My New Coat of Many Colors:

Sunday the temperature plunged from mid 60's to mid 30’s within the space of four hours. Let me just explain that yes it’s almost always sunny and pretty here but we suffer from the most unbearable humidity The evil humidity can make a temperature of 30 feel like 21 degrees. It is also bone chilling!

There is not enough heat or clothing or flames to warm a body consumed by bone chilling frozen humidity as it permeates your very soul. With that said my freezing cold bony fingers are slowly tapping away at a keyboard typing this desperate message; one of my frozen fingers just cracked and snapped in two. Wiping that visual from your ambivalent and uncaring memories let me tell you what I did yesterday to keep warm and be creative at the same time.

Earlier this year I went to the annual Hospice rummage sale which is like an antique store with bargain prices and all for a good cause. While browsing the men’s clothing racks I stumbled on a lightweight white cotton jacket with a now defunct but prominent local men’s store (Don Allen’s Men’s Furnishings) label sewn inside. I picked it up for a dollar and thought nothing of it except that I wanted to dye it. It’s a straight cut button up from the 60’s or 70’s that really did not interest me except that it was white.

During the holidays I received a gift card from my brother (thanks Scott) to be used at Hobby Lobby. I bought a basket full of dye with exotic names like Evening Blue, Tangerine and Fuchsia. I covered the kitchen table in plastic wrap, boiled up some dye in squeeze bottles and began to ruin my pristine white jacket with stains. Rubber gloves, rubber bands and an hour-long dye bath of 3 packages of black resulted in my new coat with splashes of red, green, tangerine and yellow flower explosions.





















Also there is nothing quite like stirring a boiling pot of black dye to keep you warm and for the ultimate facial.

UPDATE: Just finished a shirt.