"You girls have a wonderful Valentine's Day!"

Sorry about the lack of posts lately.   I guess you could say that life has gotten in the way again, big-time.  Things have been very busy around here, and not all good.  Particularly, the past week...and it had nothing to do with attire.

First, below are a few contemporary pictures...in stirrup pants, a women's top and women's cardigan, with light makeup and ballerinas.  That's what I must wear every day... because with the exception of my capri pants for summer, they're the clothes left in my closet.   And, well over half the time I'm rewarded by being addressed in female pronouns...

The better half and I celebrated our Valentine's day outing on the day before Valentine's day,  at a little restaurant in a neighboring town.  (We both hate big crowds...so we sometimes celebrate our holidays at odd times.)  Needless to say, I looked like the above...since that's all I wear!

The waitstaff was attentive.  Because they were a bit short on pronouns for both of us, and because I was with the better half,  I didn't alter my voice at all. We got great food and good service. The fun part came in at the end of the meal, when the waitress came by and put the check on the table, with the comment "Here you go, ladies, I'll take it whenever you're ready."   The better half picked up the bill, took out her charge card, and the waitress came by as promised to pick it up.  When she came back with the charge slip, the better half signed it, and as we were getting up to leave, the waitress said, "You girls have a wonderful Valentines Day!"  Both of us said "Thanks, you too" in unison.  And we left.  I was happy!

But I wasn't so sure about the better half being happy.   As it turned out, the next day (the real Valentines Day) I found out why she didn't look or sound very good.  That morning, while I was out running some errands, she suddenly became ill, with symptoms mimicking that stomach virus which has been making the rounds lately. (I won't go into those details - TMI.  You already know what they are.)  But she was one sick little puppy all day and through the night.

To make a long story short, by early Friday morning (like 5:30), with no improvement and even some deterioration, she was finally ready for me to call 911 and get her a ride to the hospital in an ambulance... something I had tried in vain to talk her into the evening before.  Taking her in the car was out of the question...because of her symptoms.  Plus, from prior experience with my mother, patients arriving at the ER by ambulance seem to always be seen before those brought in by family.  And she needed to be seen - NOW.   About 15 minutes later, after grabbing some of her things and locking up the house, I followed in the car.  She was already in a bed in the ER when I got there, apparently having completely bypassed the coughing, sneezing, snorting, wheezing, groaning masses filling the waiting room. (Of course, it could just be that she was sicker than most of them...but in my over 60 years on this planet, I've yet to see people on gurneys languishing in the waiting room awaiting their turn, behind the others who entered the queue ahead of them.)

After being tested for many things, instead of the expected gastro-enteritis (sp?) it turned out to be much more serious, a condition of which we had no previous indication.  But, if there can be a ray of sunshine after a rather gloomy few days, at least that condition is treatable.  She came home from the hospital after only a four day stay (including 2 days in ICU.)

 

  Stopped beside my favorite little lake...which still isn't frozen.

  

Contemplating the issues....

A nice and feminine look for sightseeing...

I finally pulled together some travel plans for July, because of a meeting in Chicago. It appears that I'll meet the better half at our destination - she'll depart a few days earlier to visit relatives.   This will allow me the freedom to dress AND travel en femme, something in the past I've never had time to enjoy.  I love this plan!

I'm planning to leave home a full day early, and overnight in Baltimore the night before departure.  This provides two continuous days en femme, longer than I've ever attempted.  And, yes, I can even arrange to be dressed when I leave the house!   I'm really excited about the prospects!  Yes, I'm feeling a bit more confident than I used to, and plan to get some makeup issues solved in the next couple of months, making this an improvement for my presentation.  Keep your fingers crossed!

My intention is to wear the above outfit the first day.  I'll be spending that free day at some local museums, then depart early the next morning.  Since I'll be standing most of the time, my denim skirt will be perfect.  I have a very different type of outfit planned for my second day....with a much longer skirt, since I'll spending most of the day sitting on public transportation and dealing one-on-one with staff members and the traveling public.  I'll put pictures of that outfit into a future post.

