Sunny morning still-life with sacred scripture. It's already thirteen degrees above freezing out there, with a projected high of 75F. THIS is the February weather we've all been waiting for. Daffodils are blooming, and forsythia is in bud. Off to the races, folks.
I spent all yesterday thinking it was Monday. So confused about time.
Today's agenda:
*Walk dog
*Finish and load essay for Friday
*Compose diplomatic email turning down offer of teaching job --- not that I wouldn't like to teach college students, but there's enough on my plate to be going on with (especially for the money involved, which is not nearly enough to justify the added work, which would be considerable), and one of us really does need to be free to visit the children and attend to our mothers at need. I've taken the last day to consider, because initially I was tempted to say yes, and this is where I've landed. So now I just need to write the diplomatic email.
*Begin reading novel I said I'd blurb (due April 1) --- that's the stack of papers on my desk behind the Bible
*Read Helen Castor and Shakespeare
*Work on libretto
*Cook up two family-sized packs of chicken thighs for dinners, tonight and to come
As you see, I do not spend my days idling around . . .
Wearing:
(base outfit)
*Secondhand vintage Erika&Co. floral cotton-linen pinafore, bought November 2023, last worn February 9. Wears in 2025: 3
*Devold base-layer men's teal tee, bought in Norway summer 2024. Still completing its first year of wear.
*Secondhand Birkenstock Mayari sandals, bought spring 2024, near the end of a first year of wear.
So, this is maybe rushing the season a little. If I need some leg coverage, beyond what this longer skirt offers, I can put on a pair of blue leggings. But I think I'll be fine, especially with the addition of a cardigan:
I am glad I bought this Connemara cardigan last fall. I haven't been tracking number of wears, but I have reached for it a LOT through this season. It's been indispensable on my very cold trips this month. Yet the color is tender and springlike enough that I can wear it on this cool mornings without feeling that I've backpedaled into winter.
Looking into my closet this morning, I bethought myself of the fact that Lent is coming next week, and that I had better wear things that don't go with purple NOW, while I have a chance.
This Devold tee represents another scissor job: I cut out the men's crew neckline and trimmed the sleeves above their hems to make it more suited to a feminine body. I like the raw edges, the way they curl a little, which adds to the lightness and delicacy of the look (as opposed to the men's-undershirt vibe). Stretchy material like this is a little tricky to work with --- probably a good idea to pin it in place so that it doesn't slip while you're cutting (I mean, pin the hem or the neck or the sleeve or whatever you're cutting, so that the edges stay lined up). But I like the results.
I am very careful if and when I cut the bottom hem, because it's easy to get that too short. I have a couple of base-layer tees that I now wear only as under-layers because I was a little too scissor-happy . . . though that's worked out all right. I actually like that they don't bunch beneath a knit dress. Still, I've learned to be more minimalist about cropping things, especially as I now have separates that I want to wear them with, rather than just wearing them as under-layers.
Annnnd . . . that email won't write itself, so away we go.
BEDTIME UPDATE:
Of the above agenda, I wound up doing the following:
*walking the dog
*writing the diplomatic email
*working on the libretto
*bringing in and putting away dried laundry
*spending 3 hours in an editorial meeting
*making dinner (chicken paprikash with cauliflower rice and a side of green peas --- I did cook up all the chicken thighs, though, and froze half of them to use later)
And now it's bedtime.