Where is he going and where coming from?

Another image of misty beauty

Magical Mist

This was today, in the morning and early afternoon.

I have been complaining about November, and never would I have thought to see this kind of a November day. It was both sunny and misty, which gave the air a silvery, soft gleam. But when I got to the bay I saw the most amazing, white mist above the water, flowing and swirling, like straight from the world of myth. It was gone after 1 pm and the sun didn't stay much longer.

Two November moods

Monday, November 9th

Wednesday, November 11th

It's quite amazing how the mood can change from one day to another, and all that is needed is a bit of sun. But, for some weird reason I also like the mood of the first picture, melancholy as it is. Maybe it's something to do with Finnish mentality? Generally speaking, though, I wouldn't mind if the year skipped straight from early October to the late January or so.

Having quite a lovely weekend: it was my elder nephew's 10th birthday, so I went with my parents who have been visiting. Also present were, in addition to the whole of my brother's family of course, my sister and her boyfriend, my sister-in-law's brother and his wife. The food was wonderful, as is always the case with the stuff prepared by my sister-in-law, and lively time was had with a house full of people (one of whom is a highly energetic almost-5-year-old). My elder nephew is very much a rock guy, so I got him a t-shirt of his favourite band and also a wall flag. They seemed to be to his liking.

November Mist

A lonely flight under the moon

My favourite among the photos that I took the other night when I managed to drop one of my lenses in the water - my favourite, that is, among the pictures I have gone through and edited so far.

(By the way, in my browser, at least, the small picture looks odd - like it was heavily compressed. So if you have the same problem, be sure to open it in larger size in a different window).

Just a randomly chosen picture. This dog was definitely seeing to his siesta. This was on the walkway that goes around the Acropolis and is for a good section barred from cars. I was wondering because I kept seeing lots of dogs running around free, all with tagged collars. I don't think Athenian owners would let their pets run free in the city, as that would be too dangerous, so I'm pretty sure the authorities have collared and tagged the stray dogs to be able to monitor them.

I'm a bit under the weather unfortunately. Yesterday I had a fever of 38 C. After resting for most of yesterday - reading Minister Jim Hacker's diaries from Yes, Minister - and after a good night's sleep the fever was gone in the morning, but I'll have to see what happens today. I'm very annoyed about the timing because just on wednesday I bought a ticket for a concert which would be this evening. Only 10 euros so financially not a great loss, but I'm a big fan of the artist, a Finnish singer-songwriter called Jarkko Martikainen who is one of the best lyricists in the country. Fingers crossed that I'll feel well enough to go in the evening.

Gentle beauty

Here's an image of delicate beauty. This is from the National Gardens in Athens.

My trip to Athens took a slight negative turn towards the end: my wallet was stolen last thursday; the thief got two credit cards and some cash. The old story: a rush hour crowded bus and a moment of carelessness on my part. I was alright money-wise though, since my brother sent some money via Western Union. It's easy enough to get new credit cards, just takes some time to wait. It is very annoying though. Despite this my trip was very successful: the Blegen Library is absolutely brilliant and I got lots of work done; I saw quite a lot of things; and the hostel of the Finnish Institute is really homely and comfortable. In the end, though, I must admit that I don't like modern Athens very much, one of the problems being the pollution. For those travelling to Greece I might actually recommend primarily staying somewhere outside of Athens and making day trips to the city for the sights.

Now that I'm home I'm enjoying the clean air, even though it is cold. However, I was not spared from further misfortune - one that I can only blame myself for: I was out there by the pier earlier today, photographing the magnificent moon. Standing just by the water, I began to change lenses, mittens in hands (because it was cold). As I was doing that, I thought to myself: "Better be careful so the lens doesn't fall into the water." And just then, the lens I was detaching from the camera slipped from my hands and plop fell into the murky depths. At least it was just the cheap kit lens which wasn't very good. But d'oh indeed. Had I but stood my back towards the water, the lens would have rolled away from it. Well, then again, in that case the lens might rolled into the street and been driven over by a car.