Achieved My Hair Goal

Since last October, when I had my friend Gina cut my hair and put some highlights in the front, I have been trying to grow out my hair to where there is only natural Suna hair, and nothing with dye on it. I think I finally got there.

In person, the more gray parts in the front look pretty cool. I had no idea I had "natural highlights." One of my coworkers said I look younger this way. Looking at those eye wrinkles makes me doubt that, but hey, they are smile lines, so that's not all bad, right?

I hope this will be the last "this is my new hair" post for a while. I think I'll keep it natural, and just grow it a bit longer. No new photos of hair will be needed!

I look a little tired, and that's because I am a little tired. I worked a lot of extra hours last week, plus I have been rehearsing for our choir service (that is over, thankfully) and another rock and roll service, plus working on fixing up our kitchen, and that sort of thing. And I am trying to teach Beccano to drive a manual shift. That isn't so easy in my car. There's just a lot going on. None of it is bad,  though! There is so much good going on that I say thanks every day for the fact that things have turned around a bit!

We've been spending whatever relaxation time we have sitting on the "new" front porch and enjoying the garden. This year, the wildflower garden has the perennials in all their glory. We even had some bluebonnets!

We have two of these beds between the street and sidewalk. Right now they are mostly Indian paintbrush and black-eyed susans, but there are also some Mexican hats and horsemints. The one in the side yard has huge coriopsis (OK I can't spell it or find it in spell check)  and English daisies. When the flowers are all gone, we'll just mow it, and it will look grass-ish.

Lee has put in lots of pretty things this year, and I have weeded a lot. This was the front yard a couple of weeks ago:

That front tree is the redbud, and the brown things are all its seeds. We have pulled up MANY seedlings this year. If you want a native redbud, we can set you up with one.

Here are some of the front flowers. Those pansies are about shot and are going to be replaced with some summer annuals tomorrow, we hope. But, they were sure pretty all winter. The roses are doing great, too. You can see the two by the front door. Here's our teeny miniature rose, as of today:

Next to it are the lilies from two years ago that will bloom soon. We will have to divide them next fall.

What I am not sharing photos of is the back yard. We had the huge tree back there taken down, but it looks pretty bad still. I hope that once the kitchen stuff is done we can work on getting that area looking better again. There is NO grass where the tree used to shade everything, but we don't want to put any in until we know where we are going to put a shed and another patio. So, it looks pretty icky.

I guess I have gone on and on about the garden as long as I can. It was just a great, long spring here. That is so rare. We really took advantage of it!

I should have lots to report next week. I just hope I have time to report it. Wishing whoever reads this well. I do want to say that I am thinking of quite a few people with issues in their families. You know who you are.

Hair Fun?

Today we had the excitement of getting up early and having our hair cut (mine colored, hardly cut at all).

Beccano is growing his hair (duh). Last year I cut his bangs, and he was not pleased, thus refusing to let it be touched until after school was out this year. His goal was to get rid of the two-tiered effect on the current look. This is about 6" being cut off, though it looks like less due to all the curling. You can see that it also looked pretty frizzy.
Here is an action shot of Robert at the JC Penney salon in action. Look how long his hair was when wet! It was down to the middle of his back! We knew that it would need to be 4 inches past his shoulders in order to be shoulder-length when dry, so it was cut to those specifications.

Here it is once it was dried. I was going to add a picture of the front, but Blogger is acting funky and when I cut the photo, it would not paste. I also lost some text because Ctrl-V is not working. Grumble. But doesn't the lovely red hair look better now? Less frizz and more organized. Still long enough for excellent rocking and rolling.

And this is me, showing all my chins, but also the attempt at getting my hair back to its natural color. However, this is some kind of goth looking black hair. It is my firm belief and hope that after a couple of washes it will fade to pretty much my original darkish brown and stay that way. I just got tired of how red hair dye turns that nasty color when it gets old, no matter how careful you are to wash with the right stuff, etc. I'm not sure why, but he hardly cut any off. I guess the hair dresser likes long hair. It's fine this way I guess!

Not much else is going on. I have spent some nice time with friends and knitted a lot while waiting for next week's intense work projects. Lee's dad is recuperating fine, and we are now hoping he won't have to leave the farm after all. Tuba Boy is still off in Alabama, but has received his roommate information and first-year seminar info for college. That is exciting to both him and Future Roommate.

Back to the Old Grind

Spring Break is over, so the kids are back in school, and I'm back at the old grind of job searching. As you can see, I got yet another new shade of hair for this round of looking. It's a pretty fun shade of red, and Robert left some pieces of it the previous color, so it is like free highlights. I'm going to stare at this photo a lot to keep me motivated on my new walking regimen.

