Summer afternoon kitchen window.
OK, it's hot. It's so hot I don't want to do a THING, even in air conditioning.
What I have actually done on this sultry, scorching Sunday (that makes it all sound racy, but I assure you, current conditions are NOT racy):
*revised, yet again, my piece for Jane Greer, to go up tomorrow on the Substack
*bathed and washed my hair
*got dressed for Mass
*walked the dog about a half-mile before it really got hot (but it was hot enough)
*went to Mass, taking my own car, because the husband wanted to stay on in his office this afternoon to get things done
*was very happy to see people at the Abbey, including some favorite monks and some soon-to-be younger monastic postulants, who will enter in October but are visiting and hanging around as they can until then
*went to lunch with the husband at a pub we like in Cramerton
*came home, let the dog out, have been amusing her in the house (lick mat for mental stimulation, then I crated her while I hid treats around the house for a game of find-it)
*bought a secondhand Brooklyn dress (I know, I know) off Poshmark. I probably shouldn't have been looking, but it's hot, I'm bored, and there it was: a size Medium, in the discontinued Plum color, which I haven't tried, in the regular length, which I don't have and hope won't be too short. The seller was selling this dress for $39, an amazing price for what she says is a dress in very good condition. So I figured I'd try it. If it fits me well, I might sell my Beetroot Brooklyn --- I like it, and the color is fun, but of all my dresses, this one is absolutely the hardest to style, especially in the winter. I wear the heck out of my Pacific Brooklyn, but this one always feels smaller, as well as being a bright color at the very edge of my comfort zone.
I'm not sure I need three of this style, so if I like the Medium Plum, in terms of fit (I would plan to take a stitch in the bodice, as I've done with the other two), I will pick the stitch out of the Beetroot bodice and put it up for sale. As it is, I have scored this new-to-me one for under $20, thanks to my existing credit. That's now wiped out, but I will sell some more things and build it back up. For the price, I really felt that I couldn't resist this dress, which --- assuming the fit is good --- I know I'll wear the heck out of. I had really kind of wanted something in Plum, which won't be too wintry to wear now, but will winterize well when the time comes. I'm already envisioning how it will work with layers --- browns, grays, greens, blues, pinks. That's a long way away, and it feels even longer away than it is, thanks to the current temperatures, but a girl can dream, can she not? Yes, she can.
ETA: Obviously, if the Plum Brooklyn does not work for me, I will resell it. I think one way or the other, I will subtract one of those dresses from my wardrobe, because I truly don't need more dresses. Of my whole wardrobe, the Beetroot Brooklyn is probably my least-favorite dress, which doesn't mean I don't love her. I don't have a dress I don't love. But that is the dress I find hardest to wear and style on a consistent basis. So I think I'd be okay letting her go, IF I have a replacement that works as well or better.
Wearing today:
*Secondhand L.L. Bean linen maxi skirt, bought in June. I paid nothing for it in terms of actual cash, and I'm not tracking wears, but this is its first year of wear.
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen tank in Oatmeal, bought in February, first year of wear
*Secondhand Chico's linen button shirt, third? or fourth? year of wear, can't remember now
*Crocs, year 2 of wear
So, the word of the day is linen. And I'm still hot, but this is about as cool as it gets: light beachy colors, breathable natural fibers. I am glad I've hung onto this skirt, because it has relaxed in size and fits well and comfortably. It still feels a little stiff compared to other linen items I own, but I hope it will soften over time.
Downloaded a fitness app to do their free sequence of exercises --- some I can't do well and either skip or modify, but these are doable (like 10-minute) total-body workouts with no equipment, and I hope they'll get me over this hump when it's just too hot to walk outside for long.
Drinking seltzer now and resting from that labor.