Signs of Life

I planted out the cool season items today (broccoli rabbe, beets, radishes, rocket) and re-seeded spinach where there were bare patches. The sorrel overwintered and we'll soon  have enough for cold soup on the first warm days of spring. Omaha hit 81 degrees F. today-that is not typical for this time of year. The Sandhill Crane migration is weeks ahead of schedule as well-poor nature is so screwed-up none of the plants and animals know what to do. We saw a honeybee buzzing around today.

There isn't much for bees to eat yet, so Danny constructed a saucer filled with sugar water and enough small rocks so the bees can perch and drink without getting the sugary water on them. Supposedly this helps them, but I wasn't able to see if any bees were availing themselves of a meal. Bumblebees are another story-if they don't eat within forty minutes of emerging, they die. I hope we don't start seeing them too early. When their time does arrive, we have borage that overwintered, and I'm planting a few new stands of it in back of the house. Of all the flowers I plant, bumblebees really seem to favour the borage. It is dead easy to grow, and both the flowers and leaves are edible.

Yes, I do need to thin out the spinach. 

I want to thank all of you for putting up with my moaning of late. I'm trying to keep a sense of humour about it all, and I really do appreciate the kind words and support from my friends. I am the world's worst patient, and I do my best to stay the hell away from doctors whenever possible. I have an appointment Thursday, so hopefully I'll be better able to get this under control and move on with life. Hard to believe a finger could be the onset that lead to such an ass-kicking. I planted the garden entirely with my right hand. That was weird. I'm expecting to see all sorts of uneven rows when the plants emerge. 

This is my idea of a transitional wardrobe. For years I resisted wearing sleeveless knits unless they were part of a twin set because they look so practical. These days, I wear them because they are so practical. That's probably a milestone of sorts. Looking at the photos from Gucci's show last week, pussy bow blouses and sleeveless knits are downright fashionable at the moment. I liked the description of the collection evoking, "People who hang around libraries." It's like they know me personally.  Anyway, both of these pieces were cheaply purchased and though unlikely to be mistaken for Gucci, they are in the spirit of the thing. 

I was feeling adventurous with the pattern mixing today, so I added a jacket. 

I stopped in at the Goodwill near my house last weekend because the boys wanted to look for books. I wasn't in the mood to shop, but every corner I turned found yet another incredible vintage piece. As the clothes were all roughly from the same era (late 60's/early 70's) I suspect someone donated a household full of clothing. Looking at the labels (some with the original tags still affixed) it was like a tour through classic American brands. Glentex, Leslie Fay, Panther, Pendleton, Alex Colman, and on and on. These weren't fancy brands, but rather the sort of thing the typical American woman would have worn at the time. I found two 1960's raincoats in navy with white piping. As they're the same size, from the same era I suspect they belonged to the same woman. I remember my mother wearing similar style raincoats, and they always looked so sharp in the springtime. The red satin lining sealed the deal-how could I pass that up?  I'm going to try and swing back there later this week if I can summon the energy because I know there's probably more they haven't priced, and put on the floor. Vintage gets picked through quickly at Goodwill, so it was a shock to see that much of it, all in one place. 

This faux crocodile bag was three dollars at the Goodwill last weekend. The dents don't really show in person, so I'm not sure what's going on with the photos. 

Outfit Particulars:

Pendleton wool skirt (fully lined-woo hoo!) Goodwill

Vintage Terry of Chicago blouse-Thrift World

Vintage Panther sleeveless sweater-Goodwill

Giant bakelite bangle-Goodwill

1960's screw-back earrings-Hand-Me-Ups

Vintage Sara Coventry brooch-Hand-Me-Ups

1970's polyester jacket-Thrift World

Nan Tights-Leggs

Faux Crocodile handbag-Goodwill

Vintage Naturalizer shoes-Thrift World

Lippy-Revlon Spicy Cinnamon

Fragrance-Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds (I've been using the shower gel and body lotion like crazy. The scent is meh, but the skin-softening quality of the stuff is incredible. You could smell worse than White Diamonds). 

Why yes, as a matter of fact I DO hang around the library. How ever did you guess?