COLOURING MY FACE

I really believe that one of the most enjoyable and creative things that many women do is play with color: in their home decor, their clothing, even their office surroundings; but the most fun they have is in playing with all of the wonderful colors there are out there for putting on the face.

To confess, I have loved eyeshadow since I first found it in 1955. That's right: everyone had a fit. It simpy was not done and especially by 16 year olds. I don't think that anyone I knew wore eyeshadow. But putting pretty colors on my face felt so RIGHT. And I have done just that ever since ... even after being thoroughly scolded by my very first HS principal for whom I taught. Oh my. you would have thought that I was a fallen woman.

Buit I do love color. I'm sure that I first wore some dreadful shade of bright blue; but I learned. These days, I have no real need ever to purchase another shade of anything; and yet, the purveyors of colors come up with delicate new shades with only nuances of difference from one another. And I WANT them. And I buy them and I wear them.  I wear eyeshadow to go to the market or the dry cleaner! I wear eye color to go for a hamburger at Kinkaid's. For Heaven's sake, I put on eye color to go to the pool at the Fitness Center!

I have worn many different brands and colors, but I want to tell you about three of them. First, thirty or forty years ago, there was Borghese: those wonderful boxes of 20 and 30 different colors that they would put out 3 or 4 times a year. Borghese must have had the richest, most intense pigments of any manufacturer anywhere. And 'back in that day' the colors were just that intense. I still have a box of two to wear together: one a deep teal blue; the other, the richest dark purple I have seen. NO, I don't wear them together. It would be a little much these days. But I do find ways to wear them/

And those boxes? I still have two of them, carefully preserved with the tiny pools of brilliant color with Italian names. And those I do wear from time to time. Who could resist Teal Vivente and Frascatti Gold or Violetto Regalito and Aurora Lustro. I want to paint with those and make pretty shadows on my face.

And BeautyControl once made the most beautiful combination package of three little pink pads of color,  from very pale to a lovely rose. Oh my. I bought several boxes of those so that I would never be without my choice of the the perfect colors to be pretty in pink. And yes, BeautyControl has all kinds of lovely colors that are perfect for everyone who would want to wear eyecolor! They don't only have pinks. That would be terrible. NO, they make everything you can dream of and theye put them in packages of twos and threes that you put together to get all kinds of lovely shadings.  And they have the tools, the brushes, everything that makes painting and coloring an easy and enjoyable thing to do. And consultants who can tech you just how to use them on your very own face.

Yet, it is BareMinerals that must have 75-100 different colors of eyecolor. I think that Leslie must constantly develop new color, whatever she is doing, through dinner, in the bathtub, driving down the street. There is Chameleon, a dusty turquoise that I NEED today! and Faith which is a sort of a lighter shade of the same color. Who could forget Envy? Green ? Right! Showers, which is a dusty blue green and Spirited which is darker and has a more intense color. In other words, there are dozens and dozens of blues and greens , each a little different. Then, there are the roses and purples: dozens and dozens of slightly different  colors so that one is PERFECT just for you. You can have anything you want. Just keep looking. And when you have found it, color your face!

Can you see all the fun that is to be had just with eyeshadow. And everyone of these manufacturers offers lessons and diagrams and instructions on how to make your eyes have all kinds of looks. Think of the fun. Think of the creativity. You may never wear some of the designs you come up with outside your bathroom, but what fun you can have playing. That is the only way to learn how to give yourself the 'smokey eye' or the 'natural' look. It just doesn't happen the very first time, but a trial run or two and you can have as much fun as I do coloring.

I hear you: someone out there is asking why would you want to color your face. Well. look in the mirror. Not many of us have the perfect face or the perfect eyes. In fact, without color, my eyes almost disappear from my face. The lashes are pale,  almost the same color as the skin behind them. They don't show without some additional color. But after I have applied my magic with all of the beautiful colors at hand, I have EYES.  And I love the look. You know, at seventy years, I could look old and tired ... and I do ... until I add a little (or a lot of) color.  no... no... no.... when I apply a lot of color, I do not look like a clown. Those pale pinks from BeautyControl that blend softly around my eyes light them and give my eyes a lift ... without surgery. Try it and you will find the delight that we females can have when we play with color right there on our own faces.

I LOVE MY OWN COOKING!

What shall I meander on about tonight? I thought for a while, I would write about doing laundry; but that might have been depressing. And I thought about telling about my FaceBook experiences; but the same people would probably read this that read my comments there. And  so, I decided to write about one of very favorite subjects: food.

As I wrote last, I have been diagnosed as diabetic and that does limit some things; but as I have usually eaten a fairly good diet, there is not a huge difference in what I like and what I can (am supposed to) eat. For instance, tonight, when I finally had a chance to eat supper, I quickly grilled a piece of orange roughy. I have a Sunbeam Rocket Grill ($30 at QVC) and all I have to do is place the piece of fish inside the parchment envelope, hang in the grill, dial up two minutes, and wait.

Tonight, when the bell rang, I had this wonderful piece of fish, perfectly cooked, and I feasted. And yes, I had that with raw veggies; but an hour later, after I finished the laundry, I had the dish for which I had been waiting all afternoon: a fruit salad. I had cut up and tossed together fresh pineapple and fresh strawberries, fresh blackberries, sliced grapes, and a not quite ripe pear -- that's the way I like pears -- to which I added a banana and a some frozen peaches, some chopped pecans, and a little whipped cream (the fat content slows down the rapid acting glucose from the fruit). Oh my, that was so good.

How could anyone not enjoy fresh fruit in the spring? For the last three years, I have eaten 2 or 3 quarts of strawberries a week from April through September and I have been in Heaven. (Then, from October through January or February, I eat Honey Crisp apples, at least one a day; and although that begins to be costly -- Do you know what apples cost these days?-- I eat and I enjoy. A Honey Crisp apple will make a meal and with a grilled cheese sandwich, it makes a feast.)

Grilled cheese sandwiches: another supposed no-no; but I have a secret: Mission Carb Balance flour whole wheat tortillas. I take two of those and spread the tiniest amount of soft, real butter (Why would anyone eat that other stuff, half plastic and half grease?) and with the back of a spoon, smear it as lightly as possible on one side of each tortilla; and then with the edge of that same spoon, rake off any butter that will come off. That leaves the smallest amount, just enough to add real butter taste and help the tortilla crisp. I put one down on the griddle (YES, buttered side down), put some thinnly sliced cheddar cheese on it, top it with the second tortilla (buttered side up); and soon, I have the grilled cheese sandwich of my dream. I love it.

OK. You call it a quesadilla. That is what it is; but it does take the place of the old grilled cheese very nicely. I love my own cooking.