1. If you follow me on Instagram, or even just check out the images in the Instagram widget to the right, you will have seen this news already. However, given that it’s the most dramatic change I’ve made this week, I have to include my haircut in today’s Five Things:
My stylist took these Before and After shots, and yes, they probably should be reversed, but I figure there’s a pretty big clue which is which.
I only decided the morning of my appointment that I’d go short. More dramatically, at least in my mind, I also decided not to get the colour refreshed. Instead the half inch or so of grey roots are simply blending with the leftover colour. Next chop will alter the ratio considerably and will tell me whether I want to try staying grey or delay that move for awhile. I hadn’t thought I’d go there this soon, but between my stylist’s holiday and our own 7 weeks away, the colour will be tough to maintain anyway so…. We’ll see. Short is a big change, for sure!
2.in another “out with the old” move, I’ve been sorting through the huge stack of sheet music that survived the first cull when we moved here 20 some years ago. I began piano lessons when I was 5, and then after many years working toward my teaching certification, I spent many years again preparing students for performance, exams, etc. And oh my, did I have the music books to prove it! Stacks of them collecting layers of dust and holding even more layers of memory.
That Masters collection above was a gift from the teacher who came to our house each week when I was 8 or 9! And yes, it went in the Discard pile and I think that’s okay….
Frustratingly, though, the purge and re-organization did not reveal the whereabouts of a particular edition of a Bach Fugue I’ve been wanting to play again, although that’s the only place it could have been. Virtue (of clearing out, cleaning up) is apparently not always rewarded.
3. Rain. Apparently, there’s a 60% chance we’ll get some today, along with thunder and lightning. A mixed blessing, obviously, with the trees so dry and ready to flame up if that lightning hits. Crossing fingers for some relief here, especially given real concern for the returning salmon.
4. Speaking of things falling from the sky, I took advantage of a bout of insomnia Wednesday night to sit on one of these chairs and watch for shooting stars (yes, more properly but less poetically, for a meteor). It took a while for my eyes to adjust and there’s some annoying light pollution that distracts, but I saw one! Only one, but it was a splendidly brilliant swoosh, as clear an arc as if drawn in neon highlighter by a strong, decisive hand. Satisfying enough to allow me to go back to bed and sleep until 7! Did any of you under this particular section of sky check out the August thrill of the Perseids?
5. I started playing around with outfits, trying to decide what deserves to be squashed into the carry-on Rimowa that’s going to contain my wardrobe for seven weeks. Want to see a few shots? (I took zillions! I’ve never done this before when packing and it was silly fun but would have been better if I’d had s few of you here. I’d have given you a glass of Rosé and you’d have given me helpful advice. Good times!)
My new gold lamé dress showing it can play nicely with others (a tissue-weight merino tunic, Vince).
Verdict’s still out on the white jeans, but we will have laundry facilities and they look so fresh… Pretty versatile as well
And
Decisions, decisions.
That’s it for this Friday’s Five Things. It’s our last full day with our 6-year old, and I could have done a Five Things post on movies to watch with a grandchild! Or what Five Things made us belly-laugh to tears (it’s been too long since I’ve done that! Feels so good!). Or Five Fun Things for kids to do on an island. Oh, the possibilities!
As always, I’m happy to read any comments about anything I’ve written here. What are you up to this weekend? I wish you a happy one!
Love the haircut, so fresh! Enjoy your day with Nola, she goes back home with a suitcase full of wonderful memories.
This weekend we will do a short run together, take up a dinner invitation with friends, and host our own dinner on Sunday with our real estate agent – we haven't seen her since last year and she's looking forward to seeing how we have settled in to the house. I'm sure we will also bring up the suitcases and start packing for our summer holiday – next Friday we set off on a road trip to Nova Scotia. (No carry on here – I WILL be packing everything but the kitchen sink!)
I'm so looking forward to being on the coast!
Your weekends are always so busy! Glad to hear you're running again — that injury must have healed. Isn't it cool that you can now run with your husband?
Road trips are so much fun, and they do have a big advantage packing-wise! I really need to get back to the East Coast. Enjoy your time in Nova Scotia.
I really like the cut. You will have to take the time to decide on colour. I like my grey hair and the freedom but people tend to think Maman and I are sisters. (20 years difference). I just made an appointment at Curly Hair Vancouver for a cut. Sometimes a short "do" works to lighten the load a bit. Simple, fresh hair can be uplifting. In a month, my "little girl" will be 40 and we will be heading to NYC for a week probably with carryon. Take the white pants. Happy week-end
Thanks, Mme, I will have to think about the grey, as I'm not quite ready to be mistaken for 80! Then again, my little sister and I are 15 years apart, my mom and I were only 22 years, so sisters, mothers, whatever. My daughter is getting close to that big number as well, and I find that a bit shocking, remembering my own sense of turning 40. NYC for a week — what fun! And thanks for the advice on the white pants. I think they're in!
