Deja vu

Balcony sunrise

Like this, but better...

How to use a camera in mittens...

From Senaatintori lightshow

As you know I don't like to go on about the weather and length/shortness of days in Finland too much, particularly the cold, snow and darkness...* (kö).

Erm, anyway here are some pictures of the lightshow and projections Senaatintorilla tiistaina. It was about minus 17°C with a biting wind and pitch dark (being after 4pm) so I played an interesting game of 'can-I-hold-my-camera-still-enough-without-a-tripod-and-operate-it-with-gloves-and-woolly-mittens' while Konna hopped up and down (cold, not the other). Thank goodness for the 3200 ISO setting is all I can say (although actually pushing the little button and turning the selector with a digit encased in nylon, neoprene and sheep fuzz was another story...). After watching the final angel fade from Engel's architecture we retreated fittingly to Cafe Engel for lohikeittoa, kähvia ja pullaa, and sweated in our thermals.

Did I mention the 35cm of snow yet?

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* Well as I don't drink tea or like football or cricket particularly I have to do something stereotypically English, don't I? And heck, it was a record -35.5°C in Lappeenranta on Monday which is down here in the sub-tropical south not up in arctic Lappi...

Grow your own frosted glass

Sugar frosted privacy

Enjoy a tasty new 'acid etched' look to your balcony. (Please note you should take a good look at the view before using this recipe as you won't be seeing it again for a while...)

Ingredients:

• 1 x glazed in balcony
• 1 x micro-sauna
• Water
• 1-2 x humans
• Seasoning: baste with beer or cider to taste

Instructions:

1. Chill glazed balcony to around -15 to -20°C (if you can't fit yours in the freezer you may need to relocate to, say, Helsinki in the winter which has an over-abundance of apartment blocks with said items)
2. Pre-heat ridiculous micro-sauna to 70-90°C for 20 mins. If you don't have a micro-sauna an ordinary sized one will work fine (or as some would say, far better), although you should pre-heat for up to an hour.
3. Place humans in sauna. You may need to do this one at a time if you are using the stupidly small micro-sauna. Add water as necessary to give the bodies a good löyly - this may take between 2 and 20 minutes depending how well done you like them.
4. Quickly move the steaming bodies to the balcony - wrapping them in towels is usually recommended.
5. Allow to rest, occasionally basting with your choice of beverage.
6. After about 5-10 mins repeat stages 3-5 until a satisfactory layer of frost is achieved.
7. Rinse humans and store carefully for future use.

Uutta vuotta

2010: From Christmas 09

So the year counter has clicked over another zero. Second millennium +10.

And that makes it five years for me and Konna; and five years since I first visited Finland.

Helsinki has more snow than for forty years - a proper winter. And my new venture is finally starting...

Even though 2009 has ended sadly for Finland (with another shooting, this time in a shopping centre), let's hope 2010 can be a good year.

Here's to a happy and prosperous new year for you all - onnellista uuttaa vuotta!

New toys

Red skiers: From Christmas 09

On Christmas morning we always used to look out for kids on their new bikes. I guess it's the same here with skis... going for a walk on Sunday you would almost think you were in some ski resort in Lapland rather than the eastern edge of Helsinki.

See the imaginatively titled Christmas 09 album in the sidebar at the moment for christmas pictures and another walk in a snowy forest with a camera.

Hyvää Joulua / Merry Christmas

Still here...

Logs in the snow: From Lapland - Winter 08/09

Yes we are still here.

A combination of moving flat, being busy at work/starting a company, laziness, and a lack of ideas has meant a hiatus in blog posts. Neither of us want to blog about work stuff so not much to talk about and less 'spare' time (as I can use my Xbox360 now when I'm bored...............). At least we're getting a white christmas.

Maybe the new year will bring some inspiration?