snowy January

we've had snow since the first day of the month and it just makes everything so light and bright. i love fresh snow. it brings out the child in me. it makes me want to eat halo-halo 😁                                                                                                            last sunday, we had a lot of snow work in the morning, we went out a little before midday and there was about 7cm of snow waiting for us to shovel. for Fasu and me, it means playtime! of course, i did some snow work, too 😉                                                                  after working, we went for a walk in the forest. it was magical. it felt magical. the snow really changes things. people seem to be a lot happier carrying their skis on their backs, walking their dogs or just walking alone or with friends. we even met a girl with a 7-week old puppy. the puppy was just adorable, wagging its tail and smelling us. Fasu was a little bit hesitant to meet the puppy. cute little creatures.                                                                                                    i hope the snow will stay for long. my weatherman hasn't mentioned anything about snow coming any time soon. but the minus temperature will keep the snow on the ground, the rooftop, and trees for a while.                                                                                  my happiness stays...

                                                    

                                          

 

the 40-something me

now that i'm of this age, i have noticed some things (physical, emotional) that, could have already been within me before, but i haven't really given thought about...

okay, so physically....when i entered the gate of my 40's, i began to notice gray hair striking everywhere through my bushy head. they really bothered me at first. i would look in the mirror and check my hair and i pull out the gray ones right away. which, to my great annoyance, grow back almost there and then. the odd hair don't bother me as much now, but i've been considering dying my hair total gray. what's that saying? "if you can't beat them, join them".

losing weight is a struggle. i have always struggled with my weight since high school and i haven't gotten over that issue. but in my younger years, if i want to lose some weight, i would only eat like a spoonful of rice for each meal. that's 3x a day. and it worked. in those days of my youth, i had powerful control over my appetite. obviously, now, i am experiencing an irreconcilable fight with my diet. no matter how i incorporate exercise and a healthy diet in my routine, the weight just stacks up. well....well...

do i have to mention wrinkles and sunspots? 

next!!!

emotionally, i feel like i'm getting more dispassionate. i don't like being emotionally attached to someone or something. i have become more irritable and impatient. i can no longer stand listening to someone talk about things that don't interest me. it makes me want to scream! i can put on a polite facade but inside, i want to bellow! i have become this control-freak that if things don't go as i want them to be, i get angry easily. and i want to be alone more now than ever....and spend my time reading, doing crochet, watching tv series or just sewing some plush reflectors...in silence

gosh! that sounds like i'm turning into a monster 😱

also,

i used to love watching movies over and over again until i memorize the lines. but now, i can't stand watching any movie the second time especially when the conflict starts. i can no longer bear it.

p.s. when i turn out to be more horrifying than what i already am, i might update this one 🙈

sleeping through 2020 to 2021

i might have done it last year, too. but yes, i slept while the rest of the world was welcoming 2021 with all hopes of a better year.

i didn't mean it, though. we were watching "the sisters" movie on tv after dinner. i wasn't so excited with the welcoming of the new year, but i was determined to stay awake. Jukka bought a box of sparkler for me and i wanted to play with it. sparks make me happy. alas, i went to dreamland!

i heard fireworks (was it in my dreams or in reality)... but i can't go back to being awake once my sleepy head has rested on a pillow. 

my alarm woke me up at 7:03 in the morning on the first day of 2021. i have come to appreciate the silence in the morning when everyone else is still asleep. also, the view outside made me happy. it snowed the other day, so the trees and the rooftop were covered with snow. and there was a pinkish glitter behind the trees. it was beautiful! 

on my way to work, i saw a lot of people going for a walk in the forest. the view was just amazing! it's like Narnia! everything was covered with snow. it's not everyday that i get that kind of view while driving to work. January 1st 2021 was beautiful! i don't feel sorry that i missed the fireworks at midnight....

