An update and a flashback

I'm guessing some of you must be on tenterhooks to know how Jos is doing, so it's only fair to start this post with an update. So, before I take you on a little trip in the time machine, let me tell you about the rollercoaster ride of a week we've just had.

Although Jos is currently doing as well as can be, unfortunately things didn't go exactly as planned, and what should have been a short hospital stay of one or maximum two nights has turned into six.

After dropping him off at the hospital on the morning of Friday the 28th and helping him settle in, the staff turfed me out kindly requested me to leave. I called Inez, who cycled over to the hospital - she only lives 5 mins away - and kept me company while we had coffee and a bite to eat in the excellent cafetaria. Then I bussed home to a confused Bess. 

Jos's op was planned for 1.30 pm and I was told to call for news at around 4. When I finally got through to the ward at the appointed time they said he was only just out of theatre and in recovery, and I was advised to call again in an hour. 

About twenty minutes later I returned from the bathroom to two missed calls from a withheld number.  Knowing instinctively that it must have been someone from the hospital, and keeping in mind having been told I would only be contacted in case of complications, I'm sure you can imagine the state I was in. In a blind panic, I called the hospital and eventually was able to speak to a doctor, who told me that Jos had woken up short of breath and in considerable pain all over his body. Turned out that this was caused by fluid having leaked into his abdomen lining during the procedure of inserting a so-called suprapubic catheter in his abdomen.

Surrounded by an army of doctors - as recalled by Jos - he was then rushed off for tests, including a CTI scan, which thankfully all came back negative. He was given pain relief and had to stay the night in ICU. Thankfully most of the fluid had gone of its own accord by morning as had most of the pain, so that he was able to be transferred to a room on the ward. However, his bladder still needed to be flushed with sterile liquid to remove any blood clots, which took rather a bit longer than expected.

He was finally able to come home on Thursday evening, but while he is feeling surprisingly well at the time of writing, it might take another couple of weeks until he is back to some kind of normal. To say that we're both beyond exhausted is a bit of an understatement.

Once again, I'm dipping into my stash of photos from way back in February, so I'm urging you to fasten your seatbelts so that I can whizz you back to Saturday the 15th of that month.

With highs of only 2°C - as opposed to the Springlike 18°C we've been enjoying today - it was clear that my warm Winter stuff had to work for its money another day.

One of my favourite skirts, a vintage polyester and mohair blend find from Think Twice, came out to play, and was joined by a charity shopped purple and silver vintage C&A jumper. My lilac beret was last year's fast fashion buy, while my purple Western-style ankle boots were picked up from an outlet shop near my office back in December.

To the jumper's assymetrical collar, I pinned a fabric covered badge bought from a craft market held in a neighbours' garden about 13 years ago. The black and white beaded necklace was yet another charity shop find and the chevron patterned stretchy belt with its square black plastic buckle was part of a haul from a bargain shop last Spring.

After a seemingly endless string of gloomy days, we finally woke up to sunny spells that Saturday. By the time we'd finished the day's chores and had lunch, these had become few and far between. However, as it was set to remain dry we drove down to Middelheim for a breath of fresh air and a stroll.

An icy wind was doing its best to thwart us by making our eyes water and having a nip at any exposed extremities. 

Not to be deterred, we walked towards the Organic Brutalist marvel which is the Braem Pavillion. Designed by architect Renaat Braem (1910-2001) and completed in 1971, I've got a soft spot for this white painted concrete and brick building, its flowing horizontal lines blending organically into the park landscape.

Dating from 1971 and thus a contemporary of the Braem Pavilion, Bosque Metalica consists of eight separate elements in black, green, orange and yellow. The sculpture is by the Mexican artist Jorge Dubon (1938-2004).

Vierkantrohre Serie D (below, top right) by German artist Charlotte Posenenske (1930-1985) has been attached to the side wall of the Braem Pavilion since 2017. It consists of a set of six hollow forms made of galvanized metal that appear to be part of an industrial ventilation shaft. Very convincingly, it seems, as I only found out this was actually a work of art while I was browsing the museum's online catalogue a couple of years ago.

