My dear friends, I have a prayer request. Let us all pray for the poor farmers. This drought is really taking a toll on them. I just read today that 97% of the cherry crop was destroyed and also heard that the corn crop is in jeopardy. Since corn is widely used in food, not to mention to feed livestock, we can only wonder how expensive groceries will be this fall. A prayer for the farmer is a prayer for all.
Speaking of droughts, I've read that some people are having trouble with their tomatoes. A lot have blossom end rot, which is caused by the lack of water, or inconsistent watering. It leaches out the calcium. Tomatoes need consistent watering, strangely, if you get a big rain storm it can leach out the calcium also. I once heard that you must treat your garden like a guest and give it a nice long drink of cold water to refresh it. That is why, this summer, I haven't accomplished much. Too busy watering!
Now for something silly. I wanted to cut my hair, but I have a major phobia of hairdressers. It seems they never listen to me. I could go in with a picture of a six foot high beehive and request it and will come out with a bowl cut. Bowl cuts, seem to be my lot in life. The other problem with my hair is that it is what my hairdresser call heavy and silky, which is just an euphemism for stick straight and doesn't hold a curl. It's a teenager's dream, they wouldn't need to use any straightening irons, that's for sure. But on a fifty year old woman, it's not so dreamy. I try to pin it up, but the silky part resists pins and elastics, so I always look disheveled. So anyway, I was studying hair-dos, trying to find the perfect one for me. First you have to determine what your face shape is, which is where the troubles begins. The experts disagree. On one web site, they'll show a starlet as having a round face, on another site, she's considered square and on yet another they think she has an oval face. So if they can't figure out face shapes, how in the world can I? Oval faces are the shape we are all supposed to strive toward. But who determined that this was the ideal and why? What's wrong with a sweet round face or a pretty little heart shaped one? Why must we all strive to look alike? What a boring world it would be. It reminds me of the 80s when everyone was wearing shoulder pads, because we heard on Oprah that shoulder pads balance our bottom heavy figures. We all went around looking like linebackers. The silly things we do for fashion. You don't see men behaving this way, by the way. We women are so hard on ourselves. Remember when getting our colors done was the thing to do? I went around wearing colors I hated because they were supposed to be flattering. Never liked to draw attention to myself with bright colors. Wonder if the look on my face from feeling uncomfortable in orange and gold, made me look attractive? Long story short, I decided not to cut my hair. Guess if women my age don't have long hair, I'll be considered eccentric.
You know, the word, eccentric, is a wonderful word. I so often read on blogs, that people considered themselves outsiders and that they don't fit in. If we would only consider ourselves eccentric and artistic instead. It's really just a matter of attitude. Just have the confidence to be the authentic you! The people that love you, will still love you, and those who can't accept you as you are, are not true friends anyhow.
Having at length accepted my place in the universe; mine and no other; I grow quiet like my hemlock tree; tranquil, like my elm.
~David Grayson~
Your Dill bouquet looks wonderful, I meant to grow some this year but didn't get any in, I love the smell of Dill. Yes, I will definitely have to keep farmers in my prayers, it is hard to remember when you are in the PacNW that people are suffering from drought conditions with their gardens, so it is definitely a good reminder.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about hairdressers, I have had some pretty awful cuts over the years, and have never wanted to pay for a more expensive hairstyle, so I just go in and hope for the best. I too have stick straight hair, as does my daughter, she keeps hers long and never needs a straightener either. I am short so for me a short, simple haircut is my favorite. Both my mother, and mother in law, and in fact my grandma all keep their hair long, and I think they always will, it fits their personality, and it is was they like, I think that is what is important. I love the word eccentric, and what you say about being oneself is so true. Great quote. Hope you have a nice weekend. :)
I just discovered David Grayson, April. Picked up a book at an estate sale and am thoroughly enjoying his essays. Expensive or cheap haircuts doesn't matter to me, they all come out the same. The hairdresser just cannot accept the fact that my hair won't curl, no matter how long you apply a curling iron or how proficient the hair cut is. Hopefully, it will be long enough soon to braid into a nice long braid, so I can coil it up in the back. You have a nice weekend too!
