*the shadow of a lover goes dancing by...

oh, nope. Just a little pooch.

The days are getting shorter and colder and I like it! We are under a freeze warning for tonight. I say "bring it!" a.k.a. kill the allergens, already.

I went for an enjoyable run this morning. The thermometer said 37F and the feels like said 30. I had a hard time remembering what I should wear for such conditions. As it happened, I had on one too many layers, but nothing crazy.

I enjoy being out there in the dark and quiet - after talking myself out of sleeping in.  Fall is my favorite time of year. Soon, the early morning hours will be icy and unwelcoming, but currently, they're perfect. 

There's very little activity at that time of day, save for a handful of dog walkers who seemingly like the feel of the dark, quiet, early mornings too. I shuffled by a few of them, each of us acknowledging each other briefly before continuing our morning solitudes - pondering our life choices, or unable to shake a random earworm.

Some have small lights on their dogs, others wear lighted/reflective vests and/or headlights. Me, I have a headlight, but nothing else to really help the visibility. 

I was over on J. Bezos's store site, looking at light vests, pondering. 


It's reminiscent of my glory days as an elementary school crossing guard.


Now THAT was high fashion.


sigh what to wear?

*This run's earworm:

trending

 Just finished cleaning out my email inboxes. Aaah, so satisfying. Last night, my [PEO] chapter had an "offical visit" - an audit of sorts. Health checkup of sorts. Happens about every 4 years.

Since I'm currently the chapter prez, I feel I was in the hot seat the most. I think it went well - a few glitches that were out of my control - but we survived. I mean, what're they gonna do? Fire us? Anyway, the "test" had been looming on my calendar for a while, and now I'm glad it's in the rear view.

I am a bit concerned about one of our officers. She seems a bit spacey in recent months. I don't know her all that well outside of meetings, so maybe that's just how she is, but I'm seriously wondering if her mind is going. 

So that's behind me, now back to mediocrity.

I've noticed a return of the men's mullet. All the rage in the late 80's - early 90's, it seems to be making a comeback.  Can't say that I'm a fan, but people can do what they want with their own hair.

And like any other fashion, it looks good on some, not on others.

A year or so ago, at the testing center, we had a man come in somewhat regularly, testing for water professional certifications. He had a glorious mullet that actually looked good on him (really, we all agreed).

We proctored him better than average, if y'know what I'm saying.  Proctored the sh*t out of him, admiring his luscious hairdo, whenever he came in for various levels of certification. Plus, he was just a nice guy.

And okay, we nicknamed him "Water Treatment Fabio"

He came in again last week for another certification after his ~yearlong absence. He'd shaved the mullet. Very short on top now, fading to nothing in the back and sides.  It was Party Girl who first realized it was Water Treatment Fabio. She remembered his real name, and when his face seemed vaguely familiar, she put it together. 

I hope we didn't make him too self conscious when we all registered our surprise at his new appearance. But certainly, we couldn't have been the only ones. The mullet was really that glorious. 

I asked if he missed his mullet at all.

"Yeah, sometimes", he replied, while rubbing the stubble on the back of his head.

I kinda miss it too.

a Friday five

• Because of Memorial Day Monday, I only worked two days this week. I normally have Wednesdays and Fridays off and there is no tutoring happening until next week. Not complaining as I got caught up on a few housekeepery things and enjoyed some nice weather time.

• In the meantime, [PEO]'s keeping me pretty busy. State convention is coming up. I'm not a delegate but got talked into helping out on one of the days since convention is nearby.

• We ended up taking our pooch Merlin to the vet as his symptoms from last week weren't really improving. Vet "gave" him (sold us) some special food that has helped and ran some tests. His bloodwork came back, and Vet says, "this could likely be from an infection or a type of cancer".

Sheesh, talk about two ends of a spectrum. For now, we're treating it as an infection and will watch and wait. Merlin seems like his old self, and hopefully that holds.

• I don't like wearing sunscreen, yet I live in a place with lots of sun and lots of cases of melanoma. As such, I often wear these moisture wicking long-sleeved tops when I'm outdoors on hot days. 

I got a couple from yamazon that include these thumbholes. 

Made for short-armed people, I suppose. Thumbholes miles away from my thumbs. Oh well, I don't usually use thumbholes anyway.

• I kind of want to see [Furiosa] in the theater. The movie  didn't do so well in the box office for opening weekend, however. We saw the last Mad Max movie, [Fury Road], in the theater. 

I went in expecting some macho testosterone shoot-em-up, but I found it surprisingly good - wonderfully artistic, with an epic soundtrack, not to mention... Tom Hardy.

style?

