Looking at Colorful Clothes

I’m going to age myself a little but I’m wondering if any of you remember Mood Rings? For those who are too young, these were rings that supposedly indicated your mood by the change in the color of the stone. The color change was effected by heat. The warmer your finger, the lighter and more colorful the stone would become. If you were cold (calm or anxious or maybe just dead) the stone was a dark blue/black. As you warmed (became more agitated or active) the stone would move into blue green, green, to yellow, and finally a weird orange tinged with pink. Of course the pink meant either you were feeling romantic or angry. I really wanted one of these rings but they were a little pricey. I finally got one for Christmas from my grandmother. I was so excited. I was always cold and if I sat on my hands I could sometimes change the color to a sickly green. That ring was heavy and too big for my finger. It spent most of the time in my treasure chest because I was afraid that I’d lose it if I wore it to school. I was also quickly disillusioned because it didn’t actually mirror my moods.

As I matured I found that wearing certain colors made me feel happier or more confident. My wardrobe started to reflect that realization. If I was going to have to get physical with some difficult task I’d mentally prepare by putting on black jeans and a black turtleneck. If I was wearing black I meant business. Green was my color of confidence. If I had to make a presentation you can bet I’d be in green. When I was in college I owned and wore to rags a bright purple sweater. My mother hated that thing and said it was not “my color” and made me look a little ill. It didn’t matter. On the weekends or when I didn’t have to be anywhere I’d slip that sweater on and just relax…

What color is my frock today?
Black and white or colors gay?
I dress to put emotions on display
Whether sunny or mood dark gray
When I wear green I’ll have my say
And wearing red is notice – keep away
Blue asks you to sit close and stay
While pink is a calm and quiet day
Orange is whimsy an invitation to play
The purple means there will be delay
And white is a signal that I want to pray
And black that I’m entering into the fray
Floral pattern suggests I want my way
Geometric designs may be passe
But in my heart they still hold sway
So watch and note the color of the day
As I inform and temperament convey.

Have you owned (or still have) a particular piece of clothing that gives you confidence, a sense of power, or a peaceful feeling? Please share the color and the feeling you get from wearing it!

Looking at Odds and Ends

As the title might suggest, this post is a little bit of everything and nothing. I considered a bulleted list but figured that those are over done. Instead I’m going to do what our family calls “spinning the wheel” where you start talking about one thing and then abruptly change subjects and direction without warning or any smooth segue to the next topic.

Foremost I am travelling. Shocking isn’t it?! So as Sparky pines for me at home, I’m in Arkansas with saintvi. But Sparky is not alone. He has saintvi’s dog Oreo to keep him company. The two of them can console each other as they miss the women in their lives. The trip down was and the trip back will be punctuated with geocaching. The big highlight is visiting the town of Casey, IL (it is filled with “big things”). Things like the world’s largest or formerly world’s largest (because everyone needs to out do someone and get into that Guinness Book of World Records) mailbox, pencil, spinning top, ruler, knitting needles, bird cage, rocking chair, windchime, pitchfork, golf tee, crochet hook, teeter totter, key, swizzle spoon, mouse trap, minion, baseball bat, book worm, rocking horse, barber pole, toy airplane, and rocking horse! If anyone is interested I will post photos…

The ceramics class had resulted in some new pieces. I attempted to recreate one that I did many years ago and was subsequently broken when Sparky accidently knocked it off the display stand and bounced it down the stairs. It would have been fine but he managed to knock a half dozen off at once. So once it landed it was quickly pounded by several other orbs. So I got a chance to have a redo. It is Gephyrocapsa muellerae, a coccolith found in the North Atlantic. This piece is just over 2.5 inches across. It is a white stoneware body glazed with Super T and Grape accents. I am very happy with the result.
   

I finished weeding out the closets and managed to have another huge load of clothes I decided I didn’t need/want. After offering them to family (and surprisingly the teenager wanted some “retro” items and all my pajama pants), the remaining were donated to the “Kid’s Closet”. I’d never heard of this place but then I never needed to go there. It is a resource for foster kids. Seems that many times or even most of the time, when children are placed into foster care they come with next to nothing to wear. The Kid’s Closet is a place where the kids and their foster parents can come and select clothes for free. They have tons of infant and toddler clothes and a really good selection of clothes in sizes up to pre-teen. The issue is for those kids that are junior high and high school aged. There just hasn’t been any selection. They seemed very happy to have all those gently worn jeans, corduroys, and all the shirts and tops. I just hope some kid gets some enjoyment out of that fringe vest and the pleather embellished jacket…

This year is drawing to a close and financially I’m making the big bucks (not)! I have been working nearly non-stop since the COVID-19 restrictions have eased up. The lab is trying to integrate 5 months of missed work into the remaining 3 months of the year. I think there was some gnashing of teeth when I announced that I’d be gone for 11 days. So when I get back I hit the ground running. I’ll have 4 studies that will start the week of Oct. 12th and run until Nov. 30th. I estimate that even with all the work I’m putting in I would still qualify easily for public assistance. Of course I’m not applying for it. But it does make it tough to contribute to the IRA or 401K. Good thing I’m not “high maintenance”.

