Sun at the bathroom window! It's variable, but it's sunshine. We're supposed to have storms later, but for now at least there's a break in the rain. High of 82F, quite nice.
Here's the view from the office window --- green trees, sunshine, cloud drama:
Our next-door neighbors' house sale has fallen through, which must come as a blow to them. The house has been on the market for a year, and they have replaced the roof, done foundation work, and gutted a bathroom --- in addition to dealing with vagaries in our shared property line --- only to have the whole thing collapse. I have a hard time imagining that that house could have anything much wrong with it (compared to ours, which has SO MUCH wrong with it that probably the best course of action will be for our progeny to burn it down with our bodies in it, in a gigantic Viking funeral pyre, and then sell the lot). The next-door house belonged to a realtor, who bought it about the same time we bought this house, and did much work to it both initially and over the years. I had thought that this was a sellers' market, too, but I guess in a town like this buyers are still a little more scarce, and the whole process is less competitive than it is in other places.
So, that's the neighborhood news. Other houses have sold, including a purple Victorian just up the block and across the street. I don't know why this poor house next to us --- which again is quite a nice house --- has been languishing for so long, despite all the work they've done. I also ask myself: If work needs doing on my house (and assuredly it does), why would I not do it for myself, instead of waiting to do it for the benefit of a buyer? I sort of know the answer to that question, of course. Repairs and upgrades are expensive, and you tell yourself you can live with things as they are, because you'd rather spend your money in other ways.
But then I think of our previous house, in Memphis, which we owned for three years and lived in for two --- we had beautiful broken-tile floors all through the entry and kitchen and den of that house, which had been hidden under carpet and linoleum and, though we took up the carpet and linoleum, were fairly dull and grubby for a long time. They were pretty enough, but I didn't know how pretty they were until we had them polished --- because we were putting the house on the market, to move here. If we hadn't been selling the house, I'm sure we would never have had the floors properly cleaned. And we would never have known how beautiful they were. I enjoyed them a lot for the few remaining months that we lived there, and over the course of the year when I kept coming back to paint another room or do something else to the house, because it wasn't selling.
I have a lot of sympathy for our neighbors, in fact, because we did own two houses for just about a year, when we could barely afford to own one house, and it wasn't pretty. 2008: a great year to buy. We bought this house for a relative song. I still look at our Zillow property values sometimes and can't quite process that anyone thinks this house is worth what Zillow says it's worth (of course, Zillow hasn't seen inside the house . . .). And I have a lot of sympathy for the frustration of pouring money into improvements that aren't for you, except as (you hope) a way of getting money out of your residential albatross. I said to myself, after we had the floors done in the other house, that next time around I would not hesitate to do things in my own house for my own enjoyment, but lo . . . this has largely not happened.
Anyway, I'm sure the neighbors are frustrated. They have a place to move to, apparently, out in the country near their family, but have been in limbo all this time. I don't believe in burying St. Joseph statues, but I do have the one I dug up out of my own flowerbed, sometime in the first year we lived here, and maybe I should put him on our front porch looking out at their house. Maybe that would help.
In other news, my new-to-me Sofia dress is supposed to arrive today, but in the meantime I have gotten dressed. In fact, I have not only gotten dressed, but I have put back on, over my dress, the Sierra dress I bought in 2021 and now wear regularly as a nightgown. I keep talking about how much this dress has stretched out, but maybe you'd like to see for yourself . . .
For reference, this was a Small size, in the Long length. Originally it hit me right at the knee. Otherwise, it fit very much like my secondhand Small Washed Navy Sierra, which you will see again for comparison momentarily. Now it's solidly a midi-length dress. The armholes are like bateau neck openings. The pockets hit at mid-thigh. I could still make this work as a dress, if I really wanted to --- with a belt over and a shirt of some kind under. But the stretch is pretty comical.
Here's the Washed Navy version in Small --- right now it's almost the length that the Long was originally, though there is less fabric in the skirt, which I prefer.
I love the Sierra. This is such a fun, easy, cute dress. In many ways I prefer the fit of the Small to the XS, but you can maybe see why I did size down for my Iris Blue Sierra. The armholes of this dress have already stretched a good bit, and I'm convinced that it's about an inch longer than when I first received it, last November. I have hardly washed it at all --- maybe once? maybe twice? --- and when I have, it's been by hand, in cold water, and laid flat to dry. I did machine-wash my original Sierra, even before I redyed it, and I dried it in the dryer, all on hot --- mostly because I found the Long length to be a little much, and I wanted to shrink it. I'm sure I did stress the fabric, which is why it's stretched so much. BUT even with much gentler treatment, this dress seems to be growing on its own, too. Much as I love the style, this is why I have hesitated to pull the trigger on another.