DeleteHi Jane..shoulder pads....I really hated that style...and luckily I had no extra money during that era to buy myself clothes!
ReplyDeleteI really have troubles with hair styles. That is why I've only been going to a stylist in the last 2 years. The other years I just cut my own (probably with the help of my guardian angel for the back..ha). I've learned that you have to bring in a picture of what you want...and bring it in several times/visits....because somehow, the stylist seems to not see what I see in the picture!
I just took pictures of my dill (looks like yours) a couple of weeks ago. I was admiring how all the flowers look bad with this heat, but the dill looks wonderful! ha. That dill bread would be wonderful.
I'm glad you mentioned the drought. Several years ago, our churches used to pray for rain...now it is all silence. Our country is in a slumber I guess, oblivious to the plight of our farmers, and our future food. love,andrea
I cut my own hair too, Andrea. My husband helps with the back. He's gotten pretty good at it! For my oldest son's wedding I did the proper thing and met with the hairdresser and discussed it all before making an appointment, but it still came out a bowl cut! Except it was so layered, I couldn't make heads nor tails of it. Never could figure out how to style it! For a good year, it looked like a birds nest atop my head. Finally got all the layers cut out.
DeleteI think the apathy is due to the fact, many people can't accept what is going on in the world. You know, ignorance is bliss. I pity them, when events happen that they will no longer be able to ignore.
I let my husband cut my hair in the back once....I knew I was in trouble when he did one big snip and said "oh oh". Never again. ha.
Deletewhen I was a teen, someone said to me (because I was being so dumb about something...can't remember what) "ignorance is bliss" and I didn't even get the gist of what that meant..ha! So I guess my ignorance even saved me further, from that quote. love,andrea
Hi Jane,
ReplyDeleteAch, the haircut dilemma! I haven't
had a decent one since our youngest got married a year ago April, and I had to go to Flint to get it! She isn't even there anymore...so I have my daughter trim mine when the bangs get too long. I promised my mother i would not cut my hair, and when she died, I still grew it long. Now it is my daughter Sam (the one I blogged about recently), who does not want me to cut my hair.
I once had a lady cutting my hair and she asked what I did for work, & when I told her I worked for the township, she happened to live in that township, so she angrily began complaining about her taxes and saying how she wasn't gonna pay them, all the while the scissors where flying all over the place! I tried to tell her I didn't do taxees, but she seemed to be off on a nut, so I just kept quiet & hoped she wouldn't chop me with those scissors!
That was the second similar incident while getting a haircut I have experienced...so I do not go to the salon.
I am praying for our local farmers...my husband says that many around here are not growing the usual crops any longer, but are now growing some type of bean crop for Japan instead? Not good.
~God Bless~ Lisa
Gosh! I wouldn't get my haircut in town if I were you, Lisa! We haven't had a decent rain since June, but my brother-in-law who farms up north said it was the perfect year for his potatoes. So I guess we'll always be able to eat them! Hope you have a nice weekend!
DeleteHi Jane - I also cut my own hair with the help of my husband. I have never yet been to a hairdresser and come away happy. They always ruin my fringe. So I decided 'why pay £30 and feel awful'. The only thing is I am not liking the way its going grey and would like to get it coloured occasionally. My husband tried this a few times too but I was hideously worked up with him and we both ended up in a right state! Poor husbands - the things we get them to do!!
ReplyDeleteOur farmers are struggling with the cool extremely wet summer we are having. Things are rotting in the ground. First we had a serious drought, now we are getting floods everywhere. The seeds in my little veg patch haven't even germinated. Lily. xxx
Hi Lily! Grey hair is a dilemma. When I first spotted some cropping up, I thought it was kind of nice, but now that I have big swatches of it, I'm not so keen on it. I'm sure I'll like it once it is all silver, but this in between stage is pretty depressing. But I don't want to dye it, because there's no gracefully way to grow it out and I don't want to end up with a wide white stripe when I finally decide to go all white, so I do nothing.
