November 16, 2025

My book group came over. Well, most people couldn’t make it, so we had a small gathering, but it was lovely to get some in-person time with old friends.
I got sick, which was not fun. I was really struggling because the list was long, and I was trying to plug away at things (slowly) but kept falling asleep at my laptop. I also had a very sore throat (I felt like I’d swallowed glass) and lost my voice. I’d say that my body was trying to force me to rest except my watch kept alerting at me about physical stress. Which is a great way to rest and recover…
The aurora! I happened to catch it early, and then the family and I took a lot of photos. That was a really lovely way to spend an evening.

We had a friend and some new acquaintances come over for dinner.
I hung out with soccer parents during futsal practice.
I cooked a bit and finally realized that I enjoy cooking when I don’t feel rushed. I think this is why I generally like to bake or make risotto — as opposed to the rushed meals between meetings or before time-sensitive errands, etc. I got to do some unhurried cooking, which was relaxing.
I watched the Switzerland vs. Sweden World Cup qualifier game, which was so fun. Of course I wish we were there and could’ve attended in person, but I did enjoy watching it on Swiss TV. The commentary is entirely biased, and the Swiss French do not pull their punches.
We went to trivia night. I saw some friends and met some interesting people. It was really nice.

This doesn’t really capture the fatigue from days of illness, I think because I’m feeling better right now, so there’s more of the busy energy of doing all of the things. Looking ahead to this week, I expect that it will be front-loaded again. I will need to pace myself better during the day.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I’ve started to play little puzzle games as micro-breaks, and those have been good — a daily mini-crossword puzzle, quartiles, and Sudoku. I need to give my brain different things to work on.