My Summer Album, and Page 99

Goldfish on a garage door in Carrer de Blasco de Garay, Barcelona, along my morning jog. 

Cousins Riccardo and Angelo Marrocco at a village bar in San Mauro Cilento, Italy.

Sunflower in the little town of Cannicchio, Italy.

Cat along Carrer de Blasco de Garay, Barcelona.

Piece of old porcelain, rounded by the sea, that I once found on a beach somewhere in Campania, Italy and I now keep in a Habitat frame at the summer cottage in Joutsa, Finland.

Dear Barcelona friends, from left, Amor, Toño and Stephy.

Breakfast in the sun, on the stairs in front of the house in San Mauro Cilento, Italy.

Preparing to cook chantarelles at the summer cottage in Joutsa, Finland.

Doing the dishes outside in San Mauro Cilento. The kitchen towel is by Marimekko and the cups were a flea market find years back in Finland. 

Bluekberries in Kangasniemi, Finland.

My nephews Leo and Nooa while picking blueberries in Kangasniemi, Finland. 

White wine and fresh almonds from the tree in San Mauro Cilento, Italy.

Pica, a beloved foundling from Barcelona, in front of the house in San Mauro Cilento, Italy.

An abandoned Fiat 500 in San Mauro, Italy sunset. 

Hammock, and grandma Ester's old enamel bowls at the summer cottage in Joutsa, Finland – that I've written about here, too.

Italian candy and books found in Barcelona on my bedstand in San Mauro, Italy.

Photos ⎮ kuvat: Katja K.

ENG September 1st, 2nd, 3rd... It's about time I started blogging again after the summer holidays that took me to Spain and Italy (I again returned loaded with tiles I had once found in a pile along the roadside in Italy – click here for the photo) as well as to the summer cottage in Finland.

What turned out as a common thread throughout the summer were some books I found along a Barcelona street in June... And I even tried writer and literary critic Ford Madox Ford's (1873–1939) trick to quickly find out whether we'll like a book or not: Just open the book on page 99, and if the narrative is intriguing enough to prompt us to turn to page 100, we've found a novel that works for us. I don't really know whether I agree... You'll have to find out for yourself!

FIN Syyskuun 1, 2, 3... On jo aikakin, että aloitan taas bloggaamisen kesälomien jälkeen! Kesä vei minut ensin Espanjaan ja Italiaan (josta palasin taas tonnin painoinen laukku täynnä kerran italialaisesta tienvarsikasasta löytämiäni laattoja – klikkaa tästä, jos haluat nähdä kuvan niistä) ja sitten kesämökille Suomessa.

Punainen lanka kesälle löytyi muutamista kirjoista, jotka löysin barcelonalaisen kadun varrelta kesäkuussa ja joihin keksin myös kokeilla kirjailija ja kriitikko Ford Madox Fordin (1873–1939) vinkkiä saada nopeasti selville, pidämmekö me jostakin kirjasta vai emme: Avaa kirja sivulta 99. Jos kerronta on niin kiehtovaa, että käännät sivulle 100 ja jatkat lukemista, tiedät löytäneesi itsellesi sopivan romaanin. En ole aivan varma, olenko samaa mieltä... sinun täytyy kokeilla itse!

Our summer bedside table, a rattan basket once found in the trash in Salerno, Italy, and some books I found on the street in Barcelona. The "Teema" mugs are by Iittala, and the pillowcases by Ivana Helsinki. – For a long time, I didn't have a permanent home to share with my Italian husband and I wanted to picture us in the tent on the brown pillowcases designed by Paola Suhonen.

XXX, Katja K.