Jet Lag and Fried Hair

After three weeks away from it all, reentry was hard, my friends. Jet lag + menopause = WTF. I happened to have a doctor’s appointment for my frozen shoulder (which botox treatments have 95% cured) and was all is this normal??? and I was assured it was. As we age, jet lag hits harder: oh, goody. For a full week, my time was all turned around. I was up at 1:30am most days and even sleeping pills had no effect. I also had vertigo, so all I could do was sit and read magazines (which are coming back into fashion, thank heavens).

I could also watch TV thank the lord because the Hacks series finale (sob) and The Testaments season finale (chills) were both so good!!! I will really miss Hacks. The penultimate episode about AI was so spot on. Have you been watching either show? I also watched the Should I Marry a Murderer documentary. Girl, no!

I was hoping the renovation next door might be closer to done since the contractors have been at it since OCTOBER, but they are only now starting the framing of the house. They had three weeks to bang and hammer without bugging us but, alas, they did not. They delay was allegedly caused by some unhinged design choices as well the house being in much worse shape than expected (anyone on the street could have told them this.) Why are people so weird? The noise (and the installation of an OUTHOUSE!!!) is driving me crazy, so much so that I’ve started looking at real estate again. I am here for at least another year since I want them to finish construction for resale purposes, my youngest is still in university, and my oldest will likely live at home for her first year of working to save money. But once they have their plans in place, who knows? Do I want the busy city life? I’ve narrowed things down to an historic home in north Toronto or Aurora if the kids stay in the GTA, or Canmore or Victoria if they don’t. Or maybe when the renovation is done, I will embrace this place once again. I do have very good neighbours (except the new one, who, in spite of never having met him, I’ve very lightly cursed become - COME ON NOW - at least introduce yourself and send an I’m Sorry fruit basket or something…)

As an antidote to the noise, I’ve been trying to embrace all of the good things about Toronto, which means buying parasols and greeting cards at Putti (the best gift shop in the world) and walking to Holt Renfrew to buy more concealer (Victoria Beckham x Augustinus Bader cannot be beat.)

I’ll probably swing by the ROM museum too although one has to time visits carefully between school trips and bus tours. The Gardiner ceramics museum is always quiet and has a great restaurant so I’ll maybe I’ll pop in there too. My daughter seems to be loving the city after basically five years away, so maybe I can see it through her eyes.

I’ve found a hairdresser to start to rescue my hair. Box dye should be kept under lock and key and if you’ve experienced any sort of recent trauma, you should not be able to legally buy it! I bought strawberry blonde box dye after my mother died and at first it was all well and good but it started to pull very orange on me. I asked a hairdresser to fix it and was surprised when she did not want to do a patch test. Four hours later, it looked basically the same but was very damaged. Now, I have a new hairdresser who has me on a program of toners, conditioning treatments, and hydrating shampoo (Pureology in the purple bottle, which is aces.) She did a patch test and it all but smoked and turned to dust so I won’t be able to have anything bleach-related near my head for a while but she toned me to a dark golden blonde. Oy. Live and learn.

I’ve also been heavily editing my closet. The vibrations from the construction knocked down the bottom bar of my closet and as I was picking up everything, I decided I wanted to donate things I never wear. I’m at an age where I have kind of a uniform of linen pants and blouses in the summer, and wide legged jeans or black pants and a blazer at every other time of the year. Anything that was not part of the uniform, with the exception of some occasion dresses, was donated. I still have approximately 700 pairs of Repetto ballerina flats but they look cute with the uniform and Matthieu Blazy is bringing back that general look.

Now that I can read actual books again, I’ve been doing so while enjoying my caffeine-free Diet Coke. I really missed it in Japan where I was forced to drink Coke Zero. From a health perspective, I hear that it’s basically like ingesting poison but it’s my one and only vice.

I read How to Read a Book by Monica Wood, which is so good. I love books told from opposite sides of a story and this book is about a young woman in prison, the older woman who runs the prison book club, and a man who was indirectly victimized by the prisoner. Books put them all on a collision course. It’s a wonderful story of the healing power of reading and forgiveness and friendship. It’s a winner.

I LOVED Maria Semple’s Go Gentle. I was not sure about this one at first for some reason as I was under the impression it was a convoluted tale about Stoicism. It is that, but is also about midlife, #metoo, love, art, US politics, mothering, and found family in Paris, LA and NYC. I really enjoyed it.

I read Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth and really enjoyed this tale of an 81 year old, whose past as Australia’s youngest murderer has been uncovered. It’s a mystery as you discover who she killed and why, as well as a story about female friendships and how patriarchy can be so poisonous. Her street reminds me of my street and I think this book serves as a warning for people who take too long with renovations to not underestimate grumpy older women.

I sped through The Divorce by Freida McFadden. It’s a page-turner like all her books. I have no idea how she writes so prolifically while being a doctor (albeit only part-time now) and a mom of two.

As June rolls in, I’m starting to get back to normal. After months of shock and awe and a month of travel and recovery, I’m only starting to get back to where I was last September when everything kicked off. I’ve agreed to teach classes in the fall and am actually looking forward to them. As I read things, I’m like, I could integrate this into my course, which is not where my headspace has been for a while. I’m taking this all as healing and progress.

What are you reading these days? My next read is The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett. So far, I’m really enjoying it.

Xx Jen