Cafe Olivia?

Gulls screeching above the sea one block away make me think about the builder of this house, John Saxen.  Not much can be be found out about him, but in the book 'the History of Kaskinen' (available in both Finnish and Swedish, 15€, Blahdin puoti, Bladh House, open Saturdays between 11 and 15) he is mentioned for his habit of forecasting the weather by the conduct of birds flying outside our upstairs window. Being a sea captain knowing the weather was of course vitally important for him.

Now, there are three proper high windows upstairs, but we have come to the conclusion it must have been the window facing south, the one in our cupboard room.  We call it by that name simply because my Mom placed some 16 cupboards in it.  Don't even ask!

Captain Saxen actually wasn't the original builder of the house, as some parts date back to the 1840's. He just bought the property and enlarged the house to its current size with six rooms and a kitchen downstairs plus a cold attic.  Before my parents there was only one separate room upstairs, the current cupboard room, so that must have been the room where Saxen spent his time birdwatching.

Yet it is the window facing west towards the Baltic that  one would assume optimal for observing birds. It is our room with a view of the sea. (Photo in my previous blog.) For me, the easiest weather forecast is to go up to that room and have a look as the weather here normally comes from the south-west.  No rocket science, really!

Saxen's wife's name was Olivia, and I think I will call our next pop up cafe after her.  How does it sound? Cafe Olivia.

By the way, some may wonder why I should blog in English.  Well, this is a predominantly bilingual town.  I wouldn't like to go into the trouble of writing first in Finnish, then translating it all into Swedish. For me writing in English is the easy way out.  Plus my friends abroad (Hello Margaret!) can understand my texts, too.  Still, feel free to comment on any language!