Thanksgiving Feast

The Tacomans joined us at Mimmu and Iso's house for our traditional festive lunch.

Sandwiches and pie for dinner. Her Christmas tree was already up and decorated which gave the event a little extra sparkle.

Grilled pizza

Iso got a pizza stone for his grill and we helped him try it out. Delicious.

And we made some lettuja!

Blueberry picking

We were the very last customers of the summer at this blueberry farm. I called to ask about coming to pick blueberries and she said that they were closing at noon today. We hustled out of the door and hit the road.

The kids did a great job this year, both Nora and Henry picked a lot of berries. Helena had a respectable amount and Penny spent most of her time eating them I think.

Finland : Relaxing

The next day we breakfasted at the cabin.

A typical breakfast is a selection of breads and deli meats, cheese, tomato and cucumber slices, served with coffee.

Everyone makes their own open-faced sandwich. Helena likes tomato and cheese on rye, Henry's favorite is tomato on rye.

After breakfast the kids swam and we took the boat out to drop the pump for the sauna in the lake.

That afternoon Anja and I and Dad went to the new shopping mall that is near the old house. We had coffee to fortify ourselves at Sinuhe and then went shopping.

We picked up some groceries while we were there and I found my favorite stripey summer dress. Here's Anja checking out the rye bread display.

An evening lettu party and mölkky game finished off the day.

New (to us) fire pit

Mark found this fire pit on Craigslist. It's just what we wanted and will be a good way to try to use up some of the wood we have piled on the property.

Cooking dinner

My intentions are usually better than my execution for having kids help in the kitchen, but every once in a while I notice that they have learned something. Henry topped the pizza while the girls helped whip the cream for our first butterscotch pie.

Having more than one child helping didn't feel overwhelming. I constantly forget that they get more capable. (And would be even more so if I had them help more often.)

We also learned that we prefer butterscotch pudding to this pie.

Eating

Camilla is pretty good at feeding herself these days. She's been making the most of those two little teeth.

She loves being more in control of her food selection, vegetables are favorites and usually disappear first from her tray. She is able to eat much of what the rest of us do which makes mealtime even easier.

After Thanksgiving

 On Saturday morning my dad and I cooked up ohukaisia (Finnish crepes) for everyone.

 We had three pans going to keep up with the crowd. Bacon, fruit salad, and cookies rounded out the meal.

Nora has a little of several toppings on this one. It can be hard to choose what to have. After brunch we had an unexpected chance to see a house that was going to be for sale.

That night we had sandwiches. Nora's creation was cheese, salami, and a potato chip topped with herring. She says her everything sandwich was better than the one she made with turkey.

Eating plums

So delicious and juicy.

Solid food

Camilla's first foods were egg yolk, avocado, and pumpkin. After some initial bewilderment, she embraced this new experience.

We're adopting a more casual method of introducing foods to her, focusing more on the texture than on ingredients.

She likes scrambled eggs and salmon and most things she's tried.

Easter breakfast

Scrambled eggs

Bacon
Muffins
Fruit salad With Easter candy before and after.

Post-Thanksgiving Brunch

Scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, fruit salad, and cinnamon rolls.

Yogurt

I started thinking about making my own yogurt a few years ago. There wasn't a pressing need at the time; I was the only one in the family who ate it regularly. Then Mystie tried making some and we shared the batches this winter. When she needed a break I tried my hand at it. I've turned 5 gallons of perfectly good milk into yogurt now and I am so pleased. It is much cheaper than buying it by the quart and tastes better too. I found this website very helpful. I have modified the process slightly, I incubate in my oven with the light on rather than in a cooler. The kids love it and it is a wonderful summer breakfast when paired with our own granola.

A modest dream come true

I've wanted a herb garden for years and finally have a small one! I grew this basil from seed and the rosemary was a gift from a friend that I divided. It has been so fun to have them and I hope they continue to live.

At dinner

The children all like their vegetables and always have. This still sounded a little odd coming from a two-year-old, so I made Henry repeat his request for the camera.

"Daddy, can I have more of the Brussels sprouts?"