Real life is just too busy these days. It seems that I had more time when I was a divorced mom taking care of my son, working full time and taking care of a house and yard by myself than now when my child is grown and I have a hubby who takes care of the yard and part of the house. Just makes no sense... but I seem to have less time! Is it because I am older and time goes by so much more quickly - just like my mother told me it would?
I’m ready to play around with making more lotions and lip balms, etc., so ordered a few things from fromnaturewithlove.com. While there, I ordered some fragrance oils too because I like putting them in the little “crockpot” I have for dispersing fragrance into the house. I’ve loved how the house smells lately (just discovered recently that I had the little crock pot – and would like to buy another. This one is electric, so I don’t have to worry about candles). I put in a flavor oil called frankincense and myrrh over the holidays and the house smell so nice we got several comments on it. Now that the holidays are over, I’m feeling like a different fragrance, so ordered some - and also got 5 freebies too! The six I ordered are:
Amber
Frankincense
Frankincense and myrrh (was afraid I’d run out!)
Meditation
Nag champa
Orange blossom
My favorite so far is the nag champa, described as: “The smell of incense. True Indian sandalwood capped off with notes of hay and patchouli”. I always liked the smell of sandalwood insense, but hated the smoke. Now I have the smell without the smoke. What a deal.(I love it, though I read somewhere recently about sandalwood becoming scarce because of over-harvesting ... I need to do some research on that.) Meditation is also wonderful. Haven’t tried the others yet.
Dirt? Yes, DIRT! And guess what? It smells like dirt – at least the dirt here in Georgia! I tested it by having Mike smell it without knowing its name or what it was and asked him to tell me the first thing that came to his mind when he smelled it. He said… DIRT! HA! Now, I don’t think I’m going to put it into my little crockpot and I have no idea what I’ll use it for right now, but I just had to try it (it was a freebie afterall). I’ve not tested any of these in the crockpot yet, but evergreen sure smells luscious straight from the bottle.
For my hair I decided to buy some amla oil since FNWL finally had some in stock. They’d been out for ages. It’s supposed to be wonderful for the scalp and hair itself. Will try it out this weekend. I also bought some monoi de Tahiti in vanilla since I couldn’t find my old bottle from 3 of 4 years ago. I just love the smell of it and now that my hair isn’t fried with a perm, it might like it better for oiling on occasion. I also stocked up on jojoba since it’s my favorite and I’d hate to run out.
For my skin I bought something called Camelina Rosehip Facial Blend that is a combination of Camelina Oil, Rosehip Seed Oil, Calendula Oil, Fractionated Coconut Oil, Jojoba and Essential Oils of Lavender, Helichrysum, Sandalwood, Neroli, Carrotseed, Geranium and Clary Sage. Right now I use jojoba more than anything on my face, but thought this might be a nice change. I’ve not tested it out yet, but will this weekend. It sounded too wonderful to pass up.
The only kitchen witchery ingredient I ordered was jojoba esters for a lotion I want to make. I have the rest of the ingredients, fortunately. I hope I have time to play with this over the weekend, but it’s already looking busy – what with a work party to go to Saturday night and a few other commitments. Sigh… I like my weekends to be FREE (probably because my weekdays are so regimented).
I’m finally back into working out like I like. I go to Jazzercise on Monday, Wednesday and Friday after work and go to the gym to do a weight lifting class on Tuesday and Thursday. It seems to be the perfect combination, though I’d like to find a good yoga class somewhere too. Jazzercise is good for the heart and is just plain fun, the weight lifting class is intense weight lifting to music and is great for building strength and staving off osteoporosis, but I’d love something for the “core” and mind/soul too (but that also tones). I think yoga is something I’d like. Will have to see what I can find.
Over the holidays I started eating sugar and wheat again and have been paying for it. I put on 5 pounds and bloated up again. So, I’m in the process of getting it out of my system once more. I’m going to try making some gluten-free things soon to see how they turn out. I already make gluten free pancakes that are great and we use agave nectar and fruit preserves (with no sugar) and I like them just as much as wheat pancakes and syrup. Oh yeah, instead of butter, we use coconut oil. Mike even likes it! I’d like to find some gluten free recipes for cookies and cakes so I can have them without bloating up and feeling awful and sluggish (what sugar and wheat do to me).
My favorite sweet snacks right now are dates. Whole Foods has the best ones! Last time they also had some dates that were combined with coconut. Very sweet and very good. Right now I’m having my snack of raw almonds and rooibos tea. There is candy everywhere here at work, so it’s not always easy walking past it, but I used to and am working towards that again. (Though I will eat dark chocolate now and then.)
I finally emptied out the boxes in our jewelry room (where all the jewelry equipment is – Mike is a certified jeweler, though that is not what he does for living) and we’re hoping to set the jewelry equipment up this weekend. That means I will have access to all my beads and all his jewelry equipment and I’ll be able to take another silversmith class again when I want. Yay! Though lately I've been wanting to do more pottery than metal working. Clay is just more fun to me.
It also means that I unpacked all my cookbooks finally. THAT makes me very happy.
And, speaking of books, I am currently reading:
Why Animals Don't Get Heart Attacks... but People Do by Matthia Rath, MD Our Endangered Values by Jimmy Carter The Whole Soy Story: the Dark Side of America's Favorite Food by Kaayla T. Daniel Entertaining by Martha Stewart
And, I have about 15 other books waiting to be read and at least 15 more I want to buy or get from the library! Ah... where is the time?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted
with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not our breathren, they
are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.
Henry Beston (1888 - 1968) from The Outermost House
I had a trim (and GM long hair treatment) on Saturday at Farlow’s with Brent Jones and had the best time there. First of all, I found out that Brent was giving me the treatment as a wedding present! How sweet was that?! We had a nice talk about hair and he said mine looked great and there wasn’t any buildup of any kind on it. Since I use cone products I was curious about that, but suspected my hair was fine – and I was right! I told Brent that I was thinking about growing my hair to tailbone and he said he thought I could do it, but recommended it only if my ends stayed thick and healthy. For some reason I thought he supported all long hair at any length, but he said he really prefers to keep the ends thicker and not just go for length for length’s sake. That’s my thinkin’ on it too for me. He did say that he would support anyone’s desires though and would never cut more than what someone wanted. He LOVES long hair and just wants to make it as beautiful as possible on each person.
He proceeded to give me the treatment and once I had my hair up in the heating cap and was reading, he interrupted me to say he had a “surprise” for me. Turns out that CeliaB had just arrived and we got to meet each other! She’s not on the boards much, but will occasionally drop by – and has the most beautiful silver hair I think I’ve ever seen. It was at least to tailbone and looked to be in perfect condition. Really beautiful. She was getting the treatment too and was a nice as she could be. We chatted a bit, but it was difficult as we were both getting the treatment and there were other distractions as well. So that was a nice surprise!
While I was under the heating cap, Ericka, a massage therapist who works out of Farlow’s asked me if I’d like to have my neck and upper back massaged. I said yes and holy cow I was glad I did. She was so good at it that I might become a regular with her for back massages. The timing was perfect since I’d just started heavy-duty back at the gym and was sore. She had long hair too, but in dreads. They suited her though.
While I was there, a very curly girl showed up and told Brent her hair didn’t shine anymore. Her hair was maybe to BS, but it was VERY curly so was probably quite long once stretched out. Brent asked her what products she was using and she said “cheap stuff” and the main shampoo she was using was Pantene. Brent said that was “one problem for sure”! He doesn’t like Pantene at all either – lol! He told her what the treatment was all about and she decided to do it. He did tell her (and me, ‘cause I asked) that the point wasn’t to straighten her curls, but to condition her hair in the George Michael way - and in order to do that it would be roller curled. The point of roller curling is to smooth the cuticle and it would help with the condition and shine of the hair. But, once she washed her hair again, her curls would return – only just more conditioned. I got under the hair dryer after that I think, so couldn’t hear much more. I wanted to see how her hair looked afterwards, but was long gone by then.
I got out from the rollers and my hair was quite straight. It felt wonderful, but because it was so straight and the cuticle of my hair was lying so flat, it made my hair feel thin to me. Silly, I guess, but I liked it and didn’t like it at the same time. I doesn’t matter since once I wash it my natural texture will be back. But, it did remind me of when I used to blow my hair dry to the stick straight stage and why I don’t like it anymore.
Oh, he trimmed off about ½” because when I got home I measured and it’s now 32” instead of 32.5” I measured on January 1st. I love trims because my hair just looks a feels so much better after one.
Here is a picture of me at home just before leaving to go to Farlow’s. My hands are at my waist.
And, here are two “after” pictures that Brent took. There is a shadow behind me so it kind of makes the picture look weird. I don’t think it was a good spot to take the picture since we were right under artificial light and the white door just isn’t very complimentary. You can see how my natural texture has been smoothed out – and I have the George Michael “flip”. I’m wearing a black cover-up from there, so am not stylin’ too much in the picture – lol.
It was the best time I’ve had getting the “treatment” and Brent was a sweetheart to give it to me as a wedding gift. By the way, there were people from Germany, Charlotte, Tennessee and one other place I cant remember getting long hair treatments!
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Oct 26, 2006 3:10 PM
Well, let’s see what’s been going on! It’s been awhile since I’ve written here. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years have come and gone since I last wrote. The holidays were wonderful.
I’m still low maintenance with my hair, but am feeling the urge to learn new styles since I am now sitting at waist and want to grow longer. I’m thinking maybe some braid styles would be nice, if I’d only have the patience to learn them. I’m going to see Brent Jones this weekend to get the long hair “treatment” and a tiny trim. Maybe up to 32” so Liliana and I can be “twins” – lol. That’s only half an inch - and my hair really seems to grow better with trims. When it was this length last winter, the ends were much thinner I think. Cutting off almost 4” was a good thing, because the ends definitely look better and thicker now. So… a small trim this weekend…
I’ve joined Jazzercise again to get my regular workouts in each week. I do three classes of Jazzercise and two classes of weight training at the gym. I was not very good about keeping on a schedule over the holidays – and my diet went downhill too. It was probably a good reminder at the kind of foods that I seem to not tolerate very well… sugar and wheat. Everyone at work was bringing in candy and cookies and... well, it was rude to just turn my nose up at them, right? So, I partook and uck, don’t feel nearly as well when I am on a wheat-less and sugar-free diet. My energy level is so much better then. So, this week, I am breaking the sugar habit once more. It’s not hard for me to do; I just have to remember to bring my own snacks in to work since I get hungry between breakfast (at 5:30 a.m.) and lunch (at 11:30). I restocked my raw almond supply and cut up some carrots for today. I also like to keep dates here for something sweet. That, plus my rooibos teas and I’m happy!
I need to take a new length picture to compare it to before my trim last winter… will have to do that soon…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted
with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not our breathren, they
are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.
Henry Beston (1888 - 1968) from The Outermost House
Mike and I went to Chattanooga, Tennessee this past weekend just for fun since it's October and beautiful and the leaves are starting to change. We went to the big aquarium there...
where we saw lots of fish and animals...
Atlanta will have the largest aquarium in the world opening this month, but I'd never been to an aquarium before and wanted to check out the one in Chattanooga. Some of the environments seems a bit small for their inhabitants, but everyone appeared active and happy. There were some beautiful jellyfish that we marveled over - who seemed to be emmiting electricity and light. They were tiny and so intricate and delicate looking. The butterfly house was humid and fun and the butterflies flitted about seeminingly without a care - landing on people as easily as a bush or twig.
On Sunday we went to Rock City. I'd seen the black and white "See Rock City" signs on barns roofs all over the South since I was a kid.
So I decided I finally wanted to see what it was all about. It was actually quite cool. There are all kinds of huge natural rock formations that you walk under, through and between. We had the best time going through "fat man squeeze," under the massive "balanced rock" and across the swinging bridge to Lover's Leap. Mike, being the rock collector that he is, was freed from the pressures of rock collecting because these were boulders - and more - so he couldn't pick them up - lol!
We crossed the swinging bridge to Lover's Leap and viewed seven states! Here is Mike on the swinging bridge:
Lovers Leap:
And me, on Lover's Leap (with the sun in my eyes):
And here are some autumn leaves in Rock City:
The weather was perfect and we had a great time. When we walked out of the park, there was a leather vendor and Mike bought me a woven leather hair slide. It's the only slide I have that actually stays in my hair without first putting it into a ponytail. I like it! Here is a picture:
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Nov 1, 2005 9:37 AM
Now that the wedding is all over, I can have a normal life again! I enjoyed the whole process of making our outfits and arranging the whole thing, but it's nice settling down to a calm life now. Mike and I love being married and keep asking each other if we can believe we really "did it". Lol... we've both been married and burned before, so it took us a good three years to trust each other. Now we do and it's nice to know that we finally have someone on our side.
Autumn is in the air and I love it! It means little humidity and good hair days, plus time for cozying up in front of the fireplace. Plus big pots of soup and big sweaters... I love autumn. We're going to Tennessee this weekend to look at the leaves. They're just starting to turn here.
As far as a hair update, I don't really have one. I'm pretty low maintenance lately and just keep doing what I do. I have an appointment with Brent at Farlow's next month and that might help me decide if I want to grow longer or maintain around waistlength. I just don't know...
I thought I'd post here about my upcoming wedding just to keep a record for myself (and for anyone who is interested) of what I'm up to. I'm making my dress and Mike's shirt (and my bouquet and head wreath too, I think) and am hoping to post pictures of the dress, etc. as it comes along... and ramble on about how things are going. It'll be fun to look back on once the wedding is over.
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Jul 22, 2005 8:20 AM This message has been edited by Avrilon on Jul 7, 2005 2:21 PM
I can’t believe I haven’t written here since May! Well, I have some things to catch up on
Mike proposed to me when we were in Asheville, North Carolina weekend before last. It was quite sweet and romantic and I said… yes! He started the proposal at the Biltmore House when we were in the gardens, but got interrupted by a little girl who started yelling that she wanted us to come look at the deer. We laughed and did, but the mood was changed at that point. But he did the "real" proposal over a very romantic dinner later than night. He said I had tears in my eyes.
We are going to have a very small wedding in Montana, somewhere at Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park in September (go here for lots of pictures of the park: www.glacierparkphotos.com). It’ll be just the two of us plus Lois, the preacher and Jenny, the photographer. Oh yes, and LOTS of beautiful scenery. I’ve never been to Montana, and am excited just be there – let alone get married there!
Since the wedding is so small, the planning is minimal. We’ve already arranged the preacher, photographer and location (that was easy!). We’ve also reserved our room and rental car and made plane reservations. Now all we really have to do is figure out what to wear! I’m making my dress and Mike’s shirt, and this is the look I’m going for for me:
It’ll be my version of the Accolade dress. I have two patterns I’m considering, Simplicity 9891 view B (the light blue dress below)
or McCall’s 4378. I’m leaning towards the McCalls pattern since that pattern includes a train on the dress and a cloak, which I also want to make (in case it’s cool in Montana). My version won’t look much like their example though; it’s just the “base” for what I want to make. (I'd post a picture, but for some reason it keeps corrupting the rest of this post when I do.) I can’t wait to get started, but am still deciding on the fabric. I’ve already bought the trim for the belt and it’s beautiful. I will post a picture of it here soon, with two of the fabric samples I have.
And, I want to make Mike a peasant type shirt. I can’t find a good example of what I want to make him on the web, so will just have to wait until I find the right pattern to post a picture.
And, here is a picture of the ring we’re both going to have:
Only ours will be platinum, wider (10 mm wide), and mine will have the diamond that is currently on my “unofficial” engagement ring (that I’ve been wearing since my birthday in 2004) mounted on it. The ring is hand woven and we both fell in love with it.
