Time for a spruce up

With the sun out more and more frequently, it is not just the house that needs a spring clean.

One of the advantages of winter is getting up in the dark and going to bed in the dark and not spending a lot of time looking into mirrors, but of course with the lighter mornings now I have the perfect opportunity to approach the dreaded mirror in full natural light and what I see does not please me.

I have so much white hair now.  I know I started going white quite early but it is always a shock to me in spring to see how much more of it has appeared over the dark winter months - say what you like, energy saving bulbs are flattering - they hide a multitude of sins by their dim light.

Definitely time to spruce myself up - starting with some lovely hair dye.

I have tried various natural dyes over the years with various degrees of success, including lemon juice and henna, but for sheer variety of choice in colour my current favourite is Schwarzkopf.

So yesterday saw me staining my shirt, the floor, the bathroom walls, a towel and finally my hair in Schwarzkopf Live, Cyber Purple (46), and very vibrant it is too.  Unfortunately so is my pillow because my hair was not complete dry when I went to bed.


Last year I gave some well meaning advice to someone - advice which I have trouble following myself - and that is to stop saving things for best because 'best' never happens.

I grew up with clothes, towels, bed linen, crockery, etc etc being saved for best and it is something I do myself - childhood learnt behaviours.

When I lost some very dear family members and it fell to me to clear their house, I found cupboards and wardrobes stuffed full of 'best' items, most with price labels dating 10 years plus still attached.  I think it was one of the most depressing things I have ever seen.

But childhood learnt behaviours are hard to crack so whilst I try to not save things for best I find myself doing it almost automatically, buying a lovely jumper and shoving it in the wardrobe to wear only on special occasions while I continually wear rubbish old clothes that even a tramp would have second thoughts about.

I am much much better with bed linen, towels and crockery, I have 'best' items but make the effort to get them out and use them whenever we have friends over for dinner or to stay. 

I am also adamant that my daughter wears everything in her wardrobe - she has no best items left for special occasions that in reality never arrive.  I encourage her to wear all the things she likes to school or around the house or out with her friends otherwise like many of my childhood clothes, they would simply sit in the back of wardrobe until they did not fit any longer.

We live in an old stone farmhouse with wood burners and have spent 3 years renovating the property, and most of the year is spent working outside on the veg garden - not actions condusive to 'best' clothes.  The problem for me is that it is far too easy to let things slide and just wear grubby old clothes constantly, not bother with makeup, tie my hair in ponytails and forget about it, sometimes I really need that kick up the backside to spruce myself up.  Lets hope I can keep it up for longer than it takes my new hair colour to fade.