The rain has stopped for now, though I think it's supposed to start again soon. Current temperature: 64F. Projected high: 72F. Welcome to North Carolina, land of unpredictable winter weather. But honestly, this isn't bad. I'll take it. I've been watching people pass by on the cross street, on electric scooters or on foot, in t-shirts and shorts. I don't think I'm wearing a t-shirt and shorts today, but it'll be nice not to have to layer up in the same old way.
Speaking of same old: same old, same old today, the last workday of the week. My aim is to wind up everything I need to have done, and to do no work on Saturday or Sunday. Tomorrow we're going to Black Mountain to meet the Fire Son and some longtime family friends for dinner in the German restaurant there, an outing I heartily look forward to. And then Sunday is Sunday.
Wearing today:
*Wool& Willow dress (M) in Wisteria, bought February 2023
*Secondhand Allbirds green tencel-merino leggings, bought January 2024
*Secondhand Brooks Brothers pink merino cardigan, bought fall 2023
*Secondhand Birkenstock Rosemead clogs, bought March 2023
Bare ankles in January! I'm not quite ready to pull out the winter-into-spring label here, but you know it's coming soon. I wear these Birk Rosemeads in the house all the time, but today they make a legitimate outfit element, not just "house shoes." I will probably put on other shoes to go out, since it's still wet and might be actively raining. But for once I don't feel that I need to finish today's outfit by adding boots.
Still stretching out the very-small pink sweater, but I do like it. I love all these soft, tender colors together. These leggings were made to go with this dress. Definitely making a note of all these elements to take with me on my road trip next week. But in the meantime, today's workout is a total body "stretch and flow" --- I don't intentionally time that kind of workout to fall on a Friday, but I love it for a Friday movement session --- and I'm dressed for that without needing to do much, just shrug off my cardigan and step out of my shoes.
In fact, here's a rough, preliminary list of what I plan to pack:
*this Willow dress
*all three Allbirds leggings: these green ones, the slate blue ones, the navy ones
*redyed green bamboo-cotton leggings (specifically for Groundhog Party in the Park, which is likely to be muddy, if not cold --- if it is cold, I'll wear a wool layer under them)
*one linen dress, probably my blue-gray NPL Smock, as it's the most versatile of the pieces I own.
*cardigans: this pink one, my merino cobalt-blue button cardigan, the alpaca cardigan
*pullover: the green merino-mohair-cotton one
*something to sleep in (probably the Sierra dress I usually sleep in)
*one or two pairs of merino tights
*3 pairs of socks
*an array of shoes and boots and coats, because I do not know what kinds of weather really to expect, but I'm going to include my snow boots, because Party in the Park, as I've said, can be really muddy.
These options should take me through visiting my mother and mother-in-law, then a Friday-night party at the Texasgirl's house, a brunch on Saturday, Party in the Park (MUD) on Saturday night, and Mass on Sunday. Then the drive home.
I'm not bothering to pack especially light, because I'm driving, and again --- I could potentially move through three completely different weather zones in the course of this trip. Or it could all be basically the same. You never know. So I'm tossing it all in the car and taking it with. But not too many choices. I don't think I need all my dresses, just some basics that will dress up or down, be a layer or layers under a sweatshirt (the official ticket to get into the Saturday night party is an official Groundhog sweatshirt), accommodate warm or cold weather, wet or dry, as it might occur. I could be persuaded to throw in one of my Brooklyn dresses, but I dunno. They can be a little tricky to style with boots and leggings . . . but then again, they do dress up and down so nicely, and I always feel pretty in them, so maybe I'll rethink that. Again, I'm driving, and my car has plenty of room, so there's no real need to pack a tight capsule (though that's a challenge I enjoy, and it does generally pay off in ease and versatility).
I'll probably wear my linen dress to drive, on the days when I'm driving, to save my having to pack it. Wrinkles do tend to shake out, I find --- my main objection to linen as a travel fabric has been the perceived need to iron it, but the NPL people say not to. Still, I think it'll travel better on my body than rolled up in my pack.
Enough of all that for now. Things to do today, and as always, I had better arise and do them.
AFTERNOON UPDATE:
As of 3:00 p.m., I have
*written the last essay I needed to have done by today, on Thomas Hardy
*Sent in my revised fiction manuscript
*Sent in a blurb for a friend's book of poems
*eaten a 2-egg omelette with spinach
*taken the dog for a less-brief walk than we've had for a while
*received my Jerusalem artichoke tubers --- what I want to spend the early part of tomorrow doing is acquiring soil and compost to cover the layer of weed-killing cardboard in the raised-bed garden, so that I can plant said tubers before I leave town.
In a little bit I guess I'll do this flow workout. Meanwhile, here's my view:
She was hanging halfway off the daybed upside-down, but she felt me reach for my phone and torqued herself back up again. This basically is how I've been getting work done. Forget having a desk. Reclining with one's devoted dog on a daybed to work is where. it's. at.