Last One in the Pool

 Made it to the pool once before the season ended. I'd planned to spend more time there, but abdominal surgery had other ideas. I didn't go in past my knees, though the incisions are mostly healed now. We pay for the pool in our assessments, so I wanted to feel like I was getting my money's worth. We had it to ourselves, which was nice. 

The green swimsuit I bought in the spring was much too big now to fit politely, so I am wearing a vintage bikini from the 60s that I bought at least 30 years ago. It was in the carton of forgotten clothing, and while I would have preferred a bit more room up top, it was at least, not obscene. Wouldn't have mattered as we were all alone, but still. 

Anyway, it was nice to finally use the pool and hopefully next year I'll get more use from it. 

That face you make when the water is cold.

We are still having warm weather, but the nights are getting cool, and at this time of year it tends to swing between extremes. Yesterday was the pool, today was a chenille sweater. I'm not really in a hurry for winter, but I'm ready to say goodbye to summer. 

Much as I'd like to, I can't live in a bikini, so this week also saw some proper clothing. Everything here is thrifted except for the tank top which I bought at Shop Ko (now defunct) before Danny was born. 

The skirt was originally from Forever 21 but I found it at Goodwill. I didn't enjoy wearing it as it has a very stiff waistband and a heavy zipper in back that kept digging into me. I'll be passing it along, as my days of wearing uncomfortable clothing are over, but it did have a very pretty print. 

I'm open to trying different looks, because who knows? I might find something I never thought I'd like.

Victorian/Edwardian clothing isn't my usual thing but this antique blouse worn with a 90s skirt was a rather satisfying combination. I wish I'd taken photos of the full slip beneath it all because that was beautiful as well-next time. The prettiest items are often the ones no one sees.

The Victorian brooch has a locket back that probably once held hair or a photograph, but it is empty now.

The embroidery on the back is just gorgeous.

Ahh there's that crooked spine of mine. 

Speaking of my spine. I needed to get a photograph taken for my new passport, so I went over to the Walgreens across the street. Two different people tried, ad failed to get a photograph with my shoulders somewhat aligned for the headshot. Eventually, I told them to give up and I'd go to a proper photographer that can better deal with it than the corner drugstore. It was frustrating because their digital camera and software assumes a certain degree of symmetry that just wasn't going to work. I can't be the only person with scoliosis that's ever needed a passport photo, but I guess the last time I had one in 2002 it was on film, not a digital print. I'm going to hope the photographer has better luck. I'm not going anywhere, but with Dan headed to France in June (hopefully) and then (hopefully) off to University in Belgium the following year, it made sense for me to update my passport just in case, god forbid, something were to happen and I needed to go there. 

Bought myself another tee shirt. I keep finding such great ones. 

Most of my tee shirts were ready for the rag pile, so this is a good time to replace them. In the past this wouldn't have been a political statement, but merely showing off nerd credentials. Well, 2021 in America and science is political. 

The vintage denim skirt was found in unworn condition and is still a bit on the stiff side, but perfectly comfortable to wear. I never know what's going to be irritating but I was so happy when this one turned out to be easy to wear. A denim skirt is so useful year round. 

That time of year again. I found the vintage paper Beistle pumpkins for .49 cents and they were exactly the sort of thing I wanted. We have some very religious neighbours that get freaked out by the scary stuff. Knowing that, I avoid the really gruesome zombie sort of decorations in favour of cute. 

I really need to wash the windows and screens before it gets too cold. Seems like I just did it, but we had such a stormy summer it just blew dirt at the house in 100 mph straight line winds. 

This was a successful baking experiment. I wanted to try making a challah bread with whole grains and without added sweeteners. I wasn't expecting much, but it worked. There's a combination of whole wheat, rye, and oat flour in the bread and a handful of golden raisins to sweeten it. The colour comes from eggs and an egg wash before baking and also from some saffron in the dough. I always know when something goes well if there's nothing left. I'm glad I thought ahead and made two loaves with the other one in the freezer for breaking the Yom Kippur fast on Thursday. Finding things that work for everyone's diet can be tricky, but I'm getting better at it.

This spice cake is made with almond and oat flour, and non-dairy milk and margarine. My decorating skills aren't at their best, but it was a cake they could both enjoy without worry. 

This is a vegetable "kugel" or pudding. Typically, it would be made with potatoes, but I used carrots and shredded green and yellow zucchini/courgettes to great effect. The grated onion gives it a nice rich flavour. 

A whole chicken is much more economical than cut-up parts and I don't mind roasting one. There's not much to it once it goes in the oven. This was a new recipe that had it baked slowly and basted with a combination of equal parts red wine and balsamic vinegar. There's rosemary stuffed beneath the skin, and the bird baked atop a pile of chopped onions that later went into a sauce. It looks so impressive but other than occasional basting, there's really not much to it. If you want to impress people with your cooking (while not doing much cooking) a roast chicken is a good way to go. Unless you're vegetarian. Baked tofu would probably be great with the wine and vinegar combo. 

Serve some vegetables with it. This is onions, orange bell peppers, corn, purple cabbage, and zucchini. 

This vintage rayon shift dress is absolutely not the sort of thing I would wear if my stomach wasn't painful. But it is, and so having a few dresses like this for the particularly bad days is helpful. 

I guess if we're going to wear a 90s dress there might as well be a tie front cardigan from the same era. The sneakers (or "Gym Shoes" as we say in Chicago) were thrifted, but new and unworn. My previous shoes were in terrible shape, but I used them for running. No running here anymore (I'm lucky if I can get in a mile walk around the college next door) so I bought something stylish and comfortable rather than worrying about how it would hold up to impact from running. They were five dollars well spent. 

And that's going to be it from here for the moment. Hope you're having a good week.