Vacation, Interrupted

And, I never did finish posting the photos from the cruise my sister and I took in 2014.  We started and ended in Holland, and visited various spots in Ireland, Scotland, and Norway along the way.  Here are some photos from the day we spent visiting archaeological sites in Orkney, where it rained sideways much of the time.  The prehistoric village we saw at Skara Brae had been built with underground tunnels between the houses; if the weather when the village was constructed was anything like the weather the day we were there (in August!), those tunnels were for survival, not just comfort.  That particular day finished off the waterproofing on my raincoat and ruined my black ballet flats.  I should have taken along my waterproof hiking boots and left all my other shoes at home.  At least I did remember to pack a hat, gloves, and an umbrella.

"You can come to Orkney knowing that you want to visit Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, St Magnus Cathedral and the Italian Chapel. You can plan to go bird-watching, follow the Craft Trail or visit the smaller islands, but Orkney will still take you unawares." ~Patricia Long, https://www.aboutorkney.com/

This shoe trend is somebody's joke, right? RIGHT??

While fine-tuning my wardrobe the last couple of years, I've been following style bloggers and YouTubers who specialize in advice on slow fashion, capsule wardrobes, and minimalism - but I've also been inundated with email newsletters from several fashion-forward publications. Some of the latest trends espoused by these experts has baffled me. Case in point: supposedly "everyone" in New York is wearing white shoes this spring.

When I was growing up in the Midwest, my mother's friends broke out their white sandals at Easter (the daring among them) or Memorial Day (the more conservative), and put them away again after Labor Day. BUT ... these were women who basically never walked anywhere. They drove, in cars their husbands washed religiously every weekend. Their white shoes stayed white.

New York, however, is a whole different biosphere. When I lived there, I never wore a pair of open-toed shoes in public, let alone flip-flops or strappy sandals, because the streets and the subway stations were filthy, and I rarely took mass transit without being stepped on at least once by a fellow traveler. Had I ever worn white shoes, they would have remained white for roughly a nanosecond after I exited my apartment.

Who are these courageous fashion pioneers braving the big city's soot and klutzy inhabitants in their pristine footwear? Do they carry shoe polish in their purses? Do they have a shoe repair artist on retainer? Are they being sponsored by shoe companies who instantly replace damaged sandals that might mar their Instagram posts? Inquiring minds want to know.

Yes, I do own a pair of white sandals myself. In the greater Phoenix area, where I travel everywhere by car, and no one has stepped on my feet in years. The whole white-shoes-in-New-York thing is really some fashonistas' elaborate joke, right????

"They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God, all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes." ~Imelda Marcos

The Rug Wizards

When my sister Sue and I took a cruise around the Greek Isles, we spent one day in Turkey, where we visited a carpet store and bought several gorgeous handcrafted Turkish rugs.  The proprietor warned us never to use chemical cleaners or detergents on them, since those would over time deteriorate the fibers and possibly cause the natural dyes to run.  His suggestion was spot-cleaning with soap and water only.

Detail from living room rug

Well, spot cleaning only goes so far, especially since my cat Charlie loves napping on both my Turkish rugs and has oily fur that eventually leaves black blots on them.  When I first decided the rugs needed a full-out cleaning, I was reluctant to try it myself for fear of ruining their lovely texture.  My small yellow-and-blue rug, in particular, feels like silk even though it's actually cotton, and I didn't want to risk messing that up.

After a little research (thank you, Internet!), I found the only place in the greater Phoenix metro area with a professional Oriental rug-cleaning expert - McFarland's Carpet Service in downtown Phoenix.  Their prices, based on the size of rug and type of fiber, are very reasonable, and the results are outstanding.  I just had my two Turkish rugs and a round wool area rug from India cleaned by them for the second time, and the Turkish rugs in particular look absolutely new again.

I've read that millennials don't like Oriental rugs because they are too dark and fusty, but my rugs are light and bright and beautiful, and I will continue to count on McFarland's to keep them that way.

"All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage.  Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them." ~Erma Bombeck

of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/carpet

All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them. Erma Bombeck
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/carpet

All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them. Erma Bombeck
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/carpet

Breathing Not So Deeply

Today I had my first lesson with my new singing teacher.  I found her through the National Association of Teachers of Singing.  I chose her in part because, among other things, she has lectured on the health and care of the singing voice at the university level, and I wanted a teacher who could help me sing despite and through my asthma issues.

When my asthma is really bad, taking a deep breath sets off a coughing spell.  In the past, I have been told to fill up with as much air as possible before singing.  Unfortunately, filling up with as much air as possible sometimes precludes singing at all, so I was thrilled when my new teacher explained that she teaches the bel canto style of singing, in which the goal is only to take as much breath as you need to get through the next phrase of the music.  She spent much of the lesson telling me not to consciously breathe in before the next exercise.

This will take some getting used to, as will the facial expressions needed to sing pure Italian vowels. I guess I will spend the next week practicing singing in front of a mirror and trying not to crack up at the fish face that goes with "oooo."

"...the overall concept of bel canto started ... with a consensus among opera enthusiasts that there was nothing more ravishing than a beautiful voice singing a beautiful melodic line beautifully ...." ~Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times, Nov. 28, 2008

Normal Eating

For most of my adult life I lived alone, and during that time my weight was stable.  I ate when I was hungry; only what I was hungry for; and stopped when I was full.  I didn't have to think about it - that was my natural eating pattern.  Sometimes I skipped meals if I wasn't hungry.  During grad school (which I attended during the evening) I snacked on crackers, cheese, dried fruit and dark chocolate during classes rather than sitting down to a real meal.  I suspect most dieticians would have viewed the contents of my refrigerator with shock and dismay.  Still, I was generally healthy and a healthy size.

That all changed after I met my late husband Tom.  Turns out I'm a social eater - when I eat with others, I eat more, more often, and more calorie-laden foods than when I eat alone.  When we married, we started eating a solid dinner every night, whether I was hungry for it or not, and that started a cycle of weight gain and loss that continued for the next 20 years.

So now I am back at my "normal" weight and trying to stay there, but I am out of the habit of listening to my body - and although we don't live together, I frequently eat with Lee, and some of that "social eating" stuff can creep back in.  I am trying to get back to my original ingrained eating habits by turning to a new virtual friend.

Jenn Hand is a food coach and founder of the Normal Eater's Club.  Her mission is to help people feel good about their bodies and learn to eat without fear.  Her blogs, videos, and podcasts discuss how to replace comfort eating with other habits, how to stop binging, and why you should work toward accepting yourself regardless of your body's size or shape.  She doesn't believe in dieting or other types of food restriction because she's been there, done that, and long term it didn't work.  On the days when "just a few chips" turn into half a bag, I re-listen to a podcast where she reminds me that one episode of overeating won't cause me to to gain 10 pounds.  Before I go to a party, I re-read the blog post about avoiding extra food there.  She reminds me constantly to listen to my body, and not to worry if it REALLY, REALLY wanted those chips - because it won't want them all day, every day.

I've always had a few control issues, so the whole idea of letting go and not tracking calories or points or macronutrients is pretty scary -  but I didn't do that for all of my 20s and 30s, so why do it now?   To be continued.

"Food doesn't have to rule your life." ~jennhand.com