Extra-special bonus points to anyone who recognizes the lyrics!  [Except for Carlos-the-Jackal.  I know he knows I know he knows.]  That song was, ironically, on my soundtrack while I took a train from the East Coast to Oregon before flying to the Land of Loud Birds to live.

I am moving away from Mississippi [which never really got its own little slogan name] and returning to my rightful home.  I will no longer be writing in exile!  To celebrate, there will be drinks!  And reunions!  Reunions with drinks!

Because I love nothing so much as not losing my cocktail recipes updating my blog, here are some potential fall-themed drinks for reunions!

Zombie Cocktail | Autumn Colors Cocktail |  Warm Apple Pie |  Hot ‘n’ Spikey Texican Tailgate Cocoa [Note to self A: Create drink named Hot Drunken Hedgehog Cocoa  Note to self B: Find someone to illustrate this concept] |  Pumpkin Pie Martini

I am in the process of bleaching my hair. The bleach that I normally use is not findable here, so I got bleach from Pop Gothic. High maintenance bleach! First it wants me to mix it, fair enough. I did that before. Then it wants me to apply it – fair enough, to work on hair it should touch hair. Then it wants me to wrap my hair in plastic and blowdry until done! Um…hello…effort? I miss my ‘apply and leave on 90 minutes’ bleach. This states I may have to blowdry my hair for 60 minutes! So…this opening is a break from blow-drying. Which I shall now resume. Back when I get tired of holding a blow dryer again!

And done with that! The dryer blew my darling little plastic turban apart. I’ll let it cool (as ordered) then rinse and shampoo and apply toning conditioner. I definitely need to switch back to my old bleach (though the color this one turned my hair in more like 25 minutes is as promising as the 90 minute time of the other one. Seriously. My old response to hair dye was to do it and hang out with people.

Who wants to come to a hair dying party? We can has hair dyes and daiquiris and maybe even manicures! Most. Fun. Ever. We can even has pre-dying lingerie shopping! Lingerie…finger sandwiches…chocolate…daiquiris…hair dye…. Movies? We could always mock porn. It seems appropriate, somehow.

I can’t wait to move back to where I have the people for that. I miss doing things like that. Immensely.

Off to rinse!

My hair is, in fact, quite pale yellow. It has toner in it, which should be rinsed out soon. Like 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, picture for you!

The Secret: I miss the people I meet in my dreams.

The Picture:

moar funny pictures

I will admit…my hair is almost white. It is impressive. But…I don’t need white, only pale enough blue dye is more noticable than a highlight. Still…impressive.

Our starfruit tree has fruits! Billions of them!

Also our starfruit tree has an orchid!

 Perhaps later I will make a post with more words.

Lucien is realizing his destiny is to be a bush! This is his temporary home, where he has two pineapple friends!

This is Lucien’s as yet unnamed pineapple friend. Feel free to leave suggested names in the comments.

This is Lucien’s pineapple friend Camille.

Here is the big picture of the temporary place. Lucien will be moved to a place higher up on the incline, nearer the pool fence. First, though, there will be a rock wall to protect him from dogs and the weed-whacker.

As always, walking through the market makes me whole again. This market was the Hilo Farmers’ Market and was complimented by a stroll along the Bayfront shops. The first stop of real interest (defined as where I bought something) was the tobacco shop where I found cloves (Djarum Blacks) and while looking for those found something else from Djarum (do they make things I don’t like? Not that I’ve ever tasted!) Spice Islands Cigarillos (baby cigars!). I have never had a baby cigar (or even a grown up cigar) but Jason likes cigars and I hear generally good things. However, I would have to try to come up with a way to not look like a goof with a cigar grown up enough to have babies. These tiny cigars that smell like clove and vanilla and lust just might be my compromise.

After the tobacco shop (Where I got carded! People – I’m 26!) I proceeded to the the market by way of about four other shops. I saw some gorgeous coffee and tea sets (I am a home things addict and I want a nest! Now! My baby clock has confused itself with the countdown timer on a bomb!) which I passed only because I both had not enough money with me and had nowhere to keep them.

At the market, everyone wanted me to come see their things! If I keep walking, I’m not buying, and they have this habit of meeting my eyes. This is my undoing. I HAVE to acknowledge everyone who meets my eyes. I look. They look. I smile. They smile. I nod. They say hi. Now it’s escalated and I’ve already had to stop walking so I might as well look at their stuff. I deliberately carry under $40.00 to the market, because if I carried $4,000.00 I would still spend it all. I am in love with all things handmade, set in silver, made of Thai silk, or offered by a real human being and not a full on advertising campaign. I cry when tiny, locally owned stores are bulldozed for Walmarts.

This time at the market I got delicious soap in vanilla (Gentle Earth Vanilla) which is heavenly. I also got orchid soap, which smells amazing. If you need soaps….check these people out! The only way they could be better is if they also had chocolate soap. Which I will suggest next I see them. Yes – see! Because I met the person who makes the soap. She smiled at me. Clearly her soap would smile if it could! Fox, you say, this is no way to judge soap. To which I can only respond, this soap is fantastic, just like I knew it would be.

I also picked up a chocolate scented orchid. This is also like heaven.

There was a time I loved floral scents, but lately, this last year or so, it’s vanilla, chocolate, and spice. That’s what I want to smell like. That is what I want people to remember me when they smell. Smell is very linked to memory. Strawberries and champagne is not me. Please god, let people not associate me with freesia (which scent I wore for years as a teenager, actually). I want to be rum and death by chocolate mousse. Vanilla. I’ll take Grand Marnier.

Hello universe. I think that your fox has come home to you.