DeleteIt's too bad that we can't borrow some of your weather and vice versus. It looks like it's going to be a very bad year for farmers everywhere, it's sad to say. Hows the house coming along? All done with the contractors?
¸❤✿•.¸
ReplyDelete♥ Bom fim de semana!
♡ Beijinhos.
Brasil
Olá meu querido amigo! Eu suponho que você achar ridículo que estamos reclamando do calor!
DeleteSince I have curly hair, cutting it is an ordeal if I go to a hairdresser; so I usually do not visit the salon (ever!)
ReplyDeleteI am realizing that yes, I am unique, and different, and special. I see myself through the eyes of My Savior, my husband and my sons. That is sufficient for me :)
Here in PA, the drought is not as bad. We have had some rain, especially in the farming areas, so far, it is not as bad...but prayer as always would be welcomed.
Thank you for sharing Jane.
m.
I've always been envious of you gals with curly hair, Maria. It's so pretty and feminine. Once I tried getting a permanent but although they left the solution on for four times as long as suggested, it didn't hold. I'm glad that somewhere in the world the weather is cooperating. What concerns me is the drought right throw America's breadbasket.
DeleteWe've had little if no rain for over a month. Our grass is brown and crunchy. I've only been watering my vegetables. It keeps threatening rain, but it passes by us.
ReplyDeleteI have curly hair too and cutting is also an ordeal. I've tried growing it but it's so thick and heavy and gets very hot. It doesn't matter who cuts my hair it always looks the same, so my daughter will cut it for me or I go to the cheapest place I can find.
Same here, Janet. I guess the one good thing is we don't have to mow the grass in this heat.
DeleteI guess I shouldn't be so envious of you that have curly hair, then. Guess it comes with it's own set of problems. I think the only time I was ever happy with my hair was when I was a little girl and wore pigtails!
You always make me smile! I absolutely love dill! In fact, I have dill I dried at the end of season a few years ago that I hung on the wall in the room where all my home canned goods are stored ... and we call it the Dill Room! I love the smell of dill when I walk in! I also have a fear of getting my hair cut. It never turns out good! I wear my hair in a ponytail about 99% of the time anyways :) Have a great day Jane!
ReplyDeleteThat makes me happy, Jane! I dry my dill in our truck and you can smell it for ages. It makes me hungry for those dill flavored potato chips. Spoken like the true gour-moo that I am! On a young, slim gal like you a ponytail looks nice. On someone my age and shape, I end up looking like an old hippie. Oh well! Maybe I'll have to start wearing tie-dyed shirts and hanging out at Grateful Dead concerts.
Deletehi! I always have cut my husband's hair also...and I really hate doing it.
ReplyDeleteMine started out as volunteering too..ha...I also cut my children's until they had a job and paid for their own haircuts. (I began that after taking several of them as toddlers/preschoolers to J.C. Penny's and the bill was so high)
I think that basically, stylists charge too much for a job that takes a half hour or less! (and definitely less for kids).
I love your dill weed in a vase. Very summery. Long hair is popular again on women over 50! I have cut all our seven children's hair until they reach about 17 and then I hand them over to the salons. I usually cut my own, but then it is wavy and very forgiving of hack jobs! I love the poem by Jenny Joseph called, 'Warning'. It is the one the Red Hat Society uses. Being eccentric is a good thing!
ReplyDeleteI cut my boys and husband's hair also, Anita. Can't even imagine the money that it saved over the years. Sounds like you are one of the lucky ones with wavy hair. Thanks for the poetry suggestion, I'll have to look it up. And last but not least, welcome!
DeleteHi Jane...i'm sorry your contractor was a no-show! I really really hate waiting for a contractor, and not showing up is the ultimate frustration! It is amazing how I let myself get so worked-up over things like this.ha...I also really hate making dr. appts and taking my kids there when they were little.
