Tag: sweets

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 20

MiaLeave a comment
Christmas balls, stars and light part 20
Made with Canva

Day 20

It’s four days until Christmas Eve; tomorrow, it’s the Winter Solstice. This means the days will become longer, and the darkness will slowly disappear. This Christmas, there won’t be snow in Southern Finland. It’s a shame because snow makes it lighter. Now it’s boring, and it doesn’t feel like a holiday at all. There won’t be snow in the place where I’m spending my Christmas time, so it doesn’t matter. Most of the time, I’m on a ship; what matters most is that there is no storm on the open sea. Eating and a rocking cruise ship are not a good combination. Screen name; Been there, done that.

Christmas Eve in Finland is when you eat Christmas dishes and open presents (if you have any). I don’t really care about the dishes, so I don’t bother doing them myself. I’m going on a cruise, so I don’t need to. I only eat one or two slices of baked ham, rutabaga casserole (but only if I made it myself), salted herring and salmon. Those are the most common Finnish dishes on Christmas. I’m more into sweet things like gingerbread cookies, pinecone-shaped cake, chocolates and Christmas pastries. Even as a kid, I couldn’t wait for dinner to be over so we could move to the desserts. I usually bake Christmas pastries with plum jam from ready-made dough, but I think it wastes time since I’m alone. They get mouldy before I have time to eat them. Even when Dad was around, they still didn’t last. Store-bought pastries don’t taste the same.

It’s good that the days will be longer and the darkness will come later. In Finland, it gets darker at 3:30 p.m. and lighter at about 9:30 a.m. And that’s in the South of Finland. Imagine how it is up north at this time. But when the Winter Solstice arrives, things will become nicer again. Christmas doesn’t only mean the end of 2024 is near but also that the spirit will rise, and it’s time to relax (for those who can).

A trophy for my efforts

MiaLeave a comment
a trophy and stars
Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com

The reasons why I should get a trophy for my efforts.

On June 2, I turned one year older than last year. That means I’m one step closer to death, but hopefully, I won’t die in many years. I went on a cruise to Stockholm alone for the first time ever. Before, I went with my parents and on class trips. Of course, I travelled alone inside the country. This was the first time I was alone abroad. It was only a cruise, but that’s a start. I stayed on the ship for 23 hours. It was kind of lonely since Finns don’t talk to strangers. But I didn’t need to go through the hassle that I went with my dad. He always wanted to sit and drink beer. But at least then, I had company. A good thing about travelling alone is you can go as you please. If I was tired, I would go to bed. I did that without telling another person if I wanted to sit on deck and read a book. On the cruise, there were a lot of families, so there weren’t young party people. It’s calmer to be on board when there aren’t drunk people there. In general, there weren’t many people on the cruise, which was nice. You didn’t need to queue anywhere. It’s been a heatwave in Finland, so sitting on deck with the wind blowing was nice. The best part of a 23-hour cruise is the buffer and tax-free shopping. I only buy sweets/candy because I don’t like alcohol, and I don’t smoke. Unlike some people in Finland.

For some people, unemployment brings them down or being single. It brings me freedom and confidence that things will get better. The only time I get depressed is when I’m forced to do things I don’t want to do. I’m selective, and I’m not ashamed of it. I don’t go for the 2nd best as Madonna sings in Express Yourself. It’s better to be alone than socialise with the wrong people. I have had enough of those when I was younger. Life is too short to have toxic people in your life.

I should get a trophy for tolerating people in the first place. I don’t need to get it from others because I can get it alone. Treat yourself with a trophy of your choice once in a while. I will award myself with sweets/candy that I bought from the cruise ship. I have always had a sweet tooth, no matter how I feel.

Sharing is caring unless it’s chocolate

MiaLeave a comment
block of chocolates
Photo: Pixabay

I don’t mind sharing things, but one thing I don’t share is chocolate. I might give you a taste, but that’s about it. I rather not buy you either. If you have money, you might as well pay for it yourself. Unless it’s Christmas, then I might buy it. I eat chocolate because it tastes good. I never eat anything if I’m sad. I eat all kinds of chocolates. But I don’t eat white (it’s not even real chocolate) nor chilly flavoured chocolate. The latter is too strong for my taste. Dark chocolate is the best. It’s also healthiest according to studies.

If there is chocolate cake to offer, I’ll take it. Sometimes I use real chocolate in baking. Eating too much chocolate, though makes you feel nauseous. Eating sweets without drinking something makes you feel ill. Too much of anything is always too much. Some people stop eating sweets altogether. Those people are weird. Unless you have diabetes. Then that’s different. I could never do it. Life is about enjoying yourself and eating sweets or chocolate in this case, is life. So if you want chocolate, eat it. Don’t let other people tell you otherwise. (Takes another bite of chocolate)