Wednesday, and a window full of clouds. Today's high is supposed to be in the low 70s Farenheit: quite pleasant again, though less sunny than yesterday. There's maybe a drop of rain in the forecast for the day, which would not go amiss. I'm eager to see my seeds start up: Mexican sunflowers, zinnia and cosmos seeds saved from last year (though if these don't come up, I can just go buy more packets), and now the basil that I planted yesterday. It's probably a little cool for basil to start, but one never knows. Better too early than too late, I think, as a general rule --- let things get good and established before the summer heat kicks in, and the long rainless days.
Nothing of note on today, I don't think. I jumped on the trampoline for a minute or two first thing this morning to get my blood going and will probably do more of the same at intervals throughout the day. It does feel good to get up from sitting and move vigorously like that, and I hope it's making my feet and ankles stronger. As many times now as my ankle has given way when I was wearing my Birk Papillio wedges . . . really, I want that kind of thing not to happen. I also do calf raises (up and down on the balls of my feet, basically, holding the up position for a few long seconds before letting myself down) to strengthen my lower legs and feet.
So there's the exercise part of my daily flow, and also the writing part . . . I need to transfigure an old essay on Rupert Brooke to put up for next week. And I'm trying to do form exercises, even if they don't turn into whole poems, at a rate of at least a couple a week. Mostly these exercises assume the shape of some kind of meter, without rhyme, though I have tried out some rhyming forms: ottava rima, rime royale, etc. I seem to like interlocking stanzas currently, too, where for example the rhyme of the final couplet in either of those forms becomes the opening rhyme for the following stanza (and then I have to tie it off somehow at the end).
I'd like to get back to some fiction writing, but poems are what I'm doing right now. Still reading about Emily and Charles (Dickinson & Darwin), still picking up and putting down various poets: A.R. Ammons, for example, whom I've always known of but never really read so that I remember what I've read.
Wearing today (headless shot because my wet hair adds nothing to the effect of this outfit):
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Leila dress (M/L; altered by me) in Chocolate Brown, bought December 2023
*Secondhand Brooks Brothers pink merino cardigan, bought November 2023
*Xero Jessie sandals, bought sometime last spring --- March '23, I think.
Back to a dress today, after yesterday's successful adventure in linen wide-leg trousers. And I'm enjoying my minimalist sandals, which I haven't worn much this year if at all so far.
Off to do those things that must be done.
PS: I also see, consulting my photo album, that the last time I wore this dress was April 9, about two weeks ago. That's not a bad interval, really, considering what else I have to wear --- some things do come up more frequently, but on the whole I like that kind of rota and pace, where things do get worn regularly, but not all. the. time, relentlessly.
LATER:
Dora has bitten a bee, which she regrets. I gave her a benadryl immediately, and so far her face has not swollen visibly (you can bet I'd have taken a picture if it had).
My hair has taken half the day to dry --- I guess I loaded it up with a little too much gel, when it was really sopping wet. BUT.
I did diffuse it some to speed up this drying process. And here it is fluffed at the roots and crunch-scrunched. So far I've resisted the impulse to comb it out. I gotta say . . . this is pretty cool. I'm getting a lot more wave and curl with every wash without doing a whole lot.
In this case, it was a 2-ingredient process, very simple.
* First I washed my hair and scalp with Head & Shoulders Ba re (the Pure Clean formula).
* Then, once I'd combed my hair, I ran more water over and into it before adding probably a quarter-size glob of gel, rubbed between my hands and first slicked over my hair, then raked in with my fingers, then slicked again to get my hair to form clumps. After a couple of minutes I scrunched my hair with a bamboo slip to remove excess water, then I went my merry way. Again, I did diffuse about an hour into the drying time, to speed things up --- just hover-diffusing, nothing fancy. I bend at the waist, flip my hair over, and cup the ends gently while I diffuse, then straighten up and diffuse some more. Then I let it keep on drying until at last it felt pretty much . . . actually dry. At that point I fluffed the roots with my fingers and scrunched the gel out of the ends.
As you can see, the waves are really pretty loose. But they're nicely defined, and there's a lot of wave.
Things I think are helping:
*Clarifying every week or so (I just use plain ole cheap V05 to remove buildup, and follow it with the Head & Shoulders Bare again, for the sake of my scalp)
*Using a bond-repair treatment (Glaze) when I clarify
*Not being afraid to use larger amounts of gel on really wet hair, and resisting the urge to comb my hair out --- I do still comb it, especially on subsequent days, but just letting it be like this means that at least for the day it kind of stays like this
I do need an ends trim, though I keep putting it off, trying to let the layers grow out a little more. Right now it's such a good length for updos, and I hate to mess with that. But before the summer really gets going, I MUST.
But overall, this routine is working for me. It's simple enough that I can do it consistently, and I'm beginning to see consistent outcomes as a result of that consistency. I can diffuse more to dry my hair faster if I need to be out the door, but letting it air dry with gel in works for my normal work-at-home life.
I can get away with only two products because my hair is not terribly dry, and my shampoo is very hydrating. Sometimes I use a light leave-in conditioner, but not that often. The LUS gel, meanwhile, is the continual game-changer, the thing that makes it all work. It too is nice and hydrating, with a lovely smell that's not too strong or heavy.
So, enough hair notes, but it helps me to record these things. Note to self: TWO PRODUCTS, nothing more.
And on with things.