Self-imposed isolation, day 39

If everything goes as planned, and I truly hope it will, this should be my last post from isolation. It’ll be two weeks since my first vaccine dose this weekend, so I have been cleaning my rented room and gathering my things. (I have sent away all coffee except what I need tomorrow morning, so this had better work out!) Tomorrow my family may be in for a shock when a cave woman will appear in our apartment. 😜

39 days is rather a lot more than the three hours I predicted I might last without my family. But what were these 39 days like?

Not very exciting, as I may have mentioned before (and again).

I missed my family, and that made it extremely hard, but otherwise, I did not suffer from isolation. Finally there are some perks in being an introverted hermit! As long as I have books to read and stories to write, I’m fine. True, sometimes it would be nice to go to places, like the library or museums (and the biggest nerd award goes to me! 😄), but the longer the pandemic has lasted, the less I seem to miss those things. Probably just adapting to the circumstances.

And being on one’s own is not always a bad thing. Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, in connection with a story I’ve been playing around with, is how the perceptions of others (or their perceived perceptions) influence how we see ourselves. When people say things like ”You’re such-and-such a person” or ”You always…” - how do those interpretations and narratives affect the way we behave and the way we feel about ourselves? How do they influence our actions and, therefore, even our future? When you spend time on your own, you’re not surrounded by these interpretations. Can you be more yourself then, perhaps even rediscover or regain some part of yourself that you may have put aside, ignored or toned down while you’re around other people? When you’re on your own, you can’t rely on others for, say, emotional support. Perhaps there are traits that take over only when you’re alone because you don’t need them at other times.

I’m not going to share any big revelations concerning such things. Something that has become clear during these days: I am not prepared to discuss anything truly personal publicly. More drama and personal disclosures would, no doubt, make for more interesting reading, but that is not me – and I suppose you’d need to have that drama in your life before you can go and talk about it 😄 or at least have a talent for developing/embellishing it.

Something else I’ve learned during these weeks, though: I am the kind of person who’ll hand wash dishes rather than try and use an unfamiliar dishwasher. Considering the pizza debacle, that may be a good thing.

It would also appear I’m one of those people for whom unseen or implied threats are more frightening than things they can actually see. Not that I was scared here at night… much... but I did not bring a sword with me! Now, the sleeping alcoves have curtains, which seemed like a good idea, to close off the sleeping space and to shut off the light from the window. But no! Something might be lurking behind the curtains and I had to leave them open. Then again, when there was too much noise at night, I started closing the curtains, hoping they’d absorb sound. Apparently my fear of sleep-disturbing noise outweighs my fear of creatures of the dark.

Having mentioned swords, I’m seizing this excuse opportunity to post photos of mine (mostly because I have no relevant picture for today’s post). Click, and bigger pictures shall appear:

During this time, I wrote a blog post every day. Not an experiment I’m keen to repeat. Also, it seems that when I have nothing else to say, I start talking about food. Or embarrassing examples of serious bookgeekery. Or just books.

Oddly enough, the aforementioned pizza (mis)adventure ranks among the most popular of my isolation posts! Readers were equally interested in the one about books and libraries, though, and the one with my DD’s lovely snow owl. 💗

Last, but certainly not least, I want to say thank you to dear friends who have cheered me up, sent (and read) messages and generally been there for me. It has helped enormously, and I am truly lucky to know you. 💙

Self-imposed isolation, day 38

A third night with not nearly enough sleep. Still, I spent the morning cleaning and organising and even made a phone call to reschedule a medical appointment (a big deal for an introvert – I loathe making phone calls). After lunch, I worked on a translation project while also doing some meal planning for the weekend and next week, putting things in the shopping cart in our online grocery store (sounds good when I put it that way, but in reality I pick items that should keep, and when I’m about to cook, go ”hmmm, what do we have? What can I make of these? And what am I in the mood for?”). Now I am feeling accomplished enough to call it a day and grab a book.

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 37

 

This is one of the downsides of living alone. I want to recycle these plastic containers for soap and moisturiser, but to put them in the recycling bin, I need to get the caps off first so that I can rinse them. And I just can’t do that. My autoimmune disease causes inflammation of the joints, and my hands have been rather bad lately. I can give them to my DH to deal with - the containers, not my hands (though that would be... wait for it... handy 😜) - but what if I didn’t have that option? I suppose I could always try and saw the containers in half with a knife or scissors – but when your hands are swollen and hurting and clumsy, that might not be the best idea.

Self-imposed isolation, day 36

I slept poorly last night (bad dreams, too much noise), and have felt rather miserable today. It’s not just lack of sleep but also health concerns combined with other worries and uncertainties – and the pandemic situation isn’t actually helping.

