Monday, July 31, 2017

Haircuts and Life

A week or so ago Eric and I drove out to our usual place to get haircuts, the Sunnyside Beauty Academy. There was a note on the door that said the owner was retiring and the academy would no longer be giving haircuts to the public. Much disheartened, we went home without haircuts.

A couple of days ago I noticed my hair was in my eyes. All the time. It was driving me bonkers. I used a hair band to hold it back, but that turned out to annoy me even more. Then I read about record temperatures about to hit our area, with possible highs up to 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and decided I needed a haircut NOW. Last night I got to the point that I was seriously (and not for the first time) considering cutting as much off as possible then using Eric's shaver to clear the rest.

We needed a new place to get haircuts. I'm not inclined to be stylish - I just want short hair. And the women in this town literally ALL have long hair, and don't want to cut short. So I thought about a place I went to many years ago to get a photo of a child's first haircut, and suggested to Eric we try Fred's Barbershop. I checked the hours online, and off we went.

When we drove up, the place looked abandoned and I was a little worried until Eric pointed out that a) the barbershop pole was spinning, b) the open sign was out and c) it's Monday morning. Oh, right. We walked up and just before Eric could put his hand on the door, it opened. The gentleman behind the door was none other than Fred himself, who I remembered taking a photo of for that assignment at the paper. Sure enough, my photo was posted in the shop, with my credit on it and everything. I took the photo in September 2011 - not long after I started as a reporter.

I asked him if he was up to cutting my hair, and he asked - with a little trepidation - what sort of style I wanted. I told him I wanted a typical guy's haircut, and he said it would be fine. "It's all hair, right?" He admitted he hadn't cut a woman's hair in years, but he had no problem once we got started. And I love the cut. It's perfect for me. Short, even all the way across, above the ears. Just what I always want and hardly ever get.

Eric then got his cut, not as short as he might have since school only starts in another month or so. We were delighted and, frankly, I think we've found our new place to go. His son and grandson also cut hair, and if they learned from him I'm not afraid to get my hair cut by them.

Ok, I promised a photo of my new haircut when I got it (if only to let people know I didn't go for Eleven's look on Stranger Things). I took a few photos and all of them were awful, but here's a couple that I can tolerate (barely) other people seeing:


Hubby and I both got haircuts this morning.


It's nice and short!

My hair has always been a cause of stress for me. I never liked it long, and I hated bowl cuts that my dad gave us when we were children. I don't like fancy - my cowlicks make that pointless in most cases. I just want something I can wash, towel dry, comb and go. This is just what I want.

Ok, moving on to another topic... Below the fold: Fires and Boxed shipments (with Inkwell photos)


If you saw my Twitter feed or Facebook posts last night you'll know there was a bit of a fire in the hills south of us. I took a few photos from my bathroom window. It was a totally clear day, no clouds at all, until the fire started.


I took this after I heard about a fire on Facebook and went to the only south-facing window in the house to see. It looks quite dramatic from here!


As night fell, I took another photo with the hope that I could see more of what was happening. No such luck. At full dark I couldn't see flames, though, which I figured was a good sign.


This morning I saw a couple of wisps of smoke when I first woke up, but by the time I took this photo it was all clear. You can see the firescar on the hillside.

I haven't heard much about the fire, not being in the loop any more, but I gather it started on the hill and headed down it toward Mabton, where Eric used to teach. The fire never got really close, thank goodness, and the majority of that area is not populated - although I heard from one source that some homes were threatened. This is the second big brush-fire-on-a-hill we've seen since we moved here. A few years ago the hills to the north (Rattlesnake Hills) burned in much the same way.

There's also been fires much closer to town. At one point there was a fire so severe that every department around was called in to prevent it from getting out of control. Again, it was a brush fire and I seem to recall it happened because of an agricultural burn during a fire ban. Some folks ignore the bans because it's apparently more important to burn waste materials than it is to keep people safe and prevent the entire valley from turning into an inferno.

But last night's fire wasn't one of those - it was before the major heatwave hit us and apparently is out now. I don't even think it got an entry on Inciweb.

And moving on to my last topic...

We ordered from Boxed.com and the receipt suggested posting photos to social media - which I thought was just funny enough to do. So when we got the order I went ahead and took some *ahem* unboxing photos and posted a few to Twitter with the appropriate hashtags. I have decided to post a few more for my blog readers.


"What is this new thing in my house," asked Inkwell.


Eric hams it up for the camera while Inkwell pretends to not care at all...


But, of course, Inkwell cares and checks it out as soon as Eric puts it down.


"I wonder what they are going to do with all this stuff?"
Inkwell asks himself.


"Hey Eric, did we order an extra cat?" "NO! Send it back!"

If you want to try Boxed, I have a nice referral link you can use that will get you $15 off your first order and give me $15 off my next order. Feel free to not use it if it makes you uncomfortable. If you do use it - remember to look for FREEBIES and samples before you send in your order. I forgot, and so I didn't get any of the cool extras that makes shopping there awesome.

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