I find this part of the summer pretty blah. It feels like everyone is traveling (or has Covid), and like I didn’t do everything I should have done to make this the best.NY.summer.ever. Granted, the warm weather is not quite over (looks like 90s here next week) and I don’t have kids so there’s less of an end to summer. But you feel it too, right? Or just me?
I look forward to cooler days and getting to dig out fall clothes and people actually being in my co-working space. Nothing makes me feel like everyone is on vacation but me more than being alone there! My general malaise slash ennui is definitely impacted by the somewhat aggressive antifungals my doctor has me on. I will get into them more at a later date if they cure things, but she gave them to me for some lingering stomach issues and/or because she hates me? The side effects are not ideal. But here’s my reminder that even as your not certified health expert wellness is a journey!
For fear of this newsletter being a total downer, I want to talk about a few summer discoveries/ re-discoveries that I am really enjoying and are giving me life.
I feel like mosquitoes are extra bad this year, and when I get a bite nothing stops the itch quicker than this little tool. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, because I’ve had it and loved it for more than a year, but it bears repeating. You turn it on and press it to the bite for 15-30 seconds. It is hot! However it has never burned me and the bite rarely itches after that and never expands. Sometimes I have allergic reactions to bites that really linger, but this makes them so much better.
I haven’t gotten too many bites, and I wonder if it has to do with taking B vitamins. According to the internet if you think you have sweet blood it might actually be a B deficiency. B also helps if you have low energy, I take this one.
Last bug related thing, promise! I took this homeopathic remedy after a yellow jacket sting, and I believe it helped a lot. I am an incredibly reactive person, and my reaction wasn’t too bad. Keep on hand for you, your kids, or your pets! Homeopathic remedies are very mild so you can’t really do any harm.
I often feel bloated and my face can get puffy. My doctor recommended Dandelion tea. I’ve been drinking the Detox tea from Traditional Medicinals (you should be able to buy at any grocery store for $4 or $5) and I’ve been shocked at how well it works. The one caveat is that it is a diuretic so don’t drink it before bed!
My favorite books this summer:
This might be known forevermore as the summer I discovered I’m into fantasy?? I’ve ready my fair share of dystopian fiction, which is sometimes the last thing you need to read when the world is already on fire and dealing with the vestiges of this global pandemic, but fantasy has been a new one for me. I read a few of extremely popular A Court of Thrones and Roses books. I really liked #2, but also felt like I’d had my fill after reading three of them. It’s a fantasy romance series about faeries (which I know is a vibe) but it introduced me to fantasy.
I recently read Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and I really enjoyed it! It’s a NYT bestseller, so much like the series above I did not discover it, but I will say I loved it. I think of this as a vaguely more adult Harry Potter— it’s about a war college training students to ride dragons. I have never had any interest in DRAGONS, but I think it’s a master class in keeping a propulsive plot going. I’ve been researching the author and I love that she published something like fourteen novels before this one hit it big, and that she manages to depict the chronic illness she and three of her children have in a subtle way in the book. If you need an escape I highly recommend!
Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis is a satire about a stoner guy and his girlfriend who competes on a reality show to get a chance to go to Mars on a billionaire’s mission. She’s obsessed with climate change and lured in by fame, he’s worried she might win which means he’ll never see her again.. It gets fairly dark at times, but I found it deeply entertaining and moving.
I also re-read Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead, which is an older book that I think is a pitch perfect satire about WASPs at a wedding on an island in New England. It’s an excellent example of the rich people summer read, and the writing is so good.
That’s all, folks! Enjoy your Labor Day whether it’s traveling somewhere fun, keeping your kids alive at the pool, or catching up on TV.
x Alex