It was 44 degrees F when I headed out this morning for a little Sunday morning run-around. Happy fall! I'm not complaining and welcome the cool temps. Soon, I'll have to break out the full finger gloves for the bicycle commute.

I worked yesterday as my turn came around again for the Saturday rotation. It was Party Girl and me, and the day went smoothly. She'd been sharing that she's recently put herself on a clothes-buying budget... because she's needing new clothes after putting on some weight. 

I had noticed her looking nicer/ better and had previously thought that maybe she just liked to wear tight clothing. Not the case. Now, she's no "fatty", but she's a few years into her 50s, and the body's been responding accordingly.

This with the cooler temperatures reminded me that I could use some cold weather clothes, but I don't particularly like clothes shopping - the going to various stores, selecting, trying on, yadda yadda. Thank goodness we have the internet now, not that that's always successful. But maybe it's time for a little closet purge as I swap out the seasonal clothing. 

When I was a kid, I did a decent amount of back-to-school shopping via catalog - the precurser to online shopping, I suppose. My mom would have me go through pages much like this one and make a few selections. 

Mom would place the order, and in a week or two, the big bell bottomed, puffy sleeved, embroidered fashion disasters would arrive.  Good times.

At least the work "dress code" is pretty simple. Jeans are fine. No words on shirts unless it's gear from the college, and I have no gear from the college. When I worked at the nursing home, we were supplied a "uniform" of scrubs, which made life easy in the what-am-I-going-to-wear-today department. 

In other work-related news, I've been "voluntold" that I'm on the selection committee for the new assistant boss now that old Assistant Boss is now just plain Boss. After some thought, I think it will be a worthwhile assignment. 

It's a committee of three - an enrollment advisor and a disability services coordinator in addition to myself. We won't have the final say, but will do the first round of interviews and make recommendations. Naturally, I'm hoping for a decent pool of suitable applicants. 

Know anyone??

Hawaii on a budget

I live near Greeley, CO, which gets a lot of flack from the rest of the state in general. It's about a 45-minute drive east of here and is known for its aroma as it is home to a large meat packing plant.  In fact, on days when the weather conditions are right, we here in Fort Collins get a good whiff of Greeley.

I bring it up because there is an episode of South Park where Greeley is described as "the exact opposite of Hawaii"

And this brings me back to a time in high school. The small coal mining town I lived in would be more the exact opposite of Hawaii than is Greeley, I'd say. 

That 40th class reunion I mentioned is coming up, it is to take place during the high school's homecoming weekend. I don't know what the kids do these days, but homecoming week when I was there included a series of "theme" days.

During my senior year, I recall one of the days being "Hawaiian Day" where we were to dress accordingly. My friend, Carolyn, and I didn't have anything particularly Hawaiian to wear, so we got a brainstorm and decided we would both wear towels as skirts - to resemble Hawaiian sarongs?

So I found the most sarong looking towel at home, paired it with a short sleeved top, clipped a little flower hair garnish, and set off to school for Hawaiian day. Once there, I remember Carolyn, adorned in this sort of house dress, slinking up to me at my locker, saying, "My mom wouldn't let me wear a towel to school!" The house dress was apparently her mom's.

Carolyn (right) and me, not at all Hawaii

So I spent the day of school walking around in a towel - more of a Hawaiian "so wrong". To clarify, I was wearing a pair of gym shorts underneath. 

Probably the most Hawaiian of my outfit were my flip flops and my tan.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

2. Tell us about a favorite school outfit that you thought you nailed.

costuming

Mindlessly scrolling through instagram yesterday, and I came upon this:

Ain't it the truth!? 

Sometimes I'd get bored sitting in a class and get up to sharpen my pencil when unwarranted just for a change. We all did it, didn't we? And yes, it helped if the outfit was fire.

The pencil sharpener was one thing - maybe more a middle school tactic. In high school, my English teacher was quite fastidious and kept several bottles of Liquid Paper® on his desk - front and center of the classroom - handy for when we really thought we had something to share or for when checking out "feeds" from others.  Walk the "runway" to the front of the class and back under the guise of needing some Liquid Paper®. Does that even still exist?

Note: I shared the pencil sharpener meme with Magnum, he didn't get it at first. Then he assumed it was more of a girl thing.

Oh no no no. Boys definitely played that game. So Magnum said he didn't realize. He was trying not to be seen in high school. Okay, now that makes sense. 😂

These days, I stare at my closet... 

I get by with throwing together and mixing and matching the same old things, but I'm due for a shopping trip combined with a bit of closet purge.

I'm not a big fan of clothes shopping. It's so time consuming, not to mention the frustration of women's sizing.