I’ve also decided to make my bouquet and head wreath out of dried or silk flowers. For one thing, I want to know what they look like before the wedding and I would also like to be able to KEEP them. They won’t wilt and I love the look of dried flowers. Since it will be autumn, I might even choose something like wheat or leaves or a combination of autumn plants. Here is a wreath I like, but it's bigger than what I want to make. But I do like the color and texture of it
I think this is going to be FUN!
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Jul 7, 2005 2:34 PM This message has been edited by Avrilon on Jul 7, 2005 2:25 PM This message has been edited by Avrilon on Jul 7, 2005 2:22 PM
Here is a picture of the trim I'm going to be using on my dress:
You really can't see the shiny threads running through it though. It's not nearly as "flat" looking and has a gorgeous sheen to it due to the satiny and very shiny threads. Also, what looks like a dull green is really a gold color in person. But you get the idea anyway. On either side of it are fabrics I'm considering for the dress. But on Saturday I'll be on my quest to find THE fabric.
I decided to go ahead and order some shoes that I liked just to make sure they didn't sell out before I made up my mind. Not sure yet if they will go with the dress, but I like 'em a lot. Here is a picture:
Since I want my dress relatively simple (not too much trim and fancy details), I'm thinking it'll work out great. Maybe I'll keep them even if they don't got with the wedding dress. They'd go great with some of my skirts.
Now I'm off to finish the blouse I started last week! It's my practice piece since I haven't sewn in so many years (15? 20?) I'm having to use our dining room for my sewing area and it wouldn't be so bad except that we have all kinds of stuff in there that we still need to move to the condo or Goodwill. Like a couch turned sideways and rolls of carpet that are going up in the attic when Mike has the time to finish it out, and albums from back in the... hmmm... 60's! I have the first album I ever bought: Meet the Beatles. Okay, I'm getting off track here. Geez...
I finally found some fabric I actually like! Most of the fabric stores around here have your typical wedding dress fabric and a lot of nice fabrics for blouses and sleepwear, but I couldn't find anything for the dress I wanted to make. I ended up going to a store called Frugal Fabrics that carried a lot of upholstery fabric. They had wonderful fabrics that I will probably use to make us some curtains and pillows and even a bedspread. I was drooling over the beautifully textured fabrics!
Here is what I ended up getting:
And, here it is with the trim, though this trim is impossible to catch accurately on film. These look more like it than the first picture though.
The trim is so much prettier than it shows here. The fabric is a kind of micro-suede with swirl embroidering on it. It's got great drape and will be wonderful for an autumn wedding.
Also, here are a couple of shots of the shoes - that show more detail than the picture from Zappos (where I got them):
Maybe you can see the sparklies on them that I am thinking about removing. But today I'm kind of liking them.
Got to run! Will post the pattern I'm going to use soon.
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Jul 19, 2005 6:46 PM
I've been looking at four patterns, but finally decided on this one:
You can't see, but it has a slight train and laces up the back. My finished dress won't have trim on the ends of the sleeves and my sleeves will match the rest of the fabric. I also might not have trim around the neck... will just have to see how it looks once put togther.
This weekend I hope to make the muslin version just to make sure the size is correct for me. I'm also waiting for my dress form to arrive to help me along. Since I've not sewn much in 20 years, I need to do a decent fitting before cutting into my pretty fabric - just to see how true to size I am. I will probably have to make some adjustments since in the bust I wear a size 16 pattern (patterns are WAY different from a ready-made dresses, where I wear a size 10!), but my waist is a size 12 and my hips are a size 14. Crazy, huh? Right now I measure (with bra on) 39-27-38. When I used to sew, I was 36-24-36... sigh... Anyway, I think I'd better make adjustments in the pattern on the muslin so I'll be ready to go on the real thing.
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Jul 26, 2005 7:25 PM
I've been working on my mock-up dress today and Mesa, my kitty, decided to join me and help:
I liked the company, but did finally have to move her to another part of the cutting board. She wanted to play - loves the crinkly noise of the patterns as I wadded up the extra pieces (trash) and threw them in the air.
As far as the pattern goes so far - I had to lower the waist by an inch and it looks as though I will need to lengthen the skirt part a bit too. I have the dress all cut out now and this weekend will put it together to see what other adjustments I'll need to make.
Oh yeah, I just got my dressform and put it together. I have it almost my size, but haven't done the fine tweaking yet.
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Jul 22, 2005 8:18 AM
I went shopping yesterday to pick out some flowers for my bouquet, hair wreath and Mike's boutonnière. I walked all over the store several times and found some that looked okay, but didn't really move me. I was disappointed. I wanted flowers, but autumn colors and all I could find were spring colors or lots of autumn leaves and grasses in very deep oranges, reds and gold. I needed something softer. I picked out everything and proceeded to go to the front of the store where Mike was going to meet me (and give me his input). And, lo and behold, there was a large grouping of flowers separate from the rest of them. They were perfect! Here are some pictures of them just loose in a vase; I've not yet made the bouquet, wreath or boutonnière:
I bought large and small flowers and will use the smaller ones on the hair wreath. I don't think I want big, floppy flowers oh my head!
The only thing left to buy now is the fabric for Mike's shirt. I'll post a picture of the pattern if I can get a good one. The only good shot I have of it is the little boy's version (hmmm... how appropriate - lol... )
Today I begin sewing my muslin dress - if I can get Mike out of bed. Poor thing has been sick for about 4 days now and I really don't want to disturb him. I just need the bed for a working space! It's 10:00 so I know he wants to get up as he hates sleeping late. Think I'll go tiptoe around him to see what's going on...
I decided to make a muslin version of my dress to check for sizing, etc., and put it together today (well, minus one sleeve, but I don't think I need to add it for the rest of the fitting). The bust fits perfectly, but the waist and hips are a bit too big. The length of the sleeves are a little too long and the length of the dress in the front is a bit too short. So, I really don't have any major alterations to make and the dress went together quite easily. I've not added the lacing in the back, but will do that on this version before sewing the real dress since it will affect the fitting a lot. Here are some pictures of it in it's too big muslin state without the lacing or any trim:
And here is a picture that finally shows the trim with the sheen it has. This isn't what the belt will look like, but it gives an idea and it will hang something like this.
I think I'm going to like the final version a lot - especially since the fabric is so much nicer.
I'm really having fun with this!
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Jul 25, 2005 8:02 AM This message has been edited by Avrilon on Jul 24, 2005 5:16 PM This message has been edited by Avrilon on Jul 24, 2005 4:37 PM
No pictures this post, but I spent this past Saturday adding grommets to the muslin dress to see how it would look and fit laced up, and it turned out great. On Sunday I cut out my dress in the "real" fabric. I have enough fabric left over that I think I will make my wedding day purse out of it - probably a simple drawstring one (instead of crocheting it). I also bought the fabric for Mike's shirt and am trying to decide what else to do for his look. Right now I think he might look too "plain", so am thinking about making him a vest too. He's open to whatever I want him to wear (and thankful that he doesn't have to wear a suit ), so that's making it a lot of fun for me. He did help me pick out his shirt fabric - and I do want him to like what I'm making for him.
I spent a couple of hours at the store looking at ribbon and lace for making my garter and finishing off my dress. That was a lot of fun because there are so many pretty ribbons and trims one can use. Not sure what I'll end up doing as time might be of essence. That is, I might run out of time! But I did pick up some pretty things and if I don't use them on my dress, I'll use them for something else.
While out I also picked up a beautiful photo album for our wedding and honeymoom pictures. I don't like most official wedding albums that are usually white with pearls and ribbons and sometimes even puffed up. Just not my "style" I guess you could say. The one I bought has a cover of hand-made paper (kind of wrinkly looking) that has pressed, dried wheat in between the sheets. They also had one with pressed rose petals, but since our wedding is in autumn, the wheat just reminded me more of cool weather and blue skies - and autumn (my favorite season!). I also eye-balled a beautiful brown leather one, but decided on the wrinkly paper one instead. Jenny, my photographer, will also have sample albums for me to look at when in Montana, so I might have even more options. She sounds very creative and might have something that works even better than the one I picked out.
I should have more pictures this weekend of Mike's fabric, the lacing on my muslin dress and who know what else?
I was hoping to have more of a wedding/dress etc. update today, but life just keeps getting in the way. Good stuff and bad stuff - and I'm not complaining - just have too much to do!
Life update: Sunday was Mike's 47th birthday and one of my presents to him was to insist that he go with a buddy of his to a Harley Ride that benefited muscular dystrophy. There were about 300 bikes, police escorted, that made their way to that Atlanta Motor Speedway where they all got to take off on the race track. Mike said it was the most fun he ever had! While he was there, I ran around and picked up 24 balloons, a cake (I usually make my own cakes, but just didn't have time and wanted to get a small one so I wouldn't be too tempted to eat any) and some favorite things of his before he got home and we celebrated. He had a great day.
At the same time, Mike's father in Germany is dying of cancer and they didn't expect him to make it through the day. Mike kept hoping that he wouldn't die on his birthday. We didn't get a call, so he must still be hanging in there. Mike is a bit ambivalent about it - as his father was never very nice to him and they only recently "connected" when we went to Germany summer before last when Mike reached out to him. When Mike told him he loved him a couple of months ago, his father's response was, "Oh, okay" and he kept talking about something else. Not a very sentimental, sensitive or kind man, but I won't go into all that here. (He was not nice to me when I met him, so I have no feelings really for him at all.) The problem now is that when he does die, Mike will probably have to fly to Germany or Switzerland since he is one of the executors to his will.
Wedding Update: I got most of the final dress put together on Saturday, minus the long part of the sleeves - and on Sunday I made the lining and put it in. I didn't have all weekend to work on it like I'd hoped, but sometimes other things are just more important (like birthdays!). It went together really well, but I haven't fine-tuned the fitting yet. I don't have any pictures of anything since I just didn't have time to take any. Was running around both days trying to get things done - and that included laundry and all the other things one normally does on the weekend trying to catch up from a full work week. Except vacuuming. That could wait and did and there are bits and pieces of fabric here and there - and thread too, I'm sure. I'm just hoping I don't step on a pin.
That's it for now - back at work and need to get busy here too.
***
Addendum: Mike's dad did die on Mike's birthday. How sad is that?
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Aug 9, 2005 8:27 PM
I decided I wouldn’t have time to make the earrings and necklace I wanted to make for the wedding (running out of time and the jewelry room hasn’t even been unpacked since we moved in January!), so here is what we bought for the big day:
and
and I’ve been eye-balling this ring for at least 6 months, and decided to go ahead and get it and wear it on my right hand. I love it!
Things are coming together – slowly but surely. I’m taking off this Friday to help Mike get his head together for leaving for Germany for his father’s funeral and should also have time to finish my dress. I can’t wait until the fun part of adding the trim and details. I might even have time to work on Mike’s shirt and my wreath this weekend. I’m still waiting to see if I will have time to make a cloak. They’re simple to make, so I probably will, but I don’t want to buy any fabric until I’m sure there's enough time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted
with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not our breathren, they
are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.
Henry Beston (1888 - 1968) from The Outermost House
I got quite a bit done this weekend. If I had a special foot for my sewing machine and one of those things you use to iron tight spots, I would have finished my dress completely. I’ll pick those two things up today and work on it after work this week since Mike is flying to Germany today for his dad’s funeral. He'll be back on Sunday... I'm going to miss him... sigh
Here is a picture of part of one of the sleeves on my dress (lined in satin that matches the shiny embroidery on the fabric). It's not had the final ironing and is still a bit wrinkled towards the bottom:
And here is the grommet strip (that I need the different sewing machine foot for to add to the back of my dress). I first added the grommet to the strip, but hated the brassy look, so ended up using embroidery thread to cover it. I like it much better (it’s more subtle). You can also see the cord I’m thinking about using for the lacing:
Below is a picture the muslin version of Mike's shirt - with the sleeves being fiddled with. I’m having to customize it quite a bit so it will fit the way we want it to. He looked like a choir boy when he put the first version on. This picture is after 3 big changes in length and width. And, he wants cuffs instead of elastic on the sleeves, so that will make it look even nicer – though the pattern didn’t come with cuffs. I will have to create my own. I think I’ll have them lace shut instead of using a button, but we’ll see. This muslin fabric makes his sleeves look more puffy than they will be with the final fabric.
And here is the fabric for Mike’s shirt:
I also started on the little purse I’m making to match the dress and will have that done soon. So, everything is coming together. I still have the wreath to make and need to put my flowers together for a nice bouquet, but the most difficult parts are over. So maybe I’ll have time to clean the house again! I’m thinking I’ll have time to make a cloak, so that might be next on my list of things to do. That should be fast and relatively easy though. Picking a fabric out for it will be fun!
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Aug 15, 2005 7:32 PM
Actually, there isn't much of an update since I didn't have time this past weekend to work on anything since I had to spend a lot of Sunday at the airport picking up Mike from Germany - and desperately needed to clean house for a change on Saturday.
I did make my bouquet and cut apart the flowers for the head wreath. And, I went to talk to the sewing lady at JoAnns to find out what sewing foot would work best for the sewing issue I was having - and we figured something out that should work find.
This weekend will be very busy. I will finish all the details on my dress and hopefully get Mike's shirt close to finished as well. I'm so glad i have a 3-day holiday weekend coming up soon to tie up any loose ends.
I'm trying to decide if I want music at our little wedding. I've heard a song several times at home that makes me stop in my tracks where I hear it - that I'd love to have playing. I can't remember the name of the song, but it's on Helen O'Hara's Southern Hearts CD. It's moves me.
Wedding purse, dress lacing, beautiful Fox hair sticks
August 29 2005, 7:59 AM
What a busy weekend!
My dress is all but finished. All that’s left to do is hem it and make the belt - and maybe add some stitching around the neck area. Here are a couple of pictures. The first shows part of one of the upper sleeves, and the second one shows part of the lacing on the back. Both were hand-stitched to the dress since it just worked out better that way. The stitches aren't perfect, but it’s quite secure!
And, here are a couple of pictures of the purse I made for the wedding day:
I didn’t have a pattern and it seemed silly to buy one since it was just draw-string bag. I just used the fabrics from my dress and bought some trim, cording and “tails” (that I added to the drawstrings) – and it turned out quite well.
I’m drying some flowers from a bouquet that Mike gave me just before he left for Germany a few weeks ago (it was a “don’t be sad while I’m gone” bouquet ) and will add them to my wedding bouquet this weekend.
I’m so glad I have a three-day weekend coming up. I’ll be able to make Mike’s shirt (which is much easier than my dress!), belt, hair wreath and his boutonnière. Then I’m finished!
Fox made me the prettiest wedding hair sticks! She knows I’m going to wear my hair down, but made them for me anyway, and they are soooo beautiful. Here are some pictures:
And here, you can kind of see how well they go with my wedding earrings, which I'm wearing in the picture:
I’m trying to figure out how I can incorporate them with my hair and wreath on the wedding day. I have to do a “test run” on my hair, so will be fooling around with that this weekend too.
This will be my last post here before the wedding. We leave this Thursday for Montana! I finished most of the loose ends today, except for the belt for my dress, which I'll do after supper tonight or tomorrow night.
Here is a picture of the garter I made this afternoon:
And the bouquet, almost finished (adding a few more dried flowers from a bouquet Mike gave me before he left for Germany):
This is the hair wreath, though at this angle, it looks kind of goofy:
And finally, here is a detail shot of Mike's shirt.
I just got over a horrid cold and feel great today... but now Mike has it and is hacking and coughing his poor head off. He has a week to get better before the wedding. If he had what I got, he should be fine by then. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Tonight I'm going to test curl my hair to see how it looks with the wreath and dress. I'm thinking the easiest way to curl it will be when I put it in a ponytail on top of my head and then roll the ponytail in about 8 curls using spong rollers. It's comfortable, predictable and easy to do. But then again, I'm kind of leaning towards letting my hair dry naturally and wearing it that way.
I have a LOT to add here, but have had no time since getting back from Montana. Please stay tuned - there will be pictures galore!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted
with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not our breathren, they
are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.
