Darling people!
I miss you!
I love you!
I just have not had ANY time to write the fun fashiony posts I’ve had up my sleeve!
But I promise to get some stuff up this week.
Did I tell you that I VOW to write a book this year? Yes. It’s a “Before I Turn 50” goal and I’m going to do it!
But church is super ultra busy right now (my senior staff and I are like, “Why is it so busy in JANUARY? That’s weird!”) and I’m preaching creative services bam bam bam all in a row, and trying to get some reading in there now and then, and cooking (my life seems to get all wackadoo when I have no time to prepare my own food, and I hate it) and keeping the house fairly neat and then I had a birthday a couple days ago, and I’m trying not to totally hibernate and get out and socialize. There. Those are all my excuses.
But enough about me. How are you doing? What’s new? What’s coming up? How are you looking? Feeling?
Write in and inspire me!
I am in seminarian travel mode and grateful for your past posts about packing to look civilized while traveling. You make it look easy.
(This trip so far: stranded overnight, flew standby, lost suitcase, found suitcase, week of intensive theology class. Still coming: overnight train to old home turf in RADICALLY different climate, several days with moderately dysfunctional family, overnight train BACK to seminary, another week of intensive class, and flight back home – hopefully without incident. Somewhere in there I’ve got to write a sermon, an essay, and a congregational theme packet.)
I am in love with some heavy knit trousers I got from Land’s End. They fit in all the troublesome places and they look presentable after being wadded up in a suitcase for three days. I wish I could get another pair, but they were a closeout / discontinued style. Perfect pants, a turtleneck, and a big sloshy pashmina scarf, and I pass for grownup. Thanks, PB!
Random image and clothing notes.
– I’m noticing after 18 years of wear, the neck facing on my Geneva gown is coming apart from the body. Easily fixable, but now I’m casting my eye on one-a them Women’s Spirit girlie preacher numbers. Ditto my stole – a purple Central American weave (I know how you feel about these – but it was given to me at ordination when the woman charging me, who had worked with AIDS missionaries in El Salvador, took it off her own neck and gave it to me). The dyes ran in an outdoor protest that turned into a squall. Making it a cherished memento, but rather muddy and ugly for weekly use.
– For presentations: I love the idea of a knee-length sheath dress with a jacket of the same length. Is anyone making these – I last saw one on an episode of Mad Men. Sharp and elegant.
– Would love some tips for reviving flattened, hidjus hat hair during the day.
One more thing: Having decided to canvass large donors, I am now considering how I dress and carry myself. What says, “I have you down for $20,000”?
We are also January-swamped. I left church after 5 yesterday. On a Sunday! And my to-do list is huge. So you’re not alone.
Happy Belated Birthday!
During recent air travel, I have been reminded of the phenomenon of flight attendants and pilots always looking polished and put together. Shirts and pants/skirts are pressed and clean. Hair is combed and well-styled with no frizzies or flyaways. Makeup is tasteful and well-applied. Flight attendants typically wear a few pieces of jewelry, a well-placed hair accessory, a well-tied scarf.
If I boarded a plane with an unkempt, sloppy, or just ho-hum looking flight attendant or pilot, I might be a little worried. Are they not at the top of their game? Are they tired? Did they not have enough time to prepare and get their head in the game?
What kind of parallels we might draw between the vocations of ministry and air travel and how employees of each type present themselves to the world? Just wondering…
Did you update your wish kist on Amazon before your birthday – just curious
Whoops should have read “list”
I think there is something in the atmosphere, or perhaps a lack of something in the Midwest because my January has been hecka busy too. In fact I looked at my calendar today and thought, “How can it STILL be January?!?” Please keep writing! I would definitely appreciate tips for travel. I’ll be in NYC for two weeks in March for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women meeting. I’m starting to panic a bit about what to pack, how to keep things looking (and smelling) fresh, and keeping my feet happy. (I’m a runner, so major concern as my feet are often tired.) Plus, I’m guessing NYC is way swankier than northern Illinois. Hope my predicament helps inspire you!
[OKAY, Stacy, you got it! – PB]
Another idea! Intervention. What Not to Wear. Whatever you want to call it, one of my sister priests really could use some new clothes. And by new, I mean without holes in them and frayed hems…for starters. Would really love to know what to say or do in this situation. She’s great, and talented, and faithful. But she looks pretty ragged. How does one approach this without hurting another one’s feelings?