For those of you who've checked out my "purses" blog from December 6, 2012, you may notice that in these pictures, I'm carrying my Liz Claiborne bag, which I picked up for a song at the thrift shop.  It's actually a fairly small purse.   But if I forget about trying to jam a wallet in it, and just use the credit card slots and money compartments provided inside the purse, then eliminate everything I don't really need, it's a perfect fit!  I'll still have my camera with spare chips and batteries, cell phone, spare glasses,  contact lens supplies, lipstick, face powder, and blood pressure meds.  Just nothing unnecessary.  A side benefit is that I can hear my cell phone ring.  That's something which rarely happens with all of my other bags!  I'd love to thank the woman who gave up this perfectly lovely purse...her loss is definitely my gain!

Though nothing further has been said about the better half's previously-discussed idea of putting me in skirts or dresses and donating all my pants to the local thrift shop, if that plan comes together, my legs will be on full-time display all day, every day.  But I want to let it be her choice, so my wearing skirts remainsl fairly closeted around her and the neighbors.

I picked up the above little skirt from the thrift shop, for less than $3.   It's a tad shorter than the one in the previous picture...requiring even more attention to keeping my knees together when sitting.  I'll definitely need to wear black panties underneath for modesty, just in case!  But it's comfortable and fun to wear - as long as I'm doing a lot of standing.  While the better half was in the hospital, I spent some time wearing it at home.   The turtleneck goes well with it, don't you agree?

Given all the medical events of the past week,  I'm surprised I've found even a few minutes to throw this blog together, so don't look for more posts this month.  The better half and I need to adapt to a new diet (we'll both share it - might even help me lose weight) and other things for her benefit.

So I'll ask the question:  do these outfits look OK?  Please feel free to respond - I'll be watching. and would love to hear some comments from my readers!

"I love it when a plan comes together!"

The better half and I recently attended a Conference in upstate New York, where literally everyone attending knows us.  (Sorry, no pictures this time.)   Since I had only nude pantyhose as legwear with my stirrups, denim leggings and flats, the better half lent me a couple pairs of her dark trouser socks to wear over my pantyhose for the three days of meetings and activities.

Enroute by train in both directions, restrooms were all unisex, so there were no issues.  We sat in the first class lounge at New York's Penn Station, as neither of us wanted to spend much time out with the masses during flu season.  Whenever I needed to use the restroom, the first class lounge was almost empty, as the ebb and flow of people occurred  between departing trains!  I used the men's room, but it was vacant, so there were no problems.

I used the Conference area's men's room routinely, with no issues.  For outside activities (yes, it was cold) I wore my women's ankle boots with no issue. I talked with most all the attendees at one point or another, and nothing at all was said about my attire (at least nothing that I've caught wind of.)

Other than during the Conference itself, I seldom-if-ever heard the dreaded "sir."  I got a few "no pronouns" greetings, and some smiles, but by and large, we were generally addressed as "ladies."  Going both directions, we darted out of the first class lounge for a few minutes to get meals at a restaurant in Penn Station.

There, the waiter gave us a new variation - "you girls" - as in, "what can I get you girls for dinner?"
Not sure why the better half said it to the waiter, but she pointed out that "My husband suggested I have some soup with dinner...."  The waiter took her order and didn't miss a beat...presuming that her husband was somewhere else.  He turned to me for my order - "and you, Miss?"   Train conductors helped us put our bags on and off the trains where there aren't high platforms - "let me help you with that, Miss."  And at various times enroute, men were holding the door for both of us.  It's fun to be a girl!

In closing, to quote Hannibal Smith, leader of the "A-Team"  (for those not old enough to remember, it was a series on the telly from '83 to '87),  - "I love it when a plan comes together!"

Pedicure time again...

Time for my pedicure...since the edges of the polish on my big toes was finally starting to crack and snag my pantyhose.   The pedicure tech was glad to see me - "I figured you'd be back soon!  Six and a half weeks is very good for a shellac pedi."

