Dish Towel Club

Many years ago, before every home had a computer, we kept in touch with faraway friends and relatives through either mail (now called snail mail) or telephone calls. Long distance calls could get expensive, so many of us used mail except in cases of emergency. Getting a letter in the mail felt like winning the lottery! Sometimes, though, you'd get a chain letter, the precursor to the "click like and type amen or something bad will happen in your life" memes on Facebook. Mostly I didn't participate in those and wondered why on Earth a friend had decided to buy into the superstition of not making 10 copies causing some horrible calamity to befall their loved ones. There were also fun ones such as sending recipes or postcards to the first person listed, scratching their name off the letter and adding yours to the bottom. The idea was that you would get many new recipes or postcards from  many different places. I did enjoy those and still have some of the items around my house. I think by far my favorite chain letter was " The Dish Towel Club". It was well worth the trouble of buying a towel, putting it in a manilla envelope and mailing it off. My friend's mother thought it was a cute idea, although I doubt she participated. I received many cute towels and still have one of them in use. Although it is a bit faded & stained it's useful as a dust rag or for wiping up spills. I doubt that now anyone would participate in such a thing, but everyone on social media seems to share recipes and tips and tricks for doing things. I guess we still want to be connected and help each other as well as sharing our knowledge and talents but we do it instantaneously. That's nice, but I miss getting those surprises in the mail box.

This is the towel I still have. Cute, right?

Unique But Alike

We are all unique and we like that we are. At the same time we want to be with people who are like us. I think that's why we have clubs and different organizations. Maybe what we want, underneath it all, is to feel like we belong. We seem to really enjoy spending time with like-minded people. Sometimes we join groups only to realize that we are too different and feel as if we don't fit in. Like say a tulip petal on a daisy. Each daisy petal is unique, yet when viewed as a group look the same. But a tulip petal is a different size and shape and doesn't belong on a daisy any more than I would belong in a group of rocket scientists or rugby players. I think what I'm trying to say is that we like to know that we are not strange yet we want to retain our individuality. To belong is a wonderful thing, to be lost in a crowd isn't. It seems like it's one of the contradictions of being human. Celebrate your uniqueness, it's what makes being you so enjoyable.

Summer Time

In the hush of Sunday morn,

The mind is able then to roam,

Through the future, present, past,

Before the hours go so fast,

And we find ourselves at night,

Marveling at Time's swift flight.

Time has a way of passing quickly, doesn't it? Although there are weeks and days that feel longer than eternity, in the blink of an eye years go by. I've been thinking of this a lot lately as my daughters are both well into their twenties now. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were spending summer days in the back yard inflatable pool and sitting on the back steps eating watermelon? How could time have gone so fast? Those are the days I miss, the easy summer afternoons spent playing in water, swinging at the park and eating ice pops and watermelon.  Those times, those memories are, to me, better than any grand trip. Like pearls on a string the simple times that comprise our every day lives strung one by one are the most beautiful.

Early Mornings

Clouds aloft sail the sky

Like a fleet of ships at sea

Rising sun lights the underside

Of each and every tree

Once upon a time I slept

Through every rising sun

Now I awaken with the birds

Who greet the day one by one.

I'm not quite sure how I came to be someone who routinely wakes up on weekends with the sun. I suspect it's a combination of having kids, some mild chronic back pain, and aging. I used to love staying in bed until at least mid morning on the weekend and any day I had off. Things change over time and sleeping/waking habits aren't exempt from that. When I was a young child I remember being outside on the swing set in the summer early in the day, before the sun heated things up too much, the grass still wet with dew and the bees not yet buzzing from flower to flower. I remember the joy of it. My mother hanging out the laundry, checking the berry bushes, and pulling stray weeds from around the flowers. I love those memories and going back to that time in my mind, and feeling those feelings. Early mornings, especially on weekends, are a time for reflection and walks down memory lane.

Hair I Am Again!

The new 'do!

Hair I Am Again!

         Today I went to get my hair cut.  I went to my usual chain salon who claims to take no appointments, walk ins only.  I’ve gone there for six years or so.  I arrived 20 minutes after they opened and they said they were booked until noon.  There were no names on the sign in sheet but a few people sitting in chairs waiting.  I left, I’m not going back.  Today is the only day I have for a while to get my hair cut because I have off of work and once back at work it gets tough trying to go at a convenient time.  I went to the park and googled hair salons in my area because if I’d come home I would have given up and then either remained shaggy looking for another month or tried to cut at least my bangs myself and my daughter could tell you from first-hand experience that my bangs cutting skills are not great. At any rate I called a couple of places but although they said they do take walk ins they couldn’t get to anyone until at least 2:00 which didn’t work for me.  So, I decided to go to a large salon I went to a few times many years ago and stopped using because it’s like a little hair cutting factory and not the atmosphere I prefer when treating myself to a little pampering.  I figured that most likely they’d have a couple stylists on hand for walk ins and I was right.  They took me almost immediately; I was in and out in less than an hour which suited me just fine.  I might go back there next time I need a trim since it was such a quick in and out and the cut and styling are good.  After I left, as I was driving to a coffee shop to treat myself to lunch, I reflected on how different things are today in hair salons (at least in my corner of the world) than when I was growing up.  I used to go with my mother when she got her hair done to a salon called “Coiffures By Georg”.  There were, I think, 2 other stylists besides Georg himself, and many wigs displayed in the shop front window on the street.  He used to let me try on the wigs while I was waiting for my mom.  I really loved doing that!  There was one in particular I liked trying on, it was platinum blonde, had thick straight across bangs and was very long and sleek.  I always wanted long, sleek, straight hair like my friend Dina had and this was my only chance to have it, even if it was just for a few minutes.  Trying on different wigs is like trying on hats or shoes.  It’s a chance to see yourself and feel differently, a nice little break from reality and a chance to daydream.  My reality, hair wise, is that I don’t control it; I let it do what it wants and do my best to make it look presentable.  There’s a cowlick on one side which on occasion forces me to clip ¼ of my bangs off to one side and brush the rest to the other side.  It grows very fast so it may look one way one week and the next everyone’s asking me if I got it cut.  Growing fast can be a good thing if I don’t like a haircut because I know it will be grown out in just a couple of weeks.  Quick growth is not so good for keeping those gray roots covered. Whatever!  For today at least, I’m happy with my hair and feel good that I did something for myself.