Sky, sun, and mulberry leaves.
Here's the video from the live-streamed Chrism Mass on Tuesday --- should you wish to participate vicariously. It was a beautiful Mass, and --- though I say it myself --- the choir sounded good.
Today: a little housecleaning, I think, and cooking for our Holy Thursday dinner before Mass. I should probably glance at what I've got to write for next week, although I'm not up on Monday, thank goodness, and I think both essays are ones I can recycle from earlier writing.
Wearing:
*Secondhand Wool& Sierra dress (S) in Washed Navy, bought fall 2024, last worn April 8. Wears in 2025: 11
*Secondhand Birk Mayaris, second year of wear
I will put on my purple cardigan, because it's not that warm right now. Today's projected high is 72F, however --- quite pleasant. I will change clothes before the evening, but for everything I'm doing in the early part of the day, a Sierra is a pretty unbeatable easy dress.
So, I've posted a fair number of photos here because I'm interested in comparing fit: today's dress, in a regular-length Small, versus yesterday's dress in a regular-length Extra Small. I interested, possibly, in another Sierra, since this is a dress I seem to like to wear a LOT. But I am dithering over the size.
Here, for your delectation and mine, are some side-by-side comparisons:
I wasn't thinking about comparisons when I took these photos, either yesterday or today --- I'm obsessive, but I'm not quite that obsessive --- but the poses are fairly similar, since I tend to do the same ones all the time. In each of these, the XS Iris Blue Sierra is on the left, the S Washed Navy on the right.
In the XS, you can definitely see a tiny bit of pull across the bodice as well as the back --- the armholes show it. On the other hand, the armholes in the XS will have to stretch a good bit more before they show my bra.
The S drapes more nicely, I think --- at least, it drapes more like a swing dress, less like a skater dress. I have more of a waist in the XS, though, which I kind of like. And I like that the shoulders look slimmer, even though I guess you could also say that this is a function of their being a little too small.
At this stage in the game, I think I prefer the shorter length of the XS. I can see hiking in it more readily --- even though that's why I bought the S to begin with. The S seems to have relaxed some, so that the length is just about what the length of my original Small Long Sierra was. While I like the fit right now, I really don't want to reach a point where I'd have to wear the dress with a belt for it to be presentable. The thing I like about this style is the way it sits right on the edge of a swing and a fit-and-flare, with the heavier fabric lending it a little extra shape and structure. The thing I don't like so much is that it seems to stretch out of that structure rather easily --- though I am taking far more care of these two dresses than I did of my OG Sierra (which still functions as my nightgown most nights, so it's definitely still being worn).
I dunno, I shall think on it and not be hasty. I do really like this fabric (except, beyond a certain point, for the relaxation factor, which is a pretty big caveat, honestly). I prefer this fabric for a swing dress because it doesn't get droopy, as the jersey fabric can, or show quite so clearly what's underneath.
Again, I dunno. I'm in no hurry. But it's good to be able to drop my ruminations here and get them out of the way, so that I can carry on with more important things.
In the meantime, I am enjoying this Sierra dress. I'm not sure I'd ever have picked Washed Navy for a color, because it reads as fairly dull. But it's a useful neutral, and I'm glad I have it. Although I don't think I'd ever choose this dress for a night out, and it probably wouldn't make the cut for a travel capsule, for everyday it's quite nice and easy to wear.
I have now put on my purple cardigan, but you know by now what that looks like. No more photos required. I figure: we're into the Triduum, so Lent proper is over, though I can't really stop my penance until Easter. But if I'm wearing a neutral (especially this rather unexciting one), then I'm still fasting from all my other colors.
And now I had better go wear it to do things. Those things won't do themselves.
AFTERNOON UPDATE
Tried to call my mother, who wasn't in --- will try again later.
Made both unleavened bread and haroset for our evening meal:
We don't do a full-on Seder, which feels a bit LARPy, but we do incorporate elements of the Last Supper, including a reading of Exodus 12. And . . . I've always just liked traditional Jewish holiday foods. My best friend in college was Jewish and taught me to make things like noodle kugel, which I've continued to do over the years. Mostly this dinner is Mediterranean in feel: roast chicken with garlic, roasted vegetables, herbed rice, etc. But cinnamon and apple dishes feel seasonal to me as well, and I like the sort of symbolic hinge they suggest between the old and new covenants.
Anyway, this part is done, and the table is set. Everything else will come together pretty quickly in the 90 minutes before we sit down to eat at 5.
I've also been looking over and washing clothes I haven't worn all Lent.
The neckline of my teal Fiona, for example, was a bit dingy, so I treated it with some Grandma's Secret, let it sit for a bit, then scrubbed the area with Dr. Bronner's before hand-washing the whole dress. I wasn't going to wash my two Brooklyns, but today I thought, eh, why not give 'em a little baptism? So they're washed out, too, and drying folded over the line in the same way that the Fiona was hung to dry. I have missed these colors so much --- as I now realize. I'm dying to wear them, like really, Easter Week cannot come fast enough.
I think that's probably the sign of a good Lenten discipline. I didn't really do food restrictions, other than just eating more lightly and simply, and not doing red meat during the week (I probably would have given up meat entirely, but I live with Mr. Protein, so that wasn't really feasible). But this fasting from colors other than purple and neutrals . . . wow. Without having any effect on my physical health whatsoever, this has felt like a real fast. It also really didn't call attention to itself in my daily life, which is another good thing. Anybody reading this blog knew what I was up to, but I didn't make a big deal out of it otherwise.
It's a lovely day out, and I might go sit in the sun again with Dora. But first I need to make some arrangements for the kids' graduation, which is a month from tomorrow . . .
DINNERTIME UPDATE:
It's about that time. We'll eat and pray and be off to the races. And I think I probably won't post from tonight until Easter Day, though I will take photos and share them later.
Here is what I'm wearing for Holy Thursday Mass, however:
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Smock dress (S/M) in Dark Blue-Gray, last worn April 1. Wears in 2025: 7
*Secondhand Banana Republic silk-cotton cardigan, first year of wear
*Secondhand Birk Papillio Mary shoes, second year of wear
I was feeling the linen, rather than an outfit repeat from Tuesday's Chrism Mass. Still neutral, but with a nod to gold and white in tonight's vestments via my pale champagne-ish cardigan color (also this cardigan's lovely silky shimmer).
Time to put food on the table --- a blessed Triduum!