Summer holiday

So, this is my last post before our holiday. If I have time, on a rainy day, I might post something during the holiday, but no guarantees.

A wee update. The swan family's eight chicks are growing and doing well. One of the chicks is whiter than the others, so it sticks out from the crowd. They started with eight fuzzballs and eight still remains, great :-) Finally I will leave you with couple of pics from our patio. I am wishing you all a lovely sunny and hopefully relaxing July! I will be back at the beginning of August. Now I need to do some more packing, IF I manage to squeeze anything else into my tiny suitcase. I usually end up packing too many clothes & shoes, "just in case" ;-) Which reminds me, I definitely need to buy a bigger suitcase...

Let there be light

We like to mix old and new, especially modern lamps with older traditional furniture. We found this understated no frills Italian ceiling lamp after a long search. It looks like it was made for our living room and it gives beautiful, almost ambient, light. Perfect.

Now we still need to find a new dining room ceiling lamp, which is proving to be quite difficult...

By the way, does anyone know the name of this flower? I have no clue but it looks and smells gorgeous.

Domestic disturbance?

First of all, a small warning. I hope you are not eating or about to eat anything when reading this post. The subject can be an appetite killer. You can always skip the text and just look at the pictures ;-)
We received a letter from our town council saying they will be cleaning sewers in our town during the following two weeks. Fine so far. Apparently we may experience some nasty odors during the process. Ok, fine. They are using a very high pressure cleaning system, so we may also have some splashing water coming up from our sinks and toilets. Hmmm....

We are being told to keep toilet seats down and put something HEAVY on top of them. Hang on! Are we talking about a wee bit splashing water or raw sewage fountains shooting up from our toilets, flooding the house? Groan. We are also told not to use our toilets when cleaning tanks are operating in our street, unless you want an unusual bide experience of course... Thankfully we did not start our holiday yet, leaving sinks and toilet seats wide open for these fountains and splashes. What a nice home coming it would have been.... Phew!

*Edit* Congratulations Spain - UEFA Euro 2008 champion!! Hurrah! :-)

Blue hues

Guess what, almost three months down the line our orchid is still blooming, amazing! So thank you all for your tips with orchids. I have been pretty much ignoring it and that seems to work wonders.

This evergreen ground cover campanula is a tough little thing. It has spread all over our patio and we are loving it. Mind you, so are the bumble bees which are buzzing non-stop from flower to flower. Such a pretty shade of blue. More blue hues. This soothing shade of pale blue seems to be one of my favourite colours at the moment. I found these cotton napkins from Dille & Kamille and summery looking seastar napkin rings are from Riviera Maison.

In the pink - holiday plans

Thank you for all your holiday wishes. We will definitely enjoy ourselves when the time comes, no matter what the weather is like. Spending time with family and friends, good food and drink, relaxing and simply enjoying the good life. That is what it is all about for us.
During the holiday we have one "job" to do though... For some time I have been saying my mother should start her own blog, sharing her lovely home and garden with all of us. She is pretty keen, although not quite sure if she has enough stamina to keep it going. Anyway, we are planning to get her started with her blog when we are in Finland.Our peony has been in full bloom for almost couple of weeks already. It is looking beautiful and smelling gorgeous.

Snapshots & homesickness

It has been a week since my last post. We have been busy with birthday parties, dinners, gardening, DIY, watching football etc.. Finally managed to steal few moments for blogging.

Last week I was watching a travel program on BBC where they went to Helsinki in Finland. I love Helsinki. It is one of my favourite cities. I lived there for few years before I moved to the Netherlands and Helsinki always has a special place in my heart. Seeing all those familiar streets and buildings featured in this program made me miss it so much. Homesickness can really catch you by surprise.


I can hardly wait for our summer holiday in Finland. I have not been there for a year! First we will go to my hometown Kotka on the Southeast coast. Helsinki may be one of my favourite cities, but Kotka is, and will always be, my home.

We are also planning to visit Turku on the Southwest coast. I lived there for a few years during the 90's, also a very nice city. I have not been there for several years, so I am thrilled to go there again. As always, we will end our holiday in Helsinki. A perfect ending for a perfect holiday. Still few weeks to go until our vacation starts. I hope time flies...

A hidden garden

Every time we visit our local gardening centre, we pass this incredible display. Owners of this house have really created a spectacle for by passers, right next to the road. I always have to stop and admire it. The place is packed with stone statues and ornaments and the gate is very impressive. These pictures do not even show it all. I would be so curious to see how their garden looks behind the walls, but so far it has stayed hidden.

Busy busy

We have been very busy lately and have not had much time for blogging. Housework and gardening have taken up most of our time. I just quickly wanted to show you few pictures of our patio, which is still a work in progress. We have filled it with simple clay pots, hardwood furniture, willow baskets and loads of plants. Nothing fancy at all but we like to spend time here.