Sunshine and blue chairs on a warm, springlike Tuesday morning in December. I'd hate it if the weather never got colder than this, but the nice thing about winter here is that you have truly cold days interspersed with these days of blithe relief, when you don't have to gird yourself against the penetrating damp chill, which is really what we mostly have instead of actual cold (as my friend in South Dakota likes to remind me --- though he also admits that the dry air out there means that he can go out to the car in a windbreaker when it's -1 degrees and not feel all that cold).
Anyway, it's warm and lovely here today. I've been out with the dog, who is now resting again in her crate, and momentarily I must bestir myself to do some preparation for the onslaught of progeny, set to begin Wednesday night. Chiefly, I had better make sure that I've done all the laundry I want to do, and that everything in the dryer is put away where it belongs, so that it doesn't get mixed up with other people's things, never to be seen (by me) again. I also need to count the soup spoons, order the fish broth for the Norwegian fiskesuppe, soak some tapioca pearls preparatory to making fruit soup, and so on and so on.
Wearing today:
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Leila dress (M/L) in Chocolate Brown, bought December 2023, last worn November 28. Total wears this year to date: 19
*Very old thrifted Eddie Bauer purple cotton cardigan, bought so many years ago I can't remember (except that it cost me a quarter), last worn yesterday.
*Snag merino tights in Red Velvet Cake, bought summer or fall 2023, in their second season of wear.
*Secondhand Earth Shoes Mary Janes, bought August 2024. It's a good day to give the boots a rest.
I was wearing my Icebreaker Dusty Rose base-layer tee, but got so warm walking that I took it off. Today is a very good linen-dress/cotton-cardigan day. One nice thing about the color of this dress, aside from the fact that it surprisingly looks as good as it does on me, is that you don't have to convince it to be fallish or wintry. It was a perfect dress for the sultry autumn days we were having through the end of October, and now it's a perfect dress for a bland, warm winter day. I was a little surprised, too, by how much I loved it in the summer, because "Chocolate" wouldn't have struck me as a summery color, but truly, I do love it year-round.
I don't know what that apparent spot on the skirt is in the second photo --- I don't see it when I look at the dress directly, so I guess it's a spot on the mirror. I steam-cleaned the vanity top, tub, and toilet the other day, but I guess I should revisit the mirrors as well.
Now reading my way through P.D. James, having given myself the taste with Death in Holy Orders --- which book was, in its way, as oddly unsatisfying as the television drama was, but much better plotted, and the writing is good. Now I'm reading the first in the series, Cover Her Face. So far I haven't guessed the murderer, always a good sign.