Winter chores

Than you Fiftr for you thoughts. I really have had a fun figuring out how to use some products from D's school lunch bags. Those ready meals are kind of Ok, they are basic and as healthy as they would be if you would make them at home. So sometimes not so healthy😋😋😋

We do have just as much junk food in shops that any other place in the world. But we don't have so called food deserts (where only junk food is available, no fresh products or even basic ingredients). In every grocery shop there's plenty of choice. Food is expensive around here, even junk food, partly because we do have so much to choose from. Most people know how to cook (if not taught at home then learnt basics at home economics at school - at least they know how to cook pasta and bake oat rolls).

But they don't teach you to cook with wood burning stove at school.

Our cold is dry cold. Wet cold is so much worse to cope. And we usually have only mild winds, because we live inlands. My brother lives near seashore, and they do have much worse winds all through the year. So it might not be as cold as we have, but I'm absolutely sure I'd freeze and be miserable with moist sea air and few minus degrees too. It's easier to stay warm without wind.

This week was maybe the coldest week of this winter. Two mornings in a row I had to cut 'Sumawalk short because just didn't want to get freeze burns on my knees or cheeks. - 26C, thank you but no thank you.

But it's been breathtakingly beautiful.

About 8.15AM sun is not yet above treeline. It is even more pink in real life, could't change settings while taking pictures  fingers and screen wouldn't work if exposed too long to below -20C temps.

Number Two had her first birthday, my sister set up a little garden party. It was fortunate it was only -10C that day! 

I sew her a dress. 

I thought the pattern looked a bit big for a tiny fairy like Number Two, so so I made a practice dress first. I had this cute cat print, and I knew my sister would like it (she's a bit picky like all little sisters) and I was right. On both. Cat dress is too big, but with few alterations it's perfect. And sis loved the fabric!

Finally, the birthday dress. This is the back, front is without buttons, just like in the cat dress above.

I bought this grey linen  online, but ordered a sample first. Sis approved it so I had the right fabric. Then we spent three hours chosing right buttons, not an easy task if you can't visit the house...

First time in ages I had serious trouble with buttons. I think I sew every button at least three times. But now they are on and it's sister's headache to iron wrinkles! She wanted linen, sho got it, and she deals with wrinkles, too!

I know other people go to house parties and restaurants and visit friends and family, but we don't do any of that. Old man is still a high risk one and we really really want to have him with us much longer. So not only my parents stay away from other people, but also we who see them try to stay away any situations we might get infected. And by seeing them I mean we meet them 2m apart outside or leave their groceries on their porch without going inside. My aunt visits them, and that means we don't visit her, we only talk through open door/window. 'Suma is the only one allowed to go inside her house (and she hates furry animals but for some reason has developed a soft spot for our cats and dogs. She has dog treats and asks 'Suma to come in to eat them! She'd never ever allowed dogs inside her house before our Blackie!

School meals at home?

D is at home for three weeks, before that they were alternating home and physically at school every ither week. She's not coping well schoolwise  but socially Ok.

I've picked her school meal packets/bags every week now.

So in three weeks she has got:

3kg potatoes

2kg carrots

1 tomato

1 orange

1 iceberg salad head

2 sweet papricas

1 container potato salad

1 bottle of salad dressing

400g pasta

1kg rice

1kg porridge oats

1 jar strawberry jam

1 jar salsa

1 jar sweet'n sour sauce

1 tub spread

1l milk 

5 cheese rolls

400g crispy rye bread

1 packet soft rye bread ( sourdough)

10 eggs

400g minced meat

150g shredded cheese

1 bag prunes

1 tin tuna

Taco shells

1 tub cheesy dip

1 packet sausages

1 packet chicken nuggets

2 packets pancakes (spinach and plain)

1 bag chicken meat balls

1 tin split pea soup

1 container creamy vegetable soup

3 bags pasta meals ( just add water. And flavour)

4 microwave meals (lasagne, chicken soup, salmon casserole, ham casserole)

I'm actually a bit confused, this is SO much! I'm also very thankful. This is by no means "free" food, I've paid it in my taxes, but I have to say I've really got my money's worth! I'm not going to complain lack of fresh fruits ( it's winter) or amounts of processed meats (this needs to be edible for teenage boys, and they need their meatballs and sausages -and I could have ordered vegetarian packs, I chose carnivore version).

Kids are loving those ready meals, we don't usually have them! I'm happy there's also been  things to make meals from scratch, so I've been able to use them in our family meals.

On Friday we'll hear if she will be studying at home or be able to go back to school. Unfortunately I think she'll be at home few more weeks. It isn't doing any good to her studies. I'm considering if I should ask if she'd be able to redo these terms again next year. She's agreeing with me  which is very worrying.

