Jul
20

Island colours and happy thoughts

by Sofia   -   in Random

The start of our holiday has been very relaxing ( minus the Regatta, which was mostly just fun!). We have been lazy on the island basically doing nothing all day long. I´ve finished 3 books ( I read many simultaneously) and started 2. We have read Harry Potter in bed every night with Cotton Candy way past her bedtime for even 2 hours in one sitting as it´s too good to put down and she is adorable trying to stay awake asking me for “one more chapter”. She reminds me of myself as a child. The weather has been windy to say the least and rainy on some days too ( so rainy I had to save my hydrangea to sleep in the kitchen sink one night) but we don´t really mind ( read my overly long p.s.). We´ve been having long breakfasts by the fire and other mornings we´ve had breakfast on the rocks in our rain coats. Lucky for us we are not from sugar and can stand some wind too!

I can tell you some things I have enjoyed tremendously in the past week.

1. The scent of smoke from a burning fireplace coming from the chimney whilst you stand outside in the rain. It must be one of my all time favourite scents. The nature, the rain, the cozy fire. Nothing like it!

2. Listening to the ocean roar outside my bedroom window. Our widow is really a door that opens to the terrace and has a sea view. So we sleep less than 20 m from the ocean. It´s so lovely to cozy up under our duvet when you hear the waves crashing on the rocks in a constant lull.

3. The girls running to the sauna butt naked on the rocks after dipping in the sea. Their long hair swept by the wind. Nothing cuter. Something I will miss so much when they grow older.

4. Just being there. For anybody who needed me. Sleeping in my own ( country house) bed next to the people I love. Waking up when I had slept long enough and having breakfast with the people I love. Being idle with the people I love. Just being there. For me and for them. I read the news online, I know what is going on in the world ( it makes me horrified, it makes me sad, all of it does) but somehow I try not to loose sleep over it, I try to concentrate on the things around me that are filled with good and filled with love. So I was there. I was right here. Right now.

5. The sun glistening on the sea, twinkling between the trees. It has not been one of those very hot Julys where we lounge on the cliffs and dip in the sea to cool down. But the sun has been here. And it looks just as pretty playing in the wind. Maybe even a little prettier. It´s the joyful sun that has filled my heart with happiness.

6. A blue moment very late at night with my older baby, sitting on the rocks, her cuddling in my jumper. We were looking out to the sea after a stormy day and talking sweet nothings. I told her that I love her ( which I tell them all the time) and that she is an amazing person I´m very proud of and that she should promise never ever to forget that. She cozied up against my chest and promised she would´t. I took comfort in knowing she is still so little she fits inside my clothes and inside my arms.

Some pretty, mostly blue & white, details from the island…

Some posies in the outhouse too.

And this bathing lady is waiting to be lifted on the wall there.

Sofa cushions. My collection is spilling off the sofa soon so I think a guest room renovation is next on my agenda so I can remove a few and add them there.

Some easy baking for the island in case we get surprise visitors.

The water dispenser is old but I found a stand for it in New York as well as the sign. The stand is meant for a bigger drink dispenser but I thought if I have a party I can add some pretty florals and/ or lemon wedges on the rims. The olive oil is from Eataly. I bought it for obvious reasons as the ceramic bottle is perfect for the island but it´s also a very good olive oil so I´ve been generous with it on my salads.

This algae trey is from Gauhar and the pattern designed in Finland. It fits our island mood perfectly! They also have pretty algae napkins to make our table settings extra special.

Hope your holiday has been as nice as ours!

Lattemamma

p.s. I have always wondered about how people react so strongly about weather and “bad weather” at that. It´s funny how even adults build their holiday expectations around weather and then complain if it´s not sunny and beautiful. I would recommend building expectation around different things like how you are going to enjoy your first cup of coffee in the morning in your favourite spot ( come rain or shine) or even just thinking of alternative scenarios for things to do in different kinds of weather. Maybe it´s those beautiful memories everyone has from sunny days in their childhood that make us grave them more. I have those too. But maybe I was lucky because some of my happiest memories happened on rainy days too and in windy weather.

I do get that if you specifically travel to a place that is sunny and warm 99% of the year you get disappointed if it rains, fair enough. But at least the Finnish summer is so fickle and has been since my childhood that I would not count on popsicles on the cliffs every day. Just invest in a raincoat & wellies you love and buy that cashmere sweater and socks and enjoy the ride! Oh and make those rainy days count and create your kids some of their best memories so they will learn to love them too.

edit. after writing this post at the end of last week the heat wave has come over Finland so it seems popsicles are in order after all.