I sent away for some winter stuff, and it all came in at once. It’s such a beautiful morning: If it weren’t for impending winter I do believe late September/early October would be my favorite part of the year. Mild weather, not much wind, not much pollen. But alas, there’s that winter thing…
Still, I will take my blessings where I find them, and this beautiful morning called for not just shooting from the Jeep to the post office and back. I took time and enjoyed some of the rather peculiar architectural choices of the fine people of the crappy little desert town nearest where I live.
Once I got back to the Jeep I took the opportunity of having the bike up on its rack to check/measure a few things that need parts. The bike turned five years old last month and though it only has less than 1500 miles on the clock a lot of that is up and down hills: The brake pads are worn quite thin and it has long needed a better kickstand than the one I bought for it after wrecking 2-3 years ago. Those parts are now ordered, and along with a new rear tire that I already have will go toward some needed general maintenance. I don’t use the bike as much as I could, since the only time I think “I should do this more” is when I’m actually doing it. But it has definitely been a real benefit to me and I don’t want it falling apart.
Anyway…
Once I had a nice lined overshirt, which is often the only thing I need over my indoor layers on a winter afternoon. Got it from the local thrift store, I think, and it was already pretty ragged but I wore it till it fell apart and have missed it since. So I bought what I hope will be a good replacement. Out of the package it seems rather thin for the purpose but I hope it’ll fluff up a bit with a washing. Also…
…a second longsleeve everyday shirt, can’t go wrong with these.
A couple of driveway signs to replace the current ones that have gotten quite faded. Nothing sets the right mood for visitors like bright new signs that say “go away.”
Finally…
This may turn out to be silly and not work out at all, but it was cheap. I like hoods in winter but don’t always want to wear a hoodie, and I’ve always been curious about those medieval hoods people wore separately. The idea bounced around in my head all last winter and I figured I’d give it a try this time.
That’s about it. Now I have chores in multiple places, and Tobie is about to be thrilled with his extended Jeep ride.
Let us know how the separable hoodie works. I’ve been curious about that too, and I don’t mind being a trend-setter.
There’s a welder at work who took a cheap pull-over hoodie sweatshirt and cut off the sleeves at the shoulder and the body just under the armpit (essentially leaving just enough for the arms to ‘anchor’ the hood in place). My first impression on seeing it (sans welding hood/leathers) was of the upper layer of a medieval monks hooded cloak.
Something akin to: https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/medieval-monk-hooded-cloak-praying-dark-medieval-monk-black-hooded-cloak-praying-dark-304006601.jpg but minus the the actual cloak.
I think he did it as a spark/arc flash protector for his neck as he wore it throughout the summer, but I can see it working as an underlayer just for the head/neck area.
The hoodie would be a great solution, even better than a scarf hijab, but I have a serious phobia about getting it caught on something and strangling, so I’m always cold.