It is one of those days where I compose a message in my head, then keep waiting for a response even though I haven’t yet actually written, not to mention sent, my message. Or where I pour half the coffee next to the mug, then wonder why is the coffee gone. 😑

To keep things random, a picture of my typewriter.

Self-imposed isolation, day 35

Another warm, sunny Sunday! The best part was that I got to spend time with my family. We sat outdoors, talked, had some chocolate and cookies. Lovely! And there were some buds in the lilac tree. I do love that tree – we’re no gardeners, so our garden is more on the… let’s say bohemian side 😄 but the lilac tree was there when we moved into our apartment and has somehow survived the years with us. The scent of those blooms is one of my favourite scents.

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 34

Today’s lunch, which I made, my DH picked up, and we all ate together while having a video chat, was these wraps.

 

I made some with a pesto, cheese and tomato filling and some with cucumber, blue cheese flavoured cream cheese and turkey slice filling for DH and DD, and cucumber, same cheese and shrimp for me. When I packed them for my family, I put in little notes where I’d written the fillings (using the first letters of the Finnish words):

pe to juu

which, if you write it

Peto, juu means ”Beast, yeah”

and

tuo leik kur

which, if you write it

Tuo leikkur (the last word is dialect/spoken language though) means either ”Bring the cutter” or ”That cutter”.

I suppose I could (should?) claim that the isolation is finally getting to me, but I’m afraid this is something I would do anyway. 😄

Self-imposed isolation, day 33

Yesterday’s post was short, and once again, I seem to have nothing to say. That’s natural, I suppose – when you’re in isolation, nothing much happens. Which isn’t always a bad thing.

However, I did realise that (a long, long time ago) I’ve posted about some of my Lego minifigures (here and here) but I haven’t shown you my latest creations:

When you love certain books so much you want to portray some of the characters as Lego figures. 😄 From Manda Scott's Boudica series Breaca, Caradoc and, of course, Valerius.

 

And above is a portrait of some of my favourite fictional heroes: Aragorn (both Strider and King – no introduction necessary, I believe), Valerius (also in the first picture), Eirik Väkevä (Eirik the Strong from Kaari Utrio’s Vaskilintu) and last but not least, Josef Svärd from Kuninkaan rakuunat (King’s Dragoons series).

This was a bigger project for the entire family – a mayhem at an inn, a fight between the King’s Musketeers, the Cardinal’s men and the King’s Dragoons.

Happy Friday!

Self-imposed isolation, day 32

I seem to lack inspiration to write today. Actually, I seem to lack inspiration to do anything today. Or perhaps it’s just hard to concentrate. I managed the chores this morning, some errands (messages and the like), then started translating but mostly ended up doing… not much. The highlight today was the food delivery by my DH! 😄 Chocolate and cookies (and chocolate cookies) included. 😍

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 31

31 days of isolation!

 

In an earlier post, I looked back at what happens after two weeks of (self-imposed) isolation. Now, after a month, I feel like I should revisit that theme, but the truth is, I don’t have much to add to the previous post! Or the one soon after 😆.

In a month, I seem to have developed a routine, and my days are much the same – they are, in fact, much the same as they are at home, apart from the company of my family. Mornings are for chores (cleaning, cooking etc.) and exercise. After lunch, I write or translate. Then we get together with my husband and daughter to talk about our day, and we do this even now in video chats. Some reading, more food, more reading or a movie. And, if I’m lucky, even more reading! 😃

I know that routine sounds boring, and naturally there are days when I do something quite different. Still, two things about routine: 1) People sometimes ask me how I manage to do things like exercise and writing when no one is forcing me to. Routine! I have a designated time for these things every day and that works for me. It helps, of course, that I like doing those things – but I also have a cleaning day (Wednesday). If I didn’t, I’d put it off forever. 2) I suffer from chronic insomnia, and the more my days deviate from the ”normal” or the more excitement there is (bad things, good things; anything can cause insomnia), the harder it can be for me to sleep. Boring life seems to agree with me. 😔 Ah well, could be worse.

As for the 31 days… It helps enormously that I have seen my family both online but also in real life, and we’ve spent time together on some afternoons. The first vaccine dose also made me hopeful about immunity. Fingers crossed!

