meme & asks

And answers to this week's questions over at f.riday.com.

1. When did you last put honey on or in something?

I'm not sure; it was either when I baked bread rolls, or in Rooibos tea. It's been a while either way!

2. How do you handle a bad mood?

I try to watch a comedy that always makes me laugh (examples: The Golden Girls, Soap, Get Smart!), or putter around with my watercolors. If my head can handle it, listen to music. Anything that feels like might distract me.

3. Which Winnie-the-Pooh character do you most identify with?

I hardly remember these... The only character I remember is Winnie-the-Pooh and I don't have any kind of special connection to the that character or stories. I remember liking them but that's about it.

4. Which Winnie-the-Pooh character would you best get along with?

See the answer to #3.

5. What’s your favorite way to do nothing?

Just simply to sit and chat about whatever (no heavy stuff or at least not much and not for long) with with my Mom in her garden in the summer when the weather is just right, or my best friend in a cafe or at my place. It's so rare to just be able to sit and chat without having to do something and just enjoy being together.

Answers to this week's questions at Livejournal.

1.You’ve been home from vacation for a week now, what still needs to get done?

I don't go on trips enough to have for this questions to apply to me in any true way - I've never been on a vacation trip, truly. Simply because the two trips I've taken as an adult were when I was unemployed so they didn't feel like a vacation and also don't count as one because I still had all the same job hunting duties during the trip as normally. I'd had to have cut my 5-day trip short if an employer had wanted to interview me during that time or something, but luckily that didn't happen so I could enjoy London for all five days.

I suppose I might have some articles of clothing I wore on the trip in need of a wash still if I hadn't run a washer cycle for that type of clothing yet since coming back, but that's about the only thing I can think of.

2. Have you detected any signs of Spring/Fall yet?

Days have started to get brighter earlier and for longer. Otherwise it's the normal, slushy winter weather here.

3. How often do you check the batteries in your smoke alarm?

Not often enough! I try to do it a couple of times a year. The sound is so awful that I can't bring myself to do it more often because my head rings for a while after and might trigger a migraine attack.

4. How is your weekend looking?

Just my normal at home. Quiet. Planning on watching season 2 of Soap which is a comedy tv series I adore. I got my 5th COVID-19 vaccine shot on Friday; this was the bivalent vaccine which is by a different company than the previous four I've been given, so there might be more or different side effects than before. Writing this on Saturday... so far only a sore jab spot and some headache that may be vaccine related or just my normal chronic migraine related. ButI'm planning on taking it easy just in case for the weekend.

5. What could really stand to be replaced in your home right now?

The couch and the fridge.

Jo over at Dreamwidth put together a list of daily questions for 2023 again  🙂 Here’s my answers to February 17-28  questions.

17 – My Way Day: the day where you are encouraged to do whatever you want, however you want. Have you ever treated yourself to a day like this? What did you do?

I do this a lot, in many small ways as long as it doesn't require spending extra money. I try to give myself a chance to be creative whenever I feel like it, it makes me feel better and I just like the creative process itself.

Back when I was still working and could afford it, I used to go to a lunch restaurant (so not a restaurant restaurant - these are a little cheaper and have a more limited menu than a proper restaurant) and enjoy my favorite steak (leaf steak) once every week or every other week. I can't afford to go to a restaurant now that I don't work (can't justify spending so much on a single meal even if I could *technically* afford it) and I miss being able to give myself that little treat.

18 – Battery Day: How many things in your house are unusable without batteries? (If they don't run on mains power.)

Five.. I think. Phone, tablet, magnefying glass, food scale, human scale.

19 – World Whale Day: Have you ever been whale watching? Tell us about it.

Nope, we don't have whales here and I would have to go far abroad to see them.

20 – Love Your Pet Day: Do you have pets? Tell us about them – cats, dogs, other species? How many?

Not now, but my Mom had a Beagle in 1994-2004. Caro the Beagle was only pet my family has ever had. I LOVED that dog, she was so loving and playful and sweet and totally nuts when the mood took her. I had just moved to my own apartment when Mom got her, and I went with her and her SO to collect the puppy. I'd go over to Mom's every week, and when Mom couldn't take care of Caro because they went on a 24 hour cruise or travelled abroad for a holiday for a week or two, I was the one who did. I was around so much and Caro was over at my place so much that Caro probably thought of me as part of her pack :D We had to put her down when she was 10 because of a liver tumor, and I still feel her loss. Even though it's been almost 20 years now.

