*2022* A YEAR OF CHANGES (AND VIRUSES)
Last year was a year of changes. A lot happened, both for us personally and in the world.
Well, everyone knows roughly what has happened in the world (such as the war in Ukraine, economic difficulties and the ever-changing corona situation).
I’m not going to say more about these, but I will say that we took the flu vaccine in the beginning of the year, because that too is causing a bad disease at the moment, at least in Finland. There are a lot of viruses going around here now. My mother unfortunately got sick in the nursing home just before Christmas with the A virus (influenza virus type), which is why we couldn’t see her. This saddened me a lot. I was hoping to see her at Christmas. The nursing home also had Corona virus on the move. My mother has had it mildly once. Fortunately, he already had three vaccinations by then. Speaking of vaccinations, I don’t understand why Finland doesn’t offer fourth corona vaccines to everyone (only to risk groups). However, we have over half a million extra vaccines that are about to expire. Wouldn’t it make sense to offer them to people? Or is it a better idea to just throw them away? In any case, I’m really happy that I don’t live in Helsinki anymore (where especially diseases spread).
I also found a nasal spray in the online pharmacy that prevents influenza and colds. I’ve never heard of that before. I ordered it right away. The preparation is also available as an oral spray, which I only read about afterwards, but according to what I read, the combined effect is the most effective, so I plan to get that as well.
At the beginning of the year 2022, big things happened in sports when Finland won its first Olympic gold in ice hockey. In the same spring big things also happened in my own life. The year started with my brother’s charter occasion. A little later in the spring I put my childhood home up for sale and the apartment was sold in the summer. We had to compromise somewhat on the price because that’s when housing prices started to come down. Fortunately, however, we sold the apartment then, and not now, when the prices of apartments are really low.
During the spring, the division of the inheritance was also started. For this, I had to apply for my mother’s trustee, for which luckily we had already prepared the papers few years earlier. (That is, a paper with my mother’s consent that primarily my brother becomes her guardian if necessary). I was the backup in case my brother was prevented. Since my brother had passed away, I became the trustee. All this required an awful lot of paperwork and explanations.
At first, I even received incorrect advice about the best way to proceed with this but apparently these things are made so difficult in Finland that even lawyers/other civil servants do not always immediately know how to act. That says a lot about this level of bureaucracy.
The peak of everything was when I was waiting for the decision to distribute the inheritance of the registry office and I found out that my lawyer had forgotten to send the actual application to the agency. He sent the inheritance distribution draft there, but in addition, the necessary application was missing. He had been on summer vacation and had forgotten about it. I understand that mistakes happen to everyone, but in our financial situation it was a pretty fatal oversight. Well, he soon sent in the application and naturally a positive decision came but the division of the inheritance was still not easy. After the decision, it took some time before I got anything for myself. In the meantime, I tried to reconcile the bills, and explain everywhere that we will get money soon, and then we will pay everything. This was a very stressful time… and all this in the midst of sorrow…
MOVE
Last year also one of the biggest things happened for us. We finally moved into our new terraced house. Until now, I have always lived in an apartment building although I have always enjoyed the countryside. I love this rural setting and the peace. In addition to the location, I really like that this house has two floors and the kind of warm country house feel that I’ve always loved. We also have a small backyard and a balcony here. Indoors, I especially love the fireplace and my own sauna. I have never had my own sauna before. For many Finns, own sauna is a matter of course, for me it’s a luxury. I don’t know a better way to relax in the evening, than a gentle sauna baths. We also started the new year with a night sauna, while enjoying sparkling wine and watching the last fireworks from the window. Could it be more romantic?
Fortunately, the year changed in better conditions but at the end of last year, we received one more surprise shortly after our move, just when I thought that our new life would begin. We received a compensation claim from the buyer of my childhood home, related to water damage in the bathroom. Long story short: since we didn’t have the money to go to court, we were forced to pay her the settlement amount (which was done through a lawyer I hired). Several apartments had water damage, but I didn’t know it at the time. Also, I used a broker so I shouldn’t be solely responsible for this but there were two reports on the condition of the bathroom of which the broker says she only received the first one. Its information was not completely up-to-date at the time of sale. The housing company also reimbursed for buyer for its share so she did already received compensation money. Now my lawyer is finding out if we could get something back through the brokerage company’s liability insurance.
By the way, this buyer is selling the apartment now at a high price (she is a real estate investor), but she certainly won’t get anywhere near the amount she asked for it at the time like this.
THE BEGINNING OF THE MENOPAUSE
As if there weren’t enough events for this year, I’ve apparently also had the onset of menopause as my problem, or at least it would seem so. I had hot flashes last year and I was a restless sleeper (although I’ve never been a very good sleeper). For some reason, the hot flashes disappeared after the third corona vaccine. After the second vaccine, my periods were completely gone for a long time, so I don’t know exactly what is the effect of the vaccines and what is not. However, there was a long break in the periods again, when they had already returned to normal after the second vaccine. However, this seems to be the beginning of the end for periods, whatever the reason. In a way, it would be nice to get rid of them, (they only bring unpleasant inconveniences and ailments), but then again, I do feel really old if they run out. Well, every woman faces this sooner or later.
This year has already started a while ago, I just couldn’t get this post done, one of the reasons being the gingerbread doll house shown in the video and photos, which took all the Christmas holidays to make. However, I wish everyone a very good continuation of this new year 2023! A good year would be a nice change after a long time, at least for me!
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