Camping

So, I love camping.

OK, the bug bites are horrible, the rain on the way home was horrible, the sleeping with no comfy pillows and bed was horrible....

but I had fun!

The weather on Saturday was GORGEOUS!

We got to the island without issues from our bears. Manta has a history of jumping out of boats...and Koda has only ever stepped foot in one once before and did not like it. 

...Yet the 30 minute boat ride to the island went well...
And we had a great time! :)


Koda waiting for us to get on the boat...or perhaps he was wondering at this point if he'd be expected to get on the boat with us! Lol!

Far too much stuff... for one night. :D
Sorry, I can't pack light! (And hubby's just as bad...)

Pretty boat ride pictures...

Pispala from the lake...

A sauna-boat. I want one!! :)

The island we camped on... we chose a nice spot on the far side of the island.

Our camp spot. And Manta wishing she was allowed to just go lay in the tent. Some outdoorsy dog.. ;)

Heather.

Lingonberries.

We had fun taking pictures of the lake through polarized sunglasses. The lake and sky were just beautiful the entire time we were there.

Some kind of grass. It was golden in the sunshine.

Manta bear being ridiculous.

Our dinner: zucchini, potatoes, corn (homegrown!), habanero flavored sausage. Dessert was SMORES!!!

The happiest bear ever. He had such a blast!

Oooooooh the sunset.
So romantic to sit by a campfire and watch the sunset change.

The view of the night lights from where we were camped.

Hubby had a tough time sleeping so he got up early and enjoyed the quiet sunrise himself.

...and he left me a morning message for when I woke up:

So sweet! ♥


So that was our camping trip. I wish the weather on Sunday would have been better so we could have enjoyed the day longer (instead of getting rained on!), but all in all, I regret not going earlier!!

Thanks for popping by!
Hope your week is off to a good start...only 3 more days till the weekend! :)

Ferns and such

On my way to school last week (and this week) and actually all spring (!), I've been admiring this patch of ferns and all the photo glory they behold. I have seen them in morning light and afternoon light...wishing I had the camera each time. The definite downside to owning a DSLR is the fact that it's bulky and the proper bags are so ugly. I always put our bag inside another, lol. Anywho, I finally took my camera with me on my second to last day of school. Pretty funny, right.

The ferns. Love! 

Here's another shout out to the best sister ever! Keeping me photo-inspired ;)

This one is my favorite. I love vertical. I love light through leaves. I love close up, I love detail. 

I think I'm developing a style as far as flower/nature photography goes...

 

Not only did the ferns catch my eye, but I've noticed the blueberries were blooming. I think they have such a pretty little bell flower. So dainty!

 

The growth of this woodland patch of lily of the valley was something I've been following all spring... Crazy how much pollen has fallen on these leaves!

 

This picture makes my heart leap!!

♥♥♥

I've seen it so many mornings and wished for my camera. I realized the tulips are starting to wilt, so it was another reason to carry my camera along to school... had to capture the beauty while I could!!

 

The same day as all the photos above (Wednesday), I went to my parents' to help my mom prepare for some US guests. In fact, my dad's cousin and his wife. I made roasted veggies that we served over cheesey, creamy pasta and some chicken on the side (there was a vegetarian among us!). As a side dish we ate a salad with a homemade lemony vinaigrette. And dessert, well dessert was fabulous. More on that in a minute!

This side table is something that my parents are super proud of. My dad, being the amazingly talented carpenter he is, built the table and then covered it mosaic style with all the (accidentally) broken cups and such that have come to be over the years. In fact, this has been a project in the making for at least a few years. Careful collection of broken items and items to be broken! ;) 

I hate to say it, but I think Kissa was a great inspiration, seeing as she is the one who broke most of the key pieces while living with my parents for a summer...

Naughty kitty!

The rest of the items have been given by friends, relatives, and have been flea market finds.

I think it's beautiful! 

Oh and here is the fabulous dessert. What else but pavlova?! Lol!

Me and my meringues...

But seriously, it was PERFECT! I served it topped with a rhubarb compote made the night before, just the right amount of tartness. And the sweetness was provided by whipped cream. 

Oh my...I drool even now at the memory.

Come to find out, I wasn't the only meringue fiend in the bunch. 

And there wasn't much left. ;)

Always a good sign!!

The picture isn't the best, but I was too busy drooling and wanting to eat it NOW than mess around with the camera. Sometimes, snapshots will do.

One thing I learned after making the compote, is that when not using "forced rhubarb" which have that beautiful dark red color, you can make a color syrup of sorts by boiling one small beet and sugar together. Once you add your normal green rhubarb it'll be prettified!