21 – International Mother Language Day: What is your native language? How many languages do you speak fluently or near-fluently? How many languages besides your native language have you studied?

My native language is Finnish. I'm fluent in Finnish and English. I read English language novels a lot, and don't need subtitles for movies or tv shows (as long as the actors don't mumble as they do a lot these days).

I studied Swedish for many years in school because it's mandatory here in Finland (don't get me started on that) but I can't read or speak it and my vocabulary is too small to be able to follow news or tv shows in Swedish and in general I never "got" Swedish the way I did with English - like a switch had been turned on. I only understood tenses when we learned them in English - previously I couldn't wrap my head around them at all in Swedish. I started watching Swedish thriller tv shows about 15 years a go, and my ear has gotten much better and I understand spoken Swedish more now but still can't make do without subtitles.

I also studied French for two years in school, but I can't speak or read it beyond very few basic sentences. We never advanced to things like tenses in French (I don't know why).

22 – World Yoga Day: Do you do yoga? How do you benefit from it?

Nope.

23 – Digital Learning Day: What are the benefits of digital learning compared to other methods of learning? What are the disadvantages?

It's easy to find how to do instructions on the internet for so many things.

I've no experience about digital learning in official capacity such as school, but for me personally, it'd be hard to retain information if I had to type up notes in class. I can't concentrate on what is being talked about when I'm typing and I don't remember information as well when I type it. Hand writing notes down is where it's at for me. I also think digital learning probably tends to forget people who learn with other methods such as doing, or listening and assumes that everyone is good to go with a computer for learning stuff.

24 – International I Hate Coriander Day: Do you love or hate coriander? If you don't like it, what don't you like about it?

I don't have an opinion on it. I don't think it's a huge thing here - at least I extremely rarely use recipes that call for it, and don't see that many recipe needing it around but that could just be the type of food I like.

25 – Real Bread Week: Real bread refers to any type of bread that has been made without the use of processing aids or any other additives and includes any type of additive-free bread (e.g. pita, paratha, tortilla, oatcakes, roti, bagels, etc.). Do you, or have you ever, made bread? Do you use a bread maker? If you always buy rather than make bread, do you look for bread that at least claims to be additive-free, made from organic flour, etc.?

I make bread a lot! And bread rolls even more. Bread in some form is one of the baked goods I make most often. I grew up making bread rolls - we used to make them every week or every other week when I was a kid so it's always been common for me to make them regularly.

I also buy bread, and while I'm particular about the types of bread (not too white, not too dark and must be in paper bag because all the breads in plastic bags are too soft and mushy) I buy, I'm not usually able to choose based on those features listed in the question. I buy what's available typical shops - organic, additive-free is usually made in smallish specialty bakeries and are expensive and usually no sold in grocery stores. So I can buy them only a few times a year because of the price and because I have to got out of my way to go to a bakery (they're few and far apart). I'd love to be able to buy from bakeries more often, especially this one delicious ruislimppu (rye bread) that I love but it's double the price of the ruislimppu in the typical shops which is okay tasting too.

26 – Carpe Diem Day: Are you good at seizing the day? If not, what holds you back?

No, I'm not. Fear of taking a chance because in my lived in experience, all the chances and changes come with financial instability and long uncertainty and delays in payments and I have to pay the rent, food and my meds every month. So I avoid rocking the boat because it just leads to stress.

Also just in general I don't like unexpected things/surprises and I don't like changing my plans on the fly. That may be because a lot of the time when it's needed or happens to me, it's a bad thing or at least causes temporary stress even if the end result is neutral or positive, so I associate those things with being bad and don't like having to change my plans.

27 – Pokemon Day: Are you or is anybody in your family a Pokemon fanatic?

Nope and nope. I at least sort of know what Pokemon is but I don't see the point, but my dearest people care even less.

28 – Tooth Fairy Day: Did the tooth fairy visit you whenever one of your baby teeth fell out? If you have children, did/do you have the tooth fairy visit them when they lose teeth? Why or why not?

