Congratulations!  How exciting that you were invited.    You have obviously made a very good impression on some very influential people.

Christmas just seemed to fly past us, and now we are busy getting ready for New Year, for wedding party and for my conference trip. On top of everything, the flu we've had for a while now has made some comebacks. Wet and cold weather doesn't probably help. Now I just hope I will be well by the end of next week when I will have to leave.

Hair: Just before Christmas, I received a soap and shampoo bar shipment from Chagrin Valley. I feel that I just need to give some special kudos to Orange Creamsicle soap- it's divine! Chocolate Orange soap has temporarily disappeared from selections, but I think this new one will make the wait more than tolerable.  If you are Ida's customer- try it!
I think my hair has grown since the trim- sometimes I feel the ends tickle my back way below BS! Otherwise, I am still neglecting it. I am planning to do a dusting soon, right when I find my dusting scissors. As far as styles go, there's nothing new: plain buns with various hairtoys are still my favorites for the daytime, and for the nighttime I haven't yet decided a new favorite style. Everything I try seems to be difficult one way or another.

Craft projects: I have sewn my second apron, a white apron for baking. It turned out well -I'm definitely getting hang of this sewing thing, and am even enjoying it! Being able to work at my own pace, at the peace of my sewing corner seems to make all the difference. My seams are not perfectly straight yet, but otherwise my work is neat. My biggest difficulty at the moment is finding fabric. Many fabric stores in Helsinki have closed during the past decade, and the few left sell mostly curtain and interior decorating fabrics (is that the right term?). There are a couple of stores at Lohja, but they are very small. And everywhere, clothing fabric sections are full of fancy fabrics for things like evening gowns and wedding gowns. So, plain fabrics good for sewing simple everyday clothes are the hardest to find! I have now located a couple internet stores where the prices are so good that it is reasonable to buy from there- I just need to make sure that I buy enough for several projects so the shipping costs per yard become low. Neverthless, I am glad I decided to learn to sew -homemade clothes are simply great, and I know that as I keep on learning, they will become even better.
I also finished crocheting the kitchen curtain that I have been working with almost since we moved in here. It wasn't a big project, but it has been a secondary project all the time and therefore it has progressed slowly.

Country Living: Lumi went to see a vet for the first time in her life. It was just a check, and went very well. We talked about neutering operation, and decided that the best time to perform it would be in late April or early May unless no big difficulties (like false pregnancies) develop.

I am going to start a new journal again in the beginning of year 2007 and am now in the process of thinking a good name for it. Haven't come up with anything good yet though.