one trying to please other people, I believe, so even when I'm in the middle of a most secret money-counting process and all of a sudden hear a knock on the window(?) I wake up. Well, silly me!, we don't get window washers and birds don't land on the window ledge unless there's some edible looking stuff out there, so the knock must have been on the wall separating us from our neighbors. I try to pretend nothing happened and get back to the money-counting but the neighbors play music and bounce around (seems to be the time of their monthly party of which there was no trace eight hours earlier. when would you start your parties?). The music is not loud - we have great walls in this apartment - but there also seems to be a bunch of people in a festive mood standing in the street, in front of our house, and its no longer dark outside. (For my own record and future reference if needed: Yes!!, the days are short and gloomy only in December and January. Starting at least the second week of February it is possible to wake up before the sun and to get home from work in daylight. Mike and I are both wishing for spring, though. Should I not have jotted down that last line?)
Yesterday was Valentine's day. I don't think a lot of teddy bears get bought for the occasion but flowers for sure, and chocolate. The day is called Friend's day so friendship more widely rather than just that one special person is appreciated/celebrated which I think is a pretty good idea. We went out to eat in Nuffle's favorite Italian place, just around two corners. I think I remember how on those two years that it didn't snowstorm in Fred it was recommended to make reservations for Valentine's dinner and I was wondering myself how it would be in the old town here. I know there were talks recently about several restaurants being for sale and I often walk by an establishment "temporarily" closed. Sometimes I walk by restaurants that are open; the only ones that always seem to have clients in them are Mickey D's and another fast hamburger joint from up North. Turned out we weren't the only customers in the ristorante, and it wasn't packed, either. Well, perhaps a little at the end when an eightsome of friends showed up to claim their reserved table.
Earlier in the day I was riding around town and noticed letter-size yellow posters taped onto apartment windows. ( I was riding around town, but through parts of it so I can't tell how many of those posters there really were, plus, it might be the beginning, still.) Anyway, these were the same leaflets we found in our mailbox on Friday. It's bright yellow, has " I heart City Center (or another district)" on one side and a call for fighting for the survival of the City Center/ another municipal district on the other side. You see, one of the local parties has proposed to unite a dozen city boroughs and nearest townships under one municipal government as it is supposedly done in Riga and Helsinki. Most of the citizens, however, don't seem to care for having to drive kilometers to go have a chat with their elders.
