* New Year in a quiet, pandemic-strangled world. Good company, fortune-telling, sparklers and home-brewed strawberry wine.
* New Year resolution: read more non-fiction books on history, science and psychology. (Failed.)
* Study circle on theology, society, politics, cultural movements and general trends through history, in a chilly church attic.
* "If your car was human it would be in a psychiatric hospital by now," said the guy who tried to fix it. He fixed it in the end, without quite knowing how. (Possibly through reverse psychology.)
* Exploration of the family tree together with a third cousin once
removed ... or something (a.k.a. the friend who's always sworn we're not
related despite sharing a surname).
* Cold, sunny February days with sunbathing and coffee on the balcony, bread-baking over open fire in a silent forest, walking for miles on frozen seas.
* Office news: an office puppy and a new desk overlooking a forest that has wolves and deer in it.
* Another lockdown, meaning lots of take-away lunches and squeezing in only six participants at my mother's birthday party.
* Colour Conference live online, with participants from 111 nations. I think I saw God.
* Weekend in Tampere with vintage cognac and a lovely motorcycle trip around icy lakes.
* Expert knowledge diploma in personal protective equipment.
* Hike around Kyrkösjärvi lake, feasting on cold pizza and hot coffee at a swampy lake with the sun and the birds.
* Three-day birthday celebration: hotdogs over open fire in a chilly sunset with friends, chocolate meatballs with other friends and a unicorn, luxury chocolate cake with family.
* "Vappen" spring celebration with mojito and a friend - in sun and snow, hence with sunglasses and woollen mitts.
* Barbecue in a fire pit under a mild May sun. Came home with two gargoyles.
* Loss of a warden tree (the linden outside my window). Instead, seven new red stars were lit on the horizon seen from my summer place (wind turbines).
* Boat trip halfway across the sea to Sweden on the first day of summer. Exploring a sun-kissed island, the sea smooth as a mirror, and felt that life couldn't possibly be any better.
* Hikes in the woods of Vörå and Pensala, getting hopelessly lost among the mosquitos and pondering the cruelties of war.
* Midsummer with the Midsummer People, barbecue, strawberries, croquet, deep talks and planting a clematis.
* Boat trip to the nearest island. Hot sun, dark-roast coffee and chocolate, swimming among a million tiny flowers.
* Summer with rosé wine in gardens, pizza and travel plans, grilled perch on sunny patios, ice-cold Russian winter movies in bed when it's too hot to sleep.
* Holiday in one of my favourite cities, reveling in good memories and walking too much.
* Summer morning cycling, excellent new habit that couldn't last.
* Alternative and delicious lunch break: greasy burgers among ancient ruins, then a museum and coffee.
* American visitors and fascinating cultural discussions on a sunset beach.
* Road trip to Kalajoki, Raahe, Kajaani, Iisalmi with friend. We sang our way through a landscape dotted with wind turbines, watched a beachvolley tournament among hot sand dunes, chatted to Germans, found an unexpected piece of Russia.
* One-day road trip to Bergö with mother, a ferry ride and homemade icecream.
* Motorcycle gang invasion in my quiet summer paradise. I treated them to tacos and a game of volleyball.
* Walk along an endless beach to an island but didn't find the ancient labyrinth I was promised.
* Motorcycle ride with hundreds of others, just to have a coffee.
* Park bench moment with another misfit, singing hymns out loud.
* Memorable evening in the wilderness with my sister, a movie and a starry sky.
* End of my fifteen-year-long mission as interpretation coordinator in church.
* Trip to Tampere again, with hardships when the car broke down. City life, MacGyver, a church service and a lovely garden with free apples.
* The year's only journey abroad: to the Swedish coast by ferry, in a storm. We looked at the foreign country through the rain-lashed windows as we feasted on seafood.
* Walk across a swamp. Happened upon a childhood friend not seen for years, then experimented with driving a quad bike.
* Weekend in Helsinki with second-hand shopping, Sherlock Holmes on stage, sightseeing by tram.
* The theatre again, for the second time in a week since I was feeling pandemic-deprived. Exquisite monologue by a young girl.
* Poodle-sitting weekend. Poodle getting old and deaf.
* Hair colour adjustment towards the colour of autumn fields.
* Stamp collection analysis. (Embarrassed to admit I have a stamp collection.).
* Three concerts in three December weeks, starved for music and old songs in Latin. With covid certificates and face masks.
* Christmas party with gourmet food, a wine glass that never ran dry and discussions about the possible advantages of gold teeth.
* Candle-making with office people and a cute collie.
* Adventurous Christmas in a blizzard of epic proportions, seriously doubting I would ever make it to Christmas dinner.
* First Christmas night and Christmas Day ever in complete solitude.
* Post-Christmas party with old friends and a man I thought I had stopped loving.
* New Year's eve with covid testing and quarantine.
General phenomena: Pandemic restrictions coming and going, face masks and vaccinations, looking after mother, lots of writing and reading and Netflix, tired summer and lazy autumn, middle-aged feelings.
Couldn't do (for at least half of the year): travelling, plays and concerts, church services except online, volleyball and pilates. But during the times that I could: 4 museums, 3 concerts, 2 plays.
New ideas: see all the castles in Finland and beyond, learn to braid my hair properly, learn to cook lentil stew, buy a SUP board.
Weird weather phenomena: ice storm (that I had to drive in, after peeling a thick ice shell off my car), snow storm with pink Sahara sand in it, thunder and lightning in snowy December.
