Saturday, November 23, 2013

Cubs & Kids Dance a´la Finland - Soo soo, ei saa!

Check out the pictures in linked site. Three bear cubs in Finnish forest are performing a dance in a style that I wish the photographer would have had a video camera instead...



Well, we have also a bit different cubs making stunts. Check out these Finnish kids at YouTube. The kids are 1, 6, 7, and 10 years old. 

There is a piece of news about them at Iltasanomat.fi - in Finnish of course: http://www.iltasanomat.fi/videot/hyvaolo/vid-1288623506217.html

Let the kids play, they are meant to do that! So what if they hurt a bit now and then...

Have a great weekend!

Friday, November 15, 2013

More skills - Amazing trick!

This guy is unbelievable, how can you set some cards into certain order and then talk your way through a deck of cards...?

Ladies and Playboys, James Galea from Down Under - Australia:
http://www.flixxy.com/australian-magician-james-galeas-unbelievable-trick.htm

Have a great gray November weekend you all!!!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Skills - The Drummer Girl!

I appreciate skills in what ever it is. This time it is a young girl with drums. Check out at http://vitaminl.tv/video/224?ref=fbs

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

November in Finland - Blackout!

So today the sun didn't come up at all. Rainy. Windy. Dark. Cold. Even too windy for candles outside.

Or technically an optimist would say it did shine, even if behind the gray rainy clouds but still. A pessimist or a realist would say it didn't and hence it became a standard November day in Helsinki area, Finland.

Yesterday was something else...!

Even if the mild wind was freezing by the seaside at down town, in sun it was warm and niiiice!

What was specifically great, was that I got to use the sunglasses! Perhaps for the last time before March.

A pessimist will never be disappointed ;o) Have a great gray November!
...or go to Lapland at Northern Finland, they have snow but the sun will go down soon - for months...!

Damn I love winter. And summer. And spring. And autumn now and then.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Hyvää Isänpäivää - Happy Father's Day!

Today is the Father's Day in Finland and I love this!

Sleep fairly late, chill in bed waiting for a fabulastic breakfast to be prepared, kids - who are not that small any more - come to get me up for the breakfast and then chilling at the table. I've enjoyed some great food, drinks, discussions, reading, music and it still continues. Heck, I took the laptop here and I'm writing this by the table :o)

I don't know the reason, but in Belgium they celebrate the Father's Day in spring. When living there, it was great since we naturally celebrated the day both when the Belge did, and also when the Finns did. For some other reason the Mother's Day was the same in Finland and Belgium...

Here is an example of the great language of Finnish, compliments by a Facebook group thisisfinland, also online at www.thisisfinland.fi.

Hyvää Isänpäivää meille kaikille!!!

Saturday, November 9, 2013

From Movember to November

May I introduce...

Movember Göran

Movember Horst

Movember Adolf

November Mika

If you want to support the movement but don't have anyone to direct it for, here is an option:
http://fi.movember.com/mospace/5171681

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Movember

Movember - a good cause and some fun with facial hair - or genital hair if you choose so...

Years ago I've done my part of facial hair and am not sure if I'll join the moustache project. If you are interested, the Finland pages - at least one option for the cause - can be found at http://fi.movember.com/, also in English...

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Poronkäristys - Sautéed reindeer - Renskav - Finnbiff

I ate Rudolph! You know, the red nose reindeer. Extremely delicious :o)

Noooo, of course it was not Rudolph, it was his cousin...

Sautéed reindeer, or poronkäristys as we Finns call it, is quite easy to make. What requires most work is peeling the potatoes for the mashed potato. And what makes it even more difficult, is that the potatoes used for it are small and curvy almond potatos from Lapland, puikulaperuna.

Peeling 2 kilos of them is the hardest part, but you are allowed to do it while you are consuming the beer listed in the recipe...

I prepared to feed 4-6 people with 1kg of reindeer and 2 kilos of puikulaperuna for the mashed potato. Also 2 cans of dark beer is needed for the reindeer plus 3 beers per hour for the cook.
...this is something I failed to do as I started the cooking before noon, wanting to keep my mind and body clear for babysitting.

Actually she is not a baby as she is a BIG girl, way over 1 year old and in less than 2 months she will again meet the Santa Claus, Joulupukki. The real one from Korvatunturi at Lappland - not any commercial nonsense story from North Pole...

Back to the reindeer - here are few tips for cooking you might value;
  • When making the mashed potato, save some of the boiling water to moist it. It holds quite a lot of the taste. Be brave with the butter & salt, and don't forget to add some sugar. If you wanna go wild, try adding some goat cheese and honey.
  • For reindeer, don't save with the quality of the meat! Again, be brave with salt & pepper. And please, no lager beer or other watery one, use good dark beer!
  • Use juniper berries, katajamarja. At least in Finland you can get them in any market at least by Santa Maria spice company. From the Santa Maria -link you have access also for other Finnish specialties at www.suomikauppa.fi...
Bon appétit - Hyvää ruokahalua!