Claire

Claire and her friends are the reason I cut my hair off oh so many years ago.  The Claires (as I call them) proved themselves unruly and mostly unmanageable.  And as more of them appeared the bigger the management issue became.  So, they had to go.  Well, be clipped to a more manageable length. 

And then I had a change of heart. I started growing my hair out a couple of years ago; having decided it was time to embrace the Claires however they wanted to show up to the party.   

The Claires didn't disappoint.  The longer the hairs the more strident the most strident of them became.  

Still, I am convinced that I can manage whatever they throw at me.   

And, I do.  Mostly.  

But, glory they are a handful.  

feliz aniversario

 

Tuesday, March 29th, marks the 15th anniversary of this space.  Two days ago, I had precisely what I wanted to post to commemorate the momentous occasion, but I didn't write (or type) it down, so it is gone.  

Lost within the recesses of my mind.  

Oh, well.    In the spirit of "winging it" I shall revert to the time-honored blog tradition of listing stuff. 

1. Fifteen years ago, my son and daughter were in their twenties.  

2. Fifteen years ago, there were many blogging folks.  (I miss them, that.)   

3. Fifteen years ago, I was not as active with my sketching.  

4.  I am overjoyed to have found the time and space (emotionally and physically) to become active with my sketching.  

5.  More often than not, I'm at a crossroads as to sketch or to write.  One day I shall begin the discipline of combining the two.  

6.  The sadness mentioned in the previous post continues; not only grief but conditions; the county, country, the world.  

7. I am tired. 

8. I shall persevere. 

9. F I F T E E N years.  I was going to link to the song, "Shout," but after listening (really listening) to all of the lyrics (not just the hook), I decided not to.   

10. I will link to this son,g which has been ribboning in and out of my consciousness for weeks now. 

11. So, how many more passwords will I have to create?

12. Hair.  Just because it's always hair.  :-) 

13.  No, I haven't cut it. I might.  But, I don't think so. 

14. I'm counting the days until I (we) can get another cat (or two).  

15.  I am also counting the days until folks get tired of FB, IG, Tw*tter, Sn*pch*t, T*kT*k, and the dozen (?) or so social media posting, trolling platforms and come back to the tried, the true.... 

Be kind to each other.  

 

Hold On

 

Part of my work entails making calls to insurance companies.  More often than not, hold times are part of the equation.  Astronomical hold times.  Because of that factor I usually make calls when there are other tasks that may be accomplished while on hold; updating notes in charts, faxing claims,  entering new claim charges, or posting payments.  

Now and again, I'm caught up on other tasks and hold times are spent pondering. 

For instance: 

This pandemic: how much longer? What shall be the short and long-term impact to our cities, states, the country? 

The election: can we trust the process? Will BLUE make a valiant effort and still come up short? What then? If BLUE wins may we expect RED to react horribly? 

Civil War - the Sequel? 

Sometimes the pondering is a little less intense. 

For instance: 

Are there enough leftovers for a decent lunch (or dinner)? 

Is my body beginning to reject dairy? 

What shall I do about Inktober? 

Some drama popped off in a FB Inktober group due to allegations of copyright infringement and plagiarism.  I am sure I've solved the dilemma that caused my unease.  Still, the events, commentary have left a sour note. 

Will live theater return? If so, when? What will that look like? If not, what then? 

How much longer will I be on hold and what the heck is the music? 

Welcome to September. Heck, in a minute it'll be October.  O C T O B E R!! The tenth month! 

WOW 

 

 

  

Daily Practice

So, I'm trying it again.  The IT being growing my hair out.  The growing has slowed so I'll have to live with this, what we used to call, TWA (Teeny Weenie Afro) for a bit yet. My goal is to try to live with IT for the next month (at least).  I will evaluate whether or not to keep going a few days before my birthday.

One of the drawbacks to having this hair is the near daily attention. My scalp is naturally dry. Having this much hair exacerbates that condition so I must oil / moisturize it daily.  It is still short and manageable enough that I don't need to comb it through every day but I tend to run a comb through it none-the-less. My mother wouldn't have it any other way.

