Chaga drink

From Ruohonjuuri. Price around 3€ if I remember right.

I was in Helsinki last weekend and found this drink. Ruohonjuuri has really grown since last time. They have a Cocovi -bar, way more products and all. Hearts, hearts.

I've been longing for my chaga tea, as I have none in Oslo. Forgot to take some with me from home before moving. We found sooo much last summer with my dad and dried it all up. There's probably enough for the rest of our lives.

As I have so much at home, I also didn't feel like buying more from the store during my weekend visit. Therefore this drink purchase. Not bad.

Back to Finland next month to visit home. Chaga tea is on the bring to Oslo list already - there's no way I can forget again. Already have licorice root waiting in the cupboard to give some more taste to the tea. Yay!

Have a SUPER weekend!

I went by my corner shop today (yes, the best organic store in town YEAAH) and bought these delights.

Himalayan salt - now this is when cooking can begin.

Liquorice root - I thought mummy brought some chaga tea with her but nooo...

and +30°C weather means it is definitely time for coconut juice

I also bought 2 return flights today. Both to Finland. First visit to Helsinki in just a couple of weeks and second to Turku in September. Maybe I can pick up some chaga then!

Have a lovely weekend folks!

<3: Linda

look at that, just a nearly 30degrees difference to last year.

Set 1 of my Christmas time photos.

This Christmas was very enjoyable. Well spent with family and friends.
Been away from home already nearly four years now. Times change, places change, people change.
Amazing how Christmas time brings everyone back together again.

My Christmas 2011:
Made raw chocolate with hardly any success. (it's the thought that counts, right?)
Ate well. Nearly had the courage to sit on Santa's lap. Received a few gifts - Santa really does love to give, doesn't he. (this year he had taken the price tags off ;)
Had a really loving laugh with relatives as grandpa told his legendary squirrel story without teeth.
For once attended the midnight Christmas church with friends.
Enjoyed the little snow we got, but mostly the global warming (gosh +7 degrees, seriously?).
Found number 12 in the car register plate game.
Won 1€ in a scratch. Bought at least 5.
And finally completed a promise I made during Christmas 2007, and it feels so, so good.

Also, I saw friends I hadn't seen in two years or more. And I saw many. All gathered up in the local club last night for the traditional dance of December 25th. Though I feel bars and Christmas don't really go hand in hand, I'm happy that I made an exception this year.
My quick pop by at 11pm lasted till 3am. Quick indeed.


The snow has melted now, it is still very warm and the storm we had has settled. If this weather is to continue, I expect mushrooms in no time. Only last year we were fighting the cold and trying to cope with the snow, having our fingers crossed that the flights would get us home for Christmas. One year and a 30degree difference. Insane.

I guess I have to dig out my bikini for New Years as the Onepiece will be a melter in the +12C London weather.

How was your Christmas 2011? Hope you enjoyed it as much as me!


Hearts,
Linda

New Years countdown 12

Getting the best visitors countdown 9

Christmas countdown 5

Hairdresser countdown 3

Going home and seeing family countdown 2

The timing must be perfect to catch a cold.

I'm totally blaming my feather blanket that makes my nose tickle and breath wheeze. Maybe it's also not the wisest thing to have my bed next to a wall that breathes cold air from outside. Our London house with thin walls isn't exactly the warmest either. I'm frozen up to my bones.

I'm curing myself with tea I got from my loveliest Christmas calendar ever, and a very pineapple based supersmoothie (incl. msm, barley grass, manuka honey, maca and ginger).

I'm running out of spirulina tablets (two left), so Luonnon Helma Varkaus - I'm coming by. I heard my mummy has already gone by to get my favorite: coconut water.

Today Sammy also joined me back home. She has been guarding our office for the past months but it was about time for a change of environment.

I need to buy new candles. Vanilla ones. They smell so nice.

Which made me remember something...my housemates (men) buy toiletpaper with a scent. I think it is something flowery. Hahahah so funny. So cool.

Yesterday I ordered so much Indian food that I'll have enough of it until I go home. Yum. The delivery man walked to my door. Have you ever received home delivery by foot? Super cool, I say.

That's all.

I can't wait to go home. I just can't wait.

Maybe I'll just be offline all time - get a proper rest.

Remember those times when you had to actually walk to your friends house (or call a landline) to meet up with someone? With of course the possibility of one not being at home or being unavailable.

I miss that. That if something is cool! People should do that more often. I should do that more often.

I think I'm beginning to like Christmas. I blame the granny-Linda I've become!

Anyway, hugs - I'll save the Christmas greetings for later (depending on how offline I plan to be)

Linda

salad'N'smoothie

Today after work I had Mr. J, a loyal reader of my blog ;) , come round for dinner.

