On the last really warm afternoon, the neighborhood was a cathedral.
Dora and I took our time, walking and looking (me) and smelling in piles of leaves for nastiness to devour (her).
Today the weather's turned: high of only 56F, with rain, and a low below freezing. Tomorrow's supposed to be even colder.
I wonder how many people will be out tonight for trick-or-treating, and of those people, how many will come to my door. We used to have floods of trick-or-treaters every year, but in the last several years --- starting with Covid, I guess, but not really ending there --- we've had only little trickles. The weird thing is that I know that people are out there, because I see them pass the house, but even with my porch light on, relatively few of them come up to knock on my door. It's strange and a little sad, though Halloween generally feels anticlimactic with no children at home. Our last set of teenagers threw a party every Halloween, with decorations and costumes and roaming about in the dark, and I do miss that. It was nice, that stage when people were home to make a big deal of it, but we didn't have to accompany them trick-or-treating. I sort of miss having to say, "Put your candy where the dog won't find it."
At any rate, my husband bought bags of Reeses Peanutbutter Cups from some discount grocery in the country, so we're set. This is his late night on campus, so I guess I'll be listening for the door, to hand these things out. And then tomorrow it's All Saints, and Thursday is All Souls --- also the Fire Son's 26th birthday. Nobody knows his address right now, and in any case I think he'll actually be in transit from his former address to the new one that nobody knows, so an online gift certificate it is, because that will actually find him, wherever he may be.
So today will be a day of more of the same work: Sun essays on World War I poets, work at my reader's notes for the MFA thesis, work on my metrical-forms course. Chatting with the Artgirl about doing a cover image for The Blackbird --- my dream is to have her be my cover artist for everything.
Wearing today:
My version of autumnal loungewear: teal Willow for a twentieth straight day (if I'm actually doing a 30-day challenge, only ten to go), under my redyed green Sierra. Sierra has been my nightgown for some days now, but nobody besides us has to know that. Green Snag merino tights --- I think this color is called "Crocodile." And my good old Tari boots, so much loved, so easy to wear. Half-updo hair with a little claw clip, because I couldn't be bothered doing anything else with it.
Can't be bothered is pretty much today's theme. As you see, I can't even be bothered to wear a belt with my voluminous Sierra, and I don't care. I'm actually kind of grooving on the swinginess today, even though it is in fact a lot of swinginess. I love the deep green with the hit of teal, and Willow will be a nice cozy base layer as the temperatures drop through the afternoon. I'm also trying to make good on my resolution to wear tights a lot, instead of defaulting to leggings. As much as I love leggings, I think tights look better most of the time, and these are plenty warm and soft and comfortable.
I'll need a jacket for outdoors, but otherwise I'm ready for anything.