Merit Kuusniemi a.k.a. Finnmaiden writes about things near and dear to her heart from a perspective of growing up and travelling in Finland and Europe for the first 25 years of her life. The next quarter century she spent on the east coast of the United States, first a Master’s student in New York State and later living in Massachusetts as a wife, mom, corporate employee in the hospitality field and entrepreneur for a total of 27 years . Now back in her native Finland, remarried , she balances life as a daughter to octogenarians, wife to a sailor, hunter, fisherman, handyman and an all around good human, as a mom to two grown children living and working in the U.S., step-mom to three and step-grandmom to two, a board professional, angel investor, an “enlightened owner” in a family business with long traditions, and an entrepreneur in her own right.

Merit enjoys: sailing, fishing, cooking for friends and family, saunas, the air and vistas of the archipelago, dips in freezing-cold waters of the Gulf of Finland, warmth, sun and light of the South of France, mountains of Colorado, a little bit of vegetable gardening, foraging in the woods for edible plants, mushrooms and berries, listening and playing music, movies, books, reading, learning about nutrition and health, yoga, red wine, sardines, olive oil and butter. Falling asleep on the couch. Would like to find more time to think and reflect and for that cello in the basement waiting to be tuned, but what to give up?

Facebook perhaps, or the couch. (Says the Finnmaiden.)