Summer Bucket List 2017

As we are living the last spring month in Finland, it's a suitable time for listing down the things that I want to do during the summer of 2017. What comes to the list, they are things that I'd wish to do, however, I tried to write about things, which are actually possible. Other exciting things are also more than welcome - how boring would a summer be without any extempore activities? 

1. SUMMER COTTAGE

- I really want to spend lovely weekends at the summer cottage, because it is extremely relaxing to just hang out, take a sauna, swim at the lake and barbecue without any rush. 

2. TRAVELING 

- Previously, I have wished to travel abroad, but this summer I'd like to see some Finnish towns, which are new to me. Of course, traveling abroad would be fantastic as well, but my work comes in the way of longer travels - maybe during the autumn then. 

3. QUALITY TIME WITH FRIENDS

- Social contacts are important for me and I value friendship very highly, hence you gotta make sure to arrange meetings even if everybody has different schedules. 

4. CORRESPONDENCE

- Last year I was a very lazy pen pal, but I have caught up with mail very well during the past months. I truly wish that I can keep up this speed of answering to letters. 

5. RELATIVES

- My aim is to keep on seeing my granny from father's side weekly, and traveling to Hamina at least twice in the summer to spend time with my other granny. Of course, it would be lovely to see my other relatives as well - every family is unique. 

6. WORK

- On May 15th I'm starting my very first office job that is related to my past studies. I really want to succeed in it and create better base for my future job search. 

7. FOOD & DRINKS

- Ever since meeting my boyfriend, I have been more eager to test out new dishes and drinks. It doesn't matter if I will cook by myself or eat out at restaurants. 

8. DO MORE SPORTS

- As I have created a very functioning sport schedule for myself, I want it to continue throughout the summer. It would be awesome to learn how to go jogging when the weather seems too hot for me. 

9. PICK STRAWBERRIES

- When I was little my family went on a farm to pick strawberries, but I can't recall anything from this event. 

10. VISIT AN AMUSEMENT PARK

- It's been multiple years since I last went to an amusement park, hence I really want to go this summer. 

11. HAPPINESS 

- I want to be happy during the summer. I wish it to be filled with laughter and as stress-free as possible. 

12. MEMORABLE MEMORIES

- My aim is to create lovely memories during the summer, especially with my love.  It doesn't matter what we do as long as we get to spend more time together than before. 

13. WHAT ELSE? 

- Swim in the sea

- See a sunrise

- Taste new ice cream flavours

- Go a whole day without technology

- Read at least one book (Any suggestions?)

- Bake something that I have never baked before

- Try out yoga

→ MAKE SURE TO HAVE A GREAT SUMMER! 

What have you included on your bucket list this summer?

The Summer Has Passed

To the greatest of surprises September has begun! For the past three months I have been working on a grave yard, so that's basically how I have spent this summer. I cannot complain because I was able to enjoy the outdoors on daily basis and even though the job was not something that I enjoy, at least I had a job. Anyhow, I believe this to be a suitable time for checking how I reached the points on my Summer Bucket List 2016.

Let's start with traveling, as was mentioned in an earlier post, I traveled to Vilnius, Lithuania at the change of April and May. My more recent journey was to Pärnu, Estonia from August 6th to 9th. Pärnu is a lovely town situated in the southwestern Estonia and on the coast of the Baltic Sea. The trip provided a nice getaway from the grave yard job and on top of that I got to spend quality time with my mom.

What comes to my dearest hobby - correspondence, I haven't reached the goal of being a better snail mailer this summer. Rather, I feel like I have been necklegting letters a bit because even though I have had the thought of writing letters in the back of my mind, I still haven't managed to actually write anything on papers. Anyway, I am happy to say that I'm back in the business. Here's the current list of letters waiting to be replied: 

- Emilia, Finland

- Dora, Hungary

- Ida, Norway

- Silvina, Argentina

- Almante, Lithuania

- Ilona, Latvia

- Sacha, Belgium

- Inga-Siv, Sweden

- Amit, Israel 

Neither did my wish of spending more time on our summer cottage come to reality, which saddens me deeply. To me summer cottage is a place, where I can truly relax, be myself and feel happy, hence spending time there is important to me. I'm keeping up the hope of speading autumn days at the cottage instead of summer evenings. 

