It's actually a little cool out right now, at 8:15 a.m.: 50F, though by the afternoon things will warm up to almost 80F. So, not a brisk autumnal day, but about the closest we've come to such a thing so far this season. Sitting here in the window, I'm glad I have a warm wool cardigan on.
Yesterday afternoon I finally finished my essay for tomorrow, the closest I've cut one of these things in quite some time. I like to be a week ahead, but lately I haven't been --- but as long as it's in, that's what matters. Now to think about next week . . .
I've made some headway in putting thoughts together for this keynote panel, too. AND in my lecture on the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham and poetry associated with it (though that's still pretty darn nebulous).
I've also finally finished Tom Jones, and really need to set my mind to finishing Don Quixote.
The new Halloween mini-issue of New Verse Review is out today, with a poem by me, among many others.
Wearing today (though I'll lose the sweater soon enough):
*Wool& Brooklyn dress (S/Long) in Pacific, bought May 2023, last worn September 16. Total wears this year to date: 17
*Secondhand Allbirds gray-blue tencel-merino leggings, bought January or February 2024, last worn yesterday
*Secondhand Connemara green merino cardigan, bought October 2024, last worn yesterday. Second wear.
*Secondhand Stegmanns' leather clogs, bought August 2024, last worn yesterday.
Repeating yesterday's leggings, because they go so well with everything. I really like this softer complement to whatever color I'm wearing --- even navy, my go-to dark neutral, sometimes feels too dark and stark, depending on what else I have on.
I'm really grooving on my shades of green here, grounded by the darkish blue leg, then the light contrast in the shoe. This feels like a fun range of colors. I also enjoy the bulk and heft and pattern of my sweater against my silky, fairly sleek dress. The sweater's not so big that it totally engulfs the shape of the dress, and the v-wrap neck and the waist help mitigate against the boxiness of the sweater. I can really see this combination as a favorite staple, going forward into the fall and winter, switching out clogs for boots when it really gets cold.
Shown from different angles, because of course I don't at all have a flat stomach, and while that doesn't show so much from the front, side views are something else. Still: I'm gradually reducing belly fat (was pleased by the scale number today, I have to admit) and bloating, which helps. My skin has only so much elasticity, and to some extent my body will always say, This woman has had four pregnancies and one C-section. And that's okay. I'm proud of all that. At the same time, I like when my clothes hang nicely, which is also okay to admit.
Anyway, I said this yesterday, but I'm really pleased to find ways to enjoy wearing my warm-weather dresses year-round. This Brooklyn is a favorite summer travel dress, but I love being able to layer it up in the winter as well. My wardrobe isn't minimalist by any means, but it is simple, in that the same core pieces work for me all the time, in just about any situation. Not that I have a small core of basic pieces, either. I have kind of a lot of dresses at this point. But I enjoy them, I enjoy the variety, and I love that I don't have to put anything away just because the seasons change.
I also like how I cycle through linen-dominant weeks and wool-dominant weeks --- although now that sweater weather is making signs of approaching, pretty much any outfit from here on out is going to involve some wool (or cashmere or alpaca). And wool dresses will increasingly make appearances as under-layers with linen when the weather does actually turn cold.
Really, it's all good.