Finally the weather caught up and it’s high summer at long bloody last. Since “moderation” clearly is out of the equation what it comes to changes in climate, it’s now ridiculously hot after weeks of below-average temperature and rain. I have a very demanding long weekend behind me, spent in Finnish countryside, at the Loved Ones’ mothers’ summer place, accompanied by various other relatives including my mother. My mother-in-law-to-be is fabulous but unfortunately the same can’t be said about my own mother and the way we interact with each other. Things came to a head on our way back, in a scorching heat, in a car without air-conditioning, with us two exchanging opinions, mine reasonable and hers mostly not, in a mode of conversation known as “shouting”. This episode of raised voices with not much content reminded me of how lucky I am not to live in my hometown anymore and fortified my resolution never to move back there. It also reminded me never to relent in my struggle to rise above the (to me unwanted) qualities so evident on my parents I’m entirely unwilling to let surface in me.

All in all the weekend still held some moments of peace (mostly when my mother was elsewhere) and tomorrow we head towards more peace and tranquillity as we start our two weeks in Spain and the empty house of my future father-in-law.

The Dog is feeling hot hot hot. And the option to comment on this blog proved as fruitless as I thought it would so it’s now duly removed. I might tinker with the layout once I return from Spain, if I can be bothered.

RECENT EXPOSURE TO RECORDED MUSIC:
For the past several weeks it’s been either ”Skyforger” by Amorphis or ”Abnormally Attracted To Sin” by Tori Amos. Both albums are excellent in my opinion and both albums have already grown so dear to me that I can’t really start analysing what makes them so special. Obviously it’s easier for me to be overwhelmed by Tori’s album since it’s, you know, Tori after all, and the album is clearly a lot better than the ones she came up with at the start of the decade. But I’m still deeply impressed by Amorphis too. There are no weak songs on their album, at least none that I’m able to detect, and to hear lyrics that passed through me turned into songs adds a level of intimacy. Brilliant albums and brilliant songs with melodies that stick to my head and refuse to leave. Normally this would be a problem but with these albums I don’t mind.