The Mast General Store!

So, a couple of weekends ago, we took the advice of neighbors and went down to Valle Crucis (pronounced Valley Cruces, I have no idea where they got their spelling, kinda like Isenhour Road, yes like the president, Isenhour) to visit the Mast General Store.  We weren’t told much of why, just that we should go, and to the original, because they are now a chain with multiple locations.  We got to a wood-sided, white-washed building, stepped inside, and paused as slow smiles spread across our faces.  As we listened to boards creak under our feet, and looked down the counter made of glass and wood, we each were transported back to our childhoods and the general stores in our respective towns that were so much like where we now stood.  Pocket knives, flashlights, shoes, canned goods (and I mean canned, as in glass), enamel cookware, slingshots, hand-crafted rocking chairs, in a two-story building that has been settling and leaning for decades.  We were enamored.  We spent a couple hours that first day, and have since returned to buy wool socks (incredibly important here!).  We, however, have not yet gotten our chance at the checkerboard.

The Mast Store Today

The Cochise Country Store in my hometown

Wait . . .Is that . . . Snow???

Oh yes, it is.  We had our first daytime snowstorm this week.  The snow here isn’t big, fluffy flakes, but more like small, hard salt.  It hits you and bounces off.  And it comes with lots and lots of cold.  We were at a work retreat on the fourth floor of the Student Union, and were able to watch the storm roll in from the mountains through the floor length windows along one wall.  It was beautiful to watch, but you certainly learned how fast you could walk going back to the office.  One thing that is important to learn about here is that there are times when the high temperature for the day is in the morning.  When you get back to your car your windshield wipers will be frozen to it.  Lucky for me, if I park in the right spot, I can remote start my car from my office window.  Hooray for warm cars!

Holy Hair Loss Batman!

So, since arriving here, I’ve been noticing that my hair has been getting increasingly . . . . sticky.  Not greasy, but sticky.  And I seemed to be losing more of it than normal.  I’ve attributed it to my body being stressed by the move and new environment, and resigned myself to the fact that it will all probably come back gray (I told my husband I was shedding to grow in my winter coat).  Well, when we were in the retreat, during lunch folks were talking about the water (someone brought over a cup of water from the fountain, and someone else asked where they got the lemonade – not kidding, it was that yellow), and they were talking about the large amounts of magnesium in the water.  And it hit me, “I bet it’s the water!”  So I got home, and did some research, and sure enough, water with a lot of magnesium will cause buildup and hair loss.  It’s a good thing I caught it in time.  It doesn’t look too bad, does it?

The wonderfully knowledgeable people on the interwebs recommended a chelating shampoo, and with the help of amazon, one is currently winging its way here.  Hopefully it gets here quickly *licks hand and pats down hair strands*

Hope everyone is staying warm!!