Wig It

I didn't post on Saturday nor Monday. This is mostly because the weather has been gorgeous and I'm feeling great. I'd rather take the opportunity to do things under these circumstances than sit at the computer.

The upside is that I have a lot of photos to show you from our weekend.

But before I get to all that, it's time for the Big Reveal: Amy!'s Wigs. I've mentioned them. Now you get to see them.

And before we get to that, a few comments on wigs:

It is crazy how many wigs are for sale online. Racquel Welch has her own line, and that alone features 74 selections. Look at this! That's a lot of wigs, and on this site, hers is only one of 6 major lines.

(Note, too, how Racquel models most of them herself. And I got to say, that woman looks great in a wig. . .)

And this web site is only one of a dozen big on-line stores.

Who is buying all these wigs? Are there that many female cancer patients in the country? I am told that it used to be the rage to wear a wig on top of your own head of hair. Women pinned their own back, wore a tight cap on top, and then fitted the wig onto all that. Really? Who would do that? Women still do that? To judge by the availability of product, I guess so.

I ordered one as a "safety" wig, one that I was sure I'd be glad to wear. I ordered a second, which didn't cost much, because it looked fun. When I got it and put it on, Gemma said, "You could wear that to Crazy Hair Day at AWANA!" Indeed. I'll be sure to take a photo of it when I do.

And then I ordered one that Gemma pick out for me. It's pink. And SHE can wear it to Crazy Hair Day herself. After I tried it on and showed her, she said, "When you're all better and have your hair back, can I wear that wig?" Ah ha. . . So, really, she picked it out for herself.

Each wig offers color selection, most of which come in 10 or more colors. It's kind of hard to tell what color you're going to get from the little swatch you see on your screen, which goes far to explain this first wig I'm wearing. I thought I was buying something mostly brown with a bit of blondish highlight, but the wig put all the highlights in front and all the brown in back, so, well, there you have it.

Joshua and I are at the Hot Air Balloon Festival, something I'll tell you about tomorrow.

I wore this wig to church last weekend, and nearly no one recognized me. (Except for you, Kim!) At one point, Carol, whom I've known for 2 years, walked up to Bryan and, while standing right in front of me, asked him, "Wasn't Amy feeling up to coming tonight?"

I tapped her on the shoulder. She did her double-take and then said, "Oh, I thought you were Amy's mother or something."

I said, "You mean, 'Amy's younger daughter, right?'"

I realized the potential for an amusing evening, and started walking up to people I knew with the obvious intention of hugging them. Each time, the targeted woman would kind of put up her hands and look bewildered as she struck a "Strange woman coming for me!" post. I'd ask, "Don't you recognize me?"

And each one would shake her head, still baffled.

So funny.

I wore this second wig the next weekend and was recognized by all. This is my favorite of the 2. I think it looks better than my own hair has ever looked. And do you know where it came from? My neighbor, Stephanie.

She and her family are new on the cul-de-sac. Moved in a week after my surgery. I went over to introduce myself and we were making small talk when another neighbor, Mark, walked over, too. Before cutting to the small talk, he looked at me and said, "Are you OK? How are you doing? Is everything all right?"

A little odd, if you were my new neighbor observing this. So I had to explain.

I turned to Stephanie and said, "Hi, I'm your new

neighbor and I have breast cancer and I just had

surgery last week."

She laughed and said, "Last time we moved into a place, my new neighbor told me her husband was on trial for pre-meditated murder."

So, really, this was nothing.

Stephanie had just finished her treatment for cervical cancer before moving here. How about that! Her friend had sent her a wig to use, but her hair never fell out. She passed her wig onto me. How great is that?

I know what you're all thinking: Where in Colorado Springs are you standing, Amy? That looks like a corn field behind you.

Ah, yes. Well, heck, here come a lot more photos:

Here I am, modeling in front of Bryan's cornfield. Directly behind me is the front of his tomato patch. In this area, he also grows his pumpkins, basil, carrots and parsley. A whole forest of parsley.

Parsley? Why did he plant parsley? Why that much of it?

I asked him and he said that I was the one who bought the seeds. Really? I just don't remember that. . .

As for the outfit, I went shopping with my friend and decided to make an afternoon of it. Of course, once I was in Dillards, where the women's hats were 70% off, I took the wig off and tried all the hats on. So much for the illusion.

Here Bryan tends his strawberry patch. He's pulling back the net that protects it from the bunnies.

The kids love to poke through and eat the red ones off the plant. I think I've eaten 2 strawberries this whole summer. Gemma and Joshua? Considerably more.

A view of our yard. Each little section you see outlined in pavers within the mulch is a garden bed. The near one is our lettuce. I don't know which kind he planted, but they are all on the bitter side. Very fresh, though. And they grow like crazy.

Most evenings in the summer, we have dinner and then Bryan and the kids go out to the yard and tend the garden. Well. Mostly, the kids play. But Bryan is very diligent.

Bryan installed the patio last summer. Along the fence are our trellises for grapes. In the corner, he planted several berry bushes, but this summer has been so wet, and that corner is at the bottom of a slight slope. They all drowned.

There you have it. Wigs. Gardens. The connection? Umm. . . Things That Cover Up Stuff That Doesn't Grow and Things That Grow?