I don't think so... I remember I got like one Finnish markka whenever I lost a baby tooth at first from Mom and Dad. For being brave because it was scary, losing a tooth. After a while of that and having a couple of loose baby teeth pulled out with a piece of string by Mom or Dad, I also started doing it myself. I remember because there was this one very loose tooth one day at school that just would.not.come.out on its own and it irritated me no end because my tongue kept going to it. By the time the school day was over, I was highly frustrated and didn't want to wait for another 3 hours for Dad to come home so he could pull it off. I knew how it was done having been subject to it many times already so I did it myself. And then I was very proud of myself!

Answers to today's questions at thefridayfive@DW

1. What's your favorite fruit or vegetable to look at?

I don't have a favorite of those to look at.... but I love beautifully staged photographs of fresh strawberries! Always makes want to have some!

2. What's your favorite juice?

Freshly squeezed orange juice.

3. What fruit tree would you like to have in your yard?

None really because it'd produce too much fruit for me to use them all, and make for work. My Mom has one apple tree (she's always eaten lots of apples, so when she moved somewhere with a backyard where she could plant an apple tree, she immediately got one) and it makes so much fruit that in addition to giving me lots of apples, her and her SO eating lots and lots of them just as-is, making dozens of pies with them, she also has to make jam just to use them all up! I'm grateful - her apple jam is by far the best jam I've ever tasted and has put me off all the store bought jams now, but having a fruit tree is an awful lot of work IMO and I don't care for fruit anywhere close enough to want to do that.

4. What vegetable name do you think makes the best nickname?

In English - pumpkin. In Finnish - none. The Finnish words aren't nicknamey to me.

5. What fruits and vegetables would your personal "fruit hat" contain?

Apple, pineapple, orange, banana, grapes, strawberries

Jo over at Dreamwidth put together a list of daily questions for 2023 again  🙂 Here’s my answers to February 1-16  questions.

1 – Serpent Day: How do you feel about snakes? Would you ever keep a snake as a pet?

They freak me out. No, never ever. I also wouldn't be able to live with someone who did have them as pets - I'd never be able to sleep or relax because I'd be sure the snake(s) has escaped it's containment.

2 – Optimist Day: Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist?

I used to be an optimist but unemployment and particulally ever since getting chronically ill I've become more pessimist (or a realist) as far as my own life goes. I still have hope for society and people in general though, just not much for my own personal circumstances.

3 – Take a Cruise Day: Have you ever been on a cruise? If not, would you want to? Cruise ships cause major environmental damage: a large cruise ship can have a carbon footprint greater than 12,000 cars, while passengers on an Antarctic cruise can produce as much CO2 emissions on a seven-day voyage as the average European in an entire year. The industry is a major producer of waste, with the total amount of rubbish produced by a large cruise ship exceeding a ton per day. And let us not forget that they are also essentially floating germ/virus labs (even before Covid). So do you still want to take a cruise?

I'm not interested in cruises - the entertainment on them is not something I ame interested in (getting drunk, dancing, loud music, big crowds). In fact about the only thing worse than a cruise for me is a beach holiday.

The only cruises I've been on are the 24 hour ones from my home town to Stockholm - these we made when I was a kid. We used to do a day cruise to Marienhamnor a 24 hour cruise to Stockholm every year during some school holiday with my family and sometimes my best friend would come with us too. That's really common type cruise here - from Turku or Helsinki to Stockholm and back. Takes about 24 hours.

As an adult the only cruise I've gone one on was one that included a visit to Visby for the day in the summer and then a ship back. This was I think night on the ship + day in Visby + night back on the ship. That was a really great trip and Visby was absolutely beautiful!

The only cruise I'd be interested in is on my own/someone rich's private, huge yacht. I'd be able to spend the time as I wish, instead being forced to endure crowds of hundreds/housands of people in a tight space and just like read in my own peace in a lounge or listen to music I like.

4 – Ice cream For Breakfast Day: Have you ever eaten ice cream for breakfast (or for any other meal)?

I don't think I've had ice cream for breakfast! Sometimes for dinner yes, particularly if it's a heat wavy summer day. Usually I'd make a shake of it: ice cream, a banana or strawberries, chocolate sauce or vanilla sauce, and milk.

5 – World Nutella Day: Do you like Nutella? How often to you eat Nutella?

