sunshine :)

It's a truth universally acknowledged... you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone! And yes, the song was a big hit too, but I tend to believe that the truth came first... Anyway, I lived for 26 years of my life in a country where the sun shines continuously from April to October and then again in February for a couple of weeks and certainly about 3-4 days a week for the rest of the year... which is goooood! Because, human beings, like plants, need the sun to survive (goodness, this is very scientific...) and when we don't have it we become gloomy like the weather...

Then, I came to The Netherlands... where the sun, normally, doesn't shine... feel free to make the connection with all the other places where the sun doesn't shine... Mind you, this past summer has been a one-off thing and for those of you having come recently here, well, enjoy the exception while it lasts, dudes, because an exception it is! My experience, after 9 years, is that when it starts raining here, it forgets to stop... and there have been many summers spent carrying an umbrella and wearing wool cardigans and shawls and boots... usually Ugg boots in light camel and... oooops, lost track of my thoughts, sorry :)

And then winter comes and it's worse... dark and wet and depressing and cold and... not nice! So, yes, what I missed in these 9 years is the sun. And I did regret bitterly all the times I complained (back in my old life) about the heat and the sun burning and the long summer season that tired me... I guess I had to lose it to appreciate it... thank you Universe!

But every now and then, recently more often admittedly due to the exception I was telling you (or global warming... ) I wake up in the morning and the sun begins to shine (this is a song as well, aint'it... ) and everything looks marvellous! The colours, the people, the city, everything is better! The mood is good, dressing up not having to worry about mud and rain is a bliss, taking out those old sun glasses from their case (where they have been sleeping peacefully for, oh, very long) and putting them on to go out in the bright sunshine is... yes, it is better than shoes! And not only it is better, but it combines greatly with shoes as well!! Because it is on those days that one takes out of the box that pair of Chloé suede-and-leather pumps and wears them with pride...