settling into christmas coziness

the other week i was in helsinki, having a dinner with my friend in Belge. we pondered which wine to have, enjoyed the food, then got up to leave around 9pm - after all we both had things the next day we needed to be in ok shape for. gathering our coats and finding our way out we passed the live band that was playing there, jazz if i remember correctly. and it was just all so...middle-aged. and it felt good. being fairly healthy, having a stable bank account to fulfill the basic needs on Maslow's hierarchy and then some, having good relationships and a job that we find okay... it's no small feat. it doesnt mean u cant still feel miserable or lost, but if you have these pieces together, then you probably have some power or ability to try and work on those feelings, and at least some support to hold on to (in the form of other people). this is sort of a dream come true. 

this year i got further into skincare (started last year proper). until then my skin was really just kind of fine on its own without much attention. the dryness just drove me to this point and now i have serums and moisturisers and even masks. the dry cold air in finland was extra hard. this year i also listened to a lot of finnish music (eg. Vesta, Lyyti). aside my usual reality tv shows i tried watching some acclaimed quality shows like The Bear, Severance and Pluribus. i listened to a lot of audio books, and even finished several. they included some finnish biographies, feminism and autofiction. on the podcast side i liked stories about people who pretend to be someone they are not, either for monetary gain or otherwise. there was some true crime too, like a story about a female teacher who was allegedly dating her 14-15yo students some 30 years ago. aside from the cancer scare in the spring and having like 4 colds this fall i was healthy.  at work i had some challenging new responsibilities and tasks but overall a good year. aside from summer i didnt really do holidays much, if at all... that i want to change going into 2026. just a long weekend here or there would be good.

 lunch yesterday as served by doctor. officially the first day of holiday.

in the tube. very eye-opening. 

we are missing christmas traditions. ive been fine with that, im not a big christmas person. maybe partly cos after early childhood there were not many traditions and then i left home and never developed any - not spending time with my relatives and sort of spending christmasses in different places in different ways. the years in turkey did not help, lol. anyway, one can always form and invent new things, and i was discussing with AI what those might be. still undecided. 

sometimes doctor buys me a little gift when hes out shopping. like a ginger shot or sushi. used to be energy drink but i started getting acid reflux and only drink those rarely now. today he went overboard, having visited the new M&S nearby. he got me the ginger shot, and then...a few other things, lol. it was nice to have something to nibble while i was working on my puzzle. 

and man this is such a hard puzzle, the amount and type of detail... however i enjoy this very much. all the while listening to a podcast about free diving and doping.