He’s
full of energy and he jumps out of bed!
- I feel… I feel like myself!!!!!
Ken is eager to start sewing.
- Let’s see what inspires me now! Should I make something for Hector or Kaarna?
Kaarna crawls out of her room:
- What the hell Ken?! Even the neighbor’s rooster hasn’t crowed yet! Can we please sleep a little more! It’s our day off.
-
Oh sorry. I didn’t realize you girls stayed here for tonight. In that
case I can have some breakfast first. And shovel the snow! No problem!
Ken sews a hoodie for Hector and pants for Kaarna. Kaarna starts to dance goofyly to demonstrate just how comfy the pants are. This makes Sulo go nuts.
Mari asks:
- Will you start taking comissions again?
Ken hesitates:
- I don’t think if I have the energy and time…
But Mari insists:
- I really need you to make me a corset.
- Hell yeah!!!!! Kaarna shouts and Sulo starts to bark again.
- Coffee or tea, anyone? Hector tries to ask but nobody hears him.
What a day! Ken is stunned by how easy it is to walk again. He can’t even remember when he had this much energy.
And thanks to the active mountain bikers, all the paths in the forests are in terrific condition.
Ken finds a beautiful and warm place by the boat sheds to have his lunch. Hot soup tastes excellent after walking 10 km.
- Hello The Real Me, it’s so good to see you again. I hated that couch potato who I had turned into.
It’s been a while since Ken has sewn a corset, but he decides to give it go. They agree on no deadlines.
Ken doesn’t hurry with the sewing but still the corset is ready after only a few days. He definitely is his normal efficient self again!
Ken teaches Kaarna how to tighten the strings and Kaarna is an eager student.
Kaarna is thrilled:
- Look at this hot little package! Mari is even sexier than ever before!
Ken covers his eyes and says:
- I can’t… wow, I really must ditch the testosterone… I just found my long lost libido. I’ll be in the kitchen, bye girls!
Wearing a tight corset makes the sex very special for Mari, but they notice a problem. Kaarna says:
- You must order another corset from Ken, the kind that reveals your boobs! This one is way too prude for sex.
- I will. Now kiss me alredy!
Since Ken now has all the energy in the world, he decides to buy a cheap bus ticket and spend a day in a big city just for fun.
The weather forecast said it would be sunny, but obviously that was a lie. Ken suffers in the damp air and has to find something to do indoors.
Ken pops into the lovely artisan boutiques and buys something hand made. But shopping is not a good way to pass time. He’ll be bankrupt before the return bus leaves.
Ken visits a museum with an exhibition about the 90s. It turns out to be very disappointing, but luckily the guide lady from the 90s is charming.
Surprisingly the museum is bigger than Ken thought and there are other exhibitions too.
Thanks to the train drivers’ strike the evening bus back home is packed. Every muscle of Ken’s body hurt after sitting three hours next to a guy with really wide shoulders.
At home Ken shows Kaarna the things he bought.
-
I should never go to the tiny boutiques where handmade products are
sold. I always end up buying stuff I don’t need. I regretted buying
these glass trays the moment I stepped out.
- Donate them to the poor.
- I’ll donate them to Lotta. They’ll be nice and useful in her cafeteria.
Lotta likes the trays. Her cafeteria has become almost perfect during the years. She loves the pink and mint green interior and the romantic atmosphere. This business is her baby.
Lotta is not the only one, who loves to spend time in the Cafe Tuulihattu. Tupu for instance has become one of the regulars. She comes almost daily to enjoy a cup of black tea and a piece of cake while working.
The cafeteria quiets down and Lotta has time to sit down with Ken and Kaarna.
She tells:
- I wish I could ask Tupu to make a logo for my cafeteria, but I can’t afford it.
Kaarna says:
- The rates of advertising agencies are insane. Every person's work should be equally paid regardless of what they do.
Kaarna says:
- I’ll draw you a logo and update your menus and other stuff. Just tell me what you like.
- Really?! But can I afford your services?
- I think you can: One cup of tea with a cake or other pastry once a week for the rest of the year. How does that sound?
- Oh it sounds perfect!!!!
It’s a nice and peaceful afternoon when Kaarna suddenly starts to scream:
- Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgggghh!!!! She’s fucking impossible!!!!!
Ken gets really frightened:
- Who? What? I almost got a heart attack!!!!
Ken sits down to calm his heart and Kaarna explains:
-
Lotta of course! She wanted a logo with a rose. How insane is that? I
told her that it’ll look like a logo of a flower shop, but she wanted a
rose anyway. So I made her one.
- Didn’t she like it? Ken asks.
-
She said it looks like a logo of a flower shop! For fuck’s sake! Now
she wants me to draw a profiterole, to match the name of the business.
(Kahvila Tuulihattu = Cafe Profiterole)
Hector is hooked on ice swimming.
Sometimes Ken joins Hector, although he prefers the privacy of his own sauna.
What a dream it would be to live on the shore.
Kaarna says:
- Guess what? I sent that new logo for Lotta and she loved it.
- Excellent! The one with a profiterole?
Kaarna sighs and sits down on the floor.
- Yes. Except that now she has decided to change the name of the cafeteria from Tuulihattu to Whole Lotta Cake.
- That was the original name of her business! It was a great name.
- Right. But the profiterole in the logo can’t be used… That woman is driving me insane! I’ll end up in an early grave.
-
This deal with Lotta was a mistake. I’m so stressed. But your
ridicilous reading glasses just made this moment a bit more tolerable.
I’ll never get used to them.
- They spread joy around them. That’s why they are perfect.
It’s the day of the parliamentary election and Kaarna asks:
- Who you’re going to vote?
-
Well, I’m puzzled. I normally vote the Left Alliance, but now that the
right wing capitalists are so strong, voting for a small party could be a
vote for the right.
- We are forced to vote the Social Democrats now, aren’t we?
- Maybe.
- Crap. I hate Sanna Marin.
- And also the Left Alliance has no candidates in Melukylä, and I want to vote a local person.
The capitalist bourgeoises and the right wing nationalists are winning.
- What’s wrong with people? Our lives will become very difficult if these two parties will form the government.
Even chocolate can’t fix the dreadful results of the election, but Ken and Kaarna unwrap gigantic easter eggs anyway.
-
Shit. Democracy is a horrible thing, when idiots and rich people are
allowed to vote too. Who are the people who vote these parties? Do you
even know any of them?
- No, I don’t. I think I live in the notorious red and green bubble.
Finally Lotta managed to approve Kaarna’s work. The new logo is now on the wall and on the cover of the menus and packages. Lotta is satisfied and Kaarna has learned a valuable lesson.
Ken is happy:
- It’s been sunny for over two weeks now! After the especially gray winter this is just unbelievable.
- So is this Siberian wind! I’m freezing to the bones. Let’s go home, Kaarna says.
- If I put away all the winter stuff now, will it start snowing again?
The gravel road by the river is now free from snow and ice. Kaarna can ride a bike to the entrepreneur course now. Farewell to the crowded morning bus!
On her way home Kaarna visits a new exhibition at the art museum. It’s magical! Tiny wooden human figures made by Jussi Valtakari are combined with gigantic wooden sculptures created by Antti Ylönen. Kaarna is amazed, and she knows she will visit this exhibition many times before it ends.
