Musings of a December Boomer

 Today is another solar circle completed for me and here are a few things I can expound on, indulgently.
1. I think witch hazel is the best thing ever for skin.

2. Use real cotton balls or pads to clean skin often with witch hazel. Fresh and toned, yay. 
3. I mix, in the palm of my hand, a sprinkle of bare minerals powder, some moisturizer, some witch hazel (both rose water kind and regular) and apply all over my face. This takes care of moisture and light coverage all at once. I started doing this because I thought I could make my own version of a "BB" cream but more tailored to my likes - such as no heavy perfumey smell. You can add an extra little squeeze of sunscreen or other products if desired. It is great because all is mixed together and thinned with witch hazel, per use, in your hand. Your skin will be happier and more moist. When it dries a bit skin feels good and the look lasts all day. No one wants to look cakey or like they are too done. Girls, fresh is best and quicker is too! I haven't applied mineral powder with a brush for over a year now - just this quick method.

4. Witch hazel is also good around hairline for refreshing the hair that gets a tad oilier around face between washings. Oh, I tell you, this stuff is good. Clear and sparkly like vodka, cheers. I like the slight natural smell of it (witch hazel, not vodka).
5. I have converted to using WEN on my hair. Altho I cannot afford it (I have been frugally portioning out my last bit). My longish hair is naturally on the curly side and living in the coastal Pacific Northwest with our 78 kinds of rain, WEN helps keep it from Antoinette bouffant. I drug my heels for years before I finally tried it, but now I know. You do not have to use as much as the company says, just work it in very well. My hair is more itself when I use it. I do not like overly fussed hair that seems to be the trend now - I like wild and free and pretty.

 manga art by Fuyumi Soryo 

6. I have stopped eating grains and feel much better. Also have stopped eating dairy and legumes AND added sugar or over processed foods.
7. Today I am having a cherry pie that my boys are making me for my Birthday. I usually have German Chocolate Cake but decided on cherry pie this year. It will have homemade crust (the boys make it perfectly)and sweetened canned cherries but I do not mind. I am not a fanatic about avoiding afore mentioned foods but just feel better when I do. Lots of veggies and some fruit, seeds, nuts and protein and I am good to go. Some of my main go-to foods these past months have been baked yams, zuchinni, sunflower & pumpkin seeds and lots of fresh apples. It is cool that eating many apples seems to naturally remove coffee stains from my teeth. Oh yeah, still drinking coffee (black), are you kidding..! I had begun to feel like it was too easy for me to be trapped on the sugary/carb merry-go-round and my blood sugar was feeling spikey. Dropping these things from my daily diet has really been easy and rewarding in the way I feel.
8. I have been planning a hefty blog post about some of these musings for awhile now and I see that it is getting very long! I will break it up and work on the musings over the course of the week.

9. I love parsley. Flat leafed or curly - and always have some growing. It overwinters here on the temperate coast very well.
I also love radishes. Any kind.

photo found here...

10. I am a huge huge fan of South Korean movies and television shows. I could go on about this but will save it for another day.
11. I love Asian pop culture. I lived in Japan for three years as a young teen and have never been the same since! I have a hard time finding people my age who even know what I am talking about sometimes..

Itsuko Azuma "Pulstella"

12. As a girl who was born in 1956, I finally realized as a mid-century person, I easily straddle old/new, past/future and that goes for styles, knowledge, experience, technology, culture and other parts of life. My generation saw the turns from traditional America to modern America like none other. It is all integrated into my persona and I feel like an adventurous discoverer/participant of the old world and the new world, and I can see the connections and interstices. As has been said by others before me - what a long strange trip its been! I am giddy with excitement for the next 56 years of my life and let me tell you, I never, ever, ever, hardly, get bored!