The flying saucer almost directly below the faux ventilation shaft (above, top and bottom right) is by the legendary Panamarenko (1940-2019), who is considered one of the greatest Belgian artists of the second half of the 20th century. Many of his works are based on the dream of flying and the mythical character of Icarus. 

There's currently an exhibition of his work on the occasion of what would have been his 85th birthday, running from 31 January to 4 May in Antwerp's KMSKA museum.

After posing on the Braem Pavilion's back steps, offering a glimpse of my purple opaques and moss green suede boots, we walked around the corner and admired some of the works of art which are currently sharing the Pavilion's limelight.

Top left and right is 1/24 x 23 x 22 x ... x 1 (1970) by Belgian abstract painter and sculptor Bert De Leeuw (1926 - 2007). This sculpture consists of four separate cubic shapes, which can be stacked on top of each other in a different order as well as rotate on their axis. Hence, the artwork can take on many different forms.

Bottom left and right is Solskulptur (1969-1970) by Norwegian sculptor Arnold Haukeland (1920-1983).  It is a preliminary study for a nineteen-meter-high sculpture standing in Veritas Park in Baerum, Norway. The memorial was commissioned by Niels Onstad, in memory of his late wife Sonja Henie, a former figure skater. The three rings around the diagonal refer to the Olympic champion's skating moves.

At this point, it was almost inevitable that we would end up in the much maligned Open-Air Depot. On our way up, we spotted Sirene (1934, bottom right), created by another Belgian sculptor, Henri Puvrez (1893-1971). The marble mermaid, who is lovingly holding a fish, is currently encased in a protective cover to combat the elements.

Having arrived at the depot, we spotted Sei Personaggi (Six Figures, 1957 - above, top right) by Luciano Minguzzi (1911-2004) and Tempesta (1956, bottom left) by Carmelo Cappello (1912-1996).

Obviously I couldn't pass Belgian sculptor Félix Roulin's (1931) Colonne. Dating from 1975, it is one of my favourites and I find it impossible to resist its reflective possibilities. Silhouetted against the sky, which at that moment was pin-pricked by a ray of sunshine, it is looking hauntingly atmospheric.

There are nearly a mind-boggling 90 works of art in the depot, more than in any of the other park zones, and I can't help feeling sorry for them. 

I'm sure the subdued figure staring solemnly into the distance (above, bottom right) is sharing my feelings exactly. The sculpture is called Grafmonument (Funerary Monument), dates from 1930, and was created by Belgian sculptor Emiel Poetou (1885-1975).

Meanwhile, San Francesco (1957) by the Italian Marcello Mascherini (1906-1983) is raising his arms in despair as another visiting couple was admonished by one of the park wardens (whom the orange bike belongs to) not to touch the sculptures. I might have told him that the museum wasn't exactly treating the sculptures with due respect either.

And look who's here! If it isn't the (Mad) Professor (1969, top left and bottom right) by Hungarian sculptor Imre Varga (1923-2019). I wonder if he remembers the conversation we had back in March 2019.

I'm sure that Running Girl (1976) created by Kurt Gebauer (°1941) remembers our last meeting, though.

I'll be back with further updates and flashbacks soon! 

What I've been wearing lately

As tomorrow is the day of Jos's surgery I'm taking a couple of days off work to be with him and share as much of the burden as I can. In the meantime, in order to reduce the nail-biting stress of waiting for the hospital's call telling us the exact time we need to be there, I thought I'd pen a little post to tide me over.

I won't be taking you on a single outing but I've still got a number of outfits to share.

The first one is taking me back to Friday the 7th of February. 

Gloomy, with a cold North East wind and temperatures barely reaching 3°C, this wool-blend dress with its vibrant watercolour print seemed the perfect choice to combat the elements.