We had a generally very nice weekend--Lee and I had a nice dinner together Friday night, and Saturday night we went to a very nice party of mostly church folks and some GLBT community, too. The home we visited is really lovely, and best of all, has an incredible view of a greenbelt and sunsets. It was a great idea--a party of all appetizers. I am feeling good that I am getting back into the social circle of church, which I have surely missed for the last few years.

And speaking of church, we made it through a difficult and challenging song there, which pleased the person who wrote the lyrics very much. I am really glad I stuck with it, through the frustration of being the only alto for a couple of rehearsals. Lee's been the only tenor a couple of times, too, and he just couldn't cope with this particular number with no one to help him. I'm a strong singer, but must admit it's no fun to sing choral music if you're the only one (other than when I volunteer to be in a quartet or trio!). I know it's hard on our choir director, too. At least the sermon, on The Art of War, was enjoyable. Sometimes Rev. Chuck's not-so-subtle parables really crack me up.

I had felt pretty bad that I couldn't send the kids on the band trip this year, but they both said they really didn't want to go. Shoot, I did. I would have loved to visit New Orleans! It's been so long since I have been to Louisiana!

But, they had a good break. Beccano entertained himself much of the time, as the photo shows, but he also did lots of fun things with his friends. He even went swimming with his girlfriend! Tuba Boy and pals managed to get into a free show around the South by Southwest festival, and saw Bob Schneider and Raul Malo. He also went kayaking in the nearby lake--it really looked like a good time, from the pictures.

One thing I have to say about Facebook is that so many kids post photos of all their adventures that I get to enjoy what they do, even if I don't go. I appreciate that they let me be their "friend" just so I can see what fun they have. And thankfully, it all seems like the kind of fun I used to have at their age. Adventurous, but not dangerous, illegal or otherwise stuff a mom wouldn't like!

Well, off I go to do some "work" for a job I applied for. It should be fun, though. Thanks, as always, for reading!

A Wedding Shoe?

Wedding Shoe?
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Hey, look what I found at Penneys yesterday, when I was passing time before a hair appointment. It is a wedge-heel shoe (stellar photo does not show heel) with a suede-like top part, and a silk-like strap, avec rosette! They were having some giant sale, so it ended up costing like $23. I got it, on a hunch. When I got home, I hauled out the wedding dress, and sure enough the shoes are the EXACT color of the dress. Lee was amazed. My work colleague says it is a positive sign for the marriage. OK, sure. I had this plan to go shopping for fancy shoes at the Domain next week, and was prepared to spend into the double digits for something amazing. But, hey, this will work, and lets me spend more on flowers or something!

I am still going to go to the Domain (if you are not in Austin, it is this new, ritzy shopping center with nothing but the best stores, so nothing's cheap). Suzanne and I will have fun looking at "foundation garments" for my wedding outfit. And other stuff. It doesn't hurt to look. Still, glad I didn't get that job that is right next to the Domain. Too tempting, I guess.

It's been another busy week. Something every night, ranging from Senior Parent Night to Watching Scary Debate night. Again, my kids made me happy. Beccano kept coming up and telling me that Biden is his new hero. I must say, he sounded GREAT, and his closing words were so, so confidence inspiring and well done. I have spent so many years being deeply disappointed by politicians that it was GREAT to be reassured and inspired by one. And yes that woman with the irritating voice and even more irritating folksy ways did not mess up anywhere near as badly as she was expected to. Set the bar low and it is easy to win!

I don't report a lot about my job, but that is good. Everyone has been really nice to me, I am getting lots done, and I am enjoying the things I am doing. I feel like I am making a contribution. The coworkers are all very interesting people and enjoyable to talk to, as well. It would be great to get to stay here, but ALE is still cutting people right and left.

Oh, and here's a photo of the results of last night's hair appointment. I think I look like crap here. I let Robert use the flatiron on my hair to see what it would look like straight. Interesting, so say the least. I must look better today, because all my female coworkers keep screeching, "Ooh, wedding hair!" like I really should have it done this way for the Big Event. Hmm. I am not sure that the flat, flat hair would balance the big dress.We will have to see. It's the same color as last time, making this a remarkable second time ever I haven't changed the color slightly from one appointment to the next.

