Still a few last golden leaves hanging on that glorious tree across the way. It's another cold day: 25F right now, at 8:31 a.m., high of only 46F. I think I can dispense with this fall-into-winter business --- clearly we have fallen right into winter.
I spent some time yesterday tidying and rethinking my study a little. I cleaned off the top of my coffee table, reshelved a number of books that had piled up there (leaving ones I'm still reading or working with), and turned the small coffee table to make an L with my little desk table (which is starting to come apart at the bottom, but I keep pushing it back together --- this is why, despite my love for secondhand and antique finds, I wanted to buy a couple of pieces of NEW sturdy furniture to serve me here). Now there's a definite place for my rolling desk chair to sit, whether I'm turned toward the desk (as now, when I'm typing), or turned into the room to socialize with all the people gathered here in . . . which they're not right now, but Christmas is coming.
I also returned the trampoline to its stowed position next to Dora's crate in the back hall. It had acquired the feeling of a permanent piece of furniture, and I really didn't want that. What I have been wanting, though, is a large coffee table --- a round one, I thought. I considered buying one, while I was buying a daybed frame and a chair (which I did do yesterday, online from Ikea), but then I thought I should test the idea out first. So . . .
I took the round metal coffee table from the front porch, where it's too cold to sit now anyway, and put it in here, just to test that shape and size in this space. So far I like it.
In this corner I will put the Poang chair (link just shows the chair style, not the actual one I bought) from Ikea:
These are the most cliche Ikea chairs ever, but they're also incredibly comfortable. The Texasgirl had one in her first apartment, and I loved sitting in it. I wanted something comfortable that was not another rocking chair --- something as comfy as a big armchair but with a much slimmer profile, to fit into this smallish space. I got one with a light-green cushion, which I think will look nice in here. And I'm sort of wishing I'd gotten an ottoman to go with it, but with the coffee table that might have been too much clutter. In any event, we can put our feet on the hearth or on the coffee table, if we need to put our feet on something.
So once these things arrive, which they won't do until December 18, because Ikea delivery is slow, I will have some nice seating in here. The minimalist metal daybed frame I bought will hold the current mattress and have a back, the better to accommodate all the cushions and keep Dora from pulling the curtain down every time she's on the daybed, which is often. That will make it more comfortable for both sitting and lounging --- and its seat extends to hold a second twin mattress, to convert it into a larger bed, a thing I have been thinking I'm going to need as progeny continue to pair off. I would then theoretically have bed space for four couples: full-sized beds in the husband's office and the Artgirl's room, the queen-size futon in the dudes' current room, and an extendable daybed in here. I guess I'll eventually, when I need this to be a double bed, just buy two stackable Ikea twin mattresses for in here and return to storing this mattress under one of the beds upstairs, but for now we'll go with what we have.
I'm happy to be making this room more comfortable for people to gather in, with a surface for drinks or food or games --- our Christmas houseful always seem to do a lot of game-playing while they're here. With twelve people in the house, I think having more places for people to sit and gather will be important. I think I'm going to get a double tatami-type mattress for the Artgirl's room. This can then become a mattress topper on her bed when not in use as a separate bed.
I still need to dust in here in the worst way, but I did run the dust mop around the house yesterday, so that was something.
Today's agenda:
*dog walks
*glance at upcoming poems for Substack essays
*continued house cleaning
*strain turkey stock I made last night, freeze more turkey meat, freeze batches of stock for future use.
*Think what to make for supper that maybe isn't turkey. We had vegetable soup last night, so maybe not soup again? On the other hand, it is really cold. Soup would not go totally amiss, even if we did just eat some . . .
Wearing today:
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Mama dress (S) in Caffe Mocha, bought September 2024, last worn November 13. Total wears this year to date: 7
*Secondhand Icebreaker Dusty Rose merino base-layer tee, bought winter 2021? Or 2023? I can't remember. Anyway, I've had it a while, and I think it will probably be very much in play during this season.
