The Germans have driven away and continued their Finnish expedition. July begins.
Ken shows his phone to Kaarna:
- Look, whole two days without rain!!! And it says the temperature might get as high as 23 degrees!!!!
- Yay! But then the next 10 days are all rain again. This summer is officially ruined.
Kaarna can bring her work out to the garden which makes painting so much more pleasant!
Ken asks if he could borrow her bike and ride to the grocery store. He hasn’t ridden a bike in years, and
Kaarna says:
- But don’t crash it! I need it back in one piece!
Ken wobbles to the supermarket safely.
He gets all sweaty and tired, but riding a bike really is nice after such a long time. Maybe Kaarna will lend it to him again sometimes.
There are sausages, meat and vegetables on Ken's shopping list and the plan is to barbeque in the evening.
On a day like this it's forbidden to spend any time in the kitchen! (Ken's summer rule.)
What's the best thing you can do on a crappy weather? Watch a Brad Pitt movie of course! That man just keeps getting hotter and hotter as years go by!
Ken never misses a movie with Brad Pitt - even if it was about zombies (horribly scary) or vampires (oh how corny) or like in this case, about Formula 1. Disgusting motorsports! Ken hates that so very much! Just think about the amount of money the mankind wastes on such a stupid thing when there's also a lot of suffering, poverty and a tiny little problem called the climate change for the love of god!
But for Ken's surprise this movie turns out to be so exciting and intense that his heart keeps pounding hours after the movie has ended!
Oh what a feeling!
The eternal rain continues. Life is no different than in the wintertime and that sucks.
Ken decides to sew new bathrobes for them both.
The sound of the sewing machine annoys Kaarna a bit.
She has to take a photo for Ken’s social media.
The sewing method Ken used was so easy that anyone could make this kind of robes and Ken wants to share the pattern.
Kaarna can’t feel her toes. The ground is terribly cold.
When they rush inside to warm themselves up, Kaarna suddenly collapses on the floor and starts to cry.
- I can't take this any longer! This summer FROM HELL is killing me! Why are we being punished like this? I'm really suffering! I don't want to live anymore!!!
Ken sits down and says:
- But Kaarna, haven't you watched the weather forecast? It has changed completely! Summer will begin tomorrow! Even the night temperatures will finally rise! And we will also get a lot of sun and heat!
- Can we go road tripping?!
- Yes! Tomorrow we'll start to pack and then we hit the road!
In the morning Ken gives Kaarna the check list and leaves her to take care of the packing.
Then he drives to the pharmacy and grocery store.
- I think I'll stop by at Reiska's car repair shop first and get a new battery for Herbert. Just in case! The battery is at least 8 years old and Herbert hasn't been waking up very smoothly lately.
After Kaarna gets her part done, she sits on the porch waiting for Ken.
But what's keeping him this long?
When Ken finally arrives at home - by foot - Kaarna runs to him yelling:
- What the absolute hell, Ken? Where's Herbert?!
Ken can't hold his tears when he tells that the strange sound that Herbert has been making lately turned out to be something really bad. Reiska forbade him to drive any further and the van had to be left there.
- Something about cardans and bearings and differentials and loads of money and expensive parts, Ken sobs.
It seems that every Finnish doll wears a crocheted bikini made by @neuleita_barbie_ken_siskot nowadays, so also Ken ordered a set! And oh boy he feels fabulous now!
When the temperature rises above +25 °C (which we call HELLE in Finnish), Ken’s menopausal brain starts to melt. At +30 °C he’s already suffering. The only way to survive is to spend the days in the lake and wear a wet scarf.
Kaarna is horrified:
- I hope I die before getting that old!!!! This is the best weather ever!
- I’m not complaining! Ken shouts.
Ken is so grateful that they live so close to the Lake Saimaa and there’s a quiet spot at the lake shore only one kilometer from home.
- We can do all the same things here than what do on the road. SUP boarding, easy meals, walking in the woods… This is not bad at all!
- And we can walk to our home toilet when we need to poop, Kaarna adds.