Happy New Year!!!

strong wind and big waves

we left Jämsä early in the afternoon. it was quite windy but sunny. a couple of hours later, as we approached Judinsalo, Vaski started to move heavily. the waves were hitting the ship strongly, Amanda threw up, Fasu was restless, i felt seasick while daddy was eating chips while steering Vaski through the wind and waves. he then decided to take refuge in some bay that he found on the map. 

when we got out of that storm-like situation, i felt relieved but still sick. the girls started to calm down, as well.

some minutes after docking, it  started to rain. this is a very peaceful place and the rain compliments it.

startled by the flush of waves

our safe place

after four hours of waiting for the wind to calm down, we are leaving this place of refuge for another adventure.

from 13m/s of wind down to 7m/s

scared of crows

since i've had that close-to-attack encounter with a crow family in our backyard a few weeks ago, followed by more days of being followed when we go for a walk, i've developed a phobia of birds. crows in particular. and big birds. i also stopped going to the backyard except when jukka comes with me. jukka makes a big noise all the time when we are going to the backyard by banging some cans, but that didn't scare the crows. they sounded even more aggressive. 

jukka asked some of his friends how to get rid of crows. most of them said, "shoot them!" but Make, his all-knowing friend, said that crows are very wise birds. they're very wise that when they see you with a gun, they will disappear in a flash. Make who knows everything was right! surprisingly right! now, we don't have any more crows in the backyard. and NO birds were harmed in the process of getting rid of them. 

but i'm still scared of crows and big birds. 

today, before we left Vääksy where we stayed for the night, i wanted to have a picture on the rocky edge of the bay. as i was approaching the spot, two seagulls were flying above me and they were making some noise. i started to back off. jukka told me to just go on...but i didn't. i was too scared for that.

so that's me running to the edge of the bay. i ran faster when i saw and heard the birds 😂

agto ta sa Padasjoki river

five years ago, daddy, fasu and i spent a boat trip along Padasjoki river. i just recalled it a few days ago and i mentioned it to Jukka. he said, someday, we'll go back there. i didn't expect that someday would be too soon. 

i got out of work at 4, drove back home to pick up Amanda, then drove to Vääksy where daddy and fasu were waiting. that was my first time to drive to Vääksy alone, and of course, i got lost and drove at least three times around the centrum before i finally found daddy and fasu waving to me at the end of the street. phew!

we left Vääksy harbor towards Kelvenne. it was about an hour and a half drive with Vaski. this time, we docked on the other side of the island which is called Kirkkosalmi. i was quite skeptical about staying there because there were a few boats and one ship already docked by the shore. i just wanted to have a very quiet couple of days on the island. surprisingly, our neighbors were very quiet. retired people who also want to spend some relaxing days out of the city.

we had sauna and went to sleep.

the next day, we had breakfast at the back of the ship. we had pancakes and fresh strawberries. i swear, strawberries have never tasted that sweet! it was the ambiance and the company of daddy that just made breakfast to tasty.

after breakfast, daddy prepared the motorboat, and off we went to Padasjoki! it's so exciting to be in a fast boat! when we found the mouth of the river, we slowed down. the limit is 10km/hr. 

oh, it was just as magical as the first time that we were there. the waterlilies, the grass, the trees, the houses on the side of the river, dragonflies and the sunshine. it was a perfect river cruise!

we found the small bridge where we docked the boat. then we walked to the centrum to buy somethings. apparently, five years have been a long time. the store where we once bought some groceries is now closed. or has been closed for four years now, as we were informed by one restaurant owner where we stopped by to get some refreshment. she told us the stores are a few hundred meters away from the centrum. so we went to the shop and bought what we needed.

the feeling that i got when we were cruising back to the lake was just pure happiness. nature does that to me. it gives me that certain glow inside, that keeps me alive for days.

on the boat to Padasjoki

Padasjoki harbour

Padasjoki river

the friendly dragonfly

we docked the boat under this bridge

i just love this tiny old bridge

my sunset view

watching the sunset from the rooftop

feeding time for ducks

midnight view after sauna

strawberries and pancakes for breakfast

this summer heat makes you want to be in the water all the time

p.s. i hope you're having a warm summer, too!

dropping a shoe along the motorway

if Cinderella was driving in the fairytale, would she lose her other shoe while driving her horse-drawn carriage? anyway, i just remembered Cinderella with what happened to me today.