Henry Beston (1888 - 1968) from The Outermost House
Vacation, wedding and honeymoon catch-up - with lots of pictures
October 3 2005, 11:22 AM
I finally got some pictures uploaded and have a little time to post about our trip! The wedding pictures aren't here yet though, so I'm anxious to get them. But, here are some photos anyway...
Mike and I had a WONDERFUL time in Montana. We arrived on Thursday, September 15th and spent days vacationing before our wedding on the 19th. Then we honeymooned. We stayed in Kalispell, but spent a lot of our time and got married in Glacier National Park and the Flathead Lake area. First though, here is a picture of our wedding site:
And here is a picture of Mike and me after the wedding, signing the marriage certificate, so you can see what we looked like (while waiting for the wedding pictures). The preacher shot his with our camera and that's how I have it:
It is just gorgeous there. The lakes, streams and rivers are glacier fed, icy cold and crystal clear. Here is Mike and some of the gorgeous water:
The stones around the water are greens, pinks and cream colors like nothing I've seen anywhere. The waters of the lakes and streams were so blue it looked like water from the Caribbean.
My eyes were bugging out of my head the whole time I was there and I ended up taking over 500 pictures. Mike picked up five rather large rocks and we brought them home (in addition to a bunch of smaller ones we got at our wedding site). Here is the rock collector in action and some of the rocks he picked up from the wedding site:
We got married at 2:00 on Monday, the 19th, and the weather was just beautiful. It was a bit windy, but I like the wind. The sun was shining and there were a few clouds in the sky and the air was cool and crisp. The only thing that went wrong the whole day was that I realized I'd left my bouquet at the hotel room and it was too late to turn around and get it. So, I had poor Mike cut some cat tails, wheat and another "weed" from the side of the road as we headed to the park - and fashioned a new bouquet. It didn't match my dress and hair wreath like the first one I'd made (sigh...), but it was spontaneous and fun. I brought it home with me and it's in a vase now.
We met Jenny, the photographer, at Apgar Village - located on Lake McDonald shortly after entering the park, and she followed us to the site we'd picked out for the wedding. After we arrived and I was making my new bouquet, Lois, the preacher, arrived with a friend of hers. It was all very casual and open time-wise. Jenny wanted to take some posed pictures, so we did that and then Lois performed the ceremony, which was beautiful and personalized a lot for Mike and me. The waves were lapping the shore and the wind was rustling the leaves and autumn (my favorite season) was in the air.
Lapping waves:
It was as close to perfect as it could be. When Lois pronounced us married we both smiled a big smile and were so happy (well, we also did a little kiss and BIG hug). Jenny took more pictures afterwards and then she and Lois and Lois's friend were on their way.
Mike and I changed from our wedding garb into hiking clothes in our rented truck and went hiking for the rest of the afternoon. We walked the Trail of the Cedars and then went into the woods and hiked for a couple of miles to Avalanche Lake.
The woods were dark and ominous and made me think of Hansel and Gretel.
I expected to see an old witch's house around any corner. There was thick moss growing everywhere and old growth, including trees that had fallen down for years.
All very untouched and pristine - and primeval. I could see in my mind's eye a dinosaur coming over the ridge next to the huge rocks and dense trees. While it felt somewhat ominous, it was beautiful and the air smelled like cedar and we had a great hike.
When first entering the hiking trail there was the most beautiful waterfall dropping through rocks that had been worn down by water for years and years - with moss growing on them. It was one of the prettiest sites I've ever seen. I took lots of pictures, but feared there wasn't enough light. But there was!
We were warned about grizzly bears so Mike was carrying a large can of bear repellant (mace). He wanted to see a bear so badly, but I didn't want to stumble across one since a poor man had been mauled by a mother bear the week before on a very popular hiking site. So I whistled a lot.
After our hike to the lake and back, we headed out to dinner in Whitefish and back to our room for the evening. I surprised Mike with a new negligee that he liked very much. Glamour shot of me:
Though this is more what I looked like on our trip:
And here are some of my favorite pictures of Mike:
The ol' ball and chain - lol!
We liked Montana a LOT. Kalispell, where we stayed, is located in a valley and surrounded by mountains. There is a small town area and lots of open space and ranches.
Since this is getting long, I'll wrap it up and add another post with more pictures of Montana.
I finally got my wedding pictures! Click here to see: http://public.fotki.com/Avrilon/wedding_-_september/?cmd=slideShowFlash. That should take you to a slide show of just a few of the pictures. I have many more, but I think these are my favorites so far. You can see the funky bouquet I made from the plants Mike and I picked that were growing on the side of the road on the way to the wedding (since I left the one I'd made back at the hotel room) and finally see my dress, hair wreath and Mike's shirt. I'll probably be adding more pictures as I have time to go through them more...
Life Update: I've been very busy again lately... Mike moved the rest of the furniture from my house to his house last week and we moved it all around over the weekend, and pondered... what do we keep and what do we get rid of? Since he moved three rooms of furniture (two bedrooms and one living room), the house was overflowing since it was already furnished with Mike's furniture. We have about three houses worth of furniture and I feel suffocated! My son is taking one king bed with mattress and an old oak hutch I no longer need - and hopefully other odds and ends as well. The rest of the overflow will go to the condo until we sell it, and to our basement - that is already spilling over with... STUFF! I can't wait to clear out all this clutter and decorate. I'm itching to paint the walls and do something to the kitchen to give it some warmth. I am not fond of white kitchens and for the time being that is what I have in the new house. I can't complain too much though, as I have much more room that I did - and there is a lot of potential there. We have plans, so I just have to bide my time.
I finally have my dresser so I can set up more of my jewelry and hair toys and not have everything crowded in the bathroom. When I start digging around in my hair toy and product boxes, it'll be fun rediscovering items I've forgotten I have.
My house closing is the 29th and that will be wonderful having that saga come to an end. On the same day I am closing on Mike's house. We decided it made more sense for it to be in my name since my credit is much better than his - allowing me to get a much better interest rate. He's had some ups and downs with late payments during the years he was building his business and that has wrecked havoc with his score. Now I'll own the "big house" and he'll have to do everything I say - lol...
After the closing of these houses, our lives will settle down a lot and we'll turn more towards us. I will let everyone know when anything "official" happens. Then, hopefully we'll be going on a nice vacation somewhere. Still pondering where we want to go... thinking about Montana or Washington or Alaska... but haven't decided yet. Would love to go to Italy and meet my friend, Rita, but I think we'll stay in the states this time around.
Hair Update: I'm still loving my trim and am wearing it down so much more - so that makes me happy. I've also starting washing it a little more often to have that nice just-washed feel when I wear my hair down. I wash it before work, usually plop it with Jessicurl's Rockin' Ringlets and then diffuse on warm until it is barely damp. It dries the rest of the way on my way in to work and then I pick it out upside down like I used to do when I had a perm. My hair is longer than in this picture, but this is what it looks like when it dries before I pick it out:
I wasn't getting those waves much anymore before my trim and I missed them. I'm curious to see how my hair will grow out over the next few months. Will it thin out again or will it stay thicker on the ends? If it stays thick, I'll let it grow some more; if not, I'll be keeping it at this length.
As birds come in spring, we know not from where,
As the stars come at evening from depths of the air,
So come to the poet his songs, all hitherward blown
From the misty realm that belongs to the vast unknown.
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The Progress of Spring by Charles Ward
My routine varies a bit, but I’ll write down what I usually do...
Current Routine:
I wash my hair in the morning before work and let it dry on the way in to work. If it's a dry morning, it's almost dry by the time I get in (about 2.5 hours from washing until I arrive at my desk), but if it's a wet morning, it can take twice that long. But, I like the feel of just-washed hair when I want to wear it down, so don’t mind this routine. In the winter I might use a blower to dry my scalp before leaving, but since it’s usually not that cold here and my hair is pretty much dry on my scalp when I leave, I rarely have to do that. I wash on Monday and Thursday mornings. Sometimes I will wash on the weekend if I want to wear it down for a date or something, but normally I wash twice a week.
Prior to most washings, I apply a heavy jojoba oiling the night before. I saturate the length below my ears and leave it in overnight. I do a total washing (including the length) to get rid of the oil, but my length feels very moisturized and not the least bit dry. I tried CO washing and didn’t like it at all. Maybe my hair is too fine; don’t know, but CO made it lank and dull.
Washing Routine, done usually twice a week:
1. Deep jojoba application the night before washing
2. Wash all of hair, then rinse thoroughly
3. Apply white vinegar rinse*, then rinse thoroughly
4. Apply conditioner and put on shower cap to keep conditioner in hair for at least 5 minutes, then rinse. I usually let the shower water hit the shower cap to give myself a “heat treatment” in the shower.
*Vinegar Rinse: I keep a large plastic cup in my shower; it probably holds about a quart of water. I also keep a big jug of white vinegar in my shower. I usually add about ¼ cup of vinegar to the container of water and then pour over my hair. It makes my hair shiny and I use it every time I wash.
If I don’t have a lot of oil in my hair, I always do a CWC (condition/wash/condition). Sometimes I’ll forget to add the jojoba the night before, or my hair just doesn’t seem to need it, so I’ll do a CWC the next wash.
Towel Drying: While in the shower and after the water has been turned off, I twist my hair enough to get out the dripping water. I then wrap my hair into a towel and get out of the shower. After about 5 minutes, I take off the towel, reverse it and put it back on (so that the dry part of it is where the wet part used to be). After about 5 more minutes, I take the towel off and add Back to Basics Detangler, Leave-In Conditioning and Detangling Spray and then comb out with a wide-tooth seamless comb. My hair doesn't tangle a lot, but the detangling spray makes the comb really glide through.
Additional Leave-Ins: After I comb my hair out, I always add a bit (enough to barely coat both of my hands) of jojoba to the length. Then, when my hair is almost dry, I spritz the length with some of the mix I keep in a 4-ounce blue glass bottle (4 ounces distilled water mixed with 15 drops of Aura Cacia grapefruit essential oil). The detangler, jojoba and grapefruit EO mix are the only leave-ins I use currently. In the past I've used one of several leave-ins that I like on top of the jojoba, depending on what I wanted to do with my hair. If I was going to plop and/or scrunch I add Jessicurls Rockin’ Ringlets or another product to help my waves form. With my current length of 36" I don't plop anymore since the waves don't form very well with all the weight of my hair.
Regular Drying: After adding the leave-ins, I air dry. I don’t comb or brush my hair while it’s drying, though I might turn my head upside down and shake it around to get more air in between the hair to speed up the process (and give me a bit more “oomph”.) It usually takes my hair around 3 hours to dry if I’m up and moving around.
Plopping: I don't currently plop or use a hair dryer at all, but when my hair was shorter and I wanted more waves, I plopped and scrunched. After adding the products I like, I plopped into a large aquis type towel I got from LisaJaney, and left it up for 15 to 30 minutes if I was doing it in the morning before work, or longer if I had time. Once I took the towel down I’d either air-dry or use my dryer with a diffuser on warm (never hot) air. Using the diffuser gave me nicer and more prominent waves, but I don’t like using the dryer. I used do that for special occasions when my hair was shorter.
Combing and Brushing: After air drying, I comb my hair with a wide tooth comb when it’s completely dry. I occasionally use a brush during the day with plastic teeth that are placed far apart from each other and are soft and have a lot of give to them. It’s almost like a comb only it’s got more than one row and the teeth aren’t rigid. It’s hard to explain. It was inexpensive. If I wear my hair down, I will brush my hair every once in awhile, so I do brush, but I use a comb probably 95% of the time on the length. I use a BBB when I oil my hair with jojoba the night before washing to make sure it’s distributed all throughout my hair. I mainly use a brush right before taking a shower to "scritch" my scalp and pull out any loose hair and for styling purposes. Other than that- the longer my hair gets, the more it seems to prefer being combed.
After combing out my hair after it dries, I always spritz the length with the grapefruit water mix and sort of scrunch the ends a bit. It makes my waves come out more and my hair really seems to love the grapefruit EO. It is also wonderful on the days I don't wash because it puts the little waves back in my length again each morning and takes away any "bed head" creases or bends. It also seems to help keep my hair conditioned and "moisturized" (though I am sure that it not technically what it does).
Products:
My current favorite shampoos and conditioners:
- Aveda Color Conserve shampoo and conditioner
- Aveda Sap Moss shampoo and conditioner
- Catwalk Oatmeal and Honey shampoo and conditioner
- Big Sexy Hair shampoo and condioner (in red bottle - tacky packaging, but it makes my hair feel "full")
Favorite Leave-Ins:
- Jojoba oil
- Back to Basics Detangler, Leave-In Conditioning and Detangling Spray
- Mix of distilled water and Aura Cacia grapefruit essential oil
Others I have used and liked (but are not currently in my rotation):
- Neutrogena Triple Moisture shampoo and conditioner
- Paul Mitchell Shampoo and several of his conditioners
- Aubrey Organics GPB shampoo and conditioner though Aubrey's stuff has been making my ends look dry lately
I generally like to steer clear of SLS’s, but not because they irritate my hair or scalp. I just think the jury is out on their safety. Though, sometimes I find a product that contains sodium laureth sulfate that I like a lot...
I don’t have a problem with a few silicones and can take or leave them it seems.
Heat Treatments: I like to do a deep heat treatment once a month. I usually use a Kiehl’s product, but the last time I used it, it didn’t work like it used to. I wonder if it’s because of the different water at my new house? I’ll test it again and see.
Hair Toys: I can’t use metal barrettes. I used to use them for lots of half-updos, but discovered they were severing some of my hairs. I could see a line of shorter hairs where I wore them. I switched to all plastic barrettes, safe metal ones or hair slides.
Sleeping: I wear my hair down and sleep on a silk pillowcase. Since I have down pillows, it’s like sleeping on a cloud. I prefer silk to satin, but they are unfortunately more expensive.
Growing Out My Perm: It's been asked how I dealt with growing out my nasty perm of years and years. The main thing I discovered first was using jojoba. Immediately my hair seemed to get more pliable and happier. The next thing was washing less. Until I found the hair boards, I washed and blew my hair dry EVERY SINGLE DAY. And I used industrial strength shampoo and no leave-ins. So, once I started treating my hair better, it just slowly improved. But, I hated the half-straight half-permed look and until about a year ago, blew my hair dry when I washed my hair. I think that might have damaged the top layer (canopy) of my hair a bit and one of the reasons why I had to get good trim last week. Even though I washed my hair less frequently, I was still blowing it dry. I never used hot air, but I still think the brushing it straight as I held the warm air on it was hard on it.
Of course, all during the growing out of my perm, I’d get trims to rid myself of it slowly but surely. While I saw others on the boards letting their hair just grow and grow, I had to constantly trim mine because it looked fried. I’ve always been one to prefer quality over quantity. It’s why I had my recent trim. But now my perm is ALL GONE. I took 3 years, but I’m pretty happy with my hair right now.
I hope this is helpful in some way. My "routine" is quite simple I think and I don't really obsess about my hair. I've been interested in trying some of the herbs some of the folks are using in cleaning their hair, but my color is too light (some of the herbs darken hair) and right now I just don't have the time for much kitchen witchery... but maybe sometime soon!
20"/33.5"/?"
2a - Slightly wavy with body
F - fine
ii - normal volume, 3.75" ponytail
I'm 5'10" tall
Growing out years of perms (finally done!)
Blonde from a bottle
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Sep 3, 2006 11:19 AM This message has been edited by Avrilon on Apr 13, 2006 7:50 AM This message has been edited by Avrilon on Oct 21, 2005 2:01 PM This message has been edited by Avrilon on Oct 21, 2005 1:38 PM
I wanted to get some shots of my post trim hair dried naturally since I don't usually wear it straight and blown dry. So we took some pictures last night that show my natural texture better.