ReplyDeleteI see anita,and some others, are part of our hair-cutting group! I like to add up the money I saved doing that, and other things, plus take into consideration things I don't buy (like jewelry...I really don't like wearing jewelry and it doesn't tempt me) and figure out what sort of a part-time job (adding in the taxes we saved from donating :) that would equal.
I also thought that before I would ever get a job (which a little job could be fun for me, nothing professional though, I would want a no-brainer if I ever worked) I could strip things away...like a newer car, an extra cell phone, etc, first. Because sometimes freedom is more worth money.
love,andrea
Yes, it would be nice if Anita joined in more often on the conversations. We seem to have a lot in common.
DeleteI don't care for jewelry either. Actually, think costume jewelry is prettier than the real McCoy. That reminds me of something. Once my sisters and I were sitting around the table and they were bragging about their diamond rings and earrings. I took off the locket that I wear with the pictures of my four boys and handed it to them and said "These are my jewels." The only jewelry I wear is a crucifix and that locket. I don't even have a wedding ring, because the diamond fell out and it was just to inconvenient for my lifestyle anyhow. My husband has offered to buy me a plain gold band, but I can always find other things we need more.
Other things we've given up to stay at home is dining out at fancy restaurants, vacations, a closet full of clothes, new furniture. There's always things we can sacrifice to stay home with the children.
My husband teaches music and doesn't like wearing his wedding ring because it pinches when he bends his fingers over the frets. A few years ago I put it on because for some strange reason, my little gold band wouldn't slide over my finger anymore. That is pretty much it for my jewelry! Occasionally I break out the earrings for a wedding or something. I have saved us so much money shopping Goodwill, cutting hair, walking places,cooking cheap,that I am sure I made as much money as lots of 'working' women. Some day soon though, I want to splurge on some art supplies. I used to oil paint, once very long ago and I feel the urge to start again! Enjoy the lovely summer weather ladies, but pray for rain!
ReplyDeleteBetween you Andrea, and myself, we could write a pretty good book on home economics, Anita! Funny you should mention art supplies, I was thinking about that recently also. I used to do watercolors. But it has been years. Yes indeed, we need to pray for rain! Just read on Comcast that 55
DeleteHit a button! 55% of the corn crop is destroyed I meant to finish!
DeleteJane,
ReplyDeleteThe dill looks so lovely mine was eaten and dryed out when I was in Florida. Next year...
I loved your views on eccentricity I agree wholeheartedly. Usually when people say someone is eccentric they are being rude about it using it as a derogatory statement. But it's not at all.
Shoulder pads lol I have wide shoulders anyway and they make me look even wider I was in school during shoulder pads I always thought they made everyone look funny and kinda messy.
Hope you have a wonderful day.
Erika
Well your nice broad shoulders helped you dodge that bullet Erika! Ha! My shoulders were to wide for most of the styles also. But there were some "Dynasty" style fashions out there that were so ridiculous that even Refrigerator Perry's shoulders would have been too narrow for! They made everyone look like they had no neck.
DeleteDearest Jane,
ReplyDeleteLovely bouquet of dill, my dear! We've been saying lots of prayers for the farmers, too, especially after driving through the Midwest and seeing how dry things are.
Kudos for letting your hair grow out; maybe you'll start a trend that is much-needed! :)
Love,
Marqueta
p.s. It's good to be back!
Hello Marqueta! I was just wondering how you were making out on your trip. Hope you had a wonderful time and I look forward to reading all about it. If only my hair was as pretty as yours! It still has a long way to go to make a nice long braid like yours!