as planned, i was to go to the summerhouse after work. as i stopped in an intersection a few hundred meters from my workplace, the driver of the car behind me honked his her horn twice. i wondered what his problem was. there was a 'STOP' sign so i need to stop. when i turned right and started to speed up, i heard a thud from the roof of the car. as 60km/hour turned into 80km/hour, i saw my sneakers fall to the top of the trunk from the rearview mirror. then i realized, oh, maybe that's the reason why the other driver was honking his horn! i can't stop driving because there were other cars behind me and maybe i could have stopped somewhere but i didn't want to. i was too scared to pull over the road.

the story of the sneakers on the roof of the car goes like this...when i got out of my workplace, i had my backpack, drinks on the right hand, sneakers and phone on the left. i put the sneakers on the roof so I'll have an extra hand to open the car and put my things in it. i thought i will remember to take my sneakers in too. but i didn't. so that's the story.

i arrived in the summerhouse safe and with just one pair of sneakers. 

lesson learned: never put anything on the roof of the car because more or less, you'll forget about it. unless you have a good memory, of course. 

p.s. has this ever happened to you?

 

i got my driver's license at 40

....at 40, almost turning 41.

i enrolled in a driving school two years ago. after six driving sessions, i stopped going there because winter came. and i was scared to drive in the snow. i said to myself that i will go back to my driving classes in the spring. the next autumn came, then next winter...i still haven't paid a visit to the school. hehehe. i'm that kind of student who procrastinates. 😏

so last spring, i finally went back to school because daddy has been pushing me to. around first week of April, i took my driving test, and i failed! i was kind of dramatic after the instructor said that i have to take the test again because well, i made a lot of mistakes. 

it was funny, because when i first took the driving test, i was more confident with my skills. so when i got the result, i felt frustrated. i didn't even want to drive anymore.

then again, i have to be realistic and face the fact that i really need to drive to work when i have morning shifts and weekend schedules. also around this Juhannus time when the buses are not available. can you imagine, last year, in Juhannus, i had to ride my bike to work! two hours of biking to work, 8 hours of work and another two hours back home. i was super dead tired after that. and i didn't want to do that again.

that thought motivated me to try my luck again. i booked another schedule for the test. i told daddy that if i won't pass the test this time, we'll have lunch at mcdonald's to make myself feel better. and i was praying that i will get another instructor. but as we drove to the parking area of the checking company, i already saw the man outside the office. in my mind, i was wishing that he's just hanging out there talking to friends. but when i was about to enter the office, he came to me and said, 'no niin...'... oh gosh! well, there are just some things that we have no control of. 

i was nervous during the test. i was even expecting to fail again. but then, i passed! i was surprised! really! but i'm thankful. and surprised. hahaha! so exactly, a week from now, on the Philippine independence day, i passed my second attempt to getting a license to drive. 😁

p.s. I'll probably write about my first day of driving alone next time...😅

weekend by the lake

after two months, daddy finally had a weekend off!!! hurrah! it was perfect timing that i had free days off, too. 

we talked about sailing, but towards the end of the week, the weather seemed gloomy. in fact, the weatherman reported strong wind and heavy rain for saturday and sunday. we didn't care. we packed our things, the food, the girls' food then headed to the lake. 

it was windy but it didn't rain. it was around 10 in the evening when we reached Kelvenne. on the side of the island where we docked, there were two campers and us. so it was really quiet, except for the howling of the wind. 

sunday morning was still windy. we had breakfast then we headed to the forest for a long walk.

oh, how i miss taking long walks with daddy and Fasu. i just really miss spending time together with them. and also to spend the day without any hurry or worries.

i've had lazy days, alone, during the quarantine. but i also like having lazy days with daddy. it's something special to me, since he works long days.

hopefully, we'll have more of these lazy times this summer.

this is at Kelvennenlampi. Fasu went for a swim. We threw sticks for her to fetch. She really likes to do that. She didn't even want to leave.

