The Reluctant Hairdresser

I was due to visit my hairdresser when the Covid-19 lockdown started in the UK back in March 2020.  For me, uncontrolled head hair growth for another six weeks, or so, was untenable and I sought to buy electric hair clippers. Clearly, I was not alone and the cheaper ones had sold out everywhere and I ended up paying nearly £70. Since then, I have not been back to the hairdresser and the clippers have paid for themselves.

Today, I became the reluctant hairdresser. My partner's hair started falling out, little by little, a week ago, as a result of her chemo. We had discussed wigs and I had explained what she should look for ... lace front etc. So it was that I found one of mine for her to try on for size  ...  and it does suit her ... 

As P's hair continued to relocate to the bath outlet, we decided that I should apply the clippers to her head. (Other hair is her matter). I was more reluctant than she, but today, we took 'before' photos and then about 40 minutes later I took some of her Sinéad cut. It was a few moments of curious intimacy, removing something which is generally so important to a woman's self-image and one she would spend several hundred pounds a year having styled and coloured. The result? Surprisingly, the Sinéad cut worked out well. Of course, this is just an intermediate stage; before long what remains will be lost and then she will being wearing  ... my wig!!!

Dermatitis, Weight Gain, and Nails

At the risk of sounding boring, I am going to moan about dermatitis again, not to elicit any jot of sympathy, but to mark what might be seen as a hiatus in my T-girl journey. Prior to last Summer, I had various skin conditions, but all were both discrete and discreet. Then dermatitis around my eyes broke out. At the beginning, before I realised what was happening, I looked rather Panda-esque, but without the cute fluffiness. Yesterday, was the first time in seven months that I was able to apply foundation 'close' to my eyes and use eyeliner (mascara must continue to wait). In celebration, I also intended to paint my nails.

The problem I had was to find my nail varnish. After some deep contemplation, followed by wrecking my bathroom, I found the varnish and, luckily, it was still fluid. The nails were the best outcome from yesterday's dressing. Over the months I should have replaced things like lip pencil and blusher, but had relied on  tail-ends, as the impetus for spending on make up had not been there while the dermatitis was in full swing. Worse still, over the last few months, my weight has shot up and I find my tummy quite embarrassingly proud. However, vanity must prevail, and pictures were taken. 

My partner has 'spread' things around the living room (necessary as she sorts all the things she needs with the onset of chemo) so, without looking inside, I took myself into a very blustery garden. The photos were not good, but were a record (and I do like the colour of my new sweater, even if it is rather autumnal - it goes with my 'cranes' skirt). Then my partner said she had cleared up the living room, in case I wanted to take photos in there. That was really thoughtful of her ... I should have looked!

The varnish was kept on overnight and it started me thinking about the last time I wore any (given the trouble I had finding it). Going back through my flickr photos I came across this. Uh? the last time I wore nail varnish was last March and then the commentary was to do with not having painted my nails since???

To my mind, wearing nail varnish is one of a girl's most obvious expressions of femininity. You cannot hide from it while typing or doing almost anything, whether dressed, or not. They're there now ... the bold redness flying acros the computer keys. The sight of them is like lightning, a direct and immediate connection to my inner self.

 I know now that Spring 2022 must be a time of activity - I must lose weight and I must keep my T-girl awareness raised despite other problems ... more nail varnish, please!

An Anything But Wild Night in Margate and The Chemo Begins

 I don't really know why I've this sudden urge to detail my almost-daily life ... maybe simply to relate important changes as they occur. There is nothing TG in this post!

Although Margate's only 30 minutes away, Pauline and I went to Margate last night and stayed over in the Premier Inn. She was due at the hospital this morning at 08.45 and the traffic can be dreadful, so we decided to take a relaxed approach. We ate at 'Angela's', a fish restaurant near the Turner Centre. It's the first time I've eaten in a bistro-type restaurant in England in years and I was really pleasantly surprised at the the way fish cookery has taken off. I had hot-smoked prawns with aioli followed by charcoal-grilled pollock on celeriac mash with horseradish sauce. Pauline also had the pollock, which we agreed  was very nice. It wasn't that many years ago ... 30? that the local fish and game shop in Deal first started stocking pollock and from this link, it still isn't that widely known. By chance I bought frozen Alaskan pollock from Waitrose recently and was surprised that I didn't recognise it ... that's 'cos it's a completely different fish ... that's why! We had Litmus, a nice white wine from the Surrey to go with the meal.

Walking back to the Premier Inn, my mind was swirling with JMW Turner and the imagery he produced at Margate:  

Sunset off Margate Pier 

I am constantly amazed and invigorated by Turner's paintings - they always appear new.

It's a curiousity of being 'old' ... we were back in the hotel by 20.30 and barely made it to the 22.00 news before sleep overtook us!

Today ... today is a new day. After breakfast I dropped Pauline at the Viking Day Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Queen Mary Hospital in Margate for her to begin her chemo treatment. Just as England is loosening it grip on the populace with respect to covid, she enters the world of the immuno-suppressed for the next 20 weeks. Luckily, Winter will soon give way to Spring and the risk of infections will decrease.

Actually, there is something TG related  ... I wear wigs and my partner may soon be looking for one, so she's relying on my expertise to guide her through the world of wigs!!!