“After some thought I realized that the WC is the most public space in the home, even more so than the kitchen. But toilet supplies are the least inspiring things of any home. The guests may rarely see them, but if they are displayed in an untidy fashion, your reputation is ruined. This is why esthetics is essential especially when it comes to storing toilet supplies”.
Marie Kondo never fails to make me laugh – just before she slaps me with a new insight barely a second later.
(Helsinki, Finland; May 2017. Excerpt freely translated from the Finnish version of Spark Joy by Marie Kondo)
I try to educate myself. The cats do not share my priorities.
Whoever thought getting up was a good idea was wrong.
English bookstores will be the end of me. I think it runs in the family. Once my sister and I spent a week in London and lugged home 10 kilos of books. Another time she spent 3 hours in Heffers in Cambridge. I was not bored, either.
Nothing can beat the jokes between those who grew up together. And if laughter extends lifespan I can expect at least 10 years more after this night.
To those who will remember 2017 as another snow-less winter: here, from the archives of February month. And it was bitterly cold, too. Thank goodness it is April now.
Still a few long, dark months ahead. With climate change there is no consistent winter in Helsinki region anymore, has not been for quite some years. So one day I can go to the office in rain, wearing my rubber wellies, and walk back home in snow. Thank goodness I had the mind to slip on boot liner fleece socks or I’d have no toes left.
Item for item, I made a conscious decision to keep only those that spark joy. In reverse, during the past month I have sold, recycled, handed away, or thrown out every item that did not spark joy. Cassandra the cat had her own opinions, too – and they were mostly respected.
Coloring is good for a jet-lagged brain. Especially with my favorite souvenir from last summer: a box of Faber-Castell Polychromos, purchased from a lovely lady in a huge mall in Kuala Lumpur.
(Helsinki, Finland; September 2016)
Sometimes there are too many telephones, televisions (but none at my place), and people in the world. And too little flowers, dragonflies, and songbirds. And if one must work in July, what is better than to work in a summer house by the corner of a pea field? What is relaxing for humans is exciting for cats, so moving home and office into the countryside is never a bad choice.
This blue marble 