Unmitigated

Mileage

This was the plan Saturday morning: Meet some friends at the museum to get them in for free with my ID badge, then, make a quick stop at the Village Store to drop off the paperwork I forgot on Friday. The place is 6 miles from home, so it's a pretty and easy drive over.

Start at the black dot near the top center of the picture. Imagine that's my car. I was in the employee lot behind the museum.

Now follow the hot pink line toward the back of Lovett Hall. Stop before you get to the doors, and walk back to the car, because you left the paperwork on the front seat. Get the paperwork, and head back to Lovett Hall. I could have gone straight to the museum, but it was about 45 degrees and very windy, so I wanted to walk indoors as much as possible. There's a pedestrian walk between Lovett Hall and the Museum, and I can use my ID to get in the back way. Say "Hi!" to the security guy inside the door (he's the blue dot. I saw him a lot. Now walk the entire length of the museum to where you asked the friends to meet you.

Did I mention the museum covers NINE ACRES? Yes, it does.

Pick up friends where light blue line starts. Take them inside, then walk the blue line path, back past the security guy (Hi again!) back through Lovett Hall, which connects to the Benson Ford Research Center. Come out the front door of the BFRC, and cross the Josephine Ford Plaza to the Village Store. Find manager down at the far end of the store (of course) and chat for a minute or two about how the day is going.

Task accomplished, now our line turns orange. Back out the store, across the Plaza to the BFRC, which, I realized, is not open to the public on Saturdays, so the door is locked. My ID badge won't be activated for access until next week (they want to make sure we are staying!), so, back out to the plaza, and over to the easternmost entrance to the museum, back past Security Guy (for the third time!), back across to Lovett Hall, and all the way back out to the parking lot.

Thank God it was the museum, and not Greenfield Village. The Village is EIGHTY ACRES. Something tells me my legs are going to be in great shape by the end of the summer.

Weekly Winners: April 18th

I've been seeing Amy's Weekly Winners forever at Bitchin' Wives Club. Today I saw them at Lisa's Boondock Ramblings, and decided it was just what I needed to get me going...with a camera, I mean.

Click the button to visit Lotus at Sarcastic Mom

Russian Sage

An explosion of wild violets

High five

Star tulip

No idea what these are, but there are a million of them, and they smell like fresh basil!

In Which I Unwittingly Go to Rio

Gentlemen, and Chickadee, this post is not for you...see you tomorrow.

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In February of last year, Bud and I went to Captiva Island with Leslie and Larry. The girls spent some time shopping one day while the guys were golfing. I tried on and purchased a tankini. My first two piece bathing suit in many years. It has boy shorts, which I wanted, truthfully, because there would be less...maintenance...necessary to wear it.

I do not wax. Except my eyebrows, very rarely. I am a total wimp about having hair ripped out by the roots. To try that around the devil's triangle was just a non-starter for me. Not. Gonna. Happen. At Target the other day, I saw the depilatories, and picked up the Nair designed for the "bikini area."

Years ago, when we figured out that our son was...entertaining himself...we were trying to keep him off of p0.rn sites on the internet, because they were loading shit on out computers, aside from the fact that they were just yuck. "You know, I'm sure your dad has some old magazines downstairs..."

"Eww. No way!"

"Are you kidding? How can it be worse than that stuff online?"

"Two words, mom. Pu.bic H4ir."

See, the new thing is a shaved...area...and not just trim and neat, either. We're talking bald as a cue ball. This, to me, seems exceedingly weird. I can recall being 12 years old, and just waiting for that hair to show up! It was a rite of passage. Now, grown women are...stripping it down to bare skin? Huh.

So, I had done a little research, and decided that, as a treat for Buddy, I would try out a landing strip. Did you know you can go to Wikipedia.org and see pictures of this? Yes, you can. So, at shower time on Sunday, I applied the Nair very carefully, in order to leave just the...the...not much of a...the landing strip.

Then I thought, hmmm. I have to stand here for ten minutes, I should go get a book to read.