I like this one because it makes my hair look so full. I think the short front pieces give it more horizontal volume up higher and my hair doesn't feel as dragged down as when it was all one length. You can't really see the detail too well with the sun streaming through the window though:
So, this one shows the hair a bit more clearly, though it's a side shot:
And, here's one more that shows the short pieces kind of blending in with the longer hair:
I need to get a better shot of how the front looks with the shorter pieces when dried naturally. I'll do that soon.
If my ends stayed this nice and thick, I would grow my hair to tailbone. I'll see how it grows out now. If it starts getting thin again on the ends, I'll know this is my best long length. Which is okay, since I am perfectly happy at this length. I just like the look of hair going down to the butt!
On Saturday I got a substantial trim. John cut off 3.5 inches, just as I requested, and then tapered up the sides to get a decent trim on my shorter side pieces. They never get trimmed and just looked sparse and thin. In the after pictures, my hair is straight just for a change (and because I didn't want to leave with my hair wet since I had a date with Mike), but I prefer it the way I'm wearing today - wavy. My hair is short enough now to bring out the waves I like so much; I much prefer them to the blown straight look.
I need to take a few shots of how I actually wear it since I won't be blow drying it like above. The cut was short enough to not be traumatic at all, though a couple of "fans" didn't want me to cut it (and you know who you are ).
I actually had some free time this weekend and Mike and I spent Sunday together in the mountains riding around and looking at the beautiful scenery. Stopped by the little pottery shop I like and bought a mug, ate at a little country store and just enjoyed being together NOT working on a house or condo. We didn't get home until almost 7:00. I wore my hair down all day and didn't get tangles (and no, we weren't on his Harley). It was great.
We're thinking about becoming vegetarians. I don't eat red meat at all, but Mike does, so I was surprised when he suggested it. He's good at doing things he puts his mind to, so we'll see. I would be very happy to quit eating birds and fish and should have done it a long time ago. I picked up some of my vegetarian cookbooks from my old house and will be looking for some recipes to start experimenting with. While Mike is out of town this week, I'll make the spaghetti I like with whole wheat noodles and eggplant in the sauce. I need to start making my own bread again... soon!
Avrilon
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Apr 5, 2005 8:59 AM This message has been edited by Avrilon on Apr 5, 2005 8:57 AM
I had Mike shoot this picture last night to get a good "before" picture since I am getting it cut tomorrow:
It was taken without a flash so I could see it very clearly with all its flaws, etc., so my hair has little shine in this picture. I drew a red line on it to show where I'm thinking I'll get it cut tomorrow. One thing I don't like are my wispy sides and I don't like my hemline anymore either. I miss the waves I got when my hair was shorter and I miss the swing and movement too (and more styling options!). So, I'll still be a long-hair - just a shorter long hair.
I'll post "after" pictures tomorrow night or Sunday - maybe after I plop and get some of those wave back that I love so much.
Well, I have decided to definitely get my hair cut. Yep, the length is just not complimentary on me worn down anymore and I dislike wearing it up all the time. People talk about the "wow factor" when taking down long hair and that's fun, but I'd rather have a whole person wow factor when I walk in the room. I think different people look good with different lengths of hair and not everyone looks good with very long hair. Age doesn't have much to do with it. To each his own though; it's just hair and you should do what makes you happy. For me, I miss a lot of the 'dos I used to wear, like these two:
Though I want mine a longer than it was then. (Note: my old camera didn't capture my hair color very well!)
I can never wear half ups anymore and used to wear them a lot and loved them. My updos look good for what they are, but they really make me look more conservative and rigid that I am - and I don't like that! I want to project more of the way I see myself (progressive and artistic! ). So, I'm thinking about going back to a length a little longer than this:
When my hair was shorter, I could coax out waves more easily or go straight. I had so many more options - and I like options. The main thing though is that I could wear it down. I've never had the goal of super long hair because I never thought it would look that complimentary on me. The longer it gets the more I realize I was right. My main goal was to grow out my perm, which I did. Then, I decided to go for waist, which I've reached. Now that I'm here and lookin' around, I think I'd like to go back to somewhere between BSL and waist. That's when I was happiest with my hair.
I just made an appointment with my regular guy (the one who colors my hair) to cut it. I saw him last night for color and we talked about cutting it, but I just wasn't ready. (I trust him because when he trims my hair he always does exactly what I ask. He knows I like long hair. ) I went home and talked to Mike to get his input and he's for whatever makes me happy. He did say he thought maybe trimming off 3" would "thicken up the ends" though. He's never once complained about my updos, but I know he prefers my hair down as much as I do.
Anyway, my tentative plan right now is to have 3" cut off the length and get a more U-shaped hemline, so it's a bit shorter in the front (no layers though - at least not yet). After that, I might go a little shorter; I'm not sure yet. I want a length that allows me to wear it down whenever I want and up if/and when I want. And, no bangs.
This is too exciting. Mike and I finished my house last weekend, put it on the market late Sunday night, got my first offer Tuesday and sold it for full price the same day! It was on the market for less than two days! Closing is on April 29th and we are sooooo happy. All the work paid off and it will be nice to not be making that extra house payment every month – and to not be spending my weekends over there working.
For those who know about the “beauty room” Mike was building, here is the finished product:
Of course, I never got to use it! It was going to be where I could put all my hair toys and jewelry, etc. And, here is a third of the huge master closet he built (it has three “bays” and this is just one of them!) – that we also didn’t get to use. Ah well, the new owner will love them both.
Hair news is that I am in the mood to cut it! I’m getting my roots done tonight and that will help, but my ends just don’t look as full as they did even three months ago. I’m waiting until I see Brent at Farlow’s Salon April 16th for the “treatment” to get his input, but in the meantime, I’m quite frustrated with it as I can hardly ever wear it down anymore. I feel it is too long on me for the thickness (or lack thereof) I have. A part of me wants to see how long it will grow, but a bigger part of me wants my thicker, swingier hair that I can wear down. I’m thinking about between BSL and waist. But… no changes immediately.
I’ve been out of vinegar for my last four washes and I’m wondering if the lack of a vinegar rinse is what’s causing me to dislike my hair lately. Hmmm... will have to pick some up on the way home...
Spring has exploded here in north Georgia. It turns into a fairyland with all the flowering trees, perennials and bushes. The dogwoods are almost ready to burst open.
Dogwood by Sandi Fellman
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Mar 30, 2005 2:02 PM
I tried to take some update pictures this past weekend, but didn’t get the results I usually get from my Kiehl’s Lecithin and Coconut Enriched Hair Masque so didn’t like the way my hair turned out. Normally when I do a deep treatment with my heat cap and the Kiehl’s my hair is luxuriantly smooth, shiny and soft. I did do one thing I normally don’t do when I used the masque and it’s the only thing I can think that would cause a difference. After rinsing the masque out of my hair I wanted to smell Lush’s American Cream so added a small amount to my length and then rinsed it all out. Would that make such a difference? My hair, when dry, felt coarse, not soft and smooth like usual. Doesn’t make sense! Anyway, I took a few pictures, but most didn’t turn out because the lighting was bad and I was in a rush. I did get this one, which is okay, so will add it here. I wish it was hanging straight down though, so I could compare the length better.
One good thing was that later in the day Mike kept sniffing my hair, telling me how great it smelled.
As soon as I can I want to get a better update picture though. I’ll just use the Triple Moisture that I like so much and that should work fine.
I’m still pondering a substantial trim, but think what I might do is go have a treatment with Brent at Farlow’s first just to get his opinion on my ends and length. He deals with so much long hair it would be good to get his input. And maybe the treatment will make my hair happy and encourage me to grow it longer... . So, no major trim in the immediate future.
Mike and I spent Sunday at my house tying up all the loose ends. He repaired a wooden door (actually rebuilt it) that would have cost $2000 (!) to replace while I painted the porch and patio. I also did all the final clean-up and the place sparkles. All we have left to do is replace one gutter and mow and blow the yard. It should go on the market next week! We are soooooo ready to sell it and move on with our lives and have some fun. I can’t even remember what fun is! aarrgghhh… We both need a vacation badly. Once the house is sold we’ll go somewhere and whoop it up.
Flowers are blooming here and Mike and I are anxious to landscape our new yard. I sent off for all the old plant and seed catalogs I used to get – Burpee, Park, Gurneys and Michigan and am anxiously watching my mailbox for their arrival. I love growing things and have missed digging around in the ground. Our yard is an empty canvas and we’re trying to decide what we want to do with it. We have very nice grass, but that’s pretty much it. We have pretty much decided that we want to plant some yoshido cherry trees in the front yard. They are sooooo beautiful when they bloom, but usually last only about 20 years. Hmmm… maybe we should stick with dogwoods, but I think the cherry will win out.
I thought I'd write a bit today since it's my birthday. I'm 54 and still can't believe I'm that old - lol. I don't FEEL old. I don't think I look too old unless I'm not smiling - so I smile a lot these days - heh-heh. I might add here that when you're younger you don't think getting old will bother you. Well, that is what I used to think anyway. And, in the big picture, it is really not important. But, what bothers me is that I am very visual, so I notice everything! And, like I mentioned once before - the way you look affects how you FEEL. If I'm feeling like "myself" (young and energetic) and then glance in the mirror and see someone who looks old and tired, it can sometimes take me down a notch. It's like... WHA??? How can this be? Visual stuff really affects me. But, it is fleeting and I have bigger and better things to worry about in this world. Besides, Mike loves me just the way I am.
So far the day is going great. Mike gave me a wonderful card first thing and is taking me out for dinner tonight. He also gave me some money so I can buy myself what I need since the poor thing hasn't had a minute free to go shopping these days. Since I got in to work I received a birthday wish from my friend, Rita (waving at Rita ) in Italy, and several co-workers. One of my favorite co-workers, a 22-year-old doll, brought me flowers! She is so sweet. She also brought me some green tea and an In Style Wedding magazine since she knows Mike and I will be getting married (date not yet planned) the end of this year. And just now my gym called to wish me happy birthday! So... the day is going great so far, even if it is dark and raining and outside (I love the rain).
With another birthday comes introspection and maybe a resolution or two. I've been going to the gym more often and am losing a bit of weight. Since hooking up with Mike, I cook so much more and put on maybe 15 pounds. I'm not fat, but I feel pudgy for me since I am quite small boned for my height. I want my 26" waist back (it's currently 28" and used to be 23" when I was in my 30's). Gaining weight, as far as I'm concerned, isn't caused by aging; it's caused by lack of movement. So, I've been doing a lot of weight lifting and am starting to do more aerobic workouts as well. I feel so much better when I work out regularly since my job is quite sedentary. I think the body is meant to MOVE. I can't wait until Mike and I can start landscaping our yard. That will be great (fun and productive) exercise.
My house is so close to going on the market. After this weekend we'll be done there. Phew. We had some good news yesterday. A client and friend of Mike's, who is also a licensed realtor, dropped by the house while Mike was there and walked through. She said the house would "sell itself" because it is in such good condition (and has the best closet in the world that I never got to use - lol!). THAT was good to hear after all our hard work. Once it is sold, life will be SO much easier in so many ways. I will miss my pond though... and my fish and froggies... sigh...
I think I'm going to get a hair cut next Saturday. Yep, at least 3 inches. As I wrote on the Loom yesterday in a message to Martine (who is MIA these days ), my ends are looking thin to me and I can't wear my hair down anymore. The thin ends are sudden; they didn't seem that way even two months ago, so it is strange. My hair is about an inch past my waist and it no longer has any movement when it's down. If the ends were big and fluffy, that would be different, but they're looking thin. I think a lot of it has to do with all the blow-drying I did when I was growing out my perm. I didn't stop using the blow dryer until about a year ago, so most of my hair has all that damage. The ends don't look dry or particularly damaged, but I'm wondering if they're just weak and are maybe breaking off. I will take a picture this weekend and post it on the Loom to get some input. I'm thinking I'll cut off about 3" and have it shaped into a U so that the front length is shorter - though not a lot shorter. I've really been wanting to wear it down lately and when I try to, it just doesn't look good. The length itself doesn't seem that complimentary to my face and height right now either. It's all about balance to me I guess. Anyway, it's only 3 inches and my hair will still be close to waist. I think my favorite length so far has been about 2" below BS. I could do so much more with my hair at that length. Right now I can't ever wear half-ups or some fun flipped 'dos I used to wear. I'm looking forward to a subtle change - and will post pictures for sure.
Oh, here is a picture of my braid taken last weekend before going to work at my house for the day. My hair was quite dirty here. See how thin the ends look? BAH! I'm thinking that maybe if I cut the old blow-fried ends off, it will get better as it grows out with no heat styling. Otherwise, I'm going to stay above waist. Of course, braided it looks way above waist.
Here is another picture of me and how I wear my hair most of the time (a pony... *yawn*). When it's not in a pony, it's in a figure 8. I like them both, but don't like having so few choices right now. I rarely wear braids.
The angle makes my butt look bigger than it really is! This picture was taken in downtown Atlanta weekend before last when Mike and I went to a big garden show to get inspired for landscaping our yard. There were some beautiful gardens and plants there and we did get inspired.
Okay, I'm at work and need to wrap this up. Update pictures SOON!
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Mar 16, 2005 2:44 PM
Let me see if I can catch up some. I've just not had time for this or taking pictures or anything else much hair-related lately.
The move to Mike's house was relatively painless, but we still have MUCH to do. But, until we sell my house, we still have to spend time there finishing up the addition Mike was working on before we decided to move. It's close though, and once we sell it we'll both feel FREE again! Then, it's back to finish up the condo. Remember the condo?
It's amazing how little I really need hair product-wise. When we moved, I packed up all my hair stuff (products and toys) and kept out the can't-live-without stuff (i.e. essentials). I've yet to miss any if the non-essentials. And that leads me to the conclusion that I have too much stuff. I've crammed my overflow stash into the guest bathroom and now need to go through it and put some things up on the swap board.
I have a new routine since moving. Don't know why it coincided with moving, but it did. I've started washing in the mornings before work and letting it dry on the way in to work. If it's a dry morning, it's almost dry by the time I get in (about 2 hours from washing until I arrive at my desk), but if it's a wet morning, it can take twice that long. But, I like the feel of just-washed hair when I want to wear it down, so have been happy with my new routine. I wash on Monday and Friday mornings.
And prior to washing, I am doing a heavy jojoba oiling the night before. I saturate the length below my ears and leave it in overnight. I do a total washing to get rid of the oil, but my length feels very moisturized and not the least bit dry.
Here is my actual routine for those who have asked in the past:
1. Deep jojoba application the night before washing
2. Wash all of hair, then rinse
3. Apply white vinegar rinse, then rinse
4. Apply conditioner and put on shower cap to keep conditioner in hair for at least 5 minutes, then rinse.
I towel-dry and then comb out, adding a bit of jojoba and one of several leave-ins I like. Then, I plop into a large aquis type towel I got from LisaJaney, and leave it up for 15 to 30 minutes. It doesn't really make my hair wavy much anymore (I guess it's getting too long), but it seems to give it a bit more body and it dries more quickly once it's been plopped (seems to separate the hairs more).
The products I'm using these days are Neutrogena Triple Moisture 'poo and conditioner (my hair really loves this stuff) and Aveda Sap Moss shampoo followed by Natures Gate Herbal Original Conditioner. But, my hair still likes change and I will have to rotate new products (from my stash?) before too long.
I have no new pictures and I forgot that today is March 1st so I didn't measure. I will measure when I get home from work! I've got to get back into the swing of things.
I miss some of the old-timers from the hair board(s). I often think about Pixna, Zoya, Equestrian, Olympia and many others... I hope they are all happy and fine.
I've not had time to update this since December 7th. How pathetic is that? Well, I am just too busy since moving, but will try to take some update pictures for the new year and post about everything going on hair-wise and life-wise. I miss writing in my little journal.