I might be a hermit

 I've always known I like my own company. I didn't have friends, we lived quite isolated in the countryside, everyone around was either my own relatives or their relatives. In the early '70s there was a distinct lack of babies and children, there were first two (me and my cousin) and later six (our siblings and two neighbours's kids). Generation before us was THE baby boom generation after the war. So, because I wasn't very interested in wrestling in mud and tearing heavy machinery to parts, I had to find ways to keep me occupied.

I learnt to read all by myself when I was five, I learnt to sew and knit and crochet a bit later. In between I learnt how to pick mushrooms - quite an achievement because at that point I didn't eat any. My grandparents taught me, and I knew how to read so I read mushroom picking guides. At school I had some friends, basically we all considered everyone a friend because there was less than 50 pupils during my first years at school. In the whole school. 

But even then I felt a bit isolated, because most girls lived right next to school and I lived in the middle of the forest.

Later I went to a boarding school, which was the absolute peak of my social life. I even have managed to keep in touch with one of my then  friends  - we meet only twice a year, but we still hold on.

My university era was, again, less social (I lived in shared flat with two other girls from other schools/unis and during those years we were tight pack, but after that we just vanished from each others lifes) I keep occasional contact to few of my fellow student mates, but it's professional, circles are so small. I was already living with my hb ( when I wasn't staying in uni town).

I got job, then another and then another. I got kids, lost kids,  and realised I didn't want much from my life. I'm content here if I can't go to Mars.

It's been a year since covid came here. Since then I've worked mostly from home. I do miss meeting my clients, and I look forward to meet few of my co-workers ( but not all of them) when we must meet at the office, but I'm relieved when I come back home. I do once a week shopping for groceries, and if I have to go to town otherwise I feel uneasy. ( we call running to errands "going to town"). I work long hours, much more than before this virus. 

I see my sister about once every fortnight, my parents once or twice a week  and my aunt few times a week. And I mean SEE, we talk through open doors/windows when I'm dropping groceries or my lil sis is picking a bag of old kids' clothes for number one or number two. Last time I've been inside anyone else's home was in summer, and we were mostly on the patio. Sometimes, maybe once a month, I go for a walk with sis, we keep our 2m distance. My brother lives in high infection rate area, we don't see each other, but now we use Signal to keep in touch.

And I'm OK with this.  Of course I'm extremely lucky because I CAN work from home full time, I never had any social hobbies like choir ( can't sing) or theatre or drinking with friends. I have decided a long ago not to go holidays abroad (because of environmental reasons and because it is so difficult to find petsitter for our pack). I'm content on my solitude, I find no reasons to interact people in real life. Maybe this is just a continuation from my chilhood, when I had whole universe with me in my books. Now it's Internet and I don't have to wait for two weeks to get letter from Vienna.

I'm not missing anything, there is no void of iterraction in my life. All right, I lied. I DO miss meeting and holding number two! She'll be one in no time and I've hold her only few times. I miss the smell of a baby.

But it is what it is. I'm living content in a middle of a forest. I'm about to finish my covid tracker training soon, so that's another skill I can claim to have. Doing tracking means I will not meet people, I'm contacting them only by phone...

Another year, another winter wonderland

As a dog owner I go for a walk several times a day. 'Sumawalks. No matter how cold, wet, windy or dark. I don't much care about walking,  it's boring at times. But sometimes it's just breathtakingly beautiful.

Our closest neighbouring house that actually has someone staying there occasionally.

We walk several routes. In mornings we often walk a circular route around the  village, there's few houses by the road. Some of them are empty, void of occupants. Some of them have a large family living there. Few houses belong to widowed older ladies, women here do outlive their husbands seceral years if not decades.  It's dark both in mornings and evenings.

Young oak at my aunts front yard. It shines brightly across fields. 

There's enough snow for decent skitracks. I don't like skiing, too much trauma from school days. Always last at competitions.

Sys likes skiing. And 'Suma likes winter.

I know we're lucky n many many ways. We live in a place without lockdown, we have all this wilderness AND fields to walk. We have neighbours who can keep our roads clean and safe, I can work from home. 

A bit like '70s photo. This my home.

Coping the cold

 It's been cold few days. First we had what was left of Spanish snowstorm. We got only like 10 more centimeters of snow, but it came with harsh wind and formed tight dunes over all roads. We managed Ok, but school taxi got stuck in the snow and the driver had to dig his van free. Poor guy, but that's why they have shovels in cars.

