Thanks for congratulations, Kiraela and Sakina  

Kiraela: That's quite a story. You have been very lucky indeed! Chicken pox is so annoying- it's terribly itchy and of course scritching can only make things worse.

Sakina: I'm glad to hear you like the clip. You wouldn't happen to have a picture of it in action? I'm interested of that same clip- the only thing that has kept me from buying it (so far) has been that I can't figure out where I could wear such a sparkly thing.


Stars: Last evening had the perfect ending as well: for the first time in a long while, the star observing conditions were good. So, flu or no flu, I dressed myself warmly and ran out to the backyard to marvel the Universe.
     It's really been a while: the sky was clearly different from what I remember it being the last time. Now, I beheld fall sky with a hint of winter. Two red giants had climbed over the horizon: Aldebaran (The Bull's Eye) and Betelgeuze, Orion's Shoulder, where astronomers have detected unstability- it might go nova soon. In fact, as far as we know it could already have done so but the light from that event just hasn't reached us. Disturbing thought.
   Perseus was high, and I noticed that Algol, the Demon Star, was at its dimmest or close to it. Pleiades were also rather high, and I could even spot our cosmic neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy with relative ease. Milky Way was clearly different as well, the brighter areas in Cygnus are descending and somewhat dimmer "winter" areas, the areas in outer regions of our galaxy, were ascending.
Add two meteors, one of them fairly bright one, and I had another beautiful viewing experience.

Hair: Ficcares have already shipped- very quick of them! 
Hair is fresh and clean today, and I'm still taking advantage of being sick and am wearing a bun with blue and white NeonStix. I noticed, that vast as my collection is, it's hard to find anything to fit perfectly with my navy blue dress. Hmm. Maybe the blue dangly sticks I ordered from MT will fill that gap in my collections. I hope so!

BPAL: I did remember one addition to my shopping spree- a BPAL order. But, only because I received two imps from Greek_Lady. Thank you very much! And, quick as I am, I have already reviews!
White Rabbit My first impression of this scent was: Sweet! Way too sweet! But, after a moment the excessive sweetness turned out to be warm, sweet scent of honey with a hint of something fresh- tea comes first into my mind. I like this scent. It's not something to wear all day every day, but it has pleasant, soothing personality. An unusual, yet quite simple scent, good for complicated times.
Leanan Sidhe This is a more classic perfume: fresh, powdery-flowery. For some reason it makes me think a bouquet of violet and blue flowers. It has an interesting, clean undertone- a little bit of this after a long hard day, and people might think that one is fresh out of the shower and has just a little bit of perfume on top of natural freshness. Perhaps a bit too feminine to be perfect for my tastes, but I still like it. I think it'd be difficult not to like this one.

Thanks, juri! Today, I feel much better. T is more ill, but a little less so than yesterday too. I'm still taking things easy though. Having internet at home really helps, I've been able to arrange so many things online.

Hair: Knot bun with 3-tone brown Ficcare. Haven't worn this clip for a while.
I'm planning to buy some shampoo (small bottle of Body Shop Banana shampoo) the next time I visit Helsinki. I think my hair could use a little detergent. Our water is neutral, not soft, and I think I may have a little buildup in my hair. I don't like my Urtekram conditioner that much either, so I think I'll get some Body Shop conditioner as well for deep treatments while I'm at it.
     Weather has become cool. We haven't had frost at night yet, but I don't think we have to wait long for that. Lazy as I am, I think I will need to try to remember doing regular deep treatments and oiling. And get new headgear! Certain Gudrun Sjöden scarves are on the shopping list this year, now that I have learned to tie scarves into bun style.

Crafts: I've made a list of things I need to make ASAP:
For myself: flannel and nylon slips, leg warmers, three new dresses (including the one under construction). Cardigan and white shawl can wait a bit.
For T: sweater (under construction), matching socks and a beanie (using up leftover yarn), warm slippers
I have also other ideas, for both of us and for home decoration, but they are not urgent.

There are moments when I think my decision to make as much clothing as possible by myself was just a little insane idea. But, then, I enjoy working with all sorts of projects. And I do get things finished. While I'm not all ready and set for winter yet, at the moment I am perfectly comfortable and have everything I need. Not bad for a beginner. Besides, especially homemade knitted items last for ever, so next year there will be less work on essentials and more room for fun stuff.

Quick update:

-Lalo Orna sticks arrived, and they are so fun and cute. The Red Poppy stick is a bit short- I am able to make a bun with it, but I don't know for how long. But it is cute as button so I'm happy and if it becomes too short for making regular buns, I can always make other styles with it. Blue Wave is a bit longer, not so eye-catching but still unusual piece.
    I really like these! Will ask T to take pictures.

