Tuesday, November 8

 

 

I woke up at 6:50 and I could see snow falling steadily. A few minutes later I crept out of bed and looked out of the window at the garden. The paths I had made last night had disappeared. I got dressed and went outside, pushing the door open to free it from the snow.

The position of our house means that snow blows into it and settles in drifts. As I walked to the shed the snow was sometimes halfway up my calves. I started snowblading and finished at about 8:20, as snow fell all around me. Tommi appeared and shovelled snow for fifteen minutes before he could get his car out of his drive, and I saw a couple of people in Vartiokyläntie trudging up and down with their snowblades.

As I ate breakfast Irma told me that snow had never settled properly this early in November before. She also pointed out that the weather forecast said that it will snow for the next ten days, with only one day break. I prepared myself for a week of outdoor gym once or twice a day.

I decide to get the bus from Sörnäinen because the queue for the tram looks suspiciously large. I turn round and look at the scene, and everything is white and grey. The snowploughs have not been round yet, the snow is falling heavily, and the roads and pavements are covered with a white blanket. This will only last a short while and so I photograph it. I will notice how uniformly grey the sky is, and how the buildings stand out like cardboard cut-outs.

I will get to work to find the office very quiet indeed.