Infection control issues mean that nurses seldom have long painted nails as its neither practical nor cost effective. So whilst over the years no nail polish became my ‘norm’. It didn’t mean I didn’t secretly covet the idea of beautifully manicured hands.
One of the few memories of my paternal grandmother was her (what seemed to me at the time) impossibly long red nails. They seemed to me strange and exotic for someone who was neither rich or famous yet today they would we considered pretty ordinary.
Good Nail Care
Habits tend to form over time. Often influenced by circumstance & others opinions but the effects can have many & varied insidious effects. Perhaps we are not always aware to the extent these can views can affect us. Therefore we fail to challenge ourselves & question why we continue to practice them.
The link below is a few seconds showing close up of nails with pink & green polish.
Such has been the case for me. So I am grateful to my daughter for enthusiastically encouraging to question & change my choice of clothes & beauty regime. Whilst I may never be one to use lots of make up or have super long elegant nails at last I can now have them regularly & professionally painted.
Long Talons
Personal experience with super long nails proved incompatible with my lifestyle. From playing my guitars, gardening & DIY projects I just couldn’t work with long nails. So short nails are the only way forward for me but at least they can now be sparkly!
I think I must be one of the more challenging clients for the lovely patient nail technician called Alice. Who now keeps my nails in such good condition despite my best efforts.
Shovelling sand & cement into a mixer the similarities between this process & cake baking sprung to mind. In the same way plastering walls remind me of icing cakes.
The link below is to a short clip of the cement mixer working.
Which led me to consider the whole gender stereotyping of ‘jobs’. Mainly because the skills are learnt & it’s not clear exactly when these tasks got assigned.
Watching a variety of videos & commentaries on social media highlights that fact gender really shouldn’t play a part in job allocation anymore. Unsurprisingly I find myself more & more in agreement with this concept.
DIY Dilemas
Recently my niece very competently refitted a camper van & built a small wooden house all of which was very impressive.
I will own up to the fact I am not keen on plumbing or electrical stuff . These just things that are outside of my personal interest or skill set.
I still have mild PTSD episodes when I recall trying to purchase an end stop in a DIY store. Admittedly it was in the Netherlands & neither my command of Dutch nor plumbing terms was really up to the task.
Given the fact the landlord gave my son back his flat deposit money I can only think my ‘repair’ worked. I bound the end stop with cling film to plug the cold water outlet to enable us to remove a washing machine. Clearly it did the job for long enough to complete the moving out process.
Not Bricking It
Walling is more my kind of thing. From the ‘flemish double bond’ retaining wall at our first home nearly forty years ago to the fifty odd metres of dry stone wall where we currently live. I find the working with stone or brick both challenging & rewarding.
The images below show the most recent walling to make a new flower bed and extend the existing dry stone wall to fill the gap where a gate had been.
The net result is to create a small patio for the guests to our holiday cottage to enjoy.
I particularly enjoy the dry stone walling. I taught myself to do as it is like trying to complete a 3 dimensional jigsaw with no picture to follow. It is very therapeutic and immensely satisfying.
As each stone has to be chosen to fit whilst keeping an eye on the shape and taper of the wall as it grows. After a decade the wall is still standing and having being encased in moss it looks like it’s been there for considerably longer.
In Conclusion
However I am sure there are still sections of society who believe that neither of us should be dabbling in ‘men’s work’. Whilst there is evidence that the narrative is changing it’s glacially slow.
To me it still seems sad that women who work in these roles still come under attack.Whilst I have only had to endure the odd sarky comment & raised eyebrows over the years.
I can’t help feeling that capable women working in construction might still be ridiculed. All because they choose to pursue this type of career but also like to visit a beauty salon.
My hope is that as male skin care etc becomes more the norm this type of thing is consigned to history for good.
In the meantime I will continue to indulge in all manner of lovely treatments & coloured nails while working my way through thr