There is an article in Texas Monthly (a great publication to which I highly recommend that you subscribe if you live in Texas or like Texas or even want to hate-follow Texas). It's entitled "Texas Has Shifted to an 'It's Your Responsibility' Pandemic Plan." Which is another true statement. This is my favorite piece: "Responsibility may be personal—but risk is communal. Everyone can both get sick with the virus and pass it on to someone else. A person who gets infected while packed into an overcrowded bar can pass the disease to a supermarket cashier who is otherwise steadfastly avoiding high-risk situations..." I hope everyone remembers this.
We're getting out and about more, but we're also still wearing masks where applicable (inside when we can't keep a distance, or if I have to talk to someone who isn't behind plexiglass, anywhere that there are signs "strongly suggesting" masks, etc.) and keeping our distance.
During the past week, we've been able to enjoy:
1) Zilker Botanical Garden's free admission day.
They were only admitting 100 people every fifteen minutes, but we only saw two groups the whole time we were roaming the 36 acres. And there were cute little signs everywhere, reminding people to keep their distance (not that it was necessary on this day).
2) Jumpstreet, which we had all to ourselves.
I did wear a mask when checking in, and again when I went to buy Mal some apple juice. But we were literally the only patrons there.
Interestingly (to me), we were also at Jumpstreet exactly two years ago to the date.
3) The new swing set at Jones Brothers Park.
It was HOT! But what a gorgeous day!
They also just opened up the playground last weekend... However, Jones Brothers is going to be closing down every Friday-Sunday until further notice, because that place is PACKED to the gills on the weekends. I think it's because it was one of the only public places that stayed open during the Stay Home, Stay Safe orders. The police did announce at the time that they'd be patrolling it and would break up groups, but once the Governor started relaxing things, even more people showed up. And I'm sure the cops don't want to spend their weekends ticking people off, so the city just decided to shut it down. (They also closed it Memorial Day weekend, but this is going to be EVERY weekend until further notice.)
They're leaving the boat ramps open, so you can go and park if you're getting in a boat and spreading out into the lake. At $15 a pop, that makes our town a lot of money, so...
(I just drove by this spot and they now have a lighted sign instead of just this printed thing.)
Since we've been mostly home, I've started a new era in my own hair care. I saw a "Curly Girl Method" video and even though I have stick-straight hair, a couple of the procedures seemed beneficial to me. To that end, I have begun taking "Haiti showers."
In Haiti, in order not to waste water, we took showers as our host family, The Pauls, did: Turn the water on to get wet, collecting some of it in a small bucket that was also in the shower (to rinse out the wash cloth, etc.) and then turn the water off to do things like soap up, scrub down, shampoo, etc. The water is only on when you need it to actively do something. Now, our hosts were quite well-to-do (I couldn't host a team of 15-20 people in my house!) and had an on-demand water heater, which was nice... when the electricity was on, which was never a given.
Jean Alix Paul told us that when he visited the US, he still took "Haiti showers," because he couldn't stand to waste water anywhere. That stuck with me, though I obviously didn't implement it for another almost seven years.
So, combining the inappropriate Curly Girl Method and water-conserving showers, here's what I do the majority of the time when I wash my hair:
1) Turn on the water. Get a wash cloth and my hair very wet.
2) Dispense my shampoo into my hand and emulsify it between my hands in the water.
3) Put the shampoo all over my scalp.
4) Turn off the water as soon as the shampoo is off of my hands.
5) Use what is apparently a dog-scrubber (but you can get the human version everywhere) to make sure the shampoo gets all over my scalp, and use the scrubber to exfoliate my scalp.
6) Wash off my body while the shampoo is sitting there working.
7) Turn on the water to rinse my shampoo and soap.
8) Repeat the shampoo steps, usually.
9) After the second shampoo rinse, turn the water off.
10) Apply conditioner to the parts of my hair that would be in a ponytail (that is, not touching my scalp), then gently comb my hair to distribute the conditioner (if you do this and you're like me, you will lose A LOT of hair... but then it's out and doesn't fall into the food you're cooking or onto the floor to choke your vacuum's beater bar).
11) It's called "noodling," I think. Basically, run my fingers down small strands of hair to feel that it's all smooth and the conditioner has been fully distributed.
12) Shave or finish up washing or just meditate on life to kill a few minutes.
13) Turn the shower back on and rinse everything off (including the comb I used, and any product containers that have shaving cream or sticky fingerprints on the outside... I wouldn't have to do that if I had a bucket, but that is the one piece of the full experience that I have not implemented yet).
