WELCOMING THE NEW YEAR 2008!!!

Just put it in our mouth, Minea, 7 advised, holding a dripping thin piece of ice in her hand. She handed the piece to me and nimbly climbed into the palju, a wood-heated hot tub right next to lake Vesijako.

               1345881.jpg
                               enjoying the palju  - a woodburning hot tub

We were celebrating New Year at our friends’ summer cabin in the middle of the winter. Of course, winter 2007-2008 hasn’t been a typical winter. It was easy to maneuver our 9-person rental van on the narrow country roads since snow was scarce. We arrived before 4 PM, and the Yrjönmäki cabin welcomed us with candles in the windows and a delicious whiff of barbecued meat cooking. We knew Master-Mika was at task and spotted him at the outside grill, with a spatula at hand. We entered the main cabin and were quickly handed mugs of steaming glögi. The women: Sirpa, Minna, Laura and Kirsti, were preparing the rest of the dinner while the younger women, the 10-year-old Sara and younger sister Minea whirled around Matlena, their former Au Pair.

                    1345888.jpg
                      Lake Vesijako - with hardly any ice - global warming!

We ate a fabulous late lunch or early dinner. Mika knew (probably from personal experience) how much meat young men could pack into their long, lean bellies. Kilos and kilos of tender Brazilian beef disappeared as Mika kept replenishing the meat platter in front of Johannes and Germano.

After dinner, we relaxed and made beds for everyone in several different cabins. The Yrjönmäkis practically have a small, private village of cabins on their property – enough to sleep mom & dad Yrjönmäki, three daughters with families and a crowd of appreciative guests.  Then it was time for sauna. It is a cabin ritual even in the wintertime. We spent long intervals in sauna, got too hot and stepped outside, sipped some Lapin Kulta, refreshing Finnish beer, climbed into the large hot tub, and repeated the whole routine again and again. The little girls encouraged us to dip our toes into the icy lake water. The Lake wasn’t frozen over as expected, and we missed our chance of dipping fully in, into avanto, a hole in the ice, a new sport very popular in Finland. I guess we could have gone swimming among the ice floats.

             1345883.jpg
                         enjoying winter sauna

             1345890.jpg
                      "Germano - are you gonna jump in?"

Then it was time to wait for the New Year. Even tough totally relaxed by sauna, we managed to stay awake until midnight. We shot up our personal fireworks and watched others do the same across Lake Vesijako. Exactly at midnight, we toasted with  champagne and sparklers and moved inside, to the cozy main cabin to play games and finally roast some makkara, a must crowning for a sauna night.

                1345878.jpg
                                sparkling wine . . .

                   1345884.jpg
                                                 . . .  and sparklers . . .

It was a perfect way to celebrate New Years: friends, good food, sauna, and exotic setting to some of us. Kiitos, Yrjönmäki family – for including us in your celebration!