Hair Album

Here's the second installment from my hair photos. This is from 1986, and I'm pretty sure it was before "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," which I attended many a midnight weekend. That was when you could still throw toast and rice, and a motorcyclist drove through the theater during one of Meatloaf's scenes.

During this period, my wardrobe was black, and, as if I weren't pale enough, I put rice powder on my face for added effect.

My new favorite thing

Oatmeal with goji berries & rose hips! I have been addicted to this in the past week, and it's so much more filling than cold cereal.

Neighbor Cristine & I had another free class at Apothecary Tinctura, and the instructor gave us the recipe, though I've modified it to fit my own tastes.

I cook the oats in soymilk, then add the goji berries and rose hips near the end of cooking.

When it's finished, I sprinkle on ground flaxseed, cinnamon and Lavender Violet Vanilla Bean Sugar from my & Michael's favorite Denver shop, Savory Spice. If you ever visit us, we will take you there. No one understands why we are so high on a spice shop until they experience it for themselves.

Oh, and sometimes I add walnuts for extra protein and antioxidants.

Yum!!!!!

More new furniture

Well, not new so much as reupholstered. Since we got our dining table & chairs last fall, we have wanted to change out the seats. Sheer laziness is all that prevented it. I figured I'd stumble across some funky fabric at a thrift store, but I found this last week at a fabric shop that specializes in heavier fabric for furniture and drapes. Michael wants me to make "insulating quilts" for our old, creaky windows this winter, so I stopped in to check out the selection. Found this diamond-patterned fabric on the sale shelf. I had envisioned more turquoise, but at $6.99 a yard, I couldn't resist!

Memory lane

While my sister-in-law and I were exploring her Vancouver, Wash., neighborhood earlier this month, we came across a shop that sells pretty much nothing but sodas. I didn't find any Kentucky-made Ale-8-1, but it did sell Pop Shoppe products, which I hadn't seen since I was a kid. Back then, there was an entire store of nothing but their products, and you'd fill up a crate with various flavors, then return the empty bottles when you went for a new supply.

This shop had only a few flavors. I couldn't resist the frighteningly non-naturally colored red cream soda and got Michael a lime. The cream soda seemed to be as good as I remembered but was way too sweet. I'm sure it was just as sweet in the '70s, but seeing as how I lived on junk food back then, it was right up my alley at the time.

Spam -- a lot!

This cake made an appearance in the office today. I took my camera to work because yesterday there had been a suit of armor for a photo shoot, and I was hoping to snap a pic of it. No knight, but this cool cake instead (luckily not made of actual Spam). It even had an icing bar code.

2-year-old fashionista

There was no shortness of cute kids during our visit to Portland. Surely one of the most fashionable was Lucy (with a personality to match). Her mom bought this cute cap in a DIY shop across from our breakfast spot. (And why, oh, why is there a weird white line on my forehead in this pic?)

We're back

Michael and I returned last night from Portland. We were happy to be reunited with the dogs, but it was much too short of a trip. We got in lots of QT with our cutie niece, Rebecca, above, and visited with family and friends. A fun, relaxing trip with some requisite Trader Joe's/Columbia Sportswear outlet shopping thrown in. Today it's back to the grind. Sigh.

My Hair Album

It's no longer in actual album form, but I still have lots of "hair" photos from the years in one place and decided it was time to start sharing them. The scanner hasn't seen the light of day in years, but I realized I can take photos of photos and post those.

According to the date stamp on the back, this one's from 1987, which means I was 20 or 21.

LOTS more where this one came from. Actually, this is one of the less embarrassing ones, and I have to say, I rather like the 'do. Bleach-blonde was fun but lots of work. But whatever you do, kids, don't ever lighten your eyebrows! Dark roots and lightened eyebrows don't mix. Luckily I don't think I have any photos of that short-lived (until they grew out normal) experiment.

Thrift score

Among my latest thrift-store finds:

I "splurged" this time, because I found two pairs of cowboy boots in my size (a rarity), and there were no color-of-the-day tag sales, so everything was "full" price. Texas brand boots (left), $19.99; and Code West boots, broken in, just the way I like them, $12.99.

I am a sucker for aprons ($1.49) and old linens (69 cents). This one is a piece of someone's handmade family quilt that I can surely find something to do with. It was too precious to pass up.
A handpainted runner for the built-in buffet ($2.49) and a Calvin Klein gray cord jacket ($5.99) so I don't have to run around in fleece all fall (a habit I picked up in Oregon).

Seriously?

So now Michael Vick apologizes for being a disgusting human being, saying, "What I did was very immature, so that means I need to grow up." I have known many immature people in my day, myself included, and to my knowledge, none of them have ever been involved in anything so revolting.

Let's just hope he is ruined professionally and financially. And it would be nice if he got lots of counseling. Abuse of animals and abuse of people often go hand in hand, so I'm betting he's been horrible to someone besides dogs. Just a guess.

On a positive note in all of this, according to Michael, now that Vick's out, former University of Oregon QB Joey Harrington takes over for the Falcons. And coached by Bobby Petrino, who had a 41-9 record in four years at the University of Louisville. He took the Cards to 12-1 last season, and they were ranked fourth in the nation in scoring (37.8 points per game) and second in total yards (484.6 yards per game).

Way better than a couch

Even more momentous than getting our couch this week was a visit by Stacy. Unfortunately, it has come and gone. She came in Sunday, like the couch, but while the sofa's still here, she breezed out of town yesterday.