I'll write again after the weekend, I am sure. Lee is going to see his dad, but Jody is visiting from EuropeLand, so I hope to see her. Of course, most of the weekend will be taken up with Marching Band activities. The first contest is Saturday. And the percussion dude is having Bec and Company get there really early. If this results in Beccano getting overheated like last year for this same competition, when I had to drive him separately in the car, I will be much less than pleased. We'll see....

A Weekend at the Highland Lakes

Favorite Double Wide
Originally uploaded by sunasak

It has been a really nice weekend so far full of fun with old friends and new, and adventures in driving down dirt roads, too. I wish I could share more photos from the weekend, so if you want to see more, visit my Flickr pages!

First, I didn't have to work on Friday, so I took advantage of the last free day for a while by getting my hair cut and colored. I'd been tired of dealing with the length, so I went ahead and got it a bit shorter, and probably about the same shape. I was also tired of how my lovely red hair kept fading to a reddish brown. I had this vision of burgundy hair, but my hairdresser and his hilarious hairdresser pal both said, oh no, that was not good for my coloring. I ended up with pretty much my natural hair color, maybe a shade lighter, with some reddish accents. While not an "exciting" color, it looks more like "me" and I am happy to have a cut that doesn't take much maintenance and a color that won't grow out quite so obviously. I MIGHT get highlights in the front, since I was liking how my gray in the front was lightening up my face. So, the great experiment with blondish and reddish hair has ended. If I had a bit more gray, I'd leave it natural, but right now it's not at the "pretty" gray amount.

Then, on Saturday I did a lot of fun things! My ex was coming to town, and we invited him to stay here with the kids so we could go do couple stuff (it is hard for me and Lee to go anywhere, due to the dog care needs--no way to afford to board 4 dogs, two grumpy and elderly). So, first we drove to scenic (not really) Liberty Hill, where he dropped me off at knitting friend Jen's beautiful new home (really) where a bunch of the ladies from the yarn shop got together to dye yarn with Kool-Aid. I'll have pictures and descriptions on the knitting blog, but here I can say how much I enjoyed being in a group of women with toddlers/preschoolers running around in the mix--reminded me of my old life at the Dysfunctional Nonprofit Organization. Since a bunch of my friends from there are at a retreat this weekend, where the mothers and kids are doing lots of fun things, I was glad to get a little female bonding in, myself (though there was a very nice husband around, too). Besides, from what I can tell, that retreat probably would have been incredibly stressful for me. So, yay, I had a fun weekend doing something else!

While I was yarning, eating and gabbing, Lee explored Bertram, the next town down the road. He found a lovely nursery (to which we returned this morning to buy hanging miniature roses) and a little cafe where he apparently had the most delicious pie ever, chocolate oatmeal.

He came and got me with my finished, yet damp, yarn, and we headed out to Burnet and the Highland Lakes area. You may remember we went out here not too long ago and looked for houses for sale, then we went to Lake Limestone and looked. This time, we spent a while exploring Burnet (sadly, discovering the yarn shop had gone out of business). I was proud that I didn't buy any pansy items in any antique store, though I really would have liked to get a photo of a black vulture that was taken by the owner of a knife shop we went in--this guy does incredible bird photos. Bird lover, knife lover, surgeon, apparently.


After checking into a nice hotel on a beautiful creek, we bit the bullet and visited a realtor in Buchanan Dam, a lovely woman named Jeanette. After laughing at Lee's original budget, she did show us the more inexpensive options in lakefront property. Mostly it was undeveloped property, but there were also two mobile homes on the lake. Apparently all the mobile homes there are quite old, because all the neighborhood associations say if you replace one, you have to do a stick-built house.

We had quite a good time driving all over the lake looking at some nasty land on spits of mud, land with beautiful lake views but is almost perpendicular, lots of deer, lots of winding roads, and the mobile home neighborhood. It wasn't bad at all, and the place you see pictured at the top of the post is actually quite nice, especially if you love undiluted 70s decor. It's very well kept, has fruit trees, a porch swing with lake view, a very un-fancy dock (but one where you can catch large striped bass), a fence for the dogs, and tons of storage space. It is what I always envisioned in a lake house--not a palace, but a kinda run-down place to relax.


I've included a photo or two of the view of the lake, which is on a cove (actually where a creek joins the lake), not the main lake. This cuts down on screaming speed boats and "personal watercraft." This property is also not far from the nesting spots of a lot of bald eagles. I sure hope we can get this or something like it, once Lee's land is sold. Of course, it is sort of funny that selling 80 acres of farm land would only give a down payment on a trailer by a lake, but that's what that "location, location, location" thing boils down to!

