Napping White Lion

#NatureTwinning Part 71

I bought this open weave cardigan vest at Kohls in Nov. 2015, which doesn't seem like the right time in Minnesota to find and purchase a lightweight vest with ventilation.  I have tried to find other lightweight vests this summer (I am particularly desiring a navy one) and have completely struck out.  Perhaps I need to wait until November again...

Sunday, 6/17/18

When I visited my parents in April, my mom sent me home with this button up shirt.  I've mostly gotten away from wearing this style of shirt, so I didn't have many (any?) in my closet.  This one has a particularly summery feel to it, and I liked it with white and navy.

*Blue and white striped button up shirt (Studio Works)--gift from Mom

OCPW: $16.43

Thursday, 6/21/18

Every time I wear this see-through white vest with a dark top or a boldly patterned top underneath, I realize that it looks a bit weird.  It's really best suited for the very lightest shades of shirt.  This is where a navy or red vest would have been nice to have.  (I could also wear the shirt by itself, of course, but for work, when wearing a T-shirt and capri pants, I kind of like to wear a third piece to seem a little bit less strictly casual.)

*White/navy/pink striped T (Kohls), $9.59

OCPW: $19.31

The white lions at the Cincinnati Zoo were a gift in 1998 from Siegfried and Roy (the German magicians/entertainers who were famous for their acts with white lions and tigers--you may recall that Roy was seriously injured in 2003 when he was bitten on the neck by a white tiger during a show).

These white lions are leucistic, not albino.  Although it's impossible to see the eyes of this sleepy kitty, she actually has bluish-colored eyes, not the pink/red eyes of an albino.  I was a bit surprised to learn that white lions occur naturally in the wild only in the Timbavati region of South Africa, and that the last ones were seen there in 1994.  However, white lions raised in zoos have been successfully released back in the wild there.

Cincinnati Zoo

In other news...I was interested to read this article about army researchers developing an algorithm to maximize performance in sleep-deprived individuals.  Their algorithm recommends caffeine intake quantities and timing to allow people to either improve alertness 64% of on the same total amount of caffeine or to reduce caffeine intake by 65% with the same level of alertness improvement.

Sadly for caffeine drinkers in the general population, the algorithm is not yet available for the general public, though the army is planning to make it available at some point.

My current caffeine intake is pretty low.  About 3-4 days per week, I drink a cup of hot green tea made from 2 tea bags, steeped for 90 seconds.  This is about as much/frequently as I can drink and retain the full benefits without becoming physically dependent on caffeine (i.e., without withdrawal symptoms and without increasing my tolerance such that the caffeine stops having its full effect).

How about you?

Tufted Puffins in the Wild

#NatureTwinning Part 70

Ever since the first time I wore this "chambray blue" knit top with my chambray blazer, I basically don't want to wear either piece any other way.  They are just a perfect combination.

Wednesday, 5/23/18

Paired with these neutrals, the coral red skirt really pops.

OCPW: $12.19

Tuesday, 7/17/18

I decided to try the Chambray Duo with navy pants for a very understated backdrop for this fancy bit of sparkle I bought at Loft.

OCPW: $12.17

Another perfect pairing--two tufted puffins, looking silly and awesome out of the water.

Although the "Wild" of the post title refers to a section of the St Louis Zoo, it so happens that Robert and I have seen actual wild tufted puffins--on our first pelagic birding trip!  This was the 14 hour trip in the Pacific Ocean that we took out of Westport, WA in August 2003.  Robert struggled rather desperately with seasickness for the entire trip (and I had the time of my life), but we saw SO MANY great sea birds.  When I analyzed the data back in 2011, that pelagic trip was my #3 top site for life birds at 18 species.  Only Hornsby Bend and Town Lake in Austin had gained me more life birds, and that was over a lot of different trips.  18 new species in 14 hours is damn good!

St Louis Zoo

In other news...Speaking of birds, I enjoyed this brief (2.5 minute) video about the haunting call (i.e., "the wail") of common loons on their North Woods summer territories (scroll to the bottom of the post for the video).  I still remember how startled Robert and I were when we heard it for the first time here in Minnesota.  The common loon makes for a very nice state bird.

From dnr.mn.state.us

Ibis at Simmons Aviary

#NatureTwinning Part 69

Pink and navy are a terrific summer color combination.  Here are two outfits featuring a navy sleeveless blouse and a pink polka dot cardigan.  I like that the sleeveless quality ensures no awkward bunching under the cardigan arm, but the blouse has a bit of a flounce along the edge of the armhole so if you take off the cardigan, you're not wearing a tank top or something at work.  Of course, people at my workplace are quite happy to wear tank tops and worse in the summer, and the HR people we share a floor with really lead the way.  For example, one woman was wearing a sundress (the kind that is basically a strapless dress but with tiny straps over the shoulder) and flip flops.  Sigh.

