Thanks, everyone!

I'm not doing anything special to celebrate my birthday today, but on the weekend we are going to do something nice. Nothing big though- after the wedding * 2, I think I'm done with big parties for a while.

Bats: There are several species of bats living in Finland, but most of them are forest creatures. The Bat Society has just one shelter design that is suitable for all species likely to live near people. I have never managed to see a bat, so I hope we manage to lure a few to our garden! Of course, I also hope that they enjoy many of mosquito and bug meals!
  I think bats look cute, though having them suddenly flying out of the darkness can be scary. But, I think I'd enjoy of having them around, even if they made me jump and squeal every now and then.

Sakina: Yes, I think this kind of earrings are becoming more popular. In theory at least, if you stretch your piercings just a little, they should shrink back if you stop wearing gauged earrings. But of course, that is not absolutely guaranteed so it's good to think carefully. In my case, decision was easy make: I wasn't enjoying my regular piercings so the situation could only get better.

Today, I visited in my workroom and library, and gathered a big load of literature. Now, I can spend the rest of the week and a big part of next week comfortably at home, reading and writing. My hair was quite dirty already in the morning, so I just put it up in a nice bun with 3-tone Ficcare I found from the depths of my hairtoy cupboard. I'm going to wash it right when I have finished posting this, as now that it's evening it has gone from just dirty to mildly hideous at roots. I don't know how warm headgear seems to make dirty hair exponentially worse, but it sure seems like that. I'm so glad that nowadays my hair is long enough for bunning. I have mercifully forgotten how I dealt with it in winter when I was in the mushroom stage. Probably it's just good that I don't have photo evidence of that.
    Ear is still doing fine- it obviously couldn't care less of the bigger jewelry. I visited a local piercing jewelry store, and bought a bigger round barbell (well, two of them as well as two pretty little bone spirals). I'm glad they sell jewelry in single pieces and that I'm stretching just one lobe... I have to say- the round barbell doesn't look nearly as bad as I thought it would. The 16 g one was actually quite pretty, and this 14 g barbell I'm wearing now is totally ok too. A bit pirate-ish (maybe that's good... ). I like how it looks subtly but clearly thicker than an ordinary earring. That's just cool. I think I'm not going to get too bored before I can update to 12 g and can order all the cool Little Seven jewelry I want to.

I still feel a bit strange thinking that I'm 30 now. Everyone knows that married people in 30's have practically one foot in the grave already and that singles are desperate of having one foot in the grave and facing that alone. People in their 30's also have developed a keen interest for Tupperware parties and wear tasteful clothes instead of funky ones. Life has already made them more or less cynical, and they are half-secretly spending money to their first anti-aging creams. Of course, there are always some who try to resist this sad fate, and they usually end up hanging in bars, complaining how people can possibly see that they are not 20 anymore (well, for starters, anyone who uses the word "possibly" fluently in speech can't be 20). Everyone pities them, especially young things who don't yet see that they are just two steps away from that fate themselves.
     But I...I will diminish, go west and remain Galadriel. In case you wonder, "diminishing", means that I will lose a little weight. I hope.

Lol, I hope none of you took my previous entry seriously- what I said about being 30 was along the lines I secretly thought when I entered 20's. Funnily enough, I never thought that being over 40 or even 50 was nearly as bad as people whom I knew in those age groups seemed happy and energic- it was just 30 that seemed to be the end of the life, possibly to be followed by a resurrection in 10 or so years if there was any luck...

On a bit more serious note, I have noticed something strange going on among the people of my age for some time now. Late 20's or early 30's seem to be for many people the time when they loose the last remnants of innocence and wonder, when they give up dreams and start talking about "realities" of life as if those things are all there is. I have somehow managed to avoid that so far- I hope I will continue to succeed, because to me it seems that there can not be much worse fate than losing the sense of wonder before the world and burying one's inner child in silence.

After these ponderings, it's perhaps good to turn to a more light hearted topic, namely my hair.  To my slight disappointment I didn't gain any gray hairs overnight (as you might remember, I am quite eagerly waiting to gain a few dignified-looking silvery strands among the golden tones). I did, however, gain a pair of very cute rabbit hairsticks just in time, and have enjoyed playing with them.
   An LHC member had had good results with using CV's Chocolate Almond soap as a shampoo bar. That is one of my favorite bars, and since it's winter, it might be worth trying. If I don't do a deep treatment on Saturday, I might try that.

Country Living: One of the niceties of winter is, that you really notice what kind of wildlife visits your realm. In summer, birds and small animals hide among the green, but freshly fallen snow is like a guestbook onto which every being leaves its signature. For example, yesterday we found squirrel tracks to our great delight. Especially T likes squirrels, and so he was a bit disappointed when we didn't see a single one around before the snow came.  So, we were happy to notice that they are around (well, at least one of them), just not visible.  Maybe we should buy some peanuts...
   

It's late, so just a quick update.

Today's been a very productive day for me. I felt no traces of flu in the morning, so I also did a good exercise. I think my development has taken a step backwards as I haven't been able to exercise as much as I have used to. But, hopefully the flu is now really gone and I can get back on track. It's not too long until the spring comes...
    After the exercise, I jumped into the shower and rinsed my hair as usually- only to realize soon, that I was supposed to go to shop groceries before lunchtime. Today was a cold day, so that was a problem. In the end, I decided not to wait until my hair was dry, but I bunned it well and wore a wool cap and a hooded jacket. It went ok, though I was glad that the grocery store is just two blocks away. Frozen hair is no fun. It looks like this week is going to be a cold one, and if I manage to keep to my exercise program, this is something that I need to keep in mind.

