This week...

...there will be a blog post.

We've had blue, clear skies.  Cool mornings, warm afternoons.  For two weeks.  If only this was what Finland was like for the other 345 days of the year...

Before nearly two weeks of sunshine:

After:

Why hello there, Miss Sunflower!

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Mexico City, Mexico. 1980s. Gail Rushforth (Polish-American), meet Helena Nieminen-Ortiz (Finn). Fast forward 35 years.  

San Antonio, Texas. 2000s.  Gail Rushforth, meet Sarah Compton.

Fast forward nearly a decade.

Jyvaskyla, Finland. Sept. 2011.  Helena Nieminen-Ortiz (Finn), meet Sarah Compton (American of Finnish descent).

Fast forward 4 years.

Jyvaskyla, Finland. August 2015. Helena Nieminen-Ortiz and Gail Rushforth reconnect for the first time in more than three decades.

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Kuokkalan Kartano. Mansion/manor built in 1904.  Served as a maternity ward in the 1940s and 50s.  Recently restored.  

Given the chance, I'd gladly move in.

I took lots of pictures of the inside, only to see a lovely 'no photographs' sign on the way out.  The photos didn't do the place justice anyway.  This is one of the best kept secrets of Jyvaskyla.

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The Kurra Gardens.

The Kurras are friends of mine from church.  They have a beautiful garden:

Loved the dahlias:

Finally, flowers...

...after my own height.

Who knew that sunflower leaves could be so wide?:

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Birthday weekend:

Tex-Mex in Finland?

Happened upon a place called 3 Amigos in the mall at the Leppavarra train station in Espoo (suburb of Helsinki).  Oh YES!!  It was sooooo good!!  BEST birthday find.

 

Their sign is missing 'Tex-Mex' at the bottom.

(Translation: You get used to everything, except not eating.)

Walked off the meal by taking a stroll from the train station to the LDS Temple.

The path ran alongside this field:

It looks similar to the field I run by back 'home' in JKL to get to the trail head of the path through the forest that opens up to Lake Tuomiojarvi.

The Helsinki temple. One of my very favorite places to be, especially on my birthday.  

Spent Sunday afternoon with some of my very favorite people in this world:

The Dlaske Perhe.  (Check out the shirt Jonas is wearing!!)

And the ice cream birthday cake Kati made for me: 

Finnish strawberries (the last of the season -- they're also the sweetest as they've basked in the Finnish sun the longest), ice cream, and a gluten free cake base brought back from Denmark.  Ahhh!  I feel so loved.

I can't get over how stunning it is!

And lots of time with this little guy:

Love him!!

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A friend introduced me to another hidden gem in JKL (and, I must say, one of the BEST places in Finland) which is now one of my favorite places on earth: the Teeleidi.

I've learned from the Finns that when the sun comes out, you find a way to take your happy selves outside.  The sun was out on Tuesday so we moved our tea date to the front porch:

The coconut ice cream is made at a small farm in Pihtipudas (read: teeny-tiny town about 150km  north of JKL) and delivered weekly. 

The bike ride home took me by the harbor:

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Last day in my office (Opinkivi K03).  I'll miss seeing this:

Headed out to see one of Prof. Dufva's students defend his doctoral dissertation;

Guiseppe Caruso has spent three decades as a language teacher.  His dissertation focused on the role of emotion in language learning.  Hands down one of the best defenses I've attended.  It was inspiring.  I was so moved.  I almost didn't go.  I'm so glad I did.  

The lessons I learned as a result of being there are ones I'll remember forever.

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Hadn't seen police boats before,

nor been this close to a floating sauna and jacuzzi:

This is my incentive to defend in August next year.  I'm so renting this to celebrate!

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Dinner prepared by some friends from Iran:

I felt like some kind of celebrity.  The best part about the evening (in addition to the gourmet meal!!)?  Learning about their customs, listening to their perspective on geo-politics, and discussing the commonalities between Islam and Mormonism.

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I walked home last night feeling filled to the brim. What an honor it is to meet and associate with such high caliber people from around the globe -- and in the middle of Finland, of all places.

I was lost in thought when I turned a corner...

Why hello there, Moon!

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There you have it.  A few of the highlights from the last two weeks or so.