and now for something completely irrelevant

Just for fun….

I’ve been meaning to do something about this for ages. Every morning when I smoothe on a dab of two of my daytime moisturizing lotion I think of my best friend. Maybe it was because she was two years older than i—but everyone was because I was two years ahead of myself—and she fussed about her face. The fact is I didn’t, fuss that is. I never learned what to do about mu face (until it was too late). Anyway, I had spent the night at Nancie’s place and in the morning she offered me her favourite cosmetic-no, toiletry.

“Good for your skin,” she said.

So I poured some into my hands prepared to wash my face with the contents.

“No,” she cautioned me. “Not so much. Just a few drops.” And I remind myself every morning not to use too much of my daytime lotion.

It was Dorothy Gray Orange Flower Water. Does anyone remember it? I looked it up. It was an astringent, better for you than soap and water.

“How astringents work

Astringents appear to have a cooling and/or tightening effect on the skin but the mechanism by which they work was not well understood. One suggestion is that they affect keratin, the main skin protein. Salt bonds in keratin are affected by pH and temperature and will only form if the skin is slightly acidic or cool. If the salt bonds are broken, the keratin molecules move further apart from each other and the stratum corneum swells. If the skin is cooled, the salt bonds reform producing a tightening effect on the skin.

A cooling affect on the skin can be achieve by adding materials such as alcohol that evaporates quickly; splashing cold water on the face; using an ice pack; or by applying an aromatic compound such as menthol, sage or camphor that stimulates the cold sensing nerves in the skin to constrict the surface blood vessels.” (Online info)

! I haven’t used soap on my face since I was nine years old.

Here are a few more memories; try them on for size (or age).

Ben Hur perfume. You could get it at Woolworth’s.

Chen Yu Nail polish. (“Long lasting nail lacquer with silk proteins. Anti-impact formula, rapid drying and incomparable shine. 18 tones.”

Halo shampoo. (In 1938 the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company in Jersey City, N.J., introduced Halo, the zero soap shampoo. Their slogan was "Soaping dulls hair, while Halo glorifies it." The product came with a double-your-money back guarantee.)

And here’s something I remember all by myself:

“Ipana for the smile of beauty',

Sal Hepatica for the smile of health.”

Is that too remote for you?

procrastination is the thief of time

Who said that? Writer Edward Young:

“Procrastination is the thief of time'. Have you heard this phrase before? Well, it's an old adage coined by the English writer Edward Young in his 10,000-line poem entitled: The Complaint: or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality, more simply known as Night-Thoughts.” Apr 30, 2019 (Online)

Years ago when I was fighting for my life to make a living, I used to go to various places, both private (baby-sitting dogs) and public (by application) in order to find enough uninterrupted time to write. At home I had two kids, , sometimes four, when two came home on breaks, to feed and plan for, plus a “social” life: mainly going to theatre to learn (and enjoy), and the odd dinner with friends (odd friends; remember I didn’t grow up here,no old school chums, no roots). I’m remembering this now, living with my son, as I struggle to find time to write. Is it because I procrastinate? It is.

“The saying has become proverbial, meaning that someone who continually puts things off ultimately achieves little.” YUP.

So this morning, I made bran muffins (with pecans and raisins) for Matt who was meeting a friend for coffee because I wanted to make something for them because his friend (ex-stepfather, actually) always buys. I had thought they were meeting in our Courtyard but they went out. I made extra muffins to take to a neighbour who just came home from rehab with a broken hip, and to another who is one of the sanest people I know. More muffins to come….I froze some.

Then I had to phone our Clinic because they goofed on an appointment Matt had yesterday, and I had to rebook and get it straight. Then I delivered the muffins. Then Matt came home and I made lunch( (avocado toast and homemade soup with orzo).Then I had a nap, really necessary today because the withdrawal program I’m on blind-sided me and I was very dizzy with wonky legs.

So then Matt signed us up for 30 minutes in the gym to work out a bit—we both need lots of exercise.

Then we came upstairs and I put headphones on Matt so he could watch some TV re-runs (he doesn’t read), and I could sit here and try to write a blog before we make dinner. He’s helping tonight because I’m doing a stir-fry and he’s getting pretty good at chopping veg.

Then I collapse with the news, and this week, with a re-run of a TV series I used to love: Quantum Leap, with the young Scott Bakula. Then I fall asleep with Jessica (Murder, She Wrote) and I used to put in a grocery order—very time-consuming—or write a blog. But we have found the Blue Jays again. Now that really is procrastinating.

So no blog.

And I’m trying to write a new book.

Well, you know, tomorrow is another day.