It's okay. I don't really like it because it's so sweet. I buy maybe one bottle every two or more years? One bottle lasts me a year or so. Usually I buy a bottle because I need it for baking and then eat the remainders over the next several months.

6 – Chopsticks Day: Can you eat with chopsticks? If yes, how often do you use them?

Nope and never.

7 – World Ballet Day: Have you ever been to a ballet performance? If not, is this something that might interest you? Have you ever had ballet lessons?

As a kid we went with school - it was (is?) part of the general study program about culture. And as an adult, I think I was once in my very early 20s when my Mom wanted to see... Swan Lake? but didn't want to go alone. I don't care for ballet - I only enjoy the Dance of the Cygnets dance from Swan Lake, everything else bores me.

8 – World Opera Day: Are you an opera buff?

There are one or two pieces that I like such as E lucevan le stelle from Tosca as performed by Roberto Alagna, but no, I'm not. I do like a lot of classical music, but prefer to have no singing.

9 – Read in the Bathtub Day: Do you read in the bath? Have you ever been reading in the bath and dropped your book into the water?

I haven't had a bathtub since I moved into my own home 20+ years ago, but we had one in my childhood home. I used to read for hours in the bath! It was one of my favorite things to do! My Mom or Dad usually had to tell me enough already after like three hours LOL I never dropped a book in the water. I read library books so I was really careful with them! It almost happened a few times, a book slipping from my hand but luckily I always caught it in time.

10 – Umbrella Day: Umbrella or raincoat? Do you carry an umbrella or raincoat “just in case” if the weather looks doubtful, or do you take your chances? What types of umbrellas do you like? Do you keep umbrellas in different places, e.g. one at work, one in your car (if you have a car), to avoid being caught by unexpected rain?

I carry an umbrella pretty much year around in my backpack (which I take everywhere). Rain is very common in Finland all year round, and I use busses (I don't own a car) so being stuck in rain waiting for a bus isn't a rare occurrence. I use travel umbrellas because they'll fit into whatever bag I'm carrying so they practical. But I'd really love to use one of those bigger, taller umbrellas with "J" handles sometimes. It's just not practical because they don't fit into any beg ever and are the most unpractical thing to carry around when you don't know if you'll need one or not.

11 – Make a Friend Day: How easy is it for you to make friends? Do you have many casual friends, or just one or two close friends?

It's always been hard. I usually have just one or two close friends, and the rest are really acquitances interested in some thing that I am too.

12 – World Marriage Day: In your opinion, is marriage an outdated institution or has it stood the test of time? Should we seek to preserve it, or might there be a better alternative for committed couples?

I have no opinion on marriage. If I were in a relationship, I can't imagine getting married would be important to me in and of itself. It's my understanding if you have kids with your SO, then it might be better to get married because of some legal things with the kids and finances related to the kids if the other parent dies suddenly. Most of my friends aren't married even if they've been together for maybe decades, and my Mom and her SO (both in their 80s) have been together and engaged for three decades now; they only got engaged because them not being married but living together really bothered by Grandma. So they got engaged as an compromise to appease my Grandma. And my Mom's best friend has never always been single/never married, so I grew up with not-being-married being just as normal and un-remarked on by people as being-married so I never grew into the mindset that marriage is the default expectation.

13 – Clean Out Your Computer Day: When was the last time you cleaned out your fans and dusted off your motherboard? Have you looked at your graphics card to see if its cooling fan and fins are clean? For that matter, when did you last clean out or even opened the case? Or have you ever cleaned out your computer or had someone clean it out for you?

I only have a laptop, and most of that isn't possible to do without special tools to open the back of the laptop so I'm guessing regular people aren't supposed to do that. I do dust what bits I can open a couple of times a year as well as the fan outlet, and wipe the screen and keyboard weekly or more of then if needed. Back when I had desktops, I did open them up sometimes to dust things and install new cd-rom or hard drives and such.

14 – Organ Donor Day: Are you signed up/registered to be an organ donor? Do you regularly or occasionally donate blood?

I am a registered organ donor, although what with my illnesses, I'm not sure if they can use my organs because of the diseases I have. I'm unable to donate blood - I'm anemic and iron deficient even without doing it. Just for the hell of it, I've tried doing the "Can you donate blood" test which ask a lot of questions to determine if you can, and I can't get past the second page without getting four reasons already to disqualify me.

