Wifey and I were relaxing in front of the telly after dinner a couple nights ago, and she had turned to a home shopping channel. I looked up to see a warm-looking turtleneck midi-dress on sale, and commented that getting some like that might replace several of my sleeveless dresses which have too-short old turtleneck blouses underneath. Her comment was that “it’d look nice on you – and it’s long enough, but I don’t think it’ll fit – it’s tapered at the waist, and you don’t have curves there.
My response was that I’d check the size chart and measure myself, to be sure. She was OK with that. I did, gave her the measurements, and as usual, she was correct. I told her that I’d keep looking…and she was fine with conceivably making that change. “If you find some of them, we’ll keep two or three of your best sleeveless housedresses for you to wear without the top underneath, around here but possibly even when you’re out and about next summer. But we can get rid of the rest, as well as those poorly-fitting turtlenecks you wear underneath them. That’ll cut down the number of pieces I have to wash!”
Exploring is fun! The remains of an old, abandoned motel…
It’s located on US-11, not far from Chattanooga, found during one of our sightseeing trips in our new state of residence. I didn’t get near the motel – so as to not disturb any “residents.” (And from seeing clothing laying around, I’d expect there are at least some of them.) Bet the motel’s “room service” is more than a bit sub-standard!
Pictured below is a sleeveless summer dress in a medium-thickness fabric, which I wear (barefooted of course, now that the unpacking from our move is almost complete) over one of several turtleneck tunics around the house, and with family. This works very well in fall, winter, and spring. And it’s so comfortable to wear around the house…lets me be efficient in taking care of my household duties.
Coincidentally, Wifey likes it the best of several of my similar outfits, and is always glad to see me wearing it. She says it shows off my pretty white toe nails (which aren’t visible in this archive pic) and pink fingernails so well that I might eventually be able to wear it around others besides family.
What do you think…is it a suitable outfit to wear around friends, or perhaps out and about in public?
Had a wonderful nail appointment a couple weeks ago! (And below is another picture successfully posted…)
I wore white slide sandals, white capris and a dressy black pleated-square-neck tunic, plus the usual accoutrements. My nail tech knows me as a woman. And though the shop was very busy, there were no men present except three male nail techs, who have seen me previously. The only customer who looked twice at me was an-approximately-8-year-old young lady who came in with her mother, both for pedicures. Not sure if I “passed” or not, but after her “initial double take,” she didn’t even bother to point me out to her mother.
While my tech worked on my pedicure, our girl talk started with mutual pleasantries, including discussing plans for Labor Day. She and her hubby planned to stay around the house to rest, as she has been working extra hours to help out other techs who were on vacation. I relayed that my “hubby” was going to be hanging around, working on “his Honey-do” list. (So true…LOL!) “But we may go out for a picnic.” (That actually was the plan, but in reality it was hot enough that we stayed home in the AC!)
Then came the question about nail color. Again, I chose white for my toes and the usual pink acrylic fill for my fingers. She offered to put 1” extensions on my fingers and do them in white gel, so all 20 nails are the same color. “You’d look so elegant in dresses and heeled sandals, with long extensions, and all 20 nails in matching color!” “Two problems with that…I don’t wear dresses very often – only have a few, and it takes a special occasion to find me out and about in a dress. Second problem – I don’t wear heels! One of these days I’d love to have those extensions, and 20 nails in matching color – maybe even red! But only when we go out of town and I don’t have to do any housework!”
“One of these days when I remember, I’ll bring in some pictures of me in dresses while on trips!” Her response was: “Oh yes, I’d love to see that! But I have to confess that wearing dresses or skirts is a rarity for me, too. With this career, shorts, a blouse and sandals are what most of us wear due to the awkward position we sit in for pedicures!”
Later that morning, a middle-aged woman wearing a dress a couple inches above her knees came in for a pedi. I had wondered how they deal with that nowadays in shops with male and female techs, having not worn a dress to this nail salon yet. (Yes, I’ve worn a skirt several times, but not here. That was at least two nail salons and more than a few years ago.)
Back then, I also had a female tech who knew me as a woman, and my skirt didn’t bother her in the least. She simply went about her business, and didn’t give my skirt – or what’s under it – a second thought. Here, the lady’s male tech put a towel over her lap and knees to protect her modesty. Since I’m once again a woman with a female tech, it’s unlikely I’ll be given a towel. So, if I ever wear a skirt or dress, I’d better make sure it’s a longer skirt, or better yet, a skort!
Today was “hugs” day…and my tech was on “greeter/exit duty”. A couple visits ago, I had wondered about a hug she gave me as I left, wondering if she was checking for my bra straps. This visit clarified that perfectly – she was not. Every woman got a heartfelt thank-you hug! Including me!
I so enjoy these salon visits – and the lovely girl talk!
When the weather gets cold enough to require long pants with closed shoes (rather than sandals), here is a picture of a prime candidate.