The sun sets in the north and it always looks lovely on this shore.
But Ken and Kaarna hardly ever see it, because they crawl into the tent after 9 p.m. and fall asleep.
After ten hot and sunny days Herbert gets home with a bill of 1500 euros. Now it’s obvious that Ken and Kaarna really can’t afford any road trips this year. Luckily Herbert’s tank is full and a short trip might be possible at some point.
Luckily there are many wonderful places to visit close to home also, like for example Parikkalan Patsaspuisto.
The rainy summer has helped the statue garden to blossom like never before!
For Ken and Kaarna’s surprise the place is crowded today.
Unfortunately both the statue park and Ken’s favorite ice cream place have raised their prices.
- 4 euros for one ice cream cone! This is insane, Kaarna moans.
- True. From now on, we will only visit free places and buy ice cream from Lidl.
Ken attends a free boat trip to a nearby island to do a little bit of voluntary work.
The organization that arranges this trip takes care of many lovely recreational areas in the South Carelian area and this island is their new project.
The guide tells that the island used to be a place for children's summer camps, but since they are not popular anymore, the island is being opened for everybody to enjoy.
- Unfortunately we can´t barbeque sausages today after all, because the exceptionally hot and dry ”helle” has continued for two weeks now and today is the hottest day so far: +32°C. The risk of a wildfire is extremely high. Remember to stay hydrated, we have brought plenty of drinking water.
The old buildings are in good condition and the area only needs some tidying up.
The guide is interested to hear what kind of ideas people have for the place. Some of them have been on the summer camps here as kids and they love to talk about their memories.
The sauna can be heated also, and of course when the temperature outside is hotter than ever, the Finns want to sweat in even hotter place!
Ken helps with the firewood.
The kids enjoy swimming more than the sauna.
Ken takes a snack break before heading to sauna. However, he didn´t bring nearly enough food to eat, because he was looking forward to eating the sausages. He's happy that Kaarna isn't here with her hunger anger though!
On his way to the sauna, Ken stops by the toilets.
There are almost ten composting toilets in the woods but naturally Ken chooses the only one occupied!
The next task would definitely have to be adding working locks on the toilet doors!
When nobody lives inside the walls, the home soon becomes a mess.
Ken and Kaarna just pop in every now and then to pick up or drop out something.
It’s been three weeks without a drop of rain. Elisabet’s flowers are suffering.
Ken sighs:
- I wouldn’t mind a great big thunder storm for the nature’s sake every now and then, if only I could keep this heat and light forever.
- What about your menopausal melting brain?
- I got used to the heat after one week. And luckily the river Vuoksi and amazingly the lake Saimaa too are still chilly! And always close!
Kaarna usually hates picking blueberries, but this summer is an exception! There are hardly any mosquitoes in the forest!
- Too hot for the little asswipes! Kaarna laughs and starts to clean up her haul.
Now that Herbert is available again, Ken and Kaarna can sleep on a different spot every night. They had already gotten bored with the home beach.
This morning they can hear the thunder. Kaarna asks:
- Have you checked the rain radar?
- Yes, the thunder is on the Russian side now and it will pass us. No worries.
- So blueberry picking is what we do today also! With this little breeze it’ll be lovely in the forest!
After spending hours in the forest Ken and Kaarna now have enough blueberries for the whole winter. They made it before the rains arrive! The freezer is full!
But squatting in the bushes is hard work and Ken is beat:
- Every single cell in my body is crying. The pain is horrible. I will be resting for days now.
- Sure thing, old man!
The next day is rainy, so Kaarna tries to clean up and Ken tries to rest.
That means they both are pretty far from their own comfort zones!
Kaarna realizes that they still haven’t visited the art road of Jäppilänniemi and the summer is almost over!
So they drive to this cute art event Jäppilännniemen Taidetie that Kaarna has drawn the trademark illustration for.
There’s a countryside gallery with different artists every year.
But the best part of the Taidetie is the country road itself with a lot of pieces of art here and there on the side of the road.
