Christmas in Turku

We weren't able to finish it last weekend. Not only that, even though we worked all weekend (my back is still troubling me) there's still a ridiculous amount of junk left to sort through. We did do a lot, though, and I am happy with that. (But I still can't believe how many books she owns! I think we packed eight more boxes of only books, and these were only the ones left from the first move...) The moving business will now be paused over the holidays, to be continued in January. It's still frustrating not to see the end of it. I think the same thing applies to several areas in my life right now - I'm regretting all the things I never did, or dd but never finished, and imagining I'll not only get back to them in January, but make everything better.

I'm now looking forward to my first Christmas in Turku, until now I've spent every holiday in Jakobstad (with one exception. Also spent one Christmas hospitalized in Vasa) . Still not sure how I feel about it. I like Turku, as well as my mother's flat here, but it will be awkward not seeing my friends, who I normally meet up with every year.

During the move I've been the practical, pragmatic and effective person. I've chosen to ignore the mental stress and just work on (even harder) and organize things (even better), I've been lifting, carrying, digging through junk, packing and planning, never giving in to nostalgia or other distractions. Why does this not work in other areas as well?

on moving and training

This weekend I'll join my mother up to Jakobstad for what should be the last part of the moving ordeal. We are to collect and move the everything that's been forgotten, discard everything else, throw out junk and clean the place up best we can. Mother is obviously stressed about this (I don't blame her!) and keeps putting things up, while instead worrying about all the smallest things. She has this tendency to put up everything uncomfortable until later... (I have it to sometimes, at least  I know where I've got it from...) But we already chose this weekend and I've arranged with time off work so it has to happen now. It's also the last chance for us to get this done before Christmas. I try to remind her about how much better it will feel when it's all over. I mean, it's not like I'm exactly eager to do this either, but we have to. And it will be good to (hopefully!) have it finished before the holidays!

The Christmas party last weekend was great; I had lots of fun even though I couldn't practice myself. I still enjoyed the social in the evening, an during practice I spent my time snapping pictures instead, and brought along my karate journal to take notes. It's always frustrating not being able to take part in the training, no matter why, but this time I think I  actually learned a lot from watching. I noticed some things that I'll definitely want to work on, and realized how certain things (mistakes) seem to relate to each other... Very inspiring! Bring on the new year!

Door project photos

Before cleaning up...

...and after.

as seen from the hall

Here are some pictures of the door "painting" I wrote about yesterday. I chose to let the text continue in the small, lower window, as can be seen below. Medium: regular water colors.

Let me in let me in let me in!!!!!

new home decoration project/quote

Late last night, just as I was going to bed, I suddenly found myself redecorating the window on my hall door (This door has been mentioned before, when I've written about the "map butterflies"). I had tried to paint  a flower-themed thing on it some weeks ago, but was never too happy with it - and therefore never finished it. But last night, when checking facebook that last time before tucking in, I suddenly found this quote, and just knew that I had to use it! I have this fascination with words and text, also the aesthetic aspects of it, and have always wanted to find the right text for that door. Now I think I have, at lest for a while.  At some point it will change.

I don't have any pictures of the "painting" yet, but this was the text:

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you will miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life". I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that every day I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Maya Angelou

I'll post photos when it's finished! Still needs some small fix-ups.

update about this and that

I know I haven't been posting in a very long time.  Sometimes it just doesn't happen. I have tried, several times even.

First of all, I thought I might mention that the whole moving business has gone fairly well after all.  Some things were left at the old address, but we've been able to replace most of them. And her flat is starting to look more and more like a home. I've also tried to help her get to know Turku and find her way here. This has been fun for me too, and a much welcomed change from old routines.

I spent the first weekend this month in Vaasa, attending a karate weekend course. This was my first higher grade course in Finland (it was for black belts only) and it was a great experience! Interesting methods, lots of feedback from the higher grades, experienced practice partners and all in all many good points to try and remember... Unfortunately been suffering a flu ever since, so I haven't been able to repeat it all, however much I've wanted it...Very frustrating!

This upcoming weekend I'll be attending my first Christmas party of this year, in the company of the rest of my karate club. I haven't taken even the smallest part of planning it this year, and feel quite happy with that choice. At least I know that the event will be our by now traditional combo of training and partying.

The following weekend I'm joining my mother for what should be our last trip up north, to her old house, for some final emptying and cleaning. There is still an amazing amount of stuff left up there...I'm not too eager to do this, but it obviously has to be done at some point. I also need to start throwing out some of my own "collections" soon, as my 22 m2 flat is not large enough to hold both everything I own now and all of those things I used to own but at some point chose to start "temporarily" store at my mother's house... and then haven't missed for ten years or so. It's already close to impossible to keep my flat clean due to all of the stuff in there, and there are still things in Jakobstad that I need to move down here. A LOT will be thrown away, I think.

And, finally, I'm again taking baby steps closer to earning a degree! I think that's it for today. I'll try and return to updating normally again now.