As it lengthens the near daily ministrations will become more insistent and most certainly, more daily.

But I didn't really want to talk about my hair.  I really wanted to talk about routines or rather, rituals.

That will have to wait though for now I'm crying over something on television. I shall have to gather myself.  See you later, alligators.






See

TidBits

*

#The biggest challenge in turning over this new leaf toward healthier eating, has been the impulse to lean into easy (lazy) behaviors. It is much too convenient to pick up a bag of chips, a couple of cookies, a candy bar, the dreaded quick service or something out of a box. Planning and prepping: impulse busters

#Several of my co-workers snack on sunflower seeds (with the shells). None, I  believe, eat the shells. They all seem to build mounds of sucked on shells, leaving them on their desks (resting on a dish or paaper towels) until the mound is dumped in the trash. Some, must take sunflower seeds into the bathroom. I never expected to see a sucked on shell in the bathroom, not in the trash.  

#It apears that unnatural hair colors are trending. Pinks. Blues. Magentas. Folks dyeing their hair from the box of 64 crayons, buying pieces, weaves, and wigs, that widen the spectrum even further. A couple of fellow commuters "had words" over expression of this trend. He said she had Now and Later hair. She wasn't as upset over the specific critque as she was over his nastiness in expressing his opinion.

#My mom's birthday is Thursday. I'm trying really hard to lift up the cheer-filled, happier moments. Feeling fairly confident that the effort was going to prove exhausting, I've already requested Friday off. Now, to just get through the 4 days . . .

#We had two (count them, two) days with temps touching 70 and the sun being our friend. Yay!


*don't mind the date on the photo--different camera, didn't reset--photo taken Sunday morning.  

#MicroBlogMonday click the link for more. :-) 

Buzzed

 Before 

 After 

Tired 

Since puppy dawg is scheduled to go under the knife, her thick, curly coat was beyond our expertise, and summer is coming--though, heat doesn't seem to be part of the mix--at least so far, daughter decided a grooming appointment was in order. 

Cinnamon was dropped off Saturday morning at eight and picked up at three in the afternoon. She was reportedly well behaved but quite fidgety. The change is striking. Even her bark is different.

She is confused by the strange dog in the mirror.

Cinnamon's name was inspired by her coat color. But, as she was becoming more blonde than brown (even before the haircut) it is clear, now that her eyes are clearly visible, that she's named for the cinnamon-y color of her soft, "drink me in" eyes.

Lovely.

Anatomy of an Unfriending

Hair. It seems to always be about or revolve around hair in some shape form or fashion. This time was no exception.

Many weeks ago Willow Smith (you know, the daughter of Jada Pinket and Will Smith) cut her "whip it" long hair short. Very short. Soon after, as predicable as the chiming of church bells, the media weighed in with opinions as to why and whatnot.

Then, of course, just as predictably, parent groups weighed in... "How Could Jada 'LET' her daughter . . . " (Why criticism doesn't seem to be directed toward dads whenever 'parent groups' weigh in is a topic for another day.)  Jada responds to her critics with a letter on her FB page, which reads, in part: I made a promise to endow my little girl with the power to always know that her body, spirit and her mind are HER domain. Willow cut her hair because her beauty, her value, her worth is not measured by the length of her hair.

Picked up by a number of media outlets, the letter brought Jada praise and of course, more criticism.

Enter my (now) former FB friend. The "friend" updated her status by posting a link to the article, prefacing said posting with her considered opinion that Jada is an awful parent by allowing her twelve year old to shave her hair off. She went on to defend and expand her stance in the comments. After a few of her other "friends" commented I chimed in with my own, "what's the big whoop? It's just hair."

A few of her friends "liked" my comment and the discussion (such as it was) continued; with the original poster responding to accusations that she was making judgments based on appearance, defending her 'right' to direct her own child's fashion choices, bristling over the commentary that she may have stifled her own son's freedom of expression and or creativity by such a staunch stance on something as innocuous as a haircut.

