Happy Easter....

To all my readers who celebrate it.  Hope some of you will post about your Easter dresses, for those of us who don't have the opportunity to wear them...

Hugs,

Mandy

Finally...

Several days ago, I had to visit my optometrist in the mall for a routine yearly appointment.  I was dressed as in the below picture (which was taken in the family restroom before my appointment.)  And once again, every peddler (both male and female) at every kiosk I passed,  addressed me as female and tried to give me their "free demonstrations and samples."  Wow - do they ever look crestfallen when I say "no thanks" and walk on.  Whether I soften my voice or just use my male voice depends on how persistent they are...soft the first time I say "no thanks" but after their second try it's often in my full (loud) male voice.  I don't look back to see their expression - I don't really care!

Nothing noteworthy happened at the optometrist, where they know me as a guy regardless of my appearance, save for a discussion about how most young girls tear their contact lenses or scratch their corneas with nails as long as mine, forcing them to shorten nails on their "pointer" fingers.   Then they watch me remove the old ones and insert the new ones, where I point out that I've worn them for about 30 years.  And nothing more is said...

At an appointment with our banker (female), in which I wore women's denim leggings with a turtleneck blouse, she confided to my wife and I that her assistant had somehow gotten the idea I was 30 years old.  (Wrong! it's more than double that...)  From her glances at me as we walked in, which she probably thought I wouldn't notice, I suspect that she also misinterpreted me as female...maybe because of my now-female given name.  But that little morsel of info wasn't shared with us by the banker.  Needless to say, this made my day, and week, probably month as well...even though I know all too well, that in reality I don't look 30something...LOL!

And finally...Mandy got a chance to see the light of day.  YAY!  Yesterday I took the antique out for a many-hour test drive (one very long day), to see how it runs after all the work on its carburetor.  The good news is: it ran fine, with only one more small adjustment needed.  And the gas mileage seems to have improved...a lot. 

This was Mandy's first excursion so far in 2016.   I left the house in light makeup but no eye liner or lipstick, with a typical everyday spring outfit of black pedal pushers and a blue turtleneck (which is roughly the same color as my new blouse to match the skirt.)  Very convenient, as I was able to slip my long skirt over the pedal pushers (love the long and looser skirts - especially in cool weather) in the car, apply lipstick, and add my pearl drop earrings and bracelet - all by the side of the road, an hour out.  That was my attire for the rest of the day...till about the same point on the return trip.

But the really fun part was: the admission attendant at my destination might have made a pass at me.  (Dealing with men paying attention to me is a very unfamiliar subject.)   When I drove up in the old car and showed my National Park pass from the driver's seat (and the attendant couldn't see what I was wearing - other than my long hair, long, shiny nails, turtleneck, lipstick, Mom's necklace, and  my paisley-skirt-covered lap)  he smiled from ear to ear (a friendly one, not that sarcastic "A-Ha!" smile) and asked "is that your Pass, Miss?"  I assured him it was and offered to produce my ID - "the same ID I used when I obtained it."  He smiled again and said "It's just that the car might qualify, but you look too young and attractive to have one.  No need for your ID.  I believe you.  Go right on in, and have a nice day, Miss."  With more smiles...   "Thank you, sir, I certainly will" and I moved on.  (Would he ever have gotten an eyeful from my ID - with that big "M" on it....)

Was it a "pass," simply flattery, or did he really think I look younger than my actual age?  If the banker incident hadn't occurred, my inexperienced bet would have been on "a somewhat lame pass."   If it happens again anytime soon however, I'll begin to wonder...

The weather was windy all day (as usual) but very nice.  Here are a couple of pictures from the day...

 Assateague Island.  Much too cool and windy to even  try to pose as a "beach babe."

 At the old PRR station near Newark, MD.  Yes, Virginia, there really is a Newark in MD, as well as DE and NJ!

But now my skirt disappears for a while...

Till next time!

Mandy

Thanks to my readers...

