Tuesday, July 16

I couldn’t write today because the sauna house was half finished and everything that should be in there was scattered around. I therefore got up at 7:30, inspected it and painted a third coat on the walls. I got the girls up at 8:40, and by the time Irma woke it was finished.

We decided that the sauna house needed a new mirror and so we are in Borgå looking for one. MikroKulma didn’t have one, although they did have a couple of other things we needed. Now we are about to enter Robin Hood, where we will find what we are looking for as well as a can of salmiakki and lemon lonkero. How could you not try that?

Robin Hood is the only store I can recall where trousers and jackets are available in four different camouflage patterns. It also has the largest range of cat food I have seen assembled in one place.

We will then go to Lidl next door to buy food, and I will get a Pizza Inferno which will prove to be the hottest commercially produced food I have ever had in Europe. One mouthful and I will be back in Kerala in Leo Restaurant.

When we get back we will set up the sauna house and Irma will be right: the white walls make it bigger and lighter, and the new arrangement (which mostly came from taking some furniture from the shed and putting some other furniture into the shed) is much beter and much more usable.

There has been a gale-force wind all day, although it has been sunny. We will sit indoors and try the lonkero, which is called Longi. It will prove to be quite nice, and only mildly salty.