Lent 2014 - Day 23

Well, this is odd.  I can't seem to start a new paragraph.  Oh well, looks like today will be written all in one big long line.  Maybe I'll be able to edit the paragraphs in later.

Ah ha!  Adding a photograph seems to have fixed it.  I have no explanation.

Khaki skirt (item 29):  This skirt feels like it's been with me forever.  It's fairly casual, with its unfinished hem and jeans styling, but still I find myself sneaking it into work outfits like this one.  It flares more than it looks like too, so there's plenty of movement, which I like.
Peasant T-shirt (item 9):  Another casual item masquerading as work-appropriate.  Works for me.
Pinkstripe Blazer (item 24):  And the final item, which tops the whole thing off and leaves me looking so professional that my boss comments on how smart I'm looking.  I should get a picture of it that doesn't make me dizzy though.

This outfit makes me feel happy.  It feels like spring has sprung and I'm enjoying the fact that it has.  I suspect that this is because the pink and green echoes some of the trees that are coming into blossom.  It's also a nice and practical outfit - I have climbed trees in something similar.

Footwear:  Flat boots again, because they're comfortable and I wasn't sure how chilly it was going to be, walking out of my door this morning.
Accessories:  Garnet necklace - I think this was given to me by a friend for a birthday back in secondary school, or near the beginning of uni or something.  It's very 'me'; I do like garnets.
Pink heart earrings - now THIS is an outfit which these earrings make sense with.  They're almost exactly the same shade as the piping on my jacket.

So I'm comfortable.  And I won't have to get changed before my dance class tonight.  This is good, because Thursdays can be quick turn-arounds.

Lent 2014 - Day 22

Flat discipline

Stir-fry as planned last night, with the left-over sausages from Monday on the side.

Tonight everyone's in different places, so we're fending for ourselves.  I am contemplating a jacket potato with tuna mayonnaise once I get home from a lecture at work this evening.

Lone discipline

Bit of a repeat today, I'm afraid.  Hopefully that won't be the norm now that my list is basically set.

Normal-ish phone-holding achieved!

Wearing

Plum pocket skirt (item 2):  It's still doing fairly well, but some pilling is starting to become evident where my bag hangs against my hip.  And I forgot to put a slip on this morning, so it's sticking to my tights like nobody's business.

Cream jumper (item 1):  After several sunny but chilly days I have learnt my lesson and am feeling really rather cosy today.  But I so want it to be spring and just don't have the right clothes on my list for that.  Well, we shall see.  Perhaps it will be possible to tweak my colours using only accessories.  It's a challenge for the rest of Lent, certainly.

Footwear:  Tan Mary Janes.  I've climbed 8 storeys-worth of stairs in these so far today and no misadventures so far.  I'm not certain that the fit is exactly right but my feet aren't complaining today.

Accessories: purple scarf - this has been borrowed from my girlfriend (her mother gave us one each for christmas but mine is pink and wasn't anywhere to be seen this morning) and is so soft and thin, but large enough (and made from I-know-not-what) that it's cosy too.  In the winter I'm known for wearing scarves draped around like this, but perhaps more so in my student days when I spent many days studying in large draughty spaces.

Purple earrings - stolen from my mother who kept getting them caught in her clothing.  Not really the right kind of purple, but never mind.

Ring stack - cheap as the proverbial chips, this ring stack used to have different surface textures but the shiny ones have dulled and the textured one has buffed so now they all look the same.  And the plating is wearing through so the coppery metal beneath shows through.

Today I'm wearing different glasses.  And I've just noticed that one of the lenses is starting to make a break for freedom.  I prefer my usual pair for comfort but these are a bit more subtle (I think the impression they give in the photograph of slipping off my nose is because my head is tilted down looking at the phone screen to line up the shot).  Perhaps a wee post about my glasses-wearing is in order.  They might even be interesting enough to warrant such a thing!

Realisations

I don't remember how old I was.  It must have been sometime while I was in primary school (because I think I thought I was too grown up to be put to bed way before I reached secondary school, aged 11) and it is likely to have been pretty early on, given the Bible passage in question is in Exodus.  So perhaps we are talking about 8 or 9 years old.