My hair has gotten SO much healthier since I started doing this. I've also been able to get one more day between washes. I was washing on every third day and now I do it ever fourth day. And I have what I would consider oily skin and an oily scalp.
But when you use a gentle cleanser (sulfate-free shampoo, or even just conditioner -- see co-wash), it doesn't strip the natural oils from your scalp. Sulfates and other harsh cleansers do, and so your scalp over-produces oil to make up for it.
Once you stop that practice, your scalp calms down and you don't get greasy after a day or two (and if you are edging toward it, dry shampoo is your friend).
Anyway, this has produced the results I really wanted to achieve when I tried using no shampoo a few years ago. By the way, James is still doing no-poo; it worked for his scalp and curls.
AND FINALLY, while we're on the subject of hygiene (yes, we were), I have to note that it's now been over a decade (it was 10 years in January) since I started using a menstrual cup. At the time, I thought it was changing my life... and it DID. I never worry about whether or not to swim or to jump on a trampoline, or to go on a vigorous walk, or whether I'm going to mess up the sheets overnight, or any of that stuff.
I AM READY for menopause. But until then, thank the lord for whomever invented the menstrual cup.
Fin.
In Haiti, in order not to waste water, we took showers as our host family, The Pauls, did: Turn the water on to get wet, collecting some of it in a small bucket that was also in the shower (to rinse out the wash cloth, etc.) and then turn the water off to do things like soap up, scrub down, shampoo, etc. The water is only on when you need it to actively do something. Now, our hosts were quite well-to-do (I couldn't host a team of 15-20 people in my house!) and had an on-demand water heater, which was nice... when the electricity was on, which was never a given.
Jean Alix Paul told us that when he visited the US, he still took "Haiti showers," because he couldn't stand to waste water anywhere. That stuck with me, though I obviously didn't implement it for another almost seven years.
So, combining the inappropriate Curly Girl Method and water-conserving showers, here's what I do the majority of the time when I wash my hair:
1) Turn on the water. Get a wash cloth and my hair very wet.
2) Dispense my shampoo into my hand and emulsify it between my hands in the water.
3) Put the shampoo all over my scalp.
4) Turn off the water as soon as the shampoo is off of my hands.
5) Use what is apparently a dog-scrubber (but you can get the human version everywhere) to make sure the shampoo gets all over my scalp, and use the scrubber to exfoliate my scalp.
6) Wash off my body while the shampoo is sitting there working.
7) Turn on the water to rinse my shampoo and soap.
8) Repeat the shampoo steps, usually.
9) After the second shampoo rinse, turn the water off.
10) Apply conditioner to the parts of my hair that would be in a ponytail (that is, not touching my scalp), then gently comb my hair to distribute the conditioner (if you do this and you're like me, you will lose A LOT of hair... but then it's out and doesn't fall into the food you're cooking or onto the floor to choke your vacuum's beater bar).
11) It's called "noodling," I think. Basically, run my fingers down small strands of hair to feel that it's all smooth and the conditioner has been fully distributed.
12) Shave or finish up washing or just meditate on life to kill a few minutes.
13) Turn the shower back on and rinse everything off (including the comb I used, and any product containers that have shaving cream or sticky fingerprints on the outside... I wouldn't have to do that if I had a bucket, but that is the one piece of the full experience that I have not implemented yet).
My hair has gotten SO much healthier since I started doing this. I've also been able to get one more day between washes. I was washing on every third day and now I do it ever fourth day. And I have what I would consider oily skin and an oily scalp.
But when you use a gentle cleanser (sulfate-free shampoo, or even just conditioner -- see co-wash), it doesn't strip the natural oils from your scalp. Sulfates and other harsh cleansers do, and so your scalp over-produces oil to make up for it.
Once you stop that practice, your scalp calms down and you don't get greasy after a day or two (and if you are edging toward it, dry shampoo is your friend).
Anyway, this has produced the results I really wanted to achieve when I tried using no shampoo a few years ago. By the way, James is still doing no-poo; it worked for his scalp and curls.
AND FINALLY, while we're on the subject of hygiene (yes, we were), I have to note that it's now been over a decade (it was 10 years in January) since I started using a menstrual cup. At the time, I thought it was changing my life... and it DID. I never worry about whether or not to swim or to jump on a trampoline, or to go on a vigorous walk, or whether I'm going to mess up the sheets overnight, or any of that stuff.
I AM READY for menopause. But until then, thank the lord for whomever invented the menstrual cup.
Fin.
♥️👍
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