I did, however, obtain some new shoes for running yesterday. I'd gone to the local running store a little over a week ago with the shoes I wanted already in mind.  The store was out of my size, so offered to order them in for me. 

I went in yesterday to pick them up, easy peasy. 

"Enjoy your new shoes!", the saleswoman said as the transaction completed.

"Thanks, you too", I said on my way out the door. 

Sheesh, I am bad at shopping.

made for selling?

I was working yesterday when 18-year-old girl came in for a test. I got her checked in and went to do a final "pocket check" before seating her for her exam. She wore a fashionable hoodie, black leggings, and... there they were: a pair of Nike Air Jordan 4s, fire red.

youtube

How did I know, and why did I notice? Welp, for some reason, my reddit feed started including posts from the r/sneaker subreddit.  I follow very few subreddits - our city's, and a couple "mathy" ones - otherwise I just lurk and see what crosses my path.

So these "sneakerhead" posts started showing up, probably because I showed an interest in fashion or style or culture or some such at one point or another. So I was all, "what's up with all these shoes in my reddit?", "what's up with a subreddit = r/sneakers?"

I knew a little about people paying exorbitant amounts of money for certain shoes.  But I had no idea how big of an industry it is. Yeezys come to mind, in light of Kanye West's recent fallout.

I don't even remember how I came to know of Yeezys (Yeezies?) and the like. Maybe because I often breathe the same air as millennials and gen Zer's?

Anyway, in a nutshell, "sneakerheads" are people who buy, sell, and trade highly sought after shoes. They also, apparently, sometimes wear the shoes. Y'know, for street cred.

Having this parade of sneakers show up whenever I opened reddit plus having time on my hands during winter break, I googled and youtubed a bit, and learned sneaker trading is a billions of dollars industry, expected to continue to grow. This Ted Talk was well done and informative. It's 7 years old now. The phenomenon has since grown even further.

I find it rather bananas. It's like the stockmarket with no fees, no regulations. Middle school kids are playing with thousands of dollars, tens of thousands. Social media has added fuel the fire. I'm glad there was no real social media in the Beanie Baby days.  I let reddit know that I'm not interested in seeing people's sneaker acquisitions/ collections, but it was kinda interesting to learn of this economic subculture.

I complimented the young test-taker on her sneakers, figuring they were probably a prized possession for her. She was noticeably giddy that someone - an old lady, no less - had noticed. 

Here I am, this 58-year-old clutterphobic mimimalist, opening my reddit to a parade of thousands-of-dollars pairs of sneakers and whole-closet sneaker collections owned by "kids". 

Well, it gave me something to draw.

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Linking up the week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: cost.

plumage

Another week deeper into Fall. I think I've raked my last pile of leaves. I hope.

I came across this photo from last week's Tortoise and Hare 5k - at the start line with my (#728) wave mates. I didn't remember that young girl in the group - maybe because she's not much shorter than me, and maybe because I was blinded by fluorescent tights guy.

But, speaking of running tights and the color "plum", by George, I'd say plum is the color of my running tights here. They're neither grey nor purple, so "plum" it is, just like the cat! So glad to have come to that conclusion. Finally.

Okay, enough excitement. This week featured some adjustment to the time change. Coming home at 5pm is dark now. I have front and rear lights on my bicycle, but their main function is to allow others to see me. They don't work so great as to helping me see where I'm going. For that, I use a headlight - like a coal miner. 

Who knew I'd need one for 5pm? Not me. Not LAST week anyway. 

I know now.

how God made me

Last week, we got notices in the mail that both our car registrations were coming up due. My Toyota, due end of August, and the Honda due... end of JULY? B...but, it IS the end of July. 

In our county, we're required to pass an emissions test every two years, and this year is one of those years. So I couldn't just go online and pay the registrations, I had to take the cars in for testing. 

I'd gone to the DMV website and learned that there's a one-month grace period from the expiration date, so no big deal. But compliant person I am, I wanted to check these tasks off the list. Visiting emission testing websites wasn't promising - long waits because of understaffing, etc. It's hot out, blah blah.

I was off from work yesterday and had one tutor session scheduled for the afternoon. I went to the gym in the morning, came home and walked a dog. I checked the emission tester website, and it didn't look too busy, so I quick jumped in the Honda to get while the getting was good.

I hadn't showered and my hair looked it. I was wearing an old t-shirt and dog walking shorts. I basically rolled into the emissions place looking like I'd just rolled out of bed, but maybe slightly worse. And I was fine with that, I wasn't there to do a runway show, the employees there process several cars a day and certainly don't pay attention to the drivers, whom they will likely not see again.

