Haircut

Having decided that pulling my hair back into a pony tail needed not to be my main hairstyle, I ventured over to Davis and got a proper haircut yesterday. A friend works in a salon there and she has gorgeous hair, so I let her do whatever she felt would be best on me.

I'm very pleased with the outcome. Now we will see if I can make it come out like this when I try to wash and style it myself. I tend to be somewhat hair-challenged and I could always manage that ponytail holder. Anyway, it was very chic when Kristen did it!

Pictures and Holistic Health

I have been carrying Alex's camera around in my purse for three days and have yet to take a picture. I really enjoy the shots others post on their blogs, but have decided that I am simply not born to be a photographer. I am so visually oriented that this always surprises me. There will be pictures!


I have been having considerable pain in the left side of my face and jaw (so much so that I made an appointment with my dentist quite sure that he was going to send me for a root canal. Wrong.) We have pretty much established that it is caused by clogged sinuses. It really has to be gone before we leave for Scotland or spending many hours on an airplane will be most unpleasant.

At the suggestion of a friend I went to a Holistic Health Practitioner for a consult and a "cupping". The cupping apparatus consists of a tube, a thingie that pulls air from the tube, and a series of glass cups that can be attached to said tube. It is a common tool for the practice of oriental medicine and has apparently been used for centuries. They run it across your skin wherever the problem may be -- in my case from the bridge of my nose to the ear, behind the ear, down the side of my neck, and down my back. She put dandelion oil on my skin and did the cupping, then sent me home with some natural remedies that will encourage drainage. The oil smelled lovely, and the whole process felt much like a massage. I felt better last night and think I'm still a bit better today. It will take time for the capsules to work their magic. I'm also supposed to be drinking tons of water, so I have to excuse myself and go off to the ladies fairly often.

I'm sorry I didn't whip the camera out to get a picture of the cupping tools. That would have been a picture worth sharing! Next time.

Rain

Alex came to bed very late last night (he doesn't get up at 6:00 a.m. so he can stay up late to watch the History Channel) and woke me up to say that it had been raining. Really raining. Not just a couple of big, bloppy drops then nothing.

When I got up this morning the world looked the way it does after a good rain. Clean and green and just sort of refreshed. It looked the way one feels after a shower following a day working in the yard. It has been a long time since we have had rain and it was welcome.

We are ready for fall. The days are getting shorter and liquidambers are starting to change and I am checking out my fall clothes to see what may need to be replaced. It almost time for pot roast.

Farmer's Market

One of the nice things about living in California's Central Valley is the abundance of really good produce. My favorite Farmer's Market is an all-year event (unlike some that are open only from about March to October) It is held under the freeway in a parking lot reserved weekdays for State employees.

The range of people competes with the range of produce for the diversity prize. We see ladies in saris (looking even prettier than the flowers sold as several booths), folks who appear to be bikers, people dressed and speaking as though they were at a market in China, older people dropping by after church in their suits and Sunday dresses, and the majority of us who are just dressed comfortably. Everybody can get the kind of produce that reminds them of home. You can also buy lovely fresh flowers, plants, cheeses, and lavender sachets. Some people have those cool rolling carts, but I just load my shopping bags until I look and feel like a pack mule.

For just over $20 I got most of the produce I will need for the week. There are special things like golden beets (taste the same, but much less mess to trim and chop), really ripe tomatoes, wonderful fruit, okra, at least six different kinds of beans. The peaches, nectarines, and plums are on the wane and apples, grapes and pears are taking over. I will miss my summer fruits, although the apples and pears are good also. A wonderful book by Barbara Kingsolver encourages us to eat what is in season locally, and I agree. She does seem to think we can get anything year-round in California. Unfortunately, we really can't. That's why you have to enjoy these warm-weather foods while they are available.

Here's to Farmers Markets. Here is to a variety of sounds, and smells, and tastes and shopping somewhere more exciting that the supermarket.

Joining the network generation -- a bit late

I was quite congratulating myself on signing up for Facebook and beginning to learn how to do this thing (still confuses me a bit) when I read this morning's Sacramento Bee. Apparently there is a sweet lady in her nineties who has also joined Facebook and is using it quite proficiently. So much for me.

Alex and I and my friend Carolyn were part of the in group this evening when we went to the monthly Second Saturday Art Walk. We actually knew artists at a couple of the galleries. What we did not do is hang around 20th and J to drink and party. We saw some fantastic art by local artists. There is a surprising amount of artistic talent in the Big Tomato. Several of the nicer pieces had sold stickers, so there is obviously still a market for the results of that talent.

I am finally on Facebook

Having recieved several invitations to join Facebook -- even my old lady friends are doing it now -- I finally gave in and am learning how to communicate using one more new method. I forget to proofread before hitting post, so I probably sound somewhat illiterate.

All of this stuff is really amazing to me. I logged on to the site and immediately had pictures of a good friend's mom and daughters and granddaughters cruise. Envy would be an understatement.

I found current pictures of another old friend whom I hadn't seen since college and learned that she looks very much like her mother did back in those days. My postings won't be nearly as interesting until I buy myself a new digital camera. I got Alex one for Christmas, but I feel guilty when I use it (it was, after all, a present) and mine is so old that it really isn't working well anymore.

Lesley's friend, Starr, posts wonderful pictures on her blog. She has three darling children and Britain to help her make things interesting. Of course, I have darling cats and the park next to our house is lovely -- not Britain, but lovely.

I had though blogging would stir up my creativity. I'm not sure it is doing that, but all of this computer stuff is bound to help keep the brain cells alive just a bit longer. That or teach me a few new four-letter words.