Posted in Photo, Photo challenge

Weekly Photo Challenge: Texture

I don’t know what it is with the texture of an animal’s fur, but I just need to touch it!

How about you? Will you stay far away from cats, dogs, sheep and cows, or will you stroke their face to feel its softness?

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check out the other entries in the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge

 

Posted in Six word stories

Mirror of the Soul

My entry in the Six Word Story Challenge: Pets

DELIGHTFULLY INSENSITIVE TO SKIN AND RELIGION

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You’re most welcome to take a look at the other Pet stories.

Posted in Personal, Photo, Poems

Layers of Life

~

Life dresses

in many layers

as daughter

best friend

lover and

mother

but then

one by one

these sheets of life

are stripped away

until nothing’s left

but the bare core

the essence

the soul

flies

~

MC Driessen blogs

For Lia Daenen, co-worker and friend – Rest In Peace, sweetheart.

Posted in Personal

There’s a New Doc in Town!

If I were a car, I would be in high maintenance mode. These last few weeks I have been to the doctor several times, had an over-all health check and paid a visit to my best friend the dentist. Who is not my best friend at all 😉

Every month my hormones decide to poke my veins and brain into developing a nasty migraine on the left side of my head. Normal pain killers have no effect whatsoever.  Apart from the construction team pounding away in my skull, one out of every four weeks I am nauseated, see prism shapes when trying to focus on my screen and have an overall uncomfortable feeling.

Also my skin has decided to try and outdo artificial jewellery by developing natural adornments during the last 20 years: brown age spots. Perhaps my skin thinks I’m not a car but a Dalmatian! Some of these spots are in precarious places – around my chest under my bra – and they were growing, starting to irritate.

So notwithstanding the nerve section pleading otherwise, I finally found the courage to go to the doctor. And guess what: there was a new doc in town! Meet Doc Ö. And this doctor listened very carefully to what I was telling him: that I don’t like medicine. That I don’t want to take pills. That I even want to stop taking THE pill. That taking hormone pills was dangerous in the long run. That they were the cause of these migraines – or so everyone was telling me. And during this conversation I was jumping from East to West, talking about everything at once. But doc Ö was not flabbergasted, nope. He patiently directed me back to my original question each time. And after half an hour got me to accept a recipe for little pills against migraine in stead of taking nothing at all.

This month the headaches hit me on Saturday night while I was at a birthday party, following me neatly through the weekend. Afraid of the side effects, of course I did not take a little pill. Noooo I was getting through the ordeal on my own! Sunday passed and Monday came, with me hanging like a dishcloth in my chair at the uni. Boy o boy, not good. My friend and co-worker Mootje forced encouraged me to stop hurting and start swallowing. One hour later the pain subsided. And to my surprise it didn’t come back at all. I was left with only a tiny little headache in the background in stead of a drum band at the front.

1 – 0 for Doc Ö.

Last week he also checked out my Dalmatian spots. Fortunately all of them were behaving themselves quite well and didn’t need to be sent to a laboratory. Six of them he treated with liquid nitrogen, which stung but didn’t hurt too bad. For two of them he draw his scalpel. Eeks. I was very nervous, but he explained all he was doing and started with anaesthetic injections in my side and back. What he did next was mercifully hidden from view hehehe. After half an hour he was finished and I could go home.

2 – 0 for Doc Ö.

Today I went back once again to have the sutures removed. This was only a tiny bit uncomfortable. He prescribed a silicon gel to help the scar tissue heal smoothly.

3 – 0 for Doc Ö.

Next month I have to return once more so he can check out the wound.

All in all I like this new doc in town. Thank you doctor Ö, for making me feel brave and calm enough to undergo your treatments.

Growing older…


Posted in Personal

How To De-Crease In Five Easy Steps

It is early morning and a merry tune drags me away from my dreams. Dreams about whales! Cruel alarm dressed in a tune. The whales’ song was much kinder.

As I release myself of old tea, my mirror image stares back at me, looking as tired as I feel. How does she know? Hair is screwed up, eyes are visible through slits, bags under the eyes and an interesting pattern of wrinkles on my cheek. Dear pillow, please refrain yourself from these artistic actions, you are only meant to cradle my head at night!

What to do, what to DO?

First I am going to attack my internal wrinkles. Do not worry, I will not deepen this investigation. It suffices to say I start with a big glass of orange juice to set all invisible organs in motion. Water is also great. Do NOT forget your inner woman, she is very important! De-Crease action number one.

After that I step into my bath-shower and pull at the lever to start an enormous flood of hot water pouring down on my upturned face. Pay attention, this is the most important part of our strategy to De-Crease! While you are doing this, let your thoughts roam in any direction they want to. I meet my muse in my daily morning shower and we have lots of interesting but silent conversations.

As I climb out again, looking at the world with new and fully opened eyes, my mirror image comes into view again. Ah, she looks kind of refreshed, especially when I put in my contacts.

Now De-Crease action number three comes into the scene: Clinique ‘all about eyes serum’. And as much as I already loved this brand before – it is the only brand I can use because of my skin allergies – this product is the best of all. It promises to be a ‘de-puffing eye massage’. But listen: do NOT massage your eyeballs with it! That is a misleading text *grins*. No, just gently roll the metal ball over the bags under your eyes. It is cold, it is fresh, it is heaven. Like a smooth ice cube.

Mirror image looks at me and nods. Things are looking up. My eyes are content, but the rest of my face is yelling to hurry up, it is drying out. Next action to De-Crease is another product to nurture the skin: ‘Superdefence SPF25’. Hey, does that sound promising or what? Apparently this cream will protect your face from all attacks of the outer world! LOL who makes up all these ad slogans? After all it is facial cream. And what does SPF25 mean? As if we care, most important is that we have a bit of luxury in our lives this early.

So until now we have orange juice, shower, eyes and face. The rest of our body also needs a bit of attention, to prevent future creases. For that I use a bird. Yes a bird! She is very gentle and subtle and applies a feathery touch to my skin.

Perhaps you are thinking it is a peculiar Dutch custom? I’m sorry to disappoint you, this is my little birdie:

And there we are: five easy steps to De-Crease:

  1. orange juice or water
  2. fresh shower
  3. eye serum
  4. super defense cream
  5. body lotion

I don’t know if these five rules really decrease creases – hehehe funny language – but it does feel good to take care of yourself. To thank your body, your skin for protecting you daily.

And the tiny wrinkles that are engraved permanently in my skin? Leave them be. I have earned each and everyone of them!

How do you De-Crease in the morning?