What To Do With A 76" x 38" Scarf

Over the years watching videos on how to tie a scarf I have never found a way that suits me.  Basically I just do not like anything around my neck so I just admire others in their scarves and leave it at that.  When one of my best friends showed up at the Mall in a scarf tied to wear as a vest and or a dress I HAD TO try it.  And I love it only it is NOT editorial.

Maybe it is because I take my own photos with a tripod, a small point and shoot Canon and know nothing about how to use lenses or lighting that has something to do with it as well.  Yet I hear two different sides to that story.  One is to get yourself a good camera and learn how to use it before you embarrass yourself posting pics.  The second story is it's not about the camera it s about getting experience taking photos.

My story is my outfits are not EDITORIAL!!  Do not judge by these pictures how this translates in real life.  If you have a scarf 76" x 38" or close to those dimensions and want to try it let me know.  I can easily email the instructions on how to tie it.  Believe me it is FUN!!

Will Power-How To Get Some

It's Friday and 100 degrees.  I love the sun and enjoy hot temps.  I am such a baby when it gets cold and whine and complain willingly so when it is hot......I just smile and enjoy the ride knowing it passes within a day or two in this town.  I do not like air-conditioning so I wet a towel with cold water to wrap around my neck and I'm good.  It does seem to zap my energy but since I have  not had work and ballet classes are few in August my routine has just naturally slowed to enjoy the lazy days of summer while maintaining an exercise program that will keep my muscles from turning to mush.

Today I did get the call to come back to work next week which means I will have an income to pay for ballet classes and will return to my regular scheduled  programming.

These are my training wheels.  An old pair of soft shoes to wear at home to remind myself temporarily cutting back on training only exacerbates the problems when once again training seriously.  The ageing athlete needs consistency.  I do not see ballet dancers in class even close to my age and could be the dedication it takes just to get to class.  I recently read about the issue is not ageing so much as it is failing to adequately and appropriately change our life style and training regimen as we get older.  It is definitely a relationship that has to be tended to with love and will power.

Many people ask me why I spend so much time and energy not to mention dollars it takes for ballet classes?  Uh, because it's fun for me to challenge myself to improve at impossible odds.  A recent study about "will power" showed people who work on their posture improved control in all areas of their lives.  Because of my ballet training plus teaching yoga for 25 years I think working on my posture has improved my will power.  Yes if you could sell "will power" this would be the poster child.

Google photo Good Posture

What Is Style?

Starting week four with no work projects.  This is the longest I can remember going without work.  Each time I tell myself it is never worth the fret I put myself through  because everything always works out.  Yet each and every time it feels like a different situation.  Now once again my mind wants to go into worry mode even when I remind myself I am just making up stories.  Learning from past experiences is not helpful when one never knows anything for sure!!!

This absolutely exquisite yet apprehensive summer time vacation allows me to work on myself.  Just watching my thoughts is a huge learning experience.  Last night I started reading, "All We Know" by Lisa Cohen.  "What is style" is a question she asks Marguerite Young an American author.

Google photo Marguerite Young 1908 - 1995

She replied:  Style is "thinking".  A riddle of unconscious excitement and conscious choices style is a way to fascinate oneself and others ----and to transform oneself and the world.

 Style is an attempt to make the ordinary and the tragic moments bearable.

Style is a didactic impulse that aspires to banish doubt, a form of certainty about everything illusive and uncertain.  Style is at once fleeting and lasting and it has everything to do with excess---even when its excesses are those of austerity or self-denial. It tells all kinds of stories about the public and the private life.

 As a form of pleasure for oneself and an audience-----and an expression of the wish to exceed and confound expectations to be exceptional. Style is a response to the terror of invisibility and isolation----a wish for inclusion.

Above all style is a productive act that although it concerns itself with the creations and experiences of brilliant surfaces is powerful because it unsettles what we think we know about the superficial and the profound.

I can relate perfectly with all Marguerite Young had to say about style.  For me I would say it is about "feeling".  As soon as I look in the mirror I can feel if it is what I want to say at the time.  I would love to hear any and all thoughts you have about style.  Do you think it speaks louder than words? 

Positive

"We're going to be positive, positive, positive".  That is a line from one of my favorite movies about relationships called "Knocked Up".  She admits she had to drink 3 Red Bulls to feel that way but I have only had to drink 1 can of Starbucks Double Shot.    This is my third week of not having any work with none in sight meaning no income.

Don't even try calling for Unemployment.  I used to be able to process a claim online but now no matter what option I choose and there is about 7 of them I get to a screen that tells me I have to contact my UE claims representative.  When I call the number it takes me through a no less than 5 minute recording about various UE issues and then......and only then says. "Due to a high volume of calls you may want to call back later."  I venture to say that recording stays on 24/7.  If you do not hang up the recording takes you through a series of so many questions that needs me to key in a number on my little digi cell phone that if the number does not register it says, "call ended" and you have to start the whole process all over again.  Yes this fun loving, look on the bright side, be positive ME turns into a livid raving maniac!!!!!  I decided to go to the UE office.  There is none.  All is done online or over the phone.

Back to being positive......my unpaid vacation is glorious.  I am basking in the sun,  reading in the shade, walking walking, walking, and taking some ballet classes.  All of my favorite things.  I just finished reading "Encounters: a memoir"by Dorothy Norman.

