Wednesday, September 30, 2020

The Music

 I bought a guitar. 

This is actually the first guitar I have owned, but not the first time that I've tried to learn to play. My dad plays guitar, and some of my fondest childhood memories are of singing along with his playing. So the first time I tried to learn guitar was in my youth. 

I never got very far. I always thought my hands were too small for my dad's guitar. I've since come around the idea that maybe if I practice putting my fingers in those positions, I'll get better at it. 

The second guitar that I put some real practice into belonged to my ex-husband. Well, technically, it belonged to his father. Neither of them, as far as I know, actually plays. I mean, maybe my ex does now, I haven't heard from him in over a decade by now. I tried to buy that guitar off of him. It was a sweet little classical guitar, and I offered to buy it off him, but he refused. 

I suppose I can't blame him for wanting to hold onto something of his dad's, considering the way his dad pretty much abandoned him, his mom and his sister in favor of a new family. But I really wish I had been able to keep that guitar. 

I hadn't played one in years, but after spending some evenings at the Big Creek Lodge this summer, where the innkeepers would have an informal jam session, with playing and singing, I got the urge. I still have a flute, though I haven't played that in quite some time, but it isn't the same. I want to be able to sing along while I play. Plus, the flute is very loud, and I live in an apartment building. 

The guitar is pretty loud, I suppose, but it doesn't feel as loud as the flute. And it's definitely less shrill in tone. I'm inspired by a guy named Chuck, who played along with the innkeepers even though he's still learning and makes mistakes. He reminded me that it's all about practice if you want to get better, and they all reminded me that it's okay to make mistakes while playing. 

So, I'm going to practice. I'm going to play - not just play music, but play. And I'm going to have fun. 




Wednesday, September 23, 2020

No Poo Update

 When something is a part of your life, every day for decades, it feels very different when you stop doing it. Even something as small as shampooing my hair every day has left a bit of a void where it used to be. I'm still marveling that my hair isn't falling out or a mass of grease. It's doing... fine. 

Now, I did have a headache last weekend. A long, drawn out one that wouldn't quit until Monday morning. Boo. 

BUT I don't think it was hair related. Period related, likely. Maybe bowel related. 

I didn't cave and wash my hair though. I persevered and the headache was gone on Monday morning (just in time for work, oh joy). 

When I saw my hair stylist for a cut, I told her about my decision to stop shampooing. She was all for using less product, but a bit leery of me never shampooing again. I agreed to do it on occasion, but I plan to only do it if I use hair product and need to clean it out. I do some girly things, but hair products ain't one of them. I own a few, and use them MAYBE 5 times a year. 

My boar bristle brush arrived. I really don't need to brush my hair since it is super short, but the scritchy bristles feel so nice on my scalp that I do it anyway. Less hair brushing, more ... petting? Sure, I'll take that. 

Last week, I was using baking soda almost every day. I decided to curtail that, because I don't want to be using it every day or even every other day. I don't want to depend on it. Plus, I don't have a baking soda dispenser for my shower, so I keep forgetting to get it before I get wet. It's hard to handle baking soda once your hands are wet. 

I know that correlation isn't causation, but I have noticed that my body seems to be running hotter since I stopped shampooing. And I've lost weight, but that's something I've been working on all year. With two less steps in my shower routine (shampoo and conditioner), I think my showers have been a little faster. Not much faster because I am the kind of person who enjoys just standing in a hot shower, but a little. 

Overall, the experiment is going well. I wasn't sure that I would make my minimum goal of six weeks when I started, but now that I've got more than four under my hat, so to speak, I think I'll make it just fine. When I feel the need to wash the hair, I'll use my husband's shampoo, but I don't think that will be happening all that often. 

And on the plus side, I've been waking up with some awfully cute bed head. 



Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Passing It On

Last weekend, I took someone backpacking. It wasn't their first trip, but the actual first one was not the best experience, and put them off of backpacking a bit. This wasn't the first time that I'd gone backpacking with someone other than my husband, but it was the first time that I was taking someone out for a good "first" experience. 