It feels weird to even be considering a second house, but I know Lee doesn't want to pay the huge taxes that would happen if he didn't reinvest the bucks from selling his land. I think our idea would be to enjoy this place and fix it up a bit, then when the time comes to sell my house, we'd have plenty of money to put a nice new house (maybe with two stories, for more lake views) instead of the double-wide, which would be over 40 years old by then anyway. It's fun to dream, anyway, since just a few weeks ago I didn't know if I'd be able to pay the bills on THIS house. And even minor cosmetic fixes to the interior (it's all paneled in dark wood, with avocado AND harvest gold appliances) of the double-wide would bring its selling price up, if we did have to sell it at some point.

Let's move on...after all the house and land looking, we were hungry, so we decided to go to a restaurant called the Maxican, in Burnet. It's in an old house, and serves Mexican, barbecue, and steaks. Quite the mix. Well, it was a total hoot. When we walked in, an elderly lady greeted us with "would you like a back rub?" I was sure I'd misunderstood! But no, our second Jeanette of the day assured us that she gives everyone who comes in a back rub, because we are all special and all deserve one. Turns out she is the mother of the owners, and grandmother to most of the rest of the staff, or at least called grandmother by them. And none of these people appeared remotely Mexican, either. We had lots of fun with our waiter, a young college student home for summer break, and everyone there either knew each other or was just feeling friendly. Plus, the food was incredibly delicious. Even the Spanish rice, which usually I am not fond of, was yummy. The salsa was wonderful, the beans delicious, the pico de gallo not too heavy on the cilantro, and the chicken in our dishes so tender. There was a sauce on both of our dishes that was divine. And the staff was SO proud of the food. They kept saying, "It's really good, isn't it?" And I have to say that it's not every day that when you leave you hug the greeter and promise to come back and see her soon. We really want to show it to Beccano!

Today we ate breakfast, went and looked at more property, and viewed the double-wide again. Then we drove home, stopping first at one of those stores that sells concrete statues, because we wanted a new birdbath. They had the one that was in the real estate office's yard--shaped like a branch with a squirrel going up it. Lee even got me a little squirrel to put IN the birdbath. The prices were much lower than home depot, and we got to look at many amusing concrete "things," and to meet the sweet old couple working the store. They both looked like they'd had long hard lives, and didn't have many teeth between them, but they were very kind and helpful. The old lady even sent Lee back to the car after he paid with two bottles of water "on the house" because, "you two look hot."

I have no idea when I have spent a weekend meeting such a variety of nice people in unexpected places. Plus I got to hang out with nice friends, too!

I hope you enjoyed my lengthy travelogue! I am looking forward to teaching MS Word 2003 tomorrow (now THAT is some software I know) and starting at ALE either Tuesday or Wednesday. Of course they don't tell you when and where to report until the last moment. LOLZ, as the kids would say.

Aging and Changing

Suna
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Here's a picture of my latest hair incarnation. I didn't get a picture of it, but the hairdresser styled it bone straight after the cut. It was very interesting (shiny, too) and maybe I can try to do it again, now that I got a flatiron thing for the kids. But, it was not "me." This hair is me. And probably how I should keep it. The extra long hair had begun to bug me (it tangled from the curling action). This is a nice color and a nice length. And if you don't like curly hair, too bad. It's the way my hair is!

I am looking at this picture, and have been looking in the mirror. Lots of aging signs, though I really should not complaint too much--I have fewer than a lot of people. But weird wrinkles are happening around my lips, and my chin is icky looking. Getting wrinkles in there. They eyes aren't too bad, but they do wrinkle up when I laugh. Of course, it is good to laugh.

There is a lot of age prejudice around job searching. I wish employers would realize that my life experience means I learn quickly, not that I am hesitant to learn. And that if I started now, I'd be able to work another 25 years for them, knowing the health histories of my relatives. I have to say that the job search makes me feel old and tired, though most of the time I feel the same as ever, only with one or two little glitches. Not bad, really for almost 50.

I want to age gracefully, but when I see that the jowls are starting, and the chin has no definition, I do imagine being wealthy enough to get tweaked. On the other hand, what's wrong with looking my age (other than people not wanting to hire me because of it!)?

GRR (added later)

I had gotten a call from a place, and they said they wanted to talk to me about getting a new job. It was downtown, and the info said dress business. Sounded like a much better place. But I thought it was odd that they didn't mention any particular job, and that there was no website listed in the email they sent. I stewed for a while, but decided I didn't want to waste my time if this was not a legit thing. So, I went to the www that matched the email address I got directions from. Son of a gun. It's a place that tweaks your resume and tells YOU how to go get a job. For a FEE (though they cagily do not mention that on their site). I thought I finally got some job action. But, at least I am not wasting my time going out there tomorrow, and missing work time on top of that!

