The Berry Pickers

PURGE by Sofi Oksanen

2012-02-01T12:06:00.019-05:00

Sofi Oksanen is a celebrity in Finland. Purple streaked dreadlocks and red painted lips make her hard to miss. She commands attention. And so does her book, Purge. The novel, originally published in Finland, has earned Oksanen the Finlandia Award, the European Book Prize, and other tributes. The English translation is available in paperback in the US. Purge is the story of Aliide Truu. It

Maarit Brings Coffee to the Men

2012-01-26T11:20:00.005-05:00

Photo by Suomi Kuvina, Werner Soderstrom Osakeyhtio Helsinki Midmorning, she threw more wood onto the fire and wrapped a sweet bread in a kitchen towel. She packed it in a basket with a tin of coffee and called to Markku. They bundled into layers of wool and blew out the lamps. Outside, the sun broke the horizon, barely noticeable through the clouds and snow that filtered from the sky and

The Berry Pickers Chapter One

2012-01-18T17:56:00.003-05:00

The first chapter of THE BERRY PICKERS is now posted online. Follow this link and click on the tab at the top of the page to find it. While you're visiting check out the blog's new look for winter! Photo of Yllas by Tania Ho.

A Day in Lapland

2012-01-17T10:30:00.007-05:00

Yllas, Photo by Tania Ho This is the time of year Finns are looking forward to winter vacation. Many will head to the sunshine of the Mediterranean, but countless others will purposely journey north to the darkness and snow of Lapland. Skiing and snowmobiling will top the list of activities with possible visits to a husky or reindeer farm. A hot sauna will be waiting at the end of each day. I’

The Northern Lights

2011-12-14T19:30:00.003-05:00

Photo by Visit Finland She woke to a green shimmer dancing in the sky between the open curtains. She let out a shaky breath thinking of legends that said the northern lights were the spirits of the dead or the unborn. They beat out the silent rhythm of the universe for a moment more then disappeared. - From THE BERRY

Independence Day Photos

2011-12-09T10:01:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Finland

2011-12-06T13:25:00.008-05:00

Photo by Suomi Kuvina, Werner Soderstrom Osakeyhtio Syvapainossa 1946 In December of 1917, Finland declared itself a sovereign state. After centuries of oppression under the Swedes and Russians, it secured the right to govern its own destiny. Today, December 6th, Finland celebrates its Independence Day (Itsenäisyyspäivä). The people of Finland have by this step taken their fate in their own

The Finnish Sauna

2011-11-16T12:17:00.010-05:00

Photo by Sirkku The next afternoon Maarit went out to the sauna and lit the fire. When the stones were hot and the fire had died down, she washed the soot from the benches and the floor and hauled in a pail of fresh water. She dropped a ladle in the bucket and laid out clean towels on the rail outside. - From THE BERRY

And Now For Another POV

2011-11-09T13:11:00.002-05:00

I’m taking a chance with my novel. I’ve decided to write in another point of view, the perspective of an old man who as a child was audience to all that happened to Talvikki and Helena and the other characters in The Berry Pickers. Hopefully, it will work. I sit at the table and rip a hunk of bread from the wheel of rye Aino has left. I smear it with butter and top it with a slab of cheese and

The War Donation Ring

2011-11-04T11:52:00.003-04:00

She reached down and pulled her wedding ring off. As she brought it up to show him, she realized it was only a circle of iron, stamped with a flower. Her War Donation Ring. She had forgotten the day when she and her husband had given their gold rings to the government to help pay for the war effort. The man patted her hand between his two. “It doesn't matter,” he said. “It wouldn't matter if

Vanha Rauma

2011-10-26T18:18:00.000-04:00

The market square is a lively place on a summer day. Old men gather on benches, legs crossed and watching passersby. Others mill about the vendor stalls buying coffee and ice cream. One woman smiles encouragingly, telling me her coffee and pastries are fresh. And they are. At the head of the square, the clock tower of the Old Town Hall still chimes out the half-hour. The market is at the center

With the Coming of Fall

2011-10-19T11:00:00.003-04:00

Photo from Koti-Rintama Sotavuosien Suomi Naisten ja Lasten Silmin Fall is usually a time I associate with a gentle cooling of the air and colored leaves swirling down to land in crunchy piles on the grass. Pumpkins and apples. It is the main event of seasons. When I was a little girl I would lie in the straw on what we called the other lot, spotting migrating geese and wishing I could go

Time To Move On

2011-10-12T11:09:00.002-04:00

Photo from Koti-Rintama Sotavuosien Suomi Naisten Ja Lasten Silmin Maarit and Anna gently unbuttoned Talvikki’s clothes. She shivered as they squeezed out small towels and ran them along her body, wiping her armpits and the back of her neck. Then they dressed her again in the foul smelling garments and wrapped her in a blanket. She tried to lie back down, but her mother held her firmly and

