Konnunsuo

Today we made a little car ride with my husband in the rural areas of Lappeenranta after we took the girls to the stables. They are bitten by horse bug - espsially Jonna! We ended up to the place called Konnunsuo. It's a beautiful countryside.
Konnunsuo is famous of its prison (in the picture above). It was established in 1918. The old buildings are beautiful but in a need for modernisation. They were built during the years 1922-1935. Konnunsuo prison is a big producer of organic food. It grows mainly cattle. The fields are very popular place for migratory birds to stop by so there are two watch towers for birds.

We enjoyed the view very much but couldn't help thinking of the ruined lives of those inside the prison. What went wrong in each of their lives? We get so different start to our lives contingent upon what kind of a family we born into. I hope that working as a mediator I can help some of our clients not to end up on a road with more and more of crimes but in stead help them realize that their actions have consequences in other people's lives. That way they hopefully learn a better way of living. Prison doesn't help them!



Notice: I'm wearing my Inca Kola t-shirt from Peru. I like Inca Kola and that shirt a lot but it's strating to get old and worn-out. :(
In Konnunsuo there is a big peat bog too (suo means swamp). Peat is mainly used for power production. 30 % of Finland is peat bog but mot of it has been ditched for growing forests, for agriculture or in order to pick the peat for power production. As you may remember I enjoyed peat sauna with my friends couple of years ago. There are very few peat bogs left in the natural state and that's a pitty.
Some how I like these peat bogs. In Ilomantsi where I grew up are lot of swamp and they take lot of peat out of them. So the scenery and the smell is so familiar. I guess we need to take the power from somewhere but I'm afraid we are using too mcuh power in order the Earth to survive. I wish we could endure more of our wilderness in natural state and not to harness it to our selfish use.

menstrual cup

The reason I decided to try menstrual cup was purely ecological. I had been looking for a choiche to the disposable pads and tampons for a while. I had big doubts of the cup but I decided that in order to call myself ecologically thinking it should be seen in my consuming. So I bought it and haven't regreted it at all. On the contrary I find it VERY GOOD. It's easy to use, safe, cheap and mostly you can forget that you have periods. All the itching and uncomfortable feeling is gone.

This is from the web site of Lunette the manufacturor of menstrual cup:

Lunette™ menstrual cup is:
• Made in Finland of 100% medical-grade silicone.
• Hypoallergic, latex-free, odourless and safe.
• Economic and ecologically-friendly; used with care, one Lunette menstrual cup lasts for about 5-10 years
• A sanitary and healthy alternative to disposable tampons and sanitary napkins.
• Easy-to-use and comfortable, needs emptying only 2-4 times a day. Can be used during the night.
• The lining of the cup is totally smooth and the tab is flat, so cleaning is extremely easy.
• Measuring lines of 7.5 ml and 15 ml outside the cup, for monitoring the amount of your flow
• Can be sterilised by placing in boiling water for 2-5 minutes
• Can be used by all women
• Can be used before first sexual intercourse and also with a IUD and contraceptive diaphragm.
• Not to be used during post-natal bleeding due to the risk of inflammation.
• Does not disrupt the natural lubricating ability of the vagina, nor does it dry the vaginal mucus membrane
• No dampness; no outbreaks of vaginal candidiasis, cystitis nor toxic shock syndrome have been linked to the use of menstrual cups.
• Can be worn during sports.
• Not tested on animals