Life – Page 84 – Deborah Makarios

July 9, 2014

Quote: Feelings (and an Award)

“it’s a feeling not a reality, and it’s temporary; when you’re in it, it feels like you always have been and always will be, but that’s an illusion.”
Chaos Girl

Chaos Girl is one of the bloggers I follow, and she has very kindly nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.

She is, like me, an eccentric (yay!) and her posts are full of wit, wisdom, and best of all, honesty: we are none of us as perfect as we generally pretend to be, and that’s ok. Highly recommended for a refreshing read of reality.

There are two difficulties inherent in accepting this award: the technicalities of putting the award plaque in the right places on the blog (Chaos Girl has mercifully provided detailed instructions!) and selecting fifteen bloggers to pass the award on to!

That being the case, those I nominate don’t have to accept and do likewise; it is an obligation-free compliment 🙂

The Rules:
1) The nominee shall display the Very Inspiring Blogger Award logo on her/his blog, and link to the blog they got nominated from.

2) The nominee shall nominate fifteen (15) bloggers she/he admires, by linking to their blogs and informing them about it.

The Bloggers (in no particular order):

Ideophilus: he challenges my assumptions, he helps me see things from entirely new perspectives, and he always claims it’s his fault if I don’t understand 🙂 Inspiring in print and in person (and I should know, he’s my husband).

Esther Van Kuyk is (among many other things) a talented illustrator who engages with serious issues without forgetting the simple joys of life – and a great friend. Her work is available on cards and t-shirts: my favourite is the hedgehog – so cute (a correct use of the word!)

Andrea Eames of A Cat of Impossible Colour is a fellow interculturalite*, as well as an elegant, talented author.

Kristen Lamb provides the perfect blend of challenge, encouragement, and laugh-out-loud humour. Must-read for budding writers; highly recommended for anyone else looking for a good read.

K.B. Owen, Mystery Writer writes mysteries, yes, but she blogs about weird and wacky history, holidays, food, and all kinds of fun stuff. Have a look!

The Tiny Farm is a lovely little blog about moving toward a sustainable lifestyle without four acres and a cow. Very much a ‘join me on the journey’ blog rather than a ‘behold my awesomeness you eco-terrorist’ kind of blog – very encouraging!

The Dreamstress is all about historical clothing – studying it, recreating it, wearing it, and most of all having fun with it. Fascinating, accessible, and very easy on the eyes.

Dr Beth of Throwim Way Leg recounts the ups and downs of being a doctor in the back of beyond, PNG. Not suitable for those with delicate stomachs!

Cation Designs shows how enjoyably creative geekiness can be, sewing a mix of stylish everyday items and hugely fun costume pieces, among other creative endeavours. Also sometimes pictures of her gorgeous cat Walnut.

Sara Litchfield of Right Ink on the Wall is a talented writer and editor who also thinks about the big questions in life: what do we leave behind us when we go? Keep an eye out for her novella The Night Butterflies, coming out next month!

Gwyneth Hyndman of Sweet Home California is a much-travelled writer, journalist and general free-lancer who is the epitome of the life-long learner – always going someplace or trying something new! We were classmates back in our Wellington days…

Malcolm Guite is proof that form does not limit creativity, but rather provides scope for it, with his beautifully balanced sonnets circling the canonical calendar (among others). His Stations of the Cross sonnets are my particular favourites: I reread them every year.

Seven Miles of Steel Thistles is the place to go for “fairytales, folklore, fantasy, myths, legends, and children’s literature” in Katherine Langrish’s own words. Always a fascinating read.

Worthwhile Books is an unashamed book snob, so if you’re looking for reading recommendations that have screened out the mindless pap, stop by!

The eponymous Editor of the Editor’s Journal takes pop culture’s latest and asks questions which invite discussion and actually make you think before you comment. Refreshing and deservedly popular.

So there you have it: fifteen blogs I find inspiring, in one way or another. Or rather sixteen, because of Chaos Girl, who I’m not allowed to nominate 🙂

*a neologism, as far as I know. As with everything else on this blog, it’s under a Creative Commons licence, so help yourself!

June 27, 2014

A Short Sharp Chop

I have never been to a hairdresser.
In fact, I’ve been wearing my hair the same way (a single plait) for well over half my life. After I married I started coiling the plait into a bun, but that’s about it. And now I’m thinking it might be time for a change.

Being a very low-maintenance kind of person – my ‘beauty routine’ consists almost entirely of beauty sleep – I’m tempted to go short. Short enough that it can’t get into my mouth. (And people ask me why I don’t wear my hip-length hair loose…)

But here’s the problem: I have no idea what my hair will look like cut short. The last time I had short hair, I was eight and it was straight – it didn’t go curly til I was in my early teens. That’s why I grew it long, so the weight of hair would keep it pulled out straight(ish). But it’s definitely curly in there: since I started coiling my plait into a bun, I’ve developed vintagey waves on the sides of my head.

There are online ‘virtual makeover’ sites, but short curly brunette styles are seemingly nonexistent. I tried digital doodling on photos of me (results not encouraging, possibly due to lack of artistic ability); also cut-and-pasting likely-looking hairdos found online. (Results suggest I will look like Elvis, which I find hard to believe.)
Unfortunately there’s only one way to be certain of what I will look like with short curly hair: cut it. It’s just that it will take a couple of years to undo…

I’d like something maybe a bit like this:

(minus cigarette, obvs.) but I don’t really look like Joan Crawford. Of course, even if you find a picture of someone with the same kind of face and the same kind of hair, there’s no way of knowing if their style is the result of a good cut and no more, or if it’s the end product of hours of crimping and primping.

These ladies are a little closer to the mark, but I still have my suspicions as to the naturalness of their curl:

On the one hand, I’ve saved myself a stack of time and trouble by not messing about with my hair the last couple of decades; on the other hand, this has left me relatively uneducated on the multifarious complexities of ladies’ hairdressing.

Now, I’ve no intention of going in for colours and flatteners and other expensive ways to damage my hair – partly because I believe in being nice to your hair if you want it to stick around when you’re older and partly because I am heavily in favour of low-maintenance looks.

But I do feel a bit out of my depth here. Possibly this why I’m doing it – to step out of my comfort zone and loosen up my stereotype of myself.
So, any tips, suggestions or advice? Or, if you really must, horror stories of your worst haircut ever!

June 25, 2014

Quote: Procrastination

“while procrastination has its good side, more often than not it’s a destructive habit. It serves only to make us feel bad about ourselves, to delay the inevitable, to put us behind the eight ball. It generally complicates the outcome, impedes success and compromises brilliance.”
Lissanne Oliver