It’s a cute turtleneck tunic over a smooth pair of these hand-me-down leggings from Mom (I have several), with black tights and a pair of relatively flat shoes (less than a 1″ heel.) I love the outfit, and have worn it a number of times.
With a sweater on, It’s relatively dressy, but still overtly feminine. I can predict wearing outfits such as this if the weather gets particularly cold this winter. And with my long hair, purse and on-the-longer-side pink fingernails, doubt it will lead to many greetings of “Sir.”
The railroad pictured below was the Bath and Hammondsport, in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York.
Formed in 1832 as a 3′ gauge local railroad between the namesake towns, it was converted to standard gauge in 1889, and came under the control of the Erie RR in 1903. Passenger service ended in 1917, and freight business (including transporting wine shipments out of the Hammondsport wineries) until the 1935 flood damaged the railroad and the Erie began abandonment activity. Local businessmen purchased the line, and the railroad was repaired and returned to service in 1936.
Between then and the mid century period, the railroad continued to operate. 1960 saw the merger of the Erie and the Delaware Lackawanna and Western railroads ,with the formation of the Erie Lackawanna. On April 1, 1976, the Erie Lackawanna became part of Conrail. That same year, Conrail sold the DL&W line between Bath and Wayland to the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency. B&H became the designated operator of the branch to Wayland. Primary freight traffic for the railroad was wine and related products, lumber, and general commodities. Among the wineries served was the Great Western winery. The county operated the line with the nickname of “The Champagne Route”, and passenger excursions were operated by the Champagne Railroad. These excursions ended in 1994, and much of the track to Hammondsport was taken out of service once wine shipments from Hammondsport ceased. Service continued between Bath and Wayland on the former EL track. Freight interchange was maintained with Conrail at Bath.
In May 1996, shortline Livonia, Avon & Lakeville assumed operation of the county-owned trackage, including the original B&H. These operations were transferred to the subsidiary Cohocton Valley Railroad in 2001, and later that year this company was renamed B&H Rail Corporation and assumed a long-term lease of Norfolk Southern (formerly DL&W) trackage between Wayland, Bath and Painted Post. At this time, the LAL embarked on an aggressive track rehab program, replacing many ties. The track to Hammondsport remains out of service, but is not abandoned.
As of August 2008, the B&H operated freight service between Cohocton and Painted Post. About half of a mile of the Hammondsport branch line is being used as a siding. The original line, designated at the Hammondsport Running Track, continues to be maintained for potential future service. Some new construction took place on the line from Bath to Painted Post just past the junction where dirt embankments have been built up as if additional sidings were going to be added. The railroad’s main office and locomotive facility are located in Cohocton.
Here is a picture taken of one of the excursion trains at the cute Cohocton station back in 1993:
How I wish I could wear a manicure like this all the time! This was from a solo trip taken several years ago…and it was fun!
As for the status of my nails right now, they’re over a quarter inch beyond the ends of my fingers. And at my most recent appointment, my nail tech assured me that while they will remain the normal shade of pink, she will not be materially shortening them during this or my next couple of fills. “Your nails are beautiful…I want women to be envious of them, and men to admire them. Those won’t happen if I shorten them. So be prepared to adjust to your new longer nails, dearie.”
Having men admire them would be nice, but the fun part will be the girl talk, which I soon foresee beginning!
…and I’m well past the three-month mark of wearing sandals full-time. I’m loving it… they’re so comfortable! And I’m happy to have Wifey’s support – both in making sure I have to wear them, and also following my tech’s “keep those painted toes in sandals” recommendation.
She and the tech are both fine with white as the color on my toes – girls are wearing it a lot this summer, as we’ve seen at stores here, and on models in many of the female fashion catalogs used for buying me clothes. But the tech has already hinted that she’d prefer to see me wearing 20 matching red nails this winter, including some pretty holiday nail art for November and December. We’ll see if that flies when the time comes…my guess is that they’ll either remain white, or go back to black!
I’ve spent the entire summer (thus far) in outfits like the following:
And I don’t see any imminent changes. My leggings haven’t seen the light of day more than a few tines since we’ve moved. Capri outfits like this (or womens’ shorts), along with pink fingernails, white toenails, and my usual purse and long hair are improving the number of times I’m recognized as female, or at least eliminating the term “Sir” from everyone’s vocabulary when they address me. The next step would be to wear dresses every day, everywhere we go. I certainly wouldn’t complain, but that isn’t likely to happen – at least not any time soon!
And as stated previously and proved by the above, I’ve figured out how to put pictures back in my posts… The workaround is a bit cumbersome, but above is the result, second one done this way.
You’ve seen a version of this outfit before, posted last January.
I bring it up again, since my issue with toe nails and now having to wear sandals full time, means it probably won’t be worn this way for a while. More likely it will be worn on a solo summer trip, without sweater, tights and flats…instead with blouses, bare legs and sandals.
I’ll be looking forward to it – if the spread of the virus permits!
Mandy's Miscellany 