Cute, Cute, Cute Puppies

Yesterday I, once again, visited the pet store “Musti ja Mirri” to buy dry food for Canelo. When I entered there was a puppy coming towards me. I was all ooohs and aaahs and happily surprised to hear a women say you can pick him up and hold him. Oh my gosh ! I was super quick to pick him up. Then I heard her say here are more puppies. Geeez ! Yes, two more. The voice belonged to the breeder. She said the puppies are 5 weeks old. I don’t know why they were there. I was just so happy as I got the pick up each one of them and feel the wonderful puppy smell and look into their beautiful puppy eyes. I was in trance. One of the puppies were hairless. I haven’t touched or seen a hairless puppy before. This cutie patootie was adorable. So warm, so soft skin, and sooo licking my face all over. The breeder mentioned what breed the puppies are but I was not paying attention I only saw and heard the puppies. The breed is a hairless one but what I didn’t know is that there often, in the same litter, are both hairless and puppies with hair. Then I had to run as both Leif and Canelo were awaiting in the car. I took a couple of pics to show Leif. The puppies, of course, were able to smell the bones so the breeder bought them one. All three immediately knew it was something very delicious and were making their best chewing it. I almost forgot to buy dry food.

I know very little about the hairless breeds. I thought I would be able to find out on Google what breed the puppies are. Unfortunately I couldn’t as there are several hairless breeds and not many puppy pictures.

Danish Smørrebrød

In 1969 in June , we were in Copenhagen, Denmark for a whole week . It was the first time for me in Copenhagen. Leif had been there on excursion with the school in 1962. He had told me about all the places we must visit and about the smørrebrøds and the “rød pølse “. It was hot all week , about 30 degrees Celsius. No air conditioning in the room at the hotel. Perhaps there was , but not in our room. During the days we strolled around in the city and of course we walked Strøget, the long pedestrian, up and down many times. We went to Nyhavn , the Zoo, the Amalienborg palace, the big department stores , we saw the little mermaid , we took a harbor and canal boat ride, we went by bus and train to Charlottenlund where we visited the Denmark National Aquarium (back then it was in Charlottenlund) . As it was so very warm we also went to the nearby  beach to get a tan . The water was freezing cold , it was just a quick dip in the ocean and no swim. In the evenings we went to Tivoli . The amusement park. It was nice to just sit there outdoor in the warm summer nights and look at everything around us.

I recall all of this when I saw the ad, ” Danish Smørrebrød” (open faced sandwiches) in the window of a cafeteria in Tapiola/Hagalund ,  Ooh, it looked so good. We ate Smørrebrød and of course also “rød pølse ” (red sausages) many times during the week in Copenhagen.  I had not seen or tasted neither of them before. I now looked both up on Google and learned they are, in fact, national dishes . Still this day, when we are in Denmark , it is a must to have them for nostalgic reasons . I haven’t made smørrebrød myself for a veeery long time. They looked so delicious in the ad that I went to buy of them. It was hard to decide which as all the different toppings looked yummy. Roast beef, shrimps, meet, salmon etc. We bought two with roast beef and took them with us home. Yes, they were good 🙂 In the picture it looks like there’s no roast beef at all but there was plenty 😀

Apple tree

Every spring I get so excited by the blossoming apple trees in the neighborhood. I simply can’t resist photographing them. One favorite apple tree, which I loved to shoot spring after spring is, to my disappointment, cut down. An other favorite still is here. It’s the most largest and most beautiful apple tree in my opinion. I hope they will never cut it down. It’s so huge that it easily would cover e.g. all of our back yard. Although it’s not pruned it has a lot of apples. Pruned trees, of course, are more productive. They provide bigger, shinier juicy fruits.

My Sister Riding Her Horse “Mortti”

My sister bought a horse, Mortti, in 2011. It must have been in the fall as I remember I said we will come to see her riding in the spring. Now three springs later, we today went there. What a wonderful summer day to visit the country side. She has rented a place where she is keeping him. It’s just about a 15 minute drive from her city apartment. She had been riding already early in the morning. Good for her and the horse as by the time we arrived it was already very warm. She took a quick ride just enough for me to shoot a couple of pictures.   Today , by the way, is the warmest day of the spring. Plus 31 degrees Celsius.

Thank you dear sis for having us there and thank you for the coffee and of course the nice time together with you and your husband.