This might be my last post for awhile since the near future looks extremely busy. There are the Christmas holidays, but on top of that Mike and I have decided to move to his house as soon as possible, and sell my house. His house is much bigger and is currently occupied by a very flaky tenant who after 4 months of moving in decided to break the lease and leave. It might be a blessing in disguise since it will push us closer to building our dream house. I will miss my house with all the wood trim, skylights and pond/waterfall in the backyard, but Mike's place is better suited for us at this stage and I will have room to set up a jewelry studio and pottery studio if I so desire. His house is very light and airy, so my plants will be happy there too. But the move will be intense I am sure, as I have so many books and an overflowing kitchen, etc. Packing books is easy, but packing up lots of dishes and breakable items can be time consuming. So... if there are no posts here, think of me packing box after box!
With this impending move, we have discussed marriage further and are both walking on air regarding that. We agree that we should tie the knot! When and where we have yet to decide. I expect an official "proposal" when the time is right.
My hair continues to give me little trouble lately. This past weekend, Mike and I attended a Christmas party on a dinner yacht on Lake Lanier north of Atlanta. It was to be "holiday casual", so I decided to wear my hair down in "§Bee Butt Bun" curls. Here is a link, with photos, describing them: http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=242462&messageid=1102338908. They are my favorite waves/curls as they last for several days.
I have way too many emails to catch up with to dally here, so off I go.
I haven’t written here in a long time - too many things going on in real life! Mostly good things too. Where to start…
Mike and I left Atlanta for Thanksgiving and spent the day and night at Chateau Elan in northern Georgia. The weather was cold but beautiful. We had a great time and here are some pictures:
Chateau Elan:
Where we had our Thanksgiving dinner:
This was taken at the window in our room. For some reason, my hair looks short here! I wore it like this to our Thanksgiving dinner – the only time I had it down.
Here I am in front of the statue at the winery. It was very windy outside, so I had my hair pulled back with the banana clip I like so much:
Here is Mike and me having a snack and waiting for the winery tour and tasting:
After leaving the winery the next day, we took a drive through the mountains and stopped at the Mark of the Potter on the Soque River:
I love this place and go when I want some hand made pottery (until I get my own studio set up one day). Here I am (after Mike bought be a beautiful pot to put honey in) front and back, wearing a ponytail and hat:
We had a great time, but I’m having a hard time catching up here and writing emails and making Christmas gifts.
My hair is giving me little trouble these days and the frizzing has calmed down, most likely due to the lack of humidity in the cold autumn air. I love it! I’ve been using Aveda’s Sap Moss shampoo with Nature Gates Original Conditioner (the brown one that smells so good) and it’s been a very good combination. I’ve not done any plopping or rolling or much manipulating of the hair these days. It’s either in some style of pony, down (rarely) or in a figure 8. But, I have a Christmas party to go to this weekend and hope to do the Morguebabe/Equestrian/Victoria Secret wavy buns for it. If I do, I’ll take pictures of the process. It produces the BEST waves and curls that last a couple of days. It reminds me so much of my hair when it was permed.
On the creative front, I’ve been making myself some earrings that I like very much. Will have to remember to take some pictures. I’m shopping around for more beads as I have a feeling I might want to eventually sell some. I’m making them because I can never find what I like. This way, I get exactly what I like!
There is much more to ramble on about, but I must run. Will write later when I get another breather.
Let me see if I can catch up; there's a lot to ramble on about. I'm taking a vacation day from work today and it's heavenly being at home pursuing whatever I want for a day... sigh... I need more days like this. I'm ready to retire! Hopefully that will happen in about seven years.
On Saturday I went to Farlow's Salon and had Brent Jones dry dust my hair. Just to make it clear, Brent is the long hair specialist there. Farlow's per se is not a long hair salon. Charles Farlow owns the salon, but he is not the long haired specialist there, Brent is. Anyway, I'd thought I wouldn't trim until I reached my waist, but I was so close (most would have considered it waist) and my ends were getting uneven that I decided to take advantage of his invitation and get those ends tidied up. My length his now 31", so I lost a little, but I'm happy and looking at the picture below, it's still practically dead on waist. Here are some pictures:
The pictures above show the whole length and you can see I didn't lose much of it. The trimmed hair on the left is brushed more than the hair on the right, so it doesn't look as wavy. I like the wavier look much better, but like the ends on the left picture better. The main reason I got a trim was because I was starting to experience more tangles. Looking at my uneven ends, I can see why. Here is a close-up of the before and after dusting:
Brent did a terrific job and I'm thinking about getting into the routine of having dustings every 8 weeks now. I'll gain length, but my ends will stay nice and even. I love how it feels so much thicker after a trim - even a tiny one. While I was there I picked up a purse-sized brush made by Aveda. So far, I like it very much.
After leaving Brent, I headed over to Whole Foods to browse through their hair and skin products. Such fun I had reading all the bottles and chatting with a lady trying to figure out what face cleanser to get. I couldn't really recommend anything in particular to her as her skin was black and she was much younger (we had totally different skin types), but I did mention brands I would recommend. We chatted about "bad" ingredients and had the same thoughts on that. I ended up buying:
Aubrey Organics (AO) Vegecol with Organic Aloe Facial Cleansing Cream, because my current cleansing cream from AO stinks. I don't have to have much scent in a face cleanser, but I just can't put stinky stuff all over my face. So I had to find a replacement - and like this new cream a lot. It has a very mild scent that I like.
AO's Primrose Tangle-Go (Hair Conditioner Lusterizer and Styling Spray) just because I've been wanting to try it. It smells lovely and I've tried it while my hair is damp after washing - right after adding a bit of jojoba oil.
I also bought Nature's Gate Herbal Hair Conditioner ("the original") because I like the smell and haven't tried Nature's Gate in years, even though a lot of people recommend it. I thought this might complement the Aveda Sap Moss shampoo I have. Will give it a go and see.
And, that's not all! I picked up some "Gardenia Water" just because it smells beautiful (I like misting my hair with it and the lavender water I have), Shikai All Natural Hand and Body Lotion in Sandalwood Amber (for work), Giovanni Magnetic Energizing Shampoo since I've had the conditioner for awhile and have been meaning to try it with the shampoo, Aura Cacia Grapefruit EO thanks to Heidi W. recommending it. It really does smell wonderful and surprisingly like grapefruit. And, finally, I bought Ecco Bella's Bourbon Vanilla Parfum Spray because I just couldn't resist. It reminds me of the old musk oil I used to wear many years ago ... just beautiful. I was sniffing my arm all day yesterday.
I did pick up a loaf of 9-grain bread while I was there as well - lol. I knew Mike and I were going to be going food shopping there on Sunday, so didn't see the point in doing it then - besides I had chores to do at home so needed to skedaddle.
I had a very nice experience last week. I received a wonderful email from a beautiful lady named Rita in Italy. It was so sweet and just made my day - making me smile. She has not been on the hair boards, but does lurk - and I just wanted to say hello to her here. She has long dark hair and is a beauty, and we've exchanged thoughts on hair and politics. Rita, I will be responding to your last email soon!
Mike and I worked most of weekend. I - around the house, and Mike worked at a paying job on Saturday and then we did errands on Sunday. One of the clients Mike works for asked him if we wanted a 10-foot tall scheffelera and I said YES! I love scheffeleras and haven't had one in a few years. We have tall ceilings in the living room, so I hope it'll be happy here. Here is a picture of it:
Mike gets all kinds of cool things from his clients. He called me a couple of weeks ago asking me if I wanted a hand-carved 4-pannel screen (the type you'd change your clothes behind in and old movie y'know - lol). It's gorgeous and looks like it's from Thailand perhaps.
I made us a pumpkin pie yesterday and instead of making a white flower crust, I blended up graham crackers (from the health food store since they don't contain hydrogentated oil and other crapola) walnuts, a tad of sugar and some butter and it was awesome. SO much better than dough crusts for pumpkin pie. I also whipped up some whipped cream for on top. Fattening? Yep, but we eat pretty well otherwise.
Enough of this for now; I have to check the Loom and elsewhere on the net and then try to get my bead order in finally so I can make some earrings.
This autumn angel brings a special gift that
helps deepen the meaning of the Thanksgiving
season for ourselves and our loved ones.
November's angel urges us to acknowledge and
appreciate the supporting roles others have
played in our lives this year and every other
year, and even thank those who have taught us
difficult lessons.
The angel of November leads us to give thanks
in a new way by forgiving old hurts and healing
broken friendships. Thus we help one another to
be truly grateful for our relationships and the
richness they bring to our life.
I really like Leonard Pitts; he is one of my favorite journalists. I liked his column so much today that I am moved to place his words here:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted on Mon, Nov. 08, 2004
LEONARD PITTS JR.
AT-LARGE
Where's the morality in Bush's policy?
I have to thank Jimmy Carter for saving my sanity.
Granted, his was not a presidency one looks back
to with fondness. Gas lines stretched forever, Iran
took our people hostage, and there was disco, besides.
But Carter's ex-presidency has been a model of that
unofficial institution. He has built homes for the poor,
mediated wars, helped feed the hungry in Africa, fought
disease in Latin America. In so doing, Carter, a deacon
of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., has obeyed
a directive that Jesus issued one of his disciples.
Do you love me? He asked Simon Peter.
Peter said Yes.
Feed my sheep, said Jesus.
Remembering Carter's example, his very public embrace
of that command, is what has gotten me through the last
week without a facial tic. Or to put it another way:
If one more person tells me that ''morality'' guided
their decision to vote for President Bush, my head's
going to pop like a balloon.
Beg your pardon, but one is hard pressed to find much
evidence of morality in Bush's ineptly prosecuted war,
his erosion of civil rights, and the loss of international
credibility that his policies have caused. Unless, of
course, one has been quaking in one's boots at the
prospect of same-sex couples making a commitment that
straight couples have avoided like SARS. In that case,
the vote probably reflects one's morality just fine.
More's the pity.
No political tactician am I, but I think Democrats made
a fundamental mistake when the Christian right rose as
a political force: They watched it happen, ceded God to
the GOP without resistance, without so much as a beg your
pardon. Democrats, fearful of unsettling the secular West
and Northeast, only shrugged as the Almighty was packed
up and shipped South, where He is to this day routinely
trotted out to endorse various would-be governors,
senators and school-board members.
Small wonder faith has come to seem inextricable from
voting the straight Republican ticket.
And if you are, as I am, a Christian who remembers what
Jesus told Simon Peter, it is galling to see Him reduced
to a GOP shill, wrapped in a flag and used as a prop to
advance a conservative agenda -- which, by the way, stands
the Bible on its head.
After all, the Book says that Jesus consorted with lepers
and prostitutes. It says He talked with women -- which was
beneath a man of His time and place -- and washed the feet
of his followers.
And it tells us He said things that seemed to make no
logical sense: If someone takes your shirt, let him have
your cloak as well. If someone hits you on the right cheek,
offer him the left. Love your enemies. This was crazy talk.
There was nothing conservative about this man.
So I look at the success that conservatives on the so-called
Christian right have had in claiming Him as their exclusive
property, and I wonder, where in the heck is the Christian
left? Where are the people who preach -- and live -- the
biblical values of inclusion, service, humility and sacrifice,
and why haven't they coalesced into an alternative political
force?
Instead of a movement like that, we have an old peanut farmer
building houses for the poor.
You wish there were more. You wish there were Christian people
shouting from the rooftops that these other people, with their
small minds and niggardly spirits, do not represent all of us.
And that the faith exemplified by the politics of exclusion is
not the faith that the rest of us celebrate, not the faith that
lifts us and settles us and makes us whole.
But nobody's shouting these things. It occurs to me that maybe
they're all too busy building houses for poor people. And that
maybe I should be as well.
I've not written much lately since I've not been doing any "newsworthy" things with my hair and my mind has been elsewhere - thinking about the recent election and what the repercussions will be. But I don't want to pontificate about that here - at least not now, but will continue doing research and learning as much as I can.
I did do a heat treatment on Sunday with the Kiehl's mask and my hair has been so smooth and moisturized looking since then. Tonight is wash night and I'm going to try AO's Honeysuckle Rose 'poo and conditioner for the first time. I just LOVE the smell of the conditioner particularly and am hoping it lingers in my hair like the GPB does. I ordered the AO from VitaminShoppe online and while the prices are MUCH better than in the stores around here, it sure took them a long time to ship them to me. Next time, I'll plan in advance!
Mike and I were at the computer last night and he saw Leia's most recent hair picture (hi Leia ) and commented on how beautiful it was ("WOW!" is the word he used). He then asked me if I thought I'd ever cut my hair short. I said no, but one day I might go back up to BS length, but I didn't yet know since I'm still growing out my hair. I asked him if he thought it was getting too long (I'm touching waist) and he said "NO". I asked about it getting longer (I'm now thinking I want classic length) and he said he'd love it that long. And, when I asked if he minded my wearing my hair up more and more, he admitted that it didn't bother him at all! He used to say that he hated buns, but now I guess he associates them with me and doesn't perceive them as being so negative anymore (he'd had bad experiences with bun people!) So that was good to hear - especially since I do wear my hair up at least 2/3rds of the time now. It's good to know though that if I had to cut my hair short for some reason (you never know), he would still be supportive.
It's getting chilly here now - in the upper 30's at night, so we had to bring in all my houseplants this past weekend. We put them in the screened porch and then enclosed the whole room in plastic, added a heater and a plant light. They do well in there like that over the winter. I've had one of my plants for over 30 years. It's a split leaf philodendron and is almost too big to move, but I love it. Most of my plants are succulents or cactus. Since they don't grow here naturally (way too humid), I am intrigued by them. Here is a picture of the room before we moved the plants in (it was the cat's "leisure" room - lol):
And here it is, with the plants in there (though you can't see all of them).
And, here is a picture of the beautiful sky we've been having lately and some of the spindly pines in my yard.
A human being is a part of the whole
that we call the universe, a part limited
in time and space. He experiences himself,
his thoughts and feelings, as something
separated from the rest - a kind of optical
illusion of his consciousness. This illusion
is a prison for us, restricting us to our
personal desires and to affection for only
the few people nearest us. Our task must be
to free ourselves from this prison by
widening our circle of compassion to embrace
all living creatures and the whole of nature
in its beauty.
I am done with great things and big plans, great
institutions and big success. I am for those tiny,
invisible loving human forces that work from
individual to individual, creeping through the
crannies of the world like so many rootlets, or
like the capillary oozing of water, which, if given
time, will rend the hardest monuments.
~ William James
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Nov 3, 2004 10:48 AM
Mike and I went to vote early this morning - got there by 6:00! We'd heard stories about people who had spent the night at polling places and decided to go early to beat the rush. Glad we did! We laid out a blanket and Mike drank coffee while we sat there and chatted with other folks. Nobody talked politics and everyone was friendly. We were about 30th in line and once the polls opened at 7:00 we were in and out quickly. Now I'm wearing my little "I voted" sticker on my sweater. This race is going to be intense and I have my fingers crossed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This above all - to thine own self be true;
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
~ William Shakespeare
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hair Stuff: Over the weekend I did a CO on Saturday afternoon. I wanted to wash on Sunday, but since Mike and I were having a date night on Saturday evening, I wanted my hair to smell nice. It wasn't extremely dirty, so I thought COing would do the job. I used Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut Conditioner. Used a LOT of it and did a weak vinegar rinse after rinsing out the CO. Followed that with a quick condition on my ends. It combed out easily - no tangles - and then I let it air dry. Mike came home and sniffed my hair, saying it smelled "like coconuts". He liked it! When dry, it looked pretty much like I'd done my regular CWC. My scalp looked clean and not oily at all.
