I'd almost forgotten this strange little figurine, with her detached (literally) large infant. I'm not even sure they're meant to go together. The mismatch in scale would suggest that they aren't. They were part of the trunkload of religious goods we bought sight unseen from our friend Peter last year, when he and his siblings were trying (a years-long process) to clean out their parents' house for sale. Anyway, they live on my mantel, but I overlook them a lot (even as they overlook me all the time).
It's a quiet Saturday, with rain in the forecast and not much on the schedule. Dora and I had a down day yesterday, walking only about two miles --- today, if the rain holds off (or maybe even if it doesn't), I'd like to put in a higher mile number by the time I go to bed. While I still haven't gotten around to another virtual pilgrimage --- and I guess I really won't be doing that in Eastertide! --- I think of myself as in training. I'd like to do a real walking pilgrimage of some kind. I'd really like to up my daily miles now, for the sake of building endurance.
The main obstacle, of course, is time in the day. I usually have to rush back to crate the dog and work for some hours. The other obstacle, of course, is venue --- it's hard to walk a whole lot farther than I do, within reach of my house, and still have the walk be pleasant. Pleasant is the key to my doing anything more than once. I'd have to put the dog in the car and drive somewhere to walk more than three miles in one stretch without running into less-than-pleasant walking conditions: traffic, nothing to look at, no sidewalk, etc.
These aren't excuses so much as simply factors to put in front of me and think about. How can I extend at least some of my current walks? What if I walked from end to end on the greenway, then instead of turning around at the park with the bathrooms, opted to walk up Aspen Street to the square instead? Are there sidewalks the whole way? I realize I'm not sure, though I do see people walking. It's not that nice a walk --- that stretch of Aspen/Business 321 doesn't take you past anything of especial interest, and there is traffic. Dora would find that stressful, so I'd have to plan to manage her stress. But if I wanted to extend a walk a lot, that's one thing I could choose to do. As I came into the center of town again, I'd have route options, which might include rounding the square, walking down by the newspaper office (yes, we still have a newspaper office), and picking up the greenway again at the dog-park end. I don't know how much mileage this would add --- I'd have to walk it and let my pedometer track it. But it would be a fairly significant extension, I think, since Aspen Street does a big loop around neighborhoods that the greenway trail runs straight through.
It is pleasant to sit here with my coffee and think about walking, as opposed to actually walking. Once I get going I'm fine, but to get up out this chair of a morning . . . that's the struggle. But I would like to punch through my current ceiling of 5 miles in a day, to add some days in the week when my totals fall somewhere between 6 and 10 miles. Not every day, but a couple of days a week: that would be manageable, I think.
Of course I'm sitting here planning this just as the weather's about to get hot. But then acclimating myself (and Dora) to walking in the heat is another goal. I don't want to give us heat exhaustion, but I do want us to build up more endurance.
Meanwhile, temps today are set to be significantly cooler. Last night was a little chilly --- I wore my pullover sweater again to walk Dora before bed. Today the high is 60F, but I think we're declining from that high already, and most of the day will be in the mid-50s. Well, well, well, a good time to try out some of my new leggings, say I. Maybe even to put on my hiking boots, if it's going to rain. Rainy days are good days for dog-walking, when you have an anxious dog who dislikes strangers and other dogs: nobody else is out in the rain but you.
WEARING:
Here's my outfit base for the day, as the temperatures decide what they're going to do: Willow + my new (to me) Allbirds leggings, in a blend of merino, tencel, and lyocell. They're incredibly soft and satiny, like the finish of my Audrey merino/tencel dress, but with more weight, heft, and silkiness. I can tell that these are going to be a favorite staple for a long time. And then Willow is so airy and flowy and easy to wear.
This is the basic outfit I envision wearing on the plane to Norway and probably repeating a lot in the twelve days of our trip. It's just so easy to layer up or down ---
I really like my new merino-mohair-blend pullover with this ensemble. The pale spring green pairs really well with the periwinkle of my dress, while the navy leggings anchor everything with a dark neutral. Definitely got light-dark-color-pattern going on here. I just had on those Birkenstocks --- I might wear them in the house today, but they won't be going to Norway.