Why I Am Smiling

Hair Color October 11
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I am smiling in my new dark red hair because I was genuinely pleased to hear Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize today. I actually teared up and gasped when I heard the news. And I am happy for the researcher dudes who shared it, too. I really do believe focusing on taking care of our home planet can only lead to a more peaceful world, and I am very impressed with how Al Gore has taken abuse, ridicule and antagonism yet kept on plugging away at telling the truth. And he got people to listen.

I am also pretty happy with this hair color, which probably will look better in an outdoor shot. It will take a while to get used to the darker hair around my face again--maybe I will get highlights next time, but not yellow ones. This is a little closer to my natural color, at least in value. But actually it is pretty much the color I always wanted my hair to be. Robert did a good job!

I won't be blogging for a couple of days, but will report on my adventures when I return! Wish us luck that we get a new roof successfully today and that the kids do well at their band competition tomorrow.

Thinking Happy Thoughts

Green Hat
Originally uploaded by sunasak

First happy thought (which I will get to in a bit): I have certainly had a lot of hair looks. Here's one, from 2004. The short dark-haired effect with stripes. I grew my hair out when "someone" who lived at my house said I looked like a lesbian. Did I care if I looked like one? Not really--that was HIS stereotype, not mine (knowing plenty o' lesbians with lotsa hair and plenty with butch cuts, too). But his attitude had me irritated, so hair began to grow so he'd remember I was a heterosexual woman...one who wasn't going to be romantically involved with HIM any more. And thus began "roommate."

I digress. The happy thing is that, while I have liked my yellowish hair for 13 months now. I think I will do something different today. Perhaps more orange. Or burgundy. Only my sweet hairdresser man knows for sure what the plan is at this moment, but in 4 hours, so will I.

Photos will come. I just hope I don't end up with Tammy Wynette hair again.

The other happy thought is in honor of Coming Out Day. Because I am actually fond of my gay, lesbian and transgender friends, family members and acquaintances. I would love it if they had the same rights as I do. I will do what I can to help with this, such as pick who I vote for carefully, and make it clear that a primary reason I didn't want to marry again was that my gay and lesbian fellow humans are banned from doing so in this fine state. They deserve access to the same legal protections and legal obligations as anyone else. And the right to carry on a patriarchal institution is that's what they want (oh yeah, my OTHER reason for not liking the Institution of Marriage).

But , please read this nice article in today's local newspaper, which is what cheered me up. It is nice to see all kinds of people showing up to make it clear that all of us humans deserve the same rights. Good for you, nice people of Austin!

Best wishes to all, from the woman of many hair lengths and colors. I hope I sound slightly less grumpy. I applied for a different job today, too.

Good Attitude Bonus Day

I was going to put a lot of bird pix in here, since I have watched birds a lot today, but you can just imagine a female red breasted woodpecker and a Carolina wren in your own mind, OK? It WAS neat to see a woodpecker on my tree--I have not seen many around here.

What you do see is the Older Boy after his "bud" who is "a girl, Mom!" straightened it. Look how shiny it came out! Everyone says he looks "emo" in the picture. I think he looks like he stepped out of an anime comic. In any case, what a cutie.

I am enjoying my little "vacation" fairly well. I got two web sites all caught up and did my taxes today. My good attitude is paying off, I think, because I got a nice refund, even after paying self-employment tax on all my knitting teaching. It will get us through another unemployment week! Plus, lo and behold, I had misplaced an envelope containing a $600 check for escrow overpayment, and I found it during tax prep time. WOO! Another little cushion for the upcoming drought. Every little bit helps!

And speaking of that drought, not only do I have one interview next week, but I have two now! A local company that does software for nonprofits has me scheduled for next Monday! It's a place I would really like to work, and would be an easy commute to visit Lee for lunch (a bonus). So, that has made me extra hopeful. Glad I lit my "trabajo" candle for a while! So, I can see that by remaining calm and thinking positively, things have slowly begun to show improvement signs. Rockin'.

I am a bit worried about Younger Boy. He is having trouble sleeping. Otherwise, things are really good. It stopped raining and I am making bread. Last night, Younger Son and I made banana bread, too. It is such fun cooking together!

