July is here, a whole new month, and the black-eyed Susans in their dappled light look as though they just got out of bed.
Fun choir practice last night, though call time of 7:45 Sunday morning reminds me why I don't sing with this choir full-time.
The Viking gets in this evening, calloo callay! It will be fun to see him. I have a fridge full of groceries, all my laundry done so that he can use the washer and dryer, and then there's that clean and reorganized room upstairs . . .
On today:
*dog walks and training (we are really working on this "place" business)
*Mass at noon (trying again to climb back onto the daily Mass wagon)**
*some more serious essay work --- I basically dinked around yesterday, easing into the week, but now I need to get real
*pick up dishwasher detergent and toilet paper
*communicate details to dog sitter about our upcoming trip to Nova Scotia
*concoct some kind of dinner (what kind really depends on when the Viking's plane gets in)
The dress I was looking at on Poshmark yesterday sold to someone else --- just as well, really. The price was great (the seller did offer an even larger discount), but there were some marks on the skirt, and overall I think it was in used condition. It would have been an impulse purchase, and I am trying hard not to impulse-buy.
My interest in that dress did make me think I should pay attention to the Isabelle, though, as a possible candidate for my second (and last) new purchase of the year. I do already own a dress in that Pacific color, of course --- but it is a great color. Right now that color and Marine Blue (also a great color, also the color of a dress I already own) are on sale, and I'm not sure what new colors are coming in for the next season . . . we'll see. As I was pondering yesterday, this seems like a great summer dress that could readily adapt for the change of seasons. And now that I know I can put a stitch in a crossover bodice . . . whole new vistas are open to me. I can wear this flattering style without feeling overexposed.
Again, not that I don't have a lot of dresses. But I do contemplate that some of my favorite Wool& knit dresses are showing distinct signs of wear. Of course, this could mean that I just don't need to choose that brand for my investment-clothing purchases. Linen wears a lot better overall. But I do like those wool knits and wear them so frequently that I don't think "don't buy more Wool&" is in the cards.
Another day much like yesterday, with a high near 90F (better than ten degrees hotter, let me tell you), and storms in the forecast. It's cloudy currently and about 79 degrees Farenheit.
Wearing:
*Secondhand L.L. Bean linen skirt, bought June 2025
*Secondhand Eileen Fisher pink merino tank, bought January 2023
*Secondhand Banana Republic silk-cotton cardigan, bought spring 2025
*Thrifted Crocs sandals, year 2
Still working to soften up and wear in this rather stiff linen skirt --- which I am liking better and better nonetheless. It pairs well, I think, with my raspberry-pink tank, while the silk-cotton cardigan makes a good shoulder-covering layer for air-conditioning and church-appropriateness.
I'd initially put on my Z-Trek sandals, but the teal seemed like a color too many. Here the echo between my champagne-colored cardigan and my bronze-toned sandals pleases me --- tonal neutrals that don't match, but that give a coherent frame to the colors in the rest of the outfit. And there's light-dark-color-pattern going on, even if my "dark," expressed in the color of my sandals, isn't actually all that dark. These things are relative, in the way the parts of an outfit might speak to each other. I don't pretend to be that good at this --- I would not offer myself as a stylist for anyone else! --- but sometimes things do come together in a way that I find I can articulate, thanks to stylist language. If I can articulate it, then I can replicate it, which gives me greater control over my outfit choices. Getting dressed becomes more a deliberate process (not burdened or difficult, just more habitually deliberate), and less a crap shoot.
I could have washed my hair today, but my scalp still feels all right, so I thought I'd give it another day or so.
Onward.
**WELL, NEVER MIND. Father is out of town this week. No daily Mass. Glad I checked the app before I got in the car. There go my good intentions, once again.