It was quick and efficient, I paid the man then went home and got the Honda registered anew. BAM!

I met a tutor student later in the afternoon. Our session was on the way to the emission place, so afterwards, I decided to take the Toyota. If the line was horribly long, I'd turn around and save it for another day. 

The line wasn't bad at all. The place really does do an impressive job of maximizing throughput - a reason I wasn't concerned about my slovenly appearance earlier in the day. No one pays attention to the drivers.

But this time, I was cleaned up, dressed for public consumption, and my hair was as good as it was gonna get; thus I was completely transformed from my early morning rollout version. I pulled in, and the initial screener was the same from the morning and gave no indication of recognizing me. Same with the emissions attendant who directed me to the waiting area.

After my car's test was completed, the cashier hailed me over, and I approached like any other anonymous driver in a full day of anonymous drivers.

"Hey, you're back!", he welcomed.

Well, shoot. So much for primping.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
4. Share something you learned in July.

it's how you use it

I've been working some extra shifts these last two weeks.  A couple of weeks ago featured spring semester finals for the college students. Then this past week, one of my coworkers took a vacation week to Mexico, so I covered one of her long shifts.   I'm looking forward to "normalcy" working hours.

And I'm looking forward to continued spring thaw.  Many signs shout it out, mainly return of allergy sneezing and puffiness and little puffball goose babies around every corner.

I enjoyed a run along the burbling creek this morning. Geese on the water, but I didn't spot any babies.  Childless geese?  Parents getting out for "me time" before the babies are up?

I received an invitation to transfer to a local PEO chapter this week.  I recently blogged about visiting some meetings after being on hold from the 2-year covid lockdown.  This first chapter to invite me to transfer is the one I'd set my sights on and was stalking the hardest. It's all pretty casual, but there are procedures to follow - in that, to transfer, I need to be invited - so we're playing the game.  I'll accept and be done with playing the field, I suppose.

Also at work this week, each of us in my department was given a little "thank you" gift for  making it to the end of another school year and gearing up for the next.  We each received a polo shirt with the college logo and a similarly logoed coffee cup. 

We were told a few weeks ago that this was coming, and in fact, we were to select a size and style for the polo shirt from a box of samples.  I selected the Ladies medium, but when push came to shove, alas, the Ladies medium was unavailable.  

It was no biggie to me, I mean, where would I even wear the thing other than to work?  And we're not required to wear it - it's not a uniform.  

Anyway, the gift bags were bestowed upon us, and I found that the powers-that-be got me a shirt anyway - a Men's small shirt, substituted for the Ladies medium. Putting it on, I look like  a small woman in a man's shirt.  Like a middle school kid wearing his dad's golf shirt for the school dance.

They tried, and I appreciate it. I'm not scrutinizing the mouth of this gift horse. Seriously, though, I will never wear that shirt. 

But it got me thinking.  What if, say, a male coworker selected a Men's medium and it wasn't available.  Would he be given a Ladies large as substitution?  I think not.  But what would they do?

I like the coffee cup.  It will get much use, it's quite the right size.

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Loosely linking up with Mama Kat for the prompt:

1. Write about something you are looking forward to.

everything is nothing

I got a COVID booster today.  Scheduled it for about an hour before work (it was the only appointment available for today), got to the pharmacy a little early, efficiently received the shot, bought a sammich for later.  Now I'm at the college hanging out in the library with some time to kill before work.  

I'm wearing the sweater set my coworker handed down to me a couple months ago (1) because the inner layer is sleeveless, thus making for easy vaccination reception, and (2) because she's been throwing hints at me that say, "When you gone wear that sweater set I gave you?"

Her lament, when she bestowed me with the set, was that she'd hardly worn it, thinking she'd preserve it for special occasions (it's cashmere).  Then, she got too big for it and couldn't wear it if she'd wanted to. 

So, here I sit - special occasion being getting a vaccination before going into my very casual attire job.  

Earlier this week, the same coworker bestowed upon me a leather jacket under similar circumstance - she got too big for it.

Conversation went something like this:

Coworker (wearing new Christmas leather jacket):  I was looking at my old leather jacket this one replaced.  Do you want it?

Me:  Do I want a leather jacket??

Coworker:  Yes it's... *proceeds to describe it, but truth is, she had me at 'leather jacket'*

Me:  Is this a trick question?

After quibbling about payment, in the end, I got a new-to-me leather jacket.  Hardly worn.

Once again this coworker (she really needs a nickname...) had an accompanying story lesson based on true events.  It goes something like this:

There was an old woman who'd grown up poor.
Later in life, she was no longer poor.

