foxesinlove

Christmas gifts

Another one based word-for-word on one of our conversations. And I admit I'm a nightmare when it comes to coming up with gifts, I don't have hobbies that'd require tools or materials, and I wouldn't want to own anything I won't need and use.

Independence day

Happy independence day of Finland!

The gingerbread house

Based on a real incident, though I did not actually cry. But my boyfriend's family's gingerbread family also includes both of their dogs!

Sandwiches

Based on a real incident, though that time we had enough for three sandwiches, which was even more interesting.

Also, I accidentally published this comic on Tumblr (without proper captioning, too) two days ago, and only noticed the problem when it was already too late to fix it. I hope nobody minds.

Gone fishing

I'm not squeamish about gutting fish or anything of the sort, but I'm skittish about putting them down. Mainly because I know that being hesitant about it is only going to make it worse - one good confident blow is the most painless end a fish could have. I will figure out fishing eventually.

Workplaces and optimism

One vital thing in relationships is to keep in mind that where views and opinions differ, the two are equal in weight. If you believe one thing and your partner another, that just means that there are two views between you, not that one is wrong and one is right.

I am a stoic and an adamant optimist - I would not have survived to adulthood if I did not have a stalwart faith that things can be better than this. I was raised to never complain, you either endure the problem in silence or ...

Food habits

Fun fact: my boyfriend's sister has her own tiny hot sauce bottle to keep on the dinner table because nobody else in the family can handle spices.

Solar panels

A bit of Storytelling Shorthand at play here - we've actually had the solar panels for a while - but we do have a set. Unfortunately it is indeed only good for sunny and partly cloudy days, and especially during early winter, it's always either cloudy or dark outside. The sun disappearing from sight in october or november is the first sign of winter, and the sun finally shining agian in february is the first sign of spring.

Boundaries

My family just lost their "having me in their lives" privileges!

My cousin's graduation is soon. I had decided that I will either get there through public transport, or I'm not coming at all. After seeing that getting there by bus and train wasn't a plausible option, I informed my family group chat (my mom and sister) that I'm not coming. When mom asked whether I'd need a ride, I told them that my therapist doesn't recommend that I should travel with them after what happened in London.<...

Factory work

I was going through my phone gallery, deleting old images, and found this comic from 2019, drawn in the breakroom of my workplace of the time. I'm not sure if I ever shared it, but I thought I'd post it here now. That wasn't a happy period in my life.

Premature christmas hype

I admit, I love christmas hype, I want to see and hear it everywhere for 1,5 solid months straight. The goal is to have enough christmas scents, tastes, sights, sounds and feelings in you that by new year's you are utterly sick of it, and it's a relief to be finally allowed to clear all of it out after new year's. It's a great way to make every new year feel like a nice fresh start.

Also, we visit my partner's family often. The previous time we visited, his mom asked ...

Stress press

Sometimes you need to get anxiety panini pressed out of you. And beside the weighed blanket that I sleep with, I've recently started using this shoulder massager contraption that my boyfriend has, an electric little machine you wrap around your shoulders, and the spinning nubs inside rub your shoulders for you. It seems to help immensely when I can't get work done, to take a 20-minute break to sit or lay down while the machine heats and rubs my shoulders enough to let blood flow into my brain...

Daily tasks

It's misleading when people say "relationships take work every day". It takes work the same way living in a clean house takes work, a little bit every day. I don't wash all my dishes all at once, ever, I just wash two cups every time I need to use one, or three forks when I need two. A few minutes of daily maintenance when you see an opportunity goes a long way.

Tea instructions

Based 100% on a real conversation. He does not do things outside of the exact instruction.

Nap attack

My work bench has no back rest, so I like to lay down for a few minutes to rest my back every once on a while. If my partner is home, he will do this EVERY TIME.

Sheet changing

Definitely a thing I recommend! Nothing sweeter than getting clean and crawling into a fresh, clean bed after a long hard day.

Favourite part of your day

What's your favourite part of your day?

Brothers

I painted a portrait of my partner and his little brother, based on a handful of images of the two of them posing beside a campfire with an airsoft gun and a few other props that were around.

Fidgeting

If I don't have something to do with my hands, I'll start playing with his hair.

A singing voice

Another atual conversation we had in the car one time. The singer - I can't recall the band nor his name - of one song on my partner's playlist had this absolutely amazing deep, low, rumbling bass sound that sounds like the way strong black coffee and 99% dark chocolate tastes. The kind of a voice where just wordlessly vocalising on the lowest note he can go no longer sounds like a sound made by a human being, but the engine sounds of an idling truck.

EDIT: Someone on Twitter found the...

Therapy

I've had two therapists and just started my third year in therapy, and I can't recommend it enough. It's trial and error to find a good match, and though I wouldn't have gotten to the point I did with my first one, I definitely needed the tools she gave me to get started with my second. And they both agreed that having my partner is undoubtedly a positive element in my life.

A hard day's night

I work from home, while my partner has a long commute. He's not fond of long car drives.

The chips

There are two kinds of people in this world: the type that'll eat a whole bag of chips in one sitting, and the type that'll open a bag of chips, eat half of it slowly over the course of a week, and never finish it.

Nibbled

I was worried that I had already made this exact same comic before, as this is a conversation we have frequently about all kinds of physical affection. I try not to be repetitive with the comics, but they do follow our real life, and life tends to repeat itself.

Bath Bombs

I haven't lived in a house with a bath tub for over 20 years, and since our hotel room in Arizona had one, and there was a stall selling soaps and bath bombs at AzFurCon (they are @PonySoap on twitter and also have etsy!), I had three whole baths in two days. I don't particularly crave bubble baths or feel deprived of them now, but I definitely get the appeal.

The fitted sheet

This one is 100% based in a real conversation we had. And the actions that went with it.

Quiet mornings

Just got back from Arizona! We woke up at 4 am Phoenix time, and I have now been awake for 22 hours. I will faceplant the bed as soon as we are home.

Flight day!

Off we go across the ocean! This is also our official announcement of a pause in posting - we'll be back on the 21st of October!

Night at the balcony

Okay, our balcony doesn't have a view of the city, but enough of the apartment buildings and streets for me to consider it a cityscape. The view at night is too beautiful to capture with a phone camera.

Budgeting

Cautiously saving money on everyday items just to spontaneously splurge it on something ridiculous is a pretty nice way to live, actually.