Doesn't Seem to be a Shadow in the City

 
Anyone still here?

Thanks everyone for your understanding. What a rough few weeks this has been in multiple ways.

I hope you're all managing well and doing what you can to take care of yourselves. I know that's easier 

said than done sometimes, but please, prioritise your needs if you can. Just like on a flight, you can't help anyone if you don't adjust your own oxygen mask first. 

 

I'm still having trouble with Blogger. Bibi, if you're reading this, I saw your comment in spam. I marked it not spam, and before I could post it, the comment was gone. Deleted, disappeared, gone. I'm so sorry. I have no idea why it doesn't like you (because I certainly DO like you!) but I'm not hopeful I'll get it resolved. 

I'm also having trouble getting my laptop to read photos from my phone. I could use the app to post directly from my phone, but then some readers can't see the photos! Grrr. I'm not buying a new phone or laptop just to post Blogger photos because...well yeah, I'm not doing that. So apologies in advance if these issues come up from time to time. I do try to post most of my outfit photos on Tumblr (@goodymcgoodface

On to some clothes.

Yes, they're robots. 

I like how the pattern isn't immediately obvious. As novelty prints go, it is extremely subtle.

Barely perceptible, really.

I wouldn't typically go for this style of dress, but it was in the last chance sale at the thrift shop, so it came home with me for under a dollar. It is synthetic and quite cheaply made but...robots. If I find the time it will probably be cut apart into a shirt and skirt. I would like a shorter, boxy blouse in this print. Would be great with white trousers. 

I asked Dan for a photo beside the sunflower for scale. He's just about 6 feet tall. It wasn't that long ago that I could measure him against a baguette!

and about a week later...

He's looking at the sunflower so suspiciously-as though he expects it to reach out and grab hold of him. In reality, he was watching (and keeping distance from) some wasps.

I decided to exercise similar caution. 

 

The first one finally bloomed. We're still waiting for the second sunflower. 

 

So much to look at in the garden that planted itself. I let the red lettuce go to seed and  hopefully it will start new plants. 

Anyway, it amazes me that anything can grow at all in this heat. Starting Sunday we're in another high heat wave for at least ten days. Following so closely on the last we haven't had much time to recuperate or get much rain. I won't complain too loudly about staying at home in a dark house. I'm fortunate to have central air conditioning, and an air conditioned car. Crossing my fingers for the power grid to hold up. I try my best to avoid running appliances at the peak demand hours and really, if I'm not going anywhere then there isn't much laundry. The teenager sleeps until 3PM, has lunch, and then retreats to his room, so not much laundry there either. We've been watching classic movies together in the evenings. At his age sitting in the same room with a parent is about as much participation as I can expect. I'm not upset-that's how it is supposed to be.  

Next week I'm taking Dan to Lincoln to do a campus visit at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Dan is still planning to attend university in Brussels, but the advance placement courses he took were through Wesleyan and as he did so well with him they've been sending recruiting information in the post. They finally got to him :)  Never a bad idea to apply to more than one school and at least one of them ought to be in the US. Anyway, it is a bit over an hour from Omaha, but I'm always happy to visit Lincoln. If he stays in the US he's already been offered what's essentially free tuition at UNO which is ten minutes from our house and has a good international studies department. Certainly, no harm visiting the fancy, private university. I went to a classical guitar recital there about 20 years ago-it looked like a nice campus. 

Back to the clothes...

The silk cardigan is something I bought in the 90s when I worked at Jordan Marsh. It has a matching sleeveless piece but it was far too hot, and it is much too loose at present. The cardigan has wide, almost bell sleeves but that's not obvious with them turned up. It wasn't vintage when it entered my collection but like so many pieces, it certainly is now. That shade of peach has always looked good on me, and that's probably what saved it from the donate pile over 30 years. 

The wrap skirt was purchased in a thrift store around the same time (mid-90s). I'm pretty sure it is a 70s skirt, but wrap skirts are so timeless it is impossible to know for certain. It gets loads of use each summer because who doesn't love a wrap skirt?! 

There's a better look at the embroidery on the cardigan and these silly earrings I bought a couple years ago at Target. 

Summer is also a great time for shell jewelry, even if I am landlocked in the middle of the USA. 

By now you've probably figured out that green is my favourite colour. 

I didn't *need* another green dress. 

Still, when the opportunity to bring home a dress for a few dollars presents itself, well it would have been silly not to. The cotton is nice and cool for our humid summers. 

This white belt is getting quite a lot of use this summer. I always thought white belts and shoes were tacky. Perhaps they are, but I'm wearing them anyway. Age affords me the freedom to dress as I please. 

Speaking of dressing as I please...these absurd sweatpants got worn. 

The nonsensical/badly translated statements just add to the fun. 

As a sort of unexpected bonus, they're comfortable to wear, even if the pockets are worse than useless. 

You've seen this all before

Viscose dress, plastic handbag

Same white shoes. Etc. Etc. 