Old Blog News

Still working hard at adding posts from my old blog to this one. I also changed the title of this one back to "What, Suna's Not Knitting," which was the old title. The other one is now "Suna's Old Blog," and it will go away once I have all the posts transferred older. I need to warn you that on occasion, I will forget to post-date an old post and it will end up looking new. Let me know if you see any of those!

Hair, Glorious Hair

Yeah, I went a bit overboard at the hair place. This is why I should not go to the hair place in a good mood. I say, "Sure, do what you want to." Whee, I am now a copper penny. With blonde highlights. Happy hair for the happy girl.

Note that neither Gregory nor I thought the color would take quite so well. And note second that it will tone down. And third note that I made Dear Partner photograph me in the sun to make it look even scarier. New profile photo is more like how it really looks.

I am now going to post those long things from yesterday that I wrote. Don't read them if you don't want to read what I actually think (which can be wrong!). I hate it that the newest blog post is on top, making it hard to read blogs in order. But that is how it is. Note the following caveat, which will be repeated.

CAVEAT

The following is personal opinion that is being posted to a private blog (not searchable on the Internet), which is only intended for people to whom the author has sent a link. Please do not redistribute without written permission from the author.

translation: I am happy because I have friends and work.

Comments

Tina said...
OH MY GAWD, I LOVE THE HAIR!!Also, I found out today that iTunes will let me dye my hair pink! Hooray!
Friday, September 01, 2006 6:56:00 PM

sandy said...
I LOVE the bright and sunny hair for the bright and suny Suna. Hey, I am coming to Houston in the fall, can I make a side trip to Austin?
Friday, September 01, 2006 7:07:00 PM

Christine (woogies@yahoo.com) said...
I was at BBYS and they were talking that u were getting hair done. I thought a little color but now I remember the blue hair.This hair color fits u perfectly.Must be lots of fun.
Friday, September 01, 2006 7:14:00 PM

deb said...
Love the Hair Sue Ann. Its perfect on you.Deb(ex-hair person)xvxunsftcxir
Saturday, September 02, 2006 2:08:00 AM

Fun, Fun, Fun

It's been quite a fun few days, but I am worn out from it all! I am very pleased to have fun to report, though!

An Interesting Religious Diversion

The Dear Partner found this article on the behavior of religious folks versus nonreligious (atheists, agnostics). It was based on a scientific journal article. Here's the link http://www.humaniststudies.org/enews/index.html?id=219&article=7 -- the site is the Insitute for Humanist Studies (hmm, maybe I could get a job THERE). I was interested to see how the secular socieities had more law-abiding populaces. Read the whole thing--it's an eye opener, though of course I have no idea if it's just a bunch of bull or well done stuff. No time to evaluate at this point, but maybe later.

Friday Fun

I went to the coffeehouse I'd talked about, and did OK. I still get a bit of a nerved out vibe there, but was able to enjoy being with some good friends, including the musicians, who are always SO kind to the Dear Partner that it makes me a little teary. The wife of the pair said his puns remind her of the way her dad was. Ah, someone who can handle incessant bad puns with grace. I need lessons!! I am going to try to take the DP to see them play again tomorrow, and try to get some of his friends to come out to celebrate his birthday (it's Tuesday and he will be double-nickel) (I am much younger!!). This will wipe me out, because it means I will get no sleep (driving kids to early band practice before dawn on Tuesday), but I can make the best of it. In any case, I think I will try to go back to church on Sunday next. My older son really wants to, so I think if I just show up and listen, but do not get involved with personalities or organizational management, I might, might be able to. And I hear there are nice new people...

Hair

Did I mention I finally got a hair cut appointment? I did. September 1. I am tired of the frizzy mess that is my current hair. I am sure the Great Gregory will work a miracle.

Dyeing Yarn

Ooh, yesterday was fun. I spent the entire work day at the yarn shop, which was not my plan, but was fun. It was not too busy and we got to look at a lot of pretty colors. Some good teaching occurred, and lots of knitting helping and such. And I got to look at the tarot deck Jody got me (I now finally have the Barbara G. Walker deck--my heroine--and an odd one it is, too--but readable). Many thanks to Jody! And she got a MOST unusual deck, the name of which escapes me, but it something about the secrets of the sea...she can tell us what it really was.

Then, after work and finding Tina, whom we had lost (and visiting her apt, which strongly resembles my kids' playroom in decor and ability to place an object on every single flat surface--so cute and so how I wish I could do things!!), Jody, Tina and I all trekked to my house to dye yarn. I have the biggest kitchen, you see. And a patio that can be ruined and no one will care.

