Rain all last night, fog this morning --- but looks like the sun is going to burn it off. Today's high: 72F, quite welcome.
I have three more of these course sections to prep, today and tomorrow: PowerPoint lecture presentations, homework packages, quizzes. It's a fairly no-frills course --- no Dana Gioia videos for this one --- but gathering 30 poems I haven't already done for homework, plus more poems for lecture, is taking me a lot of time, flipping through anthologies for ideas. At least I've finished poem essays for next week, recycling drafts of a couple that I had written before and wanted to take out for another airing. It's good to have two years' worth of essays in my documents, to pull out, dust off, revise, and extend at need. When life gets busy, and you have so much to think about that it's hard to think, it's good not to have to think quite so hard to get something done.
The Fire Son is here, and it's marvelous to have him for his brief R&R. I think about how, for the last four years, we've seen him once a year for five days, and I do not underrate the loveliness of just having him in the house, doing nothing special. His father comes home tonight, and they'll probably just miss each other, which I'm sorry about (they are, too), but we'll catch him on the next round. Maybe I'll send the husband to Black Mountain to have a dudes' evening with him next time, since I've had him twice by myself.
Dora was out of her mind to see him when he arrived, and when we went out to walk last night, still wanted to drag me over to his car to look inside it, thinking maybe he'd still be in there. His car looks a lot like the younger kids' car --- this family excels at driving interchangeable nondescript small old silver sedans --- so I'm not sure whether she thinks her beloved Viking is lurking in the back seat, waiting to pop out and surprise her. I have no idea how her mind works, but it's interesting to speculate about behaviors. She certainly knows, and remembers over long periods of time, who her people are. Everybody else can pretty much eat rocks, says Dora (until they give her a treat and call her by her name, at which moment they stop being Everybody Else become Her People), but she would drag the person at the end of the leash to the ends of the earth to greet Her People.
Wearing today:
Bare legs, bold move. I could put on leggings later if I get cold.
*Wool& Brooklyn dress (S/Long) in Pacific
*V. Old Thrifted Eddie Bauer Cardigan
*Secondhand Birkenstock Rosemeads
My shoes and cardigan are maybe a little matchy, but I care not. I love these shoes. I'd buy another pair of Rosemeads, if I saw a pair in decent condition for a good secondhand price --- especially if they were leather, not either suede or Birki-flor, and especially if they were, say, taupe or some other very soft neutral color. I might even consider another pair as an alternative to summer sandals, though my goodness, I do love sandals and would love a pair of Mayaris or my longtime hippy-dippy dream shoe, the Yara.
But today, I'm happy with all of this. I love this dress so much. Now to remake the coffee, which I have made too weak (come back, O husband, and make the coffee with the correct number of scoops!).