TUESDAY, WHITSUNTIDE

on


 

Morning kitchen still-life with bananas. 

Rain again last night, starting just after supper and continuing into the small hours. The morning is damp and overcast, cooler than yesterday, and I have been out to look at the garden. 




Yeah, remember all those black grow bags I set out? The fainting cilantro in the foreground regrew itself from last year's seed, but I probably should sow more anyway. I still have quite a lot in the packet, and the soil's wet. I will let these go to seed and re-sow themselves as well, but I think we need an interim wave of cilantro if we are to survive the summer. I also need to replant garlic. Been going through what's growing in the garden a little too fast, but cooking does require garlic, usually in large amounts, so . . . 

Here's something I have found out: DID YOU KNOW that often, stone places (like places where you get granite and marble for countertops and things) will let you have their scraps for free? I did not know this, but somehow the husband found it out. Last weekend he brought me home an entire car trunkful of various-sized rectangles of granite, some with cuts made, some not. The idea is that I'll use them for paving the garden, but I requisitioned a couple of pieces for a very non-labor-intensive project in the house. 



Our downstairs bathroom, the one I use daily, has a fabulous old soaker tub (which needs re-enameling in the worst way, but we try not to think about it). The plumbing, as you can maybe see in the photo above, is exposed, sort of, between the tub and the wall. I guess originally, whatever "originally" means in the context of this house, it was just exposed, and that was that. If you look down into that space, you can see the baseboard molding, painted to match the paint that's under most of the current paint surfaces on the woodwork throughout the house (somebody at some point in history really loved dull mustard yellow). So this was obviously just visible. 

When we bought the house, a kind of console had been built around that plumbing, with a "countertop" of painted Masonite over the top. This . . . was gross. That is, it got gross fast. Painted Masonite really doesn't stand up to, for example, water. You can see why that would be a problem, maybe. It was impossible to clean. The paint peeled off. It was disgusting. 

Finally I yanked it out, and I cast about me for some way to recreate a countertop, because it is handy to have a countertop right there at the head of the tub (and the space around the pipes by that time was --- and continues to be --- also kind of gross, which is another thing we just try not to think about. 

The solution I hit upon? Cutting boards. Large cutting boards. I have a big glass one that we got for a wedding present that more or less exactly fit over half that space. I added another thin plastic cutting board to cover the rest. And this was okay . . . 

Except that a) it looked stupid, and b) at inopportune moments, the cutting boards would slip and fall, sending all my shampoo and soap and razors and whatnot down into the hole around the plumbing. This became annoying. Their instability also meant that they were hard just to wipe clean --- wipe too hard, and down they went. So I was frustrated with that solution, but I lived with it for about ten years. 

Enter this granite. Now, ideally I'd have found a piece about the length pictured above, but another 1/4 again as wide, to fit snugly between the wall and the lip of the tub. As it turns out, there are wider pieces, but they're all too wide. And there's not another narrower piece that would fit into the remaining space. But this piece was wide enough to hold my stuff, and long enough to fit securely over the top with enough left over that it's unlikely to slip loose and fall into the hole. The darker piece makes a kind of backsplash, which I don't need, but which does push the white piece farther across the open space (I also hoped to find a number of pieces just a little longer than that black one, to make a sort of raised counter if I set them on end one after another, if that makes sense. But no luck). 

This isn't a perfect solution. I would love to have that open space entirely covered. But I vacuumed out the space around the pipes and hoses as best I could, so it's relatively less gross down there, and then this slab of granite makes a sturdy, cleanable counter surface. I showed it to the husband and indicated that should he find something that does fit the space, he should not hesitate to bring it home. My real dream would be to have a piece cut to fit, that could just settle right against the curve of the tub but be removable for plumbing-repair purposes. Can't have anything grouted in, but something that feels secure and permanent and clean would be fantastic. 

In the meantime, this will do. It cost us nothing. And I've got stacks of other granite pieces just waiting for me to pave the garden with them, in whatever eccentric way. 

I might bring another piece in to put on the kitchen island as a cutting board/pastry-rolling counter. There's at least one fairly big one, and that could be quite useful. AGAIN, all free. I'll never pay for another cutting board, I'll tell you what. 

Wearing today (Day 10 of my June Wear Everything Once Challenge): 







*Wool& Audrey dress (S) in Black Heather, bought November 2022, last worn May 30. Wears in 2025: 15

*Secondhand Flax tunic, year 2 of wear

*Xero Jessie sandals, year 3 of wear

This is a favorite outfit of mine, involving one of my enduringly favorite dresses. I wore this dress at least 30 times for two years running --- that it was my most-worn dress in 2023 and 2024 speaks to its versatility and comfort, as well as to how good I always feel wearing it. I don't generally wear black, because it's so stark as to make me feel actively uncomfortable, but this heathered black, which really is more like a dark charcoal gray, works well for me. It's funny how just a little nudge in a color's register can move it from a no to a yes. 

