Spring - the Big Trickster, Yoga and eye infections.

Friday and Saturday was spent outside, walking in the sun (Friday) and rain (Saturday), and with this feeling that everything was warm and comfortable and spring was coming, and life was wonderful. I saw the year's first Coltsfoot (actually, more like a whole bunch of them), a girl was blowing soap bubbles by the town square and the snowy edges of the streets were starting to get black-greyish and to slowly melt away. Saturday was less idyllic, but it was still warm and nice out. I bought new jeans and a guitar strap, and life was great all in all.

Saturday evening was T's birthday, with beer and good company, and a friend who walked me home. I had some tea, a big glass of water and went to sleep. And I woke up with a cold, and almost unable to open my eye. It didn't feel that bad, though, and the day went by rather comfortably, I had a friend over, we watched Big Bang Theory and had tea, the eye seemed to be all fine after I had cleaned it earlier that morning and used some eye drops on it. I was ready for work the next morning. Or so I thought.

Monday morning, the cold had mutated into fever, a runny nose and BOTH of my eyes infected. I couldn't open one of them at all when I got up, and my vision was all blurry. As if to mock me, the sun was up all day, it looked lovely and warm out, there were birds chirping and tweeting, and people were probably having ice cream and wearing their sun glasses. I spent the day mostly sleeping, and then put on all my warm clothes and sat in the sun for an hour while having a warm cup of tea with honey. It wasn't all that bad. I've been worse, and all, I just hate not being able to go to work, and the eye infection also made it very hard to do any freelance paperwork at home.

Tuesday. I felt better, I was able to read a bit. I slept a lot. I kept my eyes from going dry with eye drops and stuff my mum gave me. And things were okay. I played the guitar. I threw away all my eye make-up (apparantly once you've gotten an eye infection you should never use the same make-up again). I still felt shabby, though.

And then today. I slept well, except for my eyes being gross and icky and glued together and EWW. Then I decided I had had it. I did not want to feel ill anymore. So I went out. I brought my freelance work to a café, where I had a cappuccino and sat down reading and being all effective and "good-at-what-I-do"-ish. I bought new eye make-up, and Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things (which I found used, but looking practically new, at a great price. The book, not the make-up). And then I went to my first yoga class. Yes, that's right, I haven't told you about the yoga, yet, have I?

Well, see. I decided I had troubles motivating myself to work-out properly. And I thought about how I'm not always good at focusing on myself and getting rid of stress and stuff. And I decided yoga sounded like a good way to combine those two issues. My experience with yoga beforehand was a few classes at the student gym ages ago (Poweryoga, mind you), where I really felt as though I wasn't good enough, and I wasn't able to do the poses right. I fell over, I felt silly. My ankles and wrists hurt. And the lady instructor went on about Greeting the Sun and doing the Sideways-Bent-Over Dog or the Happily Slanting Hare and whatnot. It wasn't... the best experience. But in theory, I still thought that yoga sounded like a good idea. And this class I signed up for this spring is a beginner's course, and a kind of yoga that focuses on movement, meditation, breathing and relaxation. It didn't sound as tough as the poweryoga. It was all about being in contact with yourself and your own body and well, I guess I just decided to go for it.

The first class was today, from four thirty to six this afternoon. The classes are in this lovely, old wooden house (actually the oldest in the city, from 1789) where there's a lot of light and calm colours. The instructor was nice and easy to talk to, and we were eight people taking the class. The waiting room is lovely, with comfortable seats and a bunch of books we could take home for a week at a time if we wanted to. And I absolutely loved the class. It was easy, it felt great, and all of a sudden I really understood the people who talk about all the benefits of yoga. The instructor talked us through both meditation and more active exercises, and taught us how to focus on our breathing, and when the whole thing was over, I felt like doing some more. And I managed to do ALL the poses, just as they were meant to be done. I didn't fall over once. I felt nimble and agile and calm and focused. And I feel as though I'm breathing better. It was great. And even though I still had a small remainder of a cold, I didn't have to blow my nose once, which is odd, since I usually tend to have a runny nose, and we were all breathing through our noses all the time, but I didn't even have to use the kleenex I brought. And now I actually feel as though the eye infection is better too. It doesn't itch as much, and my eyes aren't that runny. And I feel awake and relaxed at the same time. So yeah. Wow. Yoga, guys! It was amazing ♥

Oh, by the way! Got a new haircut a while ago, here are a few pics:

Socks à la carte, hair and Audrey Hepburn!