15 – World Hippo Day: How much do you know about hippos? Have you seen one outside a zoo?

Not much/nothing! And nope - I'm not even sure I've seen them in zoos, I can't remember. Whatever I learned about them in school, I've long since forgotten because it's not information I've ever needed.

16 – Innovation Day: Are you the creative sort who can easily come up with new innovations, or are you better at following-up with developing other people's ideas?

I don't know! Physical stuff - I never had the chance to do anything of the sort at work (temp jobs) because if there were need to invent new things, it was the permanent employees who did that. And library work doesn't really do that, anyway. And the permanent employees did the brain storming if it were a show or an exhibition or something. The closest I can think of is back when making internet pages was done with html from scratch. I thought myself html and css; I was usually able to cobble together what I wanted with research and trial & error.

I've sometimes wondered what the boys were taught back in school while the girls had dressmaking, knitting etc. lessons. The boys had woodworks, iron works like welding etc. I've many times thought that being taught how to drill holes in walls etc. and learning tools like drills would've been much more useful to me than knitting or making a blouse - I've never needed to do the latter, but have several times needed to ask my Mom's SO to drill a whole in the wall. I don't even own a drill because he loved to do all that stuff and is good at it but he's getting old now. I guess in the 80s the society thought every woman would always have a husband/brother/father around to do stuff like that. I hope the schools teach girls these things too nowadays but I don't know if they do.

Answers to today's questions at thefridayfive @ Dreamwidth.

1. Mysteries. Do you sleuth alongside Nancy Drew or Miss Marple? Fan of Nero Wolfe?

Oh yes! Mysteries/detective stories/crime thrillers are one of my favorite genre both to read and watch on TV. I always try to guess who's the guilty one or what is going on and I'm pretty good at it after having read and watched for so long.

2. Plan on making a batch of chili? Have a top secret recipe to share?

Does this mean like chili con carne..? I don't really like chili even the mild one is too hot and spicy for me so nope, no plans. I googled and apparently chili con carne is made with beans - I don't eat beans but I do make a similar food except I use rice or macaroni or other pasta instead of beans. And no chili. But I'm not planning on making that one either in near future.

The next time actually I'll cook something it'll probably be pannulasagne which is an easy & quick version of lasagne. It's made in the frying pan and takes about 30 minutes according to the recipes I've seen. I only discovered pannulasagne last week, haven't had a chance to make it yet but can't wait to try it out!

3. Does your car or did a family car have a name?

Nope!

4. Did you walk to school with your friends? Take a school bus?

Grades 1-6 I walked to school, often with my best friend but not always because we were on different classes (on the same grade) so our schedules didn't always match. Grades 7-9 same thing, but school bus. If my best friend had a different schedule, I preferred to go it alone because the pupils on my same class whom I considered school friends lived in a different direction and the ones who went my way, I didn't care about. I rather was alone after being in a class with 20-40 noisy acquaintances the whole day and I'd had my fill of it. I'm more of an introvert so the alone time was usually welcome after school days.

5. Ever have someone carry your books home from school?

Not the way this ask means, I think? As a romantic thing?

Not school books (because those I carried on my back in a backpack), but shopping bags sometimes. I did the shopping in the city center in the good shop which had the good bread, meats and cheeses because my best friend and I always went to a second hand bookshop on Fridays after school to buy comics - the bookshop also got newly released ones from the US) and the then I'd do the bread/meat/cheese shopping on the way home from the bookshop because it was on the way. My best friend a few times carried my shopping a lot of the way but only when I needed help - like that time when I had hurt the fingers of my left hand and it hurt to carry or even just hold things with it, or when I needed my good hand free to do something with it. I returned the favor whenever she needed help obviously. But mostly we carried our own stuff.

Answers to this week's questions over at thefridayfive @ LJ.

1. Who would you like to be able to get into contact with?

There's no-one in particular I can think of that I'd like to get into contact with and can't.

2. How do you make yourself go to sleep when you can’t seem to get to sleep?

If it's a real bad insomnia night nothing can help except time and being awake long enough. Melatonin doesn't work if it's serious, and I can't use sleeping pills.