"Now you'll get to see how we take the shellac off, and why you need to do it at a salon."  After a few minutes in the foot spa, she dried me off, and prepared 10 pieces of aluminum foil and pieces of cotton.  After moistening each piece of cotton with a remover (which smelled a lot like acetone), she put it on a toe, and wrapped the toe with aluminum foil.  Once all of mine were wrapped, she went to the next girl (who had been prepared before me) and started to clean her shellac off, by scraping and then pushing back the cuticles.  Then she shaped her nails and gave them a light sanding with the nail block.   Took her about 10-12 minutes, then she came back and did the same thing on my toes,
cutting them down as short as possible.  With a big smile, she said "maybe in March I'll start letting those toe nail grow nice and long, like Judy has done with your fingers.  That way,  as spring turns into summer, you'll find your flats becoming a bit uncomfortable and you'll begin to spend most of your time in one of the many pretty styles of sandals."  "I'm not sure that'll be quite such a good idea, but we'll see" was my response.

After the rest of the pedicure (massage, etc.) she moved me to a regular chair at a polish station.  There she applied a base coat, 2 coats of polish and a top coat, all with short cycles under a timed UV light.  When that was done, I heard "OK sweetie, you can put your flats back on - you're ready to go!"

It really feels strange to put shoes on over freshly-painted toes, but with shellac, there's no damage to my polish!  And I just couldn't resist putting on a pair of sandals under my housedress, to check out how they look:

Silver polish adds a feminine touch, don't you think?

Now we just need to get some warm weather....

Just Ducky....and "A High Heeled Girl"

Found this flock of ducks...well, really geese...resting in a field in the area.  It's always fun to see them - though they sure can make a mess on the ground...or on your car!  

Has anyone noticed an interesting contradiction lately...geese are supposed to be flying south for the winter (these are obviously stragglers from the flock.)  But many airborne geese have been flying north.  Has something happened to their internal GPS systems, or is it a local avian forecast of a mild winter here in the mid-Atlantic region?  It was near 50 here today, and yesterday I noticed some of the trees are beginning to form their new buds...  When the weather eventually gets cold, those trees - and the errant geese - will be in for a rude shock!

Isn't this just ducky???? Oh, that's right, they're geese!

Another shopping day - dropped the better half off at a store, and did some shopping on my own, taking a few minutes to stop by a little lake I found...you'd never guess it was January, based on the conditions in these pictures!

A walk by the lake.  And it's winter but you wouldn't know it!

A little warmer and I may find myself breaking out my Capri pants...the other girls have started to do it already, so I'd just be going along with them.

Another day out and about in the sunshine...

The following two pictures are of me wearing a pair of high heels I bought on line several years ago.  I really loved the appearance - very sexy - but when I walked in them, they were so uncomfortable that I couldn't wear them all day, or even for more than a few minutes.  Plus they put significant dimples in our hardwood and linoleum floors...not something I was willing to live with.  "No pain, no gain" is a wonderful statement, but when it applies to your own feet...not so much!   The shoes went to charity...and I haven't worn any shoes so blatantly sexy since then!

Is there any way to stop high heels from scarring the floor  (other than sticking with chunky heel styles instead of stilettos?)   Probably once I'm in dresses,  I'll get brave enough to buy heels again...but till then, I'll be in ballerinas!

Waiting for my hair appointment...

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

OMG - I cracked a nail!

How many of us have heard that common refrain from girls with long nails?  It hasn't happened to me in quite a while.  However, Monday...

I'm working on perfecting my feminine hand movements and that's helped me avoid a lot of cracked nails.  (You know the drill, pushing elevator buttons with knuckles instead of fingertips, and not prying pop-top cans open with my nails.  Typing is still a challenge - thank heavens for spell check -  relatively long (for a guy) nails have affected both my speed and accuracy!   But sometimes, we relapse to old habits. Monday, it only took a couple absent-minded seconds and a simple push of the car's trunk button with the tip of my fingernail, to crack the end of the nail on that finger.  So, I made an appointment at the nail salon for Thursday - it was time for my pink-and-white fill, anyway.