I love the new hair and the lame dress! And it's raining here today (wasn't supposed to, all the meteorologists were wrong). Rain makes me SOOOOOO miserable. I took the day off and had 8 am breakfast at Bar Raval – I'm doing Spanish breakfast, Italian lunch (Terroni) and French dinner (La Societe). It was miserable getting there and back. I actually took transport rather than walk. There wasn't a cab to be found.
Thanks! I'm missing my longer curls a bit, but it's fun to switch it up occasionally and hair does grow. . . Normally, I'd sympathize with you on the rain, but this frighteningly "good" summer here has everything upended. We have had so little rain, at best a shower or two every two or three weeks, drought conditions since early May. Unheard of here, where we're used to drought in August and September but always count on rain in the late spring. Forest fires everywhere, the mountains have been snow-free almost entirely, since perhaps March, trees dying, lawns parched, and no end in sight. But the sunshine is easy to live in otherwise. I do hope I won't be right back to complaining about the rain by the first week in November, but I suspect that will be the case.
Love your day's itinerary — that's some decent (foodie) travel. Well planned!
Love the cut!!! Looks so fresh and young..don't panic..hair always grows:) You are so slim and active the silver will no doubt look good too.. changes are nice but scary sometimes! All the best Coco
Thanks! That's exactly what I think about the cut — the hair will grow back. And I'll be away from home while the grey's growing in, which is a plus as well. (just connected you with your IG account, mimi/coco)
Will be interested to read what you decide about the short hair – I always find it more work – but mine is straight, not curly, so perhaps that's the difference. And yes, the white pants for sure.
The only thing I do with my hair, short or long, is wash or wet it in the morning and then tousle in some product and let it air-dry, so the short won't be any more work than the long. My plan is to go back to longer, but I thought this would be a good way to cut some colour off and have the roots blending in better during my long time away from a stylist. We'll see how that works. . . Another vote for the white jeans, thanks!
Love the hair and the lame dress! I happened to see it in JCrew at West Edmonton Mall last weekend. It's very light. Brenda
Thanks, Brenda. And yes, it's really light, another plus for a carry-on case (and speaking of travel, you've been getting around. . . )
I like your cut and i would encourage you to try grey…you might be surprised at how flattering it will be with your complexion…then you just need a great lip colour to set it off.
Thanks, L. I'm going to at least try it, although I can't promise I'll be colour-free for more than a few weeks. . . Especially since it will be November by then, a month when colour can be very important!
The cut is awesome, and I agree, see how gray/brown/whatever you got going on suits you, or not.
Love the white jeans, BTW, particularly with the denim jacket!
Thanks! I'd love to have a hair/complexion match like yours, but who knows?
And thanks for the thumbs-up on the white jeans — it's a safe way to double-denim 😉
Love the hair and an ideal opportunity to flirt with grey for a few weeks. And yes to the white trousers. They look great on you. Mary
That's exactly it, Mary. I'm just flirting, given the ideal window of opportunity. And another vote for the white pants — yay!
Your haircut looks great on you. I like Mary's comment about flirting with grey for a few weeks.
We were out on the water during the meteor event and although we intended to stay up, or wake up, neither of us did.
Yes to the rain. It drizzled a bit here this afternoon and the temperature has certainly cooled down.
Your outfits look stylish and versatile for your trip.
I'd rejected the idea of staying/getting up for the meteors, although I was a bit ashamed of my old-ness manifesting itself so clearly. But then the serendipity of insomnia (!!) worked for me. . .
We haven't seen any rain at all yet, and I'm guessing that bit of cloud may have blown over. . .
Speaking as someone who has always been messy, and who has pictures from a long ago foreign vacation on which I wore cream colored pants which became grubbier and grubbier, I would not take the white jeans, even tho they look wonderful. But I do find that most are not as prone to spill things, sit in puddles of goo, etc, as I have always been, so no doubt they will serve you well.
Love the hair, and what a nice graceful cut you have!
Ceci
Thanks Ceci! I know what you mean about the jeans, but I've done pretty well with them so far and with a washing machine in our rental house, and so many votes in their favour here, I think they may have won a trip to France.
You are so lucky that your hair does something wonderful, by itself, no matter what length it is!
Well, there have been times when I wish it didn't have quite such determination to do what it wants to, but I have learned to feel lucky with my hair — at least it has lots of body! Thank you!
I love your haircut! You are going to have such fun playing with it. Well, Vancouver had a very poor excuse for rain, but I have high hopes for tomorrow.
Thanks, M! So far, all we have here rain-wise is the high hopes, and it looks as if they will only be dashed today . . . Who'd have ever thought we'd be wishing for rain here on the Coast. . .
Wow! What a great cut! Here is the hidden truth: going short short when on the wise side of 50 ALWAYS makes women look younger. Long hair just makes us look rather mad. As I discovered. White jeans, white jeans, white jeans (imagine I am a cheerleader)…great with good legs and imply you are supercool and have fleet of laundresses to hand. I am now off for 10 mile walk because the rain has finally stopped here in Yorkshire. Sun! Fun! And a support bandage. Enjoy the weekend with your great new head.
