Sunroom window with Jerusalem artichokes (a.k.a. "prepper plants" among my progeny). These have grown so thickly in their second year that I will be harvesting some this fall --- a very aggressive plant, they need dividing and thinning already. But then, this is really what you want in a food source. They're starting to bloom, which really makes them visually worthwhile. They're basically a stand of really gigantic tuberous sunflowers (no really edible seeds, alas --- that would be too much to ask of one plant, I guess).
Not quite so hot today: high of 92F. I don't love it, but it's bearable. Summer is great, but I tap out at 85F, in terms of thinking the warmth is delicious. We have been having late-afternoon/evening downpours, which have helped to break the heat a little and watered the garden, for which I am grateful. Everything is looking pretty scraggly and un-pretty at this point, but at least it's not burned up.
Today's agenda:
*walk dog
*finish essay for tomorrow
*start reading Pearl for class next Tuesday
*fiddle with poems
*continue reading and making notes on a short story a young writer sent me some weeks back, which I'm really behindhand in addressing
*something for dinner
I have already worked out this morning: 20 minutes this time, a lot of seated exercises. Actually, the whole workout was supposed to be a seated workout, but I found it easier and more productive to amend some of the moves to standing exercises. The app I'm using is called JustFit; I refuse to pay for a subscription, so I'm doing whatever is offered for free. They have a nice range of workouts, including wall pilates, chair workouts, workouts designed for people with knee pain, workouts you can do on your bed . . . a ton of free content above and beyond the standard "work this muscle group" sets. There's a beginner-level section dedicated to helping plus-size people (who have not previously exercised much, which I think we all realize is not all plus-sized people) ease into exercise without injury, too. So far I'm liking these a lot. The workouts I've done have not seemed hard or overlong, but I'm pretty sore afterwards, so obviously I am working those muscle groups. I also don't need tons of different workouts all the time, just a nice rota of ones that I can do on a repeating loop.
The goal, always, is primarily to build muscle and strength. I'm not weighing myself. I do pay attention to how my clothes fit, but most of all I simply want motivation to move more, and in ways that make my body stronger, enhance my balance and endurance, and keep me safely active, I hope, into the next decade or more.
The first Magnus Institute class meeting last night --- on "The Medieval Dreams, Sermons, and Romances of the Gawain Poet" --- was a lot of fun. These seminars are two hours, from 8-10 pm Eastern Time, so kind of a commitment, but this one already is interesting and totally worthwhile, especially as it's free. I'm looking forward to doing more of these through the year, though at the moment I need to finish my Norse course before embarking on any more archived classes. There's a lot to choose from, and much of it is interesting. I could wish we had to write papers for these classes, because I think that would up our engagement with the material, but on the other hand, given what I do every day, I'm sort of glad we don't have to write papers for these classes.
SLIGHTLY LATER
Have been for this dog walk, which was not too terribly hot, even though we didn't go out until 11 a.m. The good thing about very warm weather is that the dog conserves her often-excessive energy and walks nicely on the leash without too many shenanigans. She KNOWS HOW to do this, but so often, especially when she has spare energy to burn on a cold morning, she forgets her manners. So it's good to have a fairly long season in which to rehearse good leash behavior as opposed to obnoxious pulling leash behavior.
To her credit, she usually settles down after five minutes, even on the coldest, most supercharged morning, but it's nice to have whole walks where she's content just to amble along smelling things --- and then comes home and is pretty tired. Today we walked for about 25 minutes, then came home and practiced our "place" command, lying down nicely on the mat while tethered to the daybed. At the very, very least, when we have to crate her upstairs in the small crate when company is over, she will have good associations with this mat. So we did about five minutes of mat/place practice, then she hung out with me quietly while I unloaded the dishwasher.
At one point she chose to go sit on her mat, for which I rewarded her with a very small training treat (I'm otherwise using kibble as a training treat, just giving her half her breakfast while we train, then the rest of it when she goes in her crate for her morning meal/rest). I'm trying to be more attentive and consistent in rewarding her own good decisions --- to teach her that yes, choosing to do this thing is GOOD, and she should choose it more often instead of something else. Not that I don't also teach commands, but commands are easier to teach when they accompany a behavior the dog already understands as basically desirable.
So, that was dog training for the day. Mornings are generally easier --- afternoons, when I have to work, and it's hot outside, and she gets bored and has pent-up energy, are a lot harder in terms of house manners. But we're working on it.
Wearing today:
*Secondhand NY&Co red linen-blend skirt, owned since January 2023
*Secondhand . . . Smartwool? Ibex? I already can't remember the brand . . . merino graphic tee, owned since April 2025
*Secondhand Xero Z-Trek teal sandals, owned since June 2025
I'm not really tracking wears for any of these items. They were inexpensive secondhand purchases, and my goal here is simply to keep tabs on how many years I own and wear them. The sandals and shirt probably aren't anywhere close to $0 cost-per-wear, but the skirt probably is. I just mended the seam over the bottom of the zipper where it was coming apart, so it's good to go for a long time yet.
This merino tee, incidentally, even with its dark washed-navy color, WAS NOT HOT on my walk. I mean, it's hot outside, and no clothing is going to make it not hot outside. But I was not any hotter in this tee than I have been in linen. It's good to have and wear linen (well, it just IS good to have and wear linen, but also) in order to make this comparison. When it's hot, it's hot, and I just feel hot, because (see hot, above). But I don't feel particularly sweaty. Wool, like linen, is good at moisture-wicking. You cool down fast. Damp sweaty clothes don't sit on your skin. I keep being tempted by organic-cotton items on Poshmark, because gosh darn, there are some cute cotton dresses out there. But then I think about how cotton actually performs in the heat, and . . . yeah, no thanks.
The fibers I will continually choose:
*wool
*linen
*tencel
*bamboo viscose
Those last two are less environmentally friendly in some ways than the first two --- the plant fibers require a lot more processing, with chemicals, in order to become a wearable fabric. BUT both eucalyptus and bamboo are renewable resources, and the resulting fabrics are great performers: durable, lightweight, comfortable, soft, breathable, odor-resistant. My other consideration, of course, is the human factor in the production process --- some ethical companies do sell tencel and bamboo clothing (usually pretty expensive), but it's just as easy to buy secondhand.
I'm also really interested in hemp --- don't own any hemp clothing yet, but it's supposed to be another miracle fiber. Xero has made some hemp-fiber shoes: their discontinued Cassie Mary Jane, for example, two pairs of which I have owned and liked, though I didn't wear them enough to justify keeping them.
I suspect today's skirt has some rayon in the fiber content --- it's absolutely not 100% linen. But I like it, it was secondhand, and the most sustainable thing to do is keep wearing what I have (that I like --- there's no law that says you have to go on keeping and wearing things you don't like, just because you own them. You should in fact NOT do that).
Well, I would love to obsess about clothing all day, but this Substack essay, which runs tomorrow, will not finish itself, more's the pity.