Lenten kitchen-table still-life.
Same things on today as ever: various work tasks, mainly, though I also want to go ahead and cold-sow some more lettuce seeds in the vinegar jug I washed out yesterday. I had to let the vinegar dissipate some overnight, but I think it'll be okay.
I took this prayer book off the shelf to use for Lent:
We've had it forever, and I tend to forget its existence, but it has nice scriptural rosaries, as well as all the hours of the Daily Office, seasonal prayers, and more. The only Lenten prayer it has, apart from the Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary and penitential prayers in the section on confession, is the "Attende Domine," one of my perpetual favorite hymns for Ash Wednesday (and O, how I wish the Abbey would put "Ashes" to rest and do this instead . . .). Somehow I'd thought they had more than that, but this is not at all a bad prayer to pray throughout Lent. Oh, I think there's a Stations of the Cross as well, so that's good . . .
As you can see, the interior is lovely. The author/editor is Sean Finnegan, and this edition is from Loyola Press (mid-1990s, but I think it's still in print?). Originally it appeared from a publisher based in Norwich --- it's a UK book. I don't remember when or where we got it, but we've had it for a long, long time, far longer than we've actually been Catholic.
I don't want to spend too much time on news of the trivial today. The sun is shining, the high is supposed to be nearly 60F --- quite nice! I want to be outside for part of the day, as well as getting necessary work done.
Wearing:
*Wool& Camellia dress (M), originally Lapis Blue, redyed Royal Blue, bought July 2021, worn here as base layer
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Smock dress (S/M) in Dark Gray-Blue, bought December 2023
*Old thrifted purple cotton Eddie Bauer cardigan --- bought for a quarter off the sale rack at the thrift store down the street, I have no idea how many years ago.
*Snag merino tights in Silver Lining, worn-out feet cut off by me, bought sometime in 2021 or early 2022, I honestly can't remember which
*Xero Cassie shoes, bought January 2024 --- working on breaking them in a little more and getting used to them. The sizing, as I've noted before, feels really off from my original pair, but I think these will have some give and mold to my feet better with wear. I do think they're awfully cute, and shoes like this feel like a good choice when it's warmish but not actually sandal weather.
Hair: default ponytail, to get one more day out of it before I wash it again.
Mirror: smudged.
Colors: a pleasure to wear.
LUNCHTIME UPDATE:
So far today I have
*had a nice little sunshiny walk with Dora, during which we worked on walking quietly on a loose leash, on redirecting our attention to the handler (me), and on staying calm in the presence of another dog (fast asleep in the sun on the far side of a fence, but she knew he was there). Now, having pestered me while I sat at my desk until I moved to the daybed, she is flat out on her side, sunbathing on the warm wood floor.
*Taken out and folded a load of laundry, hauled some more full-sized sheets upstairs to the Linen Closet of Doom (let's talk about things I'm not doing, shall we?), put away a tablecloth and some napkins and kitchen towels, and put in the last load of laundry, consisting mostly of bedding from our old bed. My grand plan, once this load in the wash has dried, is to put the nicer mattress pad on the Artgirl's bed, since it gets slept in more than the double bed in the husband's office, and then make that bed up. THEN I'm going to make up the bed in the office, preparatory to (and I hope this happens sometime before next Christmas) having the old wooden bed frame assembled around it. I bet these tasks of mine will not all get done today, mostly because the dryer takes so long to dry any load . . . but also . . . you know . . . sloth . . .
*Written exactly one more sentence of my book review. This afternoon I really need to get cranking on this essay business. I don't have much up this week, but next week . . . ah, next week . . . is a triple-header for me.
*Received a new book of poems by my Wiseblood pressmate and fellow North Carolinian transplant Anna Lewis --- I'm eager to dive into these.
LATER STILL:
*Finished one essay draft, thought about another
*piddled with a trimeter poem
*Read some poems
*Read today's Mass readings
*Did a 10-minute mostly-squat workout (yes, wearing a dress)
*Threw the ball and played go-find-it in the house with Dora (i.e., I make her stay while I hide the ball, then she searches for it, which is amusing to watch)
*Started thinking about my solitary dinner --- husband is out tonight. I think I'll save the leftover bean soup for his lunch tomorrow and maybe have the last bit of frozen flounder (cooked, obviously, not still frozen). Or maybe just some eggs. Have to think about what I feel like . . . I always try to enjoy my solitary dinners as something special, not as eh, why bother? Maybe I'll finish watching Bleak House while I'm at it.