And again, the morning light, with the rumpled sea-blues and greens of my daybed.
It's another summer day, high of 94F. I shall be endeavoring simultaneously to keep moving and stay cool.
Yet again I sat up with the dog late into the night, because people were setting off fireworks. We've decided that for the actual Fourth, which is tomorrow, we're going to put her in the car and go driving out of town and up into the mountains. We might be able to park somewhere that gives us a view of various fireworks going off, without the noise. It'll probably still be bad here when we get home, but if we can avoid the town fireworks, just a few blocks away, that'll be something.
I've just signed up for a class via something called the Albertus Magnus Institute --- it's free, and their one summer course is on the medieval Gawain Poet, in whom I have an interest, so I registered for it. My friend Zina does reading groups through the Catherine Project, which also interests me, but you apparently have to take their core courses in order to access other things, and I'm not sure I have the patience for that. AMI is fairly similar: a Great Books program for anyone, offered for free (although they give priority to people who give $25/month, which I'm not sure I'm going to do), with more course offerings in the fall. You can do ancient languages (Ecclesiastical Latin, Ancient Greek), plus literature, philosophy, etc. It's not a degree program, just a learning experience, and I have been feeling in need of some motivation to read with intent.
The summer class doesn't start until July 29 --- it runs for eight sessions, so into mid-September, which seems doable to me. After that, we'll see what I feel interested in doing. I like the idea of ongoing coursework, and I'm not doing a fabulous job of real self-education on my own. I do a lot of research on the fly for these poetry essays, and I learn some things, but not in quite the same way. Part of me thinks about the possibility of going back to graduate school (remote --- and the one place I'd consider doing a degree has just hired me as faculty, so . . .), but I don't think I can afford that, in terms of either money or time and energy. So these "Great Books for Everybody" initiatives have a lot of appeal. No, you don't get academic regalia, which half the time is the reason I even think about trying to go back for a degree. But you do get something a little more durable: learning to carry in your head.
So, today:
*dog walks
*one more essay to grind out for next week --- I've written the other two but not uploaded them yet
*pub night (WHILE WE CAN)
The Viking has gone off to his appointment in Greensboro, but should be back this afternoon. He leaves tomorrow for Dallas --- it has been a whirlwind visit, but so nice to have him around.
Wearing today:
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Smock dress (M) in Emerald Green, bought November 2024, last worn June 15. Wears in 2025: 10
*Secondhand Xero Z-Trek sandals, year 1
Hot days call for linen, yes they do. I mean, they don't not call for wool, but as I have these lovely linen dresses, I might as well wear them here in the heat of the summer. This dress has served me (as so many of my dresses do) absolutely year-round: I got it in November and wore it all through the winter with layers. If memory serves me, I wore it to Mass on Christmas Eve. I wore it for a lecture in early November, on Christmas, for a reading in New Hampshire, and for a conference in Texas the week it was 14 degrees Farenheit. It absolutely works as a winter dress.
But it's so simple and easy and fun for the summer. Bare shoulders, airy-swingy skirt, a pair of sandals. Done. I've just been emailing with a friend about a folk festival we're both going to near Asheville in August --- mutual friends from the University of St. Thomas are playing, and more mutual friends are going to see them --- and it occurs to me that this is exactly what I want to wear for that. Note to self.
At any rate, this cool little dress will see me through the day and into the evening. I doubt I'm going to want to put on a jean jacket, but I could, and it would look sharp.
Now I suppose I should get on with things.