 

walking in the forest with these two

warm day for Fasu

barbecue

just us by the beach

sunset

morning coffee

cheers to the captain

we usually make coffee in this pot when we are in Vaski

June 6-8 was a great weekend! i hope we'll get more chance to be by the lake this summer 😊

 

 

 

 

a new old tv series that i love

is this photo familiar to you?

well, for me, this is a new thing. i was scrolling through some tv-series and movies on the tablet last night. and i saw the familiar face of Eric Mabius. actually, i had to google his name. i know that i've seen him in a movie or series but i can't remember which one. so i had to ask google 😊 surely, google knows!

the funny thing is, while at work yesterday, i glanced many times on the tv screen and they were showing this series. then and there, i wondered where i've seen that familiar face before. and of course, i forgot about as the hours went by.

it was just a small miracle that when i got home, i felt that i need to watch something relaxing on the tablet, and i found this tv series! signed, sealed, delivered. it's a 2014 romantic/comedy, starred by four geniuses, Norman, Oliver, Rita and Shane. their 'loop' recovers undeliverable mails. they perform this magical ritual where they Oliver picks up one lost letter and the Norman analyzes it, then Oliver chooses one of his paper knives, opens and reads the letter. Rita, with her eidetic memory, butts in with information and Shane, with the aid of her remarkable laptop, finds more details online. 

it's such a comfort watching this series. i've just seen the first two episodes last night and one episode while i was having my morning coffee, and i can say that i'm hooked. i actually feel 'kilig'!

oh, and i want to correct myself about 'small miracles'. on the third episode, Theresa Capodiamonte said, 'there are no small miracles, Oliver. only big miracles! they only seem small because we stand far away from them'.

😉😉😉

have a nice day! may you have big miracles today 😊

first day at work after the quarantine

i planned to have a smooth first day back to work. but you know, sometimes things just need a bit of a drama. well, i left home early. i took a nice walk to the bus stop. i waved to the first bus that i saw coming and hopped in. when i was about to pay for my bus card, the driver said that she doesn't accept cash and i can't pay by card either. when i asked her where i can reload my bus card, she pointed me to the train station. the thing is, if i go to the train station, i will be late for my next bus to work. the driver just shrugged. great!

i got off manang's bus and tried my luck on the next one. this time, the driver told me that i can reload my card at one kiosk in the city center. he asked me to just get in and he'll drop me there. wow! such an angel! i'm truly thankful to that driver.

on the bus to work, i was thinking of how i just wanted to be at home...edit my videos, play with Fasu and Amanda or bake, read, whatever... i tried to divert my attention to the familiar fields and lakes that we passed by. i was calm, though. i wasn't hyperventilating with indifference. i was just soothingly admitting to myself that i don't feel happy to go back to work. 

there's a new set-up at work. it was reasonable and safe for everyone. the customers were friendly and nice. my co-workers said it was nice to see each other again after a while. there was a time when customers had to fall in line and times when it was quiet. it was just a perfect balmy working day.

on the bus back home, i was reminded of how i love sightseeing while traveling. it makes me feel relaxed. these days the dandelions are in full bloom and the fields are all yellow. the sun has been shining brightly and its reflection on the lake was blinding. the kids were playing on the field. the apple trees on people's yards are in bloom, as well, making them look like reachable clouds. people are wearing t-shirts and shorts, girls wearing flared dresses, people eating ice cream, bikers, Harley Davidson riders, teenagers who play loud music while driving, the crisp giggle of young girls at the back of the bus...all these and more are my memories of my first day back at work. 

last day of my quarantine holiday

these past two months have been bliss for me. to wake up in the morning without the need to rush to catch the bus to work, to take my own time at my own pace, to do things that i truly love doing, to bake, cook, do some gardening, walk in the forest, relax, read...

{deep sigh...}

but everything has to come to an end...even good things. 

i will miss spending time in the house all by myself almost most of the day. i will miss being alone. 

but now, i have to change my mindset and get ready for the working days ahead. i'm thankful that i have work to go back to. i truly am. it just needs a little bit of adjustment again. i've gotten used to being on a holiday that my mind just wants vacation forever. 

i'll just go outside now and enjoy the sunny (19 degree Celcius) weather.

i hope you are having a nice Sunday 🌞

how i learned to do stonework

the story of how i learned to do stonework is up in my youtube vlog

p.s. i'm not so good at it. i obviously need practice and speed 😁