news bits

yes i was away for like, 3 weeks? my husband had a 2-week holiday from work so i had to take a leave from my "work" as well. had to close shops for a while and live for the moment (read: be lazy). last week i caught a bug, the allergy bug, that is - itchy eyes, runny nose and sneezing 387 times a day (or so, it felt like it). this is my 3rd summer in dublin and the first time ever that i didn't feel well, so i didn't quite know what to do with it. i was hoping it'd be over in a few days but by the end of the week, i was spent. drained. exhausted. only then did i bother to go to the drugstore and ask for an OTC med. the pharmacist didn't look surprised, apparently, i'm not the only poor victim of the season. i'm not a pill popper but thank God for Clarityn tabs and Opticrom eye drops for making me feel normal again!

i finished reading Elizabeth Berg's A Year of Pleasures this weekend. i love her beautiful, tender way of writing, and though the way things in the story seem to fall perfectly into place are too good to be believable, still, i'd love to read it again just to savor the poetry she makes of everyday ordinary things. it makes me want to cuddle with the husband and enjoy even the most ordinary of things as sharing a cuppa, or watching tv or just watch him from our bedroom window while he mows the lawn. reading a story about losing someone you love deeply makes you appreciate and love all the more.

on another note, everyone i know seem to be pregnant and having children. i think 2010 is a very fertile year, although not for us. by choice. cold feet? maybe. we keep pushing the deadline away, and for the meantime, the neighbor's cat revels in our love. yesterday morning she, the cat, was with Kj in the garden and in the afternoon she slept beside me on the couch while i finished knitting a scarf i started last year (i know!). did i say the husband is allergic to cat hair and dander and whatever? that's why we can't have a cat of our own. so far he's doing great by the way, no horrid allergy reactions whatsoever so we're happy campers! feline included. which reminds me, maybe we should give her a name. Poes (dutch for cat) just don't do it for me.

lastly, i have totally ditched my shampoo and conditioners and gone no-poo, hopefully, for...forever? fingers crossed. i now wash my hair with a tablespoon of baking soda in a cup of water and condition with the juice of half a lemon in a cup of water. this is my 4th week, and so far, so good. no more moanings for dry, lifeless hair, and definitely less hair to pick up on the shower drain. i'm saying goodbye to dandruff too, what a relief. i've read the no-poo movement from another blog, and while it's not for everybody, i'm happy it works for me!

have a lovely week!
happy father's day to all dads out there, especially to my daddy, mijn schoonvader (my late FIL), my BIL Folkert, and my big brother Jake! i {he♥rt} you guys so very much.