For viewing my blog over 60,000 times!   That's a wonderful response.   I hope everyone keeps checking in....

Hugs,

Mandy

Very quiet around here...

Recently I contacted a doctor's office, one to which I haven't previously been.   After I gave my name, I was addressed as Ms, which is fine with me.  Then a few days later, in the mail was an envelope from the doctor, with the medical history forms they want me to fill out.  And it was addressed to me, as Ms.  I'll be anxious to see how they address me when I show up, and whether it changes once they have that multi-page form in front of them,  with the little checkmark beside the "M" on the second page.

Stopped off at the auto parts store where they usually have a male clerk who wears a skirt.  But not today (Tuesday.)  I didn't ask about him, but if he's not here next time, on a day other than Tuesday, I will...  I was all ready to meet him!

Today's post is short.  Hopefully I'll have more to say soon.  Meanwhile, let me leave you with a picture of a Chesapeake Bay sunset, from Cape Charles, Virginia, on the tip of the Delmarva.

Chesapeake Sunset,

Not much going on...so I tried some "retail therapy."

Not much going on gender-wise for me lately.

As my regular readers know, I wear women's androgynous clothes all the time, and was out recently on a number of errands, sans makeup.  My outfit was dark gray stirrup pants and a pinkish/red women's button-front blouse, with flats, my purse, and Mom's necklace.

It's tax time, so I had to visit the copy shop to make some copies for my file.  The clerks were twenty-somethings, one girl, one guy.   For my entire visit, including paying the bill with my credit card in my now-female name, I was addressed as a woman - by both.  Not all kids are insensitive...   And, yes, this was the beginning of a very good day!

Next, I had to visit the pharmacy.  When I took my selections up to the female clerk, she noticed my long fingernails.   As she checked me out at the register, she opened a discussion about them, wanting to know all about them, how long I've had them, and where I get them done...  Then she told me she would be getting a set of nails, and if I want I can stop back to see them in a couple weeks.   It's always a pleasure to be invited to engage in some girl talk... 

Then as I was walking out of the nursing home, a gentleman said to me:  "Good morning, Ma'am."  To which I replied, and "Good morning to you, sir" in my none-too-good-but-the-best-I-can-do female voice, within earshot of a couple of residents, one male and one female. Who both looked up at me.  Oops...wonder what they were thinking?

After getting home and making some reservations for my wife and myself on the phone, I was addressed as "Ms. Sherman." For the whole phone call, from beginning to end.   And they had my profile in front of them.  Yes, that's an aberration...normally I'm not "miss-identified on the phone because of my voice.  In fact, just the previous evening, the hotel chain I spoke with to reserve some  rooms for us identified me as "Sir."  Even though I used my wife's affinity card and didn't use any gender-specific words such as "wife" when referring to her.  :-(

The disappointment from that first phone call, where I was "Sir'ed" caused me to try a little "retail therapy" today at a thrift shop, as I've liked some of the longer lightweight skirts I'm seeing on women.   And to my surprise, I found that the shop had been well-stocked for a midnight madness event tonight.  While I won't go back for that, I qualified for today's 20 percent senior discount.  Wouldn't you know that I found a skirt I like, and a blouse as well?  The blouse may eventually show up in my everyday wardrobe, but unfortunately, not so the skirt...

So at this point, I'm ready to go...all I need is a place to wear them....

That's it for now...

Mandy

 

I finally wore them...in front of the kids.

The kids and their baby have headed home...and yes, our new granddaughter is a real cutie!  When I hold her, and she puts her tiny hand in mine or wraps her hand around my finger while smiling at me...I simply melt!  She's fun to be around...and steals your heart, even if she occasionally "exercises her lungs a bit!"  What baby doesn't?  (And then she gets handed back to Mommy or Daddy to feed or change...)

Our place is now so very lonely without them...and when they left, there wasn't a dry eye in the bunch...   Though it's been a very long trip for them, we hope they're able to visit us again soon.