Anyway, my Dad and I used to read a chapter of the Bible every night before I went to sleep (and a chapter of what ever my storybook was at the time, but that's not really on topic).  We started at the beginning and before we gave it up I'm pretty sure we made it to Psalms or Proverbs or something.  At the relevant time we read Exodus, specifically the part with the plagues, in particular chapters 11 and 12 with the plague of death on all the firstborn.

And that's when I realised.  I was the eldest of my parents' 3 children.  Which meant I was their firstborn.  If God had decided to 'go through the land of South-East England' without warning, I would be the one to expire.  I really identified with the victims of this plague, who by virtue of being big brothers and big sisters met their doom.

And that's when I realised or, more likely given my age, was told - I would have been safe.  I wasn't a son, so I didn't count.  I remember feeling a peculiar mixture of relief, survivor's guilt and anger at being discounted by my gender.

I think that has remained with me.  I think that there's still an undercurrent within churches that discounts women purely because of their gender.  So many times I have seen women with incredible gifts and skills being shunted into children's work or other 'soft' ministries, regardless of their suitability for them.  So many times I have heard women report that opportunities to serve and lead only really opened up to them in church once they were married.  So many times I have heard a woman being introduced when preaching (thank God that they were allowed to preach) with a note of whose wife they were.  So many times I have heard casual and unthinking sexism from the front of church.  So many times my concerns about that have been dismissed.

So I'm trying to get past that.  I know that I am a tall, strong, independent woman.  I know God made me that way and I'm trying to believe that his church can figure out what to do with me.  I'm trying not to be defensive, or jump to concluding that everything is a slight.  Perhaps I'll get there.

Lent 2014 - Days 20 & 21

Flat discipline

There were salad leaves in last week's veg delivery.  We have eaten most of them now and they were peppery and delicious.

Last night's tea was yellow-sticker sausages and yet more roasted vegetable cubes.  I could live quite happily on roasted vegetable cubes, apart from the oil levels.

Tonight the plan is a stir-fry.  I may allow yesterday's final two sausages to creep their way into the mix.

Lone discipline

Work is busy, so no photographic proof, but right now it's all about comfort and temperature regulation.  Also, seem to have left phone somewhere.  No idea where.

Day 20

Wearing

Smocked jersey dress (item 12):  Oh yes, all about the comfies.
Striped jersey blazer (item 13):  Still a favourite.  Just has that edge of structure that you need when you basically propose to wear nightwear to work.

Accessories:  knitted rose-patterned tights for the warmies, no jewellery for the easies.
Footwear:  Red Mary Janes.  Smart shoes to make me feel grown up while wearing jammies to work.

Day 21

Wearing

Brown spotty dress (item 14):  Still comfortable, just a little more work.
Aubergine long cardigan (item 28):  Big and warm.  I can't remember how long I have had this beast, but it gets trotted out throughout the cooler seasons, or when I want to feel like I'm wearing a bathrobe but look like I made an effort and picked something dramatic.  The brown/aubergine combination is interesting and rather autumnal, but there you go.

Accessories:  Garnet celtic cross necklace, pink enamel heart studs.  These items do not go together.  I am wearing them regardless.
Footwear:  Knee-ish high brown boots.  'Nuff said.

And I've reached 29 items used.  Only one more to add and I feel like I ought to keep the spot in reserve in case of emergency or laundry failure.  It's an interesting list that I've put together, because I haven't really thought about it as a list, just listed the things I have happened to choose.  One or two items may end up biting me.  It seem sot be a fairly balanced list so far, comprising 5 dresses, 7 bottoms (skirts/trousers), 9 tops and 5 over-layers (7 if you count the 2 tops that do double duty), but I'm not sure how many outfits that means I have to choose from.  I suppose I could wear the owl tunic with the patterned leggings and the red cardigan, but I don't think  I would choose to do so.  There might be some benefit in considering all the possible combinations this list could give me though, I do get so easily bored with a limited clothing repertoire.

Lent 2014 - Days 18 & 19

Lone Discipline

Wearing Day 19

Red cords (item26):  Such bright trousers!  I worry that the bright colour shortens my legs, but it doesn't look like it in these photographs.  I like building outfits full of colour.
White shirt (item 25):  This is a fairly simple shirt that I inherited from a flatmate who moved away.  It's a bit sheer but great for layering or warmer weather.
Waistcoat (item 27):  I used to love wearing waistcoats and should totally get back into that.

