What is kekri and how did I not know about this before?
I ran across kekri once again as I looked for a theme for this week’s Keskustelutunti (Finnish Conversation Hour). I had first encountered kekri when visiting museums in Finland and reading a few books, but had never really looked into it further than the passing mention. What I discovered was something I think I have been longing to know about for a long time.
Joulu on jo ovella (at least in Minnesota)
Christmas seems, at this point, to be right around the corner - at least in Minneapolis. Although I am not setting up extra Christmas decorations and decorating the tree quite yet, the weather has taken a turn to be chilly and we are expecting our first local snow tomorrow. I leave some things up year round, because tontut (elves) and the Swedish ljusstake (candlabra) have their spots in my apartment and should not be boxed the majority of the year, in my opinion. I am really looking forward to mixing this season up a bit more than I have been able to the past few years with a focus on creating collective experiences, more homemade consumable and personal gifts, and just keeping more connected and engaged than the throes of the pandemic have allowed in recent times.
Floating Sauna
Last weekend we headed Northeast to check out Sisu + Löyly’s floating sauna on Devil’s Track Lake in Grand Marais, Minnesota. We had made reservations a month prior and the suspense was intense. Choosing which floating sauna to visit this fall was easy, there is only one public-access floating sauna in the United States and it belongs to Katie and her business. There are a few others in the works, but until they take their maiden voyages, this is the one!
