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joseph at signatures in phila

Cutting hair the right way is an art. Lots of people get paid to cut hair, but there aren’t a lot of people having the passion of their trade, or the vision to produce a hairstyle that goes with their client’s face structure and features. After moving to a new city, there’s always the process of elimination in trying to find someone. After two terrible attempts, and walking around slightly dishelved looking for not wanting to try yet another place, I got lucky on the third attempt with a place called Signatures, and a hairstylist called Joseph in Philadelphia at 116 S 19th Street, (215 567 1456), a few skips from Rittenhouse Square Park.

When you sit in Joseph’s chair, and watch his fingers work their magic on your hair, you get a feeling you’re in the right place with the right person who’s really liking what he does. Should you visit Phila and want someone with patience, skill, and creativity to work wonders with your hair, you might want to step into Signatures and sit in Joseph’s chair.

Before you go, check out www.philadelphia.citysearch.com/profile/8950387. It’s strange to have such a wide range of reviews. Life is like that sometimes.

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a witless one, a camera, sjp’s hands

As I was logging on to my laptop I saw a little photo zeroing in on someone’s hands with words like man hands, veins, etc. It turns out they are Sarah Jessica Parker’s hands. The photo is irksome for a few reasons. Many things are happening in the world at the moment. Thousands in China have lost their lives, others have lost families, and others have lost homes. There are fires blazing elsewhere in the world, in different ways and in different parts of the world people are experiencing tragedies.

Then we have a witless one with a camera in our midst who can see no further than a pair of hands. Too bad. I think that if a palm reader were to look at the palms of SJP’s hands the lines would surely have love, success, friendship, abundance all nicely etched there. Another thing about the witless one with a camera is that we’ll have girls and women now wondering and worrying about their hands, as if they need more to be concerned about in our society’s obsession with a body’s surface beauty. Sarah Jessica Parker happens to be thin, there’s no meat on her bones, so to speak, hence the showing of veins. So, all you females out there, don’t get any ideas, your hands are fine just the way they are. There’s no need to start hiding them. In fact, think about their strength. Sometimes when I’m traveling, and carrying heavy bags, I marvel at the way hands were created, and all they’re capable of doing. Their strength is awesome.

Now to get back to the subject, O’ witless one, what was the point of a close-up photo of SJP’s hands, and the disparaging comment?

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happy mother’s day

There are books written encouraging people to get in touch with the pain and suffering remembered from childhood now manifesting as anger in their adult lives. And there are books written encouraging people to take responsibility for where they are and, if they’re not satisfied, change.

Most women are doing the best they can in caring for children. No one has said that this is a perfect world. It seems easier to recount misery than happiness when remembering childhood experiences – it could be from habit. If we take time to review our childhoods, and attempt to remember the good, along with the not so good, we might realize there was somewhat of a balance. We were loved, and fun and happiness happened too. There’s no denying that some people had miserable childhoods, and because of it they’re now allowing anger to reign supreme in their adult lives. It’s important to know, however, that the option to put one’s big girl/boy pants on, and find a way to dissolve anger in order to create a wise and wonderful, (or wacky if you like) life, is there for the taking.

That said, I want to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to women the world over who are loving and caring for children. May you all find the experience exhilerating some of the time. May you be up to the challenge most of the time. May you all have fun. and have some ridiculously humorous moments. May love envelop your entire household whether there be two or ten living together. May you all grow together. May you ask for forgiveness, and teach forgiveness, when it’s needed. May you enjoy the wonderful experience of raising children. May you not be too hard on yourselves or “them.” May you control only the things that are in your power to control, Ha Ha May you keep it simple, and realize that in the blink of an eye, those little ones will be adults. And to women of adult children, smile – for there are many reasons to smile, and you know what they are.

To all women who love and care for children, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY.

