Sounds like you need a hug.  Here's a bit cyberhug for you!

  ((((((((((Anais))))))))))

I honestly don't remember the last time I washed my hair. The time-between has gotten so long (8, 9, sometimes 10 days between washes) that I end up forgetting. ETA: just checked. I washed on Saturday afternoon (before gypsy trip) and today is Thursday. Scalp has been very happy lately

More butters and oils arrived today. It was shea butter white, mango butter, jojoba oil, flaxseed oil, and lanolin (for the horn comb). Mango and shea butter looked and felt very similar, to my amazement. The only differences were the color, and SLIGHT difference in the butters' softness. Not very noticeable. I think both might have been whipped.
I ordered and tried flaxseed oil because of KBF's rave reviews. but lo and behold, my hair doesn't like flaxseed either (strawness). I need to do prewashes with flaxseed and see if that changes anything. Flaxseed is powdery soft on the skin, and different in "feel" from other oils.

The last few batches of shea butter (ordered) were very different from each other. This is unlike jojoba and macadamia, which are relatively consistent from batch to batch. Currently I have three batches of shea butter. Shea butter comes in all textures and colors, but I never dreamed I'd see such drastic difference in only three sheas.
(1) unrefined yellow shea butter: marketed as "light yellow" from Emporium Naturals. The last time I checked, this variety was out of stock. It's much softer than cake frosting. I would describe it as gooey, and not buttery. It is almost nothing close to the consistency of a butter, nor its refined counterparts. It's bright Play Doh/dentist's keychain yellow. I love the resulting color of the finished lotions, light Post-it note yellow.
(2) refined white shea butter batch #1: like dry cottage cheese, only the pellets are slightly squashable. They are harder than regular dairy butter and the pellets don't stick together very well. I have to melt it in the microwave in order to do anything with it. It does not apply like a lotion (until I melt and whip it)
(3) refined white shea butter batch #2: The texture of cookie dough. Squashable and moldable, and would do wonderfully as a lotion by itself. This is my first experience with a shea butter that feels PERFECT. It just gets better and better.

If I were to receive lethal injection, I'd request a pint of Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream as my last meal. Sure, people probably think about this all the time. But sadly, that's probably the only occasion I'd have to eat an entire pint of Haagen Dazs ice cream! Serious ice cream craving right now.

America Online now offers 1175 free hours for the first 50 days. This brings it to 23.5 hours per day of internet surfing, which leaves 0.5 hours for breakfastlunchdinnersleepbathroombusiness. For a short while, I thought, Okay, what if TWO people use the internet? It still doesn't double the number of hours in a day, or the hours of internet use. ::sigh:: 1175 hours. That's just weird.

or I could just pack it up and send it to France.
Naw, it's still in the experimental stage right now. And I could just as well eat it. Now all I have to do is get over the "ick factor" of consuming a cosmetic grade oil as opposed to a food grade oil.

I love you, Hair. Last night I took monthly progress photos and my hair looked HIP LENGTH. I can't believe this. I'm only supposed to have hair slightly past waist. Apparently the very back layers (the longest!) have been growing without supervision or permission, not that either is necessary. Did I mention that I love my hair? Tailbone is quickly approaching.

Some pictures from my childhood fairy tale book. These are the visiting faeries from Sleeping Beauty's "christening". The illustrations are by Beverlie Manson and the book was originally published 1978.

Dear Sakina,

(I hear we share the same birthday, Aquarius.)

WOW, a corset is quite an awesome investment. I've worn a real one as a mockup, and I miss it terribly. The real version of the corset is ALMOST done. The edging (bias binding) needs to be put on, and the supplies company forgot to send the 4 most important bones) There have been delays of all kinds, mostly a bad corset supplies business that didn't checklist the order before shipping it to my Maker, and of course, the recent death of the Maker's father (hugs and blessings). So things were missing and had to be sought elsewhere.

My Maker is 1000 miles from me, but she and I are the same corset size However coincidences like this don't happen to everyone. If you are looking for a corset that will last for years, I HIGHLY recommend having a corset custom-made to your sizing. It will be pricier than one off the rack, but it will be worth the trouble. An improperly sized corset can bruise your ribs or pelvic bones, etc.. not to mention, may not lace up evenly at the back.

The BEST thing is to find a local corsetiere. The next best thing is to find someone who sends out a muslin mockup version for you to try on. Email around and ask for a quote. If you're wearing a corset under clothing, best make it an underbust. A proper long-lasting corset should be interlined in at least one layer of coutil or similar. There should be twill tape at the waist. Grommets should be more closely spaced at the waistline. And if you're going to wear it under period costume, request a no-busk version.  

Here are some good online makers:
http://www.meschantes.com/

Astrid has been given LOTS of kudos and VERY rave reviews. She is a very interesting lady. And she's on the BPAL forum! Here's her merchant site
http://www.andale.com/stores/sf_home.jsp?mode=1&sfUrl=blooddrop

Blackrayne also does custom sizing. She specializes in gothic batwing stuff but I'm certain she could make you a simple one. http://www.blackrayne.com

Many good corsetieres online. There are some on Livejournal who do custom work as well. You could also contact one through LJ. Here's the "I'm looking for a corsetiere page" http://www.livejournal.com/community/corset_shoppe/ Sometimes the corsetiere is a couple hours drive away.

