Funny Strange, by Lori Culwell

No power

And still there is funny to be had. Close. Close!!

Hey there! Hi there! There's a storm outside.

Hey, look at me!  I’m doing some writing!  One positive side effect of being on “Frankenstorm” watch is that you get a chance to unplug, take a good look at your “to do” list, and finish up some of the blog posts that have been sitting in your computer.   Yay hurricanes!

In case you’re wondering, yes, it is very windy and it’s about to start raining and storming in an old-school, Biblical way, and yes, we have all of our supplies prepared (like water, flashlights, batteries, and camping food, for if/ when the power goes out), so we’re all good there.  I wish there was more to report other than “I can feel the collective nervousness of the entire East Coast in the air,” but for now that’s all I can tell you.

So, in September, I finally broke down and cut my freakishly long hair, and the 14 inch long ponytail shown in this picture is now at Locks of Love, where it will become a wig for a little kid with cancer.  Awesome!

My "after" hair took a little getting used to-- it's not short by any means, but it’s been so long since I had anything but super-long hair. It definitely was weird at first but overall the experience was kind of cathartic.  Stephan really likes it, so that helps.

If you want to donate your long hair to Locks of Love, I certainly would encourage this, and here is their website in case you need more info.

Here are some questions I had about hair donation that I researched (and some that people asked me), and the answers to them:

Q:  How long does your hair have to be?

A:  They have a 10 inch minimum.   I purposely did 14 because I was picturing a little kid wanting blonde princess hair, so I grew it for a little longer so I wouldn’t have actual “short hair” when I finally got around to cutting it.

Side note:   having super-long hair is a total pain, in case you’re wondering.   After awhile I was washing my hair in sections, just to make sure it all got clean.   It’s like, impossible to dry that much hair all at one time, so I was constantly trying to untangle it.   I’m probably never going to grow it that long again.

 

Q:  Do you get to see where the hair goes?

A:  As much as I would love to see the kid I helped, no, they have privacy laws against that.   Plus, apparently it takes five ponytails to make one wig, so they would have no way of knowing where my hair actually went.

 

Q:  Why does your hair grow so fast?

A:  I am a genetic freak, and my power is “fast hair growth.”
Just kidding.  I actually will attribute it to diet and exercise, and the fact that I take a lot of fish oil.  In case you are wondering what kind, here is a link.  I don’t like the fish oil pills and I don’t think I get a big enough dose that way, so I take the lemon flavored fish oil by the spoonful.  Feel free to gag now. 

Q:  Are you going to do it again?

A:  Definitely!  I don’t think I’m going to do 14 inches next time, though, because my hair was getting all “Lady of the Canyon” and that was not a good look on me.

More storm updates as I have them!  Thanks for your care and concern, about the loss of Baxter and now the storm.   It's great to have an internet community.

So.

I haven’t been writing much lately, because honestly, I just haven’t been in the mood.   A couple of posts back I told you all about how our beloved dog Baxter was diagnosed with cancer, and how they didn’t think he would survive for long, and how I was taking the opportunity to take Baxter to do fun stuff like getting a dog sundae and sniffing pet stores and taking long walks.     I was pretty much putting all of my energy into making sure Baxter had an awesome day, every day, for as many days as he had left.

We had a great time, and mostly he seemed to feel good and have energy.    On Saturday, he had a great day, ran around in the yard, and was generally in a great mood.   Later that night he got really sick, and in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, we said goodbye to him, then drove home crying as the sun came up.

So, I guess I will get back on the writing horse soon and start being snarky and tweeting photos of funny food, but right now I’m just missing my friend.   

Thank you so much to everyone who has reached out over the past couple of months (and especially in the past couple of days).   Your support and sympathy means so much.

Um........

So....are they both free? I'm confused.

It's just...personal, ok?

What do we think they do in the "Very Personal Training Studio"?