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Tuesday, April 04, 2017

I Also Like Emeralds and Spinach

Green! Green! Green! Is any colour finer? Depends who you ask. 

 The only thing I like better than a green dress is a bright green raincoat to wear over. Grey skies be damned, I'm ready for bright clothes. I had a friend that hated the colour green. Naturally, when she would receive a gift in the offending shade it would be passed along to me. Linens, clothes, housewares-I could always count on her to hand over her green gifts. Once, buying a car she was forced to chose between taking the one on the dealer's lot at a substantial discount (it was green) or paying more to order a different paint job. To my shock, she bought the green car (which sadly she didn't give to me) but complained about it for the next ten years. I still regret not taking it for a paint job when she was abroad for a year and the car was garaged, because I'm sure she died still hating the colour of that station wagon!

Finding the coat was a lucky accident. I had finished going through the rails at New Life Thrift and was headed to the housewares to collect Danny when I saw the coat hanging on a hook for belts. Someone had changed their mind and left it on the way to the register. I assumed there must be something wrong with it-why else leave such a beautiful coat for just under five dollars? I couldn't find a single fault, and the like-new coat still had the extra buttons sewn to the inside pocket. That sold it! Well, that and the bright green colour-I never could resist anything in green.
The raincoat is late 60's/early 70' Pier 4 by Davis of Boston, division of Jonathan Logan. To my delight, it is washable, and dried without a wrinkle. I wish I could say the same of my Misty Harbour raincoat (which I love, but oh the creasing!). The coat's length really would look best with a shorter skirt or trousers, and I will take that into consideration next time I wear a raincoat-but I was eager to wear it.

 I've had this dress since the early 90's. I happened upon a yard sale in the Boston suburb of Newton, and there sat a pile of bridesmaid dresses from the 60's. I made an offer, and took the lot for a small sum. The seller liked me and asked if I'd like her aunt's Mongolian lamb coat from the 20's for a few dollars more. Indeed I did buy that coat,and wore it for years before moving it along to someone else. It wasn't the greatest yardsale of my lifetime, but it was in the top ten. Anyway, all that remains today is this dress that fit so much better 25 years ago when I sill had shoulders! Seriously, as I've aged my arms grow larger as my shoulders get bonier and everything now slips off or gapes horribly at the back. Looks great in an off-the-shoulder Bardot top, but kind of awkward with ordinary scooped necks. I can't be the only person experiencing this. Any seamstresses out there with a good hack for this without sewing my own clothes? I'd be thankful for any expertise.
 Why fishnets? Why the fuck not fishnets?

Outfit Particulars:
1960's bridesmaid dress-yard sale
Vintage raincoat-New Life Thrift
Fishnets-K Mart
Shoes-K Mart
Vintage hat-Goodwill
Vintage handbag-Goodwill
Bangles-rhinestone (New Life Thrift) Solid (Goodwill)
Vintage necklace-Sequels
Vintage earrings-Thrift World
Pin on coat-Thrift World
Fragrance-Coriandre (I reached for Innisfree first, but figured Coriandre would be less allergy inducing, just in case)
Lippy-May-Bel Coral Crush (I adore the Colour Sensational line, and this shade is magnificent)



I have Easter and Pesach colliding again this year. I'm baking for Easter early, and freezing the breads until after Pesach. That's interfaith marriage for you ;) I baked the kulich today, and I'll do the Paska tomorrow. I already have hot cross buns in the freezer. The depths of my freezer often yield interesting things (and yes, the snowman's head still resides amongst the gin and frozen peas). This week we've been finishing up the extra stollen from Christmas, and I even found some parkin from November. Anyway, I'm looking forward to being done with both so I can focus my energies on the complicated oral surgery I'm having the week after Easter.

