Spring awakening

After a couple of quieter weeks, February's final working week was a hectic one riddled with more than the usual amount of  problems. In order to keep on top of my workload and not jeopardize my Friday off, I limited my lunch breaks to a quick head-clearing walk around the block. 

The mixed bag of grey skies and showers, with only the odd sickly appearance of the sun, wasn't inviting any longer excursions anyway so that, in spite of my best intentions, I didn't even make it to any of the Think Twice shops to see what their new collections had in store.

Although the weather forecast for the weekend ahead was looking quite promising, sunny spells were few and far between on Friday the 25th, when a chilly wind made it feel decidedly cooler than the 8°C indicated by the thermometer.

Knits to the rescue! 

Can you believe I dithered over this thin knit dress of many colours when I spotted it on the rails of the charity shop we briefly visited the week before? Neither can I, but the fact is that I picked it up and hung it back and only started questioning my sanity when a lady who was in the process of trying on a heap of clothes told me she thought it would be just perfect for me. And she was right!

It's from a well-known web-shop's own brand (no, not Shein, I really wouldn't stoop that low), and the only thing bothering me was the dressing gown style belt it came with. That, and the annoying belt loops, were instantly removed once I got it home.

Due to its three-quarter length sleeves, I layered a long-sleeved tee-shirt in a matching green underneath. I was wearing matching burnt orange opaques - not that you can see them - and added an ochre yellow suede belt to define my waist. Although this doesn't actually match any of the dress's colours, it just looked right the minute I put it on.

My flower infused brooch was an old flea market find, while the necklace with its stack of tiny orange tiles was charity shopped in between lockdowns in 2020.

Both the charity shop goddesses and the weather gods conspired somewhat against us that day, which didn't improve the maudlin mood I was in. The latter even treated us to some sleet on our way home.

We left the first shop empty-handed, then drove to the second one where everything was in disarray due to some painting and redecorating work, which made most of the clothing aisles inaccessible. By then, as you might imagine, I was starting to get in a foul mood.  Just before giving it up as a lost cause, I did however find a blue pleated raffia belt for € 1,50 and a bag of sewing threads (including eight different shades of green) for € 1.

Not yet willing to call it a day, we stopped off at our local charity shop on the way home. Here, things were marginally better, although at first it looked as if I would leave empty handed here as well. But then my eye was caught by a vintage plaid Summer skirt and a modern orange floral top.

Back at home, I had emptied the bag of sewing threads on the sofa, and had just ran upstairs to search for the perfect receptacle for them, when Bess ran off with one of the spools. Softies that we are, we let her keep it. 

Lately, her favourite game involves the scratching bed (a.k.a. the scroll) we bought her many months ago and which was largely ignored by her until fairly recently. She doesn't use it for scratching though but rather reclines on it like a Roman god. Or goddess, in her case. She also loves chasing the empty spool - her current favourite toy - around the room until inevitably it disappears underneath the scroll. Her attempts to retrieve the spool, which includes shoving the scroll around the room, often has us in stitches. 

We woke up to a sunny day on Saturday, and although there had once again been a touch of frost overnight, the day developed into what felt like an early Spring one. Once again the thermometer insisted it was 8°C, even if it felt much warmer than it did on the Friday.

In spite of the sunshine, the dregs of my maudlin mood were still hanging around, so, to cheer ourselves up and give ourselves something to look forward to, we booked a couple of nights at the B&B near Bruges at the end of March. After all, I still had those birthday vouchers, given to me by Jos's children for my 60th, to spend.

My skirt, in a soft wool knit, is another item which hadn't yet seen the light of day this Winter, so it was a matter of now or never.

I fell in love with its glorious jacquard pattern when I plucked it from the rails at Think Twice back in the Autumn of 2019. What's more, it was during one of their sales, so I only paid a couple of € for it.

The blouse, in black Diolen printed with diagonals and flowers, was another Think Twice find, but predating the skirt by many years. Still too chilly to go it alone, I layered my teal King Louie cardigan on top. Accessories consisted of a tan leather belt, a recently charity shopped beaded necklace in the same colour, a teal flower brooch and a wood effect resin ring.

After a morning of pottering and doing a load of washing, we couldn't ignore the lure of those brilliant blue skies any longer and once again set off into the direction of Antwerp's delightful cluster of parks.

We parked our car in the main car park, noting that apparently we weren't the only ones making the most of the sunny weather. Nevertheless, with three large parks to choose from, it wasn't too busy anywhere, except at the children's playground near the tavern in the part of the park called Vogelzang.

We started our walk there, crossing the decorative cast iron bridge which had been under restoration the last time we visited. Then, steering clear of the playground and its screaming children, we walked towards Middelheim-Low, the part of the sculpture park we don't visit very often.

Some of the paths were cordoned off here as apparently storm Eunice had slain some of the gentle giants which have been guarding the park since time untold. A particularly unlucky one had even damaged one of the works of art, an architectural brick sculpture by Danish artist Per Kirkeby dating from 1993 (bottom left), a cross between a maze and a castle ruin. 

The toppled houses on the bottom right are no victims of the storm, they are part of a work of art dating from 2001 by Berlin artist Timm Ullrichs.

Venturing further into the park, we stopped at the open-plan exhibition pavillion called The House, from which strange bird calls were emanating. These too, of course, are part of a work of art, not surprisingly called Birdcalls. It is by American artist Louise Lawler who, using her own voice, has sounded out the names of twenty-nine well-known artists into bird calls.

Here's a sample of what it sounds like:

Leaving the pavillion and walking towards the road which bisects the two parts of the park, we caught a glimpse of a glorious, prematurely blooming, lilac Rhododendron. 

By then, we were gasping for a cup of coffee, so we crossed the road and made our way to the castle café. As the café's terrace was inundated with people, some of them enjoying a drink on the steps leading up to the café, we found a table inside, where it was a veritable oasis of quiet. Making use of our CST's or Vaccination Passports - which Jos actually had to remind the staff of - we ordered some welcome cappuccinos and apple crumbles.

Our return journey took us through the park's outdoor depot, an atmospheric place where retired sculptures huddle together, awaiting their fate.

My favourite is a sculpture called My Inner Beast, although I've only become aware of its title on this very visit. Intrigued, I trawled the Internet for more details, and apparently it is one of a series of concrete sculptures created by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt in November 1993, when twenty sculptures were erected in twenty cities in Europe without permission from the authorities, one of them in Antwerp. 

The sculptures depict a pig in human clothing, their purpose being an unconventional way to focus on the rising violence, intolerance, racism and persecution of minorities in Europe.

With blue skies and sunshine all day, accompanied by a mild 11°C, it wasn’t a day for staying inside on Sunday. I had plans for a long-overdue spot of gardening so, donning my gardening gear and grabbing a pair of secateurs, I pruned some of the rampant ivy and Winter Jasmine, cut back our Hydrangea and did a general tidy up until my back told me it had enough.

Still trying to give some of my soon to be redundant Winter wardrobe an outing, I wore this cozy

 wool-and-polyester blend frock with its multi-coloured flowers and foliage pattern. My crazily patterned green tights, which you can just make out in the above photo, was due an outing as well, as apparently I hadn't worn them since February 2018. 

I used a paler green for my belt, a delightful crochet one I bought in the Mango sales last year. My glass ring was a retail buy as well, but true to form my purple cardigan and necklace and my orange flower flower brooch were charity shop and flea market finds respectively.

So, that was February finally wrapped up. I will be back with what has been happening in March so far in a couple of days. Do stay safe and sane!