Ear Saga: Yesterday evening, I suddenly realized that I had somehow managed to drop a ball from my barbell. There were not too many options available: a bigger or a smaller barbell. I chose to try 14g, and to my surprise, it just slid in. Today my ear is pretty much the same as yesterday: didn't get worse because of unscheduled stretch, but is still tender when touched (of course, I shouldn't be touching it...) I hope I can keep this barbell safe and to stay at 14 g for at least until the end of next week, or even longer if necessary. At least, the barbell I'm now wearing is black and not silver- more inconspicuous the better.

Hair: This morning, I woke up to realize that I had a greasy, hideous hair. Yuck. It doesn't feel that bad when bunned, but I am definitely going to rinse it later. I'm also very tempted to change shampoo bars tomorrow. But that's a bit early to decide. Maybe it will be better after I rinse it.

Garden: The few sour cherries our poor ancient cherry trees produce, are ripe. I'm going to make jam of them this evening. I think we will chop the trees down soon. Wonder where we can fit new ones...

Simple Dress Experiment: A major annoyance has struck, for the first time. My dresses are versatile, they are very easy to wear and I have never in my life spent less time about worrying about what to wear. And *I* think they are pretty in their own way.
But. It seems that people assume strange things about me- some seem to think that I'm a hillbilly, and others just seem to think that I'm just some weird, possibly slightly crazy lady. Some seem to think that I'm an ultrafeminine lady. And some people do stare, few even quite rudely. Right now, I crave a long black leather coat, and all things black and rock and unisex.
I don't think I'd be any happier though if I switched to my old regular clothes. I'd just have different issues then. A nagging conscience. And the fact that I don't feel like myself at all in the kind of clothes that ordinary people of my age, wear.
Maybe I should become a nudist.  Yeah.
Meanwhile, I just try to sit through this. It's not like all things black and rock and unisex would be the ideal things to wear while weeding the garden.

Gardening in the nude can be dangerous! 

Hang in there with your dresses.  Just because they are prejudicial and closed minded doesn't mean you have to change your ways.  (and for fun you could ACT crazy and scare them off!). 

Thanks for comments & understanding!

Actually, I have not had much odd stares or anything except when I visit the Nearby City (which is a city, but not very big one). This village is small and quite eccentric in a funny and charming way, and I'm considered "part of the scenery". Besides I've talked at least a little with most people I see on an average day. Helsinki, on the other hand is a real big city, it's international, and people are used to see different people in there. One more is no big news. The Nearby City, however, is a typical smallish city where everyone is expected to look pretty much like everyone else of your age and class. That's where I get most odd looks.
    The plan to act crazy sounds pretty good. Or, I might just say to the next person who feels that she has to turn around in order to be able to  me "Didn't your mother tell you that it's rude to stare at people."

Today...well, no whiney mood is so big that a day in the garden could not cure it. Today has been the firts sunny day for a while- not even a single rain shower! And I've taken advantage of it and worked in the garden to my heart's content.
    Harvest season is nearing: today we ate our first red onions, I collected the first batch of calendula petals, and maybe the most importantly, this evening I'm going to make some cherry jam and some raspberry jam of berries we picked during the day. Our winters may not be terribly cold in these days, but they are still long, so it's wonderful to be able to preserve a small part of the summer. It's glorious to visit storages in the middle of cold, dark winter and fetch frozen berries, jewel colored jams and tasty homegrown vegetables for the table. Store bought produce is just pale and sad in comparison.
This year, there'll be even more! Potatoes, onions and beetroots keep growing, first pickle cucumbers are soon ready to be harvested and preserved in vinegar, trees are full of apples, shrubs full of berries...these are the times when country people are the richest of all.

Hair & ear: Hair is a little less greasy and awful than yesterday, thanks to the rinse. And a mini snood that covers my hair from both the sun and my eyes that would surely pass a grim judgment.Today is sauna day and I can wash it. Probably with B&M shampoo because I just won't be scared that easily.
I did a salt water rinse for my ear yesterday, and it's not tender any longer. But it is itchy! The hole itches. And I must suffer...after all, I know the result will be worth a little discomfort.

It is so nice to hear you enjoying the benefits of your hard work..... you deserve it!  Living in the city, I miss the garden and orchard we used to have.  The best I can do is harvest the raspberries we have growing around the house.  (I do love the berries!!  )  I probably miss the apple trees the most.  Apple pie, apple juice, apple sauce, apple slices, dried apples - mmmmmm I LOVE apples!  My flower gardens are pretty, but they are not the same as a garden that you can make a meal out of!

Wow, so much to do with apples.  When I think of apples (not being a pie lover) I think of apply pastry, apple fritters, apple sauce and of course...homemade mint jelly...mmmm.  Great with lamb...but I guess not much use for vegans...although mint sauce might be good on salad...but that does not have apples.  Mmmm I love fresh mint.  I use it to boil in with my new potatoes and with peas too in which case I add a tsp of sugar.  Soooo good...but i am not talking apples...which was the topic.

JD

JD

More about stars:

Delta aquarides were really cool. The evening was cloudy, but the clouds parted for about an hour and a half after midnight, and we got some very nice meteor sightings. Yesterday, we hadn't planned to observe, but the big, bright full moon convinced us otherwise.
    We have decided to start learning more about meteors and how to observe them. They are, after all, perfect targets for our current level of expertise (not much!) and equipment (90 mm star binoculars). Today's weather isn't promising, though, and I'm afraid there will be no alpha-capricornides for us. BUT, that's ok- August is after all excellent observing time for meteor enthusiasts, as it is very active meteor season, not to mention that our nights are both dark and warm.

Hair: Nothing special there, except that I cleaned and rearranged my hairtoy shelf today. I'm officially finally giving up my hopes of wearing all my cool hairtoys except in special occassions. Admitting this resulted in a new, very neat and orderly shelf, even though I relocated my eartoys there as well. Besides the elastics, amish pins and bobby pins, I now have just a few easy and simple basic toys like claws and Ficcares, a limited "palette" of bandanas and my mini snoods at hand. Unless you count Ficcares as pretties (maybe you should!) there are only a couple of velvet ribbons as "special toys". Everything else is packed neatly to wait to the storage shelf for the next cleanup. Even my LL hairsticks. I don't like admitting that they no longer deserve the status of everyday hairtoys like they once did, though I can still pick a pair easily if opportunity arises. Now, everything is neater and my everyday hairtoy selection reflects well what I actually wear on most days.
    Today, hair is in the usual bun and protected with a lilac bandana.

Weather is still rainy- we are expecting heaviest rains of the summer to come tonight. We spent most of the Sunday in the garden, and I did some gardening this morning as well. Now, it seems though that the best thing to do is just to find a book or a craft project and to relax.

I was thinking of you while we were camping.  We were on the north shore of Lake Superior (the largest fresh water lake in the world).  Just after sundown, as the skies were darkening and the first stars were becoming visible, this HUGE ORANGE ORB was rising on the eastern horizon.  It was the most beautiful moon-rise I have ever seen.  The full moon was so bright we were not able to see some of the more typical constellations even though it was a clear night.