*Snag merino tights in Sand Dollar, bought summer 2024, now being worn for a first winter season.
*Xero Tari boots, bought summer 2022, default shoe for a third winter season.
Winter-straight hair. Default ponytail again. I just washed on Saturday, and it's too cold for wet hair.
After yesterday's more intense purples, I'm loving these muted colors together. NPL's Caffe Mocha, despite the name, is a gorgeous dusty periwinkle, one of my best and most favorite shades to wear. I really like the mauve base-layer tee worn under for warmth --- the colors look so nice next to each other.
I might very well add a pullover to walk the dog, though I think that in the house I'll be warm enough all day in the layers pictured here. I do have a puffer vest that I've been liking to wear under my thinner L.L. Bean Gore-Tex waterproof coat when it's cold --- the vest underneath turns the coat into more of a parka, though by itself the coat is light enough to wear on wet summer days. That coat is one of my enduring favorite secondhand buys, purchased for Norway in 2023, and worn continually through last winter. I do have a smaller puffer jacket, but this coat gives me a lot more coverage and has a very close-fitting hood, which I have appreciated on cold nights lately. With the fairly thin puffer vest underneath, it's unstoppable as a warm outer layer.
I also really, really love the fit of this dress. It's a Small, and I could not go any smaller in the bodice, but it does fit well, and I like the just-structured-enough silhouette. I had agonized over buying it, because (remember?) I'd told myself that this was a No New Dresses Year . . . but again, I have no regrets. I had long wanted a Mama dress, particularly with sleeves. I love how my sleeveless dresses can act as pinafores through the winter, but I don't always want to wear a pinafore. I like these sleeves, which I think will also be fine even on quite hot days in the summer.
So I feel both warm and put together, strikingly the latter on a Monday morning after a holiday, when I'm still kind of wrung out from all the preparations. At least now I can take my preparations slow . . . four weeks to make my house fair and ready for a lot of company. As quiet as we are these days, the Christmas onslaught is always a bit of a shock, but a shock of the best kind. And it will be here before we know it --- here and gone, and into the new year, because that's how time behaves. It acts as though it's going to ration itself out in some reasonable manner, but in truth it is a spendthrift and runs through its own fingers.
So I had better do the dusting today if I'm going to do it at all . . .
LUNCHTIME UPDATE:
Well. I have spent a good chunk of the morning dealing with the turkey broth I made yesterday (a very large stockpotful) and the useable remains of the turkey carcass. I filled five quart freezer bags of broth, all now in the freezer, plus another quart bag of meat scraps and a jar of broth in the fridge, PLUS enough broth to start a pot of red beans and quinoa (I don't have rice), with celery, carrot, and cajun seasonings, and some scraps of turkey meat for more protein. So that's tonight's dinner sorted --- and I think the presence of turkey will be palatable, since it won't recall the flavors of a Thanksgiving dinner too much.
Despite precautions, I managed to splatter my dress, so I took it off and quickly hand-washed it and hung it to dry, so as not to give any grease staining time to set. Fortunately for me, the mail had come, so I had my new-to-me (though quite used) Wool& Sierra dress to put on:
The seller had mentioned a hole near the hem from a campfire spark --- that's definitely there and will need to be dealt with. There's also some very faint discoloration on the front of the skirt. That doesn't seem to show up in photos, and I'm not going to worry about it.
I bought this dress to be a hiking/knocking-around dress that I won't have to baby too much. My one concern is to keep it from stretching out. It is nice to have, again, a Sierra that fits (my old one has stretched out to roughly mid-calf length, which I think is a function of having dyed it), and I definitely prefer this regular length to the long. I also prefer the shape of this A-line dress to some of the others. It feels slimmer and more structured, somehow. Maybe it's just the heavier fabric that doesn't droop as much as the lighter jersey can do.
