On Travel and Hamburgers

There's something about getting out of town that is ever so slightly cooling or heating, and whichever way it goes, there is something healing about it.

Anyway. When I was sitting and waiting in the Green Room for the Knitting Daily TV show (taped in Oh-Hi-Oh!--See your PBS listings for the first show in July) with a group of gals who I can only say probably get out a heck of a lot much more than I do and are much more composed than I am, when I got called by the make-up artist so she could give me a look-over for the shoot, turns out, she had to re-do my make up from square one because the age spots were showing and, anyway, the eyebrows were a little thin and did I know that I could use a bit of brown powder under the jowls to make them disappear?

I told her, "yes, I know that the brown powder is supposed to work because, after all, I try the trick everyday to no avail and that the thinness of my eyebrows is something beyond my control since I have been in the habit of plucking out every white one that pops up."

"Well, that explains it," she remarked. "You'll have to start tinting them unless you want to be bald in a year or two. I'm thinking you can do the job whenever you tint your hair; you know, just dab some of the tint you use for your hair onto your eyebrows."

Then I said, "The thing is, my drapes don't match my valences." (Or, should it be: My valences don't match my drapes? or, The shades don't match the valences? . . . )

I suppose things could be worse.

We got home safe and sound, to honks and horns and birds flipped here and there on the freeway. Boy, what a difference. And can I just say that I won't be ordering hamburgers here anymore? I'm convinced all my talk about the great burgers in Cleveland has stunted whatever progress I've made on the establishments west of Ohio. Take a look at what they tried to serve us on the plane over Albuquerque.

To think I was a vegetarian for over 10 years until I got over it. Now I'm wondering if I should re-consider the deal.

On knitting news: If you are ever in the Cleveland-near-Avon area, visit Birds of a Feather. This is a wonderful shop. (They actually have nesting birds in the eaves of their barn [not that they'd be happy to hear this].) I absolutely loved visiting. The setting is amazing, and if you happen to quilt, too, the entire downstairs is devoted to quilt fabrics and I tell you what, it all makes me think of my grandma Helen and how she's about 94 these days and doesn't remember me or recognize me anymore (she's the one who taught me to knit and has lost her sight.) The second-to-last conversation I had with her was about how she wished she could knit again. The last conversation I had with her was about how much she missed her daughter--my mom--and how hard it is to be nearly blind. If only I could take her to a place like this so she could feel all of the fibers and see all the colors again.

BTW: If you are in the Cleveland area, I would also suggest you see some of the many cemeteries. They are abundant and you just might see a burial or two from the Civil War era. Amazing and dashing and sad and morbid and wonderful all at the same time. Girlfriend, when I told her about it all, said that she didn't want to get out of the car. I asked her why, and she said she didn't want to step on dead people.

Comments

[Lizbon]

I think you need a visit with Carmindy (the makeup artist from What Not to Wear) as an antidote to that makeup artist. She would spend the whole time telling you how beautiful you are and showing you how to play up the parts of you she finds most beautiful, instead of fussing over the negative.

[Wendy]

Thank you Lizbon.

[Nadine]

Fabulous spooky photo of you! It's the eyes . .

[Amy]

I'm glad that you were able to make it to Birds of a Feather. It has such a wonderful atmosphere, that it makes yarn shopping that much better. I'm originally from that part of Ohio and I try to stop in whenever I'm in town.

[rita]

Really? Brown powder on the jowls? There's not enough brown powder in the universe for my jowls.

You look incredible, you know. That makeup lady doesn't know what she was talking about. And aren't we warned on every stinking haircolor package to not dye our eyebrows because we'll go blind?

[rudee]

LMAO about your drapes not matching the valences. I don't know anymore which color either should be anymore and sometimes, it's weeks before I color either. I'm learning not to care. You look just fine to me. I agree with Lizbon re finding a different spin for it.

[Jennifer]

I just noticed that you got over to the new address. Congrats! I like the new header/logo.

[Lelah]

When I lived in Cleveland, we would sneak into the cemetary where Grover Cleveland was buried. Like, on a nightly basis. It was so creepy and wonderful!!