Tuesday, 5/22/18

Long pants that suit the spring weather and a floral scarf for some pattern mixing.

OCPW: $15.47

Monday, 7/16/18

With capri pants and a necklace for warm weather.  It was 82 freaking degrees in my office when I got to work (it can get quite bad over the weekend while the A/C is turned off, but this is the hottest indoor day yet) so I ended up dumping the cardigan within about 5 minutes.  I'm not sure that I put it on again for the rest of the day.  But it looked nice as I drove to work, walked across the parking lot, and took the elevator up to my office, right?

OCPW: $10.21

This ibis is rocking the bright pink with specks of white very well.  The Simmons Aviary at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha was pretty terrific--an exhibit where you can "see more than 500 birds in the world's second largest free-flight aviary."  This made me curious about where the world's largest free flight aviary is, and came across this discussion.  It appears that Simmons might actually be third (as of 2016), behind the ones at Birds of Eden in South Africa (5.7 acres) and Jurong Bird Park in Singapore (4.9 acres).  Both of those zoos sound like fabulous places to visit.  Maybe someday.

Henry Doorly Zoo

In other news...I enjoyed this (not overly technical) article about What's Going on in Your Child's Brain When You Read to Them based on a recent neuroscience study in which four year old kids' brains were scanned with a functional MRI machine while they were presented with an audio story (no pictures), the illustrated pages of a storybook with an audio voiceover (the condition that mimics a child being read to from a book), or an animated cartoon.  The storybook with voiceover condition led to the highest levels of connectivity among the visual perception, imagery, default mode (used for internal reflection), and language networks of the brain.

The takeaway:

In an ideal world, you would always be there to read to your child. The results of this small, preliminary study also suggest that, when parents do turn to electronic devices for young children, they should gravitate toward the most stripped-down version of a narrated, illustrated ebook, as opposed to either audio-only or animation.

Featherfin Squeaker

#NatureTwinning Part 68

I didn't purchase these two items with the idea that I'd wear them together, but I guess that became an obvious formula--a slightly oversized peplum top and semi-skinny capri pants.  That much volume on top relative to the bottom might not work for some people, but I think it looks fine on me.

*Dark aqua peplum top (Lands End), $16.99
* Black polished capris (Kohls), $19.99

Thursday, 5/24/18

Today's two outfits are a nice demonstration of early summer versus mid summer dressing.  The top and pants are the same, but I've added a blazer to the early summer version (which helps de-puff this rather volumetric shirt)...

OCPW: $23.90

Wednesday, 7/11/18

...and I've added just a scarf (tied low so it's not too warm) to the mid summer version.  A loose, all-cotton shirt is probably the most perfect thing for me to wear to work during the hot season (when it's routinely 76-78 F in my office).

OCPW: $11.57

Is the featherfin squeaker a great name or what?  This is a type of catfish that can swim upside down at will.  It is called squeaker "because they can produce a squeaking sound as a warning to both predators and competitors during spawning time.  The speaking is accomplished by rubbing the spines of its pectoral fins into grooves on its shoulders."  The featherfin part of the name is due to its dorsal fin that "develops lacy extensions on the adults."  Of course, this guy is keeping his featherfin down in an attempt to fool us.

Newport Aquarium

In other news...Tam sent this article on a EQ perennial favorite topic--that "follow your passion" is bad career advice.  This one gets extra points for tying it to new psychological research showing that when people have the idea that their interests are "fixed" (existent from birth, for a person to discover), they more easily lose interest in things and have a more limited view of potentially compatible career areas than people who subscribe to the idea that interests are something that can be developed over time.

If this growth mind-set vs. fixed mind-set contrast sounds familiar, extra points to you--the research comes from the same psychologist who has published so much on growth and fixed intelligence mind-sets.

Orange Zinnias

#NatureTwinning Part 67

Today's outfits feature my thrifted navy/coral/green floral pleated skirt, which is probably my current Very Favorite Skirt, a new light coral t-shirt, and my big-ass crystal bib necklace.  I'm pretty surprised to find that I had worn these core 3 items together within just over a month from each other, but I clearly thought it was a winning combination.  What do you think?

*Coral short-sleeved T (JCP), $6.80

Friday, 6/1/18

A casual Friday version in calmer colors: a denim shirt/"jacket" in honor of Friday and rather sedate (by my standards) medium blue flats let the bright t-shirt peaking out the front pop.

OCPW: $13.18

Monday, 7/9/18

A full-on, wake-up-it's-Monday version with additional bright colors: an aqua cardigan and orange flats that balance the t-shirt and, to my eye, make the dark patterned skirt stand out by contrast.

