The weather's turned cold, at least by North Carolina standards. Friends in the Dakotas will laugh at our hunkering down when temperatures hit 30F. But hunker down we do.
Last night we went out to the pub --- Thursday is trivia night, which is kind of fun, although we generally don't play. The real draw for us is the Thursday food truck, which has brisket tacos in a kind of Caribbean treatment, with mango and a cilantro coleslaw. By about four yesterday afternoon I had decided that those brisket tacos would be better for dinner than anything I might possibly think of to cook, so when my husband came home, off we went.
We don't play trivia, usually, although last night we could answer most of the questions, so maybe we should play trivia. We like the regulars who are there for trivia night, though, and Thursday nights are very social. One big table of players --- I forget their team name now --- includes both the husband and one of the sons of a woman I knew for years through our YMCA homeschool gym-and-swim group. She doesn't come to the pub, but both her son and her husband are convivial men, and it's always fun to see them.
I broke out my big teal coat last night and was glad I had, since we had to stand around in the cold for a while, ordering our brisket tacos and chatting with the food-truck man (also convivial). I'll probably wear it again this morning to walk the dog. I bought that coat in 2005 at a Burlington Coat Factory outlet in Memphis, and have mended it in various places to keep it operational, because it's a really good, warm coat.
Also wearing today:
Base outfit: Wool& Audrey dress, Ibex merino tee (thrifted), Snag merino tights (not seen, but I'm wearing Silver Lining, the light gray color), Xero Tari boots.
I tried a couple of cardigan options, as follows:
I like this duster-length cardigan, but it always feels like a little much, especially if I'm wearing a coat over it.
On the other hand, I LOVE my Athleta drape cardigan.
I got it at Goodwill several years ago, and it's kind of pilled, but I don't care. I love the color and shape. It seems to improve any outfit I add it to.
I feel really dressed up for a day that's basically going to include dog-walking, housework, and writing. But why not be dressed up? It's a day, and I'm in it, so I might as well show up fully, instead of thinking I've got to wait for some special occasion to look nice.
I'm also pleased with how this tee looks under my Audrey dress. Again, one reason I wanted this dress was to have something that worked as a jumper over these various merino tees. The deeper neckline makes this dress a better choice for that kind of thing than my Sierra and Camellia dresses, though I do layer under those as well.
My reading today in The Imitation of Christ, from Book I Chapter 6, felt apt, in light of how easy it is to want more and more clothes, to find them a little too important, to be always thinking about the next acquisition:
Whensoever a man desires any thing inordinately, he is presently disquieted within himself. The proud and covetous are never easy. The poor and humble of spirit live in much peace.
This is followed by a bit about how, when you give in to your inclinations, you then feel unhappy because you have given in, and your conscience rebukes you. While I think it's not wrong to want clothes and to have them . . . still, I think it's not wrong that constant acquisition and the constant desire for acquisition all make you less happy, not more.
I read also today about the Tower of Babel, then the beginning of Abraham's story, ending with his passing off Sarai as his sister in Egypt. Psalm 6. Matthew 5, continuing the Sermon on the Mount.
And the dog would like to exit her crate now, so I suppose I must loose her upon the world.
UPDATE:
Nice walk, and I was very warm in the outfit above, with my big coat. I have not for one minute regretted my purchase of these Tari boots, which do exactly what I bought them to do: perform comfortably but also stylishly, day in and day out, through all my life's routines. Mostly, they're just good to walk in. And they're so lightweight that I don't feel like taking them off when I get home. I really like that they add instant polish to any outfit without sacrificing comfort and ease.
By midafternoon today I have
*walked the dog and spent about half an hour at the dog park.
*written and uploaded an essay on "In the Bleak Midwinter."
*made and eaten an omelette.
*read Holinshed on Richard II, plus a long article about the Cheshire dialect in Middle English, in which both Sir Gawain and Pearl are written.
*written roughly 800 words of fiction --- the whole project at the moment stands at 4000 words, which is not too bad when you consider that every sentence, pretty much, requires research.