Monday, July 11

I slept very soundly for about ten hours. When I woke I was having a dream about Auo in which “we” were all in a big hall, which seemed to be moving, and everyone was getting ready for school. Auo was laughing because she had all her clothes set up so she could pull them all on at once. She was giggling and telling me that she was not going to brush her hair because the teacher was going to forget her glasses. Arja, her babysitter was there, helping another child get dressed. Auo was telling me that we had to wait till the house stopped before we jumped out and got some normal transport, when I woke up smiling.

Naa left first for her first day back at school, and then Irma left for her first full week back at work. I got a mail from Tomas warning everyone that the staffroom has not yet been refurbished and that the only option is to work from home this week. I set up my laptop and started answering mail from students, staff and Steve Bronack, who is coming to Helsinki in October.

The weather this morning is cloudly and distinctly colder. I have promised to alternate between revising the draft of my thesis and painting the remaining window frames. As soon as my Arcada tasks are done I will begin to alternate. At the moment I am getting my phone charger and finding myself looking at the rearranged living room with the new (old) carpet. I am realising that I have not actually left the house since Thursday, except for a brief cycle ride on Saturday. An alternate hypothesis is that I have been all over Helsinki all weekend and now have amnesia.

I decide to begin with an hour’s reading, paint a first coat on the remaining windows, have a pizza for lunch, and do some writing, and then do the second coat. This should leave me with an evening for reading or finishing the painting, whichever seems most sensible.

In the end, Naa will arrive home from school just as I am about to cook the pizza, and will have half of it.