Thirty-five years ago, when my wisdom teeth were removed there was one that wasn't impacted, so they left it. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, the tooth is nearly sideways, pushing another tooth, and dying-it needs to come out, but it can't be a straightforward extraction. I went for the evaluation, and yes, it sounds positively gruesome. I'll be awake for it (fun!) and I've already been warned there will be, "A lot of cracking and crunching noises." Yeah. Then they start with the warnings about bone grafts, breaking my jaw, and dry sockets. At some point I lost track of the conversation as I was silently cursing my parents. I will likely lose the tooth next to it as well. They're going to break the tooth and remove it in pieces which I'm sure will be delightful. Still, once you've had bleach solution shot into your sinus during a root canal, oral surgery ought to be a walk in the park. I'm going to lose my goal-streak of running a minimum of 5 miles a day, which I've kept for 256 days as of today. Obviously, I'll be lucky if I can stand after the first few days, but I am a little sad that I didn't make a full year goal. Ah well, maybe next year.
 Fine, I'm really annoyed.
 Look! Shiny things. That ought to make me feel better. I think there's a rule about buying yourself something sparkly after oral surgery. There is! I like Hattie Carnegie.
 But lucite and bakelite are okay too.
This sweet little pin reminds me of the sort of thing I wore on my denim jumpsuit circa 1976. I must have had dozens of them at the time. Sadly, they've disappeared over time, like my bloody teeth. I'm not bitter, honest I'm not.

Anyway, that's a couple weeks away so I'm going to get in some extra long runs to make up for the downtime, and go buy myself something shiny. There's a pair of Irregular Choice shoes I've had my eye on.

If I buy these am I obligated to crack nuts with them? 





















13 comments:

  1. Green!!! Such a good colour. My grandmother HATED green, all superstition and such things. Something to do with green lino and grandpa breaking his arm?? I'm not sure there is any colour I feel strongly against, funny how some people do tho. Bugger about not scoring the green car. Irregular Choice shoes are so awesome, we have them hear and I am pretty sure my skull shoes with bows are them. BUY THEM GOODY BUY THEM.

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  2. One of the reasons I dyed my blonde hair was so I could wear emerald green, it lost it's impact when i wore it as a blonde.
    The mac is fabulous and the dress? I adore it! What a fab yard sale that must have been. Isn't it fabulous when a seller takes a real liking to you and starts offering more stuff because they're happy it's going to a good home?
    The tooth situation sounds horrible. I had lots of orthodontic dental work as a child as I had all kinds of bizarre problems including fangs and an extra row of teeth. Despite us Brits having the NHS my parents elected to go private and it cost thousands - I'm eternally grateful to them for that. xxx

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  3. I've been looking for a green raincoat in a similar style for ages. I've had similar lucky accidents happen, but never involving raincoat as lovely as that one. As you know, I love green almost as much as you do. Our previous car was a green one, which Jos's children called "the pea". The dress is lovely, even if you have issues with it. The oral surgery sound gruesome, and I'm wishing you oodles of good luck. I'm very bad with anything dental, and I'm glad I survived Monday's check up. I wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything if I were in your shoes. xxx

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  4. Mein papa, who drove race cars in the 30s, considered all green cars "hoodoo wagons". When my pet white Intrepid, Moby Dodge, was totaled by a teen who hit me head-on, I accepted a replacement that was, alas, green. This is the vehicle I was driving when Amish teens drag-racing their buggies ran a horse up the hood and onto the roof...

    Vy the hell not, fishnets and shoes mit bows?! Do view on YT, Marika Rokk in "Die Frau meiner Traume", her brunette variant in fishnets and bows, dancing the Apache and singing "In der Nacht is der Mensch nicht gern alleine." Oh, ja!..

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  5. @Sue
    I think you're one of those lucky people that can wear any colour in the rainbow and look fab.

    @Vix
    That must have been awful going through all that dentistry when you were young-it sounds like you had wise parents.

    I'm starting to worry about finding homes for my vintage items. I pity the person stuck sorting out and selling my collection.

    @Ann
    Funny how every era has their raincoat colours-I wonder what became of all those metallic pastel coats from the 90's?

    @Beth
    Wow, Amish kids drag racing buggies-there's something I never encountered in Chicago (or Boston or Omaha for that matter). That must have been utterly bewildering once you realised what happened.

