A hike in the forest? Or my backyard? You tell me.
Today:
*Revise and submit Emily Dickinson essay
*Walk dog
*Do laundry
*Make shopping list for weekend (dog food, dog needs, etc)
*Choir practice tonight
A lovely night out at the wine bar last night --- had a Cellar Burger, very good, and some dependable ol' Blue Moon (actually a favorite summer beer of mine) to drink, with blood oranges. We walked there and back, were waited on by the Artgirl's high-school friend and greeted by another waitress who's been there a long time and seems to view us as family (granted, she's that friendly to just about everybody), and it was a good time.
My husband notes that this October will mark the 25th anniversary of his matriculation at Peterhouse College, Cambridge. His matriculation photo is hanging in our bedroom, above his wardrobe. Notable people in that photo include Fr. Michael Ward, the C.S. Lewis scholar . . . and then there are people like the young American woman with whom we once walked across town to a college dinner, while she went on about how she hoped she had been seated next to somebody interesting, because if she had to sit next to a bore, that's two hours of my young life. How often, over the years, have we invoked the phrase hours of my/your young life, remembering her. I do remember her name, but I have no idea what happened to her, pretty much after that night. In the matriculation photo she is wearing tweeds and looking more like Beatrix Potter than any English person pictured there.
**Next year, by the way, will mark the 20th anniversary of his receiving his Ph.D. Or maybe it's not until 2006? They didn't actually send it to him until we had paid our back rent, which took a while, and when they did, they initially misspelled his middle name, so they had to do it over. So he might not have had the degree in hand until 2006. I have some vague memory of the whole middle-name drama's having occurred in the red dining room of the house we were living in in 2006 . . . But he had defended his viva in 2003 and was never ABD, as so many people who do Ph.Ds in American universities tend to be. So who knows? Anyway, suddenly all of that was a long time ago, and it's hard to understand how it got that way.
Now: drinking coffee, eating some eggs, about to get dressed, but still need to play Wordle and all my other anti-dementia games . . .
It's a warm day today, warmer than it's been very consistently yet, with a high of 92F.
Wearing:
OK, yeah, sorry, these photos are overkill. But I was trying to get multiple angles and evaluate how things fit.
*Secondhand silk-cashmere-merino teal tank, bought January 2023, last worn June 4
*Thrifted (very old) Christopher&Banks linen-cotton-blend floral skirt, last worn --- a month ago? Can that be right? I guess it can. Anyway, last worn May 14, so definitely due for a whirl in the sun.
*Secondhand Birk Mayaris, bought April 2024, last worn yesterday
And for a top layer (not really all that needed today):
*Secondhand J.Jill linen-blend navy long cardigan, bought last summer, worn to the wine bar last night.
I've dropped about ten pounds (give or take) since January, and this skirt is loose in the waist. It's been with me through many body fluctuations over the last (probably at least, but again give or take) twelve years. Currently it rides lower on my torso than it did just a few months ago, which is interesting. I have a relatively short torso regardless, but as my belly shrinks some, things do fit differently. Lately you can really see the empire-waist detail of this tank, which I'm just ignoring, because it doesn't look that good untucked. Formerly my skirt waistbands sat much higher on my body, so that this wasn't as obvious, but no longer. Not that I'm complaining! Or bragging, either. It's just a change that I note: mostly positive, because I have needed to lose some visceral fat, but it does shift proportions around.
I could consider passing this skirt along, especially if the waist continues to be this loose. There's a point where things can start to feel sloppy, or just not-right, and I have my doubts even about the fit today. I have had this skirt for over a decade, and I think that that, more than anything else, is what makes me loath to part with it. It's an old friend. But I do begin to wonder whether I want to keep it. This is a place where I could potentially compress my closet a little more --- maybe.
Also, this tank does have that now-slightly awkward knitted waist detail, but I'm wearing it anyway. This outfit scratches the fit-and-flare itch, and also the summer-florals itch. I am wondering whether I'm going to look back on today's photos and think, NO. Don't wear that again. Or not. I think I have to live with it a little before I know whether it feels too off or not. But it is nice and twirly and light, and I should be cool in it on an actually kind-of-hot day.
