Morning table still-life with finished breakfast (kefir with a smashed banana and a sprinkling of rolled oats, as it happens). Now I'm finishing my coffee, having played Wordle (got it, but it took me 5 tries), Connections, Letter Box (my new favorite), and the Times Mini Crossword --- in short, every free word game from the New York Times.
We're getting the raw selvage of Hurricane Ophelia today, in the form of rain and cooler temperatures, with a high of only 73F. Our friends Clark and Christine, having met us at the pub the other night, had to rush off early to drive to the coast to secure the house they've been building for the last year or so --- here's hoping nothing gets blown away (least of all Clark and Christine). It's pleasant, usually, to live close enough to a coastline that the edges of these storms become your own weather, but also pleasant not to live so close that the storms themselves become your own problem.
For us the hurricane just means some pleasant autumnal weather, if you like rain, and I do. Today is, at last, the fall equinox. No more summer. Of course, it really hasn't been summer --- in fits and starts --- for a while now. The nights have been cool. The cicada racket has tapered off into the serenity of cricket songs. The light has changed in its quality, if not yet that noticeably in its quantity. I'm eyeing my cardigan collection with anticipation --- obviously I've been wearing some cardigans for a while now, but the time is coming when I won't stir from the house without one. Six months from now I'll be really sick of cardigans, but right now I can't wait to start wearing them in earnest.
What's on today? Not much, really. That's pretty much the best. I've got to go pick up Dora's prescription, and I think I'll get some hamburger buns while I'm there, so that we can grill out tonight. I might wash my hair for Sunday, or I might just get up early tomorrow and do it, because these are the joys of shorter hair.
Better get dressed now to walk the dog.
Wearing:
Willow, for a third September outing, with a repeat of these Allbirds merino-blend leggings, the trusty alpaca cardigan, and my Birk Madeiras --- all thrifted except for my dress. Although it's really and truly the first day of fall, I'm enjoying the play of these soft springlike colors. I'm just not a pumpkin spice kind of girl --- no pumpkin in my coffee, thanks, and no pumpkin colors in my clothes. Give me this fresh, tender periwinkle color and the seaglass shade of this cardigan any day of the year, with navy on my legs for a muted dark neutral. No hard edges here, no sharp contrasts. Just softness and light warmth for when I want it.
After trying on (and sending back) the Norah dress yesterday, I'm feeling very happy and comforted in a swing dress. I like having some more structured dresses for variety's sake, and the ones I have suit me . . . but there's really nothing quite as easy as a swing dress.
Willow is short enough, too, to be a good choice with leggings. I've worn her happily as a short dress with bare legs all summer, but now, as the weather cools down, she morphs readily into a tunic to wear over bottoms: leggings, obviously (which I've done twice in the last week), but also other dresses and skirts. I'm thinking I can wear her over the black pencil skirt I bought for choir wear, for instance. I don't wear much black ordinarily, even as an accent, but with dark graphite boots and tights, that could be a really nice winter outfit, especially for a Sunday.
I love the versatility of this basic dress, and she makes for a cozy Saturday outfit on the first real day of fall.