Day before yesterday, I brought in as many flowers as I could, out of the coming cold. Now here are some of them, in vases made by the Artgirl. They bloom away bravely indoors for just a little longer, while outside it's (checks notes) 30F, up from 24F just a little while ago. A real cold snap to usher in November and our prayers for the departed, who sleep through all the turns of season and weather.
I lost most of yesterday's work time to churchgoing and lunch with friends, who turned out just to have gotten engaged to each other in the grotto at the Abbey, moments before Mass. So it was a celebratory lunch, and I didn't regret the time, but boy oh boy do I need to make hay today.
To Do:
*I am just about finished with my notes for the MFA thesis, which I would like to turn around by tomorrow. It would be good if I could tie them off today.
*I have GOT to plan this poetry class, at least enough to teach the sessions week after next.
*I've been commissioned to write a Christmas poem for America magazine (last week, for a deadline this week), and I have sort of done that, but I keep wishing I'd write something better. At the very least, if I can fine-tune the short lines of the tiny poem I have written, that would be good.
*One more Sun essay for next week
*So. Much. Laundry. in the dryer, waiting to be folded . . . at some point.
Things I HAVE done, on the other hand, which are good for me to remember when I feel like drowning in all this work:
*read the MFA thesis and written substantial notes that mostly need organizing, streamlining, and added to in small ways
*Written one Sun essay
*Done some prep for the class
*At least drafted the Christmas poem and gotten it to a state where I could stand to send it in, even though I'd like it to be better
*Read and written an endorsement for a new book of poems
*Received two out of three endorsements for my own book of poems and put them in a document to send in as soon as I get the third one.
*Sent in a revised manuscript of the short-story collection, with a few other items on the to-do list (like new headshots) and talked to the Artgirl about a blackbird image for the cover
*Sent the Fire Son, whose birthday is today, a Wool&Prince gift certificate, because until yesterday I didn't know what his new address was, and it's kind of late to be sending a physical package.
*Packed up last night's tomato-basil soup (garden basil that I yanked up and potted indoors to grow all winter, I hope) for my husband to take to work for his long day today.
Also, the friend I thought was coming to stay with us is actually staying in a hotel closer to Charlotte, which is honestly a relief. We'd have been very happy to have him, but on the other hand, prepping for a houseguest is one big thing off my list, and I'm not that sad about it.
Wearing today for the distinctly chilly weather:
Here's the base outfit: teal Willow over my thrifted, self-cropped base-layer dusty-rose long-sleeved merino tee (Icebreaker, I think?). Thrifted Allbirds merino-blend leggings, and my heavy teal wool socks from Norway.
And the more finished outfit:
Just add boots. One of the many things I love about these graphite-gray Birk Melrose boots --- besides comfort and good looks --- is that the fit is generous enough to accommodate thick wool socks. I love these boots and am not the least bit sorry I broke a putative purchasing pause to buy them, back in the summer. I paid significantly less for them on Poshmark than I would have paid in any store, and they're just lovely.
My hair, washed yesterday, is very winter-straight, but that's the nice thing about having an actual haircut. All I did was run a comb through it, and it still looks reasonably purposeful.
Anyway, here we are at Day 22, I guess. Only eight days to go, so I might as well see them out. (ETA: I realize I've miscounted --- it's only Day 21. Still. That doesn't really change anything except my ending day). I might actually go back and put a label on all these posts --- "30 Days," or something like that --- so that I can find them again. And this is the obligatory moment when I reiterate how much I love the dress, but it's true, I do. I love the color, I love the style, I love how easy and versatile it is to wear. I really wish this style came in as many colors (or the same colors) as the Rowena, particularly Pine and Iris Blue. I still don't think I want a Rowena (but I could be wrong!). This is an impression not mitigated by the fact that the model wearing the Iris Blue Ro seems to be wearing a nightgown. What are these people thinking when they do these photos? She's beautiful, and the dress looks nice on other people, but dang, the sizing here is just terrible. Meanwhile, I like the Willow's more open neckline an awful lot. I also wish they'd bring back Garnet as a color --- I think I've missed the boat on that color in any dress I might have wanted. This dress I'm wearing, but in that shade of red, would have been pretty en fuego, I think. Oh, well, that saves me agonizing over one purchase, at any rate.
The other thing is this: I keep looking at thicker-knit dresses like the Evelyn and the new Eliza, and thinking --- because it happens to be cold outside right now --- how wonderful a dress like that would feel. But we don't have enough cold weather to persuade me, at this moment, that a heavier dress would be worth what I'd pay for it, in terms of cost-per-wear. My Sierra, sleeveless as she is, already feels too heavy for the hottest summer days, whereas even my dresses with 3/4 sleeves did not feel too hot, even in July and August, this past summer. I might feel differently in January and February, however. Lent this year is early, and it will feel long and cold. After some months of layering my current dresses, I might feel that it is worth it to me to buy a dress that's warm enough on its own for those variable but frequently dreary late-winter/early-spring days. But we'll see. I might very well decide to do another 30-day in that long, dreary zone. Or I might not. I leave that door open.
But today I'm happy. I love my dress. I'm celebrating, albeit at a huge remove, twenty-six years of my beautiful son, whose presence in my life (again, even at a huge remove) is such a joy. I'm going to go and pray in the churchyard (the Episcopal one, since that's within walking distance) for all my beloved dead and the dead whom my friends mourn. The sun is shining, and the cold weather, for now, is a novelty which I can enjoy from inside my warm clothes.
LATER
"Done" list:
*Sun essay #2 written
*Christmas poem sent to poetry editor at America
*Progress made on reader's notes for MFA thesis
*Dog walked and fed, lunch eaten
DONE LIST CONTINUED:
*MFA thesis notes sent
*Garden cleaning continued --- my few remaining cosmos and zinnias froze, so I yanked them out and put them on the brushpile.
LATER STILL . . .
Waiting, waiting, waiting for my pub date to come home. All I've done to create my date-night outfit is add this redyed indigo wool scarf (once my grandmother's):
It's remarkable how much warmer I am. I really didn't need another full layer, since I'm already wearing a base-layer tee and leggings.
Now if THAT MAN would just come home . . .