Rhoneisms

The Alan Paine Argyle that my wife picked up for me in a clothing exchange. Made in England out of 100% English lambs wool. Perfect for going out to the local pub. Even the not so local ones.

I’m a bit under the weather so I’m using some older existing photos for this one. You’ll just have to trust me that I’m wearing this sweater as I type this…

I call this my “monk” sweater. The reasons should be kind of obvious. It looks like something a monk in the middle ages would have worn. My wife got this for me for Christmas many years ago from Zara. Double breasted with a slouchy hood. This is another fairly warm one that works well as a light jacket by itself in autumn temperatures.

Some days you just want to throw on a t-shirt and a hoodie. It’s a Saturday. You need something you can relax in. Maybe run to the small coffee shop up the block and grab a fancy one. A light yet warm layer you can crumple up, throw into a gym bag, and take back out after the work out.

This is that sweater.

A few Christmas’s ago my wife, knowing how much I loved and wore this sweater made it her mission to find similar sweaters in other styles and colors. She found three.

This one is a black v-neck model. She also got one that is the most interesting navy blue I’ve ever seen (sort of an indigo but not quite, sort of a purple but not quite, impossible to capture in pictures) and an extra fine cashmere model that may show up in a future post.

My word for 2024 was FINISH. It served me well. I wrote it at the top of the beginning of my goals list for every month and it kept me focused on making sure whatever was on that list could meet that word (i.e. that I would finish the things I started). It drove my days. I chose it because at the end of the previous year it felt like I had a lot of hanging threads. Things left undone.

I’ve chosen my word for the year 2025 and it is Better.

Not that the word is better or the idea for the word is better than my last one but it does feel very much like the next step and it’s a step up or at least forward.

Looking back on this past year, I feel like I did finish quite a bit. While I am feeling more accomplished because of that, I think I can do even… Wait for it… Better this coming year. There’s always room for improvement.

I also like the way “better” works as a word in so many different contexts. I can do a better job. I can feel better. I can be a better person. I can be better about some things. I better do others. There’s a fair amount I wish I were better at.

I had a good 2024. I’m going to make 2025 Better.

I took a day off yesterday from the series because it was Christmas. Back at it again today with this sweater from Ralph Lauren’s old Rugby line. Pretty sure I bought this around the same time as the green pullover shawl featured previously. This has similar detailing with the leather elbow patches and woven buttons. I tend to wear this one a lot. Works well with a button down, repp tie, too.

Happy Christmas Eve!

I have a busy day of making lefse and the rest of dinner for a dozen people tonight so we’ll make this short.

Today we have an Engineered Garments Shawl Collar Cardigan in a Gray Bouclé knit. It’s fuzzy. A ton of texture on this one. Doesn’t matter if I get pet hair all over it because you’d never see it (we have two dogs and three cats so pet hair is a constant in my wardrobe). Though from a bit of an upscale brand that references workwear, this really has seen some days working on old houses as I often do. Picked it up on end-of-season sale quite a few years ago now. More of a casual piece.

Time to make the lefse… God Jul!