It is September 11 in Cleveland, Ohio. That means it could snow any minute! Joking, but it was one of those days that reminded us that Autumn is a few weeks away. Yesterday, the weather was in the 80s. Last night there was a very soothing storm, and when we woke up, it was 63 degrees! It is cool… cool as in cold! I wasn’t quite ready to give up my sandals, so I wore some today. However, that may not be the case tomorrow! I am thinking, boots or sneakers for sure.

The sandals are one of my favorite pairs by Lucky Brand. They were about $25 at TJMaxx.

I made the ring from wire from Pat Catan’s or JoAnn’s.

I love basic black headwraps!

The shawl was on sale at Dillard’d for $10.

These earrings are from a store called Earthbound (in the mall). They were on sale for $4. Nice.

The dress is one of my thrift store finds- from the Goodwill for $5

Hello, I am Shila.

With style, you must possess the knowledge, right? Reading anything lately? I had a dream last night about my future, and when I woke up, I asked for a sign. A sign that I was doing the right thing in life. That detaching from people who hurt me was the thing to do. Then today, a friend of mine called and suggested that I read this book, so I rushed to the library and got it. It is just what I needed. It is an amazing story. I can’t put it down. I introduce to you:  Wounded in the House of a Friend by Sonia Sanchez…

It starts like this…

the unspoken word is born, i see it in our eyes dancing.

She hadn’t found anything. i had been careful. No lipstick, No matches from a well-known bar. No letters. Cards. Confessing an undying love. Nothing tangible for her to hold onto. But i knew she knew. It had been on her face, in her eyes for the last nine days. It was the way she looked at me sideways from across the restaurant table as she picked at her brown rice sushi. It was the way she paused in profile while inspecting my wolfdreams. It was the way her mouth took a detour from talk. And then as we exited the restaurant she said it casually: i know there is another woman. You must tell me about her when we get home.

Yeah. There was another woman. In fact there were three women. In Florida, California, and North Carolina. Places to replace her cool detachment of these last years. No sex for months. Always tired or sick or off to some conference designed to save the world from racism or extinction. If i had jerked off one more time in bed while lying next to her it woulda dropped off. Still i wondered how she knew.

… I love Sonia Sanchez’s writing and I am glad that I got to see her in November of last year. She was cool as can be. She had style, she had grace. I made eye contact with her, and she smiled at me. Just for a moment. I spoke to her. She spoke to me. I walked away.

Queen

P.S. One more thing, a song for you…

This my baby. I want to be great as you. Analog girl in a digital world.