April blues

It seems I got a case of the April blues earlier this month. 

Don't worry, though: I'm talking about clothes and not about my state of mind! When I was compiling the photos for this post, I couldn't help but noticing I'd been wearing a lot of blue recently.

Let's start with this dream of a dress I wore on Sunday the 10th of April. Could there be anything more Springlike than a blue dress sprinkled with white flowers, emulating blossoms on a blue-skied Spring day? 

Picked up at Think Twice back in the mists of time, the dress, which zips up at the front, comes with a wide pleated skirt and a tie collar. Add to this the advantage of its long sleeves, and it's absolutely perfect for those days when the temperatures haven't quite caught up with the time of year.

Sunshiny yellow was added with my King Louie cardigan - a charity shop find, obviously - as well as the brooch I clipped to the dress's tie.

I was also wearing a yellow belt and tights, but you'll have to take my word for this, as they are all but invisible in the photos. The plastic, turquoise-rimmed flower brooch, was a flea market find if  I remember correctly.

My boots, which I bought from a local shoe shop back in November, have been on constant rotation ever since. This is the pair I wore for traipsing all over Bruges, to give you an idea of their level of comfort.

In continuation of Saturday's walk in the park, which had been a definite boost to my health, both mental and otherwise, we drove down to our beloved Middelheim shortly after lunch.

As variety is said to be the spice of life, we entered through the so-called Artist's Entrance (top left) which I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn is another work of art. It was created by Dutch artist John Körmeling in 2012.

Hardly anything is what it seems here, although I'm quite sure the intriguing yellow feather I spotted in the grass was purely accidental.

From the entrance, we walked through a grassy field towards the park proper. 

A handful of artworks are scattered across the field which is punctuated by some low-stemmed trees, now proudly displaying delicate, pink-hued blossoms.

We tried to guess the age of some of the sculptures we walked past, guessing correctly that these two were created in the 1950s. A giveaway, really, as these couldn't have been more Mid-Century.

On the top left, Les Murs ont des Oreilles que la Maison ne Connait pas, by Belgian sculptor Reinhoud d'Haese (1958), and on the bottom right, Six Persons by Italian sculptor Luciano Minguzzi (1957).

Even these engraved benches are part of an art installation, called Backwards, by William Forsythe and dating from 2018.  There's a 4th bench, instructing you to walk 5 steps away, but someone was sitting on it. Let me tell you that these are quite impossible to accomplish, even the ones with just 5 or 7 steps!

Forsythe gained international recognition as artistic director of the Frankfurt Ballet from 1984-2004, continuing his work as a choreographer until 2015 with the Forsythe Company. He is considered to be one of the most creative innovators in contemporary ballet. Since the 1990s Forsythe has designed installations, which he calls “choreographic objects”, and which have been exhibited in leading museums around the world.

Yellow LED lights popped on the minute we entered the architectural sculpture (1986-1990) by Bruce Nauman, called Diamond Shaped Room with Yellow Light. In the artist's own words: "The bright yellow light can dazzle you just as you enter. Colour and form are confusing. You don't want to stay in this room for very long." Well, I certainly didn't, but managed to bump my head on the concrete lintel on my way out. 

On the bottom left, the perforated bronze sculpture called Envelope (1996), by Tony Cragg (UK).

Once again, I wanted to be a piece of the action, by replacing the sculpture which usually stands here (bottom right) but was currently on loan. It was only later that I found out the sculpture was a nude!

Before crossing the street and making our way towards the castle café, we rested our feet for a couple of minutes on the built-in benches of the picturesque thatched little building which used to be the park keeper's cottage, and which goes by the romantic name of Aubette. Dating from the late 19th Century, it was restored to its former glory in 2016.

Before calling it a day and returning to our car, we enjoyed our customary cappuccinos and a hefty slice of cake (mine was chocolate mousse) in the museum café.

It was back to business as usual on Monday! Much to my relief, work hadn't been too busy during my absence, so that catching up was a doddle. Still, there were a couple of annoying issues which took the fun out of my working week. I made the most of the sunny weather to go for head-clearing walks during my lunch breaks. It was when I was taking a shortcut through Mango - the shop conveniently has two entrances at opposite ends - that I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of this glorious pair of floral, wide-legged, organic cotton trousers.

Eventually, Friday, which was the start of the long Easter weekend, rolled along. The weather forecast was looking more than promising and we had plans aplenty, starting with a charity shopping trip on Friday. It had been two weeks since our last one, and frankly speaking I was starting to get serious withdrawal symptoms!

Did we find anything? All will revealed at the end of this post. But first let me show you what I wearing. And yes, the colour blue played a starring role once again.

It had been far too long since I last wore this vintage belted new wool jacket, so out it came to accompany me on our after-shopping stroll in the park. I pinned a pale pink felt flower corsage to its lapel and wore the swirly striped multi-coloured scarf I charity shopped back in February.

Frothy blossoms and lawns full of cheeky little daisies were headlining that day, with clumps of red tulips providing the support act.

A light breeze tempered the 16°C indicated by the thermometer, so I was glad I'd opted for this blue and white short-sleeved jumper, closing with a row of three white shoulder buttons. 

Both the jumper, charity shopped last Autumn, and the floaty pleated skirt with its zebra-esque pattern, found on the same day as the scarf I was wearing, received their very first outing.

I'm sure neither the wooden disc necklace nor the Bohemian brooch need any further introduction, as you've seen it all before and often enough to boot. The belt used to belong to a dress which is no longer gracing my wardrobe.

Charity shop finds weren't exactly plentiful that day, but still enough to whet one's appetite.

Having become rarer than hen's teeth over the last couple of years, I was overjoyed to find this pale pink lace-edged vintage slip among one of the shops' nightwear rail.

Jos was in luck too, finding a shirt with the grooviest brown and cream pattern.

The red shoes are by the Portuguese Kiarflex brand, which was founded in 1987. They have already been tried and found extremely comfortable, a great alternative to my Clarks Cloudsteppers.

Finally, these two books found their way into my basket.

The Missing Sister is the final installment in Lucinda Riley's bestselling Seven Sisters series, which was published in April 2021, less than two months before the author passed away in June 2021.

Having read all six of the previous installments, some of them offering light relief from the worries of Covid and lockdown, it was obvious that I needed to read this one too. Not wanting to fork out its full price in a bookshop, I patiently waited until it turned up in the charity shops.

As I love poring over maps, and in particular Ordnance Survey ones in preparation of our UK holidays, this puzzle book was a no-brainer. 

The book contains a total of 40 maps with questions ranging from word puzzles, search-and-find clues, general knowledge questions, and navigational challenges, split into four levels of difficulty. It's quite addictive but you'll get cross-eyed from staring at those maps after a while!

Well, that's it for now. What we did during the rest of the Easter weekend will be the subject for my next post. Hope to see you again then!