Oh well. I bought this one for quite cheap secondhand, and I didn't expect to wear it as regularly as I do. I really like it here with my bronze Crocs sandals (thrifted last year by the TXgirl, whom they didn't fit). I put it on to be at least a placeholder until I can try on my secondhand Sofia, though I might just wear it all day anyway, since it's Saturday and I want to do some gardening. I've also been having some digestive trouble and am feeling (and looking) quite bloaty; this dress is very kind to me on days like this.
Still loving this Branwyn bra. Really don't want to wear another kind. I can't justify buying another Branwyn right now, when I already have a number of merino-blend bralettes that still fit and I don't dislike, but in a perfect world, I would just have 2 Branwyns, maybe 3 to give me a range of color possibilities, and nothing else. AND 2-3 pairs of wool bike shorts (again, to give me a color range). I have bought a pack of four pairs of bamboo bike shorts, because my old Understance ones are completely sprung and I need some light-colored ones as well as black, to wear under lighter-colored dresses. Mostly I wear these instead of a slip, though I do also have that short silk half-slip to wear when I need more smoothing under my clothes. These bamboo ones are nothing fine or ethical, but they do wash and dry easily, are breathable and comfortable, and will be good for travel. It had been a while since I'd bought new underwear, and needs must.
I've just bought some new digestive enzymes which I hope will help with the aforementioned digestive issues, though also reducing the amount of creatine I'm taking might also make a difference. I'd worked up to a full scoop, but that might be too much for my system to handle. I do like the energy and clear-headedness that creatine seems to give me, and I think I've built some muscle mass since I've been taking it --- you do have to do actual weight lifting and strength stuff, in conjunction with the creatine, but I think I'm seeing real results just from the relatively puny amount of weight stuff I do. I'm mostly hoping for muscle mass in my core, because that's what gives you real body strength and better balance, which is what keeps you from getting hurt as you age. Still, I'm quite happy to see more definition in my arms and back, my calves and thighs. I have a long way to go before I'm as strong and fit as I'd really like to be, but any sign of progress is encouraging --- if it doesn't come with constant stomach upsets.
I'd love to kill the belly bloat. It's just annoying.
Agenda:
*dog walk
*garden puttering and weeding
*plant some more seeds
*acquire groceries
AND . . .
Just in time for me to post this and get on with my day, SOFIA HAS LANDED.
Yeah, it's love. I did really need a Small, not a Medium, to correct the fit of the bodice. The elastic waist sits a little higher on my torso, but I actually prefer that. It can sit lower, too, when I'm not suffering from bloat.
The skirt is a little fuller than the Brooklyn's, which is a bonus. It's not as full as the Fiona's skirt, but full enough to be forgiving while still granting some body definition. The color is quite similar to Wisteria --- I'd sold my Wisteria Willow and not regretted it, but I did sort of miss that color, which was a good one for me. This tone is a little darker and maybe a hair pinker, but not much. It's a nice fresh periwinkle, perfect for spring, though I suspect I can wear it through the winter as well, especially with my minty green sweaters. Navy will be good with this color, as will pinks. Beige cardigans: check. Jean jacket: yes. Green corduroy blazer: maybe also a yes. I tried my lighter periwinkle crocheted cotton cardigan with it: a win, and possibly what I'll wear to church tomorrow. I definitely see this as a versatile travel dress.
Aaaannnnnnd now I'm really tempted to buy a new one in Spruce Green, but we'll see. Do I need another dress? Do I EVER really NEED another dress? What I hope is that they'll keep making this style, and that I can wait to see what other colors it comes in in the future.
Meanwhile, I am going to enjoy wearing this dress. VERY glad I pulled the trigger --- well, I'm glad I made a reasonable offer that meant I could buy it at a significant discount.
I'm back in my Sierra for now, so that Sofia stays clean and ready to wear, but I'm very happy with this secondhand purchase.
And on with the day.
LATER
I have puttered in the garden some. Still trying to find a good spot for my tree philodendron on the back patio, where it won't get too much sun. Planted some yarrow and morning-glory seeds in patio containers and pulled a few more weeds.
Garden berries are growing now, which is exciting to see.
Mulberries (from a volunteer tree, so completely free):
Gooseberries on a bush the husband's sister gave him for his birthday five or six years ago:
Blackberries proliferating:
And blueberries --- this one bush is loaded, the rest not so much:
All our berry varieties are fairly early producers, with nothing really bearing much in the second part of the summer --- though the blackberries will fruit for a fairly long time, I think. I've never yet beat the birds to the blueberries, but maybe this year I'll be lucky (read: vigilant, for a change). Ditto the figs, which do ripen late in the summer. This time of year, I always gloat over the coming harvest, though I know by now that what I pick and eat is not always what I expect to pick and eat.