Apples of Gold

Morning Cuppa

There is something almost sacred about those quiet mornings when it’s just me and my cuppa. The house is still. No one calling out. No phones buzzing. Just that soft early light slipping through the windows and the gentle hum of a new day stretching awake. I wrap my hands around the warm mug and…

The Joy of Writing

In the quiet spaces between breaths, in the soft stillness of the soul, there exists a flame that flickers and dances — a passion ignited by the simple stroke of a pen upon paper, or the gentle tap of keys beneath waiting fingertips. It is not loud. It does not demand attention. But it burns…

Untangle Me

The need to get away is never really about running. It isn’t about kilometres or destinations marked on a map. It is about creating space within myself. A quiet stepping back. A loosening of expectations. A longing to breathe differently — slower, deeper — until life feels simple again and my shoulders remember how to…

Good Morning

This morning I find myself wishing I could somehow share this tranquil place with you — to put into words the quiet splendour of waking in the countryside. I wish you could hear the gentle melodies of the Australian bush as the day begins — the cheerful laughter of kookaburras drifting through the open air,…

A Dream

There we were today, Peter and I, sitting in the cosy backyard of our favourite café, wrapped in the warmth of the summer sun and the easy comfort of conversation. Amid the soft hum of voices and the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee, a question rose quietly between us: what would be the one…

Nineteen- Fiftysix

In 1956, in the steady gentle rhythm of Helsinki life, my grandfather began each day in the little home he shared with my grandmother on Näkinkuja. I often find myself picturing those mornings so clearly, as though I can almost step into them. Their home was warm and snug, and already full of the familiar…

My Pink Ribbon Day

After weeks of helping care for my elderly parents, I have been carrying a kind of tiredness that sinks right down into your bones. And yet, this morning, in the very early hours, I found myself wide awake. Melbourne was putting on quite a show outside, with lightning flashing across the sky as a fast-moving…

Roots & Wings

For those of us Finns who live overseas, identity is something tender. It is not just about where we were born or where we live now. It is something we carry deep inside us. It lives in our memories, in our language, in our hearts, and in the quiet ache of longing that never fully…

True Beauty

During my visit to the hospital to see my mum today, I shared the elevator with an elderly couple. They got off one floor before me, and as I watched the gentleman gently take the lady’s hand and lead her out of the lift, my whole world seemed to pause for a moment. I found…

Good Morning Twenty Twenty-Four

I find myself waking up, or perhaps more truthfully, trying to pull myself into a new year. It feels like a tug-of-war between the sweetness of dreamland, which keeps calling me back, and the quiet desire to get up and savour the very first chai of twenty twenty-four. The temptation to sink deeper into sleep…