Manly Accomplishments

My independence has been pointed out to me recently. And while I've been single for a bit now, I guess I've always taken on the "man" jobs by myself. My first sentence was, "Do it myself!" so it only seems appropriate that I continue to face obstacles with the same stubborn fervor.

This week's accomplishments include: changing the locks on the house, installing baseboard molding, changing the garage door code, replacing the wireless keypad, installing new shower heads, aerating the faucets, fixing a leaky toilet, replacing shear pins on the snow blower, stripping wallpaper, painting, even building a fire in the wood stove and grilling. In my near future is fixing the hot water issue in the bathroom, building shelves in the kitchen, moving furniture, buying vice grips...and who knows what else!

It's no wonder one of my riders in the tow truck this week (with no introduction) said, "So, were you, like, a tomboy or something as a kid?" I just laughed.

However, I don't want to be intimidating or macho, and do enjoy dressing up (although I'm rarely faced with the opportunity.) So, how do I counterbalance my manliness?

I bake. I made oatmeal raisin cookies for the guys at the firehouse, Hungarian cookies for my neighbors. I made breakfast and lunch for a friend, and whip up homemade pasta dishes for myself. This morning was raspberry pancakes, last week was stuffed french toast with artisan bread. And soon I'll be plucking juicy morsels from my garden to expand my creative palate!

And once, every so often, when the full moon is beaming and Kula's toes are crossed, I wear makeup! I brush my hair (yes, I own a hairbrush), slip on a top which requires ironing and high heels. And when the moon is blue, I add earrings to the mix.

My goal is to make these occasions more frequent, although New Hampshire isn't exactly the hotbed of trendiness, and even the most exclusive restaurants welcome jeans.

So, in the meantime, I embrace my abilities to cross the gender barriers, and am quite happy changing my own oil, rotating my tires and preparing a cheese souffle!