I am impressed that we didn't ruin anything, other than the color of Jody's hands. I wore gloves.

I had enough tiny containers of color and larger containers, that, along with Tina's giant dye pot with an atomic symbol on the bottom, we had plenty of dyeing stuff. And a lot of places to soak yarn, thanks to my first-floor full bath. And a turkey baster and some syringes to apply dye with something like precision. It was way fun. I made some sorta ugly stuff but learned a lot, and will still be able to use the yarn to make a felted bag, I do believe. I don't think the dye will come out--we nuked or boiled it all and it seemed stable. In fact, when rinsed, none of the Kool-Aid dyed stuff ran at all. All the color soaked into the wool!

I dyed I think 5 skeins of off white knitting worsted wool and one skein of laceweight that used to be an ugly sock. The laceweight I wanted in sort of muted colors, and I ended up with a sea-blue-green, greenish brown, and salmony-rose blend, with various shadings. I think it is very close to what I had been thinking I wanted. Just pouring Kool-Aid in little containers until it was a color I liked. Can't wait to share photos! (Jody and Tina took some and I assume will post some on their blogs)

Mostly we used Kool_Aid, but Tina had some fuschia RIT dye that she turned some lightweight yarn into quite a beauty with. Jody made a "sausage" that was blue to purple, and the blues came out really interesting and two-toned. They will make AWESOME socks. We all had definite successes and near misses (the color salmon kept creeping into Tina's stuff), but in all, it was quite a fun evening of learning and adult beverage drinking. Tina learned, for example, that Ace Pear Cider is the Best Pear Cider on Earth (nectar of the gods, I always say). I now have a lot of Woodchuck to choke my way through, or give to unsuspecting acquaintances.

And a horrible accident had a semi-happy ending. You see, yesterday, while we were at the shop. Jody had brought some sodas to drink, Diet Dr. Pepper, with cherry. Late in the 100+ degree day, she went to her car for some reason or another, and upon opening it saw that the soda she had left there had exploded most heinously, all over the car AND some really, really nice undyed wool from lovely, rare sheep. She was NOT pleased. Poor yarn. Permanently disfigured. But, she bravely dyed it with black cherry Kool-Aid, and oh my, did it come out pretty. Looked like Manos de Uruguay kettle dyed yarn (duh, it was sorta dyed in a kettle). The color was gorgeous, ranging from very deep to lighter, depending on we are not sure what. But, while the yarn might have best been undyed, it is certainly glorious dyed, and I hope can grow up to be something nice.

Anyhow, my pals and I had so much fun. I hope we can do it again and have more people. We now know a bit more of what we are doing.

This morning, the Dear Partner went into the downstairs restroom to see the glorious sight of all my yarn (plus one that may not be mine--anyone want to own the dark reddish stuff??) with the morning sun pouring through it. He said it was really beautiful. And you know, if a dude comments on how nice yarn looks, it must REALLY look nice.

Photos to come, I hope.

Comments

Tina said...
Hmm... I made it home with all of my "dark reddish stuff." was it the one of yours that Jody dyed, perhaps?
Sunday, August 20, 2006 1:50:00 PM

Robin said...
I love dying wool with kool-aid! I've only done carded wool, then used it to make all kinds of fun waldorf-like felted objects. Orange kool-aid makes awesome felted pumpkins!Sounds like a fun day. Wish I had a local yarn shop like yours, Suna!
Sunday, August 20, 2006 1:59:00 PM

Jody said...
The dark reddish stuff is indeed the Ella Ray that I dyed for you - cherry and grape, yum.It was a lot of fun. Gotta get to posting picutres, though that may not happen tonight.
Sunday, August 20, 2006 6:30:00 PM

Anonymous said...
Whee! An appointment with Gregory! I think I am finally resigned to not having him in Illinois any more. I got a cut at a "haircuts r us" place this month that is not too bad. When I was whining to a friend that my hair just hasn't been the same since he left, she pointed out that I probably paid a third of what I paid for a haircut from him. And it's probably 75% as good. A bargain, I guess. And really, pretty good.I'm really happy that you will be getting a nice new cut, though. You know he's good!Nancy Jo
Monday, August 21, 2006 12:37:00 AM

