A little spill of daffodils on the curb in front of the house. This morning, the sun is shining in the window, the high is supposed to be almost 80, and I am drinking coffee with creatine before donning my weighted vest to walk the dog.
Today: same old, same old, I guess. The Artgirl has another appointment in Greensboro, and the windshield people are coming to replace the windshield in the Chevy, back from the mechanic after a two-month stay for repairs from the post-Christmas/pre-New Year's wreck on I-85. I have to finish my John Donne essay for Friday: a rewrite of an old one I did for the Sun, which I'm glad nobody saw because in my haste I got a lot of things wrong, just on the technical level. These revisions are opportunities to atone for careless previous readings. That we have the world's most eagle-eyed readers in the combox conversation impels me to be very, very careful in tracking formal patterns in poems.
And I should really make progress toward completion of some other tasks. I haven't done much with my book chapter since we got a 3-weeks' extension, and I still need to start these books I'm supposed to be blurbing. AND I need to file some paperwork for my upcoming visit to VMI.
But all I really want to do is sit outside in the sun --- Vitamin D for the good of my bones and all.
Here I am yesterday frolicking among the Stars of Bethlehem in the meadow that is our backyard:
THAT is the life I want to lead. Just a little fantasy world of blooming things. But alas.
So, yesterday marked the end of my 9x9 challenge. I'll send in my album of challenge photos today, to get my $20 gift certificate . . . which I could then use, because it's a solemnity and I could relax all my penances, but I think I'll wait. I don't know what I'd want to spend money on right now, and this would represent my ONE final new purchase for this year, so I had better think carefully. Nothing is just jumping out at me. I don't really need a dress --- I have a lot of dresses --- but there is a part of me that doesn't want to spend that kind of money, and my one "new item" slot, on just a top or a cardigan, even though I have been eyeing the Natalia wrap a lot. We'll see.
Wearing today, for the first day post-challenge:
*Wool& Audrey dress (S) in Black Heather, bought November 2022, last worn February 18 --- almost a month ago! This has been my most-worn dress for two years running, averaging about 30 wears a year, but we'll see what 2025 looks like. Wear so far this year: 6
*Crocheted wool-blend shawl, gift of a friend, first year of wear
*Secondhand Birk Mayaris, first year of wear
Now, I might switch out this shawl for my purple linen button shirt midday, but while it's still cool this morning, I thought it would be fun to try this kind of Highlander vibe, wearing the shawl as a wrap cardigan. All you do is drape it over your shoulders with the point in the back (I think I've got it off-center, but whatever), wrap the ends around, and knot them in the small of your back. Presto, you have a shawl that doesn't slide around and fall off, and it's the perfect weight for transitional weather. It makes a nice cover for this sleeveless maxi dress, and the pattern is open enough that I might not get hot wearing it all day. We'll see how that goes. It is a beautiful piece, and I'm glad to have an opportunity to wear it.
I thought that this week, now my 9x9 is over, I'd switch to wearing "neutral" dresses (in scare quotes because "neutrals" are also colors and are not all equal) with purple accents, rather than purple dresses. So far this Lent I have fasted not only from my colors that don't go with purple, but from a number of colors that do: all the teals and greens that I normally love to wear. I am going to admit Marine Blue, as navy/a dark "neutral," this week, but not the others. I'm taking it week by week, but we'll see how that goes as well --- it would be nice to fast from more of the clothes I love for the duration of Lent. So . . . this is a flexible, developing rule, but I think purple + accents or neutrals + purple might be a good mode for the whole season. It will get boring, I will get sick of it, and I will have to soldier on, but that's sort of the point. Just "fasting from not wearing purple" has become very easy.
Today is a solemnity, and I could take advantage of it by not wearing purple at all, but eh. I've relaxed other penances for the day. The husband brought home wine last night, because it was the vigil, and that was indulgent enough that I don't think I need more indulgence right now. Maybe we'll take the Artgirl out to dinner tonight, since she leaves tomorrow, and that would be feast enough to be going on with.
I do plan to eat up the rest of my Asian noodle soup for lunch and am looking forward to it. I had two huge bowls for supper last night and am still craving it now. Again, this is super easy to make: broth + fish/oyster/tamari/soy sauce + lime juice + garlic + ginger + shallots/green onion (to taste, but I use copious amounts of both) + red pepper flakes to taste, mushrooms, greens if desired, some kind of protein (you could do diced stir-fried tofu, for example) if desired, glass noodles (cook in the broth for at least 20 minutes for best results), some shredded cilantro and/or fresh basil if desired, to garnish. This is a riff on Michael's made-up Asian-soup recipe, which he also riffs on, but it is totally delicious if you like these flavors to begin with. I'm glad to have a crockpot of it to eat for several days. Nobody here likes it nearly as much as I do, so I have it all to myself as leftovers, ha ha --- more for me!
You could make as much or as little of this as you desire --- I used two cartons of chicken bone broth plus some water, because bone broth tends to be heavy. You could use one carton of veggie broth, seasonings and additions to taste, with one bunch of noodles, and that would give you one, possibly two generous helpings. If you keep bottled lime juice and ginger paste on hand, plus either a head of garlic OR garlic paste if that works better for you to keep as a staple, then you are truly good to go. Ditto canned or jarred mushrooms. The only thing you would absolutely need fresh is greens, and they are a good addition, but you could omit them. This would probably be better with all fresh ingredients, but it is a thing you can make perfectly well, on the spur of the moment, from imperishable/long-shelf-life staples in your fridge and on your pantry shelf:
*carton broth (vegetable, chicken, beef, depending on your preference)
*lime juice
*ginger paste from the produce section
*garlic paste, ditto
*soy/tamari/fish/oyster sauce from the Asian section
*canned or jarred mushrooms --- if you can find speciality mushrooms, like oyster mushrooms, in this form, then those are good, but any mushrooms will do
*glass noodles/bean threads, also from the Asian section
You do really want some greens if you can get them, and fresh cilantro and/or basil is a great addition (but those are easy to grow from seed in containers in a sunny window, so you don't have to buy bunches and then have them go bad). This soup is good enough on its own, but cilantro really makes it if you can get it.
Time to walk the dog in the lovely sunshine.
EVENING UPDATE:
Well.
I did walk the dog.
I did do and hang some laundry.
I did switch to the purple linen button shirt because I got hot.
I did eat the soup.
I did wait for the windshield people who did not materialize.
I did write a lot more of the John Donne essay, but not all of it, and I think it might be the death of my cerebral cortex. Maybe we can't do hard things. Nevertheless, some nonsense will appear on Friday.
I did not, therefore, write anything else. Or do anything else. Dora says I'm really boring.
The end.
On the bright side, the husband is taking us out to dinner for St. Joseph's Day, which is nice. The Artgirl says she's not going to leave until Friday, which is JUST FINE BY ME, but since it's the feast, we'll have the fun tonight.
ETA:
Posing on the porch with the dog in the sun:
I do love this dress. I really really really would buy another. I wish they'd make some more in this tencel fabric, in more colors that I want.