One misty, moisty morning
When cloudy was the weather,
I was glad I didn't walk the dog
Clad all in leather.
It's a damp one today, but summer-damp, not cool. We're in that zone when we can't convince ourselves that we live anything like in the mountains. Walking this morning, the sky was blessedly overcast, so it wasn't that hot, but it was like walking through warm jello.
My tomatoes are ripening beautifully on the porch. The other night, one of the quiches I made was tomato-basil --- both from the garden --- with mixed Italian cheeses. It was, I must say, quite delicious, even better than the spinach one. I'm anxious now to make another, though I might give these another day or two to keep sweetening. In the absence of a visible morning sunrise, they made a lovely early glow as I sat outside with my coffee.
More early-morning porch shots:
The table never gets all the way cleared, all summer long . . .
Looking down the porch to the swing, with my daughter's skates under the table, and the flag brought in out of the rain. We haven't eaten outside that much this week, because it's been too hot, but morning coffee on the porch is perfect.
The husband returns Sunday night, and I'm just putting one foot in front of the other to get through the weekend. Amazing how his absence weighs everything down, even when I'm not home alone with little children, but big ones, who do a lot of heavy lifting and are good company. Last night we hung out kind of late, talking and laughing, while the Viking Son prepped his shield for a new paint job, and that was nice.
I've also started watching the newer Maigret series with Rowan Atkinson in the title role. Still trying to decide how I feel about it. On the one hand, I miss Michael Gambon's avuncular, droll characterization. I miss Sergeant Lukas, as played by the late Geoffrey Hutchings --- he was my favorite thing about that series. I'd gotten attached to the whole cast, so watching a whole other cast, especially in the first episode, which replays a story the old series also covered, felt dislocating at first.
The newer Maigret is a lot more noir. It's a lot more consciously cinematic, as television is these days --- and I like that, but it's a shift. Most significantly, I had thought Rowan Atkinson was an odd choice to play Maigret, but while I miss Gambon's interpretation, Atkinson is actually brilliant. All those years of Mr. Bean and Blackadder and Johnny English sort of occluded his range as more than a character actor. Here he's almost claustrophobically understated, which is what generates his intensity and makes him compelling. You go in sort of expecting that it's going to be a parodic Johnny-Englishy kind of treatment, and I am here to tell you, within twenty seconds you've forgotten all about that. You've forgotten that he ever was Mr. Bean. Mr. Who?
Anyway, I was previewing it for watching with the husband, and I'm glad it's good. He's going to have a harder time than I have, I suspect, with separating from both the older Maigret --- in which life in postwar Paris does look like the finest of fine careless raptures, even with all the murdering that does go on --- and the idea of Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean, but we'll have a go at it. I won't mind rewatching these.
I've also watched the one available season of Dalgleish, based on P.D. James' series of detective novels. This was good, too, in much the same ways. British tv is into noir, I will say that. Everything could be Endeavour, even when it isn't. Bertie Carvel, too, turns in a restrained performance as James' poet-policeman. The thing that's chiefly interesting about this series is that the ensemble cast --- the police team of Chief Inspector and his bagmen/women --- is composed of people who don't like each other or work well together at all. It's Dalgleish, who lives in his own head, plus the younger male sergeant who is, as they say, a bit of a lad, and also a bit of a misogynist and racist, as is revealed when a younger black woman joins the team. So there's all that tension, and it doesn't particularly look like resolving anytime soon.
I keep waiting for the day when I finally overdose on police procedure, but that day has not arrived yet.
Meanwhile, today in clothing news . . .
I had miscast my weeks for my July 4/3 challenge, not that it matters. I was thinking Friday to Friday as a week, but really it's Friday to Thursday, with Friday as the first day of the next week. So in fact yesterday represented the last day of the first week of my 4/3. And it worked out all right. I did in fact fulfill the challenge. I wore swing dresses Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. On Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday, I chose other options. This worked out really well: not a massive stretch out of my comfort zone, but a way to break up a default pattern.