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  6. Alas, I wish I'd bought one of those 90's metallic raincoats for the Monsoon. A proper mac is too heavy in South Asian heat. LLBean has lightweight raincoats in basic black but wearing black during the Monsoon just seems wrong.
    That bridesmaid dress fabric is spectacular with that gold embroidery.LOVE the fishnets & maryjane pumps with it!
    I think most of us suffer the large arms & bony shoulder dilemma, that's why 'cold shoulder tops are so popular I suppose?
    I had my impacted wisdom teeth out with a hammer & chisel & my head held still with sandbags, it isn't as bad as it sounds. Certainly can't be as bad as bleach in your sinuses during a root canal. My molars are suffering a lifetime of misdiagnosed TMJ & are painfully chipping away.
    Maybelline's Color Sensational lippies are fab aren't they? I could do without the plasticky vanilla flavor but for gorgeous, longlasting, & moisturizing color at that price point you can't beat them!

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  7. There is indeed no finer colour than green - and that bridesmaid's dress is fab. Good find on the coat, too - maybe whoever abandoned it decided they didn't like green much.

    Good luck with the dental work. When I had my root canals redrilled, I found the best thing to do was lie there and hope they got it over and done with as quickly as possible. (Ay, the expense of dental work, though... that one wasn't available on the NHS, it was lose the teeth or go private, and the cost was eye-watering.)

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  8. Yes, green is the best colour in the world and like you I find it hard to resist anything in green - especially clothes! I love your green outfit; so stylish and the accessories (as always) are fabulous.

    Congratulations on your running 5 miles per day - what a wonderful achievement. I had no idea you were running. You hide your light under a bushel, Goody. Anyway, once you've recovered you can resume and make that 365 days goal!

    Commiserations on the surgery; it sounds horrendous. I had a wisdom tooth extracted when I was a young adult and when I woke up from the anaesthetic, the dentist showed me the extracted tooth. I, point blank, refused to believe anything so enormous could have come out of my mouth!

    Good luck with all that baking; I bet your neighbours will be salivating at the wonderful smells coming from your house!

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  9. @Bibi
    Sandbags and a chisel don't sound that bad. If I thought I could manage this myself with a [pliers and a bottle of scotch, I would!

    Next trip to the US, hit some Goodwills. I'm sure you'll find the raincoat you want. If it didn't cost a fortune in shipping, I'd send you one.

    @Mim
    We pay premiums for dental insurance and that helps with some of the cost, but it is still horribly expensive.

    They gave me the option of sedation, but I prefer to know what's going on-even if it sound bad. I am taking your earlier advice and have been loading up on vitamin c supplements. Thanks for telling me about that. I need to stop my arthritis medication ahead of the surgery because it suppresses my immune system, so the vitamin c can only help.

    @Veronica
    I am the slowest runner alive! You'd think with bone spurs in my hips it would hurt to run, but the motion isn't bothersome. Riding a bike is murder though, so it took some trial and error to find the thing my body would let me do. I prefer to be outdoors, but with our climate either being too hot or cold, I'm logging most of my miles on a treadmill or running in place. I can't tell you how incredibly dull it is. I have good stamina though, and I have done some serious distance running in the past year- but sloooowly. I can run a marathon, but it will take 5 hours and that's not a qualifying time for anything ;)

    Did the dentist let you keep the tooth? I'm going to ask for mine and maybe the Tooth Fairy will leave me something under my pillow!

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  10. God that coat is gorgeous, like you I am a sucker for anything green.

    I have been through, and survived, the tooth extraction you are about to have. They sawed my tooth into 4 and pulled it out bit by bit, I was awake the whole time too. It wasn't pleasant I'll be honest about that, and by the end I was shaking and pouring with sweat, I'm amazed I didn't rip the arms of the chair off I was gripping them so tight! The cracking noise is pretty freaky because it's so loud but inside your head. It was fine though, and they didn't even stitch my gum up. At least if you are awake they can't kneel on your chest!!

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  11. @Miss Magpie

    That's reassuring, thank you. I was asleep for the other three wisdom teeth and I woke up with my face looking like he'd hand both hands fully in my mouth. After that, I've stayed awake for procedures-I'm not a terribly trusting person.

    Truthfully, I'm an absolute wreck over it.

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  12. Oh, good luck with the surgery!
    I too love green, it seems to me to be under-represented in clothing. Your bridesmaids dress and raincoat are both particularly fine specimens.

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  13. @Radostin
    Thank you-I'm probably more frightened than need be.

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