Asta's blog

Att välja sin väg!

2011-08-15T10:34:00.001+03:00

Att välja sin väg - Find your way!

Wow! I felt privileged to be sitting among all those smart women!

We were about 200 women from four Nordic countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. All participants with some kind of a link to women entrepreneurship. Most of us were entrepreneurs, but there were also top researchers, developers from public sector - all experts in doing, sharing, supporting!

Two days full of talk and laughter - and some zumba in between!

It is always as amazing to hear stories as told by the doers themselves: success stories, misfortune stories, survival stories - one thing in common in all of them. Find your own way!

It was great to meet old friends and find new people to work with, to share experiences with, to share the feeling of understanding, support and faith in the future.

As Marienhamn (capital of Åland) celebrates it's 150 years of existence, we also had the honour of having the President of Finland as a guest in the conference. She is great! Doing zumba with the rest of us, and quite obviously enjoying it. Her speech was to the point and her views surely encourage us to carry on with the work we are doing - each and everyone of us!

Some material of the conference will be published in the internet, so please google "att välja sin väg" to learn more about the great women of the north!

The whole trip to Åland, my first one, was great, energizing and rewarding!

Have fun and be good!

Summer holidays

2011-08-06T11:16:00.001+03:00

Most of my dear colleagues returned to work last Monday. It was nice! Lovely to see all the good people, hear their laughter, share the job's challenges and plan interesting new projects and happenings together.

I am just about to start my summer holidays. The first day of my holiday weeks - all three of them - is on Monday! I truly enjoy the August evenings and nights. Dark and still warm. It is great to be sitting late at night in the balcony, listening to the silence of Pellonkulma in Järvenpää. By the way, Pellonkulma means "corner of a field". That's what this area is.

My dear friends have promised to give me some plants to go to my small "forest" (as my grand daughter kindly calls my summer place)... Planting rose bushes, flowers ... all kinds of nice things to make it look cozy and beautiful.

Next week (Aug 12-13) I shall also attend a conference in Maarianhamina - women entrepreneurs and business ladies will gather there to share experiences and make the world a better place for all of us!

Life is good!

Little big things

2011-07-29T09:23:00.000+03:00

If only we always remembered that small things can make a big difference. This one means a lot to me:

http://www.ristopakarinen.com/home/item/mother

New year, new decade - may the new year be happy and successful!

2010-12-31T07:23:00.000+02:00

My aim for the year to come: to find again this person!
Physically and mentally

Merry Xmas and a Happy New year

2010-12-21T23:23:00.001+02:00

It has been an adventurous year. So much has happened.

Merry Xmas to all my friends!

Wuxi and Suzhou in November 2010

2010-11-20T08:11:00.000+02:00

June and Leo in the morning of their wedding day

Autumn colours in Suzhou

Suzhou Classical garden

Tiger Hill

What a trip! I had to travel to the "scene of crime" to hear the news that my ex-partner had married a Chinese ... something I would have never expected. Not after what he had said about Western men hanging around with the Chinese girls. Well. Life is full of surprises. I wish them all the best!

The trip as a whole was great. I was welcomed by the bride and groom and their families in a way I have not experienced before. I really felt welcome - a family member. Their wedding was beautiful, touching and something I shall never forget.
Thank you so much for everything June and Leo, my precious, precious friends in Wuxi!

My dear friends Snow from Wuxi and Ying & Yi from the neighbouring city Suzhou also made me feel great. The tours in the classical gardens of Suzhou, the Tiger Hill - the delicious lunches ... they are all in the archives of my mind'.

And of course it was great to meet the expat-friends who are still living in Wuxi. They were not so many any more, but they also made me feel welcome and good. Thanks to all of them, my stay was just great.

I am sure one day I will be back! And I hope I can show all the lovely people and places to my family, my son, daughter-in-law and my grandchildren.

Best of all: it is great to realize and understand that I have so many great friends on the other side of the globe!

Zai jian!

MODEST AS I AM

2009-05-17T20:13:00.000+03:00

My grandson, 6, visited me and made these announcements:

Come in please! Asta's door is always open for guests. (On the entrance door, outside)

Grandma is always right! (On the fridge door)

Thank you Hannes!