All my nails have grown to nearly 1/4" beyond my finger tips, and the tech generally smiles knowingly at me each time I ask her to shorten them.  She then proceeds to trim about 1/16" off and proceed with the fill.  Since they grow about 1/8" between fills, it seems she's devised a painless way to insure that I end up with long, very feminine nails.

Last fill, I asked long she plans to continue to "grow my nails out."  Her answer was that once they all exceed 1/2" beyond my finger tips, she'll keep them between 1/2" and 5/8"permanently. "I initially considered giving you long extensions, but everybody would have noticed that big change. Instead, I'm forcing your nails to grow out slowly, over a period of months. By doing it this way, you'll find yourself getting lots of comments from girls about your pretty manicure, but be fairly insulated from comments about how long your nails are."

So far, she's been exactly right!  It happens whether I'm alone, or with the better half - women tend to comment on the appearance of my nails.  But I just don't hear from anyone about their length,  probably because they're an appropriate length for a woman.  Men never notice, or simply ignore, them.  "So, if they keep growing like they have, by the holidays in 2013 you should be sporting lovely, feminine hands with gorgeous French-manicured talons that women everywhere will envy. Maybe then, we'll think about having you paint your nails in colors, to coordinate with the following day's outfit.  It's something many of us girls enjoy doing. Won't that be fun?"

"I guess so...particularly if I'm wearing dresses instead of pants by then.  But I'll probably need help with picking colors.  How long will it take for me to polish my nails each night?"

She was very helpful. "With our selection here, we'll find you some color numbers you can buy at your local pharmacy, or we can get them for you from our supplier.   You can figure about a half hour a night to remove old polish, push back the cuticles and apply the new color.  But don't forget another half hour or more to let it dry.  On second thought, the best option for next fall may be for me to switch you from French to a pretty medium red acrylic.  That's a wonderfully-feminine every-day color for your nails.  Many women wear it.  Like your French acrylics, there's no effort required on your part, but to come in for your fills."

"And you won't need to be in dresses every day.  Red nails will look fabulous on you, whether you're still in stirrups and capri's, or have switched to skirts, dresses, bikinis, and so on.  When you need to coordinate your nails with a dress for a special event, or with an evening gown, you polish over the red with another color."  I said, "Why don't you make the decision for me, once my nails are grown out?"  And she agreed...

My pedicure tech is really getting into this feminization, too.  Last time I got a pedi, she tried something new on my toes, called shellac polish, to stop the way the regular polish wears off between pedicures.  (It's a hybrid of regular polish and UV cured gel.)  Another big benefit is that "you don't need to wear sandals on pedicure day.  You can put your flats on and walk right out - your new polish won't smudge, and it will still look good for at least a month, probably more."  I told her that was a big advantage in the winter - I've never liked having to wear sandals on pedicure day, just to keep my nails nice.  Sandals in the snow are particularly inconvenient.   "That's why the girls all love shellac, and you will, too!"

She picked a bright silver color for me, and that's what I'm wearing now.  After it was on and cured, she assured me that she'd keep them silver (a winter color) for the next several pedicures, to get me used to seeing my brightly-polished toes.  After that, she'll stick to seasonally-appropriate colors, like  medium browns for fall and pastels for spring.  "What color dress and peep-toe heels will you be wearing on Easter Sunday?  Once you decide, let me know and I'll see if I can match it with shellac polish."  Then she reminded me of the last product characteristic.  There are special removal techniques (which I haven't experienced yet), so I won't be able to remove it on my own.  Not that I'd want to try...they look too nice.

A pic of my pedicure with shellac polish, after a month.  As you can see, this color shows up nicely in pantyhose...

And, as for wear, she was right.  It's now been a full month, and all my toenails still look pretty good, don't you think?  Yes,  some growth is showing at the nail bed, but that's to be expected.  No visible wear, no chips. I should easily go another two or three weeks, maybe more, before needing a pedicure - as long as I don't whack a toe on a piece of furniture!  (Been there, done that - it can really mess up a nail - hard on the nylons, too!)  A big bonus is that the silver color is plainly visible under my pantyhose.  Looks like wearing sandals (or open toe shoes) should become much more interesting this coming summer!  More on this topic with my next pedicure.