Adding my hiking boots, which I think I really will wear to walk today, since I haven't worn them in a while, and the weather's so much cooler:
The soft Boody bamboo socks are definitely on my packing list. They add warmth without weight --- and they're just delicious on my feet. And I am glad I invested in these Birkenstock boots. As I've said before, after discovering a new pair in the Mast General Store back in the winter, I watched for some to come up on Ebay in my size and in a price that I thought was more reasonable than the official retail price. It's a purchase I have not regretted for one nanosecond.
The good thing about the Norway trip is that we plan to rent a car. This means that I can get dressed in the morning in a base outfit, but then throw layering and footwear options in the car --- I don't always have to wear hiking boots when I leave the house, but I can have them on hand for when we want to walk a lot. Of course, every shoe I'm bringing will be good for walking, which I know because I have walked in them. I really don't buy shoes that aren't good for walking, or wear them if I did buy them (yes, I have some heels, but they get hardly any wear ever, because 99.99999% of the time, I prefer to be able to walk).
I might or might not want to wear the pullover when I go out to walk with Dora in a bit. I might just tie it around my waist, which is honestly how I imagine it will spend a lot of its time on our trip. But here's the base outfit again with boots on:
If it sounds as though I'm product-testing my travel capsule, that's accurate. I am doing that very thing. I won't have reliably cooler weather here, but I want to take advantage of what cooler weather we are having to try some combinations out, and to be sure I'm going to feel good in my skin wearing them. As long as I feel good, and am dressed for the weather and my activities, I won't care that I'm not wearing what the local populations are wearing. Heck, on a daily basis I'm not wearing what my own local population is wearing. I'm sure I stand out on the greenway, simply because I'm dressed, like in clothes, not athletic gear. That my normal clothes function like high-performance athletic gear is just icing, as far as I'm concerned.
Oh --- I actually gave my navy Patagonia long-sleeved base-layer tee to my husband. I haven't worn it much, it's really a men's shirt anyway, and it fits him perfectly. I'm trying to wean him off these synthetic workout shirts he keeps wearing and then hanging on the bathroom door, whence I fetch them into the laundry hamper, because come on, man: that thing stinks, and you're not wearing it again. He loves the short-sleeved merino tees he has, as well as the two button-down shirts for work (which he does plan to bring on this trip). We just gotta purge this polyester stuff . . .
He did notice that I had my travel capsule laid out on the bed yesterday, and remarked on it with interest. At this stage he still insists that he's going to check a bag. I think: no WAY am I doing that. Yes, yes, we each get one free checked bag, but mister, we are flying from Charlotte to JFK, from JFK to Amsterdam, and from Amsterdam to Bergen, and that's a lot of plane changes. I'm not taking any chances with my belongings on this trip. They're getting on and off the plane with me at every stage. Given that I don't need to bring more stuff than I can carry with me, this seems a reasonable way to avoid the potentiality of hassles and headaches. He's not buying it, but whatever. I guess what I'm responsible for is not acting superior, no matter what does or does not happen with anybody's luggage. If something does happen, that'll be the big challenge. But I hope it doesn't.
I am pretty stoked about this pashmina I have (shown below at far left) --- weirdly enough, because I've had it for ages. My husband gave it to me. It's not that I haven't worn it, because I have. I just haven't worn it all that much, and I might not have considered taking it if I hadn't first gone down the rabbit hole of looking online for a big scarf/shawl that would be both lightweight and warm. I covet these Ovcio scarves, which are precisely what you'd want for travel --- but not for $139 right now, thank you very much. Then I was looking at pashminas . . . then I remembered that I own one.
So here's to shopping the ol' closet. It really does look lovely with all these arrayed colors. My plan is to put it right at the top of my carry-on, so I can use it as a blanket on the plane. It's not as fine and lightweight as those super-expensive scarves (and they do come in delicious colors, which is also why I want one), but it's pashmina cashmere and silk, which are not heavy and are warm and thermal, and it's just perfect for my needs at this time. I'm glad I've put my budget toward more leggings instead, because I absolutely did not have anything as good as what I've recently purchased, especially for travel clothing.
