finally, a few of weeks where i could actually see the metaphorical blue sky behind all the stormy clouds. there’s still so much to do, but somehow i feel a bit more hopeful now, not so bogged down and depressed about… *waves hand* everything.

to recap:

– we went to sagres to celebrate our 16th anniversary, and it felt good to get away for a day, solve a mystery game, eat nice food and watch some birds. the boy says that sagres, being in the corner of the country, has this feeling of a “place very far away from everything”… and i guess it’s true — it’s like our little hideout.

– picked up a few books from the library, and read the walking man in one go. it’s a bucolic japanese graphic novel about a man who walks around, noticing things. the perfect antidote to these last few months.

– at work, we had a bit of a meltdown, and then some planning on how to move forward through the mess that continues to pile up. it feels like we’re just swimming in place these days, struggling against the current and trying to keep afloat, not really going anywhere. hoping to see the light at the end of this tunnel soon.

– after much insisting, the stove guys came and replaced our gas stove by an induction one. they had to cut the counters to fit the new stove, and made a truly spectacular mess of fine dust that stuck everywhere. we’re finally free of gas in the house though, and the new stove is soooooo easy to clean! i sound like my mom, but both things make me very happy.

– movies-wise, we watched coda and also re-watched american splendor and ghost world, two movies i had fond memories of.

– after some testing, the boy got diagnosed with asthma, triggered by allergies to dust mites (and their droppings). we’ve turned the intensity of house cleaning up to 11, and i think the washing machine has never seen this kind of action in the years we’ve been living here. 😅 fingers crossed, things will slowly improve for the poor wheezing boy.

– and almost exactly one year later, my saga with a toenail fungus has come to an end, and my nails are finally fine again. hurray! to celebrate, i’ve bought a pair of birkenstocks, something i wanted to do for ages. :)