A miscellany of February days

Never mind it being the shortest month, February seems to be dragging on and on as usual, and this year being a leap year makes it seem even longer!

Spring might seem to be around the corner with the above average temperatures luring nature out of hibernation, there has been a distinct lack of sunshine and an overdose of rain. Nevertheless, there's no mistaking that the days are getting longer, and for the last week or two daylight has been accompanying me on my commute, both in the mornings and the evenings.

With the overall gloominess of the weather, one should grab the opportunities to catch those rare rays of sunshine whenever they occur. Which, of course, is easier said that done when one is cooped up in an office all day!

And so it was that on Monday the 12th of February the weather gods sent us oodles of sunny spells, as if to make up for the abysmal weather of the weekend. 

As a lunchbreak errand was taking me into its direction, I decided to walk to the Botanic Garden afterwards. 

For the sake of variety, I opted for a different route this time, passing the neoclassical Bourla Theatre. Designed in 1827 by architect Pierre Bourla, construction started in 1829 but was delayed due to the Belgian Revolution. Eventually, the theatre was completed in 1834, and currently houses a theatre company called Toneelhuis. 

As I was taking its photo from under what must be Antwerp's most attractive bus shelter, I watched a would-be juggler rather unsuccessfully rehearsing his routine (above, top left). 

On the roof of the modern apartment building opposite the theatre is another pair of Albert Szukalski's ghostly figures. Apparently, these ones are called The Cripple and The Blind.

Soon after passing the theatre, I reached the garden's nearest entrance (below, top left), which for some reason is currently closed off. There was nothing for it but to continue past the garden's ornate stone  balustrade which is topped with equally ornate late 19th Century cast iron lamp posts until the main entrance was reached.

The garden lies well below street level, which makes it feel very sheltered.  Dominating it is the statue of its founder, Peter van Coudenberghe, a pharmacist and botanist who lived during the 16th century (above, bottom right).

Apart from the ubiquitous clumps of snowdrops, there were several Spring snowflakes (Leucojum vernum, above, bottom left) already in bloom. This is a much taller growing bulb which usually has more than one flower per stem. Isn't it gorgeous?

And speaking of gorgeous: I absolutely loved this pale pink liver-spotted Hellebore, which initially resisted having its photo taken. I was suffering from a - thankfully minor and short-lived - backache that day, but still crouched down to have a better look and almost had to ask a passer-by to help me up again. 

The weather gods' good mood continued into Tuesday and remained until mid-afternoon, with the temperature still a moderate 10°C.

Again for the sake of variety, I took a slightly different route to the office after Jos had dropped me off.

I ended up right in front of the main entrance of the so-called Boerentoren, the Art Deco skyscraper which has now been under renovation for two and a half years. As part of these, the glass awning in front of the entrance had recently been removed, allowing an uninterrupted view of the eight bronze caryatids by sculptor Arthur Pierre (1866-1938) which are taking pride of place above the entrance doors. The caryatids depict the classical themes of Commerce, Art, Science, Agriculture, Prosperity, Technology, Architecture and Shipping. 

It was the half-term break in Flanders - the one we call the Crocus holidays - and Antwerp's main shopping street was inundated with people. Still, for the sake of another errand I braved the crowds, for which I was rewarded with a pair of Miz Mooz shoes at half-price.

Rather than being enamoured by their box, Bess was intrigued by the paper bag they came in ... Weirdly enough, she doesn't seem to grasp the concept of cats and boxes!

The rest of the working week was a grey affair, the temperature eventually climbing to a very unseasonable 17°C on Thursday. But at least it stayed dry for long enough to make it back from my hairdresser's appointment without the rain ruining my coiffure! 

I'd taken Friday off, hoping against hope for the weather to change for the better. Alas, it was another grey and rainy day, even though the mercury managed to climb to a mild 14°C.

I wore this chiffony olive green vintage dress, whose colour the camera insisted on picking up as a grey rather than a green. My blog tells me it was a charity shop find back in April 2022, when I fell for its funky pattern, pussy bow and pleated skirt. 

I added one of my cameo brooches to tame the bow, pinned a crochet and pearl flower corsage to the dress's bodice and accented my waist with one of my stretchy belts. 

An orange perspex ring from flea market friend Rita and a coral charity shopped King Louie cardigan completed my outfit.

As the weather kept refusing to play nicely we went for another rummage, visiting the charity shop we'd been obliged to give a miss the week before.

Finds were plentiful again that day, starting with a yellow printed Wow To Go blouse and a fabulous blue, black and burgundy patterned skirt by & Other Stories in a thick blanket-like fabric.

In spite of my self-imposed coat and jacket ban, this plaid swing jacket came home with me as well. 

Both the skirt and the jacket have already been worn in the meantime.

My final find was one with a bit of a hiccup. When I spotted these raspberry pink suede Tamaris boots which to my delight turned out to be a size 37 (UK size 4), they were instantly added to my cart and taken to the fitting rooms. After trying on the blouse, skirt and jacket, I quickly tried on the left boot only, as this is my so-called difficult foot. All seemed to be okay so I was happy to hand over the princely sum of € 5,90 for them.

Back at home, I was about to show them off to Jos, when I found myself hobbling around. Turned out that both the sole and heel of the left boot were considerably higher than those of the right one. Their original owner must have had one leg shorter than the other ...

I could have hit myself for not having noticed this in the shop, and was about to add them to the donations bag, when Jos suggested taking them to the cobbler. The guy didn't bat an eyelid when Jos told him the story and did a fantastic job. At a multiple of the price I paid for the boots, obviously. But never mind that: they are totally worth it! Now all I need is some dry weather so that I can actually wear them.

Saturday was grey, but mainly dry, for once and at 13°C again quite mild for the time of year.

My tweedy turquoise skirt - an old Think Twice find - came out to play that day, its companion a recently charity black blouse with a groovilicious blue, yellow, tan and white pattern. 

I found the brooch, which was made from a shard of old pottery, at an antiques and collectors fair taking place on Ludlow's Castle Square last June.

My burnt orange tiled necklace, a regular of the blog, was a charity shop find, as was the tan belt which picked up the tan from the blouse's pattern. The perspex ring - in yellow this time - is another one from Rita's flea market stall.

I spent the morning doing some long overdue kitchen cleaning. Although Jos diligently cleans floors and surfaces on a weekly basis, deep-cleaning our burgeoning collection of kitchenalia often falls by the wayside.

When I finally get around to this, it offers the perfect opportunity to look at it all with fresh eyes, marvelling at the wonderful stuff we've managed to collect over the years. So, why don't you join me and feast your eyes?

As a reward for all that cleanliness, we did go for a wee rummage later that day. Plus, we had February's addition of the indoor flea market to go to. But that, I'm afraid, will be for next time!

See you soon!