Did you know that the act of walking involves...certain parts...there's some friction...and of course, transfer of some depilatory, which I did not realize until about minute eight, because it's not supposed to GO there, and thank goodness the shower was available, and some aloe too. And oh, holy gawd, it's completely bald! Aaaaaaaaakkkk!!!!

I sent an e-mail to Bud.

From: Me
To: You
Subject: Oops.

So. Do you, by chance, know what a Brazilian is?

Signed,
Eek.

As weird as it looks? Is NOTHING compared to how it feels. Everywhere I go, I'm thinking...do we need milk?...I am bald as a billiard ball...wow, the leaves are really opening up now....urgh, I can feel everything down there!...did I take the chicken breasts out of the freezer...well...you get the picture.

So...yeah.

The bank accepted 20-year-old-daughter & fiance's offer. They should close by the end of the month. All here are delighted!

Wardobe Therapy: Hair and Make-Up

It's time for another Wardrobe Therapy post. Wende is leading the way for week four, as always.

1. Consider. Hair is my highlight, my highest expense, and my greatest pride. I have always said that when I am feeling unhappy with my appearance, I look to my hair, which is a blessing. Yesterday, I visited my new colorist, Pam, who is married to my stylist, John. How convenient is that? I am putting their son through college. And he's only five. Pam touched up my tint (base color) and added some beautiful highlights and low-lights, and it looks great.
   The top picture is what it looks like indoors, the bottom photo is in bright sunshine. The strawberry tint really shows up much more dramatically in the sun.
   
   
2. Dump. This directive is to get rid of the old, used up, or icky stuff. I am not much of an accumulator of make up, and my children like to use my "product." Women know what that term means. Funny how they like my $24 Architexture much better than they do the $9 Garnier stuff. There are three categories for my make up. The first is the stuff I do everyday before leaving the house, especially in winter when I am already somewhat pasty... The concealer, for the dark circles under my eyes, a little powder to take away the shine, and some lipstick, usually in a My Lips, But Better (MLBB) shade. Current go-to is Maybelline's Sugar Plum Ice. Then there's the special occasion make-up. The I will actually use a (gasp!) foundation! I know! And mascara and eye-shadow and blush, although in summer, I try to get a little natural color along with my vitamin D, so I can avoid everything except the lipstick and mascara. Here's the selection:
   Top left is Mary Kay stuff from when my neighbor was a rep. Center bottom is Maybelline mascara and eyeliner. The small circle is an expensive blush, but the color is perfect, and it's lasted forever. On the right is a lip gloss, blush/bronze and brush that I got free from the e.l.f. people at BlogHer last year. I w3anted to show you my cute little Nick and Nora bag, that was one of the best gifts I ever got from a student...
   
   
   Sadly, my e.l.f. brush doesn't fit. Last, are a few orphans I fished out of the medicine cabinet...
   
   
   I rescued the eyeshadow (Lilac and Lemon Grass), lip gloss and the Avene redness reducer. The rest was expired and has been tossed.
   
   
3. Evaluate. My I Feel Pretty routine is not very routine. I do like to be low-maintenance. I'll put some effort into my hair when it grows longer. Summer and winter, both, seem to harsh on my hands. Winter because they are so dry, summer, because I love to putter about in the yard, and gardening gloves and I do not get along. I have said before that very little makes me feel as sexy as a good pedicure.
   
   
4. Fantasize. The era I chose for favorite clothing, which was the romanticized frontier from Lonesome Dove (I'd love to dress like Lorena or Clara Allen) did not feature make up, and the hairstyles were mostly long braids, worn piled up. No thanks. Although I guess my minimalist make-up routine is perfect for this era.
   
   
5. Google (or Go Shopping for fashion magazines). I don't think I want to make any changes in this area, except maybe to learn a better technique for applying eye shadow than a single swoop.
   
   
6. Hunt and habit-form. I am loving Garnier products right now, and Poppy's reviews have been solidifying that love pretty well. I even passed on the rest of my Aveeno moisturizer to my son, who has learned that a good acne cleanser and astringent will dry his skin so much that his oil glands work overtime trying to repair. If he moisturizes (with SPF), his skin stays pretty clear!

Whew! That was long. Tomorrow, a euphemism-laden post about an accidental Brasilian.