opsimath, n. [‘ A person who begins to learn or study late in life.’]

Today was a busy one for me. I got up, made a quick run to the Farmer’s Market, went to a class, then ran to the TRAG gallery for a shift. After that ended I picked up my friend JJ and we (well, me, but she had to approve) went clothes shopping.

On Monday when I weighed in, I had officially lost 63 pounds and another “watcher” took me aside and told me that I NEEDED new clothes. It’s been on my mind this week, and with several art events and my Kentucky worshop coming up, I felt it was as good a time as any to take the plunge.

This is the second time I’ve purchased clothes for my newly skinny body. I am now “thin enough” that I can shop in “mainstream” stores (albeit in the larger sizes departments) and JJ talked me into going to Lane Bryant, rather than Catherine‘s which has been my go-to store for a while. I totally thought Catherine’s would be okay, because I still fit there in the 1-3x’s, but JJ felt Lane Bryant would have “more youthful” styles.

Now, if you had asked me before going to this, I wouldn’t have said I particularly had any issues about shopping. You get clothes that cover you up and off you go. This is not the way JJ and the sales person allowed things to happen.

First, I had to get a new bra. I won’t go into the details on this, but if I had known this was going to happen, I totally would have procrastinated and/or avoided this excursion. But, let me tell you, it does make a difference. With “the girls” arranged differently, I really see the weight that’s not there anymore.

Second, brights, florals, and cotton were “old lady” clothes. Stripes and asymetricals were “in.” And pants that actually touch the body. And tops that require a little tank top under them. It’s all very traumatic. But I did look pretty slammin’.

Finally, jewelry and accessories were pronounced necessary. Luckily, I have jewelry that I never wear, so that’s not an issue, but I can just see that my normal, pre-coffee self is going to have a shock come Monday morning.

While I only purchased two new outfits, with the other two outfits I purchased in July I think I’ll be able to walk around without looking like an old lady/gang style hybrid.

I think the next step will be to weed out the insanely baggy outfits in my closet so I don’t go back there. However, I’m already plotting on letting the new outfits hang out for a while… just to get used to the way things are. I wouldn’t want to rush into anything…

So next week, in theory, I’ll be walking around with a newer look. And, if I keep working on it, in another couple months there will be new clothes again. And each time I have to learn a little something new, which is why I decided to use the “word of the day” as my title.

Painting Challenge

After all this I am sure you are waiting with bated breathe for my painting of the day. Well, I won’t disappoint you.

I felt like the last few days I had been “phoning it in” for my painting, so I sat down tonight with the intention of truly giving it my best shot.

This is from a reference photo of a rhodie in my yard (‘Pink Pearl’) that I took this spring. I knew it would be a challenge, because the difference between the lights and the darks would need to be emphasized in order to get the correct effect.

I’m please with this and may do a bigger one. My mom’s favorite flower is the rhododendron and Christmas is coming…