Can you tell what this is?
It's a clump, or maybe a colony, of mushrooms that have sprung up in my front-yard grass.
Here, with various filters, are the darling buds of October. I couldn't get a really good shot, so I played around with effects:
I've got to remember to watch for the blooms --- truly the last roses of summer.
Today: dog walking and much writing, and Mass at noon. The husband got home around 11:30 last night, and we sat up to have a glass of wine, so I'm a little tired today, but must needs. I'm glad I froze two quart bags of split-pea-and-ham soup from last week, because that's what's for his lunch today. By the time he's ready for it, it should be thawed enough to pour into a bowl and microwave.
After some days of beans, I have ground beef thawing to make steak haché for dinner --- probably with some roasted green beans and carrots. I think there's still enough red wine left that I can make a red-wine-butter sauce for the meat. There should be enough of this for lunches tomorrow as well.
45F outside currently, with a projected high of 80. I'm not doing any kind of layers challenge, but in fact . . . LAYERS are so very called for here. Let's see what I can pull together. I didn't make an outfit plan for the week, so I'm just kind of freestyling, looking back at my style photo album to remind myself what I didn't wear last week.
Wearing:
The initial look:
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Leila dress (S/M) in Cinnamon Rose, bought December 2023, last worn October 7. Total wears this year to date: 18
*Secondhand cotton button shirt (I forget the label), bought . . . 2020? 2019? I really can't remember. A few years ago. This shirt has been in and out of the outbox --- currently, as you can see, it's back in the closet. Last worn August 1, I think. I hadn't expected it to waist-tie as neatly as it has done here, because it's a bit billowy and bulky. What I did, to the best of my recollection, is button one more button down than I had intended, then pass one shirttail through the hole between the last two buttoned buttons, then tie it off. I pulled it pretty tight to reduce any bulk at the back. It is the perfect color with this odd pink, which is why I pulled it out (that, and I hadn't worn it in a long time).
*Top layer: secondhand Eileen Fisher merino cardigan coat, bought September 2024, obviously a staple already.
*Snag tights in Sand Dollar, bought at the end of the summer.
*Secondhand Earth Shoes Mary Janes, to give my Tari boots a little break.
I can take the tights off as the day warms up, but I'm glad I have them on now.
My hair felt in need of more restraint --- or I felt the need of more restrained hair in this outfit, so within five minutes of getting dressed I'd put it up all the way (braided, folded over with the ends tucked under, secured with claw clip):
That feels more of a piece with my cottage-academia vibe, or whatever you want to call it. It's up and outta my way for the day, anyway. A little more restraint in the hair, I think, lets the details on this shirt stand out more, without competition. This is a more tailored shirt than I often wear --- and the color is what made me buy it to begin with --- but I like the tucks and the band collar, which feminize an otherwise basic design. I guess the vibe is basically vintage-ish, though I'm not really channeling any single period. I don't want to feel that I'm wearing a costume. This lady, for example, is very charming and fun to follow, but I don't think I could quite pull off her level of vintage cosplay --- nor do I really have the desire to. The past is a gift in many ways, and I like honoring it, signaling that my relationship with it is essentially positive. But I don't feel any need to replicate it. That's my basic ars poetica, but it's also (part of) my philosophy of getting dressed in the morning.
I guess if I did wear ankle boots, that would tilt the vintage vibe in a slightly different, more nineteenth/early-twentieth century direction, but waddeva. I don't want to forget about these Mary Janes, which I bought to wear with tights in just this way.
And now to walk the dog, which prospect does not actually make me at all unhappy.
Actually, the play of colors and textures makes me pretty happy. Wishing you all a good Monday.
EVENING UPDATE:
Welp, got all wrapped up in work and didn't come up for air until too late to leave for Mass. Will shoot for 8 a.m. on Thursday, the Mass I can't possibly be too busy working to miss.
Revised and uploaded one Substack essay for next week, wrote another. Wrote about 250 words of my presentation. Read about Walsingham. Read some Roderick Alleyn for comfort and consolation --- I'm up to #6, when he meets Troy, so it's a good 'un.
Also bought myself an inexpensive Android tablet so that I can use Google Docs on it and read from it for these various upcoming presentations --- I guess I can write it off on my taxes as a business expense, because that, plus having a bigger screen to read my Kindle books on, is my objective in making this purchase. I realized that I was stressing out at least in part because I'd have to finish and print my conference presentation before I leave home --- but if I have it in Google Docs and can read it from a tablet, then I can edit it up to the last minute without having to print it all out.
Friends of mine use tablets for diocesan choir, too, and that seems like a good idea. Anyway, I got myself one.
It did get warm enough that I shucked off my big cardigan, but at the end of the day I'm still wearing merino tights. No, I was not that cool when out walking with Dora for half an hour in the middle of the afternoon, but I didn't feel that hot, either. Not uncomfortable enough to warrant changing anything about my clothes, at any rate. I'm reminded how breathable these tights are, and how really easy to wear in flucutating temperatures.
I've made the patties for my steak haché for supper, and they're resting in the fridge. Currently roasting green beans with olive oil, salt, and garlic in the oven. I'm going to make some shredded cabbage braised in butter as another side --- I need to use up this finely shredded coleslaw mix I bought before it goes bad.
Table set for bistro dinner:
Need to put water glasses on, but otherwise, it's ready. I notice that the husband came home with two six-packs of hard cider --- not really his thing, but I guess somebody urged it on him --- so this will be a bistro in Normandy, where cider is particularly a thing. Dinner as staycation . . . my favorite way to travel. And after some nights on my own, I do look forward to having my regular dinner companion back again.
Drinking water in the meantime, because hydration is king.