Day 107.

Busy day :) Headed over to the hairdresser's for a make-over, then to town with a friend for some shopping and coffee. DD is at school as we speak, they are having an evening thing involving computers and treats.My fav treats at the moment are these Xmas chocolates. A piece of heaven wrapped in red and gold!

Day 106.

a secret project that needs to be finalised on the first of Dec...

catching up with my reading, newspaper from last week and mags from the 1960s

Feeling a little under the weather, a little fever and aching, so took things easy today. Baked some cookies, which I didn't get to take photos of.

Day 104 &105.

Yesterday I spent the better part of the day with the Marttas, first in the autumn meeting and then in the festivities where I got my very first "Martta-diploma" to prove that I've studied housekeeping and gardening, and many other things that fall with in the scope of the Marttas. We also got to see a play by the Joensuu City Theatre. Afterwards, DH took me and DD for a dinner at the Indian place. Good stuff. 

Today is yet another gray and boring looking day. DD had practise, and tons of homework and reading for two tests and a quiz. Dinner is tuna lasagna, which I hope turns out ok, the preps were a little on the quick side (open a can of tuna, mix it with a can of tomatoes, season and hope for the best). 

Day 103.

A dark rainy windy day. Nothing much to report, except that had coffee with a friend who has a Bday today :)
DD told that they are singing a scary song from "old times" and found it for me in Youtube. So 1976 is old times from her perspective, but I remember loving this song (or rather the original version in Finnish), and yes, it is scary.

Day 102.

Recycling some old card by cutting out shapes and crocheting around them. Very impressive!

The table. 

The snow was gone this morning. Very depressing. Luckily had a fun evening with the Martta-ladies making Xmas cards. Good fun always! Now must go and find a kiddy painkiller for DD who has pain "allover".

Day 101.

Had morning coffee with one friend and afternoon tea with another. Started a series of projects, hoping to finalise some of them for Xmas. Listened to DD and her friend giggle, burb and fart. Watched one of my fav shows at the moment, a Danish one about a group of bodyguards. Tomorrow is Thursday and I have to remember to pack DD's snacks, a set of black clothes for her to wear for the school choir's perfomance at the university and oh yes, I need to set the alarm for 5:15 am.

Day 100.

A friend joined me in the morning for coffee and card-making. 2.5 hours passed quickly and we both managed to make a good number of cards. Here are some of mine -- the key this year is repetition!

Day 99.

Wow, cannot believe that I've been on this sabbatical for 99 days already, feels like I just started! If I want to finalise all the projects I have in store, I may need to take another sabbatical :)

Today I worked a little on the walls, and looked for materials for Xmas cards, which I will be making tomorrow with a friend and on Thursday with a large group of ladies. Shoud be fun!

I also prepped a menu for the week:
Monday: tomato and lentil soup with warm tuna and cheese sandwiches (rye bread of course)
Tuesday: pureed veggie soup topped with cottage cheese
Wednesday: potatoes and mushroom sauce
Thursday: pasta and tomatosauce with soy for protein
Friday: empty the fridge day
Saturday: DH is taking us out for dinner
Sunday: maybe sushi, have not decided yet

Day 98.

Spent most of the day working on the walls...it's slow but I'm being very zen about it. DD had practise and the single axel that was gone for a few days due to the insoles is BACK. Oh joy. Off to see the fireworks at the market square!

messages scribbled on the wall by the builders back in the 1970s.

my wall.

freebies I picked up from the supermarket for DD. she loves freebies. loves.

Days 96 & 97

Oh dear, when I get carried away, I really get carried away. Have spent many hours over the past two days tearing the wall papers off from the main hall and one of the living room walls. Many many layers of old really stuck wall paper.

And to show that I'm a good ice mom, I am going to work at a fundraiser tonight. Will this never end?!

Day 95.

Pantry items and leftover veggies turned into a barley-chickpea-almond-"risotto". Long live proteins.

DD is reading all the Xmas catalogues that we get in the mail, and marks what she would like to have. This one I did not expect.

I started removing the wall papers from the main hall /foyer. Good bye old ugly walls, welcome to clean white ones!

The roads were supericy this morning, DH fell on his bicycle and texted me to make sure DD walks to practise and school. I had morning coffee meeting with a friend I hadn't seen in awhile, always good to catch up!

I'm getting a steamer for the weekend, so I can take off a lot of wallpaper and maybe clean the kitchen cupboards...

Day 94.

Busy day, not sure why. Picked up DD's custom made insoles (she has very flat feet) and hope they will help. After practise she was a little upset, her balance is a little off now because the skates feel different and so she fell most of her axels and all of the tries of double salchows. I'm sure she will get her touch back, but it might be tough waiting!

Day 93.

wire and paper mache turning into xmas decorations.

dd's plate. she was very brave about the tomato and lentil soup.

pressies from Vietnam, thanks Kaija!

Fun stuff today: the renovations are now finalised and the last two builders stopped by to do some little things. A friend came back from Vietnam and bought pressies, which is always fun! I made a three-course supper out of leftovers and pantry items (coleslaw for starters, a lentil and tomato soup and a deep dish pizza with tuna and feta cheese). And in the evening I took a crafts class making Xmas decorations. Photos will be uploaded tomorrow, I'm too lazy to go and get the camera now.

Day 92.

When I went to wake up DD in the morning, I had to back out and get the camera. Aksu has decided that sleeping at DD's feet is more comfy than at mine :)  Later during the day, I took DD and her feet for another session at the physiotherapist's.  // Aksu on vaihtanut nukkumaan likan jalkoihin. Jalat vietiin iltapäivällä taas fysioterapiaan. 