3. What language(s) do you wish you could speak?

I'd really love to be fluent in French! Both speaking and reading, but especially fluent enough in reading to comfortably be able to read novels in French.

4. What is it about people that confused you the most?

How is it that we are so good at deceiving ourselves so well and ignoring things we don't like to hear? That confuses me.

5. What major company do you despise the most?

I don't despise any company, major or minor. Some I don't like much or think are making stupid decisions but despise is too strong a word. I don't have strong enough feelings about companies one way or another.

Answers to this week's questions over at f.riday.com

1. What keeps you up at night?

Sometimes it's pain, sometimes restless legs and sometimes it's Crohn's Disease symptoms but mostly I have no idea! I just can't fall into sleep, or can't stay asleep and keep waking up every hour or two from light, poor sleep. Insomnia sucks.

2. How well do you operate on insufficient sleep?

Not very well. It feels like everything is difficult because I'm exhausted already when I wake up. Even every little thing takes a lot out of me. Luckily (I guess - I don't know how I could work even part-time) I don't work so I can do things at my own space and I make do.

3. Under what conditions do you get your best sleep?

These days it's either when I've over worked myself during the day, or when I've been awake for 32+ hours in one run. Then I get the kind of normal, good sleep I used to have before all these illnesses.

4. What unusual places have you slept in?

Hospital, a tent while camping in a camping area, and in a train sleeping car when I was a little kid and we went to a holiday in Moscow back in early 1980s. Sleeping in the sleep car was exciting! So not unusual places at all.

5. What’s a good song about dreams or dreaming?

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This by Eurythmics and Enter Sandman by Metallica are the ones that come to mind.... donno how good they are about specifically dreaming, but I do like both songs a lot!

Jo over at Dreamwidth put together a list of daily questions for 2023 again  :-) Here’s my answers to January 17-31 questions.

17 – Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day: Do you make New Year's resolutions? If so, how successful are you at keeping them?

I never have, not really. When I was younger, I sort of half-heartedly did but I wasn't serious about it and didn't even try to keep them. I don't remember what the resolutions were.

18 – Thesaurus Day: Do you own a thesaurus? How often do you consult a thesaurus to find just the right word?

I do own ones both in Finnish and English, but I use the Internet for that now and have for more than a decade. About weekly.

19 – Popcorn Day: Do you like popcorn? What is your favourite topping for popcorn? Or do you prefer it plain?

Sure, I like it salty and nothing else. Traditionally popcorn is always salty here in Finland and that's it. When my best friend and I were in London back in 1998, we went to the theatre and bought a big popcorn thingy to share. To my horror, the popcorn was sugared! It was absolutely horrible - it's supposed to be salty! I couldn't eat any after that first one, so my friend who isn't as picky as I am, ate them all by herself but she didn't love them either. It didn't even occur to us popcorn could be something else than salty! Cultural differences, I guess.

20 – Take a Walk Outdoors Day: Is being outdoors important to you? How often do you spend time outside/in nature? Do you have easy access to parks or walking trails or other natural areas (e.g. the beach)? Do you feel any benefit if you make the effort to go out into nature? Do you try to get outside regularly? Depending on where you live, January might not be the best month for marking Take a Walk Outdoors Day – do you find it more difficult to venture outdoors in the winter?

I'm not an ourdoorsy person, no. That said, I wouldn't want to live somewhere where I can't get to nature quickly which is possible everywhere in Finland. So I wouldn't want to live in a place like Manhattan or somewhere like that, I'd guess. I don't have parks near me, but I have a field and small forests and long strips of narrow forrests with walking trails just a few minutes from home, and I can walk in a stretch of forest from one suburb to many others if I want to. It's great for walking dogs! I don't really go out to nature now, but when we had a dog (a Beagle!) I loved to take walks with her! I enjoyed the walks too, but a good portion of my enjoyment came from the fact that Caro (the Beagle) LOVED being outdoors no matter the weather, and watching her having fun and being happy made me happy. I need a reason for a walk, a walk by itself doesn't do anything for me.

Winter is all good - it's just a question of right clothing for the weather. If it's snowy and cold, you just got to wear layers and the right kind of fabrics and good winter boots. If it's raining horribly then wear actual rain gear, or at least coats that keep rain and an umbrella. Rain is somewhat annoying because my eye glasses get full of rain drops and I can't see well, but that's a minor inconvenience that doesn't really register beyond thinking"ugh". Rain is common here and I don't truly mind it.