I love its dreamy pattern, its dropped pleats and its V-neck collar, although it was its self-fabric belt with pink plastic buckle which helped cinch the deal when I came across it in a charity shop many moons ago. Much as I love the belt - and in particular the buckle - though, it wouldn't be me if I didn't swap it for a contrasting one from my extensive collection. The sage green pleated one I opted for matched the colour of my opaques almost exactly.

In its turn, my burgundy long-line cardigan found its colour match in my ankle boots. 

After playing around with a couple of possible contenders, this necklace with its chunky geometric beads was found to be most up to the task of competing with the dress's pattern.

Everything I was wearing was charity shopped, except for the Miracle brooch, which I picked up from a flea market in November 2018.

With the weather forecast for the week ahead being pretty dire, it was with some trepidation that I  started packing for our upcoming trip to Bruges. To add insult to injury, Jos wasn't feeling his best and had been down in the dumps for a couple of days. What with the increasing number of people falling victim to the flu I wasn't really keen on walking the city streets in the pouring rain or mingle with the inevitable crowds in one of the city's indoor options. We  broached the subject of cancelling once or twice but managed to convince ourselves that a couple of days away would be beneficial for our mental health.

So far, so good.

Initially, Saturday's weather seemed to be a repeat of Friday's, albeit minus the wind. But then there were some sunny spells in the afternoon, with the mercury eventually climbing to 10°C. 

I was adamant to wear the frilly collared Sonia Rykiel jumper offered by the gods of the charity shops for a mere € 5,90 just over a year ago. Its companion for the day was a tartan 100% wool skirt in shades of black, yellow, blue and white, found at Think Twice back in the mists of time.

My enamelled butterfly brooch was a flea market find, while both the Celtic knot belt and the ring were found on the high street. Oh, and my snake print ankle boots were a retail buy as well. They were a sales bargain from New Look when they closed down all of their Belgian shops back in 2019.

It was another bad day for Jos, who kept feeling out of sorts. Putting it down to nerves, we thought a rummage at the charity shop would be just ticket. 

My loot: a vintage striped polo neck jumper, a caramel suedette elasticated belt, a pair of teal, wide legged floral trousers and a cobalt blue fuzzy cardigan. Everything has been worn already except for the trousers, which are lightweight and need a balmy Spring day at the very least.

I've omitted showing you some things I found in the January sales, so here goes. The Op-Art print blouse was 80% off at Zara at the tail end of the sales, while I pounced on the button through denim maxi skirt from LolaLiza at its very beginning. There was no way I would be taking the risk of waiting for it to be reduced a bit more as I'd been looking for a medium-weight denim skirt for ages. This one simply ticked all the boxes.

Sunday was spent unpacking after we were obliged to cancel our trip, which I already told you about in a previous post. I didn't know whether to feel disappointed or relieved but in the end common sense prevailed. It would have been too much of a risk!

Nevertheless, I didn't go outside at all, and just lounged around in my PJ's all day. Don't be fooled by Bess's sad looking little face, though. I'm sure she was secretly overjoyed that we wouldn't be leaving her side!

The working week ahead was just a short one. I'd initially booked a couple of days off for our trip but instead of cancelling the whole thing I decided to stick to Thursday to enjoy an extra long weekend. This was kind of a double blessing as there was a strike involving public transport that day which might have severely disrupted my commute.

Thursday was another dry yet bitterly cold day courtesy of an eye-stinging wind. Its only outings were the weekly food shop in the morning followed by a mid-afternoon walk into town to run a couple of errands. 

The weather wasn't conductive to making outfit photos, either inside or out, so Angelica did the honours the next day. 

The heavy-weight knit polyester dress was found at Think Twice last Winter. It's a tiny bit baggy so I cinched it at the waist with the belt I charity shopped on the Saturday. The mustard long-line cardigan was charity shopped as well, while the groovy mushroom brooch was a flea market find in February 2024. Finally, my necklace with its cluster of tiny beads was a high street Summer sales bargain in 2023.