This dress will never be a nice dress, but it's perfectly fine for everyday, especially once I fix that hole. And it is a reminder that I like this dress style. The jersey is a bit heavy for summertime, though I did wear my OG Sierra through several summers --- still, I wouldn't rule out having another one. The fabric is sturdy, it's very warm in the winter, and these dresses work well for the hiking trail.
This dress is a small regular size, which seems to fit well. I have enough midi and maxi dresses for church, and I like shorter dresses for hiking. I'd even consider having a small size like this hemmed a tiny bit more, OR I might consider an XS, though this fit seems good as it is. At any rate, I'd never have another long length in this style. I hadn't thought about the Sierra in a long time, but they are coming out with some very nice colors . . . we shall see.
Anyway, this had arrived, so I took off my linen dress (with regret, because I really loved what I was wearing) and put on the Sierra. It'll be fine for the rest of the day, and it does go nicely with both my mauve base-layer tee and the purple cardigan I put on for the sake of Advent.
I need to go out today to buy dog food, light bulbs, dish liquid, and various other sundries. SIGH. I prefer not to. But needs must.
EVENING UPDATE:
Drinking a glass of wine on the daybed with Dora, who is not drinking wine, which must be why she's such a spazz. I was trying to sit at my desk, but she wouldn't stop barking at me, so I came and sat down here, and now she's sitting bolt upright next to me with her ears pinned back, looking perturbed --- but not barking.
Oh, now she finally has lain down. I guess we're okay for a little while longer. It really is not her suppertime yet, nor does she want to go into her crate, so . . .
I did go to Walmart, for a rare second time in a month. I don't like going to Walmart, but when your shopping list is like "dish soap, light bulbs, embroidery hoop, Ezekiel bread," Walmart is where you go. I did indeed buy all those items, plus some embroidery floss and some Greek yogurt and another carton of eggs and some Dr. Bronner's refill for liquid soap dispensers . . . again, it is NICE sometimes to find all the stuff you need under one roof.
I have embroidered a very clumsy little gray-blue freehand fish over the hole in the skirt of my new Sierra dress. From a distance it doesn't actually look too bad. I would photograph it, but if I get up I'll disturb the dog, so you're out of luck until next time. I am NOT A NEEDLEWOMAN, but I can produce things that look like something if you don't look too hard, and anyway, now the hole is buried under roughly an entire skein of embroidery floss, so I guess that's progress.
I do like this Sierra. It reminds me now much I did initially love this style and fabric --- I just have to size down and be careful about letting it get stretched out, is the lesson here. I don't not love my original, mind you. I sleep in it almost every night in the winter. I wish it were not so stretched out, but even a wash in hot and a tumble in a hot dryer didn't shrink it up that much. I really will buy an XS if I buy another --- and I did put my name on the list for the new Sierra in Iris Blue that should be out sometime soon. I had had my eye on that lovely color, but no dress I really liked came in it. I might truly jump on an Iris Blue Sierra, possibly as a Christmas present to myself. We shall see.
The washed navy is not that exciting a color, but it is a nice dark neutral, easy to combine with other colors. This particular dress has been on a Camino and is still holding up pretty well (despite the flaws that made the resale price so low) --- I can see it taking a lot of beatings in the future, though I won't go out of my way to deal them out.
Eventually I will arise and warm up this red-beans-and-quinoa concoction that I made earlier today. I hope that it will turn out to have been a good thing to make it early and let the flavors marry. We haven't had anything cajun-tasting in a while, so this at least is a change. I was on a big French kick with lemon and nutmeg and so on, but really we like spicy . . . and I love the note of celery that characterizes this particular spice blend. I did also use some real celery, because I had it on hand, and that stuff won't keep forever.
I've written several tetrameter couplets today, just for exercise. Also, Chris Scalia's The Back of the Book podcast just dropped a new episode featuring me, so that's fun.
Yeah, so, maybe I should get up and finish making this dinner.
Oh, but, while I'm up, here is my silly little embroidered visible-mending fish:
My husband said, "It looks like some kind of logo." I guess that means success?