Haircuts, Mammograms, Books and Classic Southern Pound Cake

A catch up....

I've always, always loved Helen Mirren's beautiful hair.

While men might not find the news riveting, any female knows hair changes are worth reporting - I cut six inches off the back of my hair, and a few off the front. Actually, I didn't cut any, but the hairdresser at Regis did. My long, grey hair fit in very well in Idaho, where things are a bit more organic. Here in DFW I was feeling like an older flower child. So I took the above photo of Helen Mirren and told the girl, "stacked bob, angled to the chin in front, leave my bangs (which shrink 50% from wet to dry) long because short bangs will kill any haircut, and three days later I'm very happy with it.

Mine, btw, only looks as good as Helen's on the day my hairdresser fixes it, but most days it looks good enough.


Over the past year or so, while caring for my mother's affairs, and living in northern Idaho for the entire winter, I had neglected to care for myself. I was months behind on seeing the dentist, and more than a year behind on my mammogram. I've only done that one time before, when life got to be too much. So yesterday I went and had a 3-D mammogram, which cost an extra $99, but is money well spent I think. It took a few hours out of my day to drive there, have the scan, and drive back. I got my results over my morning coffee. I'm always, always, always thankful to see the email saying all is okay. I know any year I could get other news and life would change forever.

Today we went to our brand new dentist, recommended by a neighbor who has lived in our town for over 20 years. It took most of the morning. The office had equipment I'd never seen, and they took so many x-rays and photos and strapped my head into something that felt like I should look down and see R2D2, to do some kind of round scan. I don't even know what all they did, but I left with my teeth having that feeling that makes you never want to eat candy again.


I'm enjoying our local library, and every few days I head over again to pick up a few more books. Driving to and from the library, across town, is a good way to learn my way around. I take a different route every time, and am finding more that looks familiar.


Tomorrow is a big day for me. I am driving myself to and from my cataract surgery two week post-op checkup. I've been seeing this cornea doctor for over three years and have never driven myself, because I never know what she might do to my eye, that would render driving iffey. Tomorrow I'm driving across DFW to her office, and back home again. I printed out an eye chart from the web, taped it to our bathroom door, and by my calculations I have 20/40 vision in my eye. It used to be 20/20 but after the cornea was trashed it was 20/200 so 20/40 is something I can live with and be very grateful for. The doctor tells me it might continue to improve over the next four weeks, at which time I can celebrate with new prescription glasses.


Cub Sweetheart and I try to take a trip all by ourselves at least once a year; sometimes we miss it, but we've been talking for awhile about where to go in 2017 or early 2018. We finally chose a bus tour of the California coast later this fall. We'll start in San Francisco, cross the Golden Gate Bridge, see the wine country, see the Redwoods, Yosemite National Park, drive down the coast a bit, and spend the last two days in Los Angeles. I've never been to any of these places, so I'm terribly excited about it all. This is a trip that will warrant taking the big camera, rather than just a phone camera. And easy peasy, no driving for either of us - just enjoy. We love time with family, and friends, but one trip every year that is just the two of us is something we make sure and do. Something to really look forward to!


You know you're a true lover of books when you hold onto the last few pages of a book, to be able to finish it all alone. Tonight in the bath I'll read the last chapter of The Chosen, by Chaim Potok. It took a few chapters to get into, but I've absolutely loved it. I understand more about Judiasm, the Palestinian state, the process of becoming a rabbi, and what ear locks are. I'm reading Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton next, then Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford next - both recommendations by my daughter, Sarah.  I get most of my read recommends from her, or from Modern Mrs. Darcy.  I follow her on Instagram, and just yesterday she recommended an author, Kathleen Grissom, who wrote Glory Over Everything and The Kitchen House, both of which were available at my local library - hurray!

I'm thinking shorter, simpler hair will leave me more time to read, which is quite okay with me.

BTW, waiting for my appointment at the mammogram office, I picked up the May issue of Southern Living. There's a recipe in there for southern pound cake that called my name, so I'm baking it for Mother's Day. A day to eat whatever you want, completely guilt free. The link to the recipe is HERE if you're interested. (I actually took home the magazine. I've started asking and they always let me take them home!).