Trisha: In order to protect my privacy and relative anonymity (the world can be a small place!) I don't wish to discuss the details of my work on a public board. Basically, I am developing a new approach to environmental ethics (the branch of philosophical ethics that discusses the relationship between humans and animals, environment, and other lifeforms). In other words, the main goal of my work is develop a framework that can be used to discuss and answer many interesting and often controversial questions like "How should humans treat animals?", "Can we exploit nature in whatever way we please or are there some moral rules/principles that we ought to observe?", "Do chimpanzees have more rights than fish?", and of course the ever-popular "Should we all become vegetarians?"
If you wish to know more about my work, I am happy to discuss it via pm's.  

Today has been another busy and productive day here in The Place of Joy (that's roughly how our property's name is translated in English!). I have quickly sewed together some semblance of a scientific article, carried unbelievable amount of bird food to our "guests" at the garden, and on top of everything tried to arrange work issues. Or rather, issues that face me when my grant is gone. I am sure everything will work out, I just need to be patient and do my best.
   I received a notification from the Customs- my dresses have arrived there. That reminded me to share with you the news that my "no pants" experiment has succeeded better than I dared to hope. Not only have I managed to survive without touching my "everyday" pants, but it has also been more a relief than a new burden. Getting dressed in the morning is simpler and easier, and I also seem to have got rid of the need to change clothes during the day. My skirts are totally suitable for a long day away at work, and comfortable enough for spending free time.
And to top it everything, I like my appearance better. Even on home days, I don't keep catching glimpses in the mirror portraying me in old sweatpants and messy hair.   When I dress in a skirt, I can look only neat and nice -to the extent, that I can't even stand leaving my hair in a lazy ponytail for half the day. When I get dressed, I also put my hair up promptly. I'm not sure if this little improvement can wholly be appreciated by someone who hasn't ever worked from home, but those of you who have done it- isn't it wonderful?! So, I am happily continuing this experiment to other seasons.

Hair: I did this week's second exercise in the morning so now it's out of the way. Since I managed to work out earlier than yesterday, my hair was also in better shape when it was time to go out. I'm improving!

It is hard to remember! This is such a cozy little corner of the web with just a few regular posters.  Anyway, I will drop you an email. I have no problem of discussing my work with friends and colleagues. I think it would be impossible to develop new thoughts all alone. Critical comments as well as encouragement are so important. Unlike many empiricists, I'm not much worried of that someone would "steal" my thoughts or research. It sounds easy, but, in practice it would be extremely difficult if not impossible. Professionals know that, and amateurs could not do it, so in that regard I feel quite safe.

I received the dressed I had ordered the day before yesterday, so the jury is out now! My first impression is, that these dresses are great. They are comfortable to wear, so versatile that they can be worn from morning until late evening no matter what I am up to during the day, and I think they look cute too (so does T, by the way).
   The downsides: though the design is about as simple as it can get, dresses in general just are more feminine clothing than I am used to wearing. While there is nothing particularly eye-catching about them, they are also just the kind of clothing you just don't see anywhere, so they also make me feel a bit self-conscious.
    At the moment, however, the rating is on the positive side: these dresses meet all the goals I set to them beautifully, and these "downsides" might just exist in between my ears. I will continue wearing them for a while to see, if I can get totally comfortable. If I can't, I'm sure there are some adjustments I can make.
    In general, I feel that I am finally getting somewhere in solving my problems in this area. I've heard so many people whining "but even if you wanted to, you can't really dress ethically because you can't trace the sources of your clothing/even designer clothes can be made in sweatshops etc. etc." It seems, that once one just sets her mind into obtaining an ethical dress, it is indeed possible to be ethical to a great extent. It is true, that tracing the origins of fabrics remains a problem, BUT, it is just one problem, just one out of the ten or so problems I had in the start.

Frugality: I might just as well stay in the general topic of New Year's promises for another moment. In general, my ways are not that bad, but there is always room for improvement. So, I have decided to start looking for new recipes again. I'm looking for innovative recipes that make good use of cheap ingredients. It is interesting, that in meat department, "cheap" often translates as "less popular" part of an animal. Currently, I think that it would be right to pay some attention to these parts just for ethical reasons- adopting these less popular parts as a part of diet means that we also see to that no part of the animal is wasted. Ethical shopping can also be frugal. Another connection between frugality and ethical is of course trying to use seasonal products. It is true, that in these days no products are truly seasonal- everything from strawberries to fresh herbs is available at every time of the year. But there is a huge difference in prices. During Finnish winter, of course, nearly all fresh vegetables are expensive- except things like cabbages, carrots and onions. As a part of my recipe search, I am now trying to find recipes that use these ingredients.

Hair & Ear: You thought I would never get to a light-hearted mood, didn't you?  Well, today is washing day. My hair is dirty and soft like silk. I'm wearing it now in a bun with my 3-tone lavender Ficcare that goes perfectly with the dark violet dress I am wearing. Buns still look good with dresses, and as the dresses are so simple, they also make a nice background to pretty hair accessories. 
   My stretched ear is behaving well. I thought that the stretching would make the hole slit-like, like old women's earlobes are. But no! The hole is nice and round, and I probably could not tell it's any bigger than the hole in my other ear if I didn't know. I am still debating, whether I want to stretch to 12 or 10 g. I need to decide before I order my next ear jewelry, as most of the designs I want are available in both gauges and it would be a waste of money to order everything in 12 g if I am going to 10. I just hope someone on LHC will post pictures of their 10 g jewelry...