
• 'Somebody' lost that dentist bill - cue comedy misunderstanding of spelling of my name on telephone: dee ... day - pay?, DEE - bee?; DAY - ...? Voisinko lähetää sinulle sähköposti..?
• First sauna for six weeks (I even started to miss it)
• First cycle ride for six weeks (since the biggie); 75km Porvooseen ja takaisin - was so damp and cold that on the way back had to stop at a bus stop to take of my shoes and socks to warm my frozen numb feet; notes to self: a) dress warmly when it's 5°C; b) after six weeks 75km is too far...
• A video of my TdH triumph is on Strands here; and my Strands page is here (a sort of Facebook/training log for running/cycling)
• We may have blinked and missed autumn... it snowed today...

Going home?

Fish'n'chips via.

That was weird. Without thinking about it I just typed the title of this post (before I added the question mark) - I wonder if that means something? So actually our 'holiday' back in UK visiting my family is ending today, and we will be back in Finland tonight. After three weeks of unusually sunny, warm weather in Blighty, with only the first autumnal tinges showing, we will be greeted by temperatures 10 degrees cooler, and touching zero at night, and autumn in full swing... the first snow has even fallen in Lapland.

But is Helsinki 'home' now, after only fifteen months? Strangely it is Stadilainen Konna who keeps saying 'If we come back in a year's time ... we'll wish we hadn't sent six more boxes of stuff over' or '... we'll want most of this stuff that is now filling your mum's spare room'.

While I've been here I've been keen to partake in several important local cultural culinary treats:

• Battered fish and chips (not fries) with salt and vinegar - from a fish'n'chip shop, in paper
• Steak and kidney pie - mmm pastry
• 'Proper' italian style, wood oven roasted, thin crust, pizza (no Finnish kebab-shop minced-meat pies thanks)
• Sunday Roast (lamb) - cooked by my Mum (who makes fantastic crispy roasties)
• Sitting and reading the weekend papers

I've also realised that I actually missed British TV and radio (particularly radio channels that play new and current music... a radical idea that doesn't seem to have reached Finland yet).

Maybe this all explains why I managed to lose 7 kilos this summer (leading to some comedy trouser issues) not having this stuff around to eat, but I dread to think how much I've regained in the last few weeks. Back on the bike for me then until the snow comes.