Today (it's now Thursday) Judy gave me a pink-and-white fill on my fingers.  Definitely another fun visit!  I didn't have to ask her to shorten them this time...she had to take a bit more than usual off to make the nails even, after Monday's "Oops."  It's at least a month's setback for reaching the proper length.  But even so, the finished product always looks really pretty.

Palm side of my left hand during a break in her work on my right hand...which needed to hold the camera!  Notice my ballerinas and stirrups?  I'm still wearing them...every day.

Judy's hard at work again, and I'm having a great time!

The tech and I were discussing another customer's Michael Kors handbag with her.  We all agreed that it was beautiful, 100 percent sequins, and very shiny.  While I would never say anything out loud, for my current situation, it would have been a bit too "over the top."  But, she looked very pretty carrying it.  Bet it cost a fortune!  Hope her boyfriend got it for her as a holiday present...

Stay tuned for more as it becomes available.

How can you can tell it's not summertime?

If it were, this Ocean City beach on Maryland's Eastern Shore would be teeming with sun-worshippers!  Today, just yards from the end of the "boardwalk," there isn't a human in sight!

This December day wasn't really all that cold or windy...in the low 50's.  A great day for a short overnight autumn break at the seashore - off season rates are very favorable.  We chose to "not" go beach-walking this visit...there just wasn't time before checking into the hotel and an early dinner appointment.  For that, I was glad...the first time (several years ago) that we took an impromptu walk on the beach in late fall,  it was fun, walking and talking, hand-in-hand.  But, it's impossible to keep sand out of your shoes on a beach! After shaking the sand out,  and putting my shoes back on, I realized that I was going to have to enjoy the sand for a while longer...a fair amount had worked its way inside my pantyhose, and it wasn't coming out!   But this trip, I was OK with passing up the   beachwalking!

Where are all the people?

When I checked us into the hotel, we were addressed as "ladies" and I was "Ma'am." And at dinner, the girl who was our server was a real sweeetheart - "ladies" was the word of the day.  We had a great meal, and she got a bigger tip than we usually leave. And it was "ladies" at the tram for the huge holiday light display...which was very nice!  This time I didn't have to drive and miss all the fun...

Theme for the holiday light display was "The 12 days of Christmas."  Here you see the maids a-milking.  Kids were everywhere, and having a good time. 

That's the Atlantic Ocean behind me...   

A few minutes before taking this picture, I waved to the good folks across the pond in the UK, since the haze hadn't set in yet...  Bet nobody saw me!

 

No, it's not a sunset...

I have a "thing" for colorful sunrises and sunsets.  This is a remarkable Atlantic sunrise from Maryland's Eastern Shore...   I was very comfortable, sitting out on the balcony of our room on the 8th floor of the hotel, wearing my ballerinas, one of my housedresses and a heavy jacket, watching the majesty in the eastern sky unfold, from a thin line of color on the horizon, to a technicolor masterpiece, while enjoying the wonderfully soothing sounds of the surf. 

Definitely one of the vacation mornings I look forward to!

Because of the upcoming holidays, this may be my last 2012 post.  To everyone who reads this, I send my best wishes for a very Happy Holiday Season, and a Happy New Year....

A cute charity shop find....

Following are a couple pictures of my newest Charity Shop find...a cute lightweight denim skirt, for the princely sum of $2.36!  I couldn't pass it up....particularly since I need to add another cue as to my femininity.

I pulled the skirt on over my stirrups for these pictures... fall, wintertime and early spring typically aren't typically short skirt season.  So, for the time being, I can wear it over my stirrups.   Before I retired, some of the girls at work wore similar outfits to work, and they looked very nice.  I realize the outfit would look even better if my skirt were worn over heavy tights.  And if I end up in skirts and dresses next November, that'll be the only way I CAN wear it!