Thanks Annie! Although I'm not sure I don't want to embrace my mad side, just a little . . . 😉
Hope the walk was wonderful — something I want to do one day is a long-ish walk in Yorkshire. Days, at least . . .
You look great with your new haircut! You have lots of hair so it will work good for you. I find easier to play with longer hair, there are more possibilities for me because I couln't just wash'n go with short hair and you can!
Some ladies have gorgeus white or gray hair,you'll see how it will work for you. I look like some Dickens character from a orphanage!
Five votes for white jeans,especially if you could wash. It is tricky but I always have one pair when traveling in summer.
I was in Rome couple of years ago for 1st november and it was unusually hot.
Despite light pollution I watched night sky and there were some beautiful but very distant meteor falling. It must be beautiful on some of our distant islands or in Istria.
Have a nice weekend
Dottoressa
Thanks, D. What I've liked about long hair is that I can pin it up AND wear it down, so more variety. So even though the short will be easy, I'm not sure I'll stick with it for long. We'll see. and if I look like a Dickens character from an orphanage, the grey will have to go as well ! 😉
And it's good to hear from someone else who likes white jeans when traveling. . . .I'm prepared for it to be quite warm throughout our trip, except when we're back in Paris the last few days. My (oldest) daughter and her husband swam at one of the Coast beaches not so far from Rome when they were there in October a few years ago.
Glad you got to see some falling meteors as well. Oh, the wonders of this world!
Hair – I kind of liked your long twizzly curls best , so distinctive & seem to fit the personality that comes over on your blog , but it's good to have a short cut then watch it grow & decide when to stop . I think chin length twizzles look lovely with the right cut . Be careful with the colour , I envy some with their glossy steely grey hair & the right skin colour to match but it puts years on me .
Piano – my hubby began lessons in his 40s though played lots of other instruments before then . Found it HARD & a little embarrassing queuing for the exams with all the kiddies !
Rain – Seriously heavy endless rain here in Yorkshire yesterday but today is bright sunshine & all is washed down & fresh . Hope you get some soon .
White jeans – those are a great fit on you , very flattering .
Wendy in York
Thanks, Wendy! It's nice to hear from someone who did like the long curls. Secretly, so did/do I (and so does Nola, apparently), and I hope my days of longer curls aren't over, because I do think it better expresses my personality. But this seems a worthy experiment, and we'll see. I absolutely take your point about the colour! If it doesn't work, I'm adding something for liveliness.
I admire your husband taken lessons in his 40s and taking them seriously enough that he'd do the exams as well. I'm sure it helped that he had a solid foundation through other instruments.
Very envious of your rain — our climates are similar enough that you might imagine how shocking it feels for me to write that. We're generally the ones who complain about too much rain. . .
I love the cut, but I also miss your longer curls. I believe it is flattering, but I can understand Nola's preference as well, since my first reaction was along the lines of "who's that woman on Mater's blog?". In the end, it is good to experiment, and then pick whatever makes you feel most like you. It will probably all be good for traveling, even the flirtation with gray, and you will probably know, when you return, which direction your heart is heading.
Exactly. It's good for me to experiment — to practice letting go, really, of a certain sense of self, and trying on other possibilities. We'll see where I end up, probably in a few months. I'm curious to see how the cut softens into me and I into it. . .
It really suits you – great decision! I decided to have mine chopped off 3 days before my recent wedding – it used to be below my shoulders, but my usual hairdresser screwed up and it looked awful, just when I needed to feel really confident. Disaster. However, magically the flower lady recommended her hairdresser, Vidal Sasoon trained and we agreed the only solution was to chop it off above the nape. It worked thank God, or the wedding could have been off!
I love the white jeans – I have some too, but they only come out on holiday. As you say, there is always a washing machine…
Wow! That must have been so jarring, to have a hair disaster at such an important moment. Bold of you to go with a short chop, and wonderful that it worked. New beginnings!
There's something about the white jeans and holidays, or summer at least. They look so fresh (and quite honestly, I've found that they still offer that illusion on a second day of wear, when a closer look might reveal the truth. But don't tell, 'kay?)
Great new haircut. As my hair is just straight, straight, straight and not even fake curls will stay in it for long, I envy people with curly hair. 🙂
Yes, and I've spent hours of my life trying to straighten. . . Thankfully, I'm long past that, although occasionally I'd like to have that sleekness. . .
Your haircut is a very nice shape. As for grey, well I ditched the dye some time back and have not been tempted to colour it again. The condition has improved but I do admit that grey is a shorthand for older so I find I get offered seats on the tube more often. Then again, the fact is, that I am easily the oldest in the carriage by 30 years more often than not.
We'll see what happens with my grey — so much depends on what shade it comes in as. Obviously, there's an up and a down to getting offered those seats. Perhaps most important is that we're still getting out and about, in places where we're alongside folks 30 years younger . . .