Artgirl fountain, burbling away in the sunshine. It's another bright day, with a high of 85F, quite warm and probably pretty humid. So far today I've eaten dinner leftovers for breakfast, had coffee, played my New York Times games, done a little morning scrolling (analogous, as I realize, to my lifelong habit of reading the newspaper over breakfast), taken a bath and washed my hair, scrubbed out the tub, washed and hung yesterday's underwear on the drying rack in said tub, and gotten dressed.
I have Substack work to do today, as I try to get ahead of things before we leave for Norway. In the late afternoon we'll drive up to Black Mountain with a load of the Fire Son's belongings, to meet him at the German restaurant and have an evening of cheer and togetherness before we say goodbye till Christmas. I have to keep reminding myself that this winter and spring we have had an unprecedented amount of togetherness, at least since the spring of 2020, when he free-fell from England back to our house during Covid and spent March, April, and May of that year simultaneously working remotely on the postgraduate neuroscience degree he would finish that August and applying for fire jobs. He drove away in June 2020 to move to Oregon for the summer, and thence to Montana, and we've seen him at Christmas every year since then.
So it's been a treat to have him --- not constantly around, but close enough, at intervals, that he could drop by or we could go see him. And I'm a little sad to be sending him off, but if there's one thing the time does, it's fly by. He's doing good and important work, work he loves doing with people he enjoys, and I honestly would not have things any other way for him. Still . . . it'll be a bittersweet evening.
Wearing today:
Another pick from the outfit-planning list I made Sunday night.
*Secondhand cashmere-silk-merino teal tank (vintage 90s, forget the brand), bought January 2023
*Secondhand Japanese linen pinafore, bought November 2023
*Secondhand Birkenstock Mayaris, bought April 2024
*Thrifted Chico's linen button shirt, bought December 2023
I added extra shots to show more clearly the fit of this pinafore. I like that it has some shape and structure, even though that's just a basic A-line, so it's not baggy, even though it hangs away from my body. As I've said before, one of my favorite looks is a fitted tank or tee under a loose pinafore or overall, and in these photos I've tried to demonstrate just how much that's the case here.
This tank is another, like the Eileen Fisher piece I wore on Monday, that I bought as a warm under-layer in January of last year. Years ago I would have found items like these perplexing: sleeveless, so seemingly for warm weather, but in sweater material? Of course I know better now. Both of them are, in fact, quite warm and insulating when the weather is cold, but they're also breathable and cool when it's hot. This tank, especially, is a very lightweight, fine, silky knit (with silk in the fiber content, too), perfect for summer wear. Evenings in Black Mountain tend to be cool, so this seems like an outfit that will transition nicely from Piedmont daytime heat to the freshness of a mountain night in May.
An all-secondhand outfit today, every bit of it.
Wet hair with mousse applied while it was soaking wet. I'll plan to let it air dry until I get tired of it, probably adding a layer of gel once it's dried some more. That process has been giving me the best outcomes lately, and it's so simple, no fiddling for ages in front of a mirror.
And so to work.
AFTERNOON UPDATE:
I have
*revised two essays, written and uploaded one more, read and contemplated the poem for yet another (still unwritten)
*walked the dog twice
*talked to the Texasgirl on the phone
*eaten lunch
*put in a load of laundry
*looked at things in the garden
*made the bed
*practiced my Orlando di Lassus piece
We leave for Black Mountain in an hour, and it's been a busy day. I am feeling that I might upgrade my outfit just a little for our evening out . . . this pinafore is okay, and it's been fine all day, but I'm kind of not feeling it for going out as much as I had thought I would.
AND
Yeah, this is the vibe I want.
*Wool& Audrey dress (S) in Black Heather, bought November 2022
Same thrifted linen button shirt, same Birks.
Gosh, I love this dress. YES she's coming to Norway. I can't imagine why I ever thought otherwise.
Not as great a hair day as Sunday, but still okay.
(Yes, I do really want another Audrey dress one day, and I hope they never discontinue her, especially in this tencel-merino blend, which is the bomb)