This morning, as I munched on my trusty Vegemite toast and flipped through the newspaper, a headline nearly made me drop my cuppa:“Too hot for Santa as Lapland buckles under record heatwave!” Well crikey, I thought, if that’s not a sign to write you a letter, I don’t know what is. You see, I’m no…
Category: Childhood
Skip with me, nanna!
We were just walking, hand in hand, the way grandmothers and little granddaughters do. The day was mild, the sky wide and blue, and her tiny fingers wrapped around mine with the kind of trust that softens your soul. “Nanna,” she said, looking up with a grin that could melt clouds, “Would you like to…
Grandfather Clock
There is a particular kind of solace that lives in my family’s old grandfather clock. It hangs on my wall downstairs, keeping the rhythm of time with its steady, gentle “tick-tock.” On days when life feels brittle, when I am frazzled or unsettled, I listen to that sound, and it’s like a lullaby, a tender…
Food Nostalgia
Food nostalgia creates a rich fabric of memories that carry us back to cherished moments of warmth and love. For me, that journey begins in a sunlit kitchen, where the aroma of fresh bread intertwines with the comforting scent of simmering soup. It’s a place where each clink of utensils and hum of the oven…
Cardamom Spice
In my cherished childhood memories, there exists a place sweeter than any other—the quaint kitchen of my grandma. There was no place on Earth I’d rather be than in my grandmother’s warm and welcoming kitchen, learning the art of baking pulla, a sweet and aromatic Finnish cardamom bread. The 4th of October is here, marking…
Childhood Summer Cottage
Although Helsinki’s cobbled streets and majestic architecture formed the background of my early life, my world was anchored by a cozy cocoon of a significant place within the city. In the northeastern reaches of Helsinki, where the city’s pulse slows and nature’s embrace charms, lies the picturesque neighborhood of Itä-Pakila. It’s where my childhood summers…
Harvest Time
I grew up in Helsinki Finland. We were a typical Finnish family, having a winter and a summer home. When the end of May arrived, our family of six moved to our summer cottage where we lived until autumn time and school went back again, after the long summer holidays. My childhood summers were devoured…
Dandelion Puffballs
Have you ever gone for a walk with a small child, held their hand as they skip along next to you, the budding extrovert happily chattering, jumping from one subject to another like a small grasshopper? It’s like a tap of delight that has been turned on and joy is flowing out. Children look at…
Baking with Grandma
When you take a tray of freshly baked cinnamon rolls out of the oven, the beautiful smell of cardamom is enough to take any Finnish person back to happy memories of their childhood, of grandma’s kitchen or of having a coffee with a friend. It is for me! I think some of my fondest memories…
Bedtime Story
When I was a little girl — around six years old — living in Helsinki, Finland, one of my mum’s dearest friends came over for supper. Eila lived in the same neighbourhood and had known our family even before I was born. She was one of those rare, lifelong friends who remain close, no matter…
Apples of Gold 