I have been relatively happy with the amount of time and the quality of the time that I have spent together with my family and friends. It is something truly important because it's a way for creating longlasting memories. Spenging time with my boyfriend has also meant the world to me. Through all of my social contacts, I have managed to taste delicious food & drinks, stand in the rain (rather use bicycle, but it's not that precise), pick up mushrooms, swim in a lake & sea, take pictures and relax. 

Testing out Flowpark has been on my wish list for a long time, so thank you Matti for going there with me. I enjoyed the experience a lot - the activity is something so suitable for myself. I wish to keep on testing out similar parks in the future, too!

To sum up, my summer has been lovely and memorable. Even though I haven't reached all of the goals I set for myself, I still managed to relax and be happy for most of the summer. Besides, there's absolutely nothing wrong in the autumn. My plan is to look for a job and finish my thesis with results that I can be proud of. Furthermore, autumn is beautiful with all the colourful leaves and it means Christmas is approaching slowly but steadily. 

I hope you have all had amazing summer or winter, depending on where you are! :)

Midsummer 2016

Midsummer is amazing, 

always waited for,

 it cannot be described by words. 

It makes me happy 

and relaxed 

- it is something unique. 

Arrived at summer cottage - happiness begins

My aunt is into creating smooth atmosphere

What is Midsummer without a bonfire?

A traditional visit to Korupirtti in Ylämaa, Lappeenranta, Finland

Can you see how happy I was at that exact moment?
 

A lake view is so calming!

Flowers belong to Midsummer

See the beauty :)

A rowing boat trip is always fun

From the rowing boat

The weather was super warm on Midsummer's Day

How beautiful can nature be? 

Hopefully, you enjoyed Midsummer or a regular weekend to the fullest as well!!

Summer Bucket List 2016

Creating a bucket list for the summer is always challenging, because it is even difficult to decide whether or not it would be a good idea to list down the things you would like to do. Somehow a list may limit the things you do or make you stressed out for the things you may not have enough time for. However, I see more positive sides to this kind of a list, because it will guide you throughout the summer and when the fall arrives, it is easier to reflect on the past summer.

I don't want to specify what I mean by summer, so let's jump straight into the summer bucket list of 2016.

1. TRAVELING
- I already traveled to Vilnius, Lithuania from April 28th to May 2nd. My dear pen pal was kind enough to host me and show me around. Pictures from the trip will be shown later on with some travel descriptions.
- It would be interesting to see new places within Finland as well.

2. CORRESPONDENCE
- I have felt like a lazy pen pal this year, thus I want to write quicker responses during the summer. Currently I have the following letters to reply: Amit (Israel), Lütfiye (Turkey), Almante (Lithuania), Nese (Turkey), Ilona (Latvia) and Ayaka (Japan).

3. SUMMER COTTAGE
- As long as I can remember, I have enjoyed spending time at summer cottages, thus I wish to spend more time there this year compared to the previous summer.

4. FRIENDS
- Spending time with friends is precious !!

5. RELATIVES
- Meeting and spending time with relatives is nice and I always have great time with them. Midsummer is a great opportunity for combining summer cottage and relatives.

6. FOOD & DRINKS
- With this I mean that I would like to try out new dishes & drinks, and test out new recipes & visit restaurants.

7. WORK
- I have a summer work, which I wish to be a good experience.

8. LAUGHTER & HAPPINESS
-  These things go hand in hand and I consider them crucial parts of life.

9. BOYFRIEND
- I wish to create our first summer memories together !!

10. FLOWPARK
- This is something rather new to Hämeenlinna, but I have always wanted to test it out, so it shall happen this summer.

11. RANDOM THINGS
- See the sunrise
- Stand in the rain
- Eat lots of ice cream
- Pick up berries & mushrooms
- Swim in a lake & sea
- Take pictures
- Finish my thesis well before the deadline

MOST IMPORTANTLY, ENJOY THE SUMMER WITHOUT STRESS!

