Black Lingerie, Glammy Armpits, & Quilt Update

Quilt finds new home!  Claudia M. put in the winning bid of $400 and wins the quilt.  It lives across the back of her new cream-colored (pale butter?) leather sofa.  Congratulations!  And the Berkeley Food Pantry thanks her, too.

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Yesterday Val, Anne, and I trekked over to Pt. Reyes/Inverness to celebrate Anne's 82nd birthday.   We went there for her last birthday, too, but the weather that day was vastly different--cold, windy, wear-fleece weather.

LAST YEAR

Chilly but we had a good time

THIS YEAR

The weather was perfect--warm, with a cooling breeze.

 The basking birthday girl

We ate lunch at Chicken Ranch Beach and marveled at how many off-leash dogs there were considering that there's a front-and-center sign saying that dogs must be on leash. Teeny dogs, big masterful dogs, and everything in between.  But that's beside the point.  Mostly, we chatted and watched people wade out into the calm waters of Tomales Bay.

Val, pondering and browning

After while, we hied ourselves up, carted our beach chairs to the car, and drove up a nearby hill to my friend Elisabeth's house, where we sat on her deck and gazed at the hypnotic view:

Well, not gazing right at that moment

I brought cupcakes from "Love at First Bite" in Berkeley.  (You don't think 8 cupcakes for 4 women are too many, do you?)

My gift to Anne: 100% cotton BLACK granny panties, which she insists on calling "lingerie."  Generally, she wears the Hanes 3-pack variety.  (The shop that sold me the new pair is "Beauty and Attitude."  Berkeley shop names.)

My dear pool compadres, Val and Anne

We drank iced Earl Grey tea with lemon and mint, more perfection.

Afterward, Elisabeth e-mailed me and said, "Such lovely ladies...It was so nice meeting Anne and Val today. They're so different from each other, but I love the friendly joshing and camaraderie among all of you."

Friendly joshing and camaraderie! Perfect description.

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In today's New York Times Style Section, brought to my attention by Val:

No, those are not ink smudges in her armpits.  That's dyed hair.  Oh, yes. (Don't you feel old?  Do you even have enough available hair to do this?  I don't.)

The color above is "Voodoo Blue" by Manic Panic, in case you were wondering.  The model, Destiny Moreno, sees this as a feminist statement.

"Nobody questions when a guy wearing a tank top does a selfie that shows his armpit hair," she says. "But if I happen to show my armpit hair in a selfie, it's like, 'Whoa, feminist witch asking for attention.' "

You can go to a "pit-in" for group dyeing sessions in Seattle and Pensacola, or you can pay $65 in a salon. Or you can go to the "Free Your Pits" website and learn how to do it yourself.

There are lots of ways to make fun of this trend, but, honestly, I think these young women have a point.  Shaving your legs and armpits is a form of tyranny.  Erasing part of your body to make your appearance more mainstream, more acceptable per social norms, is not appealing in theory, although everyone I know goes with it in some way (haircuts? make-up? nail polish?)  Why not  "broaden the standard of beauty?" I get that.  But I'm too old.

I showed the picture to Jerry.

"I don't imagine you're thinking of doing that," he said. Nervously?  Warily?

It was almost enough to make me consider it.  In the abstract.  If I could.