day 193 of 365 | the life of Joanna Marie

back to reality!

😁

 

daddy and i spent the weekend in Tallinn. it's a good thing that i had a free weekend from work. so, he booked a trip for us. 

just the two of us.

no Fasu. no Amanda.

sometimes, it's just wonderful to travel without the kids 😄

it was rainy and windy when we arrived in Tallinn. it was about 10 in the evening when we got out of the ship. we had to drive many times around the city because there was a tram accident. and the accident area was in that only road where we can get to the hotel. but it was nice to drive around the city and see the old houses. 

the next morning, it was still raining cats and dogs when we checked out. daddy bought some stuffs for work. then, we visited the house of one of his old friends. we also met his kids. i even got a drawing from them 💓

we checked in to another hotel on saturday evening. i love that hotel. it's quite modern and had a cozy feel to it. and the thing that i love the most is that they have a library. they have very interesting books on display there. i would love to stay there longer and read all their books.

daddy and i walked to the city to have dinner. it was so nice to just chill with him. our tummies were so full after dinner, and it helped that we had to walk for about 2km back to the hotel. 

on sunday, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel. then, we met the family of daddy's friend. they were nice and warm. the kids were also nice. one of their daughters, Janely was even holding hands with me while we were wandering around the tv tower. she gave me more of her drawings, too! and when we said goodbye to them, she looked so sad and wanted to take me home with them 😁

we were back in Lahti around 10:30 in the evening. i just put some of our stuffs away and crawled to bed. 

i set my alarm to 4:17 am. i had to get up to pee in the middle of the night. i checked the time on the radio and it was 3:40. i went back to bed thinking that i still have time to get more sleep. the next time i woke up, the time on the radio was 4:40. i got up quickly and wondered why my alarm didn't wake me up! when i checked the time on my phone, it was only 3:40...you see...daylight saving time...the time changed last sunday...😪

day 192 of 365 | the life of Joanna Marie

last night, the temperature went down to minus 5 degrees 😲

winter is coming...

i had time to take a long walk with Fasu in the forest yesterday.

the trees are getting bald, but the ground is still full of the bright autumn colors. 

what attracted me most are the different kinds of wild mushrooms that i saw along the way. they were so cute! i also saw something that looked like chantarelle. however, i am not an expert in mushrooms and i didn't want to pick the wrong kind. so, i just left them on the forest bed.

it was a nice long walk with Fasu. we encountered a couple of dogs and Fasu behaved well. we played fetch for a while on the wide field.

when we got home, i gave food for the girls, made a cup of coffee for myself, and sat on the sofa to continue doing my crochet project while watching "the Watcher" on Netflix. 😅

day 191 of 365 | the life of Joanna Marie

the lady who's been helping us at the cafe some of the times visited today...her eyes were sparkling when she told me that she's meeting someone today. like a date 💓 i felt so kilig for her.

she said that he contacted her from a newspaper posting. i didn't know that they are still doing that today. 

it's so nice that old people have that venue where they can find someone that they can connect with. 😍

days 186 & 187 of 365 | the life of Joanna Marie

i still have a hang-over from our trip to the north. we didn't make any plans what to do after our stay in Ruka. the night before leaving Kuusamo, daddy took out the map and we just decided which route to take. our main goal was to get to Kilpisjärvi. 

and, i told daddy that i had a dream the night before the trip. i dreamt that we were driving around Norway and getting to Stryn. then daddy called to Kjersti to ask if they are home and if we could visit them. in my dream Kjersti sounded so excited, she said that they were not home at that moment but they will be in the evening. if we would still be in Stryn that time, then she'll be happy to see us. but daddy said, no. we won't stay long in Stryn because we are going to Turku. in my dream, i was so angry at him! we were already in Stryn and we can't even stay to meet Kjersti 😠 i was really mad with him!

so, when i told him about my dream, we crossed the border of Finland and Norway 😁

it was like...beyond my dreams! the places that we visited were Skibotn and Maandalen along the Lyngenfjord. i felt so nostalgic. it was like being back in Stryn. the mountains, the fjord...everything reminded me of Stryn. i am just so happy that daddy took that mile to drive around the mountains and through the tunnels to make my dream come true 💓

it was one of the nicest trips we've had. the weather was mostly nice. i didn't mind the heavy rain and wind that came with it on some nights. i even get to see Aurora Borealis during our stay in one camping area!!! i was so excited and happy! seeing the northern lights was a big big bonus for me!

nine days, daddy drove three thousand three hundred kilometers, we visited thirteen towns, camped at seven camping sites, ate five bags of chips, two bars of chocolates, countless photos, a lot of unforgettable memories!

autumn of 2022

my heart is full!

😍😍😍