Ooops! Yesterday came and went I didn't get to blog. I was out and about, loafing. I had it with the rain and I found myself wanting to hide under the covers. I replied to a friend's invitation and we did an early lunch. 2 1/2 hours later, we pulled away from our conversation and went our merry way. I decided to check out the local thrift shops. I spent a total of $9 and brought home several old books. Older titles of Christian books from authors I remember of my youth. I found 2 books from a lady named Joyce Landorf. I found 3 decent fiction books, one from Karen Kingsbury. I will get to meet her this weekend, more on that later. I also got 2 quite interesting secular books....are you ready? Emily Post's Etiquette: The Blue Book of Social Usage and Miss Manner's Guide of Excruciatingly Correct Behavior by Judith Martin. Ladies, how wonderful it is to discover social etiquette and behaviors we may never have thought of. I am more motivated by the desire to not be a staunch, Victorian, prude, woman but to maybe become a woman more apt to remember common courtesies and thoughtful behavior. I will share some interesting (perhaps comical) chapter titles and headings. We might learn something today.
First, I want to sing Fa La La La once more. Girlfriends, the big Kahuna, my son, Cory, has a job! I am so excited. He has put applications everywhere and even had one interview to no avail. Wednesday afternoon, we went to look at a rental house for a friend. We were near his former place of work from last summer. I suggested he go visit them and see if they need anyone. He was reluctant to go back to this type of work…grounds keeping. He said he would do it to get me and Kevin off his back. Well! He walked in the building. He saw the personnel manager at the door and the manager walked him straight into the supervisor’s office and hired him. They said they were thinking of Cory and were glad to see him. Yahoo! Cory said he was glad he got the job and that it felt good to be missed and wanted for his former good work. He starts Monday after school. Praise the Lord!
Second, Girlfriends, this is HUGE. My husband works for IBM. He has worked for them for about 5 years. He works hard for IBM and has to maintain incredible hours but IBM has him at a manager’s salary and currently he is not a manager of a team. He has always felt that he would fall under the ax of IBM’s more frequent layoffs. IBM announced publicly yesterday that they are going to lay off 5000 employees. Kevin received several calls yesterday regarding his fate. He received the most important one late yesterday. He is NOT being layed off. Kevin and I prayed very earnestly this morning for the families affected by the lay off. We are grateful yet it is bittersweet because so many are hurting this morning. So for now, I humbly say, “Thank you, Lord.”
Okay, friends, let’s talk manners. Miss Manner’s has a chapter entitled “Decent Dress for Ladies and Gentlemen”. Regarding “designer clothes”…A woman writes Miss Manners (author’s character): “Could you give me some taste guidelines about designer clothes?” Miss Manners responds in length but ends with some interesting information. She herself (Miss Manners) and most people, who appreciate good dressmaking and tailoring, can recognize quality without having to read the label on someone’s sleeve, bosom or worse. Now try telling that to the label flaunting, teens and adults! What is quality dressmaking and tailoring? My son’s designer clothes come complete with holes, shreds, and pre-fading. Hmmm!
Here’s a good one from Miss Manners. A lady asks if it is ever appropriate to adjust a bra strap that is slipping down in public. Miss Manners replies by saying, Some clothing emergencies are attractive and others are not. Tightening an earring, for example, can be a lovely gesture, but reaching inside one’s front and giving a yank to an errant brassiere strap cannot. I thought showing a bra strap was “in” these days.
This one was hilarious at first but then I got to thinking. Miss Manners was asked “Is it necessary to dress to go out on the porch in the morning and pick up the paper?” Miss Manners replies, It depends on what you mean by dress. Hat and gloves are no longer considered necessary for such an excursion, but it is customary to be covered in such a way as to be able to pick up the newspaper without oneself making news in the neighborhood. I don’t know about dressing but I think of how silly I must look going to the mailbox or car for something, with Phyllis Diller hair, bleach stained clothes, and no bra! Ouch! I guess I am glad I am not in a neighborhood. Actually maybe the real offense is when I dress like this and come back into the house to Kevin. Now, that really is bad!
Let’s check out the lovely Emily Post.
Ms. Post on: Women Who Put on Makeup at Table
A well bred woman always avoids making up in public; cosmetics and food do not go together. At the end of the meal, a woman may quickly powder her nose and put on lipstick; the best rule is-don’t. But to sit and daub at the face in a little mirror for any length of time cannot fail to impress your host or any other onlooker with the blemishes this face must have to need such drastic repair! (Ouch!) The never to be broken rule is: Don’t ever use a comb anywhere outside of a dressing room. Don’t even slightly rearrange or put your fingers on your hair in any place where food is served. No woman with the faintest trace of fastidious taste could commit this offense. (Offense?).
Ms. Post on: Don’t Exchange a Face for a Mask
To the modern generation it must seem fantastic that not so very long ago all makeup was considered wicked. Today the only restrain tin the use of every item in the cosmetic catalog lies in the answer to the question: Are you sure you are not exchanging a face for a mask?
Don’t daub on rouge until you look as though you had inflammation of the cheek bones. Don’t plaster your face with powder until it no longer has any semblance of skin. Lipstick or lip rouge calls for a skillful hand and keen vision.
(Get ready girls for this) Remember that a mask can never take the place of a face. The face of a clown is grotesque, for it meant to be. If cosmetics are to add to beauty, they must be allies, not the enemies, of nature. For those whose eyebrows are too heavy or straggling, plucking is to be commended, because neat edges tidy the face just as clipped borders tidy garden paths.
One more from Ms. Post: Hairdressing
Hair tumbling loose to the shoulders is all very well on the young but an older woman it is as grotesque as though she wore a baby’s cap and bib. Moreover, a flowing man that makes the head disproportionately huge, while becoming to a lion, is scarcely conductive to the distinction of a woman. The best style is the one that enhances the beauty of the face whether it is the latest mode or has the quaintness of an earlier day.
Girlfriends, these books are somewhat comical for today’s culture. However, I am intrigued with a society of yore that truly cared about how they looked or how they acted in society, in public. I think there is some validity in the need for teaching not only our children but ourselves some manners. Though, not excruciatingly, our manners can be another way to serve our Lord and represent Him.
As for dressing for the porch, or making up like a clown, well? I think a little Phyllis Diller hair and my bright red lipstick will remain until this woman finishes the book.
FYI: I am leaving this afternoon to attend the Extraodinary Women conference in Greenville, SC. I am so excited to hear Chonda Pierce, Karen Kingsbury, Angela Thomas, Michelle Hammond, Kathy Troccoli, New Song, and Charles Billingsley. I went last year and it was so refreshing. I am sure I am missing a speaker or two. Kevin got us a room at the Hilton (free!) and he will be dropping me off and picking me up. Several from our church are going and I will meet them there. I hope to share with you some highlights on Monday.
Have a great day and watch out for adjusting those bra straps!
No comments:
Post a Comment