Which brings me to the Christmas list. I started making a list to share with my sons. Mostly because they whined that I was too hard to shop for and that they never know what to get me. And no I’m not rushing the season. My general modus operandi is to complete the Christmas shopping by Halloween. Probably not going to happen this year. Anyway, I need a new checkbook cover. Which might be hard to find since no one is writing checks anymore. I also put a new bed pillow on the list (I get a new one every 6 months due to the allergies). Because I toss them after 6 months I don’t get any of the fancy schmancy kind with gel inside or special memory foam or bamboo filling. I prefer the $5.99 Meijer special. I put some socks on the list. I need some black and navy socks. I’ve been wearing boys Fruit of the Loom black cotton crew socks but decided that I need some girly socks to wear when I’m not wearing boots or jeans. This might throw them for a loop. I’m also going to ask for some very fancy sardines/smoked herring. I usually get the cheap stuff at Dollar Tree/Dollar General where you can get 2 cans for a buck. I think I’d like some of the King Oscar kippered herring snacks, I was going to get some but just couldn’t bring myself to pay $3.95 for a little 3 oz. tin! That should be an easy item for them to get. I know that son#2 will be trying to figure out how to top the butt cushion he got me last Christmas. But it was an extravagant gift that cost too much for a starving artist to buy…

I’ve been contemplating a haircut. Sparky wants me to leave it long. This is really hard. On one hand I haven’t had my hair this long since forever. Usually when it gets long it gets straight but for some reason it is remaining curly. Does that happen to hair? Can it change from curly to straight and then back again?? Maybe it is just another consequence of this screwy year. Anyway my hair is very thick and it takes forever to dry. And when I say forever, I mean that if I wash it at 7:00 AM it is still damp at noon. Sparky took a photo of the back of my head and made it his phone screen. I’m waiting for someone to see it and tell him that they are big fans of the Addams Family too. It really does look like Cousin It. To cut or not to cut, that is the question. What do you think?
   

Looking for Love

I remember college. There were good times and wonderful educational experiences. Then there was the learning achieved through observation and experience. Not all of those lessons were pleasant. As a Freshman, I was part of the “cattle drive” that seemed to be happening as all the fraternities has set up tables along the route to the mandatory Freshman orientation. These tables were manned by the Bros trying to entice females to sign up as “little sisters” with their house. Of course they were somewhat selective in extending invitations – the prettiest girls were practically mobbed and others were ignored. My new friend (and future roomie) was very pretty. We managed to escape the gauntlet but not before she had a fist full of cards inviting her to various parties to celebrate the start of the school year. I cautioned her not to go to any of the parties alone. She asked if I’d go with her. It was not my idea of fun. She went instead with another friend who had also been recruited. It was a fiasco. She quickly realized that the purpose of the “little sisters” was to generate a dating pool and a “sure thing”. She also came to the conclusion that if she wanted to snag a husband (especially one of the engineering students with great earning potential), she’d have to sign up. So she did. It was about half way through the first semester that her steady boyfriend dumped her. It seems he had decided that if she wouldn’t “put out” that she wasn’t what he wanted. Personally I think she dodged a bullet but at the time she was devastated. He was not looking for love and she was not looking for casual sex.

Hold my beer and stand right here
What would the happiest ending be
He asked with complete sincerity
The question required thought both hard and long
The sun went down as I pondered right from wrong
The answer rose up in my mind like a song
To love each other together we belong
A wrong answer so he set me free
He said that love was no guarantee
Hold my beer and stand right here

This is a Symetrelle. It is a poetry form created by Julie Moeller. It consists of a 7 syllable subject line. After the subject line is a rhyming couplet with 9 syllables per line. That is followed by a quatrain in monorhyme of 11 syllables per line. After the quatrain is another 9 syllable couplet with the same rhyme as the first couplet. It finishes with the 7 syllable subject line repeated.

Just to let you know – she found true love with a farmer in the School of Agriculture. They have been married 39 years.