Footwear:  Not the possum-fur slippers I am pictured wearing (which are now about 4 years old, mostly bald inside and really should have been replaced long ago).  Actually the nigh-on ubiquitous ankle boots.
Accessories:  Nothing much at all, apart from arm warmers and the flowery scarf.

 

Wearing Day 18

I dressed for a dance class so wore my knee-length khaki skirt (item 29), orange vest (item 18) and my stripey pink top as an overlayer.  It was all cool and practical stuff.  Then I went home, sat down to read a book after my tea and fell asleep for three hours, which led to a very peculiar interaction with one of the staff at my local Sainsbury's at 9pm when I explained that I was off to do some late night baking.  The cake was good though.

Lent 2014 - Day 17

Flat discipline

Mmm, more roast veggies!  This time with this week's meat in the form of pork loin steaks grilled with homemade applesauce and cheese.  This week's vegbox contained another neep and a white turnip.  I have no idea what to do with a white turnip, after a friend got confused and tried to mash it like a neep, ending up with a strange gloopy mush.  Ho hum, there's bound to be an answer, and it might well be roasting.

Tonight there will be a birthday-celebrating trip to Pizza Express.

Lone discipline

Wearing

Brown linen skirt (item 23):  This was a gift from a much skinnier friend so it sits rather high.  But that means that the stitched down pleats fill out at about the right point on my hips and the length isn't awkward.  It's a comfortable casual skirt and although it's faded has given years of use to me and its previous owner.
Peasant T-shirt (item 9):  It's simple and less fitted than much of my usual fayre, but the neckline gathering and button detailing (when it's not sitting annoyingly squint) do add a certain something.
Pinkstripe blazer (item 24):  Wow!  This blazer is nothing like as eye-watering in real life.  This one makes me happy and is a great springtime outer layer.  It does have the inevitable sleeve-length issue, but I don't think I'll ever be brave enough to unpick the cuffs and see if it's possible.  The lapel piping means that the outer could be finished with piping too, allowing the sleeves to gain an inch each, which I think would be about right in this case.

Footwear:  Due to a combination of not having any thin tights clean and it being a lovely sunny day, I needed footwear that would hide socks and turned yet again to these trusty boots.  If I'm cycling for errands later, I may switch to tights and then decide whether to change or not change to different shoes.
Accessories:  Stone cross necklace - picked up at a clothes swap.  Mirrors the tone of the boots.
Tribal mask earrings - brought back from South Africa for me by family.  Don't get out much.

It's only the second day of Spring, but I'm barelegged!  I don't know if this will last the day.  It's fine in the office, but the walk in was a bit brisk.  I should have worn earmuffs because it really  only was my ears that were uncomfortable, having my feet covered meant that although it was chilly around my knees it wasn't too cold.

Lent 2014 - Day 16

Back to your scheduled viewing...

Lone discipline

I'm getting more practiced at one-handed photo-operation, but the need to hold myself up halfway through the work day is rather worrying!

Wearing

Brown spotty dress (item 14):  It's a great staple, this one.  Still straining a bit at the top but soft and comfortable so I will give it a lot of a chance.
Red Cardigan (Item 4):  The photograph doesn't show it well, but this is a strangely shaped cardigan, being slim through the waist and over the hips but really wide in the shoulders so it sometimes slips off.


Footwear:  It's the slightly-short knee-high boots again.  Worn today because they are waterproof and it was raining when I walked to work.  I had been going to wear red shoes, but opted for protection rather than colour.  I feel I might be the sort of person to get enough wear out of a pair of red knee-high boots, though, so maybe I should keep my eye out.
Accessories:  Pearl and diamond drop necklace - this was given to me by a friend one birthday.  It's small and simple, but it fits nicely with the neckline of this dress and I like the way that the tone of the pearl echoes the soft cream of the polka dots on this dress.
Mother-of-pearl earrings - I bought these with a voucher given to me by a couple of friends for helping out with their wedding.

Interesting thought about the way I remember how I came by items.  This is particularly true of jewellery even though I don't own very many valuable pieces.  I have misplaced items over the years and that makes me sad - there was a lovely silver ring that my sister gave me one Christmas that disappeared a few years later that I remember in particular.  In fact, rings seem to be particularly prone to this, perhaps because I fiddle with them a lot.