ADDENDUM: That cashmere/merino/silk teal tank, far right in the photo, just below the alpaca cardigan, seriously pulls its (negligible) weight as a base layer. I wore it yesterday under my Brooklyn dress, and while I'd have to turn it backwards to achieve more cleavage coverage --- possible to do, though you get a real boatneck --- it was the perfect layer against my skin. I wore it all day and didn't get hot, but it was nicely insulating when the night cooled down. If I never wore it for anything else, I'd still be glad I bought it. It makes for a rather fancy set of thermal underwear, but whatever works, am I right? I *might* wear it as a top with my red linen skirt for Pentecost tomorrow, but then again, I might wear something else with my red linen skirt for Pentecost tomorrow . . . stay tuned.
'K, well, it does seem to be raining out there, but it's about time to walk the dog. Rain and chill are good, as I remind myself, because they mean that the walking routes will be all ours. Maybe some other hardliners will be out, but not many. I'm going to have a little something to eat, take my vitamins, and then test the conditions outside, so that when I do go out, I'm dressed to walk comfortably for a long way and time.
PS: Today's wear bumps Willow into the lead, with 4 outings in May, to tie with Camellia. I'm not sure I expected to love this dress as much as I do --- but I do.
POST-WALK:
I thought I was walking this massively-much-longer route this morning than I normally do. Turns out it was 9/10ths of a mile longer. Woo dee hoo. We walked for an hour and a half, though, which was good. Cool, breezy, some light rain, so the overall feel was pleasant.
We began with the kind of route we used to take in Lent, when I was walking to imaginary Walsingham: out of our neighborhood, down Business 321 to a side street that leds to one end of the greenway trail, through some mixed residential/semi-industrial stuff. Down the first leg of the greenway trail to the first street that crosses over it. Then instead of continuing on the trail, we turned up the street. This street lies a couple of blocks west of the courthouse square, crossing Main Street at the (now defunct) First Presbyterian Church.
It's a pretty church, as you see, and sad that one of this town's flagship congregations is no more. The collapse was financial, largely due to a flood at some point that caused massive, expensive damage, the repairs for which plunged the church, with a relatively tiny, aging congregation, into debt from which they never recovered. Now I think it's for sale. There's a lovely little pocket park, just to the right of the church in this photo, where I used to take my children all the time when they were little. If we had to wait a long time in a restaurant on the square (a regular occurrence in a particular restaurant which we liked despite the abysmal service), I'd pop around to the park with any restless people to run off their impatience before we went and sat down again. The park is still there, though I don't know who, if anyone, is maintaining it. There was one summer, when the Presbyterians were still in residence, when it became clear that nobody was maintaining that park, so my husband, a couple of the kids, and some of their friends, went and pulled weeds and cleaned it up. Some Presbyterians saw them and, I think, were ashamed that they'd neglected things so badly. It never got that overgrown again, as long as they were there. Now that I don't have park-going children anymore, I haven't paid attention, and I didn't walk down by the park today, but I do wonder how it's faring. It was created as a memorial to some little boy who died, and I hope somebody is taking care of it for his sake.
The view up Main Street the other way, featuring one of the oldest houses in town:
So we crossed Main and kept going until the street we were on ran into another cross street leading out to Business 321 again, on the north side of town. That's where the high school is.
As you can see, Saturdays are pretty quiet here.
Go Wolves.
We managed to have sidewalk all the way down to the park at the other end of the greenway trail, though we had to cross 321 a couple of times to stay on the sidewalk. Part of the difficulty in walking very far in this town, in fact, is that you can't depend on there being a safe place for you to walk, let alone a pleasant one. But for this stretch of road, we were all right. We crossed into the parking lot where the trailhead is and tried to stop in at the public restroom, but somebody seemed to be camped out in the ladies' with the door locked, so we didn't do that. Note to self to call about that, because it's been a problem lately. The other day when I was down there, two teenaged girls were hanging out in the ladies' --- they'd sit in there and smoke, then come out, but leave their backpacks and stuff all over the toilet space (it's a single unit kind of thing with a locking door, not a restroom with stalls), which made me not want to go in, because they'd staked it out as territory. I really should have said something to them, but I didn't. Today, too, I hung around for a bit to see if whoever was in there was coming out, but they didn't, so I went on walking.