But, by the next day my scalp smelled kind of sour and I didn't like the feel of it or the hair near it. I usually do a CWC, so my length seemed okay. It was my scalp that seemed to have a sour-like smell to it. Didn't like it at all! I'd planned to shampoo but thought I might not have to after the CO. But, alas, I did. Used my Catwalk Oatmeal and Honey 'poo and conditioner for a CWC. My second C was with AO's GPB since I love the smell. My hair still smells nice. I might have to try a different conditioner for my COing. I have another Suave one, but just have to figure out where I hid it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I made one of my favorite stews this weekend. I always have a craving for it when the weather changes. My mom used to make it and I've made variations over the years. I call it Vegetable Stew, but she called it Minestrone. I like it because it is so flexible and you can add what you like and have on hand. This one had dried beans (a large variety), onions, celery, carrots, garlic, green beans, tomatoes, winter squash, barley - and cumin, coriander, garam masala (my favorite flavoring; I usually make my own) and fresh cilantro. It is very thick and so good that I always eat too much. If I'd only had time to make some fresh bread to go with it! I'd bought some multi-grained French bread that was outstanding though and that accompanied it well.
I thought I was going to have lovely, long waves today, but it was not to be... sigh. I decided to wash my hair last night in the tub for a change because I wanted to relax and read while I conditioned my hair. I was also very sore from lifting weights and just didn't want to stand in the shower. I poured some Epsom salts (good for sore muscles) into the water and then slid my head under ... I could have floated like that for a long time it was so relaxing. I pulled my hair out of the water and put on Avalon's Organic Botanicals Therapeutic Conditioner - Revitalizing Mint Thyme on my length. Let that sit for a couple of minutes and then washed my scalp with the Avalon shampoo that matched the conditioner. I rinsed my hair using a pitcher I keep near the tub, and then put more conditioner on my length and put it up in a cheap plastic shower cap and laid back in the tub to read. I turned the jets on and the little bit of shampoo that was rinsed out of my hair made some nice bubbles. I added a bit of Burt's Bees Vitamin E Body and Bath Oil and read for about 30 minutes.
I rinsed my hair in the shower, and it felt very soft and moisturized. I let it air dry for about an hour and decided to braid it while damp so that I would have pretty braid waves today. I did two braids actually. I put my hair up like I was doing a half updo and braided that section, and then I braided the section below it. I rolled the ends of both the braids and went to sleep.
When I took the braids down this morning, the waves were EXACTLY what I wanted. Yay! But, by the time I got to work, my hair had poofed out like I'd stuck my finger in an electrical socket. It IS humid today, but holy cow, why couldn't the humidity just accentuate the waves? So I spritzed it to calm it down some (I always carry my little distilled water bottle with me) and now have it pulled back in a banana clip. It IS very full looking - I'll give it that!
Regarding Epsom salts and hair, here are some tips I found while meandering around online:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Add Body to Your Hair
Combine 3 tablespoons of deep conditioner with 3 tablespoons of Epsom Salt. Microwave the mixture for 20 seconds. Work the warm mixture through your hair from scalp to ends and leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse with warm water. Promotes body and life in your hair and restores curl to permed hair. (hmmmm... I'm wondering if putting about a cup of Epsom salts in the tub ballooned my hair out and helped cause the frizz and poofiness???)
Remove Hairspray and Gel Buildup
Combine a gallon of distilled water, a cup of lemon juice (fresh or bottled), and 1 cup of Epsom Salt. Cap the mixture and let it sit for 24 hours. The next day, pour the mixture into your dry hair and let it sit for 20 minutes. Then shampoo as normal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I liked the Avalon poo and conditioner; I'd had it in the back of my cupboard for over a year. I'd not liked it a year ago, but it works for me now.
I hadn't worked out in two weeks due to a crazy schedule, friends visiting, etc. and after my weight lifting class on Tuesday I was sore yesterday - ALL OVER (well, except my head and the bottom of my feet - lol). So, it's back to the gym regularly again. Tonight is the weight lifting class again and I'm looking forward to getting back to my routine. I still need to add more aerobic stuff. I really want a bike, especially this time of year. We have some great trails for jogging and biking and with the cool, crisp weather, it would be another wonderful way to get the heart rate up. Autumn Trail by Tan Chun
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Oct 28, 2004 11:30 AM
The brilliant autumnal colors are red and yellow
and the various tints, hues, and shades of these.
Blue is reserved to be the color of the sky,
but yellow and red are the colors of the earth-flower.
Every fruit, on ripening, and just before its fall,
acquires a bright tint. So do the leaves; so does
the sky before the end of the day, and the year
near its setting.
~ Henry David Thoreau
Peak Colors by Murray Stewart
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Oct 28, 2004 8:14 AM
Last week wasn't a good hair week for me. My ends were feeling a bit dry like they do when they need clarifying, so I washed the entire length with Kenra's poo for color treated hair. I rarely wash the length and when I do, lately I've been using AO or Jessicurl, which my hair seems to like. Even before conditioning, my hair always feels nice and soft. But after using the Kenra, my hair felt rough and stiff - ack! I followed with Nature's Gate Awapuhi conditioner, but it must've not worked well with the Kenra, or was just not strong enough, because when my hair dried, it felt rough and not silky like I'm used to. Adding jojoba and shea butter leave-in didn't help at all. So... I just wore my hair up for the next two days and then did a CWC using Neutrogena's Triple Moist Conditioner and poo. Followed with a vinegar rinse and then did a mini deep treatment with GM's 12-Minute Conditioner. That did the trick and my hair was back to its old self. Hmmm... I've not used the Kenra poo in about year, and back then I liked it just fine. But, I wasn't air-drying a year ago and probably used a Kenra conditioner that worked better with that poo. I need to be more careful with my combinations now that my hair is getting longer.
Speaking of which, I think I've reached my waist! No major announcement yet, but this morning when I was getting dressed and zipping up my pants, I noticed I had to lean my head forward a bit because the tips were getting stuck in my pants! Yeehaw! I also noticed that it just feels longer where it's touching on my lower back now. This weekend I need to measure and eyeball it for sure - if not sooner.
I wanted to wash last night, but didn't make time - was too busy going through all my recipes for lotions and lip balms and bath salts, etc. that I want to make for Christmas (and for myself to just have on hand). I'm about out of my lip gloss/balm that I made last year that I LOVE. It's got cocoa butter, honey, vanilla, vitamin E and almond oil in it and is just so soothing to the lips. Mike even likes to use the stuff. This year I'm going to add a little color to it using a root that I heard works really well.
So I had to wash this morning instead and now that I'm at work, it's just about dry. I used Jessicurl's Cleansing Cream and Aloeba Daily Conditioner and my hair feels soooo soft and slightly fluffy (the way I like it). I didn't put it into bun for drying this morning, so I have a few of my natural ropey type waves. Brushed out it looks pretty nice though - and shiny! So, I'm wearing it down today.
I think the brush that I use during the day when I wear my hair down might be damaging the length of my hair. I inspected it closely last night and instead of looking at the tips of the bristles like I usually do - to make sure they're okay (though they're not really bristles, per se), I checked where the bristles were attached to the base of the brush. DOH! - it was rougher than I'd thought, so I tossed the thing and am now on a quest to find a new brush. I'm using a wide tooth comb today, but I like the feel of a brush on my scalp. For styling and during the day I don't like oval brushes; I like the more rectangular shape - especially if I'm going to be pulling my hair up and back. I think I'm going to have a time finding one I really like, but the search is now on.
Mike took Saturday off and we ended up spending most of it together and having a great time. We went to Whole Foods to pick up some fruit and veggies and more flax oil for me. I wanted to peruse the hair and skin products section since they'd just enlarged that area to at least twice the size as before, but I hate doing that with Mike around since my cupboards are well stocked with products (though I do have some AO poo and conditioner on their way to me from VitaminShoppe) - and he doesn't understand the fascination. I might add, however, that he doesn't mind my taking as long as I want doing such things. I did a quick glance and decided to come back later when I'll have the time to read all those labels and browse to my heart's content. We had our Saturday night date night and on Sunday morning I made pancakes with bananas and walnuts. Last night I baked a winter squash I wanted Mike try in my attempt to broaden his culinary "scope" (he's a white potato man through and through, though he will eat anything I make). This was the kabocha squash, and last year was my favorite. It looks like this:
Well, Mike said it looked like baby poop, so how could it taste good? He ate it, but was not impressed - lol. Next time I will roast chunks of it. I think he didn't like the whipped texture of it - and it did look a bit like baby poop.
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Oct 25, 2004 9:15 AM
I did a little shopping this weekend. Yesterday I went to the VitaminShoppe close to my house to get some AO shampoo, but they had such a small selection and the bottles looked old – and they didn’t have the ‘poos I wanted. I did pick up some GPB conditioner though. Will have to order from them online for the other stuff I want I guess.
While there, I picked up some castor oil to finally try the Oil Cleansing Method I’ve read about for ages on LHC. I’ve been using coconut and jojoba oil, but wanted to try something with more viscosity. Castor oil certainly fits the bill there! I tried it last night and enjoyed the different texture. I’d already tossed my Cetaphil and have been using AO’s cleansing cream in addition to the other oils, but this will be a nice alternative. This morning I rinsed with water and then put on Lush’s Mask of Magnaminty. Let that dry and then rinsed with warm water again. While still damp, I put on some camellia oil and now my face feels very smooth and moisturized. Also sprayed my hair with some lavender water that I picked up yesterday (smells WAY better than the lavender water I’ve made, for some reason), and then added camellia oil to my length and put it up in a figure 8. The lavender water smells beautiful and I’ve been spraying my neck and using it like perfume. I’m glad I have 8 ounces of it!
I also picked up some toothpaste I’ve wanted to try - that doesn’t have fluoride or sodium lauryl sulfate in it (check your toothpaste! It’s even in “health food” toothpastes! The mouth/gums absorb that nasty stuff, so I’ve wanted to switch for awhile.) This is Weleda brand, made in Germany. I got the “Pink Toothpaste with Ratanhia”. In doing a search, I found that Ratanhia is used in dental care products and prepared from the root of Rhatany and is included for its astringent properties, to ease swelling and redness - and help strengthen gums. It tastes great, so I’m a new customer. I also bought some mouthwash. I don’t like using the regular mainstream kind. It’s like pouring acid on my tongue it’s so strong. The times I have used it, I had to cut it with equal parts water. Uck... nasty stuff. I don’t like the ingredients in it either. So I bought some Spicy Cinnamon Flavor “herbal mouth and gum therapy daily oral rinse and demulcent.” Demulcent? That was a new word for me. Means “to sooth or soften”. My mouth smelled like cloves afterwards. It’s made by The Natural Dentist. The ingredients are pretty simple: spring water, aloe vera, echinacea, goldenseal, calendula, bloodroot, grapefruit seed extract, essential oil of cinnamon (guess it was cinnamon and not clove that I tasted) and citric acid. I like this stuff!
I also just placed an order at fromnaturewithlove to get some containers for the lip balm I want to make and a few other Christmas gifts I’m thinking of – and for my growing collection of oils that I keep on my bathroom sink. I like to keep them in the cobalt blue pump jars. I put labels on them and they’re always handy. I wanted to try some new oils, but they were out of the ones I wanted.
I’ve gotten back into doing a vinegar rinse on my hair in between the wash and final condition. I washed yesterday – a day early – since I was going into town to visit my son and do some shopping. I dried my hair in a bun until it was almost dry and then took it down by the time I got to his place. Since it was in the bun for maybe 2 or 3 hours and not all night, I didn’t get waves, but it really smoothed down my hair. It was practically straight and with no frizz. Of course, it’s autumn here and there was no humidity in the air – so that helped, I’m sure. My hair is always straighter in the fall and winter when the air is dryer.
I need to go to VitaminShoppe.com and order some AO ‘poo, so will wrap this up.
Lately I’ve been thinking about cutting my hair. Not yet, because I do want to officially reach waist-length, but after that perhaps. I miss my face being framed in nice “down-dos” and I just miss wearing my hair down most of the time. I would never cut it short (I look terrible in short hair!), but I’m thinking of cutting it back to mid-back with some layers around the front – with even some wispy bangs – maybe. I don’t want to get back into blow drying even if I cut it shorter, and I’m thinking that slight layers and having it shorter will bring my waves out more. Long - all one length - pulls out most of the wave. I saw Raquel Welch in an old movie this weekend and I really liked her hair. It was still long, but looked great down and windblown and even messed up. Hmmm…
My weekend was uneventful, but that is good. I am truly a homebody, and after working 5 days a week and getting home late after working out at the gym, I LIKE staying home all weekend. Always been that way, so it’s not because I’ve become an old fuddy-duddy. On Sunday Mike met a friend of his from Pennsylvania in Virginia (he rode up on his bike) and they rode back together to our place. He rode for 16 hours and LOVED it. That’s way too much for my butt, but he’s hard core and for him it’s exhilarating. So, I had Sunday to myself. I got to read and putter and plot and plan. Did a deep heat treatment with my Keihl's and used Lush's mask on my face. It's nice to be alone to do those things.
Mike took this picture of me on Saturday. I don’t have many face pictures that show all my length, so I like this one quite a bit.
I went to have my hair “blonded” last night after work and all went well until I had my hair shampooed. Now, I often times go to Farlow’s Salon and have Brent Jones (who trained with George Michael) trim my ends, so know how shampooing long hair is supposed to be done, and I know how I do it - very gently. At the salon where I have my hair colored, I had one bad experience where one of the shampoo ladies rubbed the length of my hair together like she was trying to use friction to remove tar or some such substance. I told my stylist to please let her know she can’t DO that. It never happened again, thank goodness. But, I got a new shampoo lady last night and she actually piled my hair on top of my head before I could blink and shampooed away. I was worried about massive tangling! She put on quite a bit of conditioner, fortunately, and when I went to comb it out, I asked my guy for some spray-on leave-in detangling conditioner and doused my hair with that. I was so relieved when the comb glided right through that huge rat’s nest. I started from the bottom and it went smoothly – except I had more shedding than usual. I didn’t tell the shampoo lady (who was a very young “beginner”), but will tell my stylist to tell her. I know I should have, but she was so young and trying to do a good job that I didn't want to crush her spirit. Silly me, but all turned out okay.
And, I did need a good shampooing since I’d not washed my ends in awhile. My hair feels very light and soft today – and getting rid of grey always looks better on me. I know some women let their grey grow out, but on me, it looks very unattractive. There are those who are young who say they will go natural and never color their grey - having very good intentions, but they really don’t know how they’ll feel about it until they get older. Because as their hair turns grey, other areas of their body will change also. All of the sudden they’ll look into the mirror and see their mother. Though we may love our mothers dearly, most of us don’t want to LOOK like her (though I am sure there are exceptions). Aging is a funny thing. While fiddling with our appearance seems superficial and unimportant in the “big picture”, our perception of ourselves (on many levels) affects our daily lives greatly. If we look tired, we start to feel tired. If we look haggard, we start to feel haggard. I don't know why it works this way, but it does!
The Angel of October
The angel of October rejoices as we reap the harvest of what we have sown in life.
October is a good time to step back from our projects and our dreams and take a hard look at what we have actually accomplished. The October angel helps us to be honest and objective about what is good and what is not. With this help, we can clearly face the consequences of our choices over the past seasons. We will taste our harvest and reject what is bitter or unripe, we will make note of what worked and what did not, and we will change for the better.
October's angel teaches us that the greatest fruit of our personal harvest is understanding ourselves.
The leaves are just starting to turn and there is a crispness in the air that I love. The humidiy is gone and everything is just so much more vivid and clear. I love this time of the year! I pulled out a big sweater and had it on last night before I decided to sink down into a warm, bubbly bath instead. October - my favorite month.
Mike and I took Sunday off and went for a bike ride. The weather was perfect for being out on the bike with the air whipping about us. I wore my hair in a long braid that I put beneath my vest. We went north looking for property to build our dream house on. Just north of where we live are a LOT of equestrian homes where the folks have acres and acres and beautifully landscaped pastures and yards - and beautiful horses! The area is just gorgeous. We’re looking for less the 5 acres and were just pricing what was available and looking where we might want to buy. Land shopping on a Harley is the way to go - you're close and personal! We found some reasonable land, but we’re about 5 years from buying. It was a gorgeous drive through the country though – and it reminded me of Atlanta when I was a kid – when my neighbors had horses and goats and the country was our own backyard. Sigh… I don’t like big cities. I live north of town, but it’s still very much attached to the city.
