Scaredy Cat

I'll admit it, I am scared of those elegant women at the make-up counters of department stores.  Their sheer elegance, flawlessly made up faces and terrific hairstyles make me cringe.  I envy anyone with the self confidence needed to sit down in the public eye so to speak and have a makeover performed on them.

I once got trapped into having a makeover of sorts or at least of trying out some new make-up.  I was prowling as inconspicuously as I could at my favourite cosmetics counter when an assistant pounced on me.  'Can I help you?' she purred and then on my mumbling something about 'just looking at some make-up', she produced a tube with lightning speed and suggested I try it.  Before I could gather what few wits I have, I found myself seated in a chair with the assistant applying make-up and advising me at the same time on what to do about my red and dry skin, all of which could be helped by one cream apparently.  When I looked in the mirror I had to admit that there was a general improvement and I was persuaded to buy the moisturizing cream to help my "little skin problem" as she put it.  In the end I bought the new foundation and also the magic cream, both excellent products I hasten to add, but way above my modest budget.  I know it's worth paying for quality cosmetics but having had to economize all my life, I always feel a bit guilty spending a lot on myself.

Looking back I have to admit that the encounter with the assistant was not guaranteed to boost my morale.  She was pleasant but very impersonal and in a discreet way she was pushy.  That's her job and I am not carping at it.  I am only saying that even though I felt good with the results of her labours, I also felt that I must have looked a wreck before she took me in hand.  But that's more down to me than to the sales assistant.  I know lots of women who love having makeovers and don't care if the whole stores looks on.  I even know one or two who will ask to try different things or reject the assistant's suggestions, something I wouldn't have the courage to do.

So if I'm inspecting a cosmetics counter I will still keep a wary eye out for any approaching assistant and I will move on before she can make me over. But I think I've matured enough to know that in the long run, no one can make you feel good except yourself and not all the lavish attention of a beauty expert is going to change that.  Kind of reassuring, isn't it?

New Beginnings and the Feel Good Factor

I am convinced that once New Year's Day is behind us here in the Western hemisphere, the light changes subtly and becomes softer.  I am just back from a walk on the beach and it was warm enough for me to sit on a bench for an hour and watch the tide coming in.  Local residents were out in force, anxious to see for themselves the evidence of all that damage done by high tides and stormy winds.  The sea was still showing some muscle power with waves a little bigger than usual crashing on the rocks.  All in all though, I felt the first faint stirrings of Spring.  The sparrows and wagtails seemed to feel the same and were darting about busily while the crows and seagulls dipped low over the water keeping an eye out for food left by the humans.  In fact, one father had gone down to the water's edge with his son and left a baby's bottle and a packet of biscuits on one of the benches.  In no time at all a crowd of crows had descended on the biscuits while the father was busy taking photographs of his little boy. Not that the birds suffer from hunger here, there is always more than enough for them to scavenge and here on the coast the weather is never too cold to make a difference to their feeding habits.  But they love things that humans eat.  Once I spilt the contents of an ice cream cone onto the rocks and before you could say "caw caw" a bunch of crows had devoured it all.

Here are some pictures I took the other day when the sun was out. I hope I never forget to be grateful that the beach is just a short walk away.

Feel Good Factors

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.
This quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay on Self Reliance came into my head the other morning.  I woke up feeling as if I had stubbed my toes on the wall of life, in other words, not in the sunniest of moods.  Outside the rain was coming down in buckets.  As I was hauling myself out of bed I remembered the above quote and decided that I would find five "feel good" things about the day.  Needless to say, it wasn't actually that hard.

Here they are:

1. Being able to stand under the shower and feel that warm water cascading over my body and having a choice of shampoo and cosmetics stocking my bathroom shelves. We take this all for granted but we'd certainly miss it if we couldn't have a warm shower whenever we pleased. Those of us who've been on camping sites queuing at the wash rooms of a morning know the feeling.
2. Watching out of my window as a crow swooped on a piece of bread.  He had barely alighted before a crowd of his fellows descended on him.  They formed a circle and were plainly hoping to make him nervous enough to drop the crust of bread. He took this all in his stride, picked away while keeping an eye on his fellows. Two wagtails came to see what was happening and hung around on the edge of the crowd in the hopes of picking up a few crumbs. They all looked so like a bunch of children with a toffee bar that I found myself chuckling.
3. On my way to the shops I met a daddy with his little girl.  She was chattering away nineteen to the dozen the way small children do. He listened to every word as if it this was the most important conversation he could possibly have and threw in a remark here and there in answer to her questions.  When he noticed me watching them he smiled down at his daughter with so much love and pride that  I found myself smiling too.
4. It had been raining all morning but in the afternoon a watery sun came out and I decided to risk a walk to the beach.  I was glad I did. Strolling along the promenade I saw children and dogs having a wonderful time splashing about in the sea.  I'm not sure who was having the most fun, the kids screaming in the surf or the dogs jumping around with tongues lolling. I saw joggers, senior citizens, people in wheel chairs, families pushing baby buggies.  Everyone was enjoying themselves despite a stiff on-shore breeze and the occasional black cloud hovering threateningly. It was good to be alive and part of it all.
5. On my way home I passed a beautifully tended garden. I stopped to admire and was met with the heady scent of roses, geraniums, jasmine and other flowers I couldn't name. I'd passed this way so often and never really noticed it before. 

In future I'm going to be more aware of these moments.  They can be found anywhere at any time no matter how rushed my day is.  And they don't cost anything.