My sofa-lounging companion. We are lounging on the sofa because I was sick last night. Stomach bug. I will spare you the grisly details. Feeling better today, but depleted and not very hungry. I plan to do a lot of nothing, by which I mean reading the sixteenth Roderick Alleyn mystery (we're in the South of France now, and Rory and Troy have a precocious child who ends all his sentences with "however," whether it makes sense or not). Number Fifteen was another theater mystery, mostly compelling in its penetration into the workings of an acting company, but with some rather odd loose ends that made it less satisfying than I've come to expect –- but it's still a good read. Marsh is very good at getting into character. She writes exactly the way you'd expect an actor to write, with that deep pleasure of stepping into another person's body and mind and moving around in complete possession of that body and mind. You learn, too, reading her, to pay close attention to things like blocking –– where people are, onstage in the novel, is a matter of import, as are the props they pick up and put down. A dropped hairpin in the first act always goes off in the third. Anyway, now we're in France, and there's an ancient castle built into a hillside, and drugs, and a mysterious lady with a perforated appendix. The word spinsters appears in the title, just as the word Vulcan appeared in the title of the previous installment, but I can't remember the actual titles. I'm reading on my Kindle, so I don't have book covers to glance at and generally do not remember the title of what I'm reading. I'm terrible at remembering titles anyway, and have embarrassed myself at least once, that I can recall, by misremembering a title in a letter to the author of that work, who replied, "I can't think what you can be referring to," or words to that effect.
In other news, I have been updating my wardrobe tracking spreadsheet, begun yesterday. That's not too arduous a task for a recovering invalid. I've tried to take into account anything I might conceivably wear, barring underwear, though I believe I'll just add pairs of socks as I wear them. Cataloguing the sock drawer doesn't grab me as an endeavor just now. Scarves either. I'll continue to add items as I remember that I have them. So far I haven't stood in front of the closet with my laptop to do this itemizing. It's been more of a read-and-narrate affair, and there are bound to be gaps.
Here is my closet at the moment:
It's much diminished at the moment, so much so that the amount of clothing it still contains, as represented on my spreadsheet, kind of shocks me. I also have one drawer of sweaters (cardigans and pullovers), having moved them from the under-bed bin where they were always getting dusty, no matter how assiduously I sealed the lid down. My leggings, joggers, and knit trousers now occupy that bin –– they can get a little dusty, since they're not next to my face. My closet also contains three very dressy dresses which I don't anticipate wearing this year, but which I hang onto because you never know when you're going to need to put your hand on something a little extra.
My eye likes to dwell on the colors here. One thing I am happy about is that I've managed to create a wardrobe around colors I love and feel good in, that go well with each other. There's not a note out of tune in this palette, it seems to me, and that's really satisfying. I also like the balance of solids to patterns –– though you can't see the skirts or the patterned dresses very well here, if at all. At any rate, it gives me a lot to work with.
Wearing today (because I did get dressed –– hanging around in my pajamas would have made me feel worse):
Comfort clothes, all the way. Repeating my Sierra for a third day in a row, because it's just so warm and soft. This time I'm wearing it next to my skin, with this blue WoolX men's small tee, which I wore day before yesterday, knotted over. It's always useful to remember that in my dresses I have more skirts than might be obvious. The long Sierra makes a nice almost-midi skirt with the knotted tee.
Here's another maybe slightly brighter shot. Gray Sierra, blue tee, marble-patterned bamboo/cotton leggings, charcoal-gray-marled cotton socks, Birkenstock Floridas. Everything secondhand except the dress and socks. I'm comfortable and warm, but presentable, which is really where the bar is set today.
I did add this Talbots hoodie, given me by my mother some years ago, as an extra warm layer. Wearing your best colors when you don't feel well is an instant lift. Offering up my less-than-optimal day for everyone without power in the wake of this week's wind- and snowstorms, which have affected people all around us, but have left us alone. Here's wishing you all warmth and light, as soon as possible.