It’s hot and I’ve had too much salt. My fingers and toes are like little sausages. My skin is tight. I don’t think I could put my shoes on if I had to. My sandals are uncomfortably snug.

I’ve eaten too many pickles.

I’m 4 doors away from the best pastry shop in town but I haven’t been in there yet. I have, however, devoured 3 jars of dilly pickles in the 4 weeks I’ve been back in Italy (and I was gone for 2 of those 4 weeks).

These are my favorite pickles and I’m making up for lost time. I got up yesterday morning and ate 4 before breakfast. I’ve been eating them freely during the day: no fat, almost no calories. A “free” treat and I eat them like candy. But the sodium! (I had figured that with hot days, riding my bike, walking, sweating, I could get away with all that salt. Nope.)

They’re so good. Just the right balance between vinegar-acid and a touch of sweet. Small and very crisp. No aftertaste like some pickles. I simply haven’t found any like this in Seattle.

And now I’m feeling it, like my skin is a stuffed casing. Sigh. I guess I need to ease off on the pickle consumption.

Il Picchio Crockioli • Cetrioli Croccanti • Gewürz Gurken
(The label is in Italian and German. After googling the company, Develey, I see they’re located in the Italian region of Trentino Alto-Adige, up next to and influenced by Austria. They also produce “McDonald’s Tomato Ketchup” for the European market.)