Went to bed at midnight, tried to finish swan #3 (6 more to go -- been dreaming about dreaded black swans for nights now). Toss & turned, could not sleep. Got up a 2AM, figured "what the hell" and am on the computer. Front door and back door are open; nice cool breeze feels good. Am browsing through blackwork patterns to find some that I can use (that I like) for an apron project.

I can remember being an avid nail biter in my younger days. I had short, stubby nails and hated anyone seeing my hands. I tried all kinds of nail growth pills (loaded with calcium, supposedly), Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails polish, but nothing seemed to work. If they did grow, they were so thin that they would bend and break easily.

When I lived in LA, I started wearing acrylic nails. Now these I loved; they were long and stylish and I could do every thing; well, except make a water bed, but I did not care (hubby & kids help make beds at that time). Of course, the grinding and filing of my nails to prepare them for the acrylic nails made them thinner and softer. But, for over 10 years I had my long nails (always kept them polished and taken care of).

Then, after I turned 50, something happened without my even noticing it; I quit biting my nails -- and they started to grow. They are still thin, but not as thin as usual. I literally needed to cut them once in a while!! I have been trying to grow them long, but to no avail, well, almost to no avail. I am constantly finding small nicks in them from sewing threads (pulling threads with nails is not really good for the nails). I might chip one when outside, have broken them on the car door, or turning wrong and hitting them on the walls.

When I cut one, I would normally cut them all (just to keep them all uniform). But now I have one that is "just over" 1/2 inch long (this is the longest any of my natural nails have been). I am now trying to see if I can keep this one long nail, without breaking it, until Christmas. I just want to see how long it will grow. With six months to go, and many camping events, not to mention house work and sewing projects, I do not know if it will even last that long, but I am going to try.





Silly, I know, but this is me.