The weekend has been filled with the winter wonderlandness that is Finland, sometimes. Though the end of the work week saw it get down to -25C (-15F), Saturday and Sunday have been warmer and the conditions have been good to skate. We are trying to get Smallsteps comfortable finding her balance and for what is the second and third time on the ice, she is doing well.
Yesterday we were at the local school ice, which is about a kilometer away, but today was a little different, as our neighbors cleared some of the snow from the lake and we skated on a "home rink" instead. there is no Zamboni involved and it is scraped with a snow shovel, so it isn't exactly Olympic quality ice, but it is good enough to have some fun on, as you can see from the picture below of my neighbor pulling another friend's kid. There were four local families on the ice, people we have known for a while also.
It is a different feel to be out on the lake, something that I really enjoy, despite it still kind of feeling weird to be walking on water without it being classified a miracle. The neighbors live about 100 meters from this spot and we about 200, so it is convenient to take the sled there and have a quick skate during the day or night. Currently, the ice is about 10 centimeters thick, so that is plenty and it will continue to thicken as it is still below zero.
In the picture above, we are walking on a small stream that leads into the larger lake, which indicates just how cold it has been, since it was still flowing a week or so ago. We spent about an hour out there before heading over to the local park to sled down the hill.
The next photos are from yesterday at the school, where Smallsteps was learning how to push with "duck feet", rather than stepping with the blade pointing forward. She is getting the hang of it and her balance is improving faster than I thought it would. I am not much of a skater, but I guess if I had started at four, I would probably be a fair bit better.
I was saying last week how Finns tend to spend a lot more time outdoors than Australians and you can see this at the local rinks where there are generally quite a few people out skating laps or hitting pucks around the ice, as they remember their glory years.
It is actually quite common to see the Finnish league players out on the ice too with their families and friends, skating about and teaching their own children the trade. It is expensive for kids to play hockey in Finland, so the pool of potential players is lessening over time due to fewer parents willing to pay. I know some people paying 5-6000 euros a season for a 12 year old to play, plus all the travel involved. Because of this outlay, many are choosing other sports to focus on instead, like football.
I think that my wife is enjoying being the "teacher" out on the ice and likes that Smallsteps is progressing and enjoying it a lot. These kinds of skills take time to develop and have to be supported by parents, because kids can't just go out by themselves at this age and it requires a relatively hands-on approach.
I enjoy it too and it is a great reason to get out of the house and also have the camera with me, When it is cold, there is a strong temptation to stick to the warmth of home and not do much at all. Plus, with only a few hours of light a day, it is a nice way to get some "sunlight", which I put in quotes because I do not know if it qualifies when it provides no warmth.
The other thing I have to do is take some photos of the house when it is surrounded by snow. This next one is taken on my phone, but I want to take some better quality images as the house changes remarkably through the seasons. You can see how "grey" it looks as even though it is very much white, it reflects the surrounds and absorbs the colors, making it appear quite grey, especially against the white of the snow.
Last night we were doing some planning on how we are going to go forward, as we don't have a budget left for the renovation still to come, but we are going to find a way to do it regardless. There is still a fair bit to do inside before the evaluation in the late spring and we are hoping to get started on it soon using our original plan of a bit at a time.
They say that is the way to eat and elephant, but we are hoping we aren't going to have a white elephant, where the investment outweighs the return. Having said that, it doesn't matter too much for us as we are going to likely be here a while anyway.
I have really enjoyed "home life" wince we have been here, even though we haven't had much time to actually do the normal everyday bits of life due to all the work required to get it ready. But, 2020/21 are foundation years for our home and life and I am hoping that the next twenty years to come benefit from what we have laid during this period.
So, that is the weekend so far and there is still a few hours left before I light the sauna and perhaps the fireplace for marshmallows too.
How's your weekend?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]