My first hoya is vining!

almost exactly four years ago i got myself a hoya kerrii leaf. i have watered and fertilized it with my air plant tillandsia ionantha. now it is showing a sign of a new leaf growing! i never thought i'd see this day.

hoya kerrii in serious need of repotting

first new leaf

i still have my air plant tillandsia ionantha which bloomed last year and is now creating a pup.

tillandsia ionantha and its pup

äitisuomennos: posliinikukan lehti tekee ensimmäistä lehteä. lehti on ollut mun hoidossa jo neljä vuotta. ilmakasvikin on pieniin päin...

Two new favourites

ah, english language, somtimes you are quite clever...

claptrap - aplodiansa (kalastella aplodeja)
shortchanged - huijattu (annettu liian vähän vaihtorahaa)

i know exactly how these feel!

My first Hoya...

A Valentine's day horticultural rip-off

luckily i was interested in the shape of the leaf (aesthetics, i know so shallow of me) so i am not so disappointed that it doesn't actually grow into a plant... it turned out to be the most aesthetic choice - leaf that never changes (except when it dies)! luckily i also picked the best shaped one since it's not going to change!

i thought it was a succulent and the flower store clerk didn't know any better... though she said that during the time they had had those plants they hadn't grown and remained the same.

found an air plant (possibly tillandsia ionantha) from another local store and couldn't resist it either. unfortunately this clerk was clueless about air plants in general and said it doesn't need any care (water or sun). if you click the pic you'll see that the ends of the leaves are already browned. i hope it gets better in my care.

in finland air plants are rarely sold in stores. i have heard a good review of this store:

till herba caeli

you can order plants to finland too and they promise to send the plant in excellent condition. i would still order from them only during summer time to avoid freezing accidents.

seasonal repotting is finally over! phew!

happy spring!

äitisuomennos: ensimmäinen posliinikuk...an lehti. :D ensimmäinen ilmakasvi ja kauden ruukun vaihdot on vihdoin saatu päätökseen.

Mammillaria hahniana

i did it! i enrolled in a french tour of the greenhouses (the info point clerk didn't speak any english btw... and asked if i was anglaise. :D) at nantes, jardin des plantes and found out which genus 

and species my cactus at home belongs to.

may i present you the humble mammillaria hahniana (old lady cactus???).

(the lowest plants have the same coloring of the needles, white dipped into brown. a major point why i was never sure of the classification when looking at other people's photos.)

the tour was btw for free. as i didn't understand much of it i had more time inspecting the plants and could have taken more photos if i wasn't so intensely trying to find the right species. anyway we only visited the cacti and succulents house plus the rainforest house (no pictures there, intermittent "rain" ensured that). the rainforest greenhouse was awesome inside but it looked very sick from outside - all glasses were brown and muddy. apparently it was from some bacteria 

which was growing on some leaves as well or maybe algae that was good for the plants.

too bad we were there too early for la folie des plantes -

plant fever in nantes 

(and that the airplant shop was en vacances)

my happy cactus :)

(though still not that happy - not yet flowering after a year and two summers...)

äitisuomennos: kaktuksen lajike tiedossa!

kaktukset.blogspot.fi: mammillaria hahniana

Relaxation stress

i must be mad, at least it feels so...

i wanted to have a simple, mundain, long lasting crafts project that i could pick up anytime for 15-20 min. when i would feel like it. i chose to make a double bed cover (160-200cm) with this pattern super simple hexagon. i chose it especially for the good marketing line "super simple".

recently i did the math after crocheting 5 hexagons and joining them on the go. so 160 cm x 200 cm = 17-18 hexagons in a row and 29 rows = 508 hexagons.

ok, seems to be what i want: big, mundain and easy pattern. BUT i'm working on it using leftover yarn (nailing an eco-project tag at the same time) and now my biggest stress factor has become choosing the prettiest yarn from the mix!!! (plus i tend to forget the super easy pattern after i haven't been in the mood for it for some time stressing even magic loop for 20 min.!!!) at least i shouldn't be getting dementia anytime soon when i challenge my brain so - hm... should i pick a pink yarn, no no, next one is supposed to be a stronger color, that one doesn't really go with that etc... (help! maybe the beginning row should have an odd number of hexagons so i can end both ways with stronger colors since i have alternated dark with pastel :P )


äitisuomennos: virkkaaminen ja matikka + värien suunnittelu = stressi!!!

Harry Potter fanfiction

for some time now i've read a fanfiction called harry potter and the methods of rationality. the author states that:

Rule of Rationalist Fiction states that rationality is not magic; being rational does not require magical potential or royal bloodlines or even amazing gadgets, and the principles of rationality work for understandable reasons. A rationalist!hero should excel by thinking - moreover, thinking in understandable patterns that readers can, in principle, adopt for themselves. As opposed to the hero just being a born “genius” who comes up with amazing gadgets through an opaque discovery process, or who flawlessly pulls off incredibly complicated gambits that would fail miserably if the reader tried something similar in real life.

All fanfiction involves borrowing the original author’s characters, situations, and world. It is ridiculous to turn around and complain if your own ideas get borrowed in turn. Anyone is welcome to steal anything from any fanfiction I write.

 harry potter and the methods of rationality

basically in this story harry potter is a rationalist and a scientist to the core. he explores the laws of magic the same way he would do science experiments. the characters are more complex than in the original story and "good and evil" are not so easy to distinguish. the story loosely follows some of the main events of the original story, so it's best not to read it if you don't want to know any spoilers (in case you have for some reason lived in a barrel since 90's potter craze). 

the story has odd rewritings and chapters that don't belong to the "finished" version and harsh criticism of j.k. rowling so it's not for people who expect book like read or fans who worship rowling. especially the grim rationalistic touch made me also question my viewpoint on harry potter and if i can feel the same about the original story like ever. then i just made the distinction that the original story is a magical fairytale and the other well grimmer, "rational" take on the matter (i wouldn't call it realistic as it is still situated in the magical world).

i really enjoyed reading "harry potter and the methods of rationality" which made me rethink a lot of things (especially moral dilemmas were interesting). it's not easy to read but it's worth a try.

word of warning: in case you get hooked on - the story is not complete yet!


äitisuomennos: olen lukenut englanniksi netistä harry potter fanifiktiota (nettiosoite ylempänä hyperlinkkinä)

Finnish cuisine

frozen cranberries with russian candy.
nam :)

good guidance in finnish: kinuski


äitisuomennos: kinuskia ja jäisiä karpaloita...