Here is a picture of Mike last fall with his bike in the front yard. My seat is the little one in the back. It's a fun ride!
I’ve been using the Shikai ‘poo and conditioner I mentioned in my last entry for CWCing with a vinegar rinse before the final condition, and have been very happy with my hair lately. It’s soft and shiny and feels great. I’ve been adding a cone serum after adding jojoba to my damp hair just to see how my hair likes it since I’ve not used cones in a few months. So far so good. It definitely helps in brushing and combing my hair. I don’t get lots of tangles anyway, but the cones make my hair slicker so that the few I do get come our easily. Cones really make my hair less wavy though. My hair is almost as straight as when I used to blow it dry. At almost waist-length, most of the wave is all but gone anyway unless I plop - and I’m not into plopping much these days. I have very weak waves. Air drying on my way to work during the week is working out well while it’s still pretty warm outside. Once it gets cold, I’ll just go back to washing the night before. I've not had any desire to go back to the hair dryer.
I’m looking forward to my hair actually reaching waist. For me, that’s 32”. I’m at 31” now, so in two more months I hope.
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Oct 26, 2004 8:10 AM
... though we're only getting the "left over" rains and wind. It's going to be a very wet and windy day here.
We had another crazy busy weekend. I am so looking forward to selling this condo and having a normal life back. Mike ended up spending most of Saturday running a gas line to my new stove since there wasn't one there, and now the stove is up and running and I love it. The old electric one is off to the condo. Sunday we spent a large part of the day picking out ceiling fans and light fixtures and shopping around for bushes that like a lot of shade. We need to landscape a bit around the place and picked up a fountain for a little alcove there because the sound of water is so nice. I can't wait to shoot the "after" pics. The transformation is phenomenal. And it won't be too much longer now before we can put it on the market. Fortunately, Mike and I have the same taste, and picking out all the colors and textures and lighting, etc. has been a lot of fun. It bodes well for when we build our own house down the road. Today he is starting to create a custom mantel for the fireplace. It'll be his own design and it's going to look awesome.
I wore my hair in a figure 8 bun the whole weekend since it was getting quite oily and I was doing house and condo work. Here's a pic, though it's poor quality:
(I finally got the hang of getting a real figure 8 down, though this is a bad example.) I'd put quite a bit of jojoba on my ends Friday night since they were feeling a bit rough and had planned to wash yesterday (Sunday). But, we needed to do some cleanup at the condo and I didn't want it down or clean for that, so I ended up washing it this morning before work since we got back late last night. It had gotten very oily and looked stringy and I even had a dream about trying to get it washed before work. I did a full wash this time (including washing the length) since I hadn't in awhile, and used Shikai Color Reflect Shampoo (http://www.internatural-alternative-health.com/ingr/ingr287602.cfm) and the conditioner (http://www.internatural-alternative-health.com/ingr/ingr287607.cfm). It's not as "natural" as AO, but I wanted a change today. Here are the ingredients for the shampoo:
I'd wanted to do a vinegar rinse, but forgot to do it before I put on the conditioner, but went ahead and did it anyway afterwards just as an experiment. It worked great, though I wonder if it affected the conditioner properties at all. My hair doesn't smell the least bit vinegary. Anyway, it's nice to have clean hair again. After combing out, I added jojoba to the ends and then added some Phyto Infusing Balm. It's a humid day here, but I don't seem to have much of the frizzies going on. It pretty much dried on the way in to work and I'm wearing it down - something I am doing less and less these days.
Brent Jones called and said he'd be back at the salon on October 23, so I'm thinking about going in for a dusting. I'm not ready for another treatment as I'm just not sure how beneficial it is, but I could use a tiny trim.
It was a great weekend and it’s almost like a vacation being here back at work - lol. Well, vacation as far as sitting down and relaxing goes. We were busy this weekend. I painted quite a bit at the condo and we found a new stove for me, since we’re taking the stove at my house to the condo. Finally, I will have a gas stove again – whoopee!
I ended up doing a heat treatment with my Kiehl’s mask on Saturday instead of Sunday so I wouldn’t have to wash again on Sunday. After towel drying to get out the excess water, I added some Jessicurl Rockin’ Ringlets to see if I could coax out some more wave. I plopped for about an hour and took it down and... hmmm… no waves to speak of – just my ropey looking length. I think my longer length is pulling down and not letting my waves be as active as when my hair was shorter. I let it air dry and then brushed it out shortly before leaving for our date. It looked nice and soft, so I wore it down. The lady who seated us gave me a nice compliment, saying I had “beautiful” hair.
Today I’m wearing my hair up in a figure 8 with some Maiden’s Treasures hair sticks. I'm really enjoying my updos!
Our weather is starting to change and it felt like autumn this weekend and this morning. The sky is clear and blue and the humidity has left. It was in the 40’s this morning in some parts of town. The leaves haven’t started changing, but soon it will be beautiful with all the autumn colors. I love autumn! October is my favorite month.
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Oct 7, 2004 8:33 AM
What a beautiful day today! And, how disappointing that Mike and I canceled our weekend trip to Asheville, North Carolina to celebrate our two years together. With Ivan coming through, it was predicted that the weekend would be full of wind and rain here and in Asheville. So, Thursday night when we were in the midst of fierce wind and rain, we called to cancel our reservation. Shortly after that our electricity went out and we spent the evening in candle light.
Perhaps it was the best thing that we canceled since we desperately need to continue our work on the remodeling. I’d planned to take Friday off for our weekend celebration, and since the power was still not back on Friday morning, decided I’d still take the day off. Mike and I ran all over – picking out paint for the walls, looking for the perfect stove for me so we can put the current one (which I dislike vehemently!) in the condo, light fixtures, ceiling fans, grout for the tile… oh, the list goes on and on. It was an exhausting day, but we got a lot done.
We got home and Mike said he needed to run out to pick up some wine and returned with some flowers and a card. Here is a picture of the flowers, which I adore (and Miko checking them out):
You can’t really see the colors of the flowers too well in the sunlight, so here is a close-up:
I’m not much for roses, as Mike knows, so these are perfect. The card is really cute. I have to show the front of it because it suits us so well... that’s him and me and my kitty.
I always liked Mary Engelbreit’s drawings.
I’d given him a card that I’d made first thing in the morning because I couldn’t wait!
We are both working today – me at home - him at his work, and this evening we’re going out for our two-year celebration dinner and will toast many more years together.
Tomorrow - both of us back to the condo and more painting for me! Here is a picture I like of Mike in one of the rooms we're working on:
Not sure why I like it except that he's just looking like him... being a perfectionist and checking out his work.
Hair related stuff is minimal. I’ve got a lot of jojoba oil in my length right now and will wash before going out tonight. Not sure how I’ll wear my hair. I want to do a deep heat treatment tomorrow, so I might be washing two days in a row, which I never do these days. Been too busy to fiddle much with experiments and new 'dos, but am enjoying my hair immensely.
The weekend came and went way too fast. Mike worked at the condo most of Saturday and got home at 3:00 a.m. with paint all over him. He looked like a freak since it was all over his face as well. And, it looked like he had grey hair! (He’s 46 and has NOT ONE grey hair yet!). He’d used a paint sprayer and that’s how he got covered in it since he was doing the ceilings. I gave him a hard time about breathing in the paint mist and letting it get on his skin so much. I’m sure it’s toxic and he’s practically bathing in it! Sigh… will I ever get him to understand these things? Probably not!
On Sunday I went over to help paint and take some update pictures of the condo so we’ll have a good record of the remodeling. Before I started painting, Mike shot this picture of me after he cracked me up about something:
I decided to put my hair up in a figure 8 just to make sure it I didn’t accidentally dip or swish it through some wet paint. The paint came out of Mike’s hair easily, but his is short and I just don’t think it would be so easy to get out of mine. So, up it went and stayed all day. I was wearing my 25-year-old painting overalls (I painted a LOT at my old house) and my old workout/yard shoes. Hmmm... very attractive shoes - NOT. I painted for about 4 hours and then we decided we’d had enough and headed on home. Poor Mike was exhausted. He cooked himself a big ol’ hunk of cow and I had a little chicken and the veggies. I’m still weaning myself off meat altogether. I just have to get organized and get some good recipes and ingredients lined up.
Not too much exciting hair stuff is going on. I haven’t been able to reproduced the nice bun waves I got that first time with the AO stuff, which is disappointing. Here are a couple of pictures at the end of that day, when the waves were mostly gone. What I really liked about my hair that day was the texture of it. Even though the waves disappeared over the day, my hair just hung so nicely and the ends were near-perfect – all moisturized looking and smooth.
I tried it again 3 days later and though the texture was still as nice and it felt amazing, the waves were all catawampus. I wore it down anyway though since it felt so nice. Last night I washed with Jessicurl’s Cleansing Cream and followed with the Aloeba Conditioner and slept with a high bun again. Can products cause such different results? With the Jessicurl products, the waves didn’t form at all and my ends look rough and dry. I couldn’t even wear my hair down today! Hmmm… I’m thinking I need to stick with AO products. I might try a new one of their shampoos soon since I’m almost out of the Island Naturals – though I need to get more of is as well since it works so well for me.
So… I have my hair pulled back with a black leather slide today instead of down like I wanted it. Humph...
I have an awesome treadmill at home now. In fact, it’s in my living room. Mike picked it up from some gym that was closing down a couple of years ago and it’s great! I can set it on a variable speed and hill course and it’s like I’m walking up and down hills. It even knows to adjust the speed when I’m going up a particularly steep hill. Another bonus is that I can do the treadmill in front of Mike if he's home, unlike my Firm tapes - where I really have to concentrate and can't handle an ogler - lol... Since Mondays are step classes at the gym, I do the treadmill instead and it’s an awesome workout for my heart and lungs (and legs and butt). I don’t like step classes; I have to think too much about where my feet are going to I won’t fall on my face - so it’s stressful for me. I like exercise where I don’t have to concentrate that much on that sort of thing. I don’t mind concentrating on lifting a weight or pushing it to the degree I want though. Plus, I really don’t think step classes are that good for the knees.
Since Elena pointed me to some information on soymilk, I’ve switched to almond and oat milk. It’s still processed stuff, which I don’t like, but it’s better than real milk - and soy too, I’m quite sure. It tastes fine and I think the oat is what I’ll use most for now. I never drink it plain; it’s always in a smoothie or I use it for cooking. And, Wildhoney has me interested in almond flour. I've found some online, but want to see if I can find any locally.
This message has been edited by Avrilon on Sep 13, 2004 1:46 PM This message has been edited by Avrilon on Sep 13, 2004 1:46 PM
Sigh... I miss writing here in my journal, but I’ve simply not had the time lately. I just had a nice, long three-day weekend, but spent most of it with Mike and not in front of the computer. That’s a good thing though!
I’ve not done too much to report on regarding my hair. I wanted to do a heat treatment yesterday, but it was too late by the time we got home. So, I washed with AO’s poo and GPB and air dried. While damp, I put it in a bun and slept on it that way. Since Frances is blowing through Atlanta today and we are getting deluged, I re-bunned until I got into work this morning and then let it down once inside - away from the humidity. NICE waves! The best I’ve ever gotten from a bun I must say. And, it feels incredibly soft and silky.
Speaking of AO, I see they are finally redesigning their shampoo and conditioner bottles – yay! They really were quite hideous, so my eyes will be as happy as my hair soon. AND they now have a GPB shampoo! I will definitely have to give it a try as soon as I can find it.
I need to go to the gym today, but with all this rain pounding down I really just want to go home. What to do? I guess I’ll see how it goes on the way home. I’ve not worked out since last Thursday and that’s not good!
Here is a recent picture of me that I “enhanced” in Photoshop. I LOVE Photoshop! Look, no wrinkles and I have perfect skin!
I had a great, though busy, weekend. Mike and I took Saturday off and went to the bead show. We were there about two hours and had fun, but the beads were too expensive! The problem was that you had to buy a whole strand of similar beads and I only wanted a couple here and there for my earrings. I did buy some silver beads and ear wires, but that was about it. I saw quite a few hand-made beads and beaders there. Some were just beautiful and I’m tempted to learn how to make them myself. Where I take my silversmithing class also has a bead making class. Something to think about… While there, we also saw a lady with her hair in two braids and it still reached her knees! Plus, she had colored sections of her hair a deep purple. Very interesting. The pointed piercing sticking straight out of her bottom lip was bit too much for me, but to each his own…
After the bead show, we went to the condo to see what we need to do next on the renovation and then decided to take a walk around the entire lake to check it out. I took pictures so we’ll have them when we want to put the property on the market in a month or so. We’ll need some photos to show the view and amenities y’know. Here are a few shots of our walk around the lake:
Mike checking out a turtle before the sun decided to shine…
Some woods:
Some ducks and geese along the way:
Me next to some pampas grass…
Purty flowers:
I always like seeing scenery of other places, so thought these might be nice for those who don’t live in the Southern US.
I didn’t do too much with my hair this weekend. Actually washed it on Saturday morning with AO’s ‘poo and GPB and washed it again last night since I’d gotten quite sweaty on our lake walk. I used Jessicurl’s Cleansing Cream and Aloeba Conditioner that I like so much. It turned out so nice and smooth – almost as frizzless as when I deep heat condition with the Kiehl’s mask. Too bad I had to then sleep on it. I think later this week I’ll wash in the morning and let it dry as I come into work. It just looks and feels better down when I wash in the morning – and I can actually wear it down. Today, it’s back in my banana pony.
I can't believe it's Thursday already. The weekend is almost here and Mike and I have decided to take Saturday off. We need a day off together. I told him about a big bead show here in town and he's game to go with me. Yay! I've been wanting to make some earrings and maybe a bracelet or two until I can get back into my silversmithing classes (something I plan to pursue once the addition is complete and we can clear out the jewelry studio). Beading isn't the same thing as working with silver and soldering, etc., but I think it can all go together well enough and it can let me at least create some things in the meantime. So, instead of looking through catalogs and browsing online, I'll be able to see the beads up close and hold them - and I just hope I don't go bead crazy... lol... I did break down and order some beads from ebay the other day and they are just gorgeous. I will make earrings out them as soon as I get some silver findings and beads to set them off.
After the bead show, we're going to the condo to check it out and see what needs to be done next. Then, we're going to walk around the lake that is right behind it. It's a very peaceful setting and we kind of wish we could keep the place. The lake is big enough to look beautiful, but small enough to not allow motorized boats on it - so it's quiet. We like that. There are geese and ducks and huge turtles and a nice walking path all the way around the lake.
Then, we'll go out to dinner and have our Saturday night date night.
I got my hair "blonded" last night and that went well. I actually got a wonderful compliment from the girl (she couldn't have been more than 22) who washed my hair. She said, "You have the most beautiful hair I've ever seen." !!! Wow, now THAT is a compliment. She must not see that much long hair because though I like my hair okay, it's not "the most beautiful" by any stretch of the imagination. But it was still great to hear and I accepted her compliment with a big grin.
Today I'm wearing my hair all down parted on the side, even though it's not quite as smooth as I like it. I got some funky bends in it from going to bed with it a little damp last night and they don't want to completely go away. I misted with distilled water quite a bit, so it looks acceptable. I've not worn my hair down all week though, so I just wanted to today. I do like wearing it up lately, but down is good too. I like options.
