Sundaze 209: Heatwave, a stomach bug and hating a book
Happy Sundaze, my loves!
I come to you from the sticky puddles of an awful heatwave here in England. 34°C, 67% humidity, pollen count sky-high… You could say I’m not having a great time right now. I’m sure my British readers have heard more than enough about the heat, though, and my international readers likely don’t care for weather updates, so let’s continue on with our usual proceedings. I missed last week’s post, despite having started it, because it was all kinds of chaos in the Chai household. First, Milo came running in from the garden screaming: he’d managed to get a grass seed stuck in his ear. One sedation, one procedure and a hefty vet’s bill later, we have a recovered dog. Second, almost immediately after returning home with said dog, I fell sick with a stomach bug. It was… humbling, to say the least.
This ‘great’ British heatwave
Teehee. I was kidding. I have more to say about the weather. This week has been a messy muddle of freeze pops, wet towels in front of fans, and getting up at 5am to water our garden. Productivity has been at an all-time low and I’ve been happily skipping any and all planned workouts and run sessions in favour of befriending the fridge for some brief respite. I love a burst of heat as much as the next person, yet the UK just wasn’t built for this heat – it’s completely unnatural here. Climate change panic aside, this week has certainly taught Eddie and I that we need to be better prepared for pretty much any sort of mercury-change in our house!
Down with a stomach bug
After proudly proclaiming that I never get sick with stomach bugs, I managed to catch one last week. It came amidst countless social engagements (that I promptly all cancelled), looking after a post-op pup (he was swiftly ferried over to my parents!) and on the cusp of a heatwave (I required both a fan and a hot water bottle), and largely threw me off for a week. The worst part? I was too sick to even read a book or watch a movie! As ever, upon recovery I feel even more grateful for simply existing, healthily.
A run of bad books, and then Yesteryear
I’ve read some terrible books recently.
While I’ve been good at DNF’ing books, I also feared that I wasn’t giving books a good chance. More fool me, because I am struggling with a run of bad books, topped off with Yesteryear, which could win the award for the worst book I’ve read in 2026 so far.
Thankfully, I’ve now moved on to read an Ursula K. Le Guin essay (brilliant so far) and I’ve finally cracked on with John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, and things are finally looking up again! Have you read anything spectacular lately? Share it with me and the community!
Links I’ve Loved
- ‘My Life at Steak‘ by Ella on Substack made me smile.
- As did ‘Why does everything need to be optimised?‘, by Sophie.
- Loved this useful article on Metro about foods to eat and avoid during a heatwave.
- Lauren Grace’s vlog of her best friend’s hen do was so heartwarming!
- And I always, always adore Michelle’s tarot card deck reviews.
- I’ve been wearing this gorgeous dress on repeat – perfect with sandals, a basket bag and a hat!