A couple of the other "friends" observed that the staunchness displayed seemed out of character for the liberal, gay, feminist, activist, they thought (or known) her to be.

After saying my piece, sharing an anecdote about my son's JR high years and baggy clothes (by way to answer the meme: you can't tell a book by it's cover) clicking, 'like' to a couple of the expressed opinions, I backed out of commenting but read with interest at the discussion was careening downhill.

Fast. During this portion of the program I kept thinking of the Bugs Bunny quote.  And nearly posted a para-phrased version. Nearly.

Eventually my (now) former FB friend took exception to the accusations and judgments (over her judgments) and "name calling" as she expressed it and asked NOT to be disrespected on her own page.

Well, that statement set off another flurry of comments. . . "what, I can't call you out?"  "I can't disagree with you?" On and on until the (now) former FB finally responded with, "F*CK YOU ALL!!!" and minutes later, I saw that I had been un-friended and I presume the others in the mix were as well. I hadn't been "friends" with any of them.

I'm not at all offended or distressed by the unfriending for I'd been very close to pulling the plug on our friend status prior to this incident. This woman and I met a few months ago on a dating site and then became FB friends.  We shared a few interesting exchanges, and then (a couple of weeks prior to the incident) met in person--as we live in the same town and found ourselves at the same LBGTQ event. It was this "live" meeting and subsequent FB exchanges that led me to believe we wouldn't ever be friends, so why keep up any pretext.

So, while the incident all started with hair, it became a much larger issue, as is so often the case, especially in my corner of the world.



 

Welcome To Wednesday*: Summer Edition

1. Well it is an unofficial summer edition. We've gone from Winter to Summer in the last two days and no, I'm not complaining. I have up the idea of having a Spring weeks ago. I'm just making an observation. And those folks bitching about the cold, now bitching about the heat? Well, they just like bitching. I do wish they'd take it somewhere else.

2. Do you know how much energy it takes to resist scratching 'till you bleed tearing your skin off? Not just physical energy, but you're robbed of your mental focus as well. It is a wonder I've been able to finish anything at all. The worst is over now (I'm soooo hoping) but for awhile there it was all I could do to keep from tearing my skin off.

3. The itching and just feeling blah put a bit of a pall over "Mom's" day which sucked double since I cooked for and hosted my mom. The food turned out good (the kids thought it was great) but mom didn't seem to enjoy the menu of tilapia, mixed greens (& turkey tails) and mac n cheese. And of course due to the itching, medication, and more I wasn't my most patient but scintillating self. Maybe it was my mood spilling over everything. Still, it wasn't so bad.

4. Do I have to say (again and out freakin' loud) how annoyed I am at motorists who run red lights, roll through stop signs, and fail to come to a complete stop before navigating a right turn on red while I'm trying to cross the freakin STREET!!! ?! OH. EM. Gee!! Makes me want to S*C*R*E*A*M for realz, yo!

5. What do you think possesses a person (you know it isn't just the guys and not just kids) to choose to wear britches that slide down and off their asses? Though, I must admit the symphony of movement, the peg leg walk, the constant hitching up said britches is quite the sight. I think we need an anthropological study. I would have thought the fad would have faded long, long ago.

6. Speaking of possession, what possesses a person to lounge on the bus with their feet on the seat next to them, reading their K*ndle (or whatever)? Do you think they are screaming for a confrontation? The little diva just doesn't know how close she came.

7. So, so happy it is bike riding weather (today's thunderstorm not-with-standing). Now, I just need to get closer to 100% itch free to really enjoy. By the weekend, fingers and toes crossed.

8. Major doings going on at work, though not at liberty to discuss and while exciting am also nervous. Major doings going on with the actor. He has gigs strung nearly back-to-back through next Spring (at least). Major doings going on with the daughter, finishing her schooling, extern- ship, and prepping for graduation and full-time job hunting.