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edgar cayce

Every so often I read a book about the fascinating life of Edgar Cayce. Fascinating is an understatement because there is no one word that’s useful in describing how he was able to do what he did – tapping into the akashic records, his readings and healings, the founding of A.R.E, etcetera. Writers of books about him simply say, “he had developed a gift in former lifetimes.” (from THE OIL THAT HEALS by William A. McGarey, M.D.) It makes you think, doesn’t it? If you believe in reincarnation, and, it appears that many of us do, then living a life that adds in some way to a better world, and a better self, is the way to go.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashic_records
www.edgarcayce.org

What a beautiful day it is. Are you enjoying it?

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let the buyer beware

There’s a gem of a natural foods store in Brooklyn called Back to the Land. The choices are excellent, and the vegetables and fruits are always fresh. There are magazines on health and spiritual matters, and pamphlets on upcoming workshop events, are there for the taking. I want to bring this store back to Philadelphia with me.

The last time I was in Back to the Land, I picked up the Better Nutrition April 2008 issue, and saw the article Best of beauty awards WINNERS 2008 on page 58. In the article Barbara Close, the founder of Naturopathica www.naturopathica.com/barbstory.html, and the author of PURE SKIN: Organic Beauty Basics, said companies have started to remove “questionable ingredients” from their products, and “urges customers to steer clear whenever possible” of the following list of chemicals:

*Diethanolamine (DEA)
*Momoethanolamine (MEA)
*FD&C color pigments
*Imidazolidinyl urea and DMDM
hydantoin
*Petrochemicals
*Parabens
*Polyethylene glycol
*Propylene glycol
Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and
sodium laureth sulfate

Back in Philly I was at Whole Foods and bought a BWC product. There were the words:   “botanical formula,” extra gentle” and “100% vegetarian” on the package – soothing words, right? Then I read the list of ingredients, and saw that the “beauty without cruelty” BWC eye make-up remover had that word parabens. Uh-oh. Caveat emptor.

The next time I was at WF, I asked, “Why is Whole Foods selling products containing parabens? And the answer was . . . “Companies have two years to get toxic chemicals out of their products.” and . . . “You can get your money back.”

Meanwhile at the check-out counter, a small tube of Tom’s of Maine toothpaste was offered free. Tom’s . . . “The secret to a naturally healthy, fresh feeling mouth starts right here.” Nothing was mentioned of the one other ingredient listed on the tube, sodium lauryl sulfate.

Toxic chemicals . . .  it’s a challenge to find ways to lessen their impact. We don’t want fear to enter the picture because the power of the mind is too precious to waste on fear, better to use it to come up with solutions for a cleaner world. I like Ode Magazine because their articles are about solutions to problems. And in the April issue are a few articles relating  to the ways individuals from all walks of life around the world, each in their own way, are contributing to a cleaner and better world. We can all do that; we just need to get started. We tend to forget that we human beings are amazingly resilient, much stronger, and have more power than we can ever imagine.
www.odemagazine.co

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I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.
-Louisa May Alcott

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philadelphia

Last night I got up from a warm cozy bed because I couldn’t sleep. Does that happen to you? I broke my reading rule to not read anything before bed that stirs the mind in different directions. I’m glad I had a very old Hitchcock movie, RICH AND STRANGE, to watch. The actors’ exaggerated expressions, whether the movie is comedy or drama, leads to laughter. www.hitchcock100.com

I’ve been noticing that Philadelphia’s numerous museums are waiting for tourist buses to bring the people. Hallelujah, tourists are back. Winter has said its last goodbye, and the city’s looking alive again. People are walking, observing, and asking for directions. The meat and potato eaters will notice and delight in the many restaurants catering to their tastes. The music playing from churches will reach the ears of tourists passing by, perhaps giving their legs a sweet boost.

Lovely Rittenhouse Square Park is soaking up the activity. People are relaxing on the benches and on the grass, painters are painting, observers of life are sitting and simply watching, readers are reclining and smiling over a passage perhaps from a favorite book, snackers are enjoying munching under a blue sky. There’s a sense of dusting off the cold, and savoring the new season.
www.HelloPhiladelphia.com
www.gophila.com
www.philadelphia.com

The lesson learned late last night is perfectly clear – time to forget reading for a while – it’s the weekend, and the wonders of life are calling.