Monday, May 30, 2016

Nurturing my Scandinavian Heritage

So recently I've been exploring my Scandinavian side. As it happens I am half Norwegian ... And we were recently called to serve a mission in Finland this fall . Mr P served a 2 year mission there in his youth, and is thrilled to be going back. 
So when I was selling these mushrooms at a recent vintage show and a customer mentioned that there had been red polka dotted mushrooms like that growing in her childhood home ...
Of course I was curious to know where that was!  Then she said Finland!  Her name is Stina!  I told her we were headed there in the fall, naturally we became instant friends and she invited us to a Finnish dinner!! 
I loved her decor!  
She made us piirakka. A kind of pie made with a bread crust filled with a sweet rice. It's served with a chopped egg and butter spread and was wonderful!!  
Note her cute fairy garden with the polka dot mushroom she made!  
Here we are at her house, her American raised husband's parents are on the far right. It was great to talk about Finnish life and culture, and what to expect when we live there. 
Then this past week Brittany of @houselarsbuilt on Instagram and a well known lifestyle blogger happened to come into the shop, and I recognized her. She does a lot with color and Scandinavian design. She lived in Denmark for 3 year and married a Dane. 

My Norwegian side gobbles it all up. 

These are my sweet Norwegian grandparents who died before I was born!  

I'm currently cruising in the Gulf of Mexico, writing this blog on a sandy beach off Roatan. 

And even down here we found that the art hanging just outside our state room is a photograph of a statue of the composer Sibelius, that Mr P had seen in person at a park in Helsinki. He may be the only person on board who actually knows the subject of this piece of art!! 

I'm looking forward to our time in Finland. I expect to love every minute, as I rediscover myself in the land of the midnight sun, the land where my father's line grew and thrived!  


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