hips move mountains

"You are beautiful.

Own it.

Walk like your hips move mountains."

(unknown)

a summer with no orphans

Vacation-time coming up and I'm already worried.

There will be boredom and restlessness and I need to plan against it. I'm stocking up on books (in my own two languages, for relaxation) and magazines (in another language, for linguistic studies) and photos (to sort out) and sports bras (for beachvolley) and limoncello (well, for consumption) and tips on fun summer events around here (for consideration) and addresses to the best flea markets within a hundred mile radius (for shopping) and good music (for enjoyment and something to talk to my teenage nephews about) and nail polish (for bare toes) and patience (for family get-togethers) and cider (for balcony cider evenings with my balcony cider buddy) and borrowed poodles (for company).

I feel it won't be enough. I'll add episodes of House M.D. (for desperate times).

And now I feel like a shallow whiner. What I really should do is go rescue drowning orphans out of the Mediterranean.

like an Arabic queen

One thousand and one blog entries. I'm Scheherazade keeping herself alive.

But it's Midsummer and there are no nights.

crave a different kind of buzz

Today, I have...

* stared at a bottomless green lake I didn't know existed
* shouted at my phone, in public
* used the word "orgasm" at a church lunch (in conversation with a  male pastor)
* tried to reconcile my cynicism and my idealism
* tried to lose weight
* watched a  royal wedding  on TV with my mum
* been given a beautiful present for no reason (see necklace below)

At least a few of these fall into the category of Things I've Never Done Before / Places I've Never Been Before, so not a bad day at all. Better buzz than a royal wedding.

(What definitely does NOT fall into this category is the reconciling and the weight-loss attempt.)

there's a world not far from here

I take one of my thinking walks.

Not along the beautiful seafront promenade, or the busy streets in the city centre. I walk among back streets and the long street with the long name Korsholmsesplanaden - although that one can't be called a back street, it's a boulevard with a quiet tree-lined footpath in the middle.

I don't look around much. I need to stare at the asphalt beneath my feet in order to sink into a thinking state. I avoid noise and traffic but the occasional dog-walker or cyclist is fine - completely empty streets make me feel abandoned.

I stop for coffee at one of those places with stale coffee and too many men playing the slot machines. When I return home, it's chilly and grey. But children are playing football in the park, birds are chirping around me and all I can think of is a glass of wine and a quiet evening.

I haven't done much thinking. But my mind has slowed down and only plays a quiet melody.

- our hearts are like firestones,
when they strike we feel the love -

solar opposites

Fascinating fact about Finland:

 A midnight in June (picture above) has roughly the same amount of daylight as a noon time in December.

thawing out the zombies

It's the idyllic part of the Finnish year.

Birdsong and fragrance and people who seem less like zombies. Myself feeling slightly less like a zombie.

alphabet for gloomy children

A Dystopian Alphabet
…for gloomy children (and their parents) everywhere.

A is for APPLE, iPhone and Mac.
B is for BEES, that died out some time back.
C is for CONCRETE, our modelling-clay,
D for DISPOSABLE – throw it away.
E is for ENERGY (that’s what we burn),
F is for FINANCE that makes the world turn.
G is for GREENHOUSE GAS, warming the earth,
H is for HOPE, of which there’s a dearth.
I is for INTERNET, that’s where we play.
J is for JOBS, performed for less pay.
K is for KINDLE, where e-books are put.
L is for LIBRARIES (all of them shut).
M is for MEDICINE for all our ills.
N is for NHS - submerged by bills.
O is for OXYGEN, without which we’d die
P for the PLANTS that provide our supply.
Q is for QUESTIONS that should have been asked.
R, for RESOURCES, running out fast.
S is for STATE SCHOOLS, which used to be free,
T is for TRANSPORT, which links A to B.
U is for UVs that come from the SUN
V is for VIRUS - never much fun.
W is for WARHEADS we cannot afford
X marks the spot where your VOTE is ignored.
Y is a chromosome, cleverly linked.
Z is for ZEBRA, now sadly extinct.

(Joanne Harris)