Highland Fashionista

For those of you unfamiliar, in scientific terms Mercury in retrograde basically refers to the optical illusion created when the planet Mercury appears to be moving in opposition to the other planets in the system - from east to west, the opposite of the usual west to east trajectory. This past week and a half has brought me the untimely death of one of my closest friends, an upper respiratory infection from Hell, the impossible task of trying to keep the stitches in my dog's paw dry in the torrential Scottish weather (this particular task pretty much took over my life for about 5 days and is, as it turns out, impossible), the slicing-off of the tip of my finger as I peeled sweet potatoes for chili and the subsequent transformation of my home into the most graphic of crime scenes (and no, the finger did not end up Wendy's-style in the chili, because I know thats what you're wondering), and a chaotic and understaffed work environment that despite my deepest wishes, did not relent give me a break for three night shifts running. She always used to say "I'm just looking for that one lipstick shade that's going to make my life work."That little memory made me realize that self-care is more complex than simply taking time off or remembering to be kind to yourself. I mean, yes, itthose things, but it is also knowing when the time has come to pick yourself up, and even if you don't feel like it, putting on something clean and pretty and maybe straightening your hair (or trying to in my case) and putting on that shade of lipstick that will make your life work and just setting the stage for things to eventually settle back into some sort of homeostasis.

I've been studying to add a massage therapy credential to my cache of Things I Can Do, and I'm just at the tail-end part... Well let me just say that when you work in medicine, you don't spend a lot of time thinking about how many layers-deep themuscles lie, Once or twice a year I tend to go through the closet and get rid of things that are not getting the love and attention they deserve. I have a lot of really beautiful things in there, yet I find myself wearing the same handful of things over and over.

While I appreciate that a cap sleeve, stretch-chambray, button-front, Mandarin collar dress circa the late 90s - mid 2000s may not be what everyone thinks of as "classic", in this context I'm referring to the term simply for classification purposes. In the world of collectible cars, "classic" is the term used to refer to any car over 20 years old

If you're one of those people who looks at the current state of the American government with a mixed sense of fear, repulsion, and the feeling that nothing seems to be happening, you need this podcast. If you are the type who "doesn't get political" (eyeroll), you really need this podcast