ALL the way back up the greenway, crossing our own street and continuing to the end where we'd picked it up to begin with. Then retracing our steps back through the residential/semi-industrial neighborhood, emerging back onto Business 321 on the south end of town. Up the road to our own neighborhood again, and home.
All that? 1 hour, 29 minutes. 3.91 miles. I mean, that is almost a mile longer than our normal long morning walk, but it sure did feel like a lot more.
Passed a pair of kildeer along the greenway by Sycamore Street --- had to come home and look them up in the field guide, but I'm pretty sure that's what they were.
Now I'm back, happily reading through the field guide, eating a fried-egg sandwich and contemplating a bath.
ALSO: The Allbirds leggings are great. Really happy with how they feel. Good temperature regulation. Maximum comfort. We'll see how long they go, how many wears (really depends on how long the cool weather lasts), before they need washing.
EVEN LATER:
Another shoe thought, re travel:
What if I didn't take the heavy hiking boots? Just the Taris (which are waterproofed), and these (which can be waterproofed)? I can get gel insoles for more shock absorption, but these are great to walk in, and they're totally lightweight. The Taris for colder days, when I really need socks for warmth, these for less-cold days when bare ankles are okay . . . I shall ponder this, at any rate.
I have also bought myself a new carry-on backpack, checking the dimensions carefully to be sure that I can carry it on. It's a good bit bigger than a daypack, and possibly I could get the boots in it and not have to wear them on the plane, which would honestly be preferable . . . OR, depending on what we're really going to do, I might just not need full-on hiking boots. (the husband says I do, though) Or I might, in which case I'll figure it out, which I was planning to do anyway. But these Xero Oswegos are great shoes for travel and can stand in perfectly well as light hikers. These might be a good choice for flying, because they slip on and off so easily.
I am pretty happy to be getting a new piece of luggage, though. I haven't had . . . really luggage that was my own at all . . . in twenty years. I have traveled with all my belongings in a laundry basket. I have used everybody else's cast-off duffel bags with broken zippers. It's time for me to have my own suitcase, dagnabbit. Or at least, what I really want instead of a suitcase, because I want to keep channeling my inner student traveler.
This is what I got --- a nice color, and not nearly as expensive as I'd feared. It won't fit under the seat, but will fit handily in an overhead bin. And I can carry it on my back, which is nice. I think I'll take my regular purse (really just a quilted shoulder bag I got at Target while I was in Memphis, when my other purse broke) and put my belt bag in it, as well as my Kindle, my pashmina and a pair of socks. That way I can access things I need on the plane without having to rummage in my bigger bag mid-flight. I can leave the purse in the Air BnB when we go out, and just wear the belt bag while sightseeing. The purse also would fold up really flat and go in my luggage, in a pinch.
In case you were wondering what my new mental challenge was . . . it's Packing Sudoku. That's it. That's the challenge.
Also, I was just out in the rain in my Allbirds leggings. Did I mention how much I like them? Because I really do. What if I decided to leave the red cotton leggings at home, although I really love them, and just took the Allbirds and the merino leggings whose arrival I'm awaiting, plus merino tights? Because it's going to be chilly and wet? What if I did that? WHAT IF?
(Actually, what if I just went ahead and cut off the feet of my oldest Snag merino tights, which are pretty pilled at the ankles? What if I did that? And had some footless tights in "Silver Lining" to wear with my travel clothes? Or just didn't cut the feet out, but took them, because they'd go with everything without repeating any of my other legwear colors? What about that?)
Bedtime miles: 5.21, I think. Not too bad for a day that ended up rainy. Glad I trekked the extra mile this morning, though.
And:
Cut off my Snag merino Silver Lining tights to make footless tights/leggings. Walking in the rain tonight made me think: No Cotton Leggings In Norway. They'll be great for fall and winter here. Not so much for the rain and chill of a Norwegian fjord summer. So I'll take these instead. They go with everything in my capsule, anyway.
This might actually be my favorite outfit yet:
But now I've taken it off and am going to bed.