We were both in Holland on exchange. It's funny how we both ended up in London!

And what even more funnier, or sad actually - we've only had the time to meet up three proper times since we both moved.

I was so sure for the anonymous Formspring questioner to be Johannes asking what we could eat, as he knows I have a thing for the organic and super.

But I was wrong. So, it was good timing to ask about favorite food anonymous. Thank you for the Q!

Maybe it helped make our food deciding process faster as we ended up having a half organic salad with my favorite ingredients. With extras of chicken and J's tasty salad dressing. And bought a couple of organic ciders to try out. The Westons 'Wyld Wood' -cider I liked a lot! Not too sweet.

J's salad dressing recipe:

- olive oil

- little bit of mustard

- little bit of sugar

- balsamic

For dessert Johannes wanted to taste what all the smoothie hype was about.

He'd read and seen pictures of super smoothie posts but never got the chance to try.

Was about time! ;-)

After eating a bowlful of salad, the smoothie I made was a liiittle too foody for me.

Ingredients were:

- banana

- about 20-25 grapes

- a mango

- 2 apples

- chaga mushroom tea

- water

- maca -powder

- acai -powder

- MSM -powder

- barley grass powder

with hemp seeds on top

The mix turned out a delight. Mostly tasting of maca and banana, but good!

J claims he liked it and I take his word. haha

My housemate also got excited and was up for trying two of my specials of the day: the smoothie + chaga mushroom tea on it's own. He said he'd start making smoothies of his own. Influence, influence.

Btw if you haven't seen my post about the making of chaga mushroom tea, you can check it out here.

Tomorrow will be yet an other great day; my back will get treatment it has been longing for, my board will get to rock n roll, and my camera will be snapping at a speed nobody ever thought existed.

Fingers crossed for sunshine.

All longboard nerds turn up at Crystal Palace Park for:

The Crystal Palace session.

Good night 12.11.11,

Linda

Perfection

The perfect today, via my phone.

I woke up to go to work.

...and received my helmet from Octane Sport! I like it, even though at work I got names such as Egghead and Mushroom. Jaleh thinks helmets look stupid on me. And I thought my head was normal but now it seems big as all the helmets I've tried look massive on me.

But safety first!

Came back home for the best lunch I've had in two months. Oh how mummy is amazing.

Not only did I come home to have a perfect lunch but to also see that my fridge had become perfectly equipped.

Back to work and home again.

Skype. Food. Nap.

Two 100% spirulina tablets, body full of energy and off for a run and stretching by Tower Bridge! Had a calm run listening to I Break Horses and a Finnish artist called Chisu.

Saw a fox on my way. When I was little I was scared of foxes. I didn't dare to go out because I thought they would attack...

Recovery drink.

Carrot juice, orange juice, MSM, chlorella, barley grass and ginger powder.

As it gets dark so early, I don't feel like longboarding out. Especially not alone, and not around here where I live. The pavement isn't perfect, leaves have covered the ground, and it's just not as exciting. So, I go running instead. But yet I still feel going to and coming from work by board isn't enough to satisfy my daily longboarding needs. Maybe I'll just start boarding distance to go have sushi in the city after work...that's a good reason to go hit the better pavements in central London, right? ;-)

Good night,

L

and ps. if you haven't yet, go click a like on All Around Skate to be up to date about longboard riders and crews in Europe! wohoo!

JKL Baby

After the cottage weekend it was time to go to show Karen, Jonas and Ingar what my study city, Jyväskylä, looked like, as well as meet up with Chris! I also had to do some final arrangements regarding my internship and finalization of exchange papers.

The first night we went round to Jonas' and Lauri's place. As the guys enjoyed a few refreshments, Karen and I were kicking it off with Smackdown! BAMMM!

Jyväskylä provided us the greatness of meeting yet again so many lovelies.

Driving passed my old home made me wanna just go 'back to the days' (as if it were long ago, 1.5years) when me and Ansku were neighbors, school was a daily thing, student organization Sauma kept me busy and student life was at its best. How come time goes by so fast?

As J-Lo is a fan of climbing, we went to check out the Hutunki indoor climbing facilities. The place where I did my first climbs with Vilja and Liisa! Memories, memories.

Next morning; run at Laajavuori.

...followed by bringing Chris all his stuff that came to Finland in my car!

After all the morning activities, it was time for breakfast. What would have been a better place for that than Pessi's Shasa smoothiebar! The man himself was present to make us our magic drinks.

Peek and have a look at Pessi's blog here. (In Finnish)

We got a taste of chocolate and fresh fruit mix!

All good, all good.