[Kuka]

Love that shot! You make spooky look rather glamourous, to be honest =)

[knittingnurse]

Oh, I knew right away that was Birds when I saw the socks hanging. I so miss it there and I am glad to see that you were able to make it to their shop. It was my fave shop ever, actually it still IS my fave shop ever. Gosh do I miss them there. My family and I always liked to visit the cemetaries in Cleveland too. Something serene and haunting all at the same time. Kind of like that photo of you, serene yet haunting. . . . LOVE IT!

[Lynae]

I completely agree with the Carmindy comment....she makes everyone look and feel glamorous because she is SO positive!

I recently decided that my eyebrows were too thin and just let them all grow out.....now I have to use eyebrow pencil because they are SO blond...while everything else is turning brown and grey. UGH - why does everything change after 40?

[Melissa A.]

I love old cemeteries! We have a lot of them here, including a Titanic one (which I have yet to see).

[Saun]

Did you go to Lakeview cemetery? It's has a lot of historic plots. Many of the Rockerfellers are buried their. We used to go there for art classes to do chalk rubs of the tombstones.

[marycatharine]

I'm afraid of makeup artists, they almost always make people feel ugly when they are beautiful. I hope I can figure out a way to see you on the show - my family gets PBS in southern Canada so it is possible. I may have to resort to the old fashioned tape recorder method.

[Cheri]

That makeup artist needs new glasses.

I love old cemeteries. There's an old one we drive past whenever we go to California that intrigues me. I'm hoping that one trip we can stop there (instead of the park up the street) so I can wander around.

[Tammy]

Welcome home!

[victoria]

I'm fair-complected and have pale, sparse brows (I have never plucked them, I just am not very hairy anywhere). My mom always used to say to me when I was little, "Go put some eyebrow pencil on -- your face looked like a hardboiled egg." Now I have my brows dyed dark at my hair salon. It takes only 5 minutes, they look great (well, except the first day, when they're a little too dark & heavy), and I never have to mess with eyebrow pencil.

[Ginga]

I wonder why so many cemeteries? Growing up in Florida they were often called "Memorial Gardens."

BTW, I think you met my Tomato in Ohio. I had a request from Knitting Daily to send it in last month from ravelry. I got a kick out of imagining my sweater being prepped for TV - maybe it got a little brown powder, too!

[It was the slate and tomato one with "arrowheads." I wear it all the time!]

[linda]

I'm so glad you liked our barn! And our town. Come back soon!

[Wendy]

Yes, Ginga! I saw your Tomato! I even put it on a dress form and loved the color combo!

[Ginga]

That's great! I'm so glad you liked it! Thanks!

[Kyle Kunnecke]

I love graveyards - visiting the dead is a wonderful thing to do - not that I'm a total freak or anything, they don't "really" talk back to me or anything - but there's something comforting to me about going through an old graveyard and reading the names - thinking about the people and their lives...

but I agree with your friend; I don't step on people... I walk in the middle between facing headstones, or right against the stones so that I don't step on people-

taking time to honor the past is important... it's part of what reminds me to enjoy every day.. one day, we'll be gone too - and with any luck, someone will walk through the graveyard and read our names... :)

...ok; I'm a little strange.

[Linda]

Wendy, you are as nice in person as you are on your blog. I love Girlfriend's enthusiasm. She and I enjoyed winding yarn together. If you came today your pictures would have quite a different effect, it's sunny and 80 degrees. There was quite a buzz in the shop after you left. The ladies wanted to know who the handsome photographer was! Thanks for visiting and come see us again.

[babyface]

Sounds like you had an interesting
time in Cleveland. I use to like
to go to old graveyards too and look at the stones. Sometimes there's a lot of history written on them. I'm not too hot on cemeteries now because I may be
a participant very soon. Might I
ask, are those your legs and your
socks in the photo on the plane?
Probably not. I think you looked
pretty spooky in the cemetery.
I love what you knit. I'm still
knitting but frogging most of the
time.

[MonkeyGurrl]

"The ladies wanted to know who the handsome photographer was" - I BET!!!! Ditto what everyone says about the make-up "artist". It's not like an objective opinion or anything.

Now, what I want to know is, is that a picture of YOUR tights and chucks, or GF's?!?!