Sooooo? So what, if swim caps are not used by many people anymore. They work. It is far better to prevent damaged hair than to try to correct it with VO5 or Windex, after it is ruined, or have to cut it all off. I belong to a high intensity water aerobics class and most of the women in the class wear shower caps to protect their hair. It won't protect for actual swimming laps or diving of course, but it keeps the hair out of the water and protected from splashing. It is NOT allowed to oil or put conditioner in hair before classes, as it gunks up the pool. Braiding hair before swimming is a good idea as it won't become so tangled and saves comb-out time later. Don't use hair products that contain silicone as they dry out the hair. Wetting hair before going into the pool is a good idea as the hair soaks up a lot of plain water rather than chemical laded water. (Same goes for protecting your swimsuit.) Some kids think swim caps can be 'cool' if you buy the right kind and let them wear it sort of "styled" more on top of the head rather than over the ears with a dorky chin strap. Some schools require swim caps on both boys and girls for swim classes, so it is not all that unusual for kids to wear them. Tell your daughter that swimcaps are what the "older kids" wear when swimming. That can overcome reistance to wearing one if her friends don't.

This may be my answer to dark spots (aka, age spots) on the backs of my hands. I've tried so many creams over the years I could have bought a couple of laser machines with the $$ I spent. I've heard of Hand Spa but cannot find a salon that has one. I think that may be laser, but I'm not sure.

An important part of our nation's forgotten history. Having just gone to the movies with DH (an engineer and mathematician) to see "Hidden Figures" (awesome), I was inspired to find Freda DeKnight's recipe (as a baker) for the first one mentioned in the KQED article to honor that part of our nation's history that I did not see growing up in sheltered Ohio '40's and '50's and California '60's and elsewhere in US and was not even really aware of until I moved to the South, much to my chagrin. There are lots of banana cakes with caramel frosting recipes posted on-line though most start with a box of cake mix - I don't think that her original recipe used those chemicals. So here is one that I think is the closest to the original (I do so wish I could find a copy of the cookbook "A Date with a Dish" that Freda published in 1948 but it's offered at $200 used and is so out of my budget). Banana Cake with Caramel Frosting - Freda DeKnight's respectfully modernized With an electric mixer cream together: 1/2 C butter, 1 1/2 C sugar, about 3 minutes. Add 2 eggs and beat well. Stir in 3 mashed bananas, 1/4 C buttermilk, 1 t vanilla. Stir in 2 C cake flour and 1/2 t baking soda. Put into a greased and floured 13x9" baking pan and bake 350F 35 minutes. Cool completely. For frosting melt 1/2 C butter, add 1 C dark brown sugar and cook 2 minutes stirring often until dissolved and bubbly. Off heat stir in 1/2 C heavy cream, 1 T vanilla. With hand mixer beat in until smooth - 2 C powdered sugar. Frost cake and let set 1/2 hour before slicing. I also found a recipe that added black walnuts which my DH described as Freda's Banana Caramel Cake to the ultimate max.

I am confident that every single one of us have entirely too many anecdotes from our own experiences detailing times when we felt demeaned, objectified, ridiculed, and treated as a “lesser than.” It IS infuriating, and I am also confident that although the push towards being “woke” about such things has achieved a measure of success, there remains a lot of inappropriate garbage going on out there. There remain a lot of gray areas, as well, where even those who have suffered the abuse and know what it is have difficulty in knowing how to appropriately respond in all situations. I know a female EY executive and thought of her when the news broke the other day and outed the firm for their discriminatory “training.” I’ll have to ask for her take on that. She has always struck me as someone who is extremely self-assured and commanding, and I cannot imagine her being on board with that sort of thing. But who knows? Maybe her outlook was more along the lines of going along with the established procedure so as not to rock the boat. I worked for a month – a whopping MONTH – at a small company where the boss referred to women as “skirts.” (Much like the “legs” comment above.) We interviewed during my brief time there for other positions, and he would “jokingly” ask female interviewees if they “did windows and fetched coffee.” Appalling. He threw a party for employees at his home, and insisted on giving female attendees a “tour” which culminated in a very creepy viewing of his bedroom. I will never forget how it felt to be led into that room by him, with his arm draped possessively around my shoulder. I cringe just thinking of that, even now – many years later. I left the company as a disgruntled employee, filing a complaint with the home office against this guy. I do know that legal action was brought against him at one point, but have no idea what the outcome was as I was long gone and moved on to an agreeable environment by then. In thinking of the truly creepy things I’ve endured in the past, I feel a wave of appreciation for those who have modeled respect and professionalism during my career. Most of my superiors have. It makes me a little more inclined to be forgiving towards the occasional lapse of thought and the comment that just comes across strangely. Things like that MAY reflect an underlying attitude, or they MAY just be attributable to social awkwardness. I do think that knowing at least a little something about the intent of the other person can make all the difference in how we choose to perceive their slips.