The Millinery-Industrial Complex

Boy howdy! We got us a sunbonnet!

Funny how things work. I looked for the bonnet. I craved some more travel stuff. I paced, I whined. I pissed and moaned. Then today - just when I was really feeling at loose ends - my mailbox contained untold riches! Well, all right. Okay. Maybe not untold riches. Rather, a Travel South Dakota! book (A book! With a command for a title!) and a spiffy manila envelope from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society. It made my day, it really did.

So, natch, I immediately tried on the bonnet. It fit! It even looked rather fetching. I'd originally decided to order a red bonnet because I thought that it would stand out in pictures and even seem a little sillier than, say, a pink or lavender one. Now I'm glad I got it in red because of the patented H.A.R.D. B.A.R.F.Y.* theory.

(*This stands for "Had A Rotten Day? Buy Anything Red For Yourself!". I'll credit my mother as the wise soul who introduced me to this simple theory, and it's served me well over the years. It works like this: basically, if you're having a rough time of things, spring for something for yourself and make it something bright red. It doesn't necessarily involve much cash - the red pick-me-up could be as simple as a 99-cent tube of lipstick or even a cherry freezer pop. All that matters is that it be something red and something you don't buy/see/do every day. I mean, red is the color of confidence! Of panache! By motivating my miserable self to change the course of a somewhat unpleasant day, I can often rearrange my state of mind. And ... well, it's also my rationalization behind the burgeoning Scarlet-hued Fiestaware collection ... butanyway ...)

This can only mean one thing: time to fire up the camera! Just think - I'll be able to show myself in all my prairie glory on this very blog! I'm very nearly getting the vapors from the excitement of it all.


Days until trip: 307
Money saved: $245.00