We went to lots of girly shops and found Stacy some cute vintage dresses, plus a thrift-store Guayabera shirt for her husband, Andy. Went to craft night with some of my co-workers, ate lots of good food, saw Red Rocks (above) and tracked down Mork & Mindy's house in Boulder (right). Stacy was determined to find it, being a Happy Days fan and all. It still blows my mind that M&M was a spinoff of HD. I honestly don't remember that episode.

A seat of one's own

A momentous day! We finally got our new couch! First time we'd seen the couch and the fabric all together, and it looks perfect and feels even better.
BEFORE	AFTER

Teaching not-so-old dogs new tricks: Angus, left, and Esther, used to getting the run of the house (and furniture), wait attentively for "not hopping onto the first brand-new couch Angela's ever owned" treats. We'll see how long that lasts.

Thrift score

I always intend to post photos after I go thrifting but then never get around to it. After way too much time having passed since my last outing, I finally hit some shops in the past couple of weeks. Denver has lots of thrift stores, though the ones nearest us are fairly picked over, so I have to drive out a bit farther for the better ones. I usually have the best luck at Savers.

Among the recent finds, clockwise from top left:

Vintage bathing suit bag by Henry Seligman New York, complete with inner plastic liner. ($1.99)

Vintage beaded purse designed by Roger Van S, Hong Kong. ($1.99)

Hard Rock Cafe Louisville shirt, as I couldn't pass up a chance to give props to home, even though I've never been to any Hard Rock anywhere. I did have to alter the collar to make it more wearer-friendly; it had a typical T-shirt collar and was too tight. ($2.99)

I (heart) Carbs shirt. I thought I was so smart wearing it, then watched an episode of MythBusters the very same night and found one of the female assistants wearing the exact same shirt, though hers had an even better color scheme. I hate her! ($2.99)

Drinks all around

During our friend Dan's visit a few weeks ago, stops included the Kwik E Mart for Squishees and the Coors brewery in Golden for free samples. I have been less enamored with said free samples since they took away the Zima slushie machine. This time I tried a Zima pineapple. Blech. The Blue Moon Honey Moon summer ale was much better.
This sign in the window is among my favorite transformations of the 7-Eleven into the Simpsons' favorite convenience store.	And this is among my favorite signs at Coors, because I love the Bandit! "The boys are thirsty in Atlanta, and there's beer in Texarkana ..."

In the loop

I now have my own hula-hoop! Neighbor Robin made me one yesterday. It's surprisingly easy:

1. Determine the proper size of the irrigation tubing (the circle should come to about mid-waist).
2. Cut the tubing where you want it (Robin has cool ratchet shears).
3. Place one end of the tube in boiling water to soften for insertion of the coupler.
4. Insert the coupler (a step I failed to photograph).
5. Place a handful of dry beans or popcorn kernels inside for the "swoosh" effect you loved as a kid.
6. Place the other end of the tube in the boiling water and attach to the coupler.
7. Cover your creation in fun electrical tape (which I haven't done yet) and you're ready to roll!

Round and round

Our neighbor Robin made hula-hoops (irrigation tubing, coupler and tape). Last time I'd tried one as an adult, it didn't go anywhere, but I seem to have gotten the moves back. It's exhausting, but I'm guessing great for the abs.

Mascara tears

Her PTL past aside, you've gotta love Tammy Faye. And if not, check out the documentary "The Eyes of Tammy Faye." The woman was self-deprecating and nonjudgmental and showed a lot of chutzpah. And she developed a seemingly genuine friendship with porn star Ron Jeremy, her polar opposite. I don't think even I could do that.

Kicking out the jams

As we do with most of our visitors, we took a recent trip to nearby Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Our friend Dan came to see us after a family reunion in Utah. While at Red Rocks, Michael decided to try out an interactive exhibit and jammed with some kids. Behind him is a photo of one of the earliest performances at Red Rocks.

Colorado sunset

Playing a bit of catch-up. This is looking out of the window of the rooftop patio of the Buckhorn Exchange, billed as Denver's historic steakhouse. Mom wanted to eat like the Denverites do, so we took her there during her visit last month. She had elk and buffalo. Michael had baby-back ribs. The only "meat" on the menu that I probably would ever order was the salmon, though it didn't appeal to me that particular day, so I had a baked potato and salad. I have to say, they have fantastic ranch dressing, buttermilky just like I like it.

Arrested development

Mom and I were transported to the '80s last week when we saw The Police's reunion tour at the Pepsi Center. They did all the hits and then some (lots of great songs I'd forgotten all about) and had a blast. We had the chump seats behind the stage, but they turned out not to be too bad at all since we were actually closer to the stage than people facing the stage at the far end. The band (including my favorite, Stewart Copeland, who's now a silver fox, yow!) approached the back of the stage at times, and the big screens helped. You can see there was one pretty much directly in front of us.

I have to say, I was skeptical about seeing Sting. He's gotten a bit too New Age-y for me in the past few years, and I just expected him to be a big beefcake tantric lunkhead. I was pleasantly surprised, though, to see he is quite the hottie (Mom has never disagreed on this point) and has aged very nicely. He also didn't seem to take himself too seriously, which I had feared.

Andy Summers seemed to be the most serious of the bunch and not enjoying himself much. Mom and I noticed "GOD" on his guitar strap and thought maybe he'd become born again and was just humoring the other guys by heading out on tour with them. We were happy when we got a closer look and saw that it actually was an "Oh, my GOD, they killed Kenny" guitar strap from "South Park." So apparently he has a sense of humour after all.