I've been thinking a lot lately. About the earth and life and all that goes with it. It's quite magnificent if you really pay attention to all that makes this world around us; from the sky to the countless uniform blades of grass pushing up through the land. Just think of the journey your coffee beans take to make it to your delicious smelling cup every morning. Hand picked coffee cherries, plucked from trees by the hands of a local on the other side of the world, dried in the sun and packed into burlap bags before they're shipped to a roaster. And in the summer a tiny little tomato seed will split open, releasing a tentative, thin thread of green that eventually becomes many leaves and stems heavy with full, ripe tomatoes. It's amazing. The entire world is amazing.
So I've been thinking about that but mainly I've been thinking about whether I'd rather go out in public with hideous hair and a nice outfit or a hideous outfit and nice hair.
It's not that I have to make the choice, I just wonder if I was forced to do one or the other which would it be?
Like, if I absolutely had to pick, would I rather go on a date wearing a beautifully cut Ralph Lauren silk dress and Chanel shoes with a head of hair that looks like it's housing an extended family of beavers? Or would I rather wear an outfit, that looks very much like a clown suit, but not enough like a clown suit to mistake me for an actual clown - with perfect, Vidal Sassoon hair?
I've been thinking about this for 48 solid hours and the closest I've come to a decision is Googling what a beaver dam looks like.
There's an argument to be made for the fact that if your hair looks good, you can wear any old thing and you'll still look fabulous but just how good does one's hair have to look to cancel out a massive polka dotted onesie with a ruffled collar?
In real life of course this wouldn't be an issue. A single beaver can weigh up to 70 lbs. My head could never support more than 2 or 3 of them. Plus I don't really own a clown suit but I do have a few things in my closet that look kind of funny on me. Every year or so I forget about how awful they are, try them on and then rip them off again. Yet for some reason instead of doing the logical thing - throwing them out or donating them - I carefully slip them back on the hanger and shove them into the closet where in one year's time I'll delight at finding something that I probably only imagined looked like it was sewn by a sloth wearing mittens.
It's very much like when I need something in the fridge and instead of throwing out the container of liquified cucumber slices I just shove it to the side to get to what I want. For weeks. Who hasn't let something get so bad in their refrigerator that they had to throw out the entire container because opening it to dump out the contents would be considered biological warfare? No one.
I say all of this because we're coming into the season where there will indeed be garden cucumbers in my refrigerator, my hair will almost certainly look like it's home to any number of animals, and the clothing I wear will look like I just escaped from prison by crawling through a airplane toilet.
It's gardening season.
All winter I go along looking half decent with my hair done, clean clothing, polished shoes or boots. I'd go so far as to say I look respectable. During gardening season? I look like something you'd wear a hazardous waste suit around. But I don't care.
I'm willing to walk around with nest head and dirt coloured clothing for months on end. It's a small price to pay for being able to sit outside for hours on end under the blue sky with a coffee in my hand - tending to those tomatoes.
Have a good weekend. Get dirty.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
Christine
I always tell my neighbors that when I'm gardening "it ain't pretty". But they all garden too, so they understand.
However, one neighbor gardens, has long, beautifully manicured nails and seems to keep them that way all summer. Not sure how she does that!
Karen
She's obviously a witch. ~ karen!
Andrea
You can do either! As long as hair Or outfit looks fabulous AND you have good makeup, it looks like you did the other as a fashion statement. But you gotta own it to pull it off!
linda in illinois
oh please !! if my hair looked that good on a bad hair day, it would be a miracle. You look fantastic.. my favorite color is "DIRT". lol
yvette
haha! I think it's hilarious that Amazon now thinks I need a clown suit because of your article!
Melissa
I was just coming to comment the same thing!!!! LOL
Jenny Durling
You are such a fabulous and entertaining writer! I can't help but laugh when I read your posts and yet I actually learn alot at the same time. I'm so glad I found you!!
Karen
I'm glad you're here Jenny. ~ karen!
celestial
I think you are beautiful. You are so funny that you don't need a clown suit. Rein on.
Karen
Well thanks. Can't say I agree about the beautiful (at least not in this particular shot) but thank you for saying so. ~ karen!
