Chilly and brilliant again today. I did wash my window on the inside, but not on the outside --- still, you can see how few leaves are left on that beautiful willow oak across the way.
A good time last night with a lively set of friends at the pub --- one couple couldn't make it at the last minute, but the others did turn up. It was really cold by the time we went out, and I traded my linen-ish scarf for a wool one and buttoned up my cardigan, as well as pulling my hair back in front:
It was dark by this time, so no natural light, and I opted to take a photo in the bedroom, where I don't have a good place to put the camera, or a mirror for a selfie, either. At least in there the lamps are placed all around the room, so the artificial light is somewhat diffused and less glaringly artificial.
By the end of testerday afternoon I had finished and uploaded one new essay for next week, as well as drafting a good bit of another. Today I hope to finish that one and have next week's work put to bed --- and maybe maybe do the two for the following week, so that I don't have to worry about them while the progeny are home.
I also need to make up their beds and run the vacuum around the house. Generally what I do is sweep the upstairs thoroughly, and sweep the stairs, taking all the dirt down to the bottom, where I then hoover it up while doing the whole downstairs with the vacuum. This saves me hauling it up and down and gets things tidy, at least. I might put the kids to work with cleaning wipes while they're home, wiping down the stairs, doors, light switches, and woodwork around the house . . . that's not hard to do, just a bit tedious, and easier if you have multiple people doing it. Woodwork just does catch grime over time, and the toe-kicks on the stairs --- the white-painted bits between the flat stairsteps themselves --- get especially grubby in the course of a year, with people carrying cups of coffee and tea up and down and splattering a lot more than they think they're splattering. Once or twice a year it's good to wipe them down. Again, this is not at all a difficult cleaning task, just a bit tedious, especially if you have to stoop. Fortunately it doesn't need doing often --- but it's a big difference in the brightness of things when you do get around to it.
But today, other than vacuuming, I'm not doing any heavy cleaning. I do still need to re-tackle the kitchen ceiling, but NOT TODAY. I'm still a bit sore and tired from the intense cleaning I did the first three days of this week, all of which was a pretty good workout. The need for recovery is real. I'll get to it sometime, but today I have enough to do.
Wearing on this bright, chilly day (currently 39F, high of 51F):
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Smock dress (S/M; mods include waist tie and v-neck) in Grape Wine, bought early fall 2024, last worn November 6. Total wears this year to date: 7
*Secondhand Icebreaker merino base-layer tee in Dusty Rose, bought fall 2021, I think? Or very early winter 2023. I'd have to look it up. Anyway, I haven't been tracking wears, but this is coming into its own as an under-layer with various dresses.
*Secondhand Ann Taylor cashmere/rabbit-hair blazer cardigan, bought October 2024, last worn November 13. Total wears this year to date (though I might have missed some days in my travels): 5
*Snag merino tights in Royal Navy, bought spring or fall 2022, entering their third season of very regular wear.
*Xero Tari boots, bought summer 2022, last worn day before yesterday, also in their third season of very regular wear.
So, these photos show you the outfit progression. I feel a little as though I were rushing Advent, but I love this dress, and it's been a while since I last wore it. This exact outfit will probably be a staple for me in the penitential seasons. I like keeping all the core part of it --- dress, tee, and cardigan --- in the same color family (though not matching), with blues (again, not matching) on my legs and at my throat. This was a little experimental, but I really like how it comes together.
Given that I've owned this dress only since September, I'm a little impressed that I've worn it 7 times already. Like all my NPL dresses, it's a great, breezy summer dress on its own. I wore it through some hot, sweaty early-fall weather here. I know I'll enjoy it next summer with a pair of sandals. But it layers so nicely, too. The v-neck makes it especially good to wear over a round-neck tee, and the rich purple goes beautifully into the colder weather.
I had long toyed with the idea of buying a dress in "Plum" from Wool&, but this dress really scratches that itch --- as does my secondhand vintage April Cornell silk dress, which I do not wear on a regular basis, because silk doesn't stand up well to Dora and the rest of my everyday life. But I do plan to wear it to Mass in Advent, and it's there for a dressy occasion when I need a dressy-occasion dress. Meanwhile, I have this linen dress, which is Truly A Great Dress.
These are good warm layers to wear out to walk the dog --- I can peel things off as the day warms up. The husband is home today, so the heat in the house will be ON. When it's just me, I turn it way down, but he likes to be Very Warm, which means that I sometimes end up being warmer than I have dressed for . . . which is why layers are so sensible.
My Day 2 hair is probably going to start bothering me, so that I either pull it back or put it up completely in a claw clip. But for now I'm not bothering. It's doing the typical wavy-hair thing of stretching and straightening out the day after a wash, and . . . well, okay, straight is nice, too. I do wish my layers would hurry up and grow completely out so that I can trim them off, but we're getting there.
So, okay. Maybe before I let the dog out I can force myself to write some more words about William Dean Howells for Thanksgiving.
NOON UPDATE:
Quite a brisk chilly walk this morning with Dora, but nice. We saw no other dogs, no objectionable humans, nothing to wreck our mood --- just sunshine and fresh air and the very last of the autumn leaves.
I have finished my final essay for next week, hooray hooray, and have also consumed a mango smoothie with raw-milk whey protein powder, greens powder, and kefir. This should, I hope, give me the necessary juice to do my housecleaning and try yet again to call my mother, who must be gadding about a lot in the afternoons lately. This time of year, the social life in her retirement community does pick up. I'm just glad mine has slowed down some.
I'm also proud of myself for resisting a temptation. Christy Dawn has their original organic cotton dresses on sale for $99 right now --- and they sell out fast. I've long wanted a floral dress like that, and they're a good brand (though ridiculously overpriced, I think, compared with the sustainable brands I have patronized). I have money in my metaphorical pocket right now, after my various lecture/conference appearances, and it was oh, so tempting --- but I do not need another dress. And this would have been an impulse purchase. I had it in my cart, but then I talked myself down, and I don't regret that. Yeah, yeah, they're REALLY stupidly overpriced on Poshmark ($300 for your secondhand dress? I think not), so $99 would have been, relatively speaking, a good deal --- but again, this would have been an impulse purchase, and I'm glad I stopped and interrogated myself a little before hitting "Complete Purchase." Yes, I have the money. What I don't have is the need for another dress, especially not a new one, especially not a new one that I hadn't thought about wanting until this ad crossed my line of vision.
So. Dodged that bullet. Would I still like a pretty floral dress? Yes, I would --- but not today. Not like that.