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It is very fine of you to be able to sew doilies even for yourself. And it must be comfortable to have an electric Singer. Some people here have but I have not got one. But I was very happy to get an electric washing machine two years ago. It is a Hoover. I sew for my sons and like to knit for them. Because of our cold climate it is necessary to have plenty of warm woolen clothes for them to wear. I like to make stuffed dolls and animals, too. I think it is more fun for me to make them than for my sons to play with them.
It is very wise of you not to give too much sweets to your daughter. My husband is very strict about that because he considers it bad for the teeth. So we have not given candy or chocolate to our sons. They get fruit instead. Of course we cannot avoid sugar altogether. They eat desserts and cookies. I am very keen on baking cakes etc. and my elder son likes to help me. Best of all, however, he likes to scrape the dishes where I have mixed the ingredients. It was very interesting to hear about the Mexican dishes. How do you make avocado salad?
We are having a real heatwave now over Finland. It would be nice to have your new air conditioner here now. It has been an exceptionally warm and beautiful summer so far. We are in the habit of going to Lake Samiaa and swim [sic] there. We do not very much like to go to the Vuoski although it is quite near by because the water is noticeably colder than that of Saimaa.
Because it is so hot I think it very [sic] refreshing to call back to my mind our cold Finnish winters and the coolness of the white snow against your cheeks. Last winter was an unusually long one. We had the first snowfall in the beginning of October already and it did not disappear at once as it so very often happens to the first snow. After there had been some more snowfall people could ski and were able to do so until the end of March. We have a [sic] very good skiing terrain here at Imatra. My friends from Helsinki like to come with their children and spend their skiing holidays here. Finnish school children have a skiing holiday of about ten days every year. It normally starts at the end of February or in the beginning of March depending on the quantity of snow.
Part of [Letter to Frances Keys from a Finnish pen pal, July 5, 1953]