JULY? Already?

I'm really getting a case of summer guilt.

What is summer guilt, you ask? It's what I call that nagging, slightly panicky feeling that the glorious days of summer are slipping away, and I'm not appreciating them enough or making good enough use of them. There went another sunset, I noticed, and all I could give it was a quick glance out the kitchen window. The kitchen rugs need washing, a summer job, and it's already July, and when are we going to do it? And the weeds in the garden! I need several days just for that! (Panicky breathing here.)

OK, I'm calmer now.

This was one big difference I noticed when we were living in North Carolina -- I didn't see anyone having summer guilt there. (Or guilt of any kind, really. Perhaps this is a Midwestern, Scandinavian thing.) The whole pace of life seemed slower, and I think it had to do with the seasons. The summer was long, and a person was eased into summer with glorious days in the spring, and into winter with beautifully crisp days in the fall. There was plenty of time to tend to the garden (though the soil was poor, so there wasn't as much of a harvest), and take a walk in the woods or sit on the porch swing. Here, summer is short, and much of the year's recreation and work has to be crammed into just a few weeks. It's not a choice between work and play, like the tale of the ant and the grasshopper -- in these northern climates, we have to fiddle while we work, and work while we fiddle!

So all this was leading up to my excuse for not blogging a whole lot recently: We've been working and playing hard here lately!

... Finn Fest was last weekend, and I'd say in general it went quite well. I was busy before and during the festivities, as were most of the committee members. My biggest impression, as I watched how everything went, was that there needs to be more of us next year! The whole event would come off better if we in the community could have focused more on fewer tasks.

I haven't had a full report yet, but I'd say we had double the attendance of last year. I think in general attendees had a good time, from the comments that came back to me, anyway.

... "Miss" Finn 2009, a.k.a. our kind, helpful and knowledgeable neighbor Dale Groop, takes a bow as he receives his plate of Finn bread. Eight brave men participated in the event. I didn't see much of it, as Erik decided he wanted to explore the lunchroom more than watch the show.

Mari and I did sing the Finnish national anthem before Friday evening's program started. You wouldn't think that was such a big deal, but it took a fair amount of coordinating to get two moms free for two minutes!

... I wasn't sure if it was quite fair, since I had explained the rules of the boot toss, but the other ladies said it was OK if I took a turn, too. So there I am, with the boot in the air. Does my shot putting experience show? Well, I had a few good tosses, but I stepped over the line, so they didn't count. I should have practiced up before I started!

... All of the wife-carriers chose upside-down positions this year. The team on the left won (but not the wife's weight in beer, as would be traditional in the contest in Finland -- they got a coupon for a six-pack).

... The program on Sunday went well, in spite of some lack of organization on our part in putting it together. Hearing old-time music and old stories was appreciated by the crowd. And people seemed to really enjoy the kiisseli (Finnish berry fruit dessert) that I brought. And I had plenty left over for our family and Mari's!


... So we have had a chance to get outside a bit in the past few days. Erik's really taken to standing without holding on to anything (though in this picture he does have one hand on the stroller -- I couldn't catch him with his hands free). He's not feeling adventurous enough to take steps yet, though!


Erik's still not too sure if he likes the swing, but Sofi making faces at him helped for a while.

... Oh, and the house! Well, I've had child care help from two junior high girls for a month now, and since Finn Fest is over, I've finally gotten out to the house to do some more mudding and taping. It's coming along ... but boy, is this a tedious job. And I'm not very fast at it, which makes it even worse. Progress is progress, I guess, even if it is at a snail's pace.

... I just love this view! It really looks like it's our little house on the prairie from here.

Dave has been busy lately putting metal corners on all the drywall edges around windows. We decided to do drywall around the windows now, since that's faster and easier, and maybe later we can add wood trim if we like.

... We bought paint yesterday! That was exciting. Even if it was a little early. I still need to finish one more coat of mud in the addition, and then sand it, but then I think we can paint that room!

I'm also going to work on my interior windows this weekend. They need scraping, sanding and painting.

... We've got a new goal in mind: All the drywall work and painting DONE in July. Walt will be back in August, and we want to have all the grunt work out of the way so he can work his craftsmanship on things like our built-in drawers and shelves. I think we can do it, though there's a lot to be done ... two July days are already gone!

Uh-oh ... I think that summer guilt is creeping back again.