What's hard is the summer - I hate heat and I hate the brightness and the sun. And the summers have been getting horribly hot, so it's summer when I avoid going outdoors as much as I can.

21 – International Sweatpants Day: Thanks to Covid, many of us have probably lived in sweatpants for the better part of the last couple of years. If this is true for you, has that experience impacted your choice of "work" clothes? Do you now seek out non-sweatpants trousers that mimic sweatpants, e.g. elasticized/drawstring waistbands, stretchier material, etc.? If Covid didn't really impact your clothing choices, do you wear sweatpants?

COVID-19 hasn't changed my life much because my life and circumstances had already years previously been limited so much by illnesses. I don't wear sweatpants, but I usually wear a nightgown at home because I can't stand anything pressing/squeezing etc. so waistbands are right out. I do wear pyjama pants in the winter if it gets cold enough to do that. Also, because I never had a steady job and couldn't afford to "waste" good clothes by eventually wearing them out at home, I started to wear nightgowns because of that too originally. I also hate clothes shopping so the less I have to do it the better.

I've always worn pants made of stretchier materials and all my pants have always had elastic waistbands ever since I was a kid. Non-elastic waistbands are always either too tight or too huge - they never sit right and I also just don't like how they feel on me. Luckily libraries aren't business formal or anything like that, so people wear neat but casual clothes. I've never had to buy and wear a business suit, or even business casual really I guess (judging by what comes up when I google those terms). Just what's thought of as "office clothes" which are like normal clothes but maybe only worn for work so that they keep better longer and don't get worn out.

22 – Celebration of Life Day: Every now and then, it’s a good idea to take some time off so you can refocus yourself. It’s about stepping back and looking at your life from a different perspective so that you can appreciate everything that you have. How would you celebrate your life? What can you be proud of having achieved?

I suppose I can be proud about having to learn to live with several chronic illnesses, and that I've learned how to be creative despite the daily pain and other symptoms that frequently get in the way. And also that I don't have to work or do things at the same rate as when I was healthy, slower is ok and so is not doing something if it's too much! Or doing it piecemeal.

23 – Handwriting Day: Do you still write by hand? Can you write (and read) cursive? Do you think cursive should be taught in schools?

I do, yes! I keep my symptoms diary by hand. I also write fic by hand, and also write random notes when I need to remember tell someone something by hand. I LOVE my fountain pens, so enjoying doing these things by hand.

I think cursive should be taught, yes. I was taught, and I can still write it but with difficulty (except for my signature). It's not very pretty plus I've forgotten how to do some letters. I started writing print at some point after been taught that in school.

I'm not very good at reading cursive - it really, really depends on how well defined the cursive writing is and how used to a person cursive I am. If it's very squiggly or if there is little differentiation between the letters, I can't read it. As an example, I couldn't read my Mom's cursive (except for her signature, because I knew what it said) until well into my 30s. At some point my eyes and brain got used to her writing and now I can read her cursive well.

But really, I think people should write by hand however is most comfortable to them! If it's print, that's okay! If it's cursive, that's okay too! Just write by hand because it activates the brain in a different way than typing on the computer. I personally also noticed, back when I was a student, that I didn't learn things well just by listening to the teacher and reading the assigned books. I had to make notes from both and then I'd remember and learn the things I needed to much easier. Later I noticed that this doesn't apply to typing - typing makes it actually worse. I don't take in what the teacher is talking while typing. I need to be handwriting. I'm actually sad that in school we weren't talked out different methods of learning - I found what works for me by accident and I was in the library school by that time already. So in a way I wasted a lot of time, not knowing what kind of learning works well for me. I sometimes wonder if my rates had been better if teachers had talked about different ways of learning and I could have tried other methods but I don't remember that being talked even general in the 1980s and early 1990s when I was in school/library school. It was just "listen to what the teacher says" and "underline important bits" in your books. That's it.

24 – Peanut Butter Day: Do you like peanut butter? What is your favourite way to eat peanut butter?