Meillä oli aivan ihana aamupäivä kanssanne. Mortti on todella ihana ja kaunis. Kiitos siskoseni mukavasta seurasta ja kahvista. Mörrille rapsutuksia.

Colorful Rooster

Imagine my surprise when I saw this colorful rooster on the road when we  (Canelo and me)  were out on our evening walk. At first I thought it was a pheasant rooster. But the pheasants tend to flee when you approach them. This one came cackling towards us, showed no fear, continuing pecking something edible from the ground. It is a rooster. Isn’t it ? Hens usually are not this colorful. I looked up colorful rooster images on Google. To me it looks like it’s a “Domestic Red Jungle Fowl”. I maybe wrong about it. Anyway, I think this one probably lost some of his tail feathers. Someone here in the neighborhood has to own it. I looked around me trying to figure out from where it could have escaped. Of course at 9 pm on a Saturday evening there is no one I could ask whose rooster it is. I hope he finds his way back home to safety.

18.5.2014  –  PS

The reason for my astonishment yesterday when I saw the colorful rooster strolling on the road is that in all these years, about 38 years, that we have been around in the neighborhood I have not seen anyone keeping chickens here. But, I’m sure it was very common still in the 1950’s.

On my early morning walk with Canelo we took the same path as yesterday. Now I saw a small chicken coop and run on a front yard of a house. Of course it was there yesterday, right in front of my eyes, but I was blinded by the handsome rooster. The coop (more like a small wooden box)  and the run only surrounded by an about 50 cm high welded wire mesh. No roof !  Now I understand how he got out on the road. He simply flew over it 🙂

This was difficult. So many unfamiliar words to me. I’m afraid none of my writing makes any sense. I feel ashamed by my very bad English. I need to skip writing in English and just stick to my mother tongue.

Canelo Eight Years !

Happy Birthday dear sweet Canelo !   

 Photos by Craig Wright

A few weeks ago when I visited the Pet Shop “Musti ja Mirri” to buy cat litter and dry dog food the two young women working there told me a photographer will be coming there on May 9. They asked would I like to book for the photographing of Canelo . Oh yes, I very much wanted to. Back home I told about me taking Canelo to a photographer. Both my husband and son thought it crazy. They said why don’t you shoot pictures of him yourself ! Well, of course I could do it myself but I thought it interesting to be able to watch a professional photographer doing it. Neither do I have all the professional equipment he has. On Friday May 9 at 2:30 pm sharp Canelo and I were there. There was a soft footstool or maybe more like a soft cushion for the dogs to sit on and pose. At first Canelo felt uncomfortable as it was not easy to sit on it but he soon figured it out. Today, on his birthday, the pictures (a CD) arrived. I like the pictures very much.

Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day 2014 !

Last summer I had a most beautiful red/white petunia in bloom from mid May to end of September. I wanted one also this summer. Unfortunately there were not any read/white ones. The vendor said they will get some in a couple of weeks. She took my phone number to let me know when they get them. I saw these yellow/black ones and liked them immediately. A color combination I have not seen before. The vendor said it’s new for this spring. Very beautiful. Unfortunately my picture does not make the colors justice.

Mittens in black and white

About two weeks ago I was in the library to see if I could find some knitting magazines. Imagine, me looking for knitting magazines. Me, just a beginner when it comes to knitting.

For sometime already I have had in mind to perhaps find a pattern for knitting a sweater. Then I saw the mittens in black and white (Pictures scanned from Novita knitting magazine) and decided right there that I’m going to knit myself one more pair of mittens. I read the instructions which did not seem too difficult. I thought it piece of cake even for a beginner knitter like me. I’ll knit the sweater later.

Well, it was a piece of cake all the way till I began to decrease the stitches. I soon found out I couldn’t get the pattern correctly done, not matter what. I tore it three times and then just did it may way. Next I was in trouble with the thumbs. Same thing, couldn’t get it right. I tore it down once and gave up and knitted the thumbs in black. Black did not look good to me so I made them in white. I’m happy I got the project finished and was able to prove my, ever supportive, loving, husband wrong, who predicted the project probably was too hard for me 🙂

New Pair Of Socks

Yes, new pair of socks 🙂 This time for my husband. I asked him in what color he would like to have them. It was not at all a surprise that he chose blue as it is his favorite color 😀