Lambs'-ears, about to bloom but a little wilted in the midday warmth. It would be nice if these clouds actually dropped some rain on us:
Meanwhile, my basil seedlings are coming up. Basil is so satisfyingly prompt.
And I'm looking forward to having a lot of it, for pestos, for tomato dishes, for tomato sandwiches, for Vietnamese recipes. (Also: LOOK. Even the tiniest seedlings look like actual basil, not some mystery 2-leaf sprout. Basil is so completely itself, from the minute it pokes through the soil).
Blackberries also incoming:
Had coffee in Hickory with a friend this morning, and since I got back have been reading my college kids' papers for them --- the Viking's junior studio thesis is due tomorrow, and he wanted an eye run over it, while the Artgirl is experiencing "critical stress conditions" over an art history paper. I'm not much of a care-package mom, but the editing eye is its own kind of care package.
Wearing today:
*Wool& Willow dress (M/Long) in Ocean Teal, bought October 2023, last worn about two weeks ago.
*Secondhand Birk Mayaris, bought April 2024, last worn yesterday
Just simple and easy today: a swing silhouette that lets the air circulate under my dress, with a pair of Birks. Hair in a default ponytail that actually looks better than my ponytails have looked in a while. I've been doing tiny trims of mostly the front of my hair --- the famous "unicorn" cut, where you make a ponytail of as much of your hair as you can right above the center of your forehead and trim off as much as you need or want to. Again, I've only been tip-cutting the very ends, but gradually I'm shifting the silhouette of my haircut from a bob to something more like the tapered, long-layered cut I had when my hair was longer. Eventually I am going to need my back layers trimmed, but shifting the shape has gradually shifted how my hair falls in a ponytail, too. Over time the layers are less awkward when I do this.
My hair feels soft and a lot less dry after my bond-repair treatment yesterday. If I can keep prolonging the time between cuts without developing obvious split ends, that'll be good. I don't think I want to grow it out really long again, but I do want the layers to get longer before I have anybody trim them.
Okay, well, this has been a nice palate cleanser. Back to reading about Bertolt Brecht.