And here's proof that I actually wore the dress! I couldn't help noticing it matched the cover of the book I was reading. Sarah Perry's The Essex Serpent - picked up in a Shropshire charity shop last year - is my favourite read so far this year. 

Set in the Victorian era, in the year 1893, it tells the tale of Cora Seaborne, a woman relishing her recent freedom from an abusive husband — she moves from London to a small village in Essex and becomes intrigued by the idea that it might be haunted by a mythological sea serpent.

Friday was Valentine's Day, and while we do not celebrate this, being of the idea that each day should be Valentine's Day, I wanted to keep to the spirit of the day by showing you the heart-shaped wreath which has been hanging on our bedroom door for at least twenty years. The fabric heart was actually made by moi!

I've added this quick peek at what's behind our bedroom door. Never mind minimalism, we are thoroughly embracing the opposite!

After a rather fitfull night full of strange dreams, it was a delight to be greeted by sunshine on Friday morning. It was still bitterly cold, particularly after Mme. Soleil did another one of her disappearing acts.

For a day of food shopping and pottering, I wore a brown patterned wool skirt I'd picked up from Think Twice in the Autumn. The blue jumper, with its three rows of openwork flowers caught between two rows of tiny red hearted daisies, is vintage and has been in my wardrobe for so long that I don't remember its origins. 

My accessories had a common faux-tortoiseshell theme: the necklace, belt and brooch were all charity shopped at one time or another.

We were actually treated with some decent weather, which allowed us to go for walks on both Saturday and Sunday. But that, dear friends and readers, will be for my next post!

See you soon!

(EDIT) We've just heard back from the hospital and were told to be there tomorrow morning at 10. Please do keep Jos in your thoughts!

So tired (of waiting)

For once, I'm counting my blessings that my blog is forever lagging behind the times and I've got a small stash of outfits and outings to fall back on it. If I hadn't, my blog would soon be coming to a grinding halt. What with the chronic lack of decent weather and our current self-isolating regime, nothing much of note has been happening in our lives lately. Plus, we are both tired. Tired of this waiting game which is putting our lives on hold, which in its turn, and combined with the continuing under-par weather, is making us physically tired and inclined to spend far too much time practising a bit of shut-eye on the sofa.

But enough already, as I'm sure you haven't come here to listen to my moaning. So, without further ado, let's have a dip in that stash of outfits and outings. Or, in this case: outing, singular!

February went off to a promising start by treating us to a sunny day on Saturday the 1st. After a frosty start, it eventually warmed up to around 6°C, making it the kind of day which was just begging us to go for a walk. 

Before we go though, why don't we step outside into the passageway and have a look at my outfit? Careful, though, as we're being watched ... the eagle-eyed among you might have noticed the feline photobomber casting a critical eye on proceedings from her perch on top of her scratching post. 

My blog tells me that this heavy-weight knit polyester dress was a charity shop find in October 2019.  In spite of its pinkish overall look, its pattern is actually red and white stripes and chevrons, with a tiny bit of grey thrown in the weave. 

I was wearing the wooden, flower painted brooch pinned to its bodice but it was mostly hidden beneath my sage green fluffy cardigan. It's from the Antwerp based fashion label Thelma & Louise but found its way into my wardrobe via the charity shops. The knitted flower corsage I enhanced it with was an old retail buy, as were both the green stretchy belt with its faux tortoiseshell buckle and the green beaded necklace.

The afternoon's outing took us to Middelheim once more. Spanning an impressive 30 hectares, with six different zones and no less than nine entrances to choose from, there's more than enough variation on offer to cater for frequent visits.

This time, we parked on the large car park near one of the entrances to Middelheim-Laag, the northern side of the park, taking in some of the familiar sculptures who live in the Human Nature zone. 

This part of the park also incorporates the formal Hortiflora, a former show garden where hedges, paths and lawns structured the landscape. Here, one of the tiny round ponds still bore its layer of ice provided by the overnight frost, trapping the leaves which had been swept into it by the ever-present wind.