It's okay. Not something I buy often - usually because I need it for baking or something. It's typical for me to go years or even a decade without buying/eating any. It's too sweet for me to want to have it regularly. I don't like it enough to have a favorite way. And it's not really a thing here the way it apparently is in the US and unless I buy it myself, I never come across it in cafes or other people's homes etc.

25 – A Room of One's Own Day: Did you have a room of your own when you were growing up, or did you have to share with siblings? Do you have a room of your own now? If you do, what do you use it for? Is it a bedroom or something else?

I've always had a room of my own! I'm an only child, and as an adult, I've always lived alone. I have a two room apartment - a bedroom, and a combined kitchen/living room. Ideally I'd like to live in a two bedroom + kitchen/living room arrangement, but those are too expensive for a single, low income income and also KELA is strict about the size of the apartment per inhabitant if you need the housing benefit and a lot of (most?) single and/or low income people do. I'm very happy and relieved to have a separate bedroom - I had to put the bookcase there because there wasn't the wallspace for it elsewhere, and I don't even like having that there. I'd prefer the bedroom have nothing extra in it.

26 – Australia Day: If you are not Australian, have you ever been to Australia? How much do you know about Australia? If you went to school somewhere other than Australia, how much were you taught about Australia in school?

I'm not Australian, and I've never been there. We were taught a lot - the history, the nature and animals, and I guess the current (well, 1980s when I was in school) politics too. I've forgotten all the politics but remember a lot of the history and nature and animals.

27 – Fun at Work Day: Do you think work should be fun? How much fun do you expect to have at work?

Work doesn't have to be fun - that's not why I go to work. I work for money; fun comes from elsewhere and other things. That said - work shouldn't be something you hate either, or something that feels unnecessary or useless or a burden. It should be something neutral or positive.

28 – Global Community Engagement Day: Do you feel engaged with your community? How important do you think it is to feel that you belong in your community?

I don't, no. In real life my community (chronically ill, and the unemployed communities) is disparate, looked down on and forgotten. I don't feel part of the "normal", "expected" society. Expected as in expected to be able bodied + have a steady job that's the default expectation by society. If you don't fit that expectation, there's really no respectable slot for you.

29 – Curmudgeons' Day: What is a curmudgeon? Do you know any curmudgeons? What do you think of them? Today is also Freethinkers' Day. Do you think a curmudgeon might be just a freethinker?

I think carmudgeon is a crumpy person, someone who sees the negative in most things and complains all the time. I've become a carmudgeon in certain aspects since getting ill and since I started to follow politics.

A carmudgeon can be a freethinker or not.

30 – Bubble Wrap Day: Does bubble wrap deserve its own day? Why or why not?

I don't care - it's a useful thing. Beyond that, I have no opinion.

31 – Backward Day: National Backward Day is a fun day that encourages us to do things in an order that we would not usually do them in! Have you ever taken part in a backward day? How did it go?

Nope, I haven't. Never heard of it before!

Answers to today's questions over at f.riday.com :-) 

1. How did you celebrate your most recent birthday?

By having my Mom and her SO over for a visit on that day. And then I baked a chocolate cake later that week even if it was techinically after my birthday, because I was feeling good enough to do it then. I considered it my birthday present for myself.

2. What was the subject of a list you recently composed?

Uh, I can't remember... most likely a grocery shopping list, or a shopping list for the pharmacy. Or a list of things I want to mention or talk about with my best friend and/or Mom the next time we talk on the phone. I can't remember which of these is the most recent because I do them all the time because my memory isn't what it used to be!

3. What did you most recently use vinegar in?

I've never used vinegar in anything. I did ask my Mom to give me about 4 table spoons from her bottle a few years ago, because I wanted to bake a chocoloty... something (can't remember what! Other than it was chocolate). But I never did because by the time I saw my Mom, I was feeling worse again and didn't feel like trying any new baking. I asked Mom because it's sold in 0,5 litre or 1 litre bottles only and I've never needed it before in 20 years so no point in buying a big bottle when I'd only need like 2 table spoons of the stuff at once.

4. What can sometimes get you out of a bad mood?

My favorite music. Or a favorite comedy such The Golden Girls, The Fawlty Towers or 'Allo 'Allo!

5. How do you feel about shrimp?

As long as its far away from me in the sea, it's all cool.

As a potential food, it's suspect and I won't put it in my mouth.