This weekend Halloween is here, but in many cultures in different areas of the world, All Saints’ Day and the Day of the Dead is celebrated. It is a day of remembrance of our loved ones who have passed before us. Even in Finland, traditional Halloween as known in the United States, has made its […]
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.
Friendship in my Kitchen
My kitchen often reaches a state of mess, or perhaps I should state it another way. It attains a lived-in feel. As I write, I can hear my oldest and fourth and fifth oldest making carrot sticks and dip for a snack and the youngest is asking for samples. Occasionally his voice becomes high-pitched if […]
Sand sculptures and picnic lunches
School was about to begin and we decided with another Mom friend of mine to take the kids on one last outing before they would need to go to school. Just about an hour away is Lappeenranta, which is right next to the Russian border and is has been built on the shores of the […]
I’ll be back someday
This time for In My Kitchen, I thought to share a bit of our trip to Norway. While we were in the wilderness in Sweden (previous post) and camping in Norway we used a Jetboil that boils water very quickly to which it is easy to add dried packaged food or oats for oatmeal. I […]
Hiking the Swedish Nordic Fell in the Summer
I’ve had a small hiatus from blogging, but am happier than ever to be back. Sometimes life hands little surprises and although they might be positive in nature, they have the tendency to stir the pot and mix everything up. The natural rythym of bedtimes and wake-up times have returned, even for the teenager, as […]
Harry Potters all three
I don’t quite remember when we have had such a fickle summer. In 2004, it was perhaps the most rainy, but now if the sun shines and it warms up even a bit, the children start to plan a swimming trip. And there is reason to their logic. In two hours it may be that […]
All the King’s Men
We told our children that we were planning a little trip while they are on summer vacation. One of them asked immediately, “Are we going abroad?” No, we were not planning to go abroad, but rather somewhere much closer to home and only a couple of hours away. We drove through the beautiful and vast […]
The Magic of Midsummers
We haven’t had any typical summer weather yet this year. We haven’t gone swimming yet once as the wind has been strong and temperature quite cool and nearly everyday we have had some showers. But the weather has been perfect for the fairies. I doubt they fly if it is too hot and the air […]
Motherhood in my Kitchen
Do you ever have days when you reflect back over the past year or years. Think of whether the job you are doing is good enough. School just ended for our children. Traditionally in Finland the children and parents will sing the suvivirsi or summer hymn. In my kitchen I had children practicing the song […]
All of my favorite places
Summer is almost here and perhaps some of you are planning a trip to Helsinki. The city offers many young people summer jobs and so many young adults flock to the city and during their off-hours enjoy the parks and everything that summer has to offer. Part of my job is to know what others […]
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