I've noticed that since I've stopped using the blow dryer altogether (stopped about two months ago) that my ends are MUCH better. I usually check them on the way home from work if I'm stuck in traffic, and use some little hair scissors in case I see any I want to snip off. Used to be that I'd find all kinds of splits and explosions and funky looking bent hairs. Nowadays I have to really hunt to find any damage. So, I reckon that using the dryer even on barely warm must've been hard on my hair. Maybe it wasn't so much the heat as it was the constant scrunching it when I wanted it wavier and the pulling it straight with a brush when I wanted it straight. Now when I air dry, the most I do is turn my head upside down to fluff it up a bit to get air in between the hair, but that's IT. So, my dryer is collecting dust and my hair is getting better!
20"/29.25"/36"
2a - Wavy with body
F - fine
ii - normal volume, 4" ponytail
Growing out years of perms (about 3/4ths done!)
Blonde from a bottle
Well, I finally took some shots of my ponytails for the Style of the Month. The lighting is poor since I was shooting into a mirror and couldn’t use a flash, but I think they can be seen well enough... though the color of my hair isn’t really so yellow. I wear ponys a lot since my hair still feels down yet it's out of my face. Anyway, here they are:
The first shot is with a very inexpensive banana clip, the second is using the leather hair slide I got from leatherjewels.com, the third is a topsy tail pony and the last picture just has my hair wrapped around the band.
My hair is dirty today and up in a figure 8 with my two silver hairsticks. Since I’m getting color tonight and they wash it very thoroughly afterwards, I like it to be dirtier than usual when I go in. The shampoo lady used to actually rub the length of my hair together for some reason, as though she thought it needed the extra friction to get the “dirt” out. I winced the first time she did that and then told the hairdresser that he needed to tell her that it’s damaging to treat long hair like that. She must’ve gotten the message, because she stopped doing it. She has very short hair and it probably never occurred to her that she needed to treat long hair differently.
So I will be a grey-less blonde again tomorrow! Actually, my grey shows minimally after 6 weeks, but if I let it go much longer it might be quite noticeable. I'm not sure if/when I'll let my hair "go grey". For now, being blonde is quite nice.
Mike and I had fun taking pictures last night, though I want to take some more of my new hair toys and some 'dos. We just never got around to that. He got home kind of late, so it was my bedtime when we were snapping pictures. But, before we took pictures...
I washed my hair with Aveda's Sap Moss all the way down to make sure my hair would be clean for the heat cap treatment. After washing, I went to apply the Kiehl's mask and couldn't find it anywhere. I must've used all of it up last time, but I sure thought I had one more application. Disappointment! I wanted a heat treatment, so used some of Redken's Extreme Rescue Force Fortifying Treatment for Distressed Hair. My hair doesn't seem distressed, but I do color it, so figure it's preventative maintenance. Did the heat treatment and then rinsed. Hmmm... not too impressive as far as the feel of my wet hair after rinsing the Redken stuff out. Felt a little stiff and there was no slip. I added a some of Nature's Gate Awapuhi conditioner (thanks, Fox!) to make sure I could get a comb through my hair and that worked great. Smelled good too! Once my hair dried, it was not nearly as soft and silky as when I use the Kiehl's. Good thing I ordered myself a big tub!
Here are some of the pictures Mike took last night:
Before I brushed my hair - in its natural air dried "ropey" state:
A couple of shots showing the natural texture and length pretty well:
And, a goofy face shot that doesn't really show my hair very well, but I kind of like it, even though my nose looks like it's grown an inch... Hmmm... must be the angle - lol:
Ah, finally – a free day! Though there are things I should do today, I am declaring a day off from house and yard work and bill paying and cooking – at least until 5:00! I need some ME time. Mike is off working today and I told him I was going to do what I want today and he said, “good!”
I’ve not written in my little journal here for a week and I missed adding my entries. No free time at work this past week and when I get home from the gym it’s just too late (plus, I am a morning person and can’t put words together to make a decent sentence after 5:00 p.m., it seems). But, I have all day today! Whoopee! So… I will catch up from last weekend’s experiments and tomorrow (God willin’ and the creeks don’t rise…heh-heh), I’ll post some pictures that I plan on taking tonight when Mike gets home. He’s offered to be photographer, so I'll take advantage of that.
Now, back to last weekend… Here is what I wrote:
Ah, a reprieve from housework. I am alone and needed to get ready for date night with Mike so put away the mop and vacuum and rubber gloves and slathered some AO’s Jojoba Meal & Oatmeal with Rosa Mosqueta Mask and Scrub to my face and Lush’s H’Suan Wen Hua on my hair and started going through my hair products picking out what I want to get rid of - as I have way too many products – most of which just sit and collect dust because they didn’t impress me enough to use again. After 30 minutes I hopped into the shower and rinsed the mask of my face and H’Suan Wen Hua out of my hair and washed with AO’s Blue Camomile Shampoo (“High in Azuline for Soft, Silky Manageable Hair!”). It lathers a bit more than the Island Naturals I used last week. I’d forgotten I had it hiding in the back on one of my cabinets, along with AO’s Rose Mosqueta Rose Hip Conditioning Hair Cream that I used after shampooing. It smells almost as good as the GPB. Got out of the shower with my hair up in a towel. I combed it out (virtually tangle free) and added some jojoba and shea butter leave-in to the ends. Then, tried GM’s Instar, which I’ve never tried when air drying. It’s a “body building” mist, so I’ll see what it does. I also used some other AO products I like a lot and have used off and over the past couple of years: Rose Mosqueta Moisturizing Cream for my face and Rose Mosqueta Hand and Body Lotion for elsewhere. I must like that Rose Mosqueta! So, now I’m sitting in our office under a ceiling fan that is lazily going around frustrated that I can’t get online for some reason…
And now it’s a week later and I can update you on my results. I did not like the Instar as a leave-in. It made my hair stiff and it didn’t hang nicely at all. I remember liking it quite a bit when when my hair was still permed and I was blowing it dry with the diffuser. It seemed to make the waves/curls “set” more, but now that I’m letting my hair air dry, I don't like the feel of it. So… what shall I do with it? Into the the box of items to get rid of. That box is getting full! I remember when Valerie visited me last summer I gave her my bottle of Instar and it only had a bit of it left. Maybe she’d like more? Hmmm… will have to ask her!
I did do some research on rosa mosqueta. I’d read about it on Aubrey Organics site, but wanted to get more detail. There is quite a bit of info online, but here is a quick and easy overview:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rose Hip Oil is extracted from the seeds
contained in the intensely red berry-like
fruits -or hips- of a wild rose-bush that
grows in the cool, lush mountain rainy
valleys of the southern Andes, in Chile.
This wild rose is known by the people of
Chile as " Rosa Mosqueta ", and by scientists
as Rosa Affinis Rubiginosa. It's healing
properties where a well kept secret of the
native people of Chile for centuries. Now
they have been validated by scientific
research worldwide.
Intensive Repair Treatment
All natural skin care, toxin-free and
worry-free approach to revitalizing dry and
dull skin and visibly improving your skin's
quality and appearance.
Revitalizes your skin
Reduces wrinkles and signs of premature
ageing. Helps to counter the drying effects
of the sun which are usually first noticed in
fine wrinkle lines or "crows feet" around the
eyes and mouth. Evens tone and smoothes
roughness. A natural moisturizer for dry,
sensitive, allergic, sun damaged, problem skin
conditions and daily skin care.
Attenuates Scars
Improves surgical and accidental scars, restores
normal skin color (reduces redness or hyper
pigmentation). It also avoids the formation of
the keloid type of scar (lump) which may appear
after surgical procedures and helps to make less
apparent old scars left by acne or chickenpox. (Might help the scar on my leg!)
Provides excellent results in the treatment on
burned skin or on skin that has been exposed to
radiotherapy.
Skin Moisturizer
It is a superb tissue hydrator with a high
absorbing level, penetrating dry skin almost
instantly to restore a much needed moisture
balance frequently lost by climatic and
environmental conditions such as dryness and
air toxicity.
Nourishes Your Skin
RoseHip Oil also has a high content of
unsaturated essential fatty acids, namely
oleic (15-20%), linoleic (44-50%) and linolenic
(30-35%). They are called " essential " because
our body is not able to reproduce them, and
because they help to nourish and maintain a
healthy skin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, it doesn’t say how good it is for your hair here, but I think it’s safe to say that it would also benefit hair health. Aubrey thinks so! The stuff is quite expensive, but I might end up hunting some down anyway one of these days…
I ordered my hair mask from Kiehl’s this week and will be using up my last bit today. It’s rare that I find a product that makes a difference in my hair, so when I find one that does, I don’t mind paying a little more for it. So, today will be heat cap day.
It’s a beautiful, sunny day here and I couldn’t resist taking this picture… I call it Supine Felines.
Ah, what a stressful life they lead, huh?
I do want to do a little cooking today (I actually love to cook), ... I made some awesome blueberry and walnut muffins yesterday to use up some of the blueberries we have before they go bad (I love blueberries and sometimes buy too many!). Mike and I both liked them so I’ll make another batch after noon sometime. I found the recipe while reading through Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. I wasn’t looking for a muffin recipe (and it’s really quite simple; I just added blueberries, walnuts and cinnamon to the basic recipe, but it was awesome). I’m thinking more and more about becoming vegetarian these days. I’ve not made the switch totally, but more often than not I’m not eating fish and birds. I gave up mammal meat years ago. Mike loves meat and I’m not out to change him (or anyone else), so I’m looking for new things to make that can have or not have meat included so we can eat together and both be happy.
Mike finally got the exterior finished on our master closet and my “beauty room”. He likes to call it my “hair stall” and I can’t wait ‘til it’s finished and I can use it! Here is a shot of the not yet finished interior of the “stall” (the closet part is to the left though you can't see it):
It's connected to the bathroom (obviously) and the floor is still concrete (he will add tile to match the bathroom), so I just threw a rug down to keep from walking on the cold concrete when we go to open the curtain. And, obviously, the walls aren’t up yet either! Where the opening is used to be a window to the outside - and it’s not trimmed or finished yet either. He’s done a fantastic job and as soon as the condo is finished, he’ll wrap up this project (before it gets cold). I can then spread all my hair toys out in that room. It’s going to be too cool.
Okay, enough of this… it’s time to do some research and read and play and listen to some peaceful (Celtic, perhaps?) music before doing a heat treatment on my hair.
Well, puh-tooey… I wrote out my hair experiments Saturday, but then couldn’t get online (cable was down for awhile), so saved the Word document that I’d written it in (I usually write it in Word before posting). But, I forgot to send it to myself so I’d have it here at work, so I’ll have to post my weekend experiments tomorrow.
Today I am, once again, wearing a low pony with my new favorite hair toy, the leather slide I ordered from leatherjewels.com. I even got a compliment on it from a fellow co-worker (a male one at that). Here is what the slide looks like:
Slide from leatherjewels.com
I’m awaiting 3 more slides from Lajos, who wrote me a very nice email, making sure I received my first order. I ordered the same slide I’m wearing, but wanted a bigger one for updos and I think he might have thought I never received my first one. It was considerate of him to inquire. His slides are very reasonably priced and should last forever; they’re hand sewn and made of thick leather. I used to wear similar ones back on the 60’s and until recently could only find imitations that looked cheap and poorly made.
I’d intended to take some pony pictures this weekend, but alas, that’s another thing that didn’t get done. Ah well, I have until the end of August to add them to the Style of the Month, and Mike is ready and able to shoot away.
The weekend was busy and I didn’t even go help Mike at the condo. I had too much to do at the house and still ran out of time. I’d hoped to get some reading or research in, but that didn’t happen. By the end of Sunday I was starting to feel like an old washer woman – lol. Lots of laundry and cleaning and arranging and I must’ve walked a hundred miles - :P. It was worse than usual since I’d spent all of last weekend at the condo – so chores just got out of hand. Mike helps when he's not building our addition or working elsewhere - which he usually is! He's a swirling dervish and the most industrious man I think I've ever known. I usually have to force him to sit down and relax.
I did watch Somewhere in Time for the probably 5th time while I was doing housework (I’d pause to watch the “good parts” ), and …sigh… got all choked up again. I love the period clothes and all the romance. Jane Seymour’s hair in the movie is just devine in all the updos. (See: http://www.somewhereintime.tv/ for a few pictures.)
Mike and I made time for our date night on Saturday. We stayed in and burned some nice incense and had some wine and just enjoyed each other’s company. We plan our date nights since it's so easy to get wrapped up in the mundane...
What a beautiful August day! I feel a little guilty enjoying such a glorious day here when the reason for our cool and clear weather (with little humidity!) is due to the Florida hurricanes, Bonnie and Charlie. I hope they dissipate before hitting land; I feel for all the people who are mandated to evacuate. I've heard that Charlie is headed towards the beach we used to visit every summer when visiting my Grandma - Clearwater Beach. Here is a picture of the beach as I remember it from back in the late 50's and early 60's, though it doesn't look much like this nowadays:
I have wonderful memories of that beach and do hope it is spared. So, while Clearwater and Florida are evacuating, we are basking in a sunny almost autumn-like day. I decided to dress for fall and am wearing autumn colors - browns and golds and tans, and my well-worn cowboy boots.
My hair definitely likes this low humidity. I have it pulled back into a low pony tail with my new leather slide that I ordered from leatherjewels.com. I will have to take a picture of it and my other ponys to add to the Style of the Month for August at the Loom. I wear them quite often, so really should contribute.
The weekend is almost here and my days are planned out already. There is just too much to do and I'm sure I won't have time to update my little journal here. I am hoping that tonight will be leisurely as Mike and I haven't had a leisurely night all week. Tomorrow he will be working at the new property all day while I work at our house. I will also make his birthday cake at last. He wants a strawberry cheesecake. Saturday night is our "date night" (we almost always stay in for our date ) and then all day Sunday we will both be at the condo working together. There have been major changes already and it's exciting seeing the place evolve.
I woke up to a deluge! The rain pounding on the roof lulled me back to sleep once and it was a struggle to stay awake and finally get up. I wanted so to roll over, hug my sweetie, pat my kitty's head and drift off again. We need the rain and it was not a bad drive for me to work since I go through wooded neighborhoods, but to stay home would've been heaven. I love the rain! And, here is a nice rain poem related to hair...
They have painted and sung
the women washing their hair,
and the plaits and strands in the sun,
and the golden combs
and the combs of elephant tusks
and the combs of buffalo horn and hoof.
The sun has been good to women,
drying their heads of hair
as they stooped and shook their shoulders
and framed their faces with copper
and framed their eyes with dusk or chestnut.
The rain has been good to women.
If the rain should forget,
if the rain left off for a year-
the heads of women would wither,
the copper, the dusk and chestnuts, go.
They have painted and sung
the women washing their hair-
reckon the sun and rain in, too.
Women Washing Their Hair by Carl Sanburg
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Ophelia by John William Waterhouse
I washed again last night with the AO I used in a previous post and found it just as enjoyable. I put my hair in a high bun before bedtime in hopes of having nice waves and no frizz this morning. Well, that wasn't to be. The waves were irregular and unattractive, so I misted with distilled water to bring back my natural texture - and now I am quite happy with it. I walked outside and let the rain give it a light misting as well and now my hair feels very soft and a bit fluffy - but it's not what I'd call frizzy. I'm wearing it down and feel it is a nice contrast from my pulled back updo of yesterday.
Tonight is weight lifting class again and I am still sore from Tuesday night. Not enough to keep me from going and just enough to let me know that the weight was just about right for me! I've been wearing my hair in a high pony braid the last week in class. It works out very well. I have noticed that I am behind the times when it comes to workout garb. Lol... I wear what I wore from when I started working out in 1980's - tights and a leotard - and nowadays, a T-shirt on top. I don't wear the leg warmers anymore though and haven't for a long time... lol... But others are more stylishly attired. I'm not there to impress anyone, so pay it no mind and don't plan to buy new workout clothes to sweat in! But I do enjoy seeing what people wear.
Anyway, I took a few pictures, but most didn’t turn out because the lighting was bad and I was in a rush. I did get this one, which is okay, so will add it here. I wish it was hanging straight down though, so I could compare the length better.
