Summer as it’s supposed to be

Which really has not been the case much this summer. We had a nice little heatwave in June, but the entire July has been a jacket-July. Cloudy, rainy, windy, cold. I’ve never worn jeans in the summer as much as this July. Nor have a worn my summer dresses as little as this July.

So the moments of summer as it’s supposed to be are gems to be beheld. Like yesterday. It wasn’t really hot or anything, but a gentle 23-25C, with the sun out and only some wisps of clouds in the sky. I donned my long light semi-sleeve dress with an open back and slipped my feet into some sandals, and left my jackets home, as we packed ourselves into the car for a little roadtrip.

As usual, our roadtrip took us west along the coastline. It could’ve been a day for Hanko or Tammisaari, even, but we had other plans for the late afternoon and evening. So we drove down to Inkoo. An ant’s spit of a place in size, it has a church, an S-market (grocery store) pharmacy, a couple of artisan shops 💜that were surprisingly closed yesterday, a museum house area, and a nice harbor with some restaurants and a dog-friendly coffee shop.

For reasons (of limited daylight, mostly) we have twice visited Inkoo in late autumn/early winter. Wanting to go somewhere, but not enough daylight to go too far. This was our first visit during the summer, when there’s actually some life in the town, thanks to all the boats venturing into the pictureque harbor.

With the sun high in the sky we parked next to the Café Wilhelmsdahl and selected a table with half shade, half sun – shade for H, sun for me. Cappucinos for us, water for the dogs, and a lunch of smoked salmon pie and carrot cake. Oh, right, doggos didn’t get any of the pie and cake, but they did get some meaty stick snacks.

I love the atmosphere, the ambiance, of Café Wilhemsdahl be it winter or summer, whether we sit inside or out on the terrace. There is something serene and warm about it. The personnel is friendly and kind, they like the furry four-legged visitors instead of merely tolerating them, the coffee is good, same with everything I’ve ever eaten there. It’s cosy and homey. The café alone is worth the visit, in my opinion!

Once we’d finished our lunch, we took a walk around the harbor. How different it is in the summer when boats are docked, others come and go, there’s people milling about, instead of ice and snow! The only disappointment was the closed artisan shops, well at least the Kiurunpesä curiosity shop next to Wilhelmsdahl was closed. So we just hopped back in our car and drove home.

Sun was still high and the sky still blue as we got home around three. H went to prepare the grill while I prepared a couple of chickens for the rotisserie before changing into some bikinis and settling into my terrace chair to read in the sun.

I had a good hour or so of direct sun left in my hanging egg chair before the sun disappeared behind some tall trees at the edge of our yard. Even then, the air didn’t turn cold, so I was comfortable in my chair as H tended to the grill with the chickens roasting on their skewer. “This is what summer is supposed to be like”, I noted to H.

Finally, when the chickens were done, I pulled on a short mid-sleeve dress over my bikinis and helped with the doors as H brought the grilled goodness inside. The chickens were crispy and emanating such a delicious smell that I literally started salivating and decided to leave the chair covering to a later point in time, when my belly is full of chicken.

Needless to say, I suppose, that I forgot the chair. We ate. We took dogs out. I read some more in the library. We took the dogs out again and retired to the bedroom. I read some more, until I fell asleep. So then, this morning, everything was soaked. Of all the times to forget to cover the chair, I obviously selected the time when it then proceeded to rain cats and dogs all night long or something.

Not that it matters too much that the chair pillows are wet (and drying on the heated floor in the bathroom). It’s not like today would be a day to sit outside reading anyway. It’s not raining anymore, but it’s cloudy with all of 18 degrees C. It’s back to jacket-July, for one more day anyway. Then it’s jacket-August.

While the rest of the world roasts, we here have had a cold airmass all summer long. We’re so close to the North Pole, that while the hot air has been enmassing elsewhere, it’s pulled the cold on top of us from the North. Or something. This summer makes me sing. “I was cheated by you, and I think you know when!” And yet, “just one look and I forget everything!” when the sun is out for one day.

Despite the weather, however, the summer’s been quite good. Good times with family, little sailing cruises of Schooner Kathrina in Helsinki archipelago, birthday parties, reading and resting and taking it easy. My vacation is half done, half to go still. The weather I cannot influence, but everything else in my summer I can 🌞