Spring Swing

A quick follow-up to a reader question about using coffee grounds in the shower as an exfoliant. No, unfortunately, it does not turn your skin brown as that would save many of us from looking so pale during these winter months, but it does wreak havoc with the tub. It’s a messy, messy endeavor and you’ll have “fun” cleaning up afterwards.

If you use fresh coffee grounds and you’re partial to the smell, then you’ll get a refreshing charge out of the experience, but I recently discovered leaving them in the plastic container for more than a day or so, they can start to smell a bit more ash-trayish.

So when you rinse, then no, you won’t smell like coffee, but you’ll have a light layer of an oily residue left over and that’s a good thing as it’s supposed to be good for skin.

R. A. I. (Research According to the Internet) tells us that using coffee grounds as a scrub helps to smooth the appearance of dimply cottage cheese thighs, so that’s a bonus. Plus, it brings the blood to the surface, well, not all the way to the surface because then you’d be scrubbing too hard, but it tends to turn your skin red momentarily from increased circulation.

But on to other things.

I’m suffering from an overwhelment of paper. Like many whose weakness is chocolate, carbs or bread specifically, I’ve recently recognized that Hi, my name is Cindy and I’m addicted to paper.

I picked up so many business cards, brochures, playbills and the like while in New York, my luggage weighed in several pounds heavier at the airport on the way back than at the start. Ha, similar to my body. I’ve decided to try a Eugene-inspired Nirvana diet in the attempt to find “thinner peace.” Give it a second, ‘cause that’s funny.

There are two areas in our studio that remain completely wild and untamable, my beading table and work table. It’s absolutely frustrating to want to sit down and start creating but not be able to until I’ve dug myself out of the mounting piles of PAPER!

I’ll organize, sort, file or recyle mounds of the stuff only to wake up the next morning to more. Gaaaaah, I don’t know where it comes from. Groom has recently started calling me Lady Sheafs and Reams, Duchess of Ephemeric Chaos. Great.

Shifting topics once more, we attended Clay Ball again on Saturday. Clay Ball is an annual benefit for the Salem Art Association and we were invited to donate jewelry for the silent auction. We were wined and dined and entertained and hopefully they raised lots of money to continue supporting the arts.

This year’s theme was “Spring Swing,” and I wish I had paid more attention to the fine print because many of the attendees dressed up in 1920’s attire complete with flapper dresses and feather headbands and as most of you know, I love fashion and playing dress up, so I felt like I missed an opportunity.

On the other hand, my first impression of the swing era is the 1940’s, so I would have showed up in a vintage hat with netting and been off the fashion mark by two decades. With my new fairly severe bob, my hair did fit it and got several comments (as did my dress, shoes and jewelry…), so all’s well that ends well.

Before I sign off, it is my intention to clean my workspace (again) and actually get to work. After all the fun and travel during January and February, the March clock is ticking and wagging its finger at me, clearly signaling that jewelry needs to be designed and made for the rapidly approaching opening of the 20!! show season. I say this out loud for accountability and I hope to have something new to show and tell pretty soon.