It's beginning to look a lot like November: at least, the North Carolina version of November. Rain today, high of 65F, low of 35 F. It won't be cold, but the dreariness is a little chilling.
Today I need to write an essay for tomorrow (I hate being behind!), answer some emails, and do some reading. I might also degrease the upper kitchen cabinets, which need it in the worst way, or I might wait until tomorrow. I'm a bit tired and sore, especially my hands, from the upstairs-bathroom cleanpocalypse of yesterday afternoon. I had been neglecting that bathroom (because I don't typically use it), and I was not at all the only one who had been neglecting it. But now it's sparklingly clean and organized, ready for the onslaught of the college progeny this weekend.
I am also going to make something for dinner tonight with these chickpeas I cooked, and freeze the rest for future use.
Wearing today:
*Thrifted Banana Republic 100% merino dusty-lavender sweater, bought at Texas Thrift on November 10, last worn November 15. Total wears this year to date: 3
*Secondhand Garnet Hill lantern cotton-modal maxi skirt, bought June 2024, last worn November 5. Total wears this year to date: 12
*Snag merino tights in Storm Cloud, or whatever this dark iron Gray is called. Bought spring 2022, wearing well into a third season.
*Xero Tari boots, bought summer 2022, last worn yesterday, default shoe, also in a third season of wear.
You could think of this outfit as a dry run for Advent. I plan to wear this sweater a lot in the coming weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the quiet, welcome penitential season of preparation.
As always, I love this skirt. It's almost too big at this point, but I still love it (and if it does become too big, I hope I can replace it with a size down in the exact style and color --- if not, I'll see if the seamstress can't help me, though I think it would be tricky). I don't wear skirts that often, but when I do, this is the one I reliably reach for. I could theoretically do away with all the others and be perfectly satisfied --- and indeed, come the new year, I might do just that. This soft green goes with just about everything I own, and it's really a jam with dusty purples. The fiber content isn't my favorite, but it is soft and wearable year round.
In this outfit, I should be not too toasty as the day warms up, especially if it stays overcast and rainy, but right now, in the gloomy house in the morning, I'm perfectly warm.
LATE MORNING:
Essay uploaded. Dog walked. Man, I'm tired. But I have three essays for next week, and I know I won't want to write them in the midst of Thanksgiving prep, so I guess that, today and tomorrow, this is what I'm doing.
EARLY AFTERNOON:
Good heavens, all I want to do is goof off. But I've finished an essay for next week (admittedly a rerun of a Sun piece of mine from a couple of years ago) and started another, AND I've mixed up some Greek-ish chickpeas with diced potato and spinach and tomato and feta (with lots of garlic) for dinner tonight. That's in the oven, where it will cook thoroughly and then have plenty of time to keep warm and marinate until the husband turns back up again at suppertime.
The dog is barking at me, so possibly she would like to step outside for a minute. Too bad I have to accompany her. I don't feel like stepping outside. But I also don't feel like being barked at, so here we go.
LATER:
PHEW.
I've been degreasing the kitchen cabinets, which needed it in the worst way. A recommendation: Method Heavy-Duty Degreaser (Lemongrass scent). It's meant for stove tops and ovens, but it works on any greasy buildup (caveat: it can loosen oil paint, so beware if you use it on cabinets that are painted with oil).
The ventilation hood over my stove has been defunct for --- I forget how long. Years, we're talking about. And man. I am promised a new one sometime soon, and it can't happen soon enough. The buildup at the tops of my cabinets and on the wall above the cabinets is . . . gross. The ceiling hasn't been spared. It's so easy not to notice these things, but when you do notice them, you can't unsee them. Suffice it to say that my clean-looking kitchen really wasn't.
A couple of hours and a lot of climbing around on countertops later: the situation is better. The cabinets themselves are cleaner. I've done my best with the upper wall and used the Swiffer with a kitchen towel soaked in degreaser to tackle the ceiling.
I still need to give all this another go (at least one other go), but overall, things are much cleaner. I might bring a ladder in at some point and really attack those hard-to-reach upper regions --- I was a little afraid I was going to fall off the counter and break my neck, with nobody here to succour me but Dora.
Despite my care (and I did wear an apron), the sleeve of my lavender sweater got pretty grunged up in the process. So I've taken it off to wash (it's just as easy to hand-wash an entire garment as it is to spot-clean, so that's what I did) and put on items that, with this skirt, make up one of my favorite warm-weather outfits.
It's good for cooler weather as well:
*Secondhand Eileen Fisher merino tank top, bought January 2023, last worn sometime back in the summer. I paid $12 for this item, so I haven't been tracking wears, because I know it's pretty cheap-per-wear by now.
*Brooks Brothers merino cardigan, bought November 2023, also last worn some time back.
It's good to get both these pieces out again and put them on. I was wearing them at the height of the summer, but they work just as well now. I love the pink-on-pink with the soft sagey green of my skirt. I'd originally bought this tank to be a warm under-layer, and I think this winter it will do duty that way under my linen dresses. But it's so great on its own, just totally worth what I paid for it (and then some).
I just tried to call my mother but didn't reach her, so I think I will sit and read for a while, and then maybe try again.