Shower Thoughts

Let me set the stage for you just a little here. Usually I do not enjoy showers. My husband loves them, and will take two and even three a day if he can manage it. Our son is just exactly like him. I, however, often I skip a day of taking one. I almost never get up and take one first thing in the morning because that would be gross. Procrastination sets in because to me, showers are just another chore. Soap in the eyes, water not a consistent temperature, getting out and drying between my toes, all those things are just a chore and not very enjoyable. Sure, I like to be clean, but the whole process of showering is just not fun. Plus, with my long hair, it takes a lot to get it washed, rinsed, combed out, and then I usually don't dry it because that would just be too high maintenance and blow dryers are hard on fine hair like mine. So showers are not usually a place of inspiration or enjoyment for me.

Today as I was going through the drudgery of the shower, I was primarily thinking about shampoo. Yes, shampoo. You see, I'm in search of a good one. As I age, I presume in part because of changing hormones, my hair is reacting differently to shampoos, and for the past six months or so I have struggled to find one that works well. I'll be frank, I refuse to even consider the ones that cost $10 or $20. I just can't afford that. Would shave my head bald if I had to in order to avoid that. With my long hair (measures at close to 30 inches) I have to use a conditioner or I will never get it combed out. And if it was like $30 or $40 a month for shampoo and conditioner it just wouldn't be worth it. I mean, that would be between $360 and $480 a year, money that would be so much better spent going on a little weekend get-a-way or buying art supplies or groceries to eat. So, being limited as I am by cost, I've been trying different brands.

And, well, today was the first try of a new one. It says something about having "smooth hair." For those of you who do not have long hair, perhaps this seems like a silly thing to seek in shampoo. For me, it makes a lot of sense, because the grey underneath all the brunette is much more textured than the fine straight dark brown (by the way, for those of you who don't get it, my hair is not black, it is dark brown, with some red highlights when the sun shines on it). Anyway, I'm hoping for smooth hair instead of fly away, unruly hair. I'm nervous about this whole new shampoo thing, because sometimes it just leads to greasy hair, or to hair that is dry and fly away. I need a balance in between somewhere. I'll know tomorrow whether I like this new one or not. Usually, even if I don't like it I finish the bottle, because . . . well, I'm cheap. So, if I don't like it, I'm going to be less inclined to get excited about showers for awhile since it will just be a reminder that I don't like the shampoo. The reason I won't know until tomorrow is that my hair won't be dry until I get up in the morning while the weather is as cool as it is today.

Fortunately, today that was not the end of the shower thoughts and it was not the inspiration part mentioned earlier. I also thought about testifying in court next Friday as I witnessed an event that has resulted in someone needing a restraining order. That will be a thrill! Really, I don't mind doing it because I think a restraining order is appropriate, but testifying is a serious matter, and I want to be truthful and not exaggerate (something my husband tells me I'm a little prone to do), so I'm giving it a lot of thought. And, I think I thought about my diet and weight loss goals (something being in the shower with my naked body is apt to remind me of).

But, the exciting part is that as I was ending my shower I had a sudden art inspiration. I never got dried off an combed out my hair so quickly because I couldn't wait to get down stairs and try this new idea. And try it I did. Here are a couple photos:

This is for a circle journal I am participating in and the pages are not done, but the inspiration part is. In fact, it is the last project I do for this journal, and then all I have to do is wait to get mine back from the circle and see what the result was. This is an entry in a journal with the theme: Goosebumps - Your favorite things. I presume that means things that get you a little emotionally excited. But, the theme was not the inspiration.

The inspiration was to use twinkling H2Os on canvas as the journaling sections. For those of you not familiar with these paints, they are water colors with mica in them to give them a bit of sparkle. I like them very much. And, I have never painted on fabric canvas before, but I've seen it done a lot lately, and I wanted to try it. Usually when I see it done, it is with acrylic paints, so I wasn't so sure how this would work. I like it, although the canvas does curl, so it has to be tacked down very well to the surface it is being mounted on. It was fun to play with this technique, and I will be trying it some more. Tonight I'm going to play with it, adding gesso to the canvas first, and then painting with water colors and with acrylics as well. Hopefully it will be something bright and cheery and fun. I'm also going to try those pencil crayons on the canvas, both gessoed and ungessoed.

That, dear blog readers, is what I think about in the shower these days. Sorry for the boring post. It's just where I am today.