We'd hardly walked through the gate when my eyes were drawn to a flash of yellow in the distance. Could it the Witch Hazel (Hammamelis) we first spotted here back in 2023? Tiptoeing closer, we saw that it was, and that we were weren't the only ones who were mesmerized by the sight of the shrub's spidery yellow, red-hearted flowers. A welcome sight indeed on a Winter's day.

I took my time taking photos, when I was joined by one of the park wardens, who helpfully pointed out the red-flowered variety in the back. It was too far away for a close-up, and as I wasn't allowed to step into the flower bed I was only able to admire it from afar.

The Mahonia on the bottom left was one of the other early flowering shrubs, proudly displaying its spiky blooms.

Instead of making our usual circuit of this part of the sculpture park, we walked right out of it by way of one of the other entrances and crossed the cobbled avenue running between Middelheim and its neighbouring park, Vogelzang. They are both part of the same cluster of parks collectively and delightfully called Nachtegalenpark (transl. Nightingale Park). 

Just before the avenue, we spotted the artwork on the bottom right. It hadn't been completely installed yet and was cordoned off by unsightly red and white tape, so that I was obliged to cut off its bottom part in my photo. It's called Tower of Silence (dating from 1960-63) and it's by the Chilean sculptor Marta Covin (1907-1995).

In 1952 Marta met Henry Moore, who encouraged her to look to the beauty of Chile and its rich heritage, which made her move away from a realistic approach to an abstract art of great expressive force. Her work was characterized by its commitment to American indigenous pre-Columbian cultures. 

We hadn't been to Vogelzang for a mind-boggling two years. This is actually the oldest of the cluster of parks which, apart from Middelheim, also comprises Den Brandt. There used to be a small castle here as early as 1457, but it was not until the 17th century that a park estate was added. The current park, laid out in typical English landscape style, dates from 1850, offering an alternation of sweeping lawns and parkland. 

The majestic old trees lining this path must be from that era. Looking up, their canopies seemed almost to be touching the sky.

I was wearing a different coat for once, but unfortunately we forgot to make photos of my outerwear. Generally not a fan of Desigual, this coat nevertheless ticked all my boxes when I met it in a charity shop in March 2023. I'm shamelessly repeating the collage I posted at the time ...

We circuited the whale-shaped pond which is the park's focal point, then crossed it by way of a decorative white painted cast iron bridge. The latter's almost perfect reflection in the pond was slightly marred by the presence of a cormorant patiently waiting for its order of food.

Steering clear of the ever-popular children's playground at the heart of the park, we made our way back to Middelheim-Laag. 

Obviously, I couldn't possibly leave without trying to hitch a ride in Welsh artist Richard Deacon's spaceship called Never Mind.  Sadly, no seats were available that day. Oh well, never mind!

And look what we have here! It's Henry Moore's (1898-1986) King and Queen! Dating from 1952, the year he met and inspired Marta Covin, it was first exhibited at the Second Biennial for Sculpture at Middelheim Park in 1953 and was subsequently bought by the city of Antwerp for the museum. 

The sculpture was positively gleaming in the sunshine, looking as if it was recently polished.

Next day's weather (we were Sunday 2 February by now) was almost a carbon copy of Saturday's.

The household chores we'd been putting off were awaiting, so the morning was spent cleaning, while in the afternoon we drove down to the garden centre for bird food to feed the hungry masses flocking to the junkyard jungle.

I've nothing to show you but my outfit. The grey and pink floral velvet skirt was a charity shop find in February 2021. It's perfect in every way, as it even has pockets, my only gripe being that they're quite tiny!

I'm almost repeating its companions on its first outing four years ago when I wore it with the same green polo neck, one of my stretchy zig-zag belts and a1960s style silver tone necklace.

The brooch I was wearing is a different one, though, incidentally also charity shopped in February 2021. This heavy silver plated one by Sidney Carron, a contemporary Paris jeweller, set me back the princely sum of € 1,50.

