Alone With Allergies

I was on my own last weekend and as much as I love The Honey I appreciate some time to myself, especially when I’m teaching 40hrs a week. It was an extra long weekend too since my student had Friday off. So many errands and tasks got done that I felt a sense of relief at the end of the day. With the sun shining Saturday I had a nice leisurely and enjoyable day planned.

After a little breakie at the Wellington Diner (who serve gluten-free toast) I wandered down to the GCTC for the first Urban Craft, the monthly craft show.

 

It was the first of many to come and there was a variety of vendors who had great products available. I picked up some macaroons from the UrbanBaking Co. Whether the macaroon is the French version or the coconut I always enjoy them. The lavender was my favourite.

 

And a chocolate mint cupcake from Auntie Loos. Oddly enough, there’s something about her gluten-free goodies that keep me going back. I think it’s hope. They aren’t always quite right, but I try them again in hopes that they’ve improved. This cupcake was the best one she’s had. My only disappointment is that the only mint was in the icing.

After doing a few more errands I ventured to the Main St Market. Of course, now that summer is over I have a chance to go and even though I had fresh produce at home, I still had to go. It was after noon by the time I got there and I still walked away with some goodies. By then I was beginning to feel a little parched so I was more than happy to buy a glass of lavender lemonade. I didn’t taste much lavender, but it was still refreshing on a hot day.

The humongous zucchini also caught my eye. They were huge!!! They reminded me of my mom’s when I was a child – perfect for her zucchini bread.

After walking around a bit I picked up a lemon cucumber to try (lemon due to the colour, not the flavour) and some elk sausage, steak and burgers. I’ll let you know what I think. I also went over to a gluten-free vendor, 5Cupcakes, to see what she had. There were some cookies still left (which were okay), but I talked Simone into selling me some of her butter tart rejects (the ones not pretty enough to sell). They still looked fine as they weren’t squished and they tasted just as good. Unlike other butter tarts, they were tall and the pastry was light and flaky. The filling was delicious as well. Next Saturday I may return and go earlier to see what other goodies she has.

 

As I left I regretted buying coffee a few days before as I really wanted to try coffee from the Happy Goat. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the name. This just means I need to return to pick some up.

And where do the allergies come in? Sunday became a total write-off as over Saturday evening my sinuses began to fill and my head began to throb as the clouds rolled in. It was hard to think, let alone breathe. The small openings letting the sun through helped a bit, but going into the evening, my face felt just as heavy. Nothing but a TV day on the couch. I didn’t dare try to work or do things that required thinking. They not only would have been too labourous, they would have been a mess and not made any sense.  After going to bed really early with a throbbing head I woke up with a clear mind and only some sniffles.

Ahhh summer in Ottawa.