Back to childhood

My friends cute dog, a poodle and Spanish water dog mix. She and Canelo look like sister and brother 🙂

After the coffee with my sister on Friday we went to meet my childhood friend. When she retired she moved back to her childhood home very close to my childhood home. It’s years since the last time I was there and I think as many years since my friend and I met. It was like stepping back in time. It all looked pretty much the same except that all the trees have grown. E.g. the little oak tree outside our house now already, after about 65 years, (the black and white photo) is a quite a big one. The ground cellar where all the potatoes, root vegetables, salted mushrooms, jams, juice, apples were stored for the winter also still is there. It was so nice to meet my friend and how sweet of her to arrange with the now owners of my childhood home to have us there to see the place. I love the changes made, modernized interior but keeping so much of the old. Thank you so much my dear friend for a fantastic afternoon and thank you to you now living in my beloved childhood home.

Volunteer Firefighters

Regarding old fire trucks. Here is an old photo of the volunteer firefighters in my village from the early/mid 50’s. I took the picture from a photo in March when I met my cousins. I remember the men and boys but not their names except from my uncle and my brother. Back then I thought the fire truck was huge 🙂

Two New Plants & Meeting With Cousins

I now have one  Mother in Law’s Cushion (Echinocactus grusonii) of my own 🙂 I was at the flower shop yesterday to buy flowers for to give to my cousin as I visited her yesterday. I saw these Mother in Law’s Cushion plants in the window. 8 € ! Last week or was it the week before I bought 3 green plants for 5,90.  I didn’t take me many seconds to decide to buy it 🙂 After all eight euro is not that much. 

Today at Citymarket they had plenty Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis).  I saw most people had one or two plants in their shopping trolley. I looked at the price. Only 1.50. I took one. The Rosemary is not a herb I’m used to. If I’m not going to use it for seasoning it still looks so nice on my kitchen counter.

Yesterday I was visiting my cousin living in Borgå. We actually don’t meet very often. Last time was 7 years ago. She arranged a cousin reunion for four of us. We are about the same age. I’m the youngest, 70 and the others 71,73 and 74. The other two I have not seen for a long. long time. It was such a nice day. We also looked through old photos. There was one with us all four taken in early 1950’s. I had no idea I was in the picture as I can’t even recall the event. But they all were 100% sure about it.  Looking closer I had to agree they are right. It’s me to the right 🙂 

48 Years

Today 48 years ago on May 14 we were married. I can’t believe it’s that many years. It, to me, seems it was yesterday. I was 21 and my husband 23.

Happy Anniversary Dear Husband !

I went to a hairdresser and wanted my hair done in the usual way. But when she heard I was going to get married she talked me over to wear a different look, a more festive one, she said. It was well meant but not my style so I was uncomfortable with it. You can see it from my expression in the wedding picture.

My Half Sister

I was a foster child since the age of four. My mother = foster-mother always did her best to encourage me to keep in touch with my birth mother but I never really wanted.

When I got older we did meet occasionally. I now wish I had asked her, my birth mother, more about many things. Now of course it is too late as she passed away already long ago. Neither did I learn to know my brother who too has passed away.

After many, many years I really was very happy to meet my half-sister again. How wonderful of her to accept my invitation to come visit us.  She has two sons. It would have been nice to meet both of the boys but the older one was at work. We were happy to meet her younger, 14 years old, son.

My half-sister and her son

My brother, half-sister and me. Summer 1963. Isn’t she a doll ?

At About 15

Yesterday I was looking through a cardboard box of old letters, postcards etc I found this old picture I had for my train ticket when I went by train to school to Borgå. See . .  I have always been a bit chubby. Heh-heh.

The reason for asking hubby to bring the box is I had just recalled I had received some letters from my biological grandmother sometimes in the beginning of the 60’s. I could remember her last name but was not quite sure about the first name. Though it was Elsa. Hubby said, my goodness you really are mixing things up now a days ! Don’t you remember my grandmother’s name was Elsa ! Well, ok probably I thought . . . it’s me mixing up things. The fact is I have noticed my memory’s not as good as it used to be. Anyway, I was happy to find the letters. Had received just four in the end of 1960 and beginning of 1961. A n d   y e s . . . I was right . . . her name was Elsa ! Pretty funny eh . . . hubby’s and my grandmothers both were named Elsa. In those days I thought she was very old but I now think she might have been my age. I hope to be able to find out more about her and the “family”.