I

I enjoy her style of writing because it is personal and did not seem contrived.  I learned a great deal about history, art, and all of her many famous encounters in the 1930's, 40's and 50's.  Turn on the news today and CNN is discussing the exact same issues in the exact same way as they were back then during the Great Depression.  Different era.....same party's, same discourse.

Back to positive.....A gentleman approached me in the grocery store the other day, and introduced himself.   I remembered a part I had read in this book.  "Whatever fills you with delight, or wonder, or love, or awe is wonderful.  The event that counts,  a person, a bird, a flower,  produces a wonderful response and when it happens it is good in a way that needs no explaining."

When You've Got It Flaunt It

My favorite thing is not going to museums or arts and crafts fairs.  I would much rather see the artist in the act of creation.  No matter if your element is sculpture in wood or metal or glass, make quilts, paint in oils, I am fascinated in watching how you go about the process.

So you can imagine my favorite television show of all time is Project Runway.  Already my favorites for this season are Ven and Dmitry.  I am in awe of everyone who competes on that show.   And Tim Gunn is perfect in his role of mentor.  He tells one of the contestants "Get into a nice calm zone and work work work work."  That would be good advice for all of us when we have to do some house cleaning or any chore that we keep putting off.

One of my ballet friends needs to audition for PR. She showed me pictures of a dress she made for a Circus theme party all out of popcorn bags.

Cmon'......anyone who can make an outfit out of these has to at least try out for the show.

One of the highlights is when the contestants show what they have created and Heidi exclaims, "I would totally wear that!!!"  It always brings to mind how many times she has appeared on Fashion Police and not in a good way.

Why do I think if I had all the money in the world and access to choose any outfit I wanted I would never get it wrong!!  And yes, I also like contestants who are full of themselves too!  GO VEN!!!!  GO DMITRY!!!!
 

Image Matters

On my way home from my Wednesday morning walk I pass by a news stand.  USA Today had a photo of Michael Phelps with a huge caption that read "THE GREATEST".

Google photo Michael Phelps

Okay........I guess.  After losing one event, not even qualifying for another one, losing a third,  finally his team mates give him a win and a medal.  Technically the greatest but actually the most decorated.  I don't know why just does not impress me much.

Watching the Olympics is much better than watching our Presidential race. In this era of mega media image is everything.  It seems people are in search of a father figure to help them cling to their cell phones and credit cards so the stylists have Romney all decked out to look like Father Knows Best.

Google photo Father Knows Best

Google photo Governor Romney

"I'm gonna' fix the economy", he says from the scripts written for him.  He does look like the fictionary daddy we grew up with on TV.  It could work.

Then we have President Obama that looks more like "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?"  He is called a rock star and he is much more like the  leading man who gets the girl rather than the stodgy old father figure.

Google photo President Obama

Speaking of THE GREATEST.  It is no secret who gets my vote.  Today I am celebrating another day of vacation with the sun on my toes, ballet class tonight and wonder if there is somewhere I should volunteer my services?  Maybe I will quietly focus on hoping we don't go back to the 1950's.  Seriously!!!

Google photos 1950

                                                                    

Fear In The Sun

Each morning I awake to overcast skies and a chill in the air.  HELLO....where is our summer?  Actually I am thankful because I don't have to rush to get on my river walk for fear of getting too hot to enjoy my exercise.  For the past few weeks I  wake up naturally, prepare my salads for the day, sip a cup of vanilla creme brule' flavored coffee with two teaspoons of coffeemate and enjoy the view from my glass sliding doors.  I'm dressed in my leotard, cami, tee shirt and long sleeved sweater with hood hoping the air is not going to be too chilly.

When I get down on the river the Oregon uniform year round rain or shine looks like this.

Google photo of hiker with sunglasses and hat

Yes being wired means you are "with it"  about your exercise.  The other look is dark glasses with a straw hat and that look is more about I am "with it too" by having listened to all the ads and following my doctors advice and all my friends doctors advice that protecting myself from the sun means I am smart. Unless you are the young running athletes and they have the latest dark glasses that now is more of a fashion statement than neon colored shoes.  I don't know what is more blinding to them, the color of their running shoes or the sun behind the clouds.

My opinions are always experiential unless otherwise stated.  From a very young age I decided I did not like looking at my world through dark glasses.  I want to see the true colors in nature for one thing.  Why would I want everything to look like shades of grey or brown?   Also when young I ran across a book extolling the health benefits received by the sun with some scientific studies believing the nutrients of the rays enter the body through the iris of the eyes as well as the skin.  That confirmed my innate wisdom for me it would be just fine to enjoy my sunshine.  But why do I stick out more and more these days like I didn't get the memo?

Follow the money.  Now the fear of the sun is rampant.  Billions of dollars in advertising spurred on by the American Academy of Dermatology go into big pharma sun screen products, every high fashion designer has their logo all over the sun glasses industry and I am sure the sports industry will be setting up studies that prove every athlete no matter what sport will have to wear sun glasses indoors and out to have an edge up on their opponent and then of course the hats have to be included for the total package.

If anyone is interested in checking out studies on the benefits of the sun for personal health all one needs to do is Google about it.  But most are satisfied to go along with the crowd.  If one percent of the population are like me and enjoy the feel of the sun and find it to be healthy and one percent feel the sun as evil to their well being  what are the other 98 percent doing?  AHA.....the power of advertising.