Scrunchie on my wrist, because I bet my hair is going in a default ponytail before long.
AFTERNOON UPDATE:
I'm basically finished with the Emily Dickinson essay --- just letting it sit before I reread, do last-minute revisions, and send it along.
Took a break to do some packing. My main clothes for the trip have been sitting folded on my bureau top ever since I brought them in from the clothesline, and today I've actually packed them in the packing cube and put them in my backpack.
In that packing cube (with some additions to my original capsule, because they fit and why not?):
Dresses:
Audrey
Brooklyn (Pacific)
Camillia (mostly to sleep in)
Fiona
Maggie (Marine Blue)
Willow (Ocean Teal)
Sweaters:
Green merino-blend pullover from last year's trip
Aqua alpaca cardigan (a last-minute add-in, but it goes with everything)
Leggings:
Allbirds tencel-merino leggings (navy, slate blue, green added back in)
So that all fits in one cube, and the cube fits in the carry-on pack with room to spare. I've also packed my Xero hikers AND my charcoal-gray Xero Oswegos, just to have another closed-toed shoe option in the event of rain (which seems very likely) and chill. Still plenty of room for my Crocs sandals.
Set out to wear on the plane:
Aegean Teal Maggie
Sage-green Garnet Hill maxi skirt to wear over Maggie
Birk Mayaris
In my daypack:
hiking boots in nylon bag
Gore-tex jacket in small packing cube
rain pants in their pouch
microfiber towel in its pouch ( by my husband for me)
cashmere pullover
silk-cotton Trades of Hope kimono
Snag Silver Lining merino tights with feet cut out
There's still plenty of room for my cross-body/belt bag in that daypack, so I'm good there. I plan to download more reading onto the Kindle app on my phone --- not an ideal reading medium, but space-economical and just one device to charge. I'm trying to decide whether to take Laurus, which I'm halfway through, or leave it till I get back. I might just binge-read Ngaio Marsh again, as a palate-cleanser after all this Emily-Dickinsoning.
All of this feels like a good work for this afternoon. The major packing is done. I've started a cube for underwear and socks, but obviously won't really zip that up until Sunday night, so that things I've washed have time to dry.The weekend's going to evaporate --- ordinations tomorrow (choir in the choir loft at St. Mark's, Huntersville, at 8:45 a.m.), followed by a round of shopping so that there's dog food, plus other necessities, for the dogsitter to access starting Monday.
Still pounding away at Duolingo Norwegian: a 70+-day streak. We'll see how much I actually know. I saw a meme today about how learning French makes you live in the present, because that's the only tense you know, and --- relatable.
ANOTHER REVISION BREAK:
Dora has clawed a hole in the curtain on my office window by the daybed, because some cats were fighting outside (and how's your day going?). We've been for a walk and a potty break, and now, rather tired out in the heat, she's resting in her crate.
I meanwhile have tried an outfit revision. Not that I don't like the teal silk-cashmere-wool tank with this dress, but I thought I'd give my navy linen tunic, last (and briefly) worn yesterday, another go. I mostly was thinking that I'd be more comfortable in the slightly higher neckline at choir tonight, but also I just wanted to try this top tucked in.
And you know, I really like it. The slight blousiness seems to mitigate the looseness of the skirt's waistband somewhat. At least, the waistband isn't so obviously loose with a blousier top.
And I do feel less exposed in this higher scoop neckline.
I think I'll start wearing this top more often, tucked into skirts. I do like it as a long tunic over certain skirts, but on the whole . . . this is a nicer look. I have considered asking the seamstress to take it up some, and I might still do that at some juncture, but there are times when I like the length . . . we'll just have to see. Not like I have to do anything. But tucking this piece in certainly does make it instantly more versatile.
LATE AFTERNOON UPDATE:
Whew. Sent in the Emily Dickinson essay. The party starts now.