She had a tired old purse she'd carried around for years.
Friends and family, near and far, gifted her several nice purses, satchels, totes.

She thanked the giver profusely every time she received another bag.
When she died, her family found her closet full of these nice things 
...still in the original packaging, unused.

Waiting for a special occasion.  That may never come.

Lesson:  I better wear the cashmere and leather, or coworker's gonna give me crap about it. 

all the things!

This week, Mama Kat includes the prompt:

6. Answer all of the writing prompts in one post.

Okay, let's do it!

1.  Tell us about something you did or participated in that a new friend might find hard to believe.

I always have trouble with these tell-us-something-surprising-about-you questions.  That I grew up in the sex change capital of the world is old.

2. Write a blog post inspired by the word:  peace.

Okay, meditation.  Have you tried it?  Do it on a regular basis?  I've been making concerted efforts to make it a regular practice lately.  It's thankfully helping me deal with Malcolm's tragic, unexpected death.  Yesterday, I decided to try a guided meditation from some dude on YouTube.  This particular guidance didn't help me.

See, as I was there getting all centered and eyes closed in the moment and listening, the meditation guide gently prompted, "imagine being in a field of flowers..." , and it was over for me.

I, for one, don't find fields or flowers particularly calming and peaceful.  In my mind, I saw something like this:

This makes me feel itchy and sneezy and hot... and a little paranoid that a bee will come and end me as I have no Epi pen.    

Please, no fields.  No flowers.  No fields with flowers.  I've had other guided meditations that tell me to picture myself at the beach.  Now, I don't have a lot of beach references having mostly lived and played around mountains.  Try as I might to picture a serene beach setting, I usually end up here:

Yup, the ending scene of Planet of the Apes.  

Conclusion:  meditation = good.  Guided meditation = not so much.

3.  What six words would your spouse use to describe you?

I asked Magnum while we were at the coffee shop this morning, and here's what he sez:

• Smart
• Organized
• Funny
• Fit
• Artistic
• Sincere

Okay, I guess we can stay married.

4. 90's fashion is making a trendy comeback.  What were you wearing in the 90's?

My 90's were a lot of this →→

Won't be making a comeback in this house.

I'm on board with the returned popularity of mom jeans, however.  Just please, no shoulder pads, K?  

5.  Write about something you think you would have been good at if only you had explored that talent more.

Welp, I was a pretty fast runner in high school, from very little effort on my part, I admit.  I've heard that, while distance runners are made, sprinters are, for the most part, born that way.  I'm no physiologist, but I think it has to do with muscle fiber types, much of which are genetic. Such was the case with me.  I could run fast without really training.  

I mean, I was on the track team and did the "workouts", but our girl's team was very small.  We didn't
have enough participants to rack up a competitive amount of team points, so we just did our thing in pretty laid back fashion.  In fact, we didn't even have a girls team my senior year.  

I think if I would have been more focused, I might have been a state qualifier and/or maybe a scholarship contender. I had a decent ribbon collection that is long gone now. 

To be clear, I have no regrets that I was a lazy ass when it came to "training" and track team participation.  Mainly, we just had a lot of fun together and got an early start on our tans. I don't have a strong competitive streak, and I don't think a college scholarship would've suited me or been a good investment.

adulting, working, and hair

Looking back on the week.  What did I do? 

• Celebrated Meego's 21st birthday a couple of weeks after the fact.  He was doing celebratory things with some friends for the actual birthday.  Can't imagine what those kids would do for a 21st birthday...
• Started the new job and I'm really liking it. I'm still going to work a couple more shifts at the old job as they're very short staffed, but then it's, "buh bye!"
• Got a horrible haircut, then went to a different stylist to fix it.  Happy now.

So yeah, not a bad week.  We managed to find a block of time for the five of us to celebrate Meego's arrival 21 years and a couple of weeks ago.  We went to a restaurant, and I think it was my first time in a restaurant since before pandemic times.  Like riding a bike.

I am enjoying the new job and my new coworkers.  They've got some funny I-caught-this-one-person-cheating stories (we administer various test, we're not private I's...).  And I like the feel - the vibe- of the college campus too.

I'm challenged with having to wear work clothes again.  The old folks job provided uniforms, and the pandemic somewhat removed the need for going-out clothes.  I'm managing to scrounge some mix 'n' match, but I think a small shopping trip is due.

And yep, got a horrible haircut a week ago.  I was due and had a franchise coupon.  Tip:  maybe don't go to a franchise on a coupon day?  It was traumatic, but I needed to get out of that chair.

I've had some bad haircuts in the past, but this was the first time it was so bad that I went to 2nd stylist to fix the bad one.  Well worth it!  In fact, I think I should've given stylist #2 a bigger tip.  Moving on...

