Weekend report

[oyceter]

I had been planning on going to the Obon festival yesterday, but I've been not quite sick for the past few days and decided to sleep early instead. Alas, rather than doing so, I ended up reading L.J. Smith's The Secret Circle on both shewhohashope and rachelmanija's promptings.

Today was the farmers' market, in which I got the salmon spread that Rachel missed out on last week, but without the green onion slab! Seriously, the guy right in front of me bought the last loaf. Grrrrr. But! There are still stone fruits galore, and while one blueberry vendor's season is over, another's has just begun, so I still get them. And my tomato guy showed up! Either it's the beginning of his season, or I arrived too late for great selection, or both, but I left with only a small black brandywine and a lot of small purple cherokees. Still. TOMATOES!!!!!!

Alas, it seems like the cherry season here is winding down, and though I saw raspberries a few weeks ago, no more right now. However, my strawberry guys have boysenberries, which I was tempted by but didn't get.

Later today, rilina and thistleingrey came by, both with their own market goodies! Rilina brought tasty Afghani stuffed flatbread and sauces (my favorite was the yogurt), and thistleingrey brought over a multitude of more stone fruits. I stole a yellow cling peach for later and just devoured it—there was almost no blush to it, but it smelled and tasted amazing. Must find out what varietal it was!

Then we watched the first two episodes of Triple, which I have been anticipating since Rilina told me about it maybe half a year or so ago! So far, it is living up to expectations. It's not amazing, but most kdramas take a few episodes to get going, and I like the acting, the characters, and the overall tone of the show so far.

Also, I rediscovered that Kang Ji Hwan had been slated as the lead, a fact that had been completely irrelevant to me until I realized just today that Kang Ji Hwan is the lead in Capital Scandal. WOE! He is cute. Oh well! The guy currently playing in the lead seems very good as well.

In other news, my allergies still suck, as in, I start every morning at the office by sneezing 15 times or so (someone was counting). The sad thing is, this is me ON allergy meds. Also, as previously mentioned, I still feel like I'm coming down with something, and the finger Ren bit a while aback is starting to swell up for no reason I can tell. Maybe that means it will rain? In Bay Area? In summer? Who knows...

Comments

[rilina]

It was actually garlic mint cheese. I love how sharp the garlic is in it! I think the eggplant is still my favorite - I have discovered it is also excellent on meatballs!

I did some googling, and apparently the mango nectarine is not actually a cross between a mango and nectarine. That does not make it any more elusive. Tomorrow I am investigating Whole Foods!

[oyceter]

Ooooo, I will have to get more of that. I like the eggplant too, but for some reason, I am super-fond of yogurt/cheese type spreads.

I want to check if Berkeley Bowl has the manga nectarines when I am in East Bay again!

[shana]

A finger swelling is a bad sign. Possibly an infection. If it doesn't get markedly better, see a doctor.

If the sneezing happens when you arrive at work and is worse than before you got there, suggest that the filters in the AC may need changing. One of the worst allergy attacks I had was from a moldy filter in my allergist's waiting room.

[oyceter]

Well, I think it may be a reaction to the weather or something... it's happened before, and since the wound is nearly a year old and the skin hasn't broken, the chances of a new infection seem slim? And the swelling is gone now (as happened the last few times too).

Alas, the allergies are basically to my entire area... the sneezing starts in the morning and kind of continues through getting in to work and then through the day. And on weekends too....

[shana]

That does sound more weather related.

I understand perfectly. Since I don't get drowsy from antihistamines, I use Benadryl. Frequently. The children's formulations work faster than tablets.

Allergy shots do help somewhat, but take a long time to build up.

Other useful things recommended by an allergist I had:

Vitamin C -- at least 1000 mg, in as pure a formulation as you can get. (If you have allergies, minimizing possible allergens is only sensible. One of my friends is highly allergic to rose hips, although they don't bother me.) It doesn't eliminate the symptoms, but it does reduce them somewhat. When it's bad, I do 2000 mg twice a day.

Alka-Seltzer Gold -- just that formulation, not the regular ones. You shouldn't do this too often, but it's useful in a pinch.

[oyceter]

Oh huh! I didn't know about those, thanks! I think I may go for allergy shots once I am no longer a student and gainfully employed again (current insurance and school health system mean I have to go somewhere else to get allergies treated arrrrrgh).

I just switched from Singulair to generic Claritin (more problems with prescription meds! but it seems Claritin works about the same now anyway... for a while it didn't!) and take Benadryl at night. (I was like, "Argh! My allergies kept me up all night!" And then went, "Wait, self, there is an actual solution for this.") Sadly, I do not think Benadryl actually makes me sleepy! Oh well.

Some people have also told me that eating local honey helps? I have no idea how true this is, but since I can easily get it at the farmers' market and love eating plain honey, I am trying it anyway.

[shana]

If Benadryl doesn't make you sleepy, go ahead and take it when you need it. It's stronger than Claritin, but doesn't last as long.

I recommend keeping some of the Benadryl children's fastmelts handy for emergencies. They are half the strength of adult tablets, and they work faster. I take 4 at a time, but some people find one to be sufficient. And they are very useful when someone starts reacting in a restaurant. Or in a place where finding a drink of water would be a hassle.

[shana]

I don't know about the honey, but it shouldn't hurt to try.

That allergist's office had a sign "Nobody Reacts the Same." You have to figure out what works for you.

[oyceter]

Thanks for all the tips!