December 2015
Dear Soroptimist Friends,
During this year 2015 the weather has been very unusual. In June when the summer was supposed to come, we had vey chilly, rainy and nasty weather. When summer finally arrived in July, it was jus a few weeks long. But the rainy summer brought us a fantastic mushroom harvesting. Our forests were full of chantarelles and all kinds of mushrooms, and we also got tremendous lots of blueberries and wild raspberries,even in our own garden. Now in December when it should be cold winter and snow, we have plus degrees and rain in Southern Finland. Today 6th of December, on our Independence Day, the temperature is + 8°C, very unusual.
This year our club has been very lucky, we have got 5 new, young members! At one point we were afraid our club would become a club for retired soroptimists, but now we got “new blood”, young enthusiastic sisters.
As usually we have had many interesting meetings, and already one of our new members has had the opportunity to tell us about herself.
The last week-end of April was one of the high-lights of our club. We were invited by our link club SI of LISTER in Norway to visit them. We were 6 Soroptimists, who flew to Kristiansand where we rented a big car and drove the remaining 100 kilometers to the most southern part of Norway. The Lister-Sisters had arranged a very interesting program for us and we all enjoyed meeting them again. Even one of our new members joined us on this trip and we had the opportunity to get to know her well. For her it was an unique opportunity to get to know just 5 of our club memebers on this trip and then be able to concentrate on getting to know the others on the ordinary meetings.
The August meeting of our club was held in my summer house, or actually in the garden. All sisters were asked to bring long trousers, long sleeves and boots to be able to move in the forest. They were all out picking lots of blueberries and raspberries which they could take home with them. They said it was the best meeting of the year as they had a chance to move around in small groups and chat together. My husband, Eero had heated the SAUNA and some sisters took the chance to have a real sauna bath and they were even brave anough to goswimming in the sea although the water was not very warm. Finally we had a nice meal all together and I can assure you that the mood was very high.
Our December meeting will be on 16th and we will go to the Finnish National Theatre to see the play Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
SI Kauniainen-Grankulla wish all of our Link Club Sisters MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR,
SI OF KAUNIAINEN-GRANKULLA,
Christel Westerholm-Tamminen
International Contact Person Bredavägen 9 B, FI-02700 GRANKULLA