Falling leaves and snow

-10 and sunny. Beautiful morning by the lake!

3 yellow chanterelles, a bag of winter chanterelles and a few
layers of black horn-of-plenty to fill the drier

So autumn has basically come and gone. Well, not officially, but it has been feeling downright wintery until...yesterday? We had 10cm of snow and -10 to -15 for a week so I was pretty convinced (and optimistic) that winter and ski season were fast approaching.  However, we set our clocks back an hour on Sunday and pretty much as soon as we lost summer time, the summer weather returned. irony. Now it is +8 and sunny, making it warmer than it was on midsummer day (June 21) this year. It snowed then.  Just before the snow came I managed to get the very last mushrooms of the season...little frozen chunks of winter chanterelles, yellow chanterelles and black ones










Last weekend we headed up to Rautavaara where Aku is a member in a hunting club to try our luck on the last weekend that bird hunting season is open. The targeted game birds are like grouse, metsäkanalinnut "forest chicken birds" in finnish, but can be much larger than the Canadian grouse I am used to. For example black grouse, or teeri, are over 3lbs/1.4kg and capercaillie, or metso, can be up to 15lbs/6.7kgs. Well...we saw both, and some hares, which are also in season. However the only thing we got at the end of the day was cold. There was enough snow that mushrooms and frozen berries were out of the question.  Both Saturday and Sunday temperatures hovered around 1 degree with freezing rain coating the trees and shrubs. It wasn't terribly pleasant for anything except a good sauna afterwards.  We tried something new in the sauna: katajavasta (juniper vasta), a first for both Aku and I.  I believe that I have previously mentioned that Finns like to make bundles of birch branche, vasta, for beating themselves (and others) in the sauna. Ok, sounds weird, but it is surprisingly pleasant.  Instead, how about beating yourself with bundles of juniper (Juniperus communis) branches? Yeah, seriously. We thought that was just a cruel rumour to get some poor drunk/foreign fool to inflict pain on themselves.  BUT, we tried it and it just so happens that it can be pleasant feeling and pleasantly fragrant.  It should be noted that these branches need to first be softened by searing/steaming them on the sauna stove and a much gentler touch is required. Strange but true...and effective!

We had to drill a hole in the 10cm-thick ice to get water for the sauna.  This was about the maximum visibility that we had the whole weekend. and no...this photo was not taken in black-and-white!

Freezing rain. Enough said.

One of the great things about the wintery feeling was that I felt totally justified and excited to tuck into comfort food.  I made a thanksgiving dinner for my Finnish family (no turkey, but pumpkin pie and cobbler!), lots of stews, mashed potatoes, root vegetables and the oh-so-traditional Finnish casseroles. Since Aku participated in a fairly successful moose hunt this year, we have a healthy supply of local wild moose meat in the freezer. Mmmm...the possibilities! (and cost-savings!) Meat is so terribly expensive here...and I am particularly cheap since I am unemployed.  So, I have started to get into traditional Finnish game food recipes. Yesss...that is truly comfort food! Take käristys for example (the following bit is a recipe, skip it if you're not into cooking generally or eating meat)....

Käristys is traditionally from lapland for cooking reindeer, but has been popularly adapted for moose.  I guess reindeer can be a bit chewy and given the fact that everything in Lapland is frozen most of the year, here is the (delicious) result:

- Start with a whole roast or large tougher cut frozen.  Not all the sinewy bit have to be trimmed off, but the worst bits should be. Defrost it slightly at room temperature.  It should not be melted, just not totally solid anymore
- Use a sharp knife to shave/slice thin leaves of meat off the end of the roast (across the "grain"). They should be thin enough that some light comes through them.





- heat up a large heavy-bottomed pan and add a generous quantity of butter (or oil, but I like butter).  Leaner meats require more cooking fat, fattier meats less.
- add a few pieces of meat at a time and brown them quickly. when they are browned, push them to the side and add a few more. continue until all the meat has been browned.










- dice an onion and mince a couple cloves of garlic (ok, this bit may not be traditionally lappish, but it is delicious). Keeping the browned meat to one side, add the onions and garlic to the pan. You may need to add more butter ;)

- Once onions are softened mix them in with the meat. Season with salt. add a bit (maybe 1cm in bottom of the pot) of water (or beer or more butter :) ) and cover with the lid.

- Aku's family really likes to add a few drops of sesame oil for flavouring or liquid smoke.
- simmer covered for about an hour.
- serve on mashed potatoes with lingonberry sauce. Cranberry may also be a good substitute. Some people like to have salt cucumbers (like pickles) on the side.

- Vegetables?? naah...this is Finnish food!

Ok, the recipe is over :) 

... and so is the posting

So...it's been a year...

Hei Everyone!!

So, it has basically been a year since anything happened on this blog, but I just wanted to update in case you were worried that I had disappeared into the wilds of Finland...or Alberta.  Here's a quick overview (but it's still really long):

1. Got married.

Yay for fall weddings!

This involved successfully navigating the Finnish civil registry system, Finnish embassy, BC provincial records, Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Finnish immigration system.  After weeks of paperwork and more than a dollar or two in postage we were good to go...I didn't even have to sign anything at the wedding...(maybe it's not valid)?  Moral of the story...maintaining an international long-distance relationship may be easier than marriage. At least in terms of paperwork.

But seriously, the wedding was almost exactly a year ago and I have lived just over a year in Finland now.  Getting married was probably the best decision we ever made and Aku has been endlessly supportive through all of my trials and tribulations this year...there have been a *few* of those!

