Friday, February 25, 2005

Bit late blogging today


Annikki's younger sister, Anneli, who lives near Helsinki, in a small town called Masala, has come for a long weekend. I had to go and pick her up at the station.

These two sisters are very close.

Hilja with her daughters Anneli & Annikki

Hilja with her daughters Anneli & Annikki in Oulu, 2003


Anneli has two sons, both very accomplished musicians. The elder, Matias, completed his schooling from the Sibelius School For Music, has finished his compulsory army service, and is now going to train for a part in an Opera while waiting to join the next stage of his higher education after summer. Tuomas is also a very very talented musician, but has still a year and a half left to finish his High School. He specialises in the playing the Cello and also has an excellent voice.

Hilja with grandsons, Matias & Tuomas

Hilja with grandsons, Matias & Tuomas, Oulu, 2003


Anneli, a trained Childrens' Teacher, heads a Government day-care centre in Masala and is also in charge of all the day-care centres, including those being run in private homes with the permisssion of the Government. She is glad to get a couple of days off to see her mother and sister, a long journey, as it is about 700 km from Masala to Oulu.

To give Annikki a chance to enjoy the time, we will have Joanna and family over for dinner this evening, which I will get from Michelle's Chinese Restaurant "The Royal Garden". Michelle is a family friend, a Chinese girl from Calcutta, whose food cooked for us, some of it super-spiced, is just great!!

This was the birthday cake that Annikki made for Michelle's son, Kachun for his 3rd birthday, a turtle just about to enter the sea from the seashore. Everything is edible, the rocks are toffee, and the water is clear jelly. The toffee forming the turtle's back was of special interest to all the kids, along with all the other sweets used as decoration. The head and feet of the turtle are the especially sought after licquorice sweets that children love.

One strange and unique factor about Annikki's fishes, which is a feature of her series called "Pond Cakes", is that they grow in size. They absorb the water from the jelly and literally grow!!!

2000Kachun02

Kachun's birthday cake, 2000, Turtle on the seashore

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