Saturday, October 22, 2005

Ok, I went shopping again today. It's Saturday and shopping is relatively mindless after a week of mindful work. Shopping for me is down time. Just looking, editing, selecting, and then, 'to buy or not to buy'. I usually buy. Something. Today, two more purses. This has been a difficult purse season. After a year of use, my bright taxi cab yellow Fossil bag is showing wear. There are newer colors out there, newer textures and much newer shapes.

A month ago I bought a great pair of boots and stuck them under the bed while I pondered whether to keep them. Well, I love them and wore them in Marfa so I'm keeping them. They'll walk me through my public and private lives for as many days as my toes can fold into those Western toes. My new boots are bronze and green metallic and since their purchase, I seem to be color coding everything to these new boots. I only see bronze and green and perennial black. There are few other colors in the spectrum.

And as I said, this has been a difficult purse season. I am not sure I've found 'the one' yet. I began looking for a yellow purse replacement when an unscheduled hour opened up before a haircut appointment. I came home that day with two handbags - a practical leather bag with pressed croc markings - it held everything just like the yellow Fossil bag and was so boring I never took it out of the shopping bag. The second bag was kelly green fake fur with lots of flaps and pockets and covered buttons. I loved it and also knew that it would have had limited use. Tht green fake fur needs chic little black suits or voluminous skirts with layers of shrugs and sweaters. I never took it out of the shopping bag either for fear I would really keep it. I returned both bags and shopped again, leaving the store with a Brahmin green pressed leather bag that i learned is so special that it can be registered on line. Discontinued color so it wasn't full price. Elegant, yet with just a reference to those Mexican handbags with hand tooled roses. Will it go with the boots? More than likely.

And then today, I felt the unquenchable urge to make a quick trip to a store that stocks trendy less expensive bags than the Brahmin. And how easy it was to leave that shop with two handbags - a fashionable and sensible brown metallic mesh bag and a fashionable, frivolous green velvet ruffles bag. I've pulled my boots out from under the bed and confirmed that both bags look really good with the boots.

So my Saturday has been defined by purses. The future of the Brahmin is uncertain. I'll carry green velvet ruffles on my wrist to a dinner this Thursday night. Yes, with the boots and a ruched skirt.

A front came into town today for the first game of the World Series. Astros play at home tonight. Here we are in a sporting event mode again.

Friday, October 21, 2005

Woke very early this a.m. - just after 5:00 - and somehow found 'blogher'. What a present so early in the day. I am ready to sign up for their two day conference in August 2006. Also found Ronnie Bennett's blog on aging and listened to a panel discussion on 'going naked'. Then thought I'd check my own blog - I haven't posted in over a year. And guess what - I posted when the Astros were in the play-offs. And now just this week they've made it to the World Series for the very first time. What is it about my blog that entries are made around sporting event times? And I don't even follow the Astros or any other team and had to be conscious about mentioning their winning game at work so people won't think I am totally out of it. Everyone expresses great interest in the outcome - at least, the people I know and work with in the public sphere. I have to believe they really care about the Astros being a part of the World Series. At the very least, they must care because it brings Houston into the spotlight. And they may like baseball. Or they may like cheering for a home team because it's wrapped up as part of our identity. I am not going to delve further this morning. We've already been in the spotlight as the Good Samaritan for evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. Houston's response was truly wonderful and heartfelt. And we were organized about it. We can thank Mayor White and Judge Eckels for the fine partnership they created to serve this city and the people who poured into it after Katrina. Can you put the Astro's win in the same sort of category. I can't.

So writing the paragraph above, I find myself in a familiar quandary - should I rewrite and tighten before posting? Sleep on the text before publishing? Are such concerns even in the blogging spirit?