Why, yes, in fact, that is forsythia you see, again. Forsythia, sunshine, temperatures in the 80s Farenheit . . . Today will be about ten degrees cooler, but that's all right with me. Still lovely and springlike and warm.
I finished the MFA novel thesis yesterday: still have to write up a set of general notes, because all my marginal notes were taken as I read, and a lot became clear toward the end of the novel. My goal is to have all that back to the author by Monday, so that she then has until April to revise. I have one more Sun essay to write this morning, and if I have time, I need to look at the slushpile for Able Muse, though my fellow editors there have been so assiduous that every time I've looked in, between Monday (when I did read some submissions) and now, there's been nothing left to do. My husband wants to take me out to look at plants in a nursery in Cherryville, so that's the afternoon plan.
In other news, I have SENT the poetry manuscript to my publisher. Just made myself do it. No more treading water. Now we'll see . . .
Wearing today, in my persona as Brave Poet Who Sends Stuff In:
My husband asked whether I was going to wear these newly thrifted purple suede Birk Rosemeads every day. Well, no, I said, actually I didn't wear them yesterday. But they're nice to have and wear when I'm not otherwise wearing purple in a purple season.
Here I'm wearing them with my Maggie dress, last seen as a top with a maxi skirt for Mass this past Sunday. Maggie has gotten reasonably light wear for the last several weeks, so I thought she was due an outing. Ditto this thrifted Athleta cardigan, which I've always thought was cotton (it's not; it's some kind of rayon). It's also pretty pilled, and I keep thinking that maybe it's time to move it along, but I dunno. I don't have anything else in this shape and really don't want to look for anything else in this shape (and in any event, it's Lent). As much as I like fitted cropped cardigans, I appreciate the vertical flow of a drape cardigan, especially with a relatively shapeless dress. Mind you, I also like the flow of the dress and don't think it's actually all that shapeless, but sometimes it's nice to have definition without adding a belt.
My baby children are off to Greece --- they left Rome yesterday for an overnight sea voyage, to spend I think about a week on the Greek mainland and in the islands. I know they go to Athens, Delphi, Thessaloniki, Crete --- I forget where else. The son who texted me about this yesterday sounded beside himself with excitement, as indeed he has sounded about all the traveling he's done. The older set, meanwhile, are all in Dallas at the moment. Obviously one of them is always there, because she owns a house and stuff. But her brother is currently crashing there, because he still has time off before his work season starts, and his girlfriend lives in Dallas. They've been out hiking in a canyon-y state park, but I think he's also spent a good deal of time lounging on his sister's sofa, covered by dogs.
Anyway, I've got to write this essay today, I don't even know what about . . . guess I should look at the calendar and acquaint myself with the poem about which I must expound in some authoritative way. That's just how it goes: I know only that I know nothing.
So I guess I had better go know it.