Hope this helps!
Anais

ETA
for an underbust to wear under clothing, expect to spend between $150-$250. There's also a long wait, as in weeks or months. Mine's a 6-month special case, but I think most makers go 6 weeks? somebody correct me if I'm wrong here.

Please also scroll down a few posts. There is more corset info.

photos removed

Swept the patio again this morning. Millet seeds also have shells that the Sparrows tend to discard. A list of things I tend to sweep off the patio, in order of abundance:

millet seed shells

sunflower seed shells

dust or dried grass

bird poop

CC-CC'd night of June 5th:

V05 SKR (the last of it, I am going to slowly switch to C-CC with the remaining conditioners) and I sock curled. Love my hair to death.

Pure-A-Teas lotus

Suave Milk&Honey

Kirkland Lemon Gingerroot

edited because I got the date wrong.

Hi Styg

[Just so it's clear to other readers:]

"off the rack" = pre-made corsets that are 22", 24", etc. etc. but the ribs and hips are a "standard" proportion based on the waist size. The length of the corset is also preset, so off-the-rack does not take into account your height (nor the location of your pubic bone for that matter)
For example: say you get a 22" corset (which is usually 4" less than your natural waist). Perhaps their standard calculation for hip area is 150% x the waist size. Not everyone's hip measurements are 150% of their waist measurement.

custom work = for an underbust corset for example: they take measurements of underbust, natural waist, hips, distance from sternum to where you want the "bottom" of the corset to be, distance from armpit to pelvic bone, and they consider your height.

The answer is muslin!! well, at least that's what the experienced custom corsetiers do. Pre-sized corset dealers do NOT send out muslin mockups to customers.

Anyhoo, custom work is MUCH more accurate because the corsetier is supposed to make a "mockup version" of your corset in muslin fabric. Then when you receive it in the mail, you can draw all over the muslin fabric with a marker so they know where your body parts are, and you can tell them "it's too loose in this area" or "too tight where I drew that line", etc.. It's pretty good.
They do this because custom work cannot be refunded/ exchanged/ returned/etc. so the smart corsetier covers their bee-hind and makes sure all the dimensions are right. Properly sized corsets also last longer, perform proper waist reduction (if that's the purpose of the corset, and given proper # of boning channels), and can be worn comfortably for longer periods of time.

The philosophy behind custom work- a garment as personal as a corset should be taken care of personally. A lot of the time, when a person gets a corset made, it's a case of "I've been dreaming of one forever". And custom work ensures that the dream comes true  

ETA: More considerations for the serious corset shopper:

Are you looking to do waist reduction? If so, this will require very sturdy construction with on average more than 20 boning channels, with spring steel boning (flat strips of steel sealed with protective coating) or a combination of spiral steel and spring steel.

Is the corset for back support? perhaps make it a high backed corset. It will likely have to be fully-boned.  

Is it decorative wear? Less boning (therefore less labor) will be necessary.

Will it be an undergarment? The front busk closure will show through thin layers of clothing.

Will you be putting it on yourself, or will you have help? A front busk closure helps greatly, unless you plan on "stepping into" your corset and pulling it up like pants.

What's the climate like in your area? plan for a breathable fabric no matter the local climate. However, the number of layers (esp. the interlining) will make a big difference in your comfort while wearing. Some corsetier(e)s offer a "summer corset" or a summer version of their corset for nice lovely warm weather.

Hope this helps.

and on to the regular stuff.

Corset update. Maker emailed me, the corset is ready to ship and will be in transit by tomorrow or Wednesday. I am SO HAPPY. After long months of waiting (and it's months because of some unexpected delays through no fault of Maker - see previous corset-related posts) I will have purdy pictures available by the middle of next week.

Music venue. Discovered how much I love Bjork.
She is a cross between Tori Amos and Natalie Imbruglia. I've also tinkered with VNV Nation and Covenant, both of which are "gothic techno". It's exactly what I've been looking for. *lust*

Hair. Hair is so swirly today, in big swirly spirals. Very lovely. Scalp is not itching, hair is bouncy, it's as if I had used shampoo.

Pictures of my baby strawberry sprouts. They are growing, and the last picture (June 4) showed them considerably smaller than in this shot. I have a long and terrible history with plants. As one can clearly see, I will have horrible plant Karma in the next life.

Asparagus fern: The one with fine pricklies. Died of natural causes after no more than 3 months

Alfalfa: eaten and not replanted

mini palm #1: turned yellow due to lack of sunshine and died of natural causes after no more than 3 months.

mini palm #2: died of natural causes after no more than 3 months

miniature roses: died of dehydration and neglect, lack of nutrition in soil because it was never transplanted to a better pot.

Coffee bean plant: died of unknown causes after no more than 3 months

Wildflowers: died of unknown causes after no more than one month

Sugar snap peas: died of unknown causes after no more than a few weeks

Lemon Meringue and Fruitcake: different species of the same genus, I named them, put them both in the same flowerpot, and they survived for almost a year. Lemon Meringue died first, and Fruitcake didn't survive very long without his lover. I did talk to these plants very often.

one "lucky bamboo" stalk: died of dehydration due to extended out-of-town vacation

two "lucky bamboo" stalks: The upper half of the taller one is alive right now and the other stalk is dried and dead. Desperate as I am to save the poor creatures, I added water at the last minute (in hopes that maybe, MAYBE, they'll come back to life) Were not talked-to very much.

Do plants grow faster when talked to? Perhaps this will be the next experiment.