Then my cousin (ex rally driver ) tested his four wheel drive and narrowly escaped ditch, but of  course our new postman followed his  wheeltracks and got stuck in the ditch. I love my cousin but sometimes he drives me nuts.

After snowstorm came deep freeze. A good time to defrost the freezer... no suprises there, a bit dissapointing to be honest. I would love to have found some salmon or fish eggs... but no.

We had to buy new skis and ski boots for ys, they has PE at school and because someone destroyed skating ice, no skating, only skiing. PE is everything outside because of covid. Skis and boots fit sys too, he likes to ski, and our neighbour already made skiing track base in to the fields. At 11pm, in -27C. No bad weather  only wrong clothing.

I knew cold weather was on it's way, so I made  sure I burnt enough wood in all fireplaces a day before. If the house  is warm when cold weather hits, it's much easier to keep warm. If I let house to cool down and the try to heat it with excess wood burning, I only end up with cracked chimneys. Our house is big and I can keep it warm(ish) with electric (we have under floor heating), but I'm not happy to pay all that money.

I made sure I brought two crates full of fire wood inside so I didn't had to worry if I'm too busy to get them inside when it's really cold ( still working from home). I checked kids had warm clothes ready. They have thick coats with hoods. When temperatures go down  a hood is easy way to protect head and face. Even better if it has ( fake) fur trim, it creates micro climate inside the hood and your face will not freeze.

I got frostbites on my face when I was a child  cheeks freeze easily if there's wind. So my face gets easily frostbitten even now, so I know it is important to protect kids' faces.

And cold weather came. -30C was coldest. In really really cold winters it might get down to  -37C, but it rarely happening. Once in a decade. Usually cold spells are only down to - 25C to -30C. Yes, it is cold. Sys complained hs nosehair froze inside his nostrils. Sorry but I laughed so hard...

Mrs Nostradamus made a scarf for The Doctor, I made them to my kids.

Very useful.

And yes, they are waiting taxi inside a bin shelter, it was built for that,  too. It gives protection from rain and winds, and my aunt sort her rubbish so there's no foul smells. Boys  have long johns under they trousers, and hand knitted socks.

'Suma has no problems to go out for any reason or to go just for a walk. So far so good  but my knees are freezing. The colder it gets the shorter walks we do. Now it's roughly 20 min and 2km. Pretty Boy and Big Brother have decided litter box will do until it gets warmer. Cars must be preheated. My gearbox was a but stiff, but it warmed soon enough.

Some things are on hold until it gets warmer. But it's ok, it will get warmer. In the meantime we just try not to get frostbites or hypothermia.

Mushroom and freeze

It's getting colder. Funny thing, every time it's getting 5 more degrees down, I need a new piece of clothing. And after two days, I can drop that extra occasionally. Until it gets another 5 degrees ( celsius)  colder  when I need to keep that extra layer and add another piece again.

So it's been a winter. 'Suma loves snow, and she doesn't mind getting frost beard. She's so cute, I love her shnautzer beard!

Kittens hate winter, the cold, the wet and snow. Pretty Boy and Big Brother go outside to do their deeds and rush back as fast as they can. Baby Boy has been outside once and he could't get inside fast enough!

I got a darning mushroom as a Christmas present. I like it a lot, so much easier than using a bottle or a jar...

Can't do darning without proper snacks.

I just don't know how to take photos with my hand holding the phone...

I'm not trying to make pretty patches, I just want holes gone. So far I've got six pair back to daily use. It means I don't have to knit another pair for a while...

Winter

 

We have winter. I'm trying to learn to use my phone as a camera. After all I went on a week long course for audiovisual  presentation this autunm, so I should practise.

 Sys built a snowman on the other day, now we have frost so no more rolling snowballs. Today wasn't snowing anymore, so a short breather from all shoveling. 

Today is os birthday. He is 21 now, he asked for some money for his steam account, a cake and deer stew. Hb transferred the money, and I baked a cake and cooked his favourite dinner. 

A bit pricey for a simple meal: reindeer is the most expensive meat I agree to buy. We don't have reindeers here, too south. I made reindeer stew once for him when he was a toddler, and ever since he asks for it every now and then. For the price of 25-40€/kg I just can't cook reindeer very often, if I can find it at all. I know many people think I've stolen from Santa's herd, but if we have this once a year, I don't think it's a worst of my sins.

Few more days off, and then back to the office. This time I'm really going in to my office, I still need to sort and pack one shelf full of books.  Friday is my last day ever in my own office. From monday I'll have only my laptop, a keyboard and a mouse and every time when I'm in the office, I just have to find an empty working station... not looking forward to that.