Spring, please

Or maybe not.
Weather-wise, we don't have much to complain about in Belgium these weeks, in comparison to the storm damage of last month in France, and the snow surprises in Germany and Spain. It's not even all that cold anymore, and spring is definitely sneaking closer. But with the treacherous cold wind, I keep getting attacked by some snot bug, with which I'm terribly fed up after the last couple of weeks. Especially since when I'm not all snotty because of a bug, I'm getting all snot-nosed because of allergies, even when it's still far too cold for anything to be in bloom.
Only last week I found out exactly why the damned condition is called HAY-fever --the fencing judge course took place on a sports accommodation domain where they also give horse riding courses. And who'd have thunk that hay is involved in the upkeep (or that it's not the manure that is the hardest on the nose).
I was recovering nicely from the damage all the sneezing and snottering had caused (the snot bug's always ready to take advantage), but yesterday I went to a info-session which took place in a small room above an indoor swimming pool. Now, I've been staying away from such places for decades for reasons of dermatographia, but it appears I've managed to develop a fabulous sensitivity to the reek of chlorine. More sneezing and snot followed, and I'm not out of the woods yet.
So bring on the spring, but please be gentle. This year is promising to be horrible on the allergies.

In other news:
- lots of fencing. Competed on Sunday and was pretty impressed with my own legwork. Now if I could actually get a grip on how to make it a good legwork day, I'll be doing okay in the Belgian Championships next month.
- writing, not so much. Gave the inhabitants of the attic a small peekaboo, to remind the cow-watching-and-plotting part of my brain of what elements are important so it can continue its swell job while I concentrate on: reading! I ordered a shitload of new books two weeks ago, of authors old and new but all none I've read before, and I've dug in. What can I say, words need to go in before words can come out.