Self-imposed isolation, day 30

I only just realised that I have a very old blog post titled ”Shelfies” which needs an update. That was back when our bookshelves were about to collapse with books. We finally got around to buying new ones the other… year… 😄 and while they were supposed to have room for all our books and future purchases, well, that didn’t quite work out as planned. The old shelves are now in the study, filled with non-fiction, source books etc. while the new ones in the living room are… well, also full. Our daughter has her own bookshelf in her room, and there are books in the closets and cupboards (and Kindles, obviously!).

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 29

Nothing very interesting going on today, so another ”note to self”. This is just a recipe for a salad I made yesterday – I saw a picture somewhere, though no recipe, so I made my own version. It is extremely simple and you can adjust the amount of each ingredient according to your own preferences:

- avocado

- orange

- feta cheese

- cashew nuts

This is a photo of the portion I packed for my DH and DD. I didn’t mix the ingredients as they might go mushy, so it doesn’t look very interesting here (most of the orange pieces hiding under the other stuff 😄) – but I really liked this combination of flavours and textures! Sweet and salty, soft and crunchy… Hm, toasting the cashwes might be worth a try!

Self-imposed isolation, day 28

One day after the covid vaccine. My arm is slightly sore, though only if I touch it. I felt a little tired and weak yesterday afternoon, but rest and some water remedied that. Otherwise, nothing to report.

Today was sunny and warm, so I met my family outdoors. We walked, we talked… and my daughter’s Swedish homework was to make these no-bake chocolate treats (typical in Sweden). So we set up a baking station out on the patio. DD did all the work, I just told her which ingredients she needed and how much and helped her measure some of them. She didn't need much assistance, though, she’s always been into cooking and baking, and I try to encourage that. My mother was the same with me, and that is one of the skills that has actually turned out to be useful nearly every day. 💙

 

We modified the recipe by adding a bit of rum (DD asked: ”How much though? Like one deciliter?” 😄) and we may have used some more cocoa powder than the recipe called for. And we used an ice-cream scoop to shape the treats so no need to touch the batter with your hands. And they were delicious! We’ll certainly ask her to make these again! 😋

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 27

An exciting day! This morning, I went to get my Covid vaccine. I was rather nervous, but there was kind, helpful medical staff everywhere, and everything happened extremely smoothly and very quickly.

I showed my ID and got my vaccination station number. Looked around for a moment, and immediately a friendly staff member pointed me to the right direction. I didn’t have to wait a single second, got my shot (painless) and was then referred to a waiting area, where seats were placed at proper distances and where those who’d gotten their shots waited under observation so as to make sure there were no sudden reactions. Medical staff walked around, asking how everyone was feeling, making sure everything was okay.

Due to my autoimmune condition, I have some experience of the health care system and various procedures. There are frequently situations where you’re nervous about the procedure or the meds or worried about a diagnosis or simply because you don’t know what to expect (in that particular situation or in the future). In those situations, it makes a huge difference when medical professionals are sympathetic and caring. There have been times when my day was made by a kind nurse. My experience today was another example of the fact that their work is extremely important, and to carry on under the present circumstances is truly admirable. 💙

I also already got the appointment for dose 2. Now fingers crossed for no adverse effects!

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 26

 

 

I’m still tired from the infusion yesterday, so not much to tell. A light workout, some cleaning, translation and then, as a sort of reward, it being Friday and all, some writing. 😄 It’s a rainy day, perfect for curling up with a book, so that’s what I’m going to do next.

Self-imposed isolation, day 24

A break from isolation today – had to go to the hospital. Just a routine treatment for an autoimmune disease, but it does wear me out, hence the extremely short post.

Self-imposed isolation, day 24

Another food-related post! Another one in the note-to-self category! And I’d better do this before Easter is just a distant memory. 😉

I normally make pasha for Easter, but as I wasn’t at home, we tried two different ready-made pashas.

The first one had an adorable picture of a bunny on the lid and is made in Estonia. This was the lighter of the two. Creamy but not too rich, with raisins and apricots as well as orange rind. Some of those pieces of fruit had a somewhat stale taste, but apart from that, it was quite good, neither too sweet nor too tart and pleasantly refreshing.

 

The other one was champagne-flavoured white chocolate pasha from Lieksan laatuherkut. No actual champagne in it, however. I really loved the scent of this one, so sweet and tempting, but the flavour didn’t quite match it. The pasha was creamy and sweet, with the characteristic tang mostly in the aftertaste – and while none of us could detect the white chocolate flavour, it certainly contributed to the richness!

I am a big fan of quark, the basic ingredient in pasha, which is perhaps why I quite liked these. The rest of my family, however, told me that the pasha I make is much better. Not sure if that was just flattery, but I’ll take the compliment! 😄

Self-imposed isolation, day 23

Previously, I reviewed a mämmi and vanilla combo. Today we have a different kind of combination: mämmi and mocha!

