Time out

Holidays aside, I've never left it this long between posts. 

By rights, I would have published the final episode of my travelogue by now, telling you all about what we did on the last two days of our September holiday. I even made a start with editing photos and making a batch of collages.

Alas, all is not well in our world at the moment, so that I'm obliged to take some time out.

In the weeks after our return, Jos started feeling unwell, slowly but surely sinking into a depression. We initially attributed its trigger to the less than perfect circumstances of our holiday, although I'm sure the time of year, with the dark Autumn and Winter days ahead of us, must have had its role to play.

And then there was his impending birthday. He definitely wasn't looking forward to turning 77 in September, particularly since there is no denying that he is starting to feel his age. So much for saying that age is just a number, there's just no stopping the hands of the clock.

As in times of stress the first thing to go is his appetite, he started eating less and less, until we were forced to get him some protein drinks from the chemist to tide him over.

As if by magic, his appetite briefly returned around his actual birthday, only to dwindle again after less than a week. He constantly needed reminding to at least drink plenty of fluids, so it was almost a given that at some point he contracted a nasty UTI.

This made him finally see sense and go to his GP, who promptly prescribed him a course of antibiotics and started him on anti-depressants.

We are now one week later and thankfully he's got the worst of the infection behind him, although he's not out of the woods just yet. 

His appetite is yet to return as well and it's a constant struggle to get him to eat, as apart from some cut up banana, tiny pots of rice pudding and small bowls of soup, he just isn't able to force anything down.

As a result, he is feeling constantly exhausted which, according to his GP, will improve once the infection is gone completely. 

As I went for a walk in the park on Sunday morning, I implored the lady living in the shrine (below) for a miracle or two. Surely, it's not too much to ask to give him back his appetite and joie de vivre, both of which seem to have done a disappearing act at roughly the same time.

Meanwhile, we are waiting for the anti-depressants to work their magic. We were told that not only would this take a couple of weeks, things might even get worse before they get better.

I desperately miss blogging, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed this time out won't be taking all too long. It's just that my energy is currently being diverted elsewhere.

In the meantime, I'll keep reading your lovely blogs and try to comment as much as I can, as I would hate to be out of touch completely.

See you soon!

Remembering September

Although I still owe you the final installment of my September travelogue, a glance at the calendar made me reconsider and do a quick catch-up on the rest of the month instead. 

Eek, it's October already! Frankly speaking, it has felt like October for weeks, the weather gods having decided to dispense with their usual Indian Summer treat this year.

In fact, Summer had already taken a bow when we left a cloudy and blustery Poperinge behind on Sunday the 8th of September and, although still sunny and reasonably warm back at home, it didn't take long for our part of the country to follow suit.

I'd taken some extra time off and was only expected back at the office on Wednesday, so on Monday we slept late, only getting up at a rather unusual for us 9 am. It didn't exactly help that we woke up to rain, which would continue on and off throughout the day.

The day was spent with some gentle pottering, doing some unpacking, getting a wash load going and uploading my photos which, even with all the hurdles our holiday had brought, amounted to just under 700.

The day's temperature of 20°C still allowed for the wearing of short sleeves, so I picked this navy sailor-style jumper to accompany this charity shopped Terre Bleue skirt on its maiden voyage. Terre Bleue is a Belgian label which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. They are currently holding a closing down sale but even with 70% off their prices made my eyes water when I happened to walk into one of their shops a couple of weeks ago.

In other news, Jos went to his GP and was prescribed a course of antibiotics to further clear up the infected furuncle on his leg, which it did in no time.

Tuesday's utterly miserable weather, with lots of rain and highs of barely 17°C, matched my bout of end-of-the-holidays blues perfectly.

 

I mooched around, finishing the unpacking, after which I caught up with blogland and managed to write and publish a blog post.

The day's outfit, which I repeated on my first day back at work, was built around this deliciously Autumnal Diolen Delight, its print a floral extravaganza in the colours of the season on an aubergine background.

Its ochre yellow and pumpkin orange were matched by my belt, necklace, plastic ring and longline cardigan, while its olive green was reflected by my shoes. Oh, and just look at my oak leaf and acorn brooch. Isn't it delightful?

Wednesday was yet another grey and miserable day on which rain and a blustery wind competed for the starring role and on which the mercury didn't make it past 14°C.

Horrible weather aside, it wasn't a bad day at all as I managed to catch up with work in no time, so more's the pity that it was marred by the commute from hell at the end of the day.

Although Thursday the 12th of September was my birthday, I couldn't justify taking another day off. In fact, it was the first time in many years that I'd had to work on my birthday!

And what did I get for my efforts? It might have been a heatwave when I was born, all the weather gods had in store for me 63 years later was a measly 12°C and - you've guessed it - more rain! Then, as an additional birthday treat, I was caught up in yet another hellish commute. Oh well.

Now, let me introduce you to the wonderful birthday present which was waiting for me when we came back from holiday. As curiosity got the better of me, I just couldn't wait for my actual birthday to open it. Isn't that throw, lovingly crocheted by my friend Inneke, absolutely stunning? She knows me so well, as the colours are just spot on. After a thorough inspection, it has now been fully Bess-approved too! 

