Hi, I'm Nina Iordanova and this is the 32nd edition of Something Good, a newsletter filtered through my 🧠, 🖐, and ❤️. Coming your way every two weeks, I hope you find something good here.
Hi!
Here is a photo of our noble pups, Gemma. I posed her against a backdrop of flowers like any good Eastern European mother would do. You can also see her wearing her summer collar (pink and blue and white with starfish on it) and her pee-covered leash.
My mom has become very attached to the name “Pups” (what I called Gemma while I was training her on her name) and now mostly calls Gemma by that. “What is Pups doing?” “Does Pups want water?” “Is Pups eating a cigarette butt?” It’s very sweet.
Gemma’s growing up to be a very good, calm, beautiful girl. Everyone who meets her is impressed that she’s not even 4 months old yet and is already pretty good at listening to me. She’s gotten much less nippy and also sleeps a lot more! This past week, there were two (!!) nights where I had 7+ hours of uninterrupted sleep. One of them she slept from 10pm to 8am!! I’ve also been able to leave her alone at home for around two hours with no problems.
We’re also getting to know each other better now. I know she likes to cuddle first thing in the morning but not throughout the day, that she loses her mind over watermelon, and the way her bark sounds when she needs something vs. when she’s just protesting. She doesn’t feel like a complete stranger anymore.
All those things have made it easier to have a normal life again. I’ve started cooking more often (I’ve mage eggplant parmesan, caldo verde, and roast chicken + apricots this week alone) which is a big win, and I hope to maaaaaaybe start exercising again soon.
I’ve discovered portrait mode on my iPhone and it’s made MANY incredible Gemma photos. She looks like she could be a dog model. But somehow they’re also too polished? Maybe that’s how people felt when we moved away from flash photography to just regular photography being good, I don't know.
Speaking of, here’s a weirdly lovely flash photo selfie. I’m kind of getting into using flash for photos again?? Maybe just nostalgic, but it feels more spontaneous and real. And I also only took THREE flash photos compared to my usual 20 whenever I use anything else haha. It’s like I can only stand the shame of the bright, sustained flash of light so many times before I have to give up.
And to close off, also in keeping with Bulgarian tradition, I must share a photo of Gemma looking like a little gremlin to ward off the evil eye. That way, the evil spirits don’t get jealous and kill? steal? her because I’ve praised her too much. Here you go.
Hope she makes you laugh like she makes me laugh.
Have a great weekend!
✨
Warmly yours,
Nina
Thanks for reading and I'll see you in two weeks! 👋