9. Not sure if I mentioned before, but I've been cutting my own hair for some time now. Somewhere deep in the archived comments someone suggested I do it myself, "it couldn't be that hard." I hesitated taking up the clippers, remembering the butchering I'd done to my son's head many, many years ago. But, several tries later I'm beginning to get the hang of it. It isn't a professional grade cut, but it's doable and rather neat, if I do say so myself.

10. Finally, the next couple of Saturdays seem promising. I was going to link some stuff *here* and *here* but the blasted linky poo thingy ain't working and I'm too tired addled lazy just too done to DO IT the long way. I'll talk about the events when they happen (or before iffin I find myself back here in the meantime).

Peace Out

*Yes, I know it is Thursday, but Blogger was having issues.

Lost In . . . Something

Yesterday morning my daughter and I were shooting the breeze, both of us in various stages of getting ready for our respective workday. Her (2nd) closet is near my bedroom and we often use the opportunity of her trips there to chit-chat over any given morning's animal antics and other things.

Yesterday, she asked after my face, skin. She commented that it looks better and wonder if it felt better as well.

I relayed that it did feel better. I launched into how I was staying away from acidic foods, trying various topical creams and lotions to combat not just the itching, but the dryness as well.

She picked up a small bottle of one such topical, something I was no longer using. I'd run into a store on the way somewhere, needing some kind of moisturizer for my bag. Seeing her finger the bottle, I said, "in fact, since I stopped using that stuff, my face and neck feel much, much better."

She looked at the product she was holding, making her eyes go wide. I could see the guffaw build up within her long before it blasted out of her mouth.

You see, instead of putting on a skin lotion from a similar line of products as pictured, I'd been applying a hair conditioner. To my face. I didn't even know they made hair care products. It was a trial size bottle and I admit I hadn't really read the bottle. (I was in a hurry, I saw the product line got it, and gone.) Even after deciding not to use it anymore, it didn't register that I should look at the bottle. I did make a mental note to check the ingredients before I made any future purchases.

Her hearty laugh and, "you put this on your face....for daaaaays???" is still ringing in my ears.

But, yes . . . looking and feeling, much better. Thanks for askin'.

Hair Today

Donald at my local Staples ™ likes my haircut. He thinks it is neat. Obviously, I agree with him, I think it is neat too. Norman follows my instructions pretty much each time now and what I get is a nice, neat low cut and line.

It will stay neat for about a month. I must however, get myself into Norman’s chair every 3—4 weeks, otherwise Norman is challenged to re-create the look I desire.

Donald at my local Staples ™ wonders if the salt and peppering is natural or manufactured.

Make my hair gray, on purpose? Uhm, no. The salt and pepper pattern is a natural occurrence. In fact, until a few months ago I was covering all gray (and black) hairs with a reddish-brown dye (had been for years).

Donald likes the salt and pepper pattern. My daughter doesn’t like any gray on my head. Neta doesn’t mind one way or the other, my son and my mother haven’t chimed in on the color. Though my mother continues to hate that it is soooo short.

I’m haven't decided whether I like the salting and peppering. However, I have decided to leave it alone, save the cuts.

I will let it gray, where it may. For now, anyway.

Again With The Hair

After several visits to a barber (the second since the closer crop makeover) he informs that there is a hole in my head. Well, of course there is. Since my very first visit I’d tried to get this barber to cut my hair low. Lower, it seems than HE is comfortable. I think it’s because I’m a woman.

I could be wrong. Still…

Every time he deems himself done & presents a mirror for me to approve the cut, I have to request more off the top. Please. This last time he used the hole as his excuse for not going shorter. I explained (or tried to) what I was after. He clipped some more but when he presented the mirror again, I didn’t see any changes. I settled again for the not short enough cut.

I like this guy. He’s close, friendly and relatively inexpensive. But, I need him to cut my hair the way I want.

I’m going to give him another chance because I’ve waited too long (again) and this bushy-top is driving me nutty. But along with needing a new dentist and possibly a new medical doctor, I may be on the hunt for a new barber (again) soon.