I took them to the same place that Ambrose took me for my first backpacking trip, Skillern Hot Springs outside of Fairfield, ID. It has a lot of advantages for a first trip. The hike out is short, but includes some challenges, like stream crossings and climbs. The trail is open to motorcycles, so it is very well maintained, especially between the parking lot and the hot springs. Oh yes, did I mention the hot springs? 

The trip was great. I've definitely changed that person's idea of what a backpacking trip can be. I learned that I can lead a trip without Ambrose to back me up or advise me. And I got to enjoy a hot spring that holds a special place in my own backpacking history. 

I was nervous about going on this trip way back when I first suggested doing it back in May or April. I'm fine backpacking with Ambrose, and I adjusted to hiking with other backpackers and even their dogs. I don't have any issues backpacking by myself. But taking someone else, someone who had only backpacked once before and had a negative experience... That was a bit of pressure. 

On the one hand, I felt confident that this trip was the right "first" trip for this person. On the other hand, maybe the exigencies of the first trip weren't the only reason it wasn't a good experience. Backpacking isn't for everyone, after all. 

As luck would have it, I've been extremely busy at work. I'm not only lacking in boredom, I'm actively busy for the majority of the day due to a software implementation. And that means that I had absolutely no spare energy left for worrying about the trip. I didn't worry about whether I could actually lead a newbie out on a trip and make it a good one. I didn't worry about anything. 

When the time came to actually go on the trip, I just experienced it. I didn't compare it to a worried expectation. I was myself, and I experienced. 

While I'm not sure I could take someone out for a first trip if I didn't consider them a friend, I know now that I can take a friend out. And I know just how rewarding it can be to introduce someone to backpacking in a positive way. 

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

A Collection of Omelets

 I've got way more work at work than I can fit into my days, so please enjoy this collection of omelets. 

This cute little omelet pan made most of the omelets pictured below. It's a joy to use.
Three cheese omelet smothered in guacamole.


Morel omelet for Ambrose.

Sausage omelet with cheese and guacamole.

Bacon topped omelet!

I use a lot of guac it turns out.
And yet more guac ;)


Pico de gallo omelet. 


Wednesday, September 2, 2020

No Poo!

 I have joined a movement. Though I didn't realize that's what I was doing when I made the decision to stop shampooing my hair. 

It wasn't a decision that I made lightly; I have, for years, known that when I go too long between shampoos, I get a headache. Not a little headache, a big, draining, all-consuming headache that WILL NOT go away until I shampoo my hair (and I usually need a good night's sleep in addition to that before it totally goes away). 

Last week, I was on vacation. I washed my hair on Monday evening, but then I didn't have another chance to shower until Thursday. And I thought, I should try just rinsing my hair with water and see if I can defer the headache. Why not? I'm on vacation - worst case scenario is I start getting a headache and cave into the need to shampoo.

I made it through Thursday and Friday and Saturday without getting a headache. I showered each day and combed my hair in the shower to try to get any dirt out. On Sunday, I decided to do a baking soda wash, which I'd read was a substitute that "no poo" people use. 

No Poo is the name of the movement. I didn't make it up, I swear. There's a website and everything! 

It's been over a week now. I'm trying to give the whole experiment at least 6 weeks, to give my hair plenty of time to decide how to behave without shampoo after decades of near-daily shampooing and conditioning. My hair doesn't smell bad, though it does smell like hair. No dandruff or dirt build up or oil build up yet. More important - no headache yet. 

I'm glad that my hair is as short as it is, since I've read that folks with longer hair can have a harder time doing this. But I think I need a haircut anyway - the big question on my mind is: what will my stylist think??

The biggest reason for stopping the shampoo is that it clearly has physical effects on me. I know that shampoo is safe enough to be sold as a consumer product, but that doesn't mean that my particular body likes those chemicals to be applied constantly. If I can get "addicted" to shampoo, if shampoo withdrawal causes real and consistent symptoms, then I want to see what happens when I quit that addiction. 

And there might be a smidge of me thumbing my nose at the systems of the world. Next up: bra burning ;)