What does your summer bucket list 2016 contain?

Zero Letters to Reply

My dearest pen pals and blog-readers,

I'm happy to say I have finally replied to every single letter that I have received. I cannot remember the last time I had zero letters to reply, but this surely feels good. I mean, it's nice to know I'm not keeping any of my pen pals waiting for a letter to arrive.

That said, I would like to know if any of you believe your letters haven't arrived to their destinations or that my letters to you have gotten lost on the way. I hate it when mail gets lost, but it does happen & it would be extremely annoying to lose a pen pal because of undelivered mail. So please, let me hear from you guys!

As I take quite a lot of pictures, it would be difficult not to have any pics in a blog post, so here we go:

Summer cottage vibes from Lappeenranta.

Gotta start the jogging season, so far it's going well. ;)

It's possible to enjoy the summer cottage even during the fall. 

Lingonberries :)

Have a great fall (or spring) day!!

Summer Is Almost Gone

Summer post must start  with a beautiful flower picture, right?

Suomenlinna, June 29th. 2015

Soon it'll be mid-August, how fast can the time actually fly? I can't believe how fast the summer has gone, because I feel like May started just a few days ago. I guess, my thoughts arise from the fact that I have felt myself busy most of the summer even though I haven't actually done much. 

Grave yard of Kalvola

Found my mom's old sunglasses. hehe.

I have been working most of the week days since the mid-May and on this Friday my summer job on the grave yard is coming to its end. My feelings are very mixed about it, because I actually like the job, well mainly the people there (however, it ain't so nice to work under a heavy rain). On the other hand it's nice to be able to enjoy the holidays, finally. What I don't like is the fact that the beginning of my 3rd university year is getting closer a day by day. Let's just say my motivation has run away during this year. haha. Hopefully, I can regain that motivation before going back to school. 

Flowers are beautiful, and I take lots of pictures of them ;)

A view from our summer cottage in Hämeenlinna

A view from our summer cottage in Lappeenranta

So, how have I enjoyed my free days (= weekends)? I have been spending lots of time on both of our summer cottages. There I can really relax and be happy - being at a summer cottage equals happiness. I can't imagine a summer without special days at summer cottages. To my surprise, I have spent time picking up berries and collecting mushrooms, which I haven't been keen on doing before. 

Collecting mushrooms

Picking up blueberries

In early July we also celebrated my brother's birthday by throwing up a small party. I like such events because I get to see some relatives and family friends. Of course, it's a great reason for eating unhealthy things. haha. 

Me at my bro's party.

After Midsummer, I have visited Hamina once. It was a nice visit, which followed the same pattern as always; watching TV, chatting a lot, going out to eat, visiting my grandpa's grave and going for a walk. I did see pretty views during this trip, though.  

One weekend I visited a housing fair in Vantaa (Southern Finland), which was nice. I wasn't too fond of the actual houses, but I liked most the lamps. Besides, the company was great and that matters much more than the stuff we do or where we are. :) 

That's about all for my quick summer post. I'm sorry I have been such a slow blogger, as well as snail mailer this summer. I hope to get back to business soon. I wish all the best for everyone for the rest of this summer! 

Midsummer '15

Midsummer has always been one of the celebrations that I look forward to during each year. It's a time when I get to relax, think nothing and be myself (my true self). This year our celebration started with a day at my granny's place in Hamina. We didn't do much; went out to eat and visited a grave yard. ''Haminan Ristiniemen hautausmaa''

As every summer I also got to admire all the beautiful flowers at my granny's garden. 

Later we headed to our summer cottage in the Eastern Finland. We have spent Midsummer there as long as I can remember and therefore it has become a tradition. I don't know what else to do than go there and celebrate Midsummer with some relatives. I really enjoy their company because they are such relaxed and funny people. I will look forward to meeting them again this summer! 

 On Midsummer day we went on a little car drive and got to see the country side a bit more. 

I hope you are all enjoying this summer!