I Know You've Been Waiting

2011-10-11T10:45:00.003-04:00

Photo From Koti-Rintama Sotavuosien Suomi Naisten Ja Lasten Silmin Thanks to all of you who visit here and keep coming back. I am flattered and thrilled by the numbers in the stats. When I started this site I was sure it was so specialized I’d be writing only for myself. You’ve proven me wrong. I know my posting has been erratic, basically non-existent lately, but I've been pouring my

It Isn't Always About the Money

2011-09-28T11:34:00.001-04:00

Photo from Kotirintama Sotavuosien Suomi 1939-1945 Naisten ja Lasten Silmin Some time ago I bought the book The Journal Wheel Guide Book by Deborah Bouziden. It’s about journaling and comes with… yes, a wheel. The point is to line up the three circles of the wheel that represent date, month and mood and turn it over to reveal the topic of the day that appears in a window. There’s also another

A Barn Needs Painting

2011-09-08T17:55:00.004-04:00

Kari cooked red ochre paint over an open fire in the yard. Helena used a stick to stir the contents of the barrel, taking care to keep her skirt from swiping the flames while he poured rye flour from a sack. The stick clunked the side as the grain slipped and splashed into the water sending a hearty scent into the air that blended with the sweet smell of smoke. When the mixture boiled Kari added

Is it He, She or Us?

2011-08-16T10:44:00.001-04:00

Photo by Eino Makinen, Finland and the Finns, Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava 1939 Even though there are separate nouns to name man, woman, girl and boy in the Finnish language; there is no difference between he and she in the spoken language. Both genders are encompassed by the word hӓn. When my children were in school boys learned to knit and sew and girls took woodworking.

Foreign Language and Writing Historical Fiction

2011-08-15T12:23:00.003-04:00

Photo by Aaronigma Hands down, best advice for moving to a new country: learn the language. When English is so widely spoken, it’s easy to slide into a false sense of being truly involved in a foreign culture. New flash: you’re not. Not really. At least this has been my experience. As I approached that point where I could convincingly pull off an evening with friends speaking only Finnish I

Westward Bound

2011-08-12T10:18:00.000-04:00

The road was a country track cutting between trees and fields before flowing into the main access that joined the villages that sat to the west of Lake Ladoga. Small patches of farmland hacked from forest stood rugged and untended before giving way to trees. In places the trunks were no more than sticks that poked at the sky, the tops sheared off by guns and bombs from the prior Soviet attack in

The Talented Finnish Fox

2011-08-11T10:17:00.002-04:00

Ancient Finnish Storage Used to Keep Meat Safe From Animals We Americans grew up with our stories of the sly fox and Finland is no different. Finnish folk tales are filled with the exploits of Reynard the Foxy. From playing dead to trick a fisherman out of his catch to convincing Bear to stick his tale into a hole in the ice overnight, Foxy is full of schemes. My favorite is what I

Every Man’s (and Woman’s) Right

2011-08-10T13:28:00.000-04:00

Finnish law provides for access to and use of all land and water by everyone, including privately held property. It encompasses the right to pick berries, flowers and mushrooms, to fish waterways and recreational use. On the flip side, it is illegal to destroy cultivated fields, build fires without a landowner’s permission or use the property directly around someone’s home. Everyone understands

Natural Remedies

2011-08-01T12:57:00.005-04:00

Flowering Yarrow a Photo by eLeSeA No one asked how Jarmo had come to be so cut and bruised. War had set strange new social standards making the unspeakable seem almost mundane in its wake. Talvikki contemplated these things as she sat quietly in the dark listening to the clock. Before dawn broke, she decided to head for town to find medicine for her little boy….. ……Anna opened a sack

Pehku Restaurant in Tahko

2011-07-27T09:31:00.003-04:00

While climbing around in Tahko (located in the lake region of central Finland) we came upon a restaurant on the trail. The mountains formed the perfect backdrop to the rustic wood and stone building. Nestled among the trees, the savory smell of cooking reached us before the sight did making it about impossible to pass. The rustic atmosphere continued inside with worn benches and tables propped

The Finnish Soldier and the Kittens

2011-07-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Photo Viisi Sodan Vuotta Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiön 1963 A man who carries a gun and feeds hungry kittens....

The Finnish Horse as a Soldier

2011-07-18T11:03:00.000-04:00

Photo Suomen Sotavӓki WSOY 1936 In the 1930s, Finland did not have an extensive roadway infrastructure. Many areas were accessible via country tracks that became impassable by automobile in the muddier seasons. Nor, was the Finnish military in control of a large inventory of motorized vehicles or enough horses to meet transportations demands in the event of war. They were well aware of this