Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

This is me with my hair bright purple. The photo was taken a few hours after I colored my hair.

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I got this fine hoodie from an online acquaintance. Also, I just re-colored my hair.



I'd been idly wanting a new hoodie for months, and then I saw these. Liz has an Etsy store with this and a wide variety of other embroidered clothing, bags, and such. A lot of it is fantasy or sf-themed:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/UnusualFrequency <https://www.etsy.com/shop/unusualfrequency>

A quick photo taken with my phone:
( photo cut for size )

I got my hair dyed purple yesterday, at Scream on Capitol Hill in Seattle.

I'm pleased: it's a really good purple, and she kept a white streak in front, as I asked.

Here's a photo:



The dark blue highlights don't seem to have worked, but it will be interesting if that changes as the dye fades. Also, I have bits of purple under my fingernails, which I don't like but am not surprised by. (ETA: The salon has a website at http://screamseattle.com/ and takes both reservations and walk-ins.)
ETA again: the woman who did my hair is named Kaylee (noting this before I forget again, because I may want to ask for her next time).

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Today was the last Bellevue Farmers' Market of the year. It's clearly the end of the season, but we have tomatoes, Brussels sprouts (which I don't like, but Adrian and Cattitude both do), cheese, bread, and mixed-berry pie. I do miss the year-round Greenmarket back in Inwood; there are a few year-round markets in Seattle, but it's different when it's a half-hour bus trip with a walk at each end, rather than a few blocks on foot.

I'm not sure which is more of an anomaly, the rhododendrons in bloom or the morning's snowfall:



ETA: I am reliably informed that these are camellias, and a google image search agrees. I still like the contrast of flowers and snow.

There's a nice vertical garden on the wall of the Bellevue Library's new parking garage. It's mostly shades and textures of green, with some flowers tucked in. I took some photos, which aren't nearly as good as looking at the real thing, but I think this one gives the general idea:

This is the turtle we saw washed up on the edge of the Harlem River this afternoon (it's probably 4 or 5 inches long (10-12 cm)):

My right shoulder has been bothering me again lately. I don't know if it's the rotator cuff again, or something else. My current plan is to be diligent about my stretches and exercises for the rotator cuff for the next ten days, and then decide whether to call my GP. (Getting in before Thanksgiving, given that it's not remotely an emergency and we're traveling Wednesday, seems unlikely.) Doing the strengthening exercises today, I found three went very smoothly, and the fourth caused an immediate "ouch" in a way that suggested I'd hit the relevant muscle, or a relevant muscle. However, that felt more like upper arm than shoulder, so there may be two things going on, or I may just have pushed things at the gym yesterday.

I have uploaded some more photos to Flickr: autumn in the park, two weird vegetables, and one picture of Julian. Here's one sample:

When I was buying a piece of fish at the Greenmarket today, the vendor warned me that they won't be there next Saturday. I told her I wouldn't either, but thanked her for the warning. A bit of chat about plans led to her asking me "What's in Boston, your children?" I said "No, my girlfriend," and smiled. I not only look old enough to have grown children, I am that old, but it still surprised me.

We get the college alumni magazine (it would take an active effort not to), so it goes in the stack of "things to read in the bathroom" along with Science, the Nature Conservancy magazine, and occasional catalogs. I tend to do a really fast skim of the "class notes," and was thus reminded that my class's 25th reunion is next spring. If it weren't Wiscon weekend, I might think about going, though I'd probably decide against it: I haven't either kept in touch with, or missed, those people. The key point is the second half of that, I think.

cattitude has been buying hummus as a snack lately, and he is working his way through the flavors available at the nearest grocery. The garlic doesn't have enough garlic in it, and the pine nuts weren't noticeable in the pine nut flavored hummus, but the roasted pepper is nice. (The brand name is Sabra; this is not a global opinion of garlic hummus.)

I got cattitude to take the digital camera out yesterday, to get pictures of me with shoulder-length purple hair. Behind the cut-tag is a picture of me and roadnotes in Inwood Hill Park. ( cut for size--over 200 kB )