Category: Memes & Asks

Posted on
Jul 19, 2021

The Friday Five for July 16, 2021

Picture from Pixabay.

This was posted to the thefridayfive Livejournal community.

1. What sign marks the end of the summer for you?

It’s been 30+ years since I was in school, but I still feel that when the schools start in August the summer is over. No matter how many summery days we still have after, once the school starts, it’s over. I hated school so much that schools start=summer is over got wired in my brain and there’s been nothing to replace that since.

2. What plans, if any, do you have for the rest of the summer?

Right now I’m having trouble seeing past tomorrow – we’ve been in heatwave since like mid-May, and everything I can try and do is to survive that. I hate it, loath it. Weather forecasts say that tomorrow is the last heatwave day for now, but then again it has said that many times before so I’ll believe it when I’m living it. Until the heat goes back down to normal 20-24 Celcius (which is still a little too hot for me, but is pleasant in shade and I can still do things outside unlike now) and we get some good rains, I’m just hunkering down and surviving this horrible summer.

3. How would you describe your summer/winter so far – too hot, too cold, too wet, too buggy or what?

Summer and it’s been abysmally horrific. So hot I can barely breathe since about the middle of May.

4. Summer often means open windows and the sharing of conversations, music, games and so forth with everyone. What sort of neighbor are you? Loud or considerate?

A considerate one, I hope! During the day I don’t really care – there’s enough noise from neighbors and kids playing that my music/tv etc. can be on my normal (which isn’t ever booming loud) and it won’t be different from anybody elses. But at night I turn down the volume, in hopes that it won’t be too loud for others. I’ve never gotten complaints so I guess I’ve been doing okay.

5. Aside from spouses and pets, have you had any trouble with pests recently?

No spouse or pets, and this summer has been delightfully bug free! I suppose if somebody held a gun to my head and demanded I name something good about this ghastly summer, that would be the thing – that and strawberries.

Posted on
Jul 9, 2021

The Friday Five for 9 July 2021

Image from Pixabay. Because it’s pretty.

Answers to today’s questions at https://thefridayfive.dreamwidth.org/103077.html

1. What was your favorite past time in high school?

Well I only went to high school for three months before I dropped off (it was like peruskoulu/primary school (ages 7-15) which I loathed), and most of those months I was absent. But at that age my fave thing was talking about Star Trek and other scifi with my best friend. Favorite thing I did when I was alone though was reading, and it still is.

2. What is your all time favorite board game/card game?

I’m not interested in these and haven’t played in 30+ years. When I was a kid I remember we played as a family occasionally and it was fun enough, but I’ve no idea about the names of the games.

3. What is the last movie you saw at the theatre and what did you think of it?

I’m not sure… I think maybe The Queen? IMDB says it came out in 2007 here in Finland. I went to see it with my Mom – we’re both huge Helen Mirren fans! I liked it because Helen Mirren and she’s always awesome.

4. What is something (no matter what kind of mood you’re in) that makes you happy the moment you do it, see it, or hear it?

Do – painting, and bookbinding, or when I’m writing and get into the zone. See – our Beagle when she was alive, all worries fell off me the moment I saw her, she was always so happy to see me. It was just a total mutual love fest 😀 I still get happy whenever I see a Beagle when I’m out and about. Hear – certain music: my favorite tracks from The Piano and The Last Of The Mohicans soundtracks, pitter patter of rain outside.

5. Do you believe that crop circles are made by human or alien?

I want to believe they’re alien, but I don’t think I can bring myself to fully believe that.

Posted on
Jun 25, 2021

The Friday Five for 25 June 2021: Summer things

Picture from Pixabay

Answers to today’s questions at thefridayfive @ Dreamwith.

1) What’s your favorite dish to bring to a summer cookout?

I/we love fresh strawberries and real whipped cream, so I bake something and fill/decorate with strawberries and real whipped cream, or don’t bake at all and just bring them as-is, that’s delicious too! I might also bring chicked fillets for grilling.

2) How much time have you spent outdoors this week?

I’ve only been outside when I’ve run errands and needed to wait for the bus, or did quick runs outside like taking out the trash. I’ve no idea how much that amounts to… propably 30 mins or so. It’s been a too hot for me.

3) Where do you set your thermostat?

Is that to do with adjustable inbuilt air conditioning? That’s not a thing in Finnish homes. Most homes don’t have adjustable air conditioning. If we have air conditioning it’s later added as needed and usually movable – a fan (xx euros), portable air condition device (XXX euros), or in the last 10 years, a heat pump that’s mounter on the wall with another piece outside (XXXX euros, can cool in the summer and also warm in the winter but these aren’t allowed in all apartment buildings, or are allowed with such strict limitations that it isn’t cost efficient). With hot summers getting to the norm, looks like, I can only hope that adjustable air conditioning will slowly become the default in building new homes going forward.

In the winter, I try to set the domestic radiator so that it’s about 20-21 degrees Celsius inside.

4) How did you learn to swim?

My Mom and Dad… I’ve known how to swim as far back as I can remember, and I’ve always loved swimming. We used to go swimming every week, and camping every summer where the camp had it’s own beach by the sea, just a minute or two walk away. We did all this right since I was born – long before school, and I was a really good swimmer by the time school started. I used to love going swimming with my class because I didn’t have to partake in the lessons after the inital test (I was too advanced for them) and could just swim as I liked, it was like an extra fun time to me! And I was allowed to the adult pool where I normally swam long before most of my classmates. There were one or two good swimmers in addition to me, so it wasn’t common to know how to swim well at that age in my school, or class at least.

5) How do you avoid overheating?

