and now for some nudity

Gacked from quasigeostrophy:

1. Have you ever gone skinny-dipping?

Yep - drunken high school foray with friends.

2. When you're home alone, do you strip down to get comfortable? Do you ever go out without underwear (bra and/or panties) because it's more comfortable?

The former - not often, but mostly because I get cold easily. The latter - occasionally no knickers (but always with pants - underwear keeps outerwear clean) but I MUST have a bra or I don't feel like the "girls" are supported.

3. Have you ever/Do you use the bathroom with the door open? Are you comfortable using public facilities?

Door open only at home and only when I'm alone - just not something I feel comfortable doing in front of others, period.

4. When getting intimate with your significant other, lights on or off?

On - I like to see and be seen.

5. How comfortable are you with body exposure/nudity of others? Group shower rooms? Topless/nude beaches? Breastfeeding in public?

Depends on the group - mostly I am fine with it. Disclaimer: have never been to a nude beach, and I'm working on not getting shocked by public breastfeeding - after all, it's definitely food and not sexual.

Hmm. Of all my neuroses I think I handle the nudity/body image thing in a fairly healthy way, and I'm pleased for that - one less thing to freak over, yanno :P

Y'all?

(no subject)

shemhazai comes to town like a hurricane - always lots of seeing and doing when she's here!

Yesterday was the Big Day, scheduled carefully to get everything in: first: the Italian women artists of the Renaissance and Baroque exhibit downtown. I had not know that this was on, which is a damn shame as I live here and feel like I ought to be more "plugged in" than I am.

This exhibit is well worth attending for the lush colors and breathtaking detail, as well as simply learning about the societal place of women artists in that time and place and how they plied their trade. The paintings featured seemed to include a lot of strong women (a favorite theme was Judith beheading Holofernes so lots of women with knives and swords). I'd expected to enjoy the detailed portraits of the rich/famous and did for the costume detail, but what really blew me away were the delicate tempera on vellum botanical paintings by Giovanna Garzoni, so soft and ripe that the fruits look as though they'd pop out of the paper!

Speaking of Botanical Gardens, we met up with G. to go to the newly renovated/reopened Botanical Gardens. I know very little about plants or herbs, but it was interesting to see all the different kinds of plants (curry plant, Grommit! [happy cheese gesture]), particularly the roses. I don't think I'd ever seen peach or orange roses before. I think it would be fun to go again when we had more time.

Then off to dinner and fun at vree's, who has a cozy new space across town. Phenomenal cooking and "That's a hell of a thing" :P After viewing juicy paintings of cherries all morning, I even ate some fruit.

Morning saw us awake early for a good reason, brunch at a local-to-vree Asian-American diner that serves organic fresh squeezed juices and fluffy pancakes in the morning and Asian fare at night (how very Firefly!). Banana pancakes = good, will have to get up to go again some time.

Got home and chilled/did chores, etc., ate too much pizza for dinner. Now am enjoying new computer with sound (!) and insane speed, catching up on email and LJ (and finding that my daemon is now a spider - what the hell must that mean!)

Brain is full now. Downloading....