Hayfever Tips, Teenage Weightloss, and the Yellow Brick Road
28th April - 4th May 2025
Hello chickadees,
We are moving quickly into summer and, in the spirit of good weather, I share with you: some hacks on how to stop yourself tearing your eyelids off due to grass pollen, what I’d say to my younger self (or anyone else) about weightloss, and my trip to see the Wizard.
Unlimited …. this summer is … UNLIMITEDDDD 🎵🎵
Happy reading!
Now That I Think About It
I used to work with a few young women who, during our lunch breaks, would talk a lot about wanting to lose weight. They used phrases like “being good” and “trying not to eat too much” to refer to their salads. The older women in the room would nod along in understanding saying encouragingly, “just you wait until you hit menopause.” I knew my opinion might not be enough to sway them, that there were bigger factors at play, but sometimes I would gently say to them, “hey, it okay, you don’t need to worry about all that.”
Like a canon event, it seems women are destined to go through at least one phase in their lives where they try to become pallettable to the outside world. It makes me feel tired that this is still happening, even to a new generation. In the spirit of that, I wrote a list of the things I would go back and tell my young self in order to save her the heartache of worrying so much about her body size. Maybe then my journey with weight and health wouldn’t have been so tumultuous.
You can read it here (or here if you are a Medium subscriber).
Ultimate Hayfever Hacks
The other day I had my first bout of itchy eyes, normally a terrible omen for what is to come for the rest of the summer. This year however I’m optimistic because I’ve been preparing 👹
This winter passed, I got myself some locally sourced bee pollen and honey and started taking it in small doses. The logic here is to try and get my immune system comfortable with reacting to the pollen before the season kicks off. Scientists say this doesn’t work, but I’ll try anything at this point.
I do, however, have some tried and tested tips in my arsenal that have served me well throughout the years and given me no need to resort to running to the nearest chemist for over-the-counter drugs.
Quercetin and Bromaline tablets 🍍
Holy moly. These lads are a winner. A natural pill for breaking down histamine with added vitamin C as an immune booster. They’re also great for PMS symptoms (as too much histamine can affect your cycle too).
Anti-histamine foods 🍎
Apples, capers, onions, ginger. Try stewed apples in your porridge, capers on pizza, or red onions in a salad. Winner.
Dried nettle tea 🫒
Fresh nettles are very high in histamine whereas dried ones aren’t. You can add a little honey too (locally sourced of course) if you don’t like the bitter taste.
Plus, there’s the practical stuff like keeping your bedroom window closed, sleeping with an eye mask on, and using barriers like cream or vaseline to trap the pollen before it gets into your eyes or nose.
Everyone’s immune system is different but these tips really keep me sane and stop me needing immuno supressant drugs (no shade if you use those, sometimes its the only thing that works).
Art Corner
‘Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe’ - me trying to explain something without spoiling it
🎬 The Wizard of Oz (1939, Victor Fleming) ☆☆☆☆☆
It was just flawless. The moment where it goes from black and white to colour? Judy Garland?!?! The part where they pull the curtain back? Wowee. The only thing that I would change is the lion’s second song about being king. Weaker than the other bangers and no need for it in the plot. Other than that, I would rewatch it in a heartbeat.
🎬 Wicked (2024, Jon M. Chu) ☆☆☆☆
I get proper emotional at ‘Defying Gravity’. It makes me weep. I have spent all week listening to the soundtrack (can you tell? audio listeners will understand)
📕 Empire of Storms / Tower of Dawn (2016-2017, Sarah J. Maas) ☆☆☆☆
I was told to read book 6&7 of the Throne of Glass series together, as they occur at the same time but in different geographical locations. This is something called a tandem read - reading a few chapters of one book and then a few of the other. I’d never done this before and IT WAS COOL! Empire of Storms is very action packed and Tower of Dawn is much more slow burn, so the two made for a nicely paired reading experience.
Weekly Stats
Herbal teas: 45
Times I almost got a flight to eat a Crumbl cookie: 5
1930s Germany references on my feed: too many
Missed calls: 3
New bedsheets: hell yeah
Times it took me to do this voice over: 10
Next week on the rickleverse
I will tell you about how I cried laughing, a trip to the river on a sunny day, and the best strawberries of all time.
Thanks for reading.
Love you lots,
Rachael