It's definitely something I'd like to try!!

Well, my work week continues. 

At least weekends equal a little bit more money.

But all I really want to do is lay in bed with my furry babies and listen to rain outside. 

It's so calming!

Hope you have an awesome weekend! :)

Ferns and the forest

I love spring. 

A lot.

I love the woods. 

A lot.

I love Saturdays.

Yeah, you guessed it, a lot. 

Ohhhh, and I love taking pictures, too! :)

 

Ferns for my sister.

 

We took a little detour on our morning woodsy walk down to the water's edge to take some boat pictures. 

 

I'm loving the bright lime green birch leaves against the black and white of the tree trunk and against the blue sky. I see where marimekko get's their inspiration from!

 

"The stump". I follow the seasons according to the stump. Lol!

 

It's so very green from the window now. I loves it!

 

I baked my favorite lemon and coconut bars today... And added some fresh grated ginger to the crust, YUM!

 

What do I not love? 

School.

Work.

Feeling pressed for time to get ANYTHING done.

But one must remember that:

a) everything is temporary

b) things could always be worse

c) being grateful is a choice.

I'm grateful for the time I've had today to walk in the woods, take pictures, bake and eat something yummy, and spend time on skype with loved ones.

Hope you're having a nice weekend! :)

Sunday fun day

Wow, what a week.

I worked 46 hours at my clinical training. I actually enjoy that place which is a very good thing since I'm always a bit wishy-washy about nursing. Ugh. Me liking a place makes the time spent go by so much faster...and while it's wrong to wish time away, I can't wait to graduate and be done with school!

I had Wednesday off, it was a gorgeous sunny day. I spent it seeing a friend who I rarely get to see. We took her daughter to a playground and watched her go. So sweet! Then I went home, made a casserole that I ate the rest of the week for lunch (ew, definitely casseroled out!) and then took my big bear for a looong walk with another friend. We were gone for 1.5h! So the total of my walking that day came to about 13km!! I walked ALL day! Once I did the math through google maps, I realized I should really get a pedometer. It'd be interesting to see how many kilometers I walk per year. :)

 (NO SNOW!)

So yes, I actually didn't do much of any crocheting! What?! I know... I couldn't really believe it myself. There just didn't seem to be enough time between work, getting ready for work, sleeping, taking care of Koda... I only made a few more rainbow parrot baby blanket squares. I think I'm up to about 25 squares already!

So now that you know what a boring work-filled week I had, I reaaaaaally enjoyed yesterday! Hubby is home again, life is back to normal, the sun is shining and spring is officially here. I met up with my friend Pinni, and we went for a long walk through the woods here. I've passed so many photo opportunities on my way to work and back that all week I had been planning to go back and take pictures my next day off. 

I love when plans come to fruition! 

So please, enjoy the million pictures I took. 

Yeah, there are a lot.

 Here is my glorious Sunday!

We headed out and discovered a little "pond" from melted snow... It was covered with frogs that I think were in the tadpole making business if you catch my drift... Lots of ribbiting going on.

"Leskenlehti", always the first flowers I see each year. 

Tampere bayou. All this from melted snow. I love it!

Sinivuokko, or anemone hepatica.

The main thing I wanted to take pictures of. Obviously. I love them and the woods are covered in them right now!

Small starts.

Big sunshine. 

I found pussywillows in various stages.

Figured out how to get bokeh from a puddle in the background. Then swore later that I would learn bracketing.

Enjoyed a patch of birch. When I have a farm one day with a ton of land, I want lots of birch to admire!

We found a patch of these flowers, no clue what they are. They attracted quite a few bees and butterflies. The chase began for bee and flutterfly pictures, but was mostly in vain.

The path then brought us back in to woods like this. Green with spring. :)

...and the view beyond was gorgeous. Melting ice!

Down we went to the water's edge... The rocks, the reflections, the sun... It was just so pretty!

It was such a great walk with good company! 

That evening, my little Manta bear came back home from her grandparents' and she had been washed! She is looking mighty pretty now!

And we celebrated hubby's and Manta's homecoming with sesame soy salmon, potatoes and salad with ginger salad dressing. 

The marinade for the salmon was SO good! I added grated ginger and minced garlic to it, delish! And now I am fantasizing about chicken with the same marinade... 

YUM!

So yes, that was a real Sunday fun day.

Tomorrow is May day and today starts the partying! So I should be off to take care of chores so I can enjoy the celebration later!

Have a nice May day!