Six Items Challenge: A Second Wind

First, a thank you to all my faithful readers and fans who encouraged me in my last post when I was down, down, down.  The end of the challenge is within sight now--Monday.  As promised, I wanted to begin with the stylings of the "Joni James" shawl.

First, please ignore the difference between the "tan" on my upper body and that below in the look on the left.  I wore a black strapless bra, simply wrapped the shawl around and tucked into the bra and then belted, adding souvenir beads from youngest daughter's wedding and oldest daughter's ruby slippers.  In a pinch, this ensemble could do.  In practice, I wore the look on the right for about half a day until I was obliged to make a mad dash to the grocery store when I belatedly remembered that the County Fair parade was that night.  I wore the white skirt to the grocery.

Our home sits on the main route and this generally means that all sorts of family, friends, and former tenants stop by for the great view and whatever food we might have to offer.  I was scrambling but had time to BUY fried chicken by the bucket, a macaroni salad, a mixed melon salad.  I made a huge batch of fresh salsa and added various other chip condiments and a huge pitcher of lemonade.  It is a wonder that the white skirt was not stained by all the cutting and chopping.   The day had been so warm (110 degrees) that my guests opted to eat BEFORE the parade rather than after as I had planned.  I never did get to put on the bit of "costume" I'd planned.

The boots, the belt and the hat are all items that DH bought for me years ago and while I often wear the boots and the belt, the hat has very seldom seen the light of day.  I've cocked it at a funny angle for dramatic effect in this photo. 

Below is the kind of thing that you'll see in small town parades, minus the politicians, the Shriners, and the Boy Scouts.

That night, it rained!  Blessed, glorious rain and I was inspired to pull out this umbrella I acquired at an auction in early June.  Notice the remains of a small puddle in the photo.

For most of Thursday, I simply wore the black tee and slacks as we thrift-shopped a bit, the calm before a different kind of storm.  My classes officially ended at midnight that night and the flurry of grading finals began.  This is what I wore on Friday to camp in front of my computer, grading, grading, grading.

 I'm wearing button flowers I won in Megan Mae Daily's recent giveaway!  Aren't they pretty?  They were a great pick-me-up after my last post.

I didn't snap the photo until LATE in the day after I'd graded an entire stack of papers on Ibsen's A Doll House.  I've artfully covered my tired, tired face and to please Beryl, I'm wearing Libby Edelman orange platform sandals rather than the flip-flops I've worn in solidarity with poor women most of the month.

I have one more stack of papers to grade and THEN, come Monday I'll be a free woman for three entire weeks!