I just received a book I've been waiting for - Socks à la carte! I think I must have made this book to be among the wonders of the world in my head while waiting, because when I got it I didn't right away feel the need to knit anything in it. I did however love the lay-out, and I will definitely be using it to try out different heels and toes. It has a big part explaining techniques and I look forward to sitting down and actually reading it a bit more thoroughly than I've had the time to do so far. At the same time as this book, my mother's Glam Knits arrived. A lot of elegant and pretty garments in it. I especially liked the hoodie, and even swatched for it, but I don't have yarn that'll fit quite yet, and I have no money whatsoever to spare.

Money (and the lack thereof) makes for a nice transition to the next thing I wanted to share with you! I just got a haircut! 200$ is quite a lot to pay for something that will change and grow and not stay permanently as cute as it is right now, but at the moment, I'm thinking it was SO worth it. I don't go to the hairdresser's often, maybe two or three times a year - My mom cuts hair quite well, nothing fancy, but enough to keep the hair from getting too frizzy ends, and I usually profit from her abilities and get free haircuts at home. However, at the moment she's in Puerto Rico, and I also really felt like getting a "real" haircut, dyeing it (or, I don't know what they call it, the kind of dye that isn't all permanent but that lasts for about 3-6 months?), getting an actual "do" instead of just hair that works loose or in a ponytail, but doesn't have anything remotely special about it. So! I went, on a whim, after work last Friday. I spent the rest of my money for this month (I have enough to get food for my parents' budgie, another carton of milk and some bread), and am now on a budget until the 12th of February! But I'm so happy with the hair. I walk around smiling at mirrors (sometimes I even do a little dance), and it feels as though I've received tons of compliments, in spite of the fact that the only people I've seen since Friday didn't even notice the hair change (but they were work collegues and Saturday was an extremely busy day). One of the things I like the most with the hair is that I can DO so much with it! I can have a fringe if I want to, I can make it look punky and cool or soft and feminine. Here are some photos, not showing nearly enough of what I can actually do with it:



I've been smiling a lot lately, not only because of the hair. I've been eating relatively healthy, although indulging a bit in chocolate and baking, but keeping my weight in check. I need to work out more, though. House-sitting for my parents comes with a car, and tiredness in the mornings makes it incredibly easy to sleep a bit longer and drive instead of walking to work. It's only a 20 minute walk though, so I should really just leave the car. But! I was talking about smiling, let's stick to that, shall we? Much more fun to discuss! I've been watching Audrey Hepburn-films lately, and I am really enjoying it. Can't believe I've gone so long without seeing any of her films. I saw Breakfast at Tiffany's last Tuesday when my friend Ingvild was here, and adored the character of Holly Golightly, the whimsiness, the nonchalance, the fear of commitment... her wonderful way of expressing herself ("Oh golly, quel beast!"). Very quoteable indeed!

Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?

Oh, and I also taught Ingvild how to knit! She's a crocheter to begin with and didn't have a hard time at all - She's on Ravelry as CaranMir, by the way. After having seen Breakfast at Tiffany's I decided I simply had to see more, so last night I saw Charade which was delightful and fun. Loved the ending. I have My Fair Lady lined up next, and then How to steal a million and more.

I recently finished Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book which just won the Newbery Medal. Loved his narration, the main character is great and the book made me smile a lot.

What makes you smile?