And again, this challenge, as I've conceived it, really isn't about wearing or not wearing a particular kind of dress (in my case a swing dress). It is about allowing a comfortable default mode, BUT consciously not letting it become such a rut that other things I own don't get worn. Summer is a good time for this, at least in my case, because I get so doldrum-y in the summer. I have a hard time with depression and anxiety in the summer, I think because a) it's so inescapably hot, and b) life lacks its normal structures, and my routines go all to pieces. Having a dog is a good thing in this regard, because I can't not get up and walk with her in the mornings, and that gives my day at least some shape. Anyway, I can slip into acedia pretty fast, letting go my self-care. Pushing myself to get dressed, and not to get dressed in the same thing I took off the night before and threw onto the drying rack: that helps.
So, today:
Starting my new week with a non-default outfit instead of a default one. I'd already decided that I might give my thrifted sage-green twill shorts another wearing. It's too hot for long trousers, and I wasn't really feeling a skirt, so here we are. I like these shorts: the color is lovely to me, and the length and shape are comfortable and, I think pretty flattering.
Paging through the hangers in the closet this morning, I lit on this secondhand gray bamboo tunic, which was one of my December purchases right before the start of my No-Buy 2022. I haven't worn it that often, but I do really like its color, drape, and movement. It adds coverage and fluidity without adding a whole lot of weight. It belts gracefully, tucks nicely, ties without problems, and looks nice just as it comes, over dresses or trousers. Having walked two and a half miles in it this morning, I can report that it's a layer that doesn't add any particular weight or heat in summer weather. I was sweaty, because that was inevitable, but not too sweaty, and the fabric wicked moisture and dried quickly.
It does have a pretty wide boat neck, so I opted to wear my Boody dusty-pink bamboo longline bralette/crop top under it. The bralette is unlined, so I wore a bra underneath for more coverage under a thin top layer, but even with both these items on, it wasn't like wearing a full layer underneath my tunic. The bralette reads as a tank or camisole, but leaves my torso uncovered. This was one of my no-buy exceptions, since it's underwear --- and it's one I've gotten huge mileage out of and would buy again.
I love the color, as well as the feel of the ribbed bamboo fabric, and I think it works beautifully with the colors I have going on in my outfit today: nothing the same color, but everything muted and soft next to each other. I like the dusty pink (not even really visible here) with the silvery gray with the sage green with the dark blue of my shoes.
I also like the juxtaposition of the fluid, unstructured tunic with the very structured, tailored shorts. The two elements balance each other nicely, I think. This feels like a good, easy outfit in which I could theoretically go lots of places --- the grocery store, where obviously nobody cares, but I'd feel put-together enough for a date night, too, if only my date were home!
ALSO: I hadn't planned my garden as a tea garden, but I have been brewing iced teas from various herbs currently growing. Lemon balm and basil are a good combination, I've discovered; my latest big pitcher of tea includes both those herbs (I didn't measure anything, just picked leaves and mashed them into the basket of my Mr. Coffee iced-tea maker, which was given to me years ago and which I did not think I'd ever use, but do), plus a couple of bags of camomile tea and a sprig or two of lavender. I've also made the lemon-balm/basil combo with honey and ginger. I've made plain mint tea, tea with mint and lavender, tea with bee balm/bergamot. Next year I do want to grow some camomile and think a little more deliberately about having a tea garden, since that's what I seem to be doing, and the family likes it. My children have been historically suspicious of things like this, but they have been drinking down these teas with great enthusiasm all summer.
I have calendulas blooming and have been considering calendula tea as well, but apparently it's medicinal and bitter and would need a lot of sweetening. Still, supposedly it's really good for you, and I do have a lot of calendulas, so maybe I'll try that next.
MUCH LATER:
Caved in and used three of the tomatoes pictured above for dinner. I didn't make a quiche this time, but I had another package of pie crust (not a pastry chef; I am all about the fridge-case premade crust), so I
*prebaked the bottom crust in a pie dish
*while the crust baked, made some quick pesto (basil+garlic+oil+parmesan+a dash of cream) to use as a base on top of the bottom crust.
*sliced tomatoes to layer in on top of the pesto base
*once I'd done all that, covered the tomatoes with shredded Italian-mix cheese (mozzarella, parmesan, provolone) and pressed on the top crust.
*It's now baking.
I'll report on how it turns out, but it smells good.