Adventti alkaa

Adventti tarkoittaa suomeksi Herran saapumista, mutta niin mukava kun on odottaa Jeesus-lapsen syntymäjuhlaa, minulle tänä vuonna tärkeämpi saapuminen on perin maallinen saapumiseni koti-Suomeen, joka on odotettavissa viikkoa ennen joulupäivää.

Tänä vuonna kun kiitospäivä oli niin myöhään kuin se vaan voi olla, adventti ja kiitospäivä osuvat niin lähekkäin, etten edes kuvitellut nikottelevani, kun amerikkalaisittain tyypillisesti kiitospäivän pitkien vapaiden ansiosta kaivettiin eilen ja tänään jouluvalot ja -koristeet. Kuusi on vielä kasaamatta(!! joo edelleen se pieni muovikuusi) ja koristelematta, mutta kovasti alkaa olla jouluiset tunnelmat.

Sain Ninalta 11 kysymyksen haasteen, mukava vastailla joulukysymyksiin! Fuskaan vain sen verran, että en keksi itse lisää kysymyksiä tai haasta muita. Sen sijaan ehdotan ketä vaan tarttumaan Ninan joulukysymyksiin!

The rules of the game:

• tell 11 facts about yourself
• answer the 11 questions asked by the person who invited you
• come up with 11 questions for the new participants
• select 11 new bloggers for the challenge
• and of course,  thank the person who invited you, and let the lucky 11 know they have questions waiting for them. Oh, and you can’t tag the person who challenged you. 

My 11 facts:

• It's hard to come up with facts everyone doesn't know already, I'm pretty extroverted and like to talk about myself. 
• The same day as I signed a contract for postgraduate medical education, my wallet was stolen, and two days later my phone died and needed a factory re-set. Any of the three alone would've been enough to rock my world, but put together I feel like I started a whole new phase in my life... Which I did, getting the position would've completely rocked my world without the other two!
• I correspond with my 97-year-old grandma with postcards, and every time I get one in the mail, it makes my whole week
• My husband says he's never known anyone so eager to check the mail. I tell him he's never known anybody who gets as much good, personal mail. 
• I collected stamps when I was in grade school. I was only interested in international stamps: We had a ton from Nepal where my mom lived at a time.
• As part of my work, I am monitoring how many steps I get each day, starting last Monday, ending the first week of January. So far, I have only reached the goal of 10,000 steps on one day, which is somewhat pathetic. 
• I got to the 10,000 steps yesterday with going to the gym and in the evening to the Arboretum to see illuminated trees. 
• My favorite wine in Finland was Gewürstraminer, and I finally went to a local liquor store to look for it. I'm not a big drinker: It took me a couple years to even realize I could look for it. 
• When in bad traffic, I tend to shout at other drivers, who are obviously much more idiotic than I am. As everyone drives with windows closed for most of the year, no one is ever meant to hear what I'm shouting. The morning after we got our plane tickets to Finland, I found myself doing the shouting in Finnish. 
• I have breakfast in the car practically every morning - every morning I drive to work that is. My car is well overdue a cleaning inside. 
• We will move closer to my new job before I start. Long days and long weeks call for less time spent sitting in a car. 

And here are my answers to Nina's questions:

1. What is your favorite Christmas memory? 

 I can't pick a favorite: My Christmases have been steady and similar, so I would say overall over many, many years it is those moments of coming together with family, in peace, happiness and harmony, to enjoy each other's company (and food).

2. Wrapping paper or gift bags? 

 Wrapping paper. I'm very much of a Finn in that respect. I have used gift bags, too.

3. What is your favorite Christmas movie? 

 YLE would usually show something interesting on TV over the holidays, and we would mostly watch those. Of the Christmas themed movies I've seen, I've picked up my husband's favorite and classic, Christmas Story.

4. Favorite Christmas song(s)? 

 En etsi valtaa loistoa, Christmas song, White Christmas, Rauhaa vain rauhaa. These come to mind first.

5. Time for a confession: have you recycled Christmas presents? 

I sincerely can say I haven't. Risk for getting gifts I don't like or can't use is smaller since we don't exchange gifts in a large circle of people, and my family knows me well enough, and when in doubt they would go for chocolate.

6. Do you send Christmas cards? Mail or email? Do you buy them from the store, make yourself, …? 

 I've done it all over the years, but in recent years it's been an email or nothing at all. As kids we would make our own for the family.

7. Is there anything annoying about this time of year? If so, what is it? 

 Despite that I like giving and receiving gifts, the blatant consumerism that threatens to engulf the whole celebration, and the greed you see in some people really irks me. Bad Christmas songs or ridiculous arrangements of songs dear to me, set me off.

8. What do you usually serve on Christmas dinner? 

 Well.. I have never served a Christmas dinner. My newfound specialty here in America is rutabaga casserole, which has won support with half of my in-laws, so I make it for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can't have Christmas without the beet and vegetable salad rosolli. It needs to be served with unsweetened whipped cream with vinegar, and colored with beet.

9. What are some of your favorite Christmas decorations that you are going to put up? (or have already put up… :-) ) Do you prefer themed or homey Christmas trees? 

 Decorations either on the tree or otherwise aren't a big deal for me. But I do cherish the few special items we've gotten as gifts, and therefore we likely will not ever put up a themed tree, we'll use our decorations that are attached to a person or a year.

10. What kind of a tree topper you have? Angel, star, something else? 

 Star. Again, I'm Finn enough, I'll always have a star. Our Christmas tree is a $20 plastic Target tree... but it holds up and is the right size for this place. This might be its last year, it's shedding, and as we move, it may go: No emotional attachment to it. Of course I think that an actual tree is better, but in Finland there's more magic to it, when I was closer to the tradition of going to fell it yourself (and we did a few years, with permission on a family friend's land).

11. What are some of your most important Christmas traditions?

 Truthfully, it's the food and eating together. Have to have all the right Finnish foods, at least those mentioned earlier, and ham. In America I'm of course flexible about the foods, when in Rome etc. In America, I love going to Brookfield Zoo for the lights. In Finland, Christmas Eve service and actually, just spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as we always do is important.