Hi and welcome to Vanha Talo Suomi!

It’s been pretty hot here (+28-31) in southern Finland (Uusimaa) with temperatures being above normal most of July and it doesn’t look to be letting up as we slide out of July into August.

Despite the intense heat new construction officially began today with the laying of foundation blocks on the cement footing poured one week ago. Pete was here with his son and the two of them managed to lay up 3.5 courses with me as gopher. Early into it the roof-line was providing much appreciated shade, but after midday the sun was relentless. I agree that it was hot! Luckily or not, threat of a thunderstorm was imminent so while that was brewing, the wind picked up providing a near constant breeze which improved our lot.

After ordering all that stuff from catalog, Pekka and I got busy removing soil from old beds along the fence row to a new location in front of the house for the planned garden. Opting to have a raised bed, we dumped quite a bit of really good soil to start this new garden space. It’s been tedious work because there are numerous pesky weeds, roots, and grass that have to be cleaned out first. A fortunate aspect is the recovery of half a bucket full of spring bulbs; mostly snow drops, grape hyacinths and daffodils. I’d already cleared out the larger spring bulbs since they were easier to relocate, and all told.. well the tally keeps adding up so I have no idea how many we’ve found and relocated …at least a hundred of the little guys. 🙂

In addition to the bulbs, I’ve been moving whatever Finnish wildflowers I can to safer areas in the yard. We had a lot of these:

 

And finally, besides all things construction and garden, a few things have been happening inside too! With the use of a paint sprayer I primed and painted the downstairs ceilings and that wrapped up the priming of all the drywall. We purchased a can of Tikkurila paint (Harmony/Matte) in a color called Vulkaniitti S486 and I’m loving it 🙂 I was thinking to go griege, but then I remembered I don’t follow trends – silly me! It’s a bold move that I think will really satisfy especially when everything comes together.  Darker shade on most of the walls and the lighter colored Shaali we used in the kitchen to finish the living room, the dining room is all the darker shade.

Last week, we snagged bargains on a brand-new teak terrace door on tori.fi, a Finnish online buying/selling service similar to Craigslist. Through the same site I also picked up two nearly-new Furninova white leather chairs and ottoman and the lady threw in a dark wood bed with headboard for free. I am thrilled!! Can’t wait to get all the stuff installed and moved in place to enjoy how wonderful it looks! 🙂

I still have to repaint the wood-burning stoves, which will be interesting…Next up the windows! Luckily, not much of a task in paint removal as it will be one of sanding and repairing damaged wood and cleaning old hardware.

Oh and we finally have a kitchen sink!! Nearly forgot to mention it 🙂 It’s similar to our original choice, actually might be the exact same thing, it’s been so many months I’ve lost track. But I have the under-mount that I wished for, the color is gray that we wanted and the final piece of the kitchen counter top was laid in place also. Still a bit of work to go on all that… sanding and top oil from Osmo to protect the surface.  If only Handyman Pete had a clone…or two! 🙂

Thanks for catching up on what’s been happening here. Until next time…

❤ Have a great day from Vanha Talo Suomi ❤