On my birthday, I present you with last night's bowl of caramelized Brussels sprouts. I had halved them, as you see, and tossed them with olive oil, a dash of white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of honey, before baking them on a sheet pan until browned. We had them with lamb patties: ground lamb mixed with pureed garlic and feta cheese in lemon juice and olive oil, with one egg, then formed into patties and baked until brown outside and medium within. And we had some thin-sliced roasted garlic potatoes as well. It's nice to be back in my own kitchen, doing my own things.
Of course, tonight I will be taken out in some kind of grand style: also nice. Truly, the kitchen is more fun when somebody is just as happy to take you out of it any old time, but especially on your birthday.
So, of course we have had an election, and once again, as has so often happened, I have received a president for my birthday. Frankly, I disliked both candidates more or less equally, for different reasons, and so either way I wasn't going to be thrilled. Neither was I going to be in need of immediate interventive therapy, as half the internet seems to be today. It's not that I don't care. I do care. I hated voting in this stupid election, because it was nothing but bad choices, but I did vote, and here we are. If the other candidate had won, I would have thought, "Well, bleah," but I wouldn't have thought the world was ending. Now that the candidate who did win has won, I also think, "Well, bleah," but I do not think the world is ending.
In any event, I think it's a bad idea to assign so much power to politics that your day is ruined and your closest relationships are broken by things that happen on that level, that won't --- are not likely to --- touch your life in any direct, meaningful way. Life in America goes on. Policies happen. You like some of them. You hate some of them. No political figure is a pure extension of your convictions and desires. They're human beings, and politics is corrupting, and the idea that any politician is either a hero or 100% satanic is just . . . disordered. Protest policies you don't like. Voice support for policies you do like. But otherwise, live your life, of which you have, in this world, exactly one to live.
This, in any event, is my plan. Agenda: Live My Life.
Meanwhile, the rain has stopped, but it's very gray out. High today in the mid-70s, so not cold, but if things continue overcast, it'll feel cooler than it is.
Wearing:
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Smock dress (S/M) in Grape Wine, bought September 2024, last worn October 24. Total wears this year to date: 5
*Secondhand Icebreaker merino base-layer tee, bought October 2024, last worn yesterday.
*Secondhand Stegmann leather clogs, bought August 2024.
Repeating my oatmeal tee today, because there it is, and it's 97% merino, so it holds up very well to continual wear. I'm trying it with various dresses in turn and am very happy with today's combination. The mellow neutral sits nicely against the plummy rich purple of my dress, and I'm here for it.
I was going to wear tights, then got toothpaste on them and had to wash it off, so bare legs it is for now.
Half-dry hair.
I will change clothes to go out tonight --- stay tuned.
Oh, by the way, you'll have noticed a new blog name. I've left the Eff Years behind, and now am Going Like 60 --- a phrase which basically means doing whatever with vigor. That's me: doing whatever with vigor.
For example: I'm going to walk the dog now. With Vigor.
EVENING UPDATE:
Waiting for the husband to roll up and take me out. Here's what I'm wearing to be took out:
*Wool& Audrey dress (S) in Black Heather, bought November 2022, last worn October 1? That can't be right. It's not right. Last worn October 19. Total wears this year to date: 25.
*Secondhand Connemara wool cardigan, bought September 2024, last worn October 24.
*Farm to Feet merino socks, Christmas gift from the husband last year.
*Secondhand Birkenstock Melrose graphite suede boots, bought summer 2023, first wear this season.
Where we're going isn't dressy, just kind of what I'd call "mountain upscale" --- and thank goodness that they're open and doing business, and we can go support that community. I'm comfortable and easy in my flowy dress and boots --- a bit warm, actually, at the moment, but it'll be somewhat cooler, and maybe even chilly, by the time we get to the restaurant.
I like this boxy cardigan with the long smooth column of my dress. And while I most often opt for some kind of contrasting shoe color, I like that these boots just blend in. Sometimes you want that simplicity, and I'm glad I can have it in this smudgy dark charcoal, as opposed to stark black. I know my dress looks black in these photos --- it's dark out already, so I had to use the ceiling light, which alters colors somewhat --- but it's really not.
Anyway, I feel good. My mother-in-law asked me today if I felt sixty, and I said that I felt pretty much the way I always feel.