They arrived at a good moment too, because I just found out that I'm a genius. I may not look (or feel...or behave) like one at times, but I must be- the results from the philosophy of quantum theory course came, and my essay had earned me the highest degree. What a wonderful surprise! In many ways, this means to me almost as much as the new grant- being successful in a task I truly thought as impossible at first. Opportunities for such heroics arise sometimes, but not often. The professor even sent me commentary of my essay (now, that's something that NEVER happens in philosophy Dept).

If these ego boosts continue happening, I'm in serious danger of becoming a truly intolerable person.

So many reasons to celebrate. I hope T will get well soon.
I even have a new, cute, sea green dress to celebrate in.

Thanks for joining my little celebration!

Due to T's chicken pox (getting better, but not completely over) the partying here at home was rather low key- some Ben & Jerry's ice cream and first season of Rome tv series rented. Latter has been quite amusing- while I in generally much prefer something with less sex and violence, I have read enough Roman history to enjoy how good work has been done in details of making the series. Not to mention, that Roman ladies' hairstyles are always fun to look at.

Hair: I discovered that ribbons braided in are my friends. Ribbon adds just the right amount of thickness to the end part of my braid and makes it look quite balanced. Must remember!
      My urge to pamper my hair continued, and when I washed my hair yesterday, I even put some deep conditioner. It made such a big difference- which probably means that I would be wise to use the thing a bit more consistently. Today, my hair has (quite predictably!) been super slippery.
 
Stars: Weather has remained cool, and cloudy in general, but yesterday night was another good star viewing night. So, when I noticed the red Aldebaran winking me outside, I just put some extra layers to my pajama pants (I'm not sure if I can claim the honor of being the world's only binocular astronomer who regularly finds herself running to observe wearing pajama pants, but at least I'd like to think most observers are a little more dignified) and ran out. It's imperative to be quick though- you never know when a cloud comes and spoils the view, or upper layers of atmosphere become restless, with similar results.
       This time, I grabbed the binoculars too, and pointed them towards the new arrivals of the night sky: clusters in Taurus and Auriga. Pleiades is always a sure bet, one that I find hard to pass if it's viewable and I have my binoculars. But this time, I also took the time to view Hyades, another gorgeous open cluster whose only misfortune is being placed so close to Pleiades. Furthermore, the rising Auriga in the same general direction is also home of three interesting clusters that are among the most beautiful in the Northern Hemisphere. That's what I call half an hour well spent!

Thanks, juri! I have more BPAL reviews coming sometime soon!

Hair: My hair pampering has worked better than I wanted it to. I was yesterday in Helsinki, and bought honey shampoo & conditioner from Body Shop. When I came home, I washed my hair with them, and even remembered to oil the ends once my hair had dried.
      Result: My hair was slippery before, thanks to the deep treatment. Now it's IMPOSSIBLY slippery. Silk has more texture than my hair now. Even my trusty elastics slip out of it, and Amish pins are completely hopeless. On the bright side, T loves it. And obviously a few drops of sulfate poo and condish were just what my hair wanted...but AAAARGH! I'm just about to lose my nerve! Not much styling choices: up in a bun with a sturdy hairnet and very carefully placed Amish pins, and since the result isn't too pretty, I've wrapped a dark blue scarf (bought from Helsinki because there weren't any hairtoys...) in a bun style around my head. I must redo this style every two hours (or less if I move). But I haven't come up with any options that would have more hope than my current style. My hair wants to spit things out of it.

Health: I and T decided that since December is a very festive season in our family from beginning to end, we should just put in effect one of our long term plans and start partial fast. So we agreed that from this day on, until November 31st, we eat light meals only, abstain completely of red meat and reserve chicken for weekends only. On weekdays, it's fish and vegetarian meals (which do not enclude creamy sauces and lots of cheese).
     This will do good for us, I know. And it will be just the kind of motivation and challenge I need in kitchen- to prepare interesting, tasty meals from limited ingredients. I'll keep you posted of how it goes.

A little slow here - but I'll add my congrats for your highest honors on your paper.  I'm sure you can handle the accolades and not let it go to your head ---- too much!   

You mentioned T's slippers - last year when I knit/felted a million pair of slippers, I used a fabric paint to make them non-slip.  The shiny and slightly raised paint worked fantastic and is not overly expensive.  I've used it on slippers for children and the elderly and all report it has worked effectively.  I've even used the paint on mittens and gloves that I knit so that they are less slippery on the steering wheel when driving.  A small bottle of the paint would cost about $1 and would do 6 pair of slippers.  Just thought I'd throw that in just in case you have trouble with the Jiffy Grip.

The felted slipper pattern  is pretty easy.  If you are interested in it and can't find a source for the pattern, let me know - I can probably work something out.

Sounds like you are enjoying the exchange rate with the US with your shopping sprees!  Enjoy!