I wonder what goes through her mind?

Zebras by Annikki - made for my mother.

 Took 7 months.

As I look out of the window, I see my better half of the last 45+ years doing many things in the garden. Moving small things here and there, and sometimes really back breaking work like moving a load of sand from one place to another so as to put a rubber sheet underneath so that the grass does not grow through the sand. She does things painstakingly, and occasionally stands back to enjoy what she has done. She seems to know exactly what should be done, when and where!

I thought to myself that all through my working life and since, I have been busy, not with the express purpose of making money, but the end result of what I did was make money. Even as I help many tens of people today in Oulu, Tampere and Espoo/Helsinki, the final result is that I am gaining some monetary benefit, however much I try to disregard that aspect of my work.

But looking at Annikki pottering around, I thought of all that she has done in the last 47 years that I have known her. Almost 99% of it has not been for money or financial return. All her paintings were for her personal pleasure.

On the page of Annikki as an Artist which I created on her 60th birthday, there are two photographs.

The first is of the only painting she has ever sold, and that too with great regret. The second photograph is of the large tapestry she created for my mother almost 30+ years ago. This hung on my mother's living room wall till her passing away and now adorns our living room wall!

The gingerbread houses and the cakes she has designed were for the pleasure of her family and friends. The gardens she has so painstakingly created and maintained have been for the pleasure of those who want to enjoy it. The food she cooks, the clothes she washes, the houses she has maintained - all for her pleasure and of her family. She does those things as her "duty" to her family members, never thinking it is a duty.

I thought to myself whether I could ever be like her! I felt I would never achieve that sort of status in my life - a person who has been so selfless in her work and who enjoys everything she does. She is happy when others are happy. She is sad when others are sad.

How many people are like that in this world?

No doubt many of you will say that their mothers and their wives are of the same mould.

I agree that the work of a woman is priceless.

I remember seeing an article in "The Times" of London, many decades ago, which valued the work of a woman, housewife, mother. The conclusion was that no man would be able to pay his better half enough for the work she does to run the family. This is more so today than it was a few decades ago.

I value Annikki for all that she has been and is - Daughter, Girlfriend, Wife, Daughter-in-law, Mother, Grandmother, Artist, Author, Educator.

I wish everyone had a person like her in their life!

World's first "Action Snowman"

Annikki is famed for many things - but one of her specialities is designing snowmen.

Many will recall how, a few years ago, I was greeted at 4:30 am by this snowman.



Or the one she created in 2006 November:



Or her seated laplander of late last year:



But her creativity phase has reached a new high.

She wanted to make a snowman which moved.

Who would think she would ever achieve this goal?

But now she has succeeded, aided by the enthusiasm of her grandson, Samuel. First they created a snow-slide:



And Annikki created a snowman which is delicately balanced on a plastic plate which children use to slide down snow hills.



We are waiting for a good video camera before she lets the snowman slide down the snowslide!!

Annikki takes art to the limit.

I was really amazed and laughed my guts out when I saw her working in the garden late last night (after 11 pm) and saw that snowman just ready to slide down the snowhill!

No Winner!

A few weeks ago I had asked what my amazing wife, Annikki, had in mind when she created this contraption out of chicken wire.



There were hundreds of guesses - but not one was anywhere near what Annikki had in her mind, which was this.



As this wire mesh "Christmas Tree" stands outside in the garden, the tinsel twinkles with the street lights across the road. It is a truly magnificent creation which unfortunately my ancient digital camera, held together by sticky tape, cannot do any justice to.

Remember the other question: "Why did Annikki create the snowman this year in a sitting position?

Lots of great answers, but so far not a correct one!

Creative artist's vision

When Annikki created this:



she had a vision of this:



and the detail is this:



When she created this:



she was seeing this:



What do you think she was thinking when she created this?



As it under the branches, the snow still has to fall on this bird to create the effect Annikki desires.

And I am still awaiting your entries of what she is thinking when she put that wire mesh in the wooden bucket. All entries received are nowhere near what she has in mind and she has told me what it is planned to be!