Sunday Morning Musings

Vignette time.

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It's snowing outside. It's snowed all night and now it is light enough to see the world is silent and white. Yet I am only 7km from the centre of Helsinki, 400m from a busy arterial road and maybe 150 from a main railway line and yet all I hear is silence.

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Today the Kitchen will be making some home made sausages, cooking some roast beef and experimenting with some evil Finnish alcohol. I'm reasonably happy about the first two because they're old hat. The third is preparation for Christmas and as I don't know what I'm making tastes like...I'm blind.

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Finland isn't a cold land. -4 or -5 is surprisingly OK when you're out an about. However there is a wind that comes off the Baltic that cuts you. It isn't what we call a lazy wind back home. It is a cruel wind. Woe betide you if you are not ready for it.

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While out in the cruel wind last week we found a lovely little Italian restaurant. The risotto was passable but the pizza was very good. The Kitchen seemed Italian so they should know what they're doing. Bit odd sitting in the middle of Finland trying to remember holiday Italian.

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Had spaghetti carbonara for tea last night. Simple version with cream, cheese and egg. The bacon we bought was lovely. Almost green and almost fresh, it cut beautifully and fried well in the cast iron pan. If only all bacon was like that. I had sharpened my kitchen knife earlier and had sliced a tomato to see if it was sharp enough. In true Kitchen fashion the tomato was not wasted but added to tea.

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Until next time and hopefully not so long