After two amazing days Ken and Kaarna decide to spend one more night in Espoo. Even if Espoo is the second largest city in Finland, it has a spirit of a much smaller town. It’s easy to find a quiet place for overnight parking and the nightly temperatures are still ridicilously warm.
There's even a portable toilet on the sea shore, so the morning pooping won't be problem!
On the next day they have to go to the very center of the capital city Helsinki, because Ken is interested in seeing a store which sells really cool body parts. Kaarna can’t stand this:
- The noise, the traffic, the amount of people, the pollution, the concrete!!!! Unbearable!!!! I’m losing my mind!!!
Ken says:
- I agree. This is not a pleasant environment. How can anyone be happy living here?
Ken wants to fiddle the silicone bodies at the Phicen Nordic store, although he’s not actually going to go through another body transplant surgery. The selection here is highly interesting, but so are the other customers…
Kaarna gets annoyed and says:
- Ken! You dirty old man! Stop stalking that ginger! I’m hungry, let’s spend a fortune in some cafeteria.
They open the door of the first cafeteria they spot, only to notice that it was the wrong door. This place actually seems to be a beauty salon.
(The salon is situated at @atelier.tea.o.rama )
The two gentlemen working there would be happy to fix Kaarna’s hair and Ken’s nails!
The nail artist almost manages to pursuate Ken, but then Kaarna yells to the hair stylist:
- My hair is just fine, you snob!!! Ken, run! Let’s get the hell out of here!
Next to the beauty salon is a really chic little cafeteria. Kaarna orders tea and apple pie while Ken chooses a table.
Everything is delicious and pretty and the staff is really friendly.
This is a beautiful ending for the trip to the capital city area.
(Also the cafeteria is situated at @atelier.tea.o.rama )
Nobody has energy to start cleaning up the mess waiting for them at home.
Kaarna looks at Ken’s bed, which is full of random stuff and says:
- The night temperature will drop to zero so you have to stop sleeping in the van. And you can’t find your bed under all this crap.
- Not crap! My souvenirs and toys!
The problem is solved with a mattress on the floor in Kaarna’s bedroom.
Ken reads a card sent by Taika from Florida and starts to cry:
- I need a holiday. I need to rest… I need warmth. I need to retire in Florida! I want to live with the Golden Girls!!!!
- Ken, are you ok…?
- No. I think I caught a flu out there in the crowded capital city area.
It’s the day Kaarna has been dreading for. Time to take her so called art to the gallery. Her stomach hurts, but she has to go through this alone.
Ken’s flu got worse during the night.
A flu might prevent Ken from going to work or helping Kaarna at the gallery, but it’s not preventing him from organizing the mess at home.
Which means that it’s time for the good old furniture chess!
- This will be such a happy exhibition. I really like your work!
Then the manager leaves a tool box for her and lets her hang the paintings in peace.
Kaarna refuses to have a proper opening, but Mari rushes to be her first visitor:
- Great work babe! You’re very talented! I bet this makes all the visitors smile. With the horrible weather outside this is what everybody needs now! I bet you will get some illustration work comissions now.
- Stop talking bullshit. Let’s go to the movies.
- Kaurismäki or Michael Monroe? Mari asks, but already knows the answer.
- I hate the outdoors!!!! Mari cries and Kaarna replies:
-
Now you damn well have a reason to! Do we have time to stop by at home
on the way to the cinema? I want to grab a thermos with hot cocoa.
Mari is amused by Kaarna’s movie snacks: rye bread and hot cocoa.
Kaarna explains:
- I learned this from Ken. Sometimes we even take a blanket. I forgot it this time. Too bad. It’s a bit chilly here now.
Hector’s
mother has baked Carelian pies and she sends some for Ken straight from
the oven. When Hector arrives and sees that Ken is reorganizing the
kitchen, he says:
- Are you out of your mind? You’ll get a pneumonia or a meningitis! Did you move the fridge by yourself?!
Ken says:
-
Yes! No big deal, I just put some dish rags under it and made it slide.
I want to build a new counter now, with shelves! I bought so many new
kitchen utensils at the fair.
- Go to bed now! You’re impossible.
Ken forces
himself to bed. Luckily he now has some easy books to read.
The yearbook from Ellie’s book store and the guest book from his own sewing circle lounge don’t require much of brain activity, but bring joy.
Ken has almost finished a cardigan that he's been knitting for Kaarna. he's not a master of knitting, but it's fun.
- You don’t have to wear this in public, if it’s horrible, he says.
- I’m horrible too. It’ll be perfect, Kaarna laughs.
- Looks like I won’t be needing any mittens this winter, Kaarna laughs when she tries on the cardigan.
Ken sighs:
-
Knitting is so difficult! I was actually sure that the sleeves would be
too short! And I don’t even have time to fix that, now that my flu is
gone and I have to return to work.
- What do you think?
- The view is amazing from up here! And nobody can see inside, so you’ll never have to think about the curtains again!
- Exactly! And thanks to the air conditioning, I never have to hate the summer again.
- This is a lot smaller than your current home though.
- True, but with the loft, it’s okay.
- Some morons have actually preordered the calendar!!! Now I really have to get them printed!!!! And I don’t even have the layout ready.
- I didn’t mean it that way!!! Ken…?
- Maybe sometimes it would be nice to think first and speak later, Ken says and leaves.
- It’s warm and the colors are happy! Thank you very much!
He also volunteers on helping Ken to build a new counter in the kitchen, when Ken tells him about his plans.
Ken is eager to get everything finished already, but Hector wants to make it slowly and throughly. 