As I was blambling (blog rambling?) along here, we had a power outage.  Not sure the cause, but I walked a dog, and now it's back.  

I'm appreciating family gatherings, pleasing workplaces, good hair, and functioning utilities!

staying warm since the 80s

We came to be boyfriend and girlfriend in a pretty typical manner.  High school.  He was a year ahead of me.  We lived in a small town where most everyone knew everyone else or was at least minorly acquainted.

So I knew who he was, but I didn't pine for him from afar.  He was not a crush who wouldn't give me the time of day.  He was just DJ, I was just me.

We got to know each other while on the track team.  Our school's track team was organized not by gender, but rather by event.  Sprinters worked out together, distance runners worked out together, field eventers worked out together.  DJ and I were in the sprinter category along with two of my best friends and several other sprinter boys.  We all just evolved into a group of sorts during practice and meets, and a chemistry began to develop between DJ and me.

One track meet in particular was very cold.  The day was grey and drizzly.  Per the rules, competitors were not allowed to wear their warmups (sweats) during events.  DJ and a couple other of the guys were competing in the triple jump.  My friends and I hung out on the sidelines, huddled together against the cold, holding on to their sweats whenever it was their turn to jump.  They'd each do their thing, run over to us and quickly don their sweats again until it was time to jump again.

Later in the day, my friends' and my races came around.  Those guys reciprocated the favor and held our sweats as we ran our races in the freezing drizzle, wearing only our spikes, track shorts, and sleeveless tops.

No they didn't.

Once their events were over, they'd actually headed to the warm bus.  We gave them sh*t for it afterward, but it was all in high school flirty fun.  I think it was that track meet that sealed the deal for DJ and me.  He told  me he knew I'd run faster if I was absolutely freezing and had to work harder to get to my sweats and warmth.  Well, he wasn't wrong, I gathered a few ribbons that day.

So yeah, DJ was my first real boyfriend, my first love, my first y'know... We had a nice relationship during those years.  Suffice to say, we ran our course and eventually went our separate ways.

But I still have my track sweats - the hoodie anyway.  Gad, the thing must be about 40 years old now, as it wasn't brand new when it was checked out to me.  I guess I just never checked it back in at the end of track season, and no one cared.  It's not like I was the only one who had some pilfered school athletic gear.

Such fancy lettering back then!

I've recently watched a few episodes of Worn Stories on Netflix following Linda Sue's recommendation.  It's an entertaining series, and I bet each of us have at least one of our own worn stories.

The high school track hoodie is easily the oldest piece of clothing I have.  I still wear it regularly, but not outside the house.  I wear it over my pajamas when I first get up in the morning.  It's served that purpose well.

What's your Worn Story?

all the things!

For this week's prompts from Mama Kat, I had trouble deciding on which one.  So screw it, do 'em all!

1. Share a favorite recipe you’ve been loving lately.

At work, during our morning breaks, the cooks will make us "anything we want" (within reason).  I ordered up this breakfast sammich early on, and now it's my fave.  The kitchen calls it the "Abby Special"

It's really not much of a "recipe".  It's just eggs (scrambled or over easy, surprise me) with melted cheddar, spinach, and tomato on a toasted English muffin.  

Simple.  Satisfying.

2. Write about what helps you stay motivated during these unprecedented times?

I do miss going to PEO meetings and events and have trouble staying motivated to attend the zoom meetings.  I recognize that's something I should work on rather than just waiting until we can meet in-person again.  

I'm glad I signed up for those monthly Tortoise and Hare races.  They are a nice respite from fact that there are no big races and provide some fun competition and motivation to stay race ready.  Really, I did not necessarily want to run in the crap conditions last Sunday, but was glad I did it in the end because I want those 5 points, dammit!

I also stay motivated by doing fun DIY projects around the house that I otherwise wouldn't make time for *anyone detect the dripping sarcasm there?*

3. Write a blog post about something that made you smile this week.

4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: enough

I've been thinking about how I have more than enough clothes these days.  I don't get out much except to go to work at the care facility, and our work clothes are issued to us.  Tuting is all online, and everything is super casual with that these days.  

Half my closet is clothes I haven't worn in nearly a year.  Anyone else? What are YOU wearing?

5. Write about the last argument you witnessed (could be a silly one)…did you take a side?

This isn't that recent, but once when we were on a family road trip, we stopped at a McDonald's for lunch.  There were two young female employees working the counter, and it was apparent that they didn't like each other.  We observed a short exchange as they put our order together:

McD worker #1: Stop touching my boob.

