 |
| I seem to have adopted the pose corpses do when placed in coffins |
Got my hair cut yesterday. When was the last time? Dunno. Well before Christmas.
Severed waves of silvery hair floated down, about 2 in. long. I asked Shara (my shearer these last several years) how quickly hair grows. “About half an inch a month,” she said. Could it have been four months since my last visit? I worried Shara was never going to get rich from me and tipped her 50%. Sounds a lot but she doesn’t charge much. Back home, VR, seeing my forehead, the first time for yonks, said it looked well.
Post belly-surgery, how do you keep your trousers up? The lightest belt pressure causes discomfort. Use braces (US: galluses) except you can’t attach them to your PJ trousers. Finally, I’ve found a use for my ankle-length nightshirt which I bought online in the USA:
Blog extract October 26, 2010 (when Tone Deaf was called Works Well):
Oh joy! All the way from Hobe Sound, Florida (An address, I suspect, more glamorous than the place itself.) comes my XXXL Super Soft Henley nightshirt, coloured Forest Green and made in India. Discovered by The Crow who from now on can fulfil all my clothing needs.
As the arms suggest a US XXXL is a mite bigger than a British XXXL and covers the body weight range 251 – 310 lb (18 – 22.14 stones). And before anyone concludes Yorkshire people go to bed in their socks this was purely a photographic session, thanks to Occasional Speeder.
I tried the nightshirt over a decade ago and was disappointed to find it “ruckled” up in bed. It’s gathered dust ever since. I took it to the hospital for the session that was postponed; left it at home the second time. Now I find I can live with the ruckling.
The reason I cannot bear wearing anything in bed (except a pair of close fitting briefs) is the ruckling up and the tightening up whenever I turn over. This has got worse since the stroke as turning in bed is a conscious act these days and usually wakes me.
ReplyDeleteAvus: While I, on the other hand, cannot stand briefs. I think there are metaphorical reasons why I prefer my genitals to be loose and fancy-free in boxer shorts. That sex should be unrestrained?
DeleteI actually had to look up the word galluses. I've lived in Northern Indiana , Washington State, San Francisco, New York State, and now Florida (South) during my life. I've only heard them called suspenders. It seems to have originated in Scotland. Perhaps it is used in the parts of the U.S. where the Scotch Irish settled?
ReplyDeleteFrom Wikipedia re: Scotch-Irish: "From 1717 for the next thirty or so years, the primary points of entry for the Ulster immigrants were Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Castle, Delaware. The Scotch-Irish radiated westward across the Alleghenies, as well as into Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The typical migration involved small networks of related families who settled together, worshipped together, and intermarried, avoiding outsiders."
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteColette: Galluses - as a word - has a red-neck sound to it. I've encountered it often in US fiction, so often I can't be specific. Try Faulkner; I can't believe he'd use anything as arty-farty as suspenders. Perhaps early Steinbeck; Cannery Row for instance.
DeleteThe quote you've dug up opens up a whole new political can of worms. Contrary to popular opinion in the US, the island of Ireland (as opposed to Ireland used tout seul) is two quite distinct countries. The larger part, known as the Republic of Ireland, is quite seperate from the United Kingdom and is - despite Brexit - predominently Catholic and part of the European Union. The six counties in the north (of which Ulster is one) are known as Northern Ireland, are predominently Protestant (very Protestant I should add) and are part of the UK, otherwise identified as that cluster of separate countries (England, Wales, Scotland) to the east of the Irish Sea. Yes, NI origins are the result of emigration from Scotland, and hence rabidly non-Catholic. And therein lie many of the reasons for what are euphemistically called The Troubles, all the killings and bombings that have characterised The Emerald Isle since the 1920s (actually all the way back to Cromwell and the Battle of the Boyne if you want to be exact) with the Easter Uprising. I could go on and on but you would tire before I had finished.
Ruckling is so annoying. A few months ago, I finally found pajama bottoms without pockets and am quite pleased (what on earth would one keep in pajama trouser pockets anyway????).
ReplyDeleteNext on my To-Do list is a haircut!
Zu Schwer: Well I use it to accommodate my hankerchee.
DeleteRuckling is a pretty good word but even better, Nicholas Crane in his Two Degrees West refers to his underpants "slotting."
ReplyDeleteSir Hugh: Inevitably it was one of Mother's.
ReplyDeleteThe Corpse Pose made me Smile. I like very loose XXXXXXXL whenever I can find them, regardless of what it is. Alas, if made in Asia their idea of X is considerably smaller and I have to get so many X's in front of the Size that it's disheartening.
ReplyDelete