Here's a figure for Advent: the ruined garden, the waiting Theotokos, a garden in herself.
Here, too, a poem (the first in this fine sequence by Libby Maxey) which will be up later this week in the Sun, but which I think speaks to the state of the soul in Advent.
Much to do today, so quickly, here's the daily style diary:
Wool& Camellia dress (redyed royal blue), with an old thrifted polarfleece pullover, which I have kept only because it's purple and therefore useful in these liturgical seasons. I haven't worn it in a long time, and we'll see how it feels over the course of the day, but I like it with my dress and a repeat of yesterday's blue leggings. It's wet out, so I'm giving my Tari boots a break and wearing my 3-year-old Doc Martens instead, with wool socks (not seen). I like the contrast of the gray-green boots with my navy leggings. I'd been thinking, when I put all of this on, that it would amount to kind of a "nothing" outfit, but really: I'm very happy with all these colors and shapes and how they work together. I feel far more put together than I had thought I would.
Hair down because I cannot be bothered, but I kind of like it. Most of the initial curl from Saturday's wash has fallen out, but it's just kind of flowy in a way that looks like maybe I did try. I didn't, but if it even remotely looks otherwise, that's a nice little win.
I like these colors together a lot. As always, I'm so glad I redyed my Camellia, because I wouldn't have liked the dusty "lapis" blue with this pullover at all. In fact, I think I tried it last year and found it profoundly blah. The darker blue works so much better with other colors I wear, and with colors for winter. 10/10 would recommend redyeing a dress. I'd also 10/10 recommend doing it in the washing machine, if at all possible. Camellia shrank a **tiny** bit, but not much. I also didn't use the hottest possible water, and still got a good result.
Must gird myself to walk the dog and proceed with many other tasks.
UPDATE:
Have completed two tasks, the prospect of which was stressing me out:
*I finished and submitted this book review that had been hanging over my head since the spring
*I put together and submitted a handout of poems for Thursday's Advent/Immaculate Conception retreat (this was stressing me out mostly because I was afraid I'd forget to do it in time)
I still have things to do, but to clear two of the most (however irrationally) stressful items from the list feels pretty good.
I now give myself permission to set out Santa figures for St. Nicholas Day.
Oh: today's Bible was Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's wife turned to salt and, in the Gospel, the beggar who says to Christ, "If you will, you can make me clean" --- a moment echoed in Henry Vaughan's beautiful poem "Christ's Nativity."