<3

Linda

...sorry for the messy post. I'm just dead tired and therefore sleep calls me now.

ps. How do you like the new banner? I want to change it a bit when I get a real Linda in London picture. But for now, let it be. The Friday street was such a coincidence to find, but a must to take a picture of. (Oh, how that weekday just connects me with Rebecca Black time after time.) And what goes for the fireworks...I think New Years came early this year, since last weekend's Thames festival fireworks were crazy! More about that later.

xoxo

A little bit of this and that

This weekend has been dedicated to laziness, chilling out, good food and shopping.

Tomorrow I should get my a-s-s up again and continue what I oh so many times already started during this year - running. I've had so many good starts for continuous exercising but then there always come these few week stops due to travelling, moving - whatever. Now it's time to challenge myself yet again.

Ooh, and there would be Finnish football practice tomorrow in my neighbor park...maybe I could go check that out as I run.

But here some random shots of latest happenings, and maybe also the not so latest.

Our 'Farm is based in an old cookie factory! Woop.

A day at the office. And Jaleh's king size English breakfast that carried her through the day. I'm not surprised!

My today's breakfast, which doesn't really look as tempting as it did IRL, and dinner. Today has been food-day. Giving myself a little treat.

All the products used are ORGANIC. I'm wondering whether to believe or not.

Seriously, organic blueberries? For some reason I have a feeling they are nothing compared to the organic I know in the woods next to our cottage... oh how I miss the Finnish woods and food stores. Not to complain, the nearby Tesco is actually really good.

Fun fact:

e.g. the organic spinach bags in Tesco say "superfood". coolbeans.

Now I really need to get this blogging started again. I'm still missing out telling you about the last amazing events of summer!

Great weekend to all,

xxx

L

PS:

I forgot my computer charger in Finland and today when I finally went to buy a new one...I didn't. Seriously 60pounds for a charger? Apple, I think you are getting a biiiiit carried away here! Crazy-based.


PPS:
http://www.urban75.org/useless/bored.html

Fire to the rain

Today

wearing the favorite River Island jacket! yes, pro longboarder - pro clothing.

has been active.

Early wake up.

Dentist check-up, dislike.

Getting lucky and getting a cancellation time to the doctors check-up.

(meaning ready and steady to go to London - my trust for dental and health care in Britain isn't at its tops. I could start writing about previous experiences e.g. 5-year old Linda having the worst dentist trip ever with pain like never before, and about 5-year old Linda being diagnosed with a 'strawberry rush' that required a load of ice-cream as a healer..but that would take some time. and yes, an Indian doctor once said I would get healed from this interesting new disease by eating ice-cream. as i was a kid, i did like the given prescription but i did sooo not get better. the so called strawberry rush was tonsillitis, soo yeah! way to go.)

Getting a lunch/snack from my ultimate favorite Varkaus shop "Luonnon Helma" (organic+superfoods) with the most delightful customer service ever. Days snack suggestion: cucumber hotdog (cut cucumber with pollen and buckthorn berry powder in between), mix of migs, dates, apricot and plums, and Biona coconut water. Priceless.

I visited my study town, Jyväskylä, to get all exchange and internship paperwork done. Accomplished mostly, but partly undone... Since when did computers take over paperwork? I'd say they never did!

And after a hard days work, hhaa, Jaleh wanted to try out my boaaard, yyeye!

...after which I headed of for a Chinese dinner with the lovely Tette!

Then quickly back to Varkaus, tea with highschool lovelies Venla-Kaisa, Suski, Ansku and Henna, and a quick pop by at granny and grandpa's to go through the latest gossips.

Now, well now I'm tired as as as...asss..ehh.

anywooopoop, tomorrow yet again a new day.

London time is getting closer and closer. Lets hope the riots quieten down asap! So not cool.

But before London I have quiiite some nice things coming up. I'll keep you posted.

xoxo

L

ps.

today i noticed how much i actually miss jyväskylä!

bumping into the loveliest people today. i miss that. i miss the feeling when you walk in town, in school, anywhere, and there are always people you know and say hi to.

i miss the school building. even school food.

i miss the atmosphere of walking down to town from home (how perfect would that road be to longboard...ah).

i miss my classmates, tutors, Sauma crew.

i miss going to the park, 'our garden', with ansku to chit chat and sunbathe. i miss running to ansku's or her running to my place whenever in the need of company.

i miss waking up 10min before school started and still being in school on time, as i lived so close.

i miss the ekolo and punnitse&säästä shops.

i miss the amazing lamb they sell at mestarin herkku in sokos.

i miss petra, ansku and me playing bingo on tuesdays.

i miss evening walks and talks.

i miss going to school and staying there until it closed.

i miss sunday dinners in roninmäki.

i miss so many things that if i continue this post will be endless.

but that just means i have so many amazing memories!

ahhh...love for life! <3