Same here. 80s Gunne Sax skirt, 60s raffia handbag, cardigan from Target's kid's department. The shirt is recently thrifted. I'm not convinced I like it. Practical enough, I guess. 

There's a matching blouse with leg o mutton sleeves to wear with the skirt but it is too warm for that right now. 

 Speaking of Midwestern Goths...

Saw it on Tumblr and no credit on the photo but it made me laugh.

You've seen these pieces multiple times as well.

Vintage handbag.

Vintage Lily Pulitzer skirt from the 60s. I recently thrifted a version of this skirt in a yellow colourway.

"Summer Hair" because there's absolutely no chance I'm using a hairdryer in this heat. I don't mind the curls which is a good thing as there's little else I can do with it other than pull it up. 

This necklace is so heavy, I rarely wear it. I wonder if I could take out a couple links to make it a bracelet and earrings? It seems a shame to leave it sitting unworn in a box. 

More summer hair.

Shirt is from H&M, skirt is 90s by Star CCC

More old favourites

Bad photo but shows bracelet details well.

This dress is a recent thrift purchase, but I can't decide if I like it or not. Great print, stretchy fabric, but hangs like a potato sack. The drawstring waist doesn't actually do anything-it is decorative. No, I can't imagine why either. I might like it better in winter with a poloneck and tights, possibly a belt if I remove the faux drawstring. This one goes in the "maybe" pile. At any rate I doubt it will get worn again this summer.

Sure seems like a lot of trouble to fake a drawstring with elastic!

These Clark's sandals were two dollars! Looked completely unworn too. They're comfortable, have a sturdy sole (unlike most sandals) and are in a good mix of colours to match quite a lot of my summer wardrobe. I was so happy to find them. 

Speaking of "Happy" it is time for my Omaha themed Caro-Nan handbag.

Knights of Columbus, Creighton University, University of Nebraska at Omaha...

Strategic Air Command Headquarters?! LOL, sure, I guess so. 

This bag was a purchase about five years ago but I rarely used it because of the pom poms on the front. So I cut them off. Now I use the bag more. Sometimes things are so obvious but I still manage to miss them.

Most of my bangles are too big and slip from my wrist but there's still a few that are wearable.

The bag would be better with a flat bottom but we can't have everything.

A stripped blouse that doesn't accentuate my scoliosis. I mean, sure it is there (and I'm no longer trying to hide it) but it doesn't result in the stripes being pulled across strangely. The blouse is polyester that looks and feels like silk (I was fooled!) from The Limited. I hadn't been in a mall in so long I hadn't known the store was gone, but I did like their clothes when I was young. I had a rather cool yellow tee shirt with white silk fringe and matching yellow trousers purchased from The Limited circa 1978. I looked like an Asian pear in the white netting they're shipped in, but I thought it was fab. Probably wore it with my green suede western style clogs with the yellow lucite heels. Anyway, RIP The Limited. 

The skirt is vintage Sasson. Oh La La, whatever.

Early 2000s dress originally from Target (Mossimo brand) thrifted for pocket change.

Straw bag from the early 80s

The dress is trying very hard to look like an African Wax print, but on polyester. It works better than it should although I really dislike where the waist hits on me. Still, the colour and print are so great, I can live with the stupid elastic.

Apologies for the terrible light. Not opening windows much these days. I'm so light deprived I'm going to turn into a bat!

More old clothes...

Bee pins...

1940s rayon skirt...

I never thought a back-tied blouse would be my summer go-to item!

Take a moment for something to eat. This was the night I did "Salad Bar At Home". The pickled fish and hard boiled eggs went immediately. That's always popular.

Rye-vita and Finn Crisp

I know how to make them but I don't bake in heatwaves.

Doesn't look like much but fish and eggs is a better than expected combination. I grew up eating things like this so of course that's what I fed my own child. He'll pretty much eat anything though, except a raw tomato or avocado. He'd better not move to Mexico. 

The nice thing about making several salads at once is they keep getting better on subsequent days. The up front effort pays off in days of quickly getting a meal on the table. And yes, Dan left the tomatoes behind in his serving of beans, but that's fine-it didn't go to waste. 

Bad photo, good salad. What can I say?!

On cool breaks in weather I've been working out my rye bread recipes for the State Fair.

This one was more of a pumpernickel with rye, einkorn, rolled rye flakes, molasses, cocoa, coffee, coriander, and caraway. The boys really liked it best of all the loaves so far. The top is a bit light, so I need to work on that. I don't think it over-proofed, but that's one of the things that can make a loaf of bread too pale. I might give this bread a try with spelt. I've also experimented with Golden Buffalo flour (hard red Kansas wheat that has the germ removed-a sort of finer whole wheat) with mixed results. 

Okay, a few last outfits before I go...

 

And that's about it from here. I hope you're managing through whatever weather you're having, and I am going to make an effort to do smaller, more frequent posts to avoid the issues of lost photos, eaten text, etc. Thanks for being so patient.