Christmas letters

Another week has passed, and I've still enjoyed this new lifestyle. I've always been an avid reader (ever since childhood - our parents read a lot to us, and I learned how to myself already when I was 3!), but after youth it's been difficult to find enough time to read books. When I was in University, I felt "reading-tired" after so much academical non-fiction, and preferred newspapers and magazines (and telly) when I had some time to myself. Working in an office full-time, and especially after I had Juudit, I just felt there was never enough time and I lacked the energy to pick up a book. It's easy to sort of grow out of the habit.

Of course there were some holidays etc. when I would read a couple of novels, but not as much and often as I used to. Working in publishing meant I had to "read for living" occasionally, but as I did mostly PR and foreign rights, it wasn't all that regular.

Now it's a different story. I write book reviews and other literature stories for magazines and websites, and I study Finnish literature in Open University. I also recommend books sometimes in the couple of "work blogs" I have, and I read foreign books and manuscripts for my old colleagues (editors) to let them know if I think they might be worth publishing. All this means I need to read at least a couple of books every week. Mostly novels, but some non-fiction and poetry, too. Many of my working days consist of just sitting in a café or at home reading a book. Not too bad, eh? *grin*

This week I was also supposed to do some Christmas preparations, but so far I haven't had the time. Today I'm going to buy paper and envelopes for Christmas letters, and over the weekend I'll put together the letters with some photos of our family attached (and an ultrasound shot of Bumpie) and print them out, as they have to be sent on Monday, if you want to use the cheaper Christmas stamps. And I do. :) Before this year I have sent just cards, sometimes ready-made and sometimes self-made, but I've liked the idea of Christmas letters for a long time, and decided this could finally be the time for them. They're not common in Finland, but recently some people have started to write them here, too. Many people I tend to send Christmas cards to are very old friends or distant relatives that I don't talk much to anymore - if at all. So I think it's a nice idea to let them know how we are and what we have been up to this year. Personally I'd love to have Christmas letters from everyone else, too!

Other than that I really need to make gift lists and start purchasing the presents. We also have to make travel plans for Christmas (to see my family that lives several hours away), and decide what food presents to cook and give out this year. Cakes, jam, mustard... I don't know yet, but I know it will be a difficult decision. :) Tomorrow I'm going to see my hairdresser, yay, and probably one of my girlfriends after that. On Sunday we're taking Juudit to this "Christmas path adventure" they have on Seurasaari, an open-air museum.

One more thing: Right after I talked about my difficult past life memories regarding mother-son relationships and losing sons, I had a very pleasant PL experience involving a son. Woo-hoo! I guess my sub-conscious thought I really needed one right now... ;) It was a whole new lifetime to me (I mean I hadn't remembered any of it previously) and it seemed to be one of those very easy and happy lifetimes that are apparently pretty few and far in-between. I've done some validation on my own and with the help of friends, but I'm still not sure of the era or the exact region. I know it was a long time ago and in Asia/Middle East, but during the regression I didn't get a date, and geographically I got first Persia, then India and later also Babylonia. Persia and India used to be neighbouring countries, and one Indian-born friend actually said it all sounded a lot like Rajasthan, the area that used to border Persia. I've always known I have a connection there, but I thought it was because of one 1800's English life, when my uncle lived in Rajasthan, and as a child I used to spend some time there, and became good friends with his Sikh guard and the guard's son.

But I don't know why Babylonia came through loud and clear. If I was forced to guess, I'd say I had Babylonian (Jewish?) heritage, but my husband was a Hindu Indian. I just read today that Persia conquered Babylonia at one point of history, so maybe I lived in Persia with my Babylonian roots, and my Indian husband married a woman from a neighbouring country for one reason or the other. I don't know for sure, but I can't wait to do another regression and/or some more research to find out!

This entry is long enough like this without the details of my experience, but maybe I'll share them later. Now I think I need to do this poetry assignment for my Open University course before I go to buy the materials for my Christmas letters and then to pick up Juudit from her nanny. We're borrowing Karlo's parents' car today and Karlo will drive us home, so we're escaping the long buggy ride, the tram and the bus. What a nice way to start a weekend. :)

Have a good weekend, everybody (I know I have a couple of readers, even if you never comment, lol) (btw you're welcome to comment in Finnish, too)!