 

 

This is another little Easter treat from Kymppi, similar to the mämmi&vanilla, but instead of the vanilla custard there’s mocha custard. Again, though the container says ”kerrosmämmi” (layered), the two layers have mixed and those who’d like to sample them separately aren’t too happy about this. Those who’d stir them together anyway won’t mind. I loved the scent of this one, the mocha has delicious coffee and chocolate aromas. The mocha custard was somewhat runny/thin, but the flavour was lovely, enough mocha and not too sweet. I could have eaten just that! The mämmi didn’t have a very strong flavour of rye and malt, which, together with the mocha custard, makes it a good choice for those who are not big fans of mämmi. Again, very convenient when you don’t want a big portion – and the combination of mämmi and mocha is new and interesting! Our whole family liked this. My DH even judged it "as good as chocolate pudding" but the chocoholics (me and DD) weren't prepared to go quite that far. 😄

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 22

Yesterday, on our walk in the woods, we found flowers! (Photo by my DH.) Spring is coming!

 

Edit: and now it's snowing...

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 21

Not so much isolation today! It was a sunny, fairly warm day (considering this is Finland in early April) and it being Easter, we decided to spend the afternoon together (just us three). We met outdoors, wore our masks and kept our distances. We even organised an Easter egg hunt for our daughter! For about a dozen years now, I’ve hidden the eggs around our house, I’ve even once (a long time ago) hidden Easter eggs in an elementary school classroom in Vancouver, Canada – but I’ve never hidden them outdoors before! There’s usually still snow around Easter, so it’s not customary to do the egg hunt outdoos, but now we did. I also have this habit of forgetting where I’ve hidden them, which means in the end we’re all looking for one or two missing ones... 😄

 

(Interestingly enough, when I was little, it was the Easter Rooster that brought the eggs, but we seem to have adopted the Easter Bunny custom.)

We also went for a walk in the woods and around the neighbourhood, then just sat on the patio, eating some Easter eggs. My DH kept asking if we’d like one more, my DD and I kept pretending to think about it, then said, ”Well, it is Easter.” ”And it is not Easter every day, is it?” It is not! 😄 We talked a lot, laughed a lot – it’s wonderful how much fun the three of us have together. 💓

Self-imposed isolation, day 20

Not much happening today, so let’s have a review! This goes to the "note to self category": a year or two from now I’m going to remember I’ve tried this - but did I like it?

 

This is a version of mämmi (more about this Easter specialty here) by Kymppi, but it comes in a small container with vanilla custard included.

The lid says ”kerrosmämmi”, which implies separate layers of mämmi and vanilla custard; unfortunately the two had mixed and it was impossible to taste them separately. That would be fine, though, if you’re one of those people who will stir them together anyway (I'm looking at you, DH!). The custard was a little thin but there was a good amount of vanilla in it. The mämmi did not have a very strong rye flavour and the taste was further tempered by the custard. Some members of my family judged it too bland, while I would say it’s a tiny bit too sweet. This might well be favoured by those who aren’t big fans of mämmi – yet. 😊 And such a container is very convenient when you don’t want a big portion and/or don’t want to buy mämmi and vanilla custard separately!

Self-imposed isolation, day 19

What was it I said in my previous post about not much happening to one in isolation? I’ll take that back.

When you live like a hermit, you look like a hermit. I haven’t much looked in the mirror in nearly three weeks. Nor should I, for one glance was quite horrifying. Mostly I’ve grown hairier. No moustache or beard yet, which is too bad – stroking your beard while looking all mysterious/devious/contemplative looks like so much fun, at least judging from how much my DH likes to engage in such behaviour. I am on my way to an impressive unibrow though! And while I never brush or comb my hair – simply running my fingers through it is sufficient – maybe I should do something about it before next I venture out, or the birds will mistake it for their nest.

I will not post pictures. Well, maybe something much cuter and even somewhat furrier.

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 18

A very uneventful day, so I’m sharing a pictures of traditional Finnish Easter treats. (Food - always a good topic. 😄)

Mämmi, which does not look particularly appetizing, is made of rye flour and malt and traditionally sweetened by a natural process of slow baking in a low temperature. It is typically eaten with cream or milk and sometimes sugar. I like mine with vanilla custard. Lots of custard.

And pasha, which is traditionally made of quark, cream, eggs and butter and flavoured with lemon, raisins and almonds. I make a somewhat lighter version with quark and whipped vanilla custard – and I have sometimes experimented with rum-soaked raisins. An excellent idea, definitely recommended!