And the even saunatonttu

The last page of Sheryl Peterson's book “The Best Part of a Sauna”  included great info about the sauna—the proper pronunciation, how Finnish immigrants used the sauna, different kinds, words like löyly, the cloud of steam produced by tossing water on the rocks, and vihta, the soft branches for swishing one's back, and directions on how-to. 

 

She even mentioned the saunatonttu, a little elf, who warns people when a fire was getting too hot. 

 

All in about 600 words. Neat skill. 

 

Sheryl is the author of 22 children's books—an impressive accomplishment! Check them out at www.sherylpetersonbooks.com.

Nikki

“The Best Part of a Sauna”

Sheryl Peterson knows what the best part is. She's written a delightful children's book, “The Best Part of a Sauna,” which won the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award. 

Her story kept me guessing (though I was sure I knew the best part for me). But — what would kids like best — building the fire? Making water sizzle on the rocks? Jumping in the lake?

And what would their grandparents like best (because in this book a child goes to sauna at their cabin) How did they introduce sauna to this young visitor? What were their customs?

It's so smoothly told it makes me want to write like that.

The book“The Best Part of a Sauna” was illustrated by Kelly Dupre, who asked Sheryl to photograph the sunset very often so she could see how to incorporate the waning hours. Other nifty touches — pay attention to how the boy's hat changes and how many of her paintings have ravens.

“The Best Part of a Sauna” (hardcover is $17.95, softcover is $9.95, plus taxes and postage) was published by Raven Words in Ely, Minnesota. To order one, click the link or call 218-365-3375.

Nikki

What’s the best thing about saunas?

Ahhh — the sound of water hissing on the rocks. The smell of pine, cedar, birch (even after the “new sauna” smell is gone. I love the abrupt change of temperatures when I can jump in a lake — super-hot to chilly — which is hard to explain to non-enthusiasts.

A different plus are the things I appreciate about sauna — the relaxation which comes afterwards which brings release from everyday irritations and solutions to problems. Sleeping well after the sauna, soft skin ... that list could go on.

And then there’s the evening sauna. Sweet!

I’ll bet it’s different love for every one — grandpas, adults, teens, little kids. What say you?

Nikki

Buy a copy of Some Like It Hot: The Sauna, Its Lore and Stories from the publisher, North Star Press of St. Cloud, Minnesota, or from local booksellers.

For a personally inscribed copy, send $20 (which includes tax and shipping costs) to: Nikki Rajala, P.O. Box 372, Rockville, Minnesota 56369.

Sauna hats??

While looking at a picture of sauna accessories, I noticed sauna hats. Hats? I was mystified. This was quite out of my experience.

When I ventured further onto the Internet, I found more hats. One website for a public sauna business encouraged people to bring their own — the sillier, the better.

Sure enough, photos show happy people wearing woolen caps. Hats apparently protect a person’s head and allow them to enjoy hotter temperatures and/or longer saunas.

Does it work? Anyone who’s convinced? Let me know.

Side note: My hairdresser said that heat is especially hard on hair dyes — worse than chlorine pools. Her usual suggestion is that  those who’ve treated themselves to expensive hair coloring should limit time under a blow dryer or in the sun. I bet that would include the sauna as well. When I’m due for a recoloring, maybe I should  try a hat.

Nikki 

Buy a copy of Some Like It Hot: The Sauna, Its Lore and Stories from the publisher, North Star Press of St. Cloud, Minnesota, or from local booksellers.  

For a personally inscribed copy, send $20 (which includes tax and shipping costs) to: Nikki Rajala, P.O. Box 372, Rockville, Minnesota 56369.

I did it

I’ve been agonizing about the switch for a long time. As you may have noted.

For tradition’s sake, I made my own whisks and had to search for birch, but ash and oak were in the yard. The ash twigs were the whippiest, the oak the sturdiest. They took about 10 minutes, but that’s because I’m a newbie. My dad could have done it blindfolded, probably. I’d practiced making a birch whisk a week earlier — and was it ever crispy! (But now I know how to resuscitate it.)

Others tried my leafy whisks as I needed to leave before the leaves were used (sorry about the bad pun!).

Ash received 0 votes — it wasn’t durable and disintegrated after a couple of uses. Birch won the

“wonderful scent” award and tied with oak for its usability and durability. Oak earned the “astringent” prize. 

And now you know. 

Nikki

Changing the pace

Two paths diverged in a northern woods — one lined with pines and the other with birches. For the last few months, I’ve taken the one with pines and cedars as I’ve been writing about saunas. 

 Now it’s time to walk the other one — a portage trail voyageurs might have taken carrying their birch bark canoes. 

A novel about a French-Canadian teen becomes a voyageur and spends a winter in the fur trade. The working title for manuscript has been “Good for Nothing,” but that will change soon. The novel, a long-time project that my mom and I have worked on, will be published in mid-September. On that web site — NikkiRajala.com — you can find Chapter 1, a blog (A Voyageur’s Life) and a whole lot more. Visit me, bookmark it, subscribe to the blog, “like” it on Facebook, share it with others ... 

So for the next while, I plan only to post weekly on SaunaWise (and perhaps even less) as I juggle the new aspects of author events. Yes, I’ll miss this, but I’ll be back.

Nikki 

Buy a copy of Some Like It Hot: The Sauna, Its Lore and Stories from the publisher, North Star Press of St. Cloud, Minnesota, Inc., or from local booksellers. 

You will soon be able to purchase a copy of “Good for Nothing” from North Star Press, but not for a while yet.

For a signed copy of either book, send $20 (which includes tax and shipping costs) to: Nikki Rajala, P.O. Box 372, Rockville, Minnesota 56369.

Four whisk-er bits

At a recent family reunion, I learned from Finnish relatives (maybe third cousins) a technique in freezing vihtas. Their trick is to slide an absorbent paper, like a coffee filter, between layers of branches. Then place the vihta in a ziplock plastic bag and squeeze all the air out and flatten the bag. Voila — it's ready for the freezer, where they last a long time!

He also taught me how to pronounce vihta, but I’m not very good at it.

Another third cousin told me that vihtas can be purchased at many shops in Finland — you don’t have to go find the right trees at the right time. He also said that, harvested in spring when the leaves are strongly attached to the branch, the vihta will last a long time.

That brings me to the third third-cousin story. She told me about taking saunas with her grandmother, and “hitting” each other with vihtas. Which is a lot for some kids to process, but she did it handily. And late in life, her grandmother counted out a row of vihtas dried and ready for use. “That will be enough to last me,” she said.

The fourth third cousin also remembered taking saunas with her grandma (not the same one), who would kiss her eyes when soap got in them. Awww. 

With all these third cousins — from Finland, Canada, California and Georgia — and my usual first and second cousins telling stories, you KNOW it was a wonderful reunion!

Nikki