In my previous post "A refreshingly pleasant day",  I mentioned that my brown sandals had arrived, and that my wife hadn't commented about them as I wore them around the house.  I also mentioned in the post, that I might try wearing them in the presence of our son and daughter-in-law while they were here...

Well, I did it,  during the last few days of their visit.   Not a word was said...by anyone.  So, they have apparently been added to my "acceptable footwear" list...at least on a de facto basis.  And, I look forward to wearing them a lot as the weather gets warmer.

From the archives:

Here you see the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad's steam locomotive 734 storming upgrade with a long passenger train, enroute to Frostburg at Helmstetter's Curved on the old Western Maryland Railway.  (Named, of course, for the family whose farm is nearby, just out of sight to the left, inside the horseshoe curve.)

Back in the day, this used to be double track.  But fortunately, one track was allowed to remain when the hiker/biker trail was installed.  The two still peacefully co-exist, to this day...and prove that it is possible for both uses to be successful.

Enjoy!

Mandy

A refreshingly pleasant day...

While our kids (who are houseguests for a week and a half) were off visiting friends, I visited the nail salon to get a pedicure and fill.  Surprisingly, a new tech (early 20's) did my nails, and without prompting by the owner, she addressed and treated me as a woman.  No fuss, muss or bother!  What a pleasure...given that I've had very few occasions to be Mandy, and today's only cues of femininity came from the fact I was having my nails done, my hair, purse, flats and stirrup pants.  I could learn to like that a lot!

Then, on the way home, I stopped at the hardware store to see if the LED light bulbs they were expecting (and which were on sale) had arrived.  They had, at noon, but sold out immediately.  He offered to hold a box for me with next week's shipment, and give us a call, asking "to whom should we talk?"  I gave my true "now-female" given name and my wife's first name, as the two choices (but avoided using the term "my wife" with her name.)   And at that point, instead of  the "no gender-specific forms of address"mode he had been in, I became "Miss."

Ought to be fun if my wife gets the call when they come in...

My new brown sandals finally arrived, and I've been wearing them around the house...

These sandals are cut just a bit differently from the white ones, and their comfort isn't quite as legendary, even though they're the exact same size.  So I won't pursue a pair in black right now.  But I should still be able to enjoy wearing them, particularly with capris and skirts, but they're fine with jeans and dresses too.

I haven't pushed my luck by wearing them around the kids yet...but there's more time ahead.  Tomorrow may be the day.  Apparently I haven't yet worn them enough to get a wifely reaction to them yet, as I did the white ones.   But time is on my side.   And if my wife insists on the "no closed shoes" theme she mentioned will take effect when she packs up my closet full of footwear, I can look forward to a reminder that they're going to be my everyday footwear this summer!

In case you're wondering about the dress above...it's one of several I wear only around the house.  Very loose fitting, and very comfortable. My wife is used to it, and doesn't protest as long as I don't head out on my errands wearing it!  But it's not nearly nice enough for wearing in public - I wouldn't even try.  Not even around the kids.  The only dress which might be appropriate is my sleeveless black jumper, which would be OK worn with a turtleneck.  If Mandy ever goes anywhere in the winter, that will be be a good outfit for my suitcase. 

Today while I was out and about. I stopped in at my optometrist's to pick up a set of contacts.  During my walk through the mall (dressed as described in the first paragraph above), most every kiosk attendant addressed me as a female, and tried to sell me something...very affirming.  Then at the big box store, I got into the shortest checkout line  (two very full carts in front of me, and one half-full).  The man with the half-full cart turned to me and said "Ma'am, if you go over there. to the customer service area, they'll check out your two items so you don't have to wait in line."  "Oh thanks so much, Sir!"  That must be something new...and I like it.  Then as I headed for the exit, a guard said "Please use the doors over there, Ma'am."    That let me get out of there even quicker...

It was quite a good day...

More later...

Mandy