Here's some butter lettuce (with henbit) coming back after being frostbitten.
Ditto beet greens:
I sowed arugula outdoors yesterday afternoon ––
And started many other seeds inside: grape and cherry tomatoes (both yellow, if memory serves), serrano peppers, sage, chives, and basil.
I think eventually I'll rip the greens out of the stump garden, where the beets and butter lettuce are now, and just plant it up entirely with herbs. I do have more beet seeds, which I'll sow in at least one container for both the greens and the roots. The ones I have now I've been growing exclusively for the greens, though their inevitably skinny roots might prove to be usable once I do pull them out.
I did manage to get my hair cut yesterday, losing a good 3-4 inches. Here's the length of my ponytail before ––
–– and after.
Just-cut hair always feels so delicious. Today I've washed it and it's not dry yet, so I'll update when it is, but I'm happy with it overall. It's the same cut I have been asking for for the last year, at least: tapered pretty sharply, like into a vee, with blended layers. Having it signficantly narrower on the bottom really helps with the big-hair silhouette when my hair is curly and full of humidity, and gives it shape when it's not. It also seems to help with the straightness of my underlayers –– there's less to hang out there at the bottom. The weight distribution feels better overall, which is something when you have fairly thick, coarse, heavy hair.
Lots of work to do on this warmish February day. What I'm wearing:
I'm really on the fence about this Old Navy jumpsuit, which I bought in the fall of 2020, if I'm remembering correctly. The main reason for my not just loving it unambivalently is the fabric: a big reason, when I think about it. It's probably the most overtly non-natural-fiber clothing item I own. The fabric is some kind of synthetic "breatheable" fabric which doesn't actually breathe that well in the heat of the summer, which is exactly when I'd envisioned getting a lot of wear out of it. It's also –– unsurprisingly –– not very warm.
This jumpsuit does work all right on transitional days like today, when I'm in the mood for something like a dress, but not in the mood for worrying about what to do with my legs. It's too warm for tights, really, but not warm enough for bare legs. This is the weather when I find myself reaching for pants, just to solve that problem . . . and it's nice to have a piece that wears like a fluid dress and like pants simultaneously.
That's why I've hung onto it. I don't have anything else like it. I had been watching for a jumpsuit, but I didn't want a black one. I was thinking I wanted something slightly more tailored and structured than all those Japanese linen overalls I kept seeing, though in the end I removed the waist elastic from these, so they're every bit as shapeless as jumpsuits I was declining to buy. Anyway, I ran across these, and they were on clearance, and they were more or less what I wanted, so I took a chance on them.
Things I like (besides the way they fill the dress/pants slot):
*the color, which I call rose-brown for lack of a better option, is pretty and flattering and, again, not a color I have much of.
*once I took out the elastic, they became a far more flexible item of clothing, able to be belted or not.
*fabric issues aside, they are comfortable. That is, I don't love the feel of the fabric, but when the weather's right it doesn't bug me too much, and I do like the fluidity overall.
I like the color combination here, with my thrifted duck-egg-blue Loft cardigan. I'm glad I bought this braided leather belt at Texas Thrift back in January. I feel relatively polished and put-together for a work day, even in my Xero barefoot sandals, but as comfortable as if I were wearing pajamas.
Still, I've thought about getting rid of the jumpsuit, because I would like eventually to have an entirely natural-fibers wardrobe: wool, bamboo, cotton, linen. If I hadn't decided on a no-buy year, I probably would have moved it to the outbox and started looking for a replacement in linen. I guess today I'm thinking about maybe doing that anyway, as an exemption, but I'm not going to rush. I'd rather not replace something that's in good condition. I'd rather not break my own rule. I really could wait until the end of the year and survey the lay of the land.
For now, in fact, that's what I'm resolving to do: to wear what I have. I reached for these because I hadn't yet worn them this year, and I am really trying to wear my way through the whole closet. This thought process helps me, though, to clarify things going forward. Yes, I'm going to wear this jumpsuit now. But I'm pretty sure I'm not going to commit to it beyond this year. A replacement in a natural fiber, preferably linen, will be a priority when I'm ready to buy clothing again.
I expect, actually, that that will be one significant outcome of this challenge. I won't be thinking in terms of buying clothes. What I hope and expect is that I will have identified specific things to add, for specific reasons –– and that that will be my mindset, not just today I feel like shopping for clothes.
Meanwhile, I'm enjoying color combinations. Yesterday I loved my grape merino tee with the navy/green velour big shirt I wore with it. I reached into my closet, put those things together impulsively –– and to my eye, they really worked. Every time I looked down, I thought, wow, the play of these colors is great. I'm feeling the same way today, with the grayed blue and the brownish pinky-red that isn't quite burgundy.
Finally, here's a poem for the day. And some forced forsythia which has burst into bloom on the study mantel:
UPDATE:
Hair about halfway dry, but you can see the length and layers. I used both the Yellow Bird shampoo bar and the Ethique conditioner bar this time. Good slip, hair doesn't feel too dry, but it also doesn't feel too conditioned.
I think the layers this time are a lot more blended, probably because I did tell her to take several generous inches of length off. Last time I had a lot more long/less curly underlayer going on. Part of me wishes I'd had her take the layers a little shorter and farther up this time, but on the other hand, it's still easy to pull back and put up, and I think the proportions are going to grow out nicely.
Timer fail:
FINAL HAIR UPDATE:
Because this is the news you can't be without, but anyway, here's the dry-been-outside-a-bunch-of-times end result, with which I am happy:
I did up the light, color, and contrast for this photo, just so the hair would show up more. I'm not sure any of this is exactly true to life.