Day 91.

Aksu chilling out. / Kissa makaa. Rentona.

Father's Day. We had in-laws staying with us, so we there was three generations of silliness having cake and coffee. Otherwise a peaceful day.  // Isänpäivä meni hissukseen, aamukahvilla oli kolme sukupolvea ja paljon naurua. Ja pari pannullista kahvia.

Day 90.

Spent the morning at the ice hall making coffee and watching little girls (and one boy) covered in glitter skate. My little girls came in third in the series, having fallen twice. She was happy though, and that is all that counts! In-laws visiting, always good fun. Oh and I bought 45 kilos of cat litter.

Day 89.

A bit of cleaning up, a fair bit of baking gingerbread skates, trees and teddy bears. Coffee with a friend and a little nap with the cats. Now starting to pack DD's stuff for tomorrow's competition. Thankfully it's here in Joensuu, no worries about travelling!

Day 88.

A bit of cleaning up, taking the cat out and enjoying the sunshine and frost, a quick trip to the library and looking for fun materials for Xmas cards -- all that kept me pleasantly occupied for the day. Now DD is entertaining a friend and I'm making a list of things to do tomorrow.

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Pientä siivousta, kissan ulkoilutusta aurinkoisessa pikkupakkasessa, pikavisiitti kirjastoon ja joulukorttimatskujen etsimistä laatikoista -- siinäpä sitä hommaa yhdelle päivälle. Likalla on kaveri kylässä ja mie alan tehdä listaa huomiselle.

Day 87.

Whoever wrote this deserves a raise: Annoying monster mimics you, burbs, farts, laughs, snores and screams. My god, that's our family. DD wants one of these, she said they are her soul mates. / tämän kirjoittajalla palkankorotus ja äkkiä. Toi on niin meidän perhe. Likkakin sano että nää on sen sydänystäviä.

DD has joined a school choir and they sang at a university event today, got a t-shirts as a thank-you./ Likka liittyi koulun 5.-6.-luokkalaisten kuoroon, Muusan Mussukoihin, tämänpäivän keikalta sai t-paidan.

Aksu. He's a bit depressed because of the forthcoming winter. Ruins his outings totally. / Aksua ahistaa, typerä talventulo pilaa kaiken, ei mitään hyviä lintuja mitä katsella ja heinäkin on pakastettua. 

Today the big question was to clean or to read. Well, it was a no-brainer really. What was fun was the discussion on FB that arose on the topic :)

Day 86.

Today was "spend money on daughter"-day at our house. She had a physiotherapist's appointment, needed new shoes for practise and running and a new jacket. It takes a brave person to wear pink running shoes, but she loves them!

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Tänään käytettiin rahaa hyvään tarkoitukseen, eli lapseen, joka kävi fysioterapeutilla mittauttamassa askellusta ja lattajalan kaarta. Sitten ostetttiin uudet lenkkarit ja takki. Ei onnistuis multa ton väristen kenkien käyttäminen. Likka rakastaa niitä. 

Day 85.

Salmon soup for dinner.

Someone had time to kill in the bathroom. Not sure what to think about this...

Ah, Monday and I get to return to my routines. I love my routines!

I've been thinking about needs and wants a lot lately. And about finding motivation to do some things that don't fall into either category. Maybe it's not a good thing to think too much?

Day 84.

Recovering from yesterday; DD had practise, after which we took a nap together. It's hard work, all these sports! Come Monday, and I will be back with my routines. Waiting for snow to fall!

Day 83.

A great day! DD had competition in Leppävirta, she did great and won her series (Taitajat, single jumps only, axels allowed)! She was so surprised and happy and I'm sooo proud of her. We will celebrate and be happy today and tomorrow it's back to practise because next Saturday it's competition time again.

Day 82.

I made cookies. Skate shaped cookies. And some cats, too. Not really my thing, but I think one little girl will be pleased. Did not have eggs so could not whip up a royal icing, so mixed up some icing sugar and water and food colouring. Also made dinner, since the oven was on, a veggie leftover gratiné with carrots, cauliflower, tofu, leeks, sweets peppers and some rice noodles and of course a cheesy sause.


Now off to do laundry and read a book.

Day 81.

Thursdays are a challenge, especially as it is very very dark at 5:25 am when I get up. DD's practise went well, she now masters the single axl most of the time, and is excited about the forthcoming competition on Saturday! After her practise I got home, had coffee, rode the silly exercise bike for 10 km, took a much needed shower and did a bit of housework. After that I took a nap, which was blissful.

Day 80.

A dark and weird day, feels like I never woke up properly. Took DD for a hair cut, or rather a trim, saw friends for coffee and kept checking the website for Saturday's skating order: DD has competition in Leppävirta. Luckily we are getting a ride with a friend, can't see us in a bus with all the skating gear.

Day 79.

Made porridge in the morning, peeled potatoes for dinner, knitted a reflector. Thought about money, or rather the lack of it. Decided that we will manage. Patched a pair of jeans in order to avoid having to buy a new pair yet. Will check the cupboard tomorrow, maybe there is a pair I've forgotten about?

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Käsillä tekemisen päivä: hämmensin puurokattilaa aamulla, kuorin perunoita iltaruokaa varten, kudoin heijastimen. Ajattelin rahaa, tai oikeestaan sen vähyyttä, mutta päätin että ei tässä hätiä mitiä vielä. Paikkasin farkut toisen kerran, ja siten sysäsin uusien ostamisen hamaan tulevaisuuteen.  Huomenna pitää penkoa kaappia, josko joku pari olis unohtunu kaapin perukoille.