Rebecca
I love the photo! Your hair Is Perfect as is your oufit.
Spring... time to cut my nails short. They're already stained from gardening any way. No shoes till October! My hub inspects my feet before I climb into bed. Terminally dirty all summer. I wonder how many times I've been all dressed up to go out and as I reach for the car door I realize my hands are all muddy! Wasn't even aware I stopped to pluck a few weeds. Clean hands and feet are overrated. Gardeners embrace magic.
Heather
I don't imagine you think of yourself as "delightful" but you are! Thanks for a fun start to the day.
Karen
Have a good one! ~ karen
Susan D'Achille
I love today's post. I can so relate!! Just came in for breakfast after working in my small hoophouse getting ready for gardening season. I can honestly say I look dirtier than you at the moment slugging around in mud up to my ankles. But in a sick kind of way I LOVE it!! Everybody should get out in a garden and get dirty. We would have a much better world for sure. Happy gardening and wishing you reap tons of veggies.
Hillary
Dear Karen,
If you're ever asking yourself if you should make a post about nothing, ask yourself, "Does it have more than one beaver joke?" and if so, then the answer is always YES. I enjoy your writing very much, so keep 'em coming!
Karen
Good tip! Thanks Hillary. ~ karen!
Jen
I didn't even notice what you were wearing in the picture because STRAWBERRIES! Happy gardening!
Jennifer
Oh come on, you look fine--your garden gloves are an actual matching pair. Very presentable.
Ann Roberts
You do realize tomorrow is world wide nude gardening day, right? I want to see "those" pics!! I have plans on getting creative tomorrow so my hubs can take a pic that shows me nude without showing me nude, LOL........I bet you could hold veggies, or chickens, or something and also get a creative nudie. Are you up for the challenge?
Karen
Nnnnnnnnnope, lol. My garden is in the middle of a community garden. And the only plant growing in there is a 3 inch tall kale plant. And I'm not willing to pull that out of the ground to cover a nipple. ~ karen!
Jane Walker
You crack me up 😆🤣
And often make sh*+ load of sense.
Authenticity shining through❣️
Karen
Thanks Jane, lol ! ~ karen
Susan
Anything from Lee Valley is hot, dirty or clean. But I'm disappointed. I got all excited when I saw your header and thought you had some marvellous way of keeping cucumbers longer. I love my cucumbers and balsamic vinegar and hate having to go to town more than once a week. On a liquified cucumber related note, I sincerely hope that whoever makes no name freezer bags has nothing to do with the production of condoms.
Karen
Hahahah! ~ karen
Mary W
What I saw in that picture was a very hard working, cute girl with nice hair. She is standing in a nicely worked garden in front of a tiny bush of lemons. Wait - what are those yellow globes? I was so afraid to read you this morning - the thought of making some kind of soup with leftover, cucumber moosh was overwhelmingly a bad idea. I do love happy endings!
Karen
Those are just yellowed leaves, lol. Those are strawberry plants. :) ~ karen!
Leslie from Hampton
Gosh your hair always looks good Karen!! I know I look like a rag a muffin all growing season. I love putting my bare hands in the dirt. No gloves for me unless I am dealing with raspberry canes! Nothing better than sticking your hands in your garden.
Rose
Hair and strawberries look great! No time for the rest. This weekend, have to plant the garden, pull out the summer clothes, put away the winter clothes, clean the windows, wash sheets and hang outside on the line,paint the bathroom, and ride 50 Km on my bike. Then stop for coffee.
Hillary
This sounds like an amazing weekend!!
Karen
That sounds like a perfect plan for a Saturday morning! ~ karen
Jan in Waterdown
That sounds like my entire freekin' summer. Except for the plant the garden part. And I don't do windows or paint. Ride 50K? Not happening, but I do like coffee. Gawd I'm lazy (& retired). It's wonderful.
Hope your weekend is grand!
Claudia Volano
So how DO you avoid letting a cuke go liquid besides eating it?
Karen
You don't. You eat it. :/ There is no cure. ~ karen!
Erin G
Dirty nails until November, here we go!