Even though something new is brought there every summer, Ken and Kaarna’s favorites always remain the same. They never get bored with seeing them!
Ken has finally learned how to paddle the SUP board while standing up! After two summers of sitting down he’s really proud of himself now!
And the summer didn’t end yet after all! Now it’s been like a normal Finnish summer, with rain showers and sunny moments, and about +20 °C.
Ken’s menopausal body appreciates the colder nights of August.
Today he wakes up after six and sees a beautiful misty morning.
But soon the sun warms up the air and the breakfast is served on the east side of this small cape.
Porridge with blueberries is always good, but out in the nature it's especially delicious.
When Ken and Kaarna park on the swimming beaches, lake shores or recreation spots, they always pick up the trash left behind by other people.
After the corona time the number of people travelling by vans and mobile homes has increased heavily and that has caused trouble. Some people just can’t respect the nature.
Geocaching is a great way to have an adventure that costs nothing.
Today Kaarna and Ken find a twirl to the center of the Earth and a mummified Christmas elf.
During the Christmas Day service in 2022 an arsonist set the Rautjärvi church on fire. Luckily everybody got out and nobody died, but sadly the 141-year-old wooden church burned down completely. Only the stone foundations are left now.
Ken and Kaarna walk on the church yard and look at the brand new, modern church. It’s nice and simple, but still the place makes them a bit sad.
Kaarna says:
- We’ll never find out the motive for this disgusting act of destruction, because the asshole arsonist killed himself. That fucking piece of rat shit and bat vomit.
Today Kaarna and Ken are visiting the rapids of Hiitolanjoki. During the past few years three dams of three hydroelectric power plants have been demolished and the rapids can now run free. The salmon from the Lake Ladoga is able to swim to Finland again.
The Hiitolanjoki area is now a wonderful destination for excursions and recreation.
Most of the paths are even wheel chair accessible, so this place is great for everybody.
Kaarna has designed almost all the info boards here. She’s horrified to spot a spelling mistake on one of the boards!
She's especially interested in the mobile path of the Kangaskoski rapids. She has downloaded an app beforehand and is excited to see what the AR technology can add to the real world.
But the app doesn't work at all. She gets all frustrated and then super pissed.
Ken rushes to the rescue and tries the app with a bit more patience.
He manages to get some parts to work, but he must agree with Kaarna: this app is too complicated and ruins the experience. Luckily there are info boards with real photos from the old times.
As Kaarna's anger is also about to ruin everything, Ken buys big sundaes from the kiosk, no matter what they cost.
The ice cream helps Kaarna, and also the entrepreneur who has had the courage to put a kiosk here in the middle of nowhere deserves every cent.
Hector and Janne are decent, middle class hard working citizens, which means that they have no time to pick their own blueberries.
And since Ken and Kaarna have a lot of time, they pick some berries for their friends too. Hector wants to pay for them, and Ken feels a bit embarrassed taking money from him.
But Kaarna doesn’t. She's earned this money with back pain.
The postman has just brought the latest issue of the magazine by Nukkekotiyhdistys with an article about Ken and Kaarna’s art club at the miniature fair last autumn.
- Look! This brings back all the great memories. Remember that girl, what was her name?
- No idea, but she was a ridiculously talented artist! That I will never forget! Awww and JuhaSusanna is there also!
- And the folks from Vaaksanheimoset and Vihervilla and…
Ken is surprised about how much fun the magazine is. How come he never knew about this before the interview?
He wants to stay at home reading about all the amazing doll houses, when Kaarna asks him to join her to an exhibition of contemporary art.
Kaarna doesn't need company though. Usually all art is the best enjoyed alone anyway.
She loves demolition art. It's a form of art that temporarily takes place in buildings which are in such a bad condition that they will be torn down soon.
She had really high hopes for this expedition, but gets a little disappointed.
One piece is excellent though. It's called The Room 237 and some performance art is also included.
- I just don't understand why the city didn't call for any local artists to join this project. Why did they only invite the art students from Aalto University of Helsinki? Kaarna wonders.