I really only wear this Flax tunic with this dress, but I like it enough as a combination that I doubt I'll get rid of the tunic. Sometimes this is precisely the outfit I want to wear, and I'm glad the elements are right there in my closet, for me to put my hand on. Both the Flax tops I own are far larger than I had envisioned they would be --- this might be a Medium (I'm not going to take it off right now to check the tag), but the tank/tunic I have is definitely a Small . . . for a race of giants. I do like them both, but now I know something useful about Flax sizing, should I be moved to buy another piece in this label. The quality is nice, though not as nice as NPL. 

Still, there are things I actively like about this tunic, that make it a good combination with this maxi dress. The curved hemline saves it from being boxy --- that's the main thing. And the shape that kind of floats out from the body is good over a narrower skirt, like this one. I've come to feel better overall in fit-and-flare silhouettes with some waist definition, but this contrast between a wide floaty top and a closer-fitting fluid skirt also works for me, without swamping my whole frame. I wish the neckline weren't quite so wide, because it slips off my shoulders, but I can live with that (as long as I'm wearing a whole dress underneath). But the curved lines really make the top, saving it from being boxy and monolithic. I just feel arty and relaxed instead, a good groove for a random early-summer Tuesday when I have work to do. 

Giving my teal Z-Trek sandals a break today and wearing my good old Jessies instead, for a soft contrast with my lowest hemline. Hair in a default braid, out of my way. I really like being able to pull it back and off my neck in a way that doesn't create tension anywhere, or grip my hair too tightly. I am interested to see how long it will grow (though I also keep trimming the ends, so it's not growing out that fast), but not at the expense of its good condition. Long hair with a lot of breakage doesn't feel like a goal to me. Longish hair with no damage: yes. That's something to work toward. 

Ten days into this June challenge, what I have I worn so far? It is important to keep track, so I don't repeat any major item of clothing until I've worn them all once. Again, my rule is dresses and skirts (though I could have made this harder and said that I had to wear every top once, too . . . but I didn't do that). 

Day 6: Teal Fiona

And again, today is Day 10. So far, this challenge has been pretty fun. Obviously it doesn't get boring, because I'm not wearing the same thing twice, let alone 30 or 100 times. It does nudge me to think ahead, because I know I can't repeat something until I've worn everything else, so I need to think about what I want to wear for, say, a planned night out, or for church. And it's accomplishing an objective I very much wanted to accomplish, which is to be sure that I am wearing the clothes I own. I don't want any major piece of clothing (most of my dresses are investment pieces on one level or another) just hanging there forgotten. This is looser than a weekly outfit plan, but it does much the same thing. I might keep it up as a practice, although unless I'm consciously challenging myself and keeping track, I am likely to lose the thread. 

I want, though, to be sure that --- on a reasonable basis, without rigidity --- I'm wearing every major piece of clothing I own (barring real special-occasion pieces) at least once a month. Most of my dresses, even the secondhand ones, cost a good bit more than I used to spend on clothes at Goodwill, and I want to recoup that initial investment in terms of wear. I don't keep close track of cost-per-wear, though based on yearly averages I can guesstimate when a dress has paid for itself in wears. As always, my aim is to wear these dresses for a long time, rather than wearing them out fast for the sake of reaching that magical $0.00 cost per wear. That doesn't profit me much if I just have to replace a dress within a year or two. 

The other thing this challenge is good for is reminding me that I don't need more dresses. Yeah, yeah, I always see things I want --- as who does not? But I find it a lot easier to tell myself Not Today when I consider how much I have still to wear before I can repeat anything. I am not running out of options. Not remotely. And I can be a lot more critical of things that catch my eye, because I know I have a basis for comparison. Poshmark ads turn up in all my feeds now, because algorithm, and the other day a pink linen dress caught my eye --- a really pretty color, in what looked like a nice design that I could probably wear well, for $20. Of course I bit the hook. That is, I didn't buy the dress. But I looked at it. It was quite pretty. And that price? Who could resist? 

