"One man's junk is another man's treasure"
This is what you do. You make a future for yourself out of the raw material at hand." - Michael Cunningham
Philajakosken sää tänään : High of 4. Low of 0.
So when people ask where we are, I say, "...on earth..?" But everyone likes to know about the weather, where our dogs are, and where people were when they describe something, so I will tell ya.
We are in Finland. :)
Räntamaki (pronounced rÄnta-maki) literally translates from Finnish, Beach Hill. Even though it isn't that close to the lake or beach, Teemu's grandfather who built the home was very optimistic, and enjoyed the idea of summer. I have heard grand stories of this great man. Esko would sit for hours in the sun by his big home, and say not a word. Need not a thing. He would simply sit, and enjoy natures warmth.
We should all try that a little more shouldn't we?
The other day Teemu and I set an alarm. I swear it is the only alarm we have ever agreed to having that wasn't for a flight somewhere. It was an alarm, to get up. Before noon. Wow, what a theory eh?
It is not that Teemu and I are, lazy. We just strongly believe that it is extremely healthy to have a good sleep. But on this one special day we decided to sacrifice the well-being of our dreams and confront our real dreams in life...
Starting our projects.
We sat down the other day and wrote down the colorful list to get it out of our eager minds, but it is just too long to post here! The ideas became a book of it's own. So lets just focus on the first thing. I don't want to scare you away too soon here.
We woke up in our mökki (cabin) feeling surprisngly well rested. After slamming off the repeptitive alarm and scarfing down some eggs, we walked through the cold mornings air to the farm. Räntamaki was much warmer then where we were staying by lake Päijänne. The sun was already warming up the earth and the old buildings walls. Teemu and I went to the spring and enjoyed the cool fresh water. We were ready to start.
As you can see on the above list, it says. "Renovate Stable."
We have this mukava (mukava means nice in Finnish. I will be including some of my favorite Finnish words on here, haven't ya noticed?) dream of turning Teemu's grandfather's old shack (which is called Aitta in Finnish) into a breathing, living-in, colorful outdoor cafe/home for us to live in.
This one building on the farm was built in 1916. It is in one of the best conditions out of the houses there. I counted the rings on the logs and the trees are already 100 years old, and still solid. It is more then a 200-year-old structure and has been used for storing magazines, moose hides, pictures, and trinkets in for the past few decades.
I was excited to wrench open the old door and start cleaning. I am not one to be considered a clean-freak, but if there is a possibilitiy of finding old treasure, I am up for anything.
Teemu went off to empty the barn for the chickens we would be getting the next day, so I started on my own.
It was quite the job. Luckily I had goggles, a face mask, and a full suit to accompany me through the day. I don't know if I could have done it without them. I felt like some stickler-for-clutter robber, rummaging through deceased people's things, and tidying up along the way. But as I cleared out the first corner of the room, I started to get used to the space. And understand the quality of it.
Amazing how fast we can adapt to things.
The first treasure that I discovered was 6 garbage bags full of old Finnish books. Beautifully engraved covers with old text I couldn't understand. I guess that made the experience even more grand for me, because I couldn't understand anything I found! I am very thankful to have an artist mind and had a idea of using them in paintings and art pieces later on.
As I dug deeper and deeper into this dark messy cave, I found more and more treasures...
One of Teemu's ancestors.
Creepy solider 'doll.'
Someone's beautiful old lace they must have been keeping for a special ocassion...
Poision? Or alchohol? (whats the difference?...)
Teemu's dad's old comics
Two sets of vintage ski's.
Assuming this is a Finnish drink called 'Sahti.' It is thought to be over a hundred years old. (too bad its not whisky..)
Half-way point...
The stacks of paper and carboard grew outside as I attempted to make organized piles. I was amazed at how colorful some postcards and items were after cleaning off the dust.
I learned that Teemu's dad had slept in this room. His mattress had seen its last day and under it were stacks and stacks of old newpapers. I asked Teemu why they were there and he told me that was what people slept on back then! I had heard before that Finland was one of poorest countries in Europe after World War 2 but I didn't realise to that extent. I was learning a lot..
Could have been Teemu's old toy?..
Among these items I also found faded letters written by Teemu's grandfather when he was in war. I found post cards sent from Santa Monica and old Finnish passports with French stamps in them. I found a sauce-stained recipe book that Teemu's great-aunt had written out herself. I found war metals, black and white pictures of people's lives, children's drawings and toys, harnesses for horses, hand-made leather gloves with fur inside them, old wine bottles, a wooden rifle from the war, coins, shoes, buttons, feathers, mice poo and songbooks.
It was such a special project because what I unearthed was what kept me going. Even though it was dirty, and rotten blankets were never my 'thing,' I enjoyed the moments I stopped to enjoy the moment.
Sometimes we adapt to our lives quicker then we can admit. Here I am, in Finland. Living in the lake district with my partner in this incredible area on earth. I am surrounded by Finnish the moment I wake up to the second my tired brain goes to sleep. And even though I am slowly learning about the culture and language here, I have adapted fast.
But sometimes, it is good to slow things down a little and take into perspective, "what are my life-moments." Because that experiance became one of them.
Sometimes, the small steps we take in life lead to the widest pathes. Teemu and I don't think about the future, - what is there to think of all the way over there?- We take the greatest pleasure in the small moments of each given day.
I realise how grateful I am to be here. I understand that our hands have incredible readiness for anything, and that we are unconditionally inspired by our curiousity.
By the end of the afternoon I had finished cleaning the first room.
It hadn't been empty in over 80 years.
My face was sweaty from wearing the mask but my ears and eyes were happy. My ears took delight in the 1960's music that Teemu had put on half way through the day, and my eyes were pleased at the sight of emptiness.
...Sigh... it is now done.
Of course what must come out, must go somewhere else, so the outside looked like a giant dustbin...
...To some...to some who may not yet understand the idea of Permaculture...maybe all they see in these spring-cleaning photos, well, is junk.
But the truth is that there was no trash. The beauty of recycling brings new ideas.
Teemu got inspired to use the old newspapers for mycleium. We will turn the furniture into flower beds, benchs, and outdoor storage bins. The special treasures will be kept to cherish and the moose hide goes back to the earth. There is no waste at all in this 100-year-old stable. That was the beauty of a hundred years ago. Plastic wasn't invented!
We were tired, but pleased with our day, and walked back to our mökki just in time for the sunset.
Kaunis Suomalainen.
The funniest part of the day was realising that I still have two more rooms to clean out just like this one! Thank goodness for 60's music to get me through it. :)
I hope to keep you updated on this aitta project. We don't really know how long it will take...
We are planning to scrub the rooms as clean as possible, and then apply some Finnish pine something that has to dry for a month until we do anything more.
In the meantime, enjoy your springs wherever you are, we sure are here. :)
Thank you, Haawa and Kiitos,
Elin