McD worker #2: Stop putting your boob where my hand is.

No violence ensued, but you could cut the air with a knife.  It stands as my favorite witnessed argument.  I did not pick a side because either one of those girls coulda kicked my ass.

6. Share a memory about something you did as a child that made a family member angry.

I was always an adorable child who never caused any anger.  I'm sticking with that story.

en vogue

Winter's coming.  We're all hoping for a ton o' snow to dump on the fires that are burning up Colorado right now, but we'll take whatever we can get.  But I don't want to whine-blog again about the damn fires.  Nope, gonna go sweep those ashes off my patio and under the rug.

I did happen to come across a "cheat sheet" of sorts - a prepared list of what to gather in case of an evacuation for *some reason or other*  for different advanced warning times:

I've known people who've had to be evacuated, and they speak of grabbing their photo albums.  I thought, well, I'd just grab my computer and my external hard drive because that's where my important documents and photos are.  

But no, we have several photo albums from pre-digital-camera times.  I briefly thought about starting a photo scanning-and-organizing project before thinking, "ugh".  God, that sounds tedious and time consuming. Well, the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step and all that.

So I dug out some old photos wondering how much was really worth salvaging.  Some go way back and are from my parents' collections.  

This morning, I headed out for a run, and it was 25F degrees out.  I had to remember what one wears to run in 25F degrees.  Gotta keep warm, but don't want to be too bulky.  

A good head covering is a cold weather friend, and we certainly want to be fashionable at the same time.  Kate Middleton, for instance, knows what's what→→

My search for a suitable hat reminded me that I was once similarly fashionable.  I do have an interest in fashion, although these days, I dress  more for function.  But back in my heyday, Kate and I could've been two peas in a pod as evidence in an unearthed photo from my recent investigations

The fur hat.  Is it ever out of style?

Answer:  Yes.  Absolutely Yes.

(and we won't speak of the pants)

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Linking  up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
1. Throwback Thursday! Find an old photo and share the backstory!

are men more organized than women?

It's amazon prime day, whacha buying?

I went to amazon this morning, looking for a purse/bag/satchel/whatever you call these things.  Shopped around, read some reviews, got some recommendations.  Finally, I ordered one.  

The bag I ultimately selected noted that it was rated a top selection for "murse" (man purse) and is in fact noted a "men's" bag in the description.  It looks very similar to other women's or unisex bags I considered, and actually, many of the reviews I read for it were from women glowing about the bag's positive attributes and noting how "it's great for women too!"

So, what makes it a men's bag?

The most notable difference - the one that sold me on it - is that it allows for wonderful organization:  more useful pockets and compartments, handy places for everything one typically carries around.  

There was a short video on the item page showing what I assume are man hands placing man things - wallet, phone, tablet, keys, pens, earphones - in various handy compartments. Not a tampon or bottle of Midol to be had, no mascara or lipstick, no romance novels. The bag could also easily accommodate these things, but apparently women just throw that stuff in a tote so they can upend the whole thing and sort through a pile when something is needed.

Don't women also carry money, phones, keys, pens, earphones, etc.?  Don't they also appreciate good organization? I do.  Am I doing something wrong?

Oh well, I ordered me a murse

In other news, one of my coworkers is quite crafty and has created a nice little income stream from her unique facemasks.  I'm not sure if she has an Etsy shop, but I remember going to Etsy early in the mask days and not being able to make a choice.  I remember thinking, "I wish I knew someone selling these things"

Wish granted!  Plus, she brings them into work for easy access.  Looky the cute bicycle mask she made for me:

I hadn't requested a bicycle mask specifically.  I knew she offers a variety of designs and told her I'd pick from whatever she had, but she made this thinking I'd like it, which I do!

How nice when sellers clearly consider the customer.  Says the woman who just bought herself a man purse.

I miss yer face

I was at Costco earlier today and noticing the fashionable variety of facemasks.  Remember the early days of COVID mask wearing?  Lots of DIY masks from old shirts or generic household items, bandanas, etc.  A few people wore N-95 masks and made us wonder how they came about owning one.

But now, I think we can safely say that a whole new fashion category has opened up.

And speaking for myself, back in the early days, it felt weird to wear a mask in the store or anywhere for that matter.  People were constantly messing with them so they didn't fall off the face or fog the glasses.

But now, it would feel strange to shop without one.

Where I live, I rarely see people wearing masks outside.  But I know that some places, more densely populated, masks are worn outside in public as well as inside.  Photos from recent protest gatherings show a majority of mask wearers.  They've become part of our daily attire.

