Bittersweet October

Before I continue where I left off, I would like to thank you for your words of encouragement and understanding in your comments on my previous post, which were truly heartwarming. As over the past six and a half years my blog has slowly but surely developed into my journal, you're getting a warts and all account of my life and as I'm a HSP (*) my senses are often working overtime. 

Now, what did we do on Sunday 2 October? Although the day's temperature of about 17°C wasn't too bad, it was cloudy and overcast, and would remain so until late afternoon.

Whatever the weather, it definitely wouldn't have scuppered our plans, as they involved an indoor activity. 

We were happy to learn that our favourite flea market, which in Pre-Covid times provided a bright spot once a month from October to May, was opening its doors again. Admittedly, it had already started up again last year, but due to Covid rearing its ugly head with the Omicron variety, we'd only been twice.

Having been regulars for years we often stop and chat with some of the stallholders and I have received lots of compliments on my outfits over the years. With such high standards to maintain, I'm always going the extra mile, which this time resulted in this rather moody Autumnal combo.

The maxi skirt is vintage, its fabric a heavy, lined Crimplene, in chocolate brown sprinkled with a naive flower print. Its companion, a burgundy flower infused Esprit blouse in a thin jersey fabric, which came to me by way of the charity shops.

The latter also provided the moss green suede belt, green and turquoise long-line necklace and flower brooch. My copper ring with its green stone was found at this very flea market a couple of years back, while the cord blazer, which is from H&M, was another flea market find, picked up at the one held in our street in July 2019.

Our journey took us quite a bit longer than the usual 25 minutes or so due to an endless string of roadworks and diversions, which we should have taken as an omen for the rest of the day. 

Although we were obviously glad to be back and there were plenty of stalls to browse, it felt quite different from our visits in the Before Times.  I couldn't exactly put my finger on it, and no, it wasn't the lack of things on offer.

In the end, we only bought two items, one of which wasn't even for us. Jos's daughter An had been on the lookout for one of those quintessential 1970s fake leather patchwork poufs, so when I spotted this beauty on our friend Tania's stall we bought it for her. 

Before it made its way to An, however, it was put to the test by Dove Cottage's Quality Control departement, a.k.a. Bess! I'm sure An's cats Spookje and Hazel will appreciate it too.

The only purchase I made for myself obviously was a brooch, although it took me until the penultimate aisle to find this cute little celluloid mouse. It's displayed here on an enamelled copper dish which was a flea market find back in 2016. I'm just mentioning this as someone on Instagram thought it was part of the brooch!

The sun, who finally showed her face in the late afternoon on Sunday, continued gracing us with her presence on Monday and Tuesday, bringing balmy temperatures of 18 and 19°C for company.

This was what I was wearing on Monday, although I did dispense with the cardigan as soon as the sun had done away with the single figures morning chill.

My bottle green dress with its blowsy flower print is from the Danish Only label and was a charity shop find in the Autumn of 2021. Hot pink opaques, one of my stretchy belts, a sage green flower corsage and ditto beaded necklace completed my outfit.

You might have noticed that in spite of a plethora of footwear I have been wearing these mock croc ankle boots - or their tall sisters - with nearly every outfit. They're my most comfortable footwear for my back, hip and knees which have been conspiring together in plaguing me. 

On top of that, Tuesday saw the return of my migraine, which nothing seemed to be able to shift. I was feeling quite miserable and only went for a short walk around the block during lunch break even if the weather was gorgeous. 

Thankfully, it was all over by Wednesday. However, contrary to what had been forecasted, the sun had gone AWOL, leaving us with one of those dull grey days quite at odds with the continuing balmy temperatures.

My recently charity shopped dotty blouse from the Belgian Wow To Go label got its first outing. I paired it with the tweedy turquoise skirt I wore to the park in my previous post.

The blue and red dots in my blouse dictated my choice of colour for my accessories, which included a  necklace featuring chunky blue stones, a blue plastic ring and textured belt, and a red vintage brooch. 

In spite of the weather, I did go for a wander in my lunch break during which I was lured into an Outlet shop for CKS, which is another Belgian label. They had an extra 30% off everything and although the clothes were a bit meh, the best offerings being in size XS, I bought a suede belt and a scarf in mustard yellow for a total of € 7.

The belt couldn't have come at a better time, as I was mourning the loss of a similar one with a round buckle, which I'd worn to death.

That evening, our neighbour, who had finally started insulating the wall earlier that week, announced that he was going to put up portable scaffolding in the passageway.  In order to do this, the plant table under the awning outside our back door had to be moved. He also requested that we move the compost bin, which proved to be an impossible task as it was full and therefore top heavy. Instead, he emptied the bin and put the contents into bags, which he dumped in the place our plant table had been, with the now empty compost bin precariously on top.

This is our view until this day. The wall still needs to be rendered and then we can finally put back some of our things until it is ready for painting in the colour of our choice. By which time it will be Spring ...

As an aside, our neighbour looked at us incredulously when we told him the bin would have to be put back and refilled after he was done. Apparently, he'd never heard of such a thing as a compost bin!

On that note, I am skipping Thursday, on which there was nothing to report, nor did we take any outfit photos. 

With my colleague still on sick leave, I once again had to go into work on Friday. 

But what is that strange phenomenon I can see on the horizon? It's an afternoon off followed by the weekend!

We'd had a hellish commute both in the morning and again when Jos picked me up at 1 pm, but instead of going straight home we stopped at the charity shop in our village.

Ms. Sunshine had rejoined us by now and the mercury was still flitting around 17°C, which allowed me to wear this long-sleeved yet lightweight vintage dress. With its white and burgundy feathery print on a navy background, I stalked this dress at an outdoor flea market until the girl who was holding it up for inspection had put it back on the rails. Then I took a chance on its size, paid the silly asking price of a couple of € and carried it home to find it was a perfect fit.

I took the lead from both colours in the dress's print for my belt, beaded necklace and vintage flower brooch, all of which were either charity shop or flea market finds. Only the white chunky ring was a retail buy. I tend to snap these up whenever I find them and yes, that's often on the high street! 

While Jos was enjoying a cup of coffee in the on-site cafeteria, I went for a rummage, but the only thing that tickled my fancy was this puff-sleeved knit jumper by retro label Küsten Luder. Isn't it cute though?

On Saturday, we continued our browsing, visiting two charity shops as usual, with a car picnic in between.

As I'm running out of time, I'll show you what I was wearing in my next post, but I can already offer you a peek at my finds.

There was a floaty green, pink and white maxi skirt from Veritas, a Belgian accessories and haberdashery chain which has lately diversified by offering a small selection of clothing.

The off-white dress with its tiny black checks had its origins at H&M, while the lightweight jacket on the top right, its print somewhat reminiscent of the skirt, is by the Belgian Mayerline label.

Both the floral pussy-bow blouse (above, bottom left) and the Crimplene shift dress with its Paisley-esque pattern (below) are somebody's handiwork. The latter has a care home label telling me its previous owner was called Rosa. 

Saturday's final find was a mustard chunky knit cardigan with notched collar and ... pockets.  Somehow, in my mind's eye, I can see Rosa wearing the two together!

Before I go, here's a cartoon Mr. Google supplied me with:

(*)  Yes, I'm a fully paid up member, as I've literally got them all. I've even got the haircut!