Approaching spring

2009-03-29T12:39:00.000+03:00

Finland moved to summer time last night. No, no. Summer is not yet here, but we moved the clocks one hour forward - to the summer. My inner clock has been working on this zone already for the last week. Instead of getting up at my normal time, 6 am, I woke up at 5 am every morning.

When I look out of the window, it looks wintery still. Piles of snow on the roofs of the neighboring houses. It was still snowing yesterday.

But I know spring is approaching. I know, since next week will be my birthday and I was born in spring!

All winter I have been living like a Finnish bear in her cave. Not moving around much. My only trips to Porvoo and back. I work in Porvoo and its surrounding communes.

It's time to wake up and start living again. This morning I planned a trip to London, to visit my niece who lives there with her family.

Waiting for the spring and summer, waiting for the trees and flowers to start blossoming. Waiting for the sunny side of the street in my life to open.

Optimistic about it!

See you around!

Exciting new - precious old!

2008-11-23T17:25:00.000+02:00

Hey all friends all over the world!

Once again I am in the beginning of something new and exciting. I have started as a Project Manager at a project of Posintra Oy, the Development Company of East Uusimaa Province, Finland. In the HAI-project we are activating business in the field of health and general wellbeing of people in his region. It is a three year project financed by EU (European Regional Development Fund).

If you read Finnish or Swedish please click here to learn more about Posintra Oy and HAI-project.

Astute Consulting business goes on at the scale matching with resources available. All contact information is unchanged and I always answer mails and other messages asap, normally within one day.

All contribution in my HAI-project is welcomed with appreciation and I am open for all ideas for both HAI and other kind of cooperation. Waiting for your contact!

All my best wishes for Sinterklaas ... and any other special occasion. Christmas is approaching, let's enjoy the feeling!

Approaching Fall

2008-09-27T23:48:00.001+03:00

Trees and bushes are getting beautiful colours after the first frosty nights ...

It is nice to light candles in the darkening nights

Holidays in Marmaris

2008-09-22T13:34:00.001+03:00

We, my sister, her husband and myself, arrived at

Ceylan Apart on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008 around 7 pm.

Peaceful, clean and nice hotel, with a nice pool and a pool bar.

Summer. Warmth. Flowers.

The Bay of Marmaris is beautiful, sheltered by mountains

Beach Boulevard with the palms and nice breeze.

The temperature was around 30-35 in daytime and around 20-25 at nights. Not bad.

Batteries have been charged, autumn and winter in Finland approach.

Volvo's VIP luncheon

2008-09-06T18:26:00.000+03:00

My friend Maija, who has been my friend since 1965 invited me over to spend a day as a VIP guest of Bilia=Volvo. The day was great. Sun shining, sea glittering. We were strolling around in the nicer parts of Helsinki. Talked, chatted, discussed. The way women can do it.

Thanks for a lovely day, Maija.

Small drops of happiness

2008-09-06T18:23:00.001+03:00

Sure, the very best moments of every mom and dad are somehow linked to one's own child. Above a few lovely flashbacks - dating back to 1968 .... 1975 or so!

Rebuilding

2008-08-19T09:31:00.001+03:00

My niece and her spouse have bought a new/old apartment in Kerava, Finland. Since the family is living in London for now, their possibilities to look after and take care of the renovation work are limited - so we aunts and moms decided to help them!

For the last two weekends we have been scrubbing and painted window frames, tearing down old wallpapers etc. My elder sister, whose daughter we are talking about, has been very generous with her catering services, which has made it a great pleasure for us all to be involved.

Being together, doing things together - chatting, laughing, singing ... that is good life for me, for us!

Little things - big things

2008-08-16T20:25:00.000+03:00

I am starting to realize how true it is that little things

give great pleasure

if you know how to look at them

It is great to sit on my own balcony, admiring the blooming flowers ,

listening to birds sing and

the leaves of the trees whisper their secrets.

It is good to be in Finland, meet old friends and relatives

and start planning what to do,when I grow up.

Maybe one day, I shall be an adult

But not just yet.

See you around soon!

Zaijian! (Chinese and means "see you soon")