I'm the first to admit I've been a bit remiss in visiting your blogs but I promise I'll be mending my ways soon. 

I just blame it on being 

I knew this pin would one day come in handy when I handed over € 0,10 for it on a flea market!

See you soon!

She's not there

This post should have reached you by the magic of scheduled posting while we were living it up in the lap of luxury at B&B Het Soetewater in Beernem near Bruges. But I'm not there, I'm here, sat behind my desk in Dove cottage's spare room, where I've pushed the publish button in real time just a couple of minutes ago.

As last weekend Jos wasn't feeling well and ultimately woke up with severe nausea in the early hours on Sunday, we made the heart-wrenching decision to cancel the little getaway which we'd planned to celebrate our 30th Anniversary. 

At the time of writing Jos is feeling well again. However, what with people succumbing to the flu left, right and centre, we don't want to run the risk of Jos falling ill ahead of his surgery, which is planned for end of the month. So, we will kind of self-isolate as much as we can until then.

Obviously, we will be making up for lost time in the next couple of months!

For now, let's return to the matter in hand, which is how life has been treating us in the last few days of that seemingly endless month of January.

On Sunday the 26th we woke up to sunny spells, which filled our hearts with gladness. But clouds soon gathered once more and a blustery, bone-chilling wind made the air frigid so that the wind chill temperature was quite a bit colder than the 7°C forecasted for the day.

My outfit was one I'd prepared a couple of weeks ago but hadn't got around to wearing yet. The vintage polyester tie-collar dress, which is from the Finnish Marketta label, was a Think Twice find in October 2022. I picked up the green in its pattern with my opaques and belt, and paid tribute to the lilac bits by wearing the purple Western-style ankle boots I snaffled from an outlet shop back in December.

I tamed the rather unwieldy tie with a scarf clip featuring a posy of pansies and forget-me-nots. I'm also treating you to a close-up of the dress's pattern and its delightful flower-shaped black buttons.

With Saturday's raindrops still glittering on the sodden plants in our jungle junkyard of a garden, I'm proudly showing you the Hellebore (Helleborus sternii) whose clusters of nodding pink-flushed flowers are currently brightening up the passageway. 

The rain having kept us cooped up inside for most of the weekend, we decided to make the most of the cold but mercifully dry day by going for a walk in the park in nearby Duffel.

As we were nearing the pond, we were met by the sound of honking and quacking and, sure enough, looking down from the bridge we spotted a paddling of ducks who seemed to be chairing the quarterly meeting of the park's waterfowl.

 

For once, there was no sign of the screeching gulls who are usually trying - but failing miserably - to masquerade as ducks in the hope of a handout. At the other side of the bridge, a single, disgruntled sounding moorhen whose invitation had apparently got lost in the post. Carrier pigeons these days!

The wind was making my eyes sting and water but we doggedly plodded on, our booted feet squelching on the muddy and partially flooded paths.

The landscape was at its bleakest under the canopy of whitish grey,, the leafless trees with their clusters of twigs and gnarled and twisted branches meeting their reflections in the overflowing ponds.

And Jos was meeting his reflection too, standing still for just long enough for me to take a photo until I too negotiated that whopper of a puddle.

And what have we got here? Forget about snowdrops, it's Hellebores - and quite a variety of them too - which are the harbingers of Spring here. Aren't they a sight for sore eyes?

I've been wearing this coat on repeat these last couple of months so I guess it's my current favourite, although in all honesty I've been too preoccupied to drag any alternatives from my full-to-bursting and not very accessible coats wardrobe. The others must feel quite neglected, I'm sure.

My orange scarf and yellow woolly hat are making another appearance as well, but that's purely coincidental.

January's final week was a quiet one at the office as our Chinese business associates were celebrating Lunar New Year, entering the Year of the Snake.

When lovely Andrea of 50 Looks of Love T. wrote about this event a couple of weeks ago, she referenced Kaa, the snake in Jungle Book, the stories originally written by Rudyard