When the weather breaks in the spring, it would look great over my pantyhose, though it's short enough that I''d better be wearing panties too, if I plan to sit down. You may recall that panties are a bit of a problem right now, since the doctor said I should only wear pantyhose, not panties.  The better half donated all of mine except for two pairs (one black and one white),  and a pair of the appropriate color autmatically appears on pedicure or car show days.   Time will tell what happens, but this won't become an issue till the weather warms up next spring.  That's still a long way off...

My new skirt even has an unexpected (and appreciated)  benefit...side pockets!  That's perfect for traveling - a place for a hotel room key, car keys, and some paper money, a credit card, or my ID. Funny how things have come full circle...I gave up all my pants with pockets, but find all the skirts I have now are equipped with pockets -small, but pockets nonetheless!  Is wearing skirts how I'll gain access to pockets again?   That would be so ironic...

 A girly little denim skirt!   From the rear, my stirrups look almost like leggings.  Notice my acrylic French nails... they're very feminine, and as you can see, impossible to hide!

From the front, my stirrups and ballerinas are noticeable.  But it's the same type of outfit girls at work wore to the office last winter....

A couple days ago, the better half mentioned  that my supply of pantyhose is getting low, and suggested that I order some more, since holiday sales are in progress.  But she reminded me to only order nude or taupe color...no more dark pantyhose.  I ordered them online, as usual, then left the printed order confirmation sitting on my desk so she could see that my purchase was all taupe, not dark.

Later on, she noticed the confirmation and thanked me for taking care of that.  "Since pantyhose from the store don't fit you right, and you only own two pair of panties, you sure don't want to run out!   And now that ballerinas are your go-to footwear, light-colored nylons maximize their visibility."

She's certainly right about my wearing ballerinas every day.  A look at my current shoe wardrobe reveals multiple pairs of women's flat open-toe sandals in various colors, two pairs of summery tan "fisherman style" sandals, and two pairs of clog slides (which don't work well with stirrups but will be fine with my skirts.)  Also, there's a pair of low heel booties for winter, two pairs of slip-on and one pair of lace-up women's Keds, plus the driving shoes (which have subsequently developed a problem, so I quit wearing them.)   Keds are only for messy days or tasks - like yard work or the mornings of car shows - since they can be thrown in the washer.   All my other shoes are gone, so ballerinas are really my only choice.

And it seems that they're a non-issue, wherever I go.  Very encouraging!  Whenever I'm near a womens' shoe shop, I check out their inventory, to try to find another pair in a different style, that fits as well as these.  That's proving to be tough....I can find some cute ones, but they don't fit right!  One of these days, I'll hopefully succeed!
 
In my last visit to the Dermatologist, she gave me some medication for the skin issues on my face, which she advised may cause temporary redness as a side effect, wherever it's applied.  Turns out,  she's right...it does.  So I called her office to ask if anything can be done about the redness.  The assistant, who said she remembered me from my recent visits,  told me that most women just wear a heavier concealer under their foundation and powder.  "That'll be the easiest thing for you, Ma'am, even when you don't want to get fancy with your lipstick, blusher and eye makeup.  That shouldn't be a problem for you, right Ma'am?"  "No, it's not a problem at all, Miss, thanks!"  I guess I should have thought of that...but at least it's the approved way to deal with redness.  So now I'll be wearing some makeup every day.  And that's one more advanced feminine cue for me.

And since the better half noticed the redness, she's fine with my using makeup as a cover-up for it Yes, it was a new experience  for me that first morning, applying my makeup at my sink, while she quickly washed her hands and face, brushed her teeth and then moved on,  "Welcome to the wonderful world of makeup, dear.  You're probably having fun with it today.   But eventually the novelty will wear off for you, and you''ll see it as a chore.  That's why I no longer wear makeup...    I do miss the fragrance of the powder, though.  Since you now have to wear makeup, you're the one who'll smell pretty, and I get to enjoy it, without all the work!  Don't be too long, dear - see you in the kitchen!" 

Guess the shoe is on the other foot now...wonder if (or when) it will become a high heel?