We have been having beautiful weather. The sun has been so bright and the sky cloudless. Nevermind that the temperature has hovered close to -30C/-22C. After a long stretch of gray winter colors and clouds, I could not resist. I put on snowshoes since my ski boots were being used by one of the kids […]
Author: Laila Uljas
I've just turned 40 the other year, and to tell you the truth, I like being forty. I'm a mother to nine beautiful children (including one set of twins). Previously I have done product and concept development for coffee shops and bakeries. At the moment, I have been focusing on the wellbeing of our communities. I graduated from the University of Helsinki with a Master's in political science. The welfare of our society and community we live in is something I have always been concerned about ever since I was young. But life sometimes takes you into unplanned and exciting places. Soon we will be returning to our home city of 17 years, Kouvola, Finland after spending nine months on a dairy farm in northern Finland. It has been an experience of a lifetime. I have been telling the story of life on the dairy farm on my youtube channel Jenkkimutsi maalla interspersed with issues that affect our society. Most videos are in Finnish, but a few are in English. Welcome along.
Breakfast at Gramma’s
When one lives so far away from close family and friends it is easy to become nostalgic about the “old country.” Occassionally my sister and I will reminisce about Breakfast at Gramma’s. In addition to being able to spend some quality time with Gramma and Grampa, I think a part of the appeal comes from […]
Laatikko or Casserole
Epiphany has traditionally been a time to eat a second Christmas dinner. Sometimes it may be a bit of a varied version but it is a good time to pull out things in the freezer that did not get eaten the first time around. Last Sunday we had asked some friends to come over for […]
Happy New Year
Happy New Year 2013! A new year is always exciting, full of the unknown, new opportunities and new adventures. Between Christmas and New Year’s we were lucky to get a beautiful day. The three older girls tried downhill skiing for the first time. I was impressed with how quickly they learned. The little ones focused […]
The calm after the excitement
After the hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas it was time to just sit down and enjoy watching the children, sampling a few holiday goodies both with the kids and a few after the house is quiet and they have gone to sleep. I even had a chance to start a book on the […]
Merry Christmas
The joy and anticipation of Christmas can be seen in the eyes of children. Little helpers help make the family celebration. Ice lanterns bring a warm light into the yard. The first six months of blogging has been an incredibly positive and inspiring experience. Thank you for reading and following along. May your holiday be […]
Holiday preparation and Waldorf salad
The thing that I love about Christmas is the opportunity it gives to stop the everyday rush and enjoy time as a family. It’s nice to have a little time in a stage in life that is so scheduled that does not include specific bedtimes or the beep of the alarm clock in the morning. […]
A holiday dessert
Today was a bit busy! A few errands in the morning and gift wrapping and the last bunch of cards and packages made it to the post office. Our school girls had “evening school” which is a tradition at their school on the day they have their Christmas program. They also have a bake sale […]
The texture of snow and little gifts
The winters in Finland are dark but on the days the sun comes out it turns into a winter wonderland. Today the sun came out and when I noticed how everything was glistening I was in a hurry to make it outside before the sun would sink behind the trees. But with the little ones, […]
London
People walking with a clear destination in mind, in a rapid pace but not quite a rush. This was my first impression of London, a city with a population of over 8 million. It was nice to be able to join the stream of people and feel the beat of the city for a few […]
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