Another shot of that glorious Park Loop maple, while it lasts --- which it won't, for much longer. Nothing illuminates the passage of time the way the autumn does, with its spectacular displays.
On today:
*dog walking
*essay writing
*MFA thesis reading
*dinner making (just some sheet-pan chicken thighs with vegetables of some description)
Weather: high of 66F, low of 33. Currently 60F, quite warm.
Wearing:
*Wool& Brooklyn dress (S/Long) in Beetroot, bought November 2023, last worn November 21. Total wears this year to date: 22 (and again I say: not bad for a bright magenta dress that seemingly doesn't go with that much).
*Secondhand Garnet Hill green cotton-modal "Favorite Maxi" lantern skirt, bought June 2024, last worn November 20. Total wears this year to date: 13
*Secondhand Brooks Brothers pink merino cardigan, bought November 2023, last worn November 20, in a very similar combination (this skirt, pink Eileen Fisher tank).
*Secondhand Stegmann leather clogs, bought August 2024, last worn November 6, I think, though in fact I do kick them on partway through the day more often than that. I really love these for transitional shoes, when it's too warm for tights and boots but not quite open-toed sandal season.
Getting another day out of my hair, last washed on Saturday. I washed it really well, with two lathers, and my scalp still feels fine, so here we are. I thought another updo day was a good thing.
As always, I love the surplice neckline of this dress/top. It feels very graceful, especially under a cardigan. And I love the glow of the magenta against this muted green. I will wear this skirt all through Advent, obviously, because green and purple are natural complements, but the dress will be taking a rest. I might wear this combination on Gaudete Sunday, however, when we have a party in the afternoon. Or I might wear some other dress and my dark-magenta blazer cardigan, because that really does seem like the rose of Gaudete Sunday.
I did go to the grocery store yesterday afternoon. Actually, I went in two fell swoops, not one. At checkout I was perusing my list one more time and realized that I had forgotten the very top item, which was a turkey. Yes, yes, something had been niggling at me: What am I missing? What am I missing? I have sweet potatoes, cornmeal for dressing, pie crusts, the requested Sister Schubert Parker House rolls . . . what else do we eat on Thanksgiving?
Since I was standing in the checkout line with the contents of my shopping cart on the conveyor belt, I was not about to say, Oh, wait, I'm an idiot, let me go get a turkey. Instead I paid for my groceries, wished the cashier a very happy Thanksgiving indeed, and walked out, my head held high. I'll . . . just go over to Aldi, I thought. But then I thought about how they never have very good turkeys at Aldi, and the price per pound is not significantly, if at all, better than the price per pound at other places, such as the one across whose parking lot I was at that moment wheeling my haul.
So I pitched everything I had into the back of the car, put my shopping cart away (here people call them buggies, but I haven't quite cottoned to that, although that's certainly what I call them in conversation), and marched back into the store. I didn't even bother with a second cart. I just heaved up a big turkey, carried it in my arms to the self-checkout, purchased it without wishing anyone a second happy Thanksgiving, and staggered out.
Now we're all set.