Ä´vv

We are all off school and work this week. We have no special plans for Easter break other than being home and spending time outdoors if the weather allows. 

Yesterday we took a road trip to Finland, we live about 1,5 hours from the border and the children like to drive there and visit some shops to get other type of food. On the way, we stopped by "Ä´vv"  the Skolt Sámi museum in Neiden. Ä´vv means sun glitter in Skolt Sámi, the sparkling light that comes from the sun reflecting in water or snow. How beautiful is that? 

 The weather was blustery with a mix of snow and rain. April weather. I love driving by the fjords. I love thinking of all the people that have lived here before me. No roads or cars, mostly using the sea and the rivers as ways of transport or reindeer and sled or pulk in the winter. I have read a few novels inspired by life here in the northeast, for those of you who can read Norwegian I highly recommend "Ellis hus" or "Kniven i ilden" and the follow up "Vestersand". Life was hard back then, harder in the north and even harder for women. I am fascinated by women who have lived before me and feel humbled by how easy my life is in this day and age. It gives me perspective and makes me think about the life I want to live. 

So back to the museum. I dragged by children and husband along hoping that some knowledge would stick or at the very least that they would reflect a little about life now and life back then. Of course none of this happened as planned. I engaged in a vivid conversation about weaving with the museum host and by the time we were finished talking the children had already gone through the entire museum and were ready to leave. As the museum is not very big, I made them go through it again so that I could take a good look. I had been there before but still wanted to spend some time there. I am a 100% museum person, my family is not at all. I love spending lots of time in museums, absorbing it all, reading the small texts and reflecting on what I am seeing. I have spent several days going through the Louvre, the British museum of national history and the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg. 

Needle case made of reindeer bone

Spindles and whorls

Polypore or shelf fungi used as a needle cushion 

The photos above reflect a few of the things that Skolt Sámi had with them at all times. A needle case made of bone (reindeer or swan bone due to its lightness) with needle and sinew thread, a spindle and a polypore to use as a needle cushion when repairing or sewing cloth. A knife was also a part of their repertoire. I  had to make a mental check of what I always have in my bag no matter where I go, and that is a power bank and cable, extra contact lenses and small mirror, band aids, small knitting project and notebook and pencil. I have it all in a pouch I can just grab if I change bags.  I hardly ever leave the house without a water bottle either, and I now have the urge to add my needle case and thread to my list. I do have a Sámi needle case made of reindeer bone I bought a while back. My husband leaves the house with his phone and a small card holder, I feel totally unprepared if I don't take my "survival kit". Unprepared for what I don't really know, life I guess? Zombie apocalypse?. Please tell me I am not the only one? 

Above are a couple of photos from the museum where women are spinning. I did not find a singel photo of them knitting and I think the yarn made by them was used for weaving the blankets that were then used as barter with others. I hope to learn more about blanket weaving in the near future, as of my last post. 

It snowed all evening yesterday and we woke up to 10 cm of new snow. I am more than ready to leave this kind of weather behind us, luckily when the sun shines now there is a warmth to it.

Wishing you all a happy Tuesday and a lovely Easter holiday. 

“And if the only reward for racing through life, is death,
then may I forever savour the long way around;
languidly stretching myself across every detour & backroad,
for if the destination is all the same,
at least may the journey be a slow & scenic one" 

~Liz Fair

P.S. Because I am sure you are wondering how the maggot experiment is going, I can convey that we have many new family members aka flies. I know this might gross out many of you, but my daughter insisted in having the flies in her room for a few more days til the temperatures are above zero. If they are released outdoors today, they will die and that was not an option for her. We watched them hatch out of their small cocoons and reflected on the fact that they go from being fat and juicy maggots to complex beings, flies. It is a good thing to take care of all creatures.