Well, me. First of all, looking at the photos (and I do appreciate sellers who post LOTS of photos), I noticed that the fabric was fairly thin. This would possibly be a dress where even a very "nude" bra would show through. Second, as I was considering this, I also thought, Do you not actually own a pink linen dress? Setting this prospective dress --- at the low-low price of $20 --- mentally next to the Cinnamon Rose Leila dress I already own, I reasoned that the low-low price dress wasn't actually such a great buy. I can't find my white bamboo full slip, which I would almost certainly have to wear under a dress that sheer --- and in July in North Carolina, who wants to wear a full slip, even in bamboo, anyway? Even though the color and style are different from my current pink dress, so that it wouldn't be anything like a duplicate, that possibility made the prospective dress a no. That, and the fact that I'm having to challenge myself to wear the dresses I already own anyway, made overriding the desire for dopamine easier than it might have been. 

No idea what I did with that slip --- I think I took it to New Hampshire, and maybe to Texas, too, back in February, thinking it would be a thermal layer, and it seems not to have made it back from one of those jaunts. Or else . . . I don't know. I've cleaned out and reorganized my underwear bin, which is when I noticed that it was missing. 

But lest you think I am impervious to the call of the dopamine . . . I did, yesterday, buy yet another pair of Xero Oswegos, in the other color (besides charcoal) that I had really wanted when they first came across my radar screen in 2021. I bought the purple ones that I've owned all this time simply because, on clearance, they were all that was left in my size. But I'd really wanted either charcoal (which I now have, thanks to a secondhand purchase last year) or this kind of muted olive green --- which turned up for sale in my size, at a price that worked with my current Poshmark credit balance (not a credit card, but the amount of credit I've earned through sales, which I could either have them send me as a check or plow into clothing purchases, the latter of which being generally what I do). I think I would wear these a lot, so I bought them. 

As a corollary, I cleaned up my purple Oswegos and put them up for sale, for a real bargain-basement price because they are definitely in used condition. 




People are selling these shoes --- and again, I think, where did they get these new-in-box Oswegos, when Xero stopped making them in 2021. Did they buy them up and hoard them? Anyway . . . people are selling them for upwards of $70. Used pairs in really good condition are going for anywhere from $30-$50. I priced mine at $15, because again, they are distinctly used. Clean and disinfected, but used. I won't make much money off them, but it is time to move them along. I don't need three pairs of Oswegos. When these new-to-me ones come (they are not new-in-box --- I really try to buy actually used items, not somebody's hoard of new stuff), I will assess whether I even need two pairs. But I do wear those charcoal ones. And I like that shoe generally. They're just great walking shoes, kind of sneakerish but not really sneakers, a sort of sneaker/loafer hybrid. I am looking forward to having a pair in a lighter neutral. They're a half-size smaller than my others, but I think that will be okay --- the two pairs I've had are 9.5, and they are quite generous in toe room. I'm not sure that even I strictly need that much toe room. We'll see. 

ETA: I'm selling these purple ones because I really don't wear them all that often and have to push myself to wear them when I do. As much as I like the idea of colorful shoes, I gravitate toward neutrals for my feet, or at least more muted, less overt color. I love this style and am glad I bought these, just so that I'd know that. But I'm also glad to trade them in, so to speak, on colors I really wanted to begin with. 

The sun's out, and it's time to wake the dog up for her walk. I put on her thundershirt when it started raining last night (there were storms in the forecast, though I don't think we had any thunder), and it's knocked her out like a sleeping pill. But it's time to get a move on. 

LATER

So, in terms of my challenge, what do I have left to wear after Day 10? 

* 2 Wool& Brooklyn dresses, in Pacific and Beetroot

*2 NPL Smock dresses, in Grape Wine (with v-neck and waist tie) and Emerald Green (midi, no pockets)

*Japanese linen pinafore

*Wool& Iris Blue Sierra

*L.L. Bean blue patterned linen skirt

Nine pieces? I'll be done by the 20th, in other words --- ten days from today I can either start this whole cycle over, or I can declare myself free of it.

AND

Behold my new kitchen island surface. 




I dunno how much of this "Carrara Mist" stone --- possibly marble, but maybe just veined granite --- you get for $55, but I can tell you how much I paid for the slab you see here. Nada dollars, that's how much. It's been cut into and also chipped, so was definitely a scrap piece, but the size is so perfectly handy for the top of the ash wood island. Now I can knead bread dough on it (I should make bread; haven't in a long time), roll pastry on it (ditto), serve cheese and crackers right on it, use it for cutting (although you have to be careful, because a stone surface will dull your knife blade), and set out hot dishes when we have people over and I want to do a self-serve buffet instead of handing things up and down the long dining-room table, which is not that conducive to serving and passing. 

Considering what it cost us, this feels like a bit of a coup. And I still have plenty left to use outside. AND more where this came from. 

To work.