More forsythia, that harbinger.
Today:
*High of 58, low at the freezing point --- not bad, though it could be a little warmer and I would not complain.
*Going to hit confession and daily Mass this morning, because Lent is coming, and might as well get situated
*Dog walking
*Essay on Elizabeth Barrett Browning for Friday
*Been working on poems --- resurrected some drafts from three years ago to finish, hoping to have something to send out soon.
*Got myself a productivity app --- Stay Focused --- to use during Lent to keep me off social media and out of Poshmark. I think I've figured it out, so that before I go to bed tomorrow night I can set it up to kick in Wednesday morning. I have it on my laptop, my phone, and my tablet, which should help me do more writing, reading, praying, etc, with fewer distractions. Here is where I hope to engender some lasting conversion, not just a six-week pause in poor habits.
I did in fact buy two more things last night off Poshmark (gittin' her in under the wire, folks): a blush-pink silk cropped open-front cardigan and a pair of Birkenstock wedge sandals for a slightly dressier summer shoe option. Both were priced very reasonably, under $40, which I thought was fine for what would normally be investment items. I felt comfortable buying them because we had had a very good Substack month in February. Our ultimate goal is for each of us to make $1K a month, so that we are actually paying our mortgages with our Substack writing . . . we're not there yet consistently, but some months are like that. Next month might well be a $200 month --- you never can tell.
*****This, incidentally, is one reason why the college adjunct teaching position I was offered didn't appeal to me that much, even though I like teaching and love being with students. The money is just a lot less, for a lot more work and stress, than I am making (in the best months) and experiencing in writing this Substack. It's not that Substack is disproportionately some kind of weird grift, though I guess it could be. In fact, we could both make a lot more money if we were grinding out feature articles continually for major outlets --- even relatively small outlets will pay $750 for a single 1800-word piece. So a good month writing the Substack still isn't as good as what my colleague has accomplished at the top of his game, placing essays in national magazines every week of the year.
The real point, though, is that private colleges, especially, don't pay their faculty as though they valued them. Fun fact: At one college I know, the human resources director makes more than twice what tenured professors make. This seems . . . backwards? I think it's totally backwards. Alumni don't look back fondly on the great human-resources director who changed their lives . . . and yet that's exactly the person who's not worrying about keeping the old cars running and the groceries bought, or coming to the reluctant conclusion that the only way to afford their current life is to put the kids on Medicaid, and then look for another job.
Just to be clear: I'm not poor-mouthing here. We did have some very lean years when the kids were younger and all at home. It took us a good while to dig ourselves out of a hole. But we have benefited from family land sales in the last decade, and now I am making a little supplemental income, and we are comfortable. We mostly can't take credit for our current level of comfort, because a lot of it is just luck, and the inscrutable goodness of God. Why are we not on the street? It's certainly not for lack of trying.
In short, I do not in any way mean to complain about our own situation. I'm grateful to be placed to help other people, in at least modest ways. That's a huge gift, a lot more huge than being able to buy clothes when I want. But there is a general situation in higher education, and maybe particularly in Catholic liberal-arts higher education, about which I can, without too much effort, make myself angry. ****
Anyway. Both the things I bought were pieces I thought would probably not see a lot of wear in Lent (though I'm not going to fast from them on purpose), but might well be part of my Easter outfit, as well as working with much of my existing wardrobe. This brings my number of secondhand purchases to 9, so it's just as well that Lent is about to kick in (see lasting conversion, above). But I think it's not bad that the things that tempt me are not dresses (of which I truly have enough to keep me busy), but accessory items that make outfits: shoes, cardigans, separates. I also think it's not bad that I am pausing this whole business for an entire season. Which reminds me that I need to put my Poshmark closet on pause as well, since I'm going to block myself from the site.
Wearing today:
*Wool& Brooklyn dress (S/Long) in Beetroot, bought November 2023, last worn February 14. Wears in 2025: 3
*Secondhand Erika&Co. floral cotton-linen pinafore, bought December (or November?) 2023, last worn February 26. Wears in 2025: 4
*Secondhand Ann Taylor silk cardigan, bought February 2025, first year of wear
*Snag merino tights, originally Sand Dollar, bought spring 2022, redyed two years ago in Jacquard Sapphire, third year of wear (and there's a hole in the toe that I need to mend, so that they can keep going)
*Xero Tari boots, bought summer 2022, third year of wear
I asked myself: What clothes will I not wear in Lent? What things will I really miss?
One answer: I will really miss this pinafore. As much as I enjoy my flexible purple capsule, it does mean putting some things away for the season, though I truly love wearing them. This dress is one of those things. It's comfortable and pretty and so versatile --- I really do wear it all year, summer and winter alike, with pleasure.
And I'll miss my magenta/Beetroot Brooklyn dress, which doesn't pair as nicely with purple (at least in my comfort zone) as some more muted pinks do. It works really well as an underlayer for the pinafore, picking up the pinky red in the floral pattern.
Fun blue tights instead of the more neutral navy I'd envisioned, because why not? We're having carnival here. And this blue chimes so beautifully with the blue in the floral fabric.
I will look forward to reuniting with these articles of clothing in Eastertide, but in the meantime, I will enjoy them, as I enjoy the sunshine, today.
LATE AFTERNOON UPDATE:
Good confession, lovely Mass, lively chat with some dear friends after.
Came home, ate leftover Thai red curry chicken for lunch, read some Boethius, some Plato, and another scene in Comedy of Errors.
Steam-cleaned my stove and oven, including the inside of the stovetop, under the lid (yes, stovetops lift up, so you can see what grunge has collected there).
Did some vacuuming, too.
Milled some rolled oats in the NutriBullet to make oat flour for pancakes, which are on the menu for tonight's dinner --- Lundi Gras instead of Mardi Gras, thanks to the husband's schedule tomorrow. Batter is made up (oat flour, spent-grain flour, unflavored raw-milk whey protein powder) and ready to cook. I think I'll do a bowl of yogurt and some blueberry (maybe blueberry-mango) compote, in addition to maple syrup.
Sat out in the backyard with Dora and admired the floral pattern of my dress in the sun:
It is pretty, and I shall miss it during the long purple season. But we will be reunited on the other side!