Judy said...
Your yarn dying sounds like a fun time was had by all, and you even dyed some yarn to boot! ..LOL.. Honestly, you should have just added some vodka to all that kool-aid and sipped through a straw while the yarn was soaking! ..giggle.. Okay, okay, it probably doesn't work that way, but it sounds fun anyway. It's fun times with friends like that, tht make all the other carp easier to put up with.Judy
Monday, August 21, 2006 2:35:00 PM

deb said...
I found the article to be very interesting. Unfortunant really but true. And this from a religious person, however I am not the type religious person to say my religion is the only religion. And the dying party sounds very fun indeed. I second the vodka in the kool-aid. hehehehe
Monday, August 21, 2006 5:57:00 PM

Suna said...
Those of you encouraging the vodka need not fear. There was Mike's lemonade, pear cider (both good (Ace) and bad, and apricot beer)and even a huge case of the giggles as we wound our way from yarn to tarot. So, we had lots of adult beverages to inspire creativity, even if we didn't mix it with Kool-Aid. I still don't think I can bring myself to try Kool-Aid after so many decades of abstinence.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006 10:43:00 AM

It's About Time I...

...made a hair cut appointment. So I did, for September 1.

I think I'll just let him do what he wants, though I think I want it still long, but layered and perhaps less gray--either dye it or highlight it a LOT more. That is all for now. Big evening at Former Spiritual Community for a concert. Afternoon will visit Knitting World, whee.

Love My Blue Hair

Been doing all sorts of extra goof-off things as I revel in a few last days of no work, no kids, no nothing.

Yesterday I celebrated the 230th birthday of the USA by doing a tarot reading with good ole Jody, who did not have a ball of yarn in her hand to throw (yes, I KNOW she was kidding--I was kidding when I mentioned it in the last entry). When we were done, we indulged in our inner Diva or something, and spent time battling the wind while putting lovely blue stripes in our hair. You see, on Saturday two teens with beautiful colored pieces in their hair showed up to the yarn shop, so we asked them how they got those stripes. The mother (who regretted NOT buying hair stripe remover) told us where, and Jody knew of the place. I oohed and aahed about it so much that Jody went out and got some hair, in purple and blue. A LOT of it. And the all-important remover. It's natural human hair! We did not put in lots (I still have interviews to do), but it was a real adventure, neither of us being exactly the "hair-do" types. For example, a gust of wind splatted hair glue all over the top of Jody's head, and with her short hair, it could not exactly be hidden. But, I got it out (mostly), so she won't look like a bird pooped on her head for the next couple of months or anything. The stuff's pretty cool, actually. I washed it, and it is still in there! We have LOTS of hair left. What fun.

Other than that and watching a lot of very wet televised fireworks, not much has been happening. Just making the green shawl longer and longer (each row has over 400 stitches now). I did get to eat a longhorn burger (moo) on Monday, when we took a "let's drive around Austin" trip. I felt like I did the Omnivore's Dilemma guy proud by eating a grass-fed cow.

I've had a lot of bad dreams the past few days. Floods of all sorts, mainly. I will be glad for that, and the rain, to end, but we've had a drought, so the rain is really good.

Comments

Deb said...
Ahhh no pictures of the Blue hair? If you really want to do wild color let me know. I used to be a hair stylist in another life. (before kids)Deb
Thursday, July 06, 2006 2:19:00 AM

Jody said...
oh, my. A hair stylist volunteer! The blue is fantastic. I love it so. Did the chicks with sticks love it, too?
Thursday, July 06, 2006 9:57:00 AM

Suna said...
The chicks all thought it was "too subtle" so I guess I will bring the hair (like it's a living entity or something) on Saturday. And I added two strands, too!
Thursday, July 06, 2006 10:06:00 AM

Mundane Stuff

I had fun today working on a new blog for work--our team of volunteers is going to write one detailing how we prepare for a room we are hosting at a conference. We hope it is fun and maybe generates some interest. I did all sorts of interesting work and was on the phone a lot this week, when not at dental appointments--eeek, don't YOU ever go over 5 years without going to the dentist, even if you have no insurance and are a single parent (I now have insurance, it will pay a whole one third of the extensive work I need)!! Ka-ching $$$$$

I finished the tie I was working on for my dad, and a cotton/lycra cloche that I crocheted a raffia flower and attached to. Today, it's a black and white scarf out of microfiber. If I stop typing. The tie is really, really interesting.

Photos of all knitting projects are coming, honest.

I also got my hair done. The highlights now have some red in them and look lovely, but she did a number on my bangs, oh eek eek eeek. The closest to the edge ones are real short, but she didn't cut farther back ones. I fear they will continue to fall in my face. I will attempt to glue them down with hairspray until they can grow out. Yum. Women and hair, what can I say???

Anonymous Comment: See, I was right. Writing it on the internet makes one look busy and competent