By staying our of the sun! I hate being in sun and the brightness is also too much for my migraine, so indoors it is. I try to avoid using the oven, at least during the day but even so, it’s gets hot inside.

To avoid overheating myself indoors – I point my fan where I am (usually my couch, and my bed at night), and I drink a lot of water/mineral water/juice mixture with salt, sugar and baking soda added in…. I got that recipe from the hospital because I have chronic diarrhea (joys of Crohn’s Disease) and so have to watch out for dehydration even in the winter but most especially in hot weather. I also drench towels in ice cold water and wipe my arms and legs down because it feels so good for several minutes. I can take a shower in lukewarm water but don’t really dry off and instead stay naked and preferably in front of my fan until I’m mostly dry because that feels lovely as well! And of course I also eat a lot of ice cream, ice scream/milk shakes and mehujää… dictionary says ice lolly? ice pop? It’s juice that’s frozen in sticks.

But I mostly just endure summer and wait for the autumn.

 

Posted on
Jun 11, 2021

The Friday Five for 11 June 2021

Picture from Pixabay

Answers to today’s The Friday Five @ Dreamwidth.

1) What is the best book you’ve read?

I can’t name just one… ’cause there isn’t just one. It depends on my mood and what I’m into currently, and what genre we’re talking about. I have many favorites, but not “the best” and even faves are likely change depending on what genre I’ve been reading recently.

2) What is the worst book you’ve read?

This one particular Harlequin romance… I can’t remember its name or the author, but it’s the only book I’ve ever put in the trash after I read it. The heroine was so stupid that I ended up wondering how the hero managed to fall in love with her, instead of strangling her for her incredible stupidity, or at least leaving in disgust. It’s been been at least ten years since I read it, propably closer to 15, and I’ve since regretted that I threw it away – it was so bad, I should have enshrined it instead!

3) What is a favourite book from childhood?

I don’t know it’s the favorite but certainly one of them… Watchers by Dean R. Koontz. It was the first Koontz book I ever read. My Dad read it first (he was already sick at this point, so he’d started reading to pass the time – before he didn’t read that much), he liked it so much he said I should read it too (I’ve always loved reading and read a lot even as a kid), and then I loved it so much I told Mom she should read it as well. That memory is what makes that book special to me. We read a lot of Koontz’s books after that, and I still do even though new ones aren’t as good as the old ones.

Another favorite, for the story, is A Princess Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I love the whole Barsoom series but this one is my favorite one of all of them. Another favorite series is The Famous Five by Enid Blyton, but I haven’t re-read those since I was a teenager and I can’t remember if I had a particular favorite.

4) What is a favourite book from adulthood?

Oh so many! Lightning by Dean R. Koontz is one I’m very fond of. Time travel, alternate timelines and dramatic mysteries, oh my!

Mostly my faves tend to be book series though, for some reason! I really appreciate the Palme Trilogy by Leif G.W. Persson – I keep seeing something new everytime I read it and the humor still makes me giggle even after rereading them like 3 times – and the original Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. A more recent favorite is The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey.

I also love the Marianne book series by Juliette Benzoni. It’s my favorite historical romance series.

5) What is a book you’ve read a number of times?

I reread a lot! Chances are, if I really like it, I’ll reread it! As an example, I reread the Barsoom series about every five years, and when I was a kid/teenager I reread them every year. I’ve read the early Dean R. Koontz novels (Watchers, Whispers, Lightning, Phantoms… ) something like 10 times (and even many of the later ones a few times), and love them as much as ever every time. Currently I’m looking forward to rereading The Expanse series – but I want to read the last book first, which should come out later this year if I remember correctly.

Posted on
Jun 4, 2021

The friday 5: May 28 2021

Beagle because we had a beagle and she’s been on my mind a lot lately. I love beagles! Pic from Pixabay.

I’m bored so have answers to last week’s The Friday Five questions!

1) What are you doing this spring that you weren’t doing 1 year ago?

Umm… nothing? I think. Well, I think I’m not as worried about COVID-19, or rather the worry has changed shape into trying to accept that it’s going to be with us at least for at least the foreseeable future, kind of like having flu vaccines every year.

2) What pandemic precautions are you still taking?

Out and about, and with strangers: all of them so washing hands, social distancing, wearing face masks, no parties visits.

With family/friends: if we’re both *completely* vaccinated and I trust them not the be careless out and about, and they have to be spend time with people they don’t know about (customer service jobs , schools etc.), we visit each other indoors but try to keep some sort of distance so no hugging or touching, no more than 2-3 persons visiting at the same time. And we still wash hands entering/leaving homes. Otherwise if the other person isn’t completely vaccinated yet or sees people who aren’t/can’t be sure about, we see each other outside with masks on and taking the usual precautions.

3) What’s a safety rule that’s very important to you?

Washing/disinfecting hands! I’ve noticed that since the masks because practically required in busses and shops and so people started wearing them routinely, they also stopped washing/disinfecting their hands 🙁

4) What plants are blooming where you live?

No idea! I only know that they are pretty but when asked to name them, I can’t think of any/remember names. I’m not a plant person. I just notice “Ooh! That’s nice and green and lush! Oh that’s a pretty flower!”

5) What was your most memorable summer job?

I’ve only had one summer job that wasn’t my occupation which is a librarian. It was in 1993 and it was inspecting buying invoices in a grocery store chain HQ. That meant inspecting that the chain stores hadn’t ordered anything they weren’t allowed to, and if they had reading them the riot act if they had. No matter what the reason was – usually because the usual allowed product had been unavailable, and they had had to order something outside the allowed list to replace it because customers needed to be able to buy them anyway. I guess I remember it so well because it’s so different from what I did as a librarian in the years after.