2. Finished University. Again. Sort of.

So, as you probably know I was/am in a dual masters degree program. In theory: 2 universities, 2 years, 2 degrees. HA! I started 3 years ago and am only just seeing the end of things. barely. But then again, I didn't exactly choose the most logical order of events to get things done.
- Summer 2012: Field work in Finland
- Move to Alberta
- Winter 2012/2013: write thesis for Finnish university while living in Alberta. So...that means no supervisor around, no fellow students working through similar issues and a 9-hour time difference to contend with if anything became "urgent"
- Move back to Finland
- Winter 2013/summer 2014:  write thesis for Alberta university while living in Finland. All of the same previous issues once again encountered. Great.

Anyways, now I have completed both theses. While the submission of the Finnish one was pretty simple (email pdf. done.), U of A was significantly more complicated (seminars, defenses, copyright forms, waivers, special software...ugh). but it is all DONE!!!! done done done done done :-) well...I have one exam left, but it should be simple in comparison the this whole thesis thing.

3. Travelled
- Canary Islands Dec. 2013: Honeymoon.

one of the nicer evenings in Tenerife

Wow, talk about touristy. Sometimes when you go to beachside tourist resorts, you can always escape to the small town nearby where actual locals live. Trinkets are not sold, people stare at you for being a tourist and you can buy food at decent prices.  Not in the Canary islands.  There was not a single location that was not infested by Northerners...Finns, Swedes, Russians, Italians, Germans....it's like all of Europe on a tiny island.  They/we all come for the sun. But was there any?? Well, it was limited. We did however, get to experience the biggest rain storm in 100 yrs with thunder and lightning to top it off. And there was fresh snow on the volcano. What a tropical paradise (read: sarcasm). Perhaps a honeymoon skiing in the Alps would have been better.

a cozy Swedish New Year

- Sweden Jan 2014: Happy New Year! with friends from all over!

Norwegian Powder

- Norway Feb 2014: Visit Emily and Andreas
Some quality time with my long-list sister (or perhaps I am the one who is long-lost) and her man. Learned to ski norwegian ice as it was one of the worst snow years on record.

Family from all over at "home" in Langley. not the reception.

- Canada April/May 2014: Wedding Reception (Again!)
I got to visit with lots of friends and family who I haven't seen in AGES! It was really really really great to have everyone come together in a relaxed atmosphere with good food. My only regrets are not having a playlist prepared ahead of time (computer crash) and not having enough time to spend with everyone! Another bonus of this trip is I got to hang out with my other long-lost sister in Calgary (once again I may be the long-lost sister). And it was spring in the Gary Oak meadows, which we were lucky enough to visit!

Finns in Canada

Me and Mom ready to party

- BC June 2014: More weddings!
A quick (and crazy) trip across the world to watch some good friends tie the knot (literally)!  They were Hindu weddings and the bride and the groom actually get tied together!












- Norway July 2014: Rafting

refreshing rivers

Aku had 1 week of holidays this summer so we drove to Norway to visit Emily and Andreas. I think we covered over 3000kms that week (our butts were sore!) but the car survived and so did we! I'm sure that there were more than a few moments when Aku was sure he was going to die as he floated down class 3+ whitewater with nothing more than a lifejacket and a little kick board.

Norwegian countryside

- Turkey September 2014: Sunshine!

Turkish traffic. The most systemless system I have ever encountered.

1 week with my sister-in-law in Alanya. Nothing more than sunshine, spas and bazaars. Oh yea, and an intensive week of finnish language for me. At least I can honestly say I am at a conversational level now.

- next stop: Mexico! (via Vancouver)

we spent a few afternoons just like this!

4. Became an Immigrant.

This has definitely been the most difficult thing to come to terms with.  I don't think I quite have yet. I miss BC, I miss Canada, I miss my family.  This was all just fine when I lived in Finland a year as a student because I knew that there was a set date at the end of it when everything would "go back to normal" (like that would ever be true).  But now I don't have a return date.  I feel like I have lost a home, but more importantly I feel like I have lost a lot of friends in this move.  I am notoriously bad at keeping in touch, but that doesn't mean I have forgotten you! As I begin to learn the language, I feel less out of place in everyday life. But when I look around, I still see Finland, not home.  BC is just one of those places that sticks with you; there really is no place like it.  I see photos on facebook of people working in the woods in BC and I miss it.  I know that could have been me.  But it isn't now and I am coming to terms with it.  I certainly didn't choose the easy route, but I know that I have lots of different opportunities here too...I just need to get out and find them!

Well, that just about sums it up.  I will attempt to blog more regularly again. Just so people don't think that the wilds of Finland have swallowed me up. Or Russia for that matter...

Here are a few photos of "everyday life" and what I have gotten up to randomly over the past year or so:

Checking fishing nets under the ice. don't fall in the hole!!

driving across the ice.  There are soo many lakes here that winter driving distances can be easily half of summer distances because they make roads across the ice.

Spring at the cottage (hunting cottage)

Spring snowstorm at the same cottage

Early summer at Olavi Linna near in Savonlinna. One of the few castles/fortresses in Finland

Eating delicious delicious sushi at my favorite restaurant on Davie Street (Kadoya, right beside Love's Touch Erotica)

I caught my sister's dog in my bed. Can't do dog shaming becuase he seems to have no shame in this regard.

We had a great summer in Finland! It was almost 30 for about a month.

Aku's homeplace is just across the lake from the airport, so it is faster to go by boat than by car. but colder.

For some reason they decided to make a "beach" in the centre square in Umeå, Sweden.

I picked mushrooms this year. lots and lots and lots of mushrooms. Chantrelles, Boletes, gypsy mushrooms, milk caps, hedgehog mushrooms. Soo good.

Last weekend I found the last chantrelles of the season.

The sweetest hat ever. found in Alanya, Turkey