Ajuga, that lovely spready green-purple ground cover, blooming amid the hoary mountain mint (also a spreader) and the speedwell (actually predatory). I took this yesterday when the sun was shining; today is wet and overcast, but still warm. I'm dressed, pretty much packed, and about ready to take the dog out before I load the car and depart for DC.
Wearing:
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Smock dress (S/M) in Dark Blue-Gray, bought December 2023, last worn yesterday. Wears in 2025: 5
*Old Thrifted Eddie Bauer cotton cardigan, entering a second decade of wear
*Secondhand Birkenstock Mayaris, on the last day of their first year of wear.
Damp hair, which I'll just wear loose till the evening.
I don't adore this cardigan with my brown Leila dress (worn a week ago Sunday) --- in hindsight I wish I had buttoned it in some way, to keep it from looking schlumpy. But I do like the line of it with this looser, less defined shape. This feels, somehow, okay to wear not only for driving today, but for standing up in front of people to read tonight. I'll change my shoes for the evening --- probably wear my ankle-strap sandals again, though I could do the Mary wedges just as well --- but otherwise this outfit feels nice and put-together, not too dressy, but not dumpy, either. Possibly it's just the lovely play of the plummy purple against the slate-blue/gray linen . . . not sure, really, why this works so pleasingly to my own eye, but it does.
I'm driving, so I've packed rather loosely --- clothes in my carry-on-sized backpack, but diffuser and toiletries bag with extra charge cords in a canvas tote. My Grape Wine Smock dress is still a little damp from being washed yesterday, so I'll just hang it in the car to finish drying. Normally these linen dresses dry quite quickly, but between the heaviness of that particular fabric and the dampness of the air, this one is taking a little longer. Again, that's why I so prefer driving to flying, whenever possibly. I can pack lightly, but not so tightly, if you know what I mean.
I'm also glad I don't have to worry about getting my books back and forth. I have three boxes of them, and there's no way I could deal with them on a plane.
Well, speaking of driving, the car won't pack itself, nor will the dog escort herself on a walk. If I'm going to get off in time to arrive for dinner at Tessa's, I had better bestir myself.