My first week back on the hamster wheel was only a two-day one, so that it didn't take long for another three-day weekend to roll along. Never mind that it was Friday the 13th!

After a short-lived sunny start, the day brought us a mix of dark, menacing clouds and intermittent showers. The mercury kept going up and down like a yo-yo, but although it had the decency to climb to a - compared to Thursday's -  much more reasonable 17°C, I still had to resort to wearing long sleeves.

The skirt, snaffled in the Think Twice sales back in August, had been waiting in the wings for its first outing, but wearing it with the summery top I'd originally had in mind just wouldn't have done. Nevertheless, I think it found its perfect partner in the turquoise blouse from the Belgian Wow to Go label which came to me by way of the charity shops.

My necklace, squirrel brooch and green suede ankle boots were all charity shop finds as well. In fact, the only item bought brand new, from fast fashion shop Forever 21 of all places. However, having been a resident of my wardrobe from back in the mists of time, I do think that in this case the fast fashion moniker no longer applies.

With chillier mornings forecasted for the week ahead, I spent the morning digging out a couple of warmer coats and jackets, at the same time weeding out some no longer loved items for charity.

Armed with a bag of donations to ply the charity shop goddesses with, we drove down to the charity shop in Mortsel after lunch.

Here, I fell head over heels for a wildly patterned green on white cotton maxi dress from Zara. If initially I hung it outside my wardrobe in the hope of squeezing in one wearing before Summer was over, it has now been put away until earth has completed yet another orbit around the sun.

The floaty top with its crochet inset - also from Zara - will have to wait for next Summer too, but I've already worn the dotty blue King Louie blouse with its white trim and sprinkling of orange roses. 

Lots of sunny spells, a host of fluffy white clouds floating in a blue sky and highs of 18°C were on offer on Saturday the 14th of September, so that wild horses couldn't have kept us inside.

I'm sure that long time readers have already deducted our destination from the first collage. Not having visited this part of Middelheim Sculpture Park since May, we thought it was long overdue a visit. 

With so many of our favourites which used to be on display on the other side of the road relegated to the Open-Air Depot, the Human Nature zone (and its neighbour, Urban Nature) in the part of the park called Middelheim-low has fast become our favourite.

The park's silver and gold painted chairs have been joined by deckchairs reminiscent of those in many National Trust properties in the UK, and I gladly made use of one for a brief afternoon nap :-)

Isn't that carpet of Rudbeckia a sight for sore eyes?

Clockwise from top left in the above collage are Male Torso (1910) by Belgian sculptor George Minne (1866-1941), part of Adrift (2023) by French artist Camille Henrot (°1978), Battle (1968) by Indian sculptor and painter Amar Nath Sehgal (1922-2007) and King and Queen (1952) by English artist Henry Moore (1898-1986). Although several bronze casts were made of the latter, the first full-size cast was exhibited at the Second Biennial for Sculpture at Middelheim Park in Antwerp in 1953 and was subsequently bought by the city of Antwerp for the museum.

And here's the full-size version of your truly, wearing a beloved denim maxi dress (a gift from Vix), accessorized with a charity shopped floral fabric belt and pale green necklace, and a gold-tone brooch with a speckled green heart which was a flea market find.

I didn't really need the coral H&M cardigan I layered on top. Just my olive, navy and off-white plaid coat would have done. A Think Twice find back in February 2018, it's from the 1960s mod-inspired Lilli Ann Knits line.

And no, I'm not being abducted by aliens! This spaceship-inspired artwork is Never Mind (2017) by Welsh artist Richard Deacon (°1949), and one of my all-time favourites.

This rough-hewn sculpture is called Figure agenouillé (1970) an its creator is the French artist Eugène Dodeigne (1923-2015).

On the top left are Henry Moore's King and Queen again, followed by, in clockwise direction, De Zaaier (The Sower, 1896) by Belgian painter and sculptor Constantin Meunier (1831-1905), Trois Figures Debout (Three Standing Figures, 1978), again by Eugène Dodeigne and the back of one of the Two Pregnant Women (1952-53) by Belgian artist Charles Leplae (1903-1961).

If you think the legs (if that is what they are), part of Camille Henrot's Adrift (above, top left), or the strange blue contraption on the bottom left, called Two reclining figures on a Calder base (2006) by Belgian visual artist Peter Rogiers (°1967) are creepy, what about the giant insect on the bottom right?

Aptly called Grande insetto (Large Insect, 1957) by the Italian sculptor Agenore Fabbri (1911-1998), we were wondering at its placement in front of Per Kirkeby's brick-built cross between a maze and a castle ruin (part of which you can see here), when we were enlightened by a passing park warden.

In a true case of fact being stranger than fiction, he pointed out several groups of long-legged black spiders who had taken up residence on the brick wall (above, top right).  

On that note, it's time to bid you goodbye for now. I'll be back with my travelogue's grand finale, followed by another September catch-up soon. I solemnly promise neither will contain any more creepy crawlies!