I happen to have a variety to choose from.  My mother-in-law made masks for several family members, and for me, the purple patterned one on the top left.  I like it as it's comfortable and stays put with a pipe cleaner in the nose bridge.  I typically wear it to work at the hospital for the pattern that contrasts with my all-black work garb.  I mean, when receiving a hospital meal, who wants to have someone looking like the angel of death presenting it?

I got the black one from vida  It is also comfortable to wear for several hours and includes a carbon insert.  That's usually my go-to for the grocery store.

As shown in the lower left, I have several of these neck gaiter things in various colors and patterns.  They're quite handy and can be worn around the neck for those just-in-case-I-need-to-go-inside-a-building instances while out for a bike ride or walk.

Then there's the it'll-do-in-a-pinch bandana.

I appreciate the creativity and individual expression that have grown out of the public's compliance with mask wearing.  But I also miss seeing whole faces.  At work, it's particularly limiting to carry on a conversation and not see full expressions.  Then there's the muffled speech.  And since a good portion of my workday is spent in a commercial kitchen, throw in noise from the various fans and blowers, and there's a lot of repeating going on.  At times, my fun co-worker Hui might as well be speaking to me in her native Chinese.

As more businesses and activities open up, I think mask-wearing is going to remain for quite a while.  And even if mask requirements are loosened, I bet a lot of people will voluntarily continue to wear them.  But I look forward to a day where we look back and say, "I wonder where all those masks went"

In the meantime, assume I'm always smiling. 😃

So... what're you wearing?

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

6. Write about something you are looking forward to.

fashion fail?

I walked into the place, thinking I could just leave my jacket on and maybe no one would notice.  But, it was so hot in there!

Okay, screw it, I took the jacket off.  Who would care?

I didn't bring it up.  She didn't bring it up.  Did she notice?  I think she noticed.  

She reminded me that I should've been there last week.  It wasn't a reprimand.  I explained that I knew, but had a last minute thing.  Was it a reprimand?  She's usually so friendly...


I've mentioned that I get injections for my allergies.  Since we moved, the old clinic shipped my shot juice to the new clinic, and all is good. I go every couple of weeks, and the new clinic is very nice and friendly.  Yay, everyone is happy.

It also happens that the new clinic is located within a large medical complex affiliated with a specific hospital.  It also happens that I started a new job working for a competing hospital just down the road from the medical complex where I get my allergy shots.

Well, how convenient, I'll just stop in on my way  home from work to get my shots.  I planned on doing that last Friday, but alas, I had a flat tire that became the priority.  No biggie, I decided to get injected after work yesterday.

Except, I forgot to bring a change of shirt. 

See, I wear a uniform top at the new job.  Nothing flashy, but it does have the logo and name of the hospital embroidered near the left lapel, hence, me bringing a change of shirt on shot days...

... which I forgot to do yesterday.  But I still wanted to stop in for my shots, so I did, feeling a bit like that Chick-fil-A van in the Popeye's drive thru.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

2. Tell us about a recent mistake you made.

so... what're you wearing?

I've been away from the blog for a few days.  Turns out being unemployed and homeless can keep a girl busy.  BUT, it's all good.

We saw Knives Out last weekend and were NOT disappointed.  All that "Kentucky Fried Chicken, Foghorn Leghorn BS" *snort*.  You gotta see it if you haven't.  Very fun and creative.  I just read an article about Chris Evans' sweater in the movie.  He wears a thick, cabled, off-white sweater that's a bit ragged in places.  The article gets into all the things the sweater "says" about Chris Evans' character as well as some of the clothing of the other characters.  The movie plot is a murder mystery, so it's all about clues, and apparently there's been much discussion about the sweater.

Do your clothes tell the world who you are?  Do mine?

I was thinking about this more along the lines of the house we currently have for sale.  I mentioned the realtor's virtual photos made the house nearly unrecognizable to those of us who recently lived there.  I also think the house has attributes that aren't even mentioned, like the new sturdy windows we installed a year ago, the capable and smooth running furnace, the lovely whole-house humidifier.

I was reminded that, in general, Magnum and I are more about function than aesthetics.  Even in previous homes we've had, while they may not have been the most "house beautiful", the mechanicals have been robust.

Function before form.

Maybe I'm thinking about these things because it's a new year, and the whole "new year, new you" vibe is going on.  Plus, we just moved to a new town to further bring on the makeover.

Looking at my current clothing choices, I'm wearing some comfy jeggings and a stretchy pullover.  They're comfortable and functional, but not very flashy. I guess the same can be said for me.

Boring?  Maybe.  I think of it more along the lines of "blends in easily".  Makes it unlikely to be chosen from a line-up.  Just in case.

What are you wearing?