DeleteHi Jane. My other flowers are struggling. My backyard's dirt is as hard as a rock! But, I am satisfied I was able to enjoy my flowers from springtime to now.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm finished in the kitchen. Next I am going to open up and try out a Shark steam pro mop I bought at costco today. It is unlike me to be automatic, but I'll give it a try. love,andrea
I just posted again....to say how much I love that mop! It is lavender colored also. My dog sheds so much also! It is very frustrating. A vet once recommended a flea comb to us to comb the hair out...it does work well...but I still sweep daily...I am not a animal (in the house) person! love,andrea
ReplyDelete...Yes, baked goods...just what I need..ha..
ReplyDeleteThe mop did get bad reviews at Costco's site though. My husband said "I can't believe you bought it with people saying it breaks". So I will cross my fingers. People say it works fine at first and then fizzles out. It does say to use distilled water (not very convenient), but maybe that might help.
I guess I am just so enamored with a change of how I clean the floors!
love,andrea
As usual, I am "late" to the party.
ReplyDeleteYour bouquet of dill looks nice. I've never received a bouquet of dill before. :) I'll have to check-out the recipe for dill bread. Sounds like it could be good, but then again, I am a bread eater, so there is very few breads that I don't like.
I agree, hair dressers can be a nightmare. I don't bother to go to one myself. I just do my own thing, but I wish that I had more "hair savvy," as I'd like to do different things with my hair, but fear I'd make a big mess out of everything, ugh!
Thank you for letting us know about the drought. I wasn't aware of that, but I should have been with all the nasty heat waves that have been going around. I'll be sure to send-up some prayers as well.
Okay, this comment is turning into a book. Chat with ya later! :)
Well Mara, the last one to the party is always the guest of honor! I'm all thumbs when it comes to my hair also. Probably why haircuts never work for me. Never did get how to use a blow dryer or curling iron. Looks like we have a pretty good consensus that everyone does their own hair.
DeleteHello, my dear Brazilian friend!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your blog! Ah, hairdressers do also not listen to me ... so do not feel alone. I have semi long hair. I would like to see you with a short haircut. Beautiful bouquet! The picture is so nice.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to get one of those cute pixie haircuts, Jedidja. But I'm afraid right now I just don't have the courage.
DeleteJane, this was lovely. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Now that you've stopped by for a visit, I hope you won't be a stranger.
DeleteHair is one of the oddest "beauty" questions...lol. My hair is fine, but I have a head full of it kind of thing and of course it has a mind of its own. I went in once to have it permed and I told the lady quite politely that my hair curled extremely well. She proceeded to ignore me and I left with an puffed afro style. She kept apologizing and saying she'd do the next time for free. I just thanked her and thought to myself, "Next time?" I came home and hubby asked me if I had stuck my finger in a socket.
ReplyDeleteI'm really toying with having mine cut short. I don't seem to have the desire to style it and all I do is pull it up in a clip day after day.
Gee, that was generous of her to offer you a free haircut, Shara. Ha! I thought you looked really cute in your recent picture with your haircut, but I can understand the annoyance of those clips. Afraid I've been relying on them to style my hair to often lately also. They're not the most comfortable things in the world!
DeleteI know I'm a litte late commenting on this post, but better late than never, I guess! I, too, am over 50 with long hair. I see so many cute shorter cuts, but it was so much trouble to grow out the layers that I hate to mess it up with up with something that I may regret. I often have remorse after doing something with my hair. I decided to go back to covering the gray recently, and hated the result, but now after about three times of retouching the roots I think I'm growing to like it. Face it--if a movie star or someone like that can have long hair at an "older" age, why can't we "regular" people? My only issue is that it's hard to find hair ornaments--barettes and clips and things--that don't look they belong on a teenager. I prefer the classic look, myself.
ReplyDeleteSo, here's to all of us long-haired middle-aged ladies!
Came back by to give you another hug.... ((((Jane))))
ReplyDeleteI have long grey hair--its getting longer, easier to put in a braid, out of my way. I have it trimmed about every 3 months for tidiness. I think 'women of a certain age' must have the courage to do what suits us--we can dress neatly and simply for life in the country and still be attractive.
ReplyDeleteBy the way: Glad you are enjoying David Grayson!
ReplyDelete