OCPW: $6.02

It's nice when I actually know the flowers in the photo and don't have to try my luck with an image search of dubious accuracy.  I love the variety of shades of pink/coral/peach/yellow in this photo.  I have usually seen bright orange or yellow zinnias, but these softer pastels are very lovely.

Missouri Botanical Garden

In other news...Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham is not the usual young adult fiction I gravitate toward.  It's a novel about the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 with dual storylines--one set in the present with a mixed race girl narrator (and her asexual male friend, which you basically never see in fiction) and the other a tale of the events of 1921 as seen by a white teenage guy who gets more caught up by things than he wanted.

I will not state that this book was perfect in its handling of this material (I'm not sure what perfect would look like in any case), but the story was more compelling than I would have expected.

One thing I learned is that the Greenwood area of Tulsa was known as "Black Wall Street" (prior to the race riot) because it had such a high concentration of black-owned businesses and was arguably the most economically prosperous black community in the country.

Maybe Globe Thistle

#NatureTwinning Part 66

This loose sleeveless blouse with a tie-neck and a small peplum at the bottom was hard to resist for $10.  I'd actually ordered it several months before (at a somewhat higher price) but it sold out.  So when I saw it back up on the JCP website, I tried it again.  Sleeveless is perfect for wearing under a long-sleeved cardigan in the warm (not yet hot) season, and also works extremely well with a short-sleeved cardigan later on...as demonstrated in these two outfits.

*Black/aqua/pink floral sleeveless blouse (JCP), $9.79

Wednesday, 5/30/18

My absolute first instinct was to pair it with this dark teal cardigan that has rather tight sleeves (hence it is best suited to a sleeveless shirt) so I don't wear it as much as I'd like these days.  But with a sleeveless bottom layer, it was very comfortable as well as dramatic and took center scene worn with a black knit pencil skirt.

OCPW: $13.18

Wednesday, 6/20/18

This outfit has a bit more going on with the gold/purple medallion necklace and leopard print shoes.  The subtle dark heathered print on the purple skirt was a nice print mix with the bold, watercolor-looking floral pattern.

OCPW: $10.91

"Maybe globe thistle" was as close as I could come to identifying this silky/spiky pom-pom-headed purple-blue flower.

Los Angeles Arboretum

In other news...I had to wait about 2.5 months for my hold on Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman as an e-book from my library to come through, but it was well worth the wait.  When I started reading this book, I really didn't want to put it down...which is actually a very rare experience for me.

It was a pleasure to read a book with a "quirky" female protagonist where quirky means "socially rigid recluse dressed in elderly librarian cast-offs, obsessed with cryptic crosswords and vodka, and with a tendency to make unintentionally hilarious observations" rather than Manic Pixie Dream Girl or some other stereotype.  (I mean, I like Zooey Deschanel in New Girl a lot, but it's nice to have some variety, you know?)

Here is a good review.  I was surprised to learn that the author started writing after turning 40, producing 3 chapters of the book to submit to a competition for unpublished female writers and finishing the book in the evenings and lunch breaks around her office job.

Orange Flower Close Up

#NatureTwinning Part 65

I have to say, this bright coral orange blazer is not the most obvious color for me to wear, but I like it.  I haven't worn the blazer as much as I should because I wasn't really fond of the orange + black Halloween combination that was my default.  But now that I've added a bunch more navy to my closet, it's a lot easier to wear.  In these outfits, I paired it with leopard print shoes (which is, as they say, functionally a neutral).

Monday, 5/21/18

Color Coordination 101: Wear a blouse with a print, then pull out two of the colors from the print to wear for your bottoms and topper.  Add simple jewelry and you're done.

OCPW: $14.42

Friday, 7/6/18

This outfit was dead simple, but I like how the blazer stands out against a backdrop of navy, and the gold necklace really shines.

OCPW: 10.19

Google Images returned the appallingly incorrect identification for this flower--calendula (marigold).  It doesn't look anything like that, with multiple layers of narrow leaves.

Indianapolis Zoo

In other news...I wore the second outfit above on the Friday that we celebrated/mourned the last day in our office for our (hugely over-qualified) admin, who is moving with his fiancee to new jobs in North Carolina.  It's been weeks since our assistant director (my manager) left, and it's been hard without him at times, but to function for any length of time without an admin will be really hard!  I hope that our department head will be able to get the job posted soon.  We've been lucky to have someone recently who was able to do all the admin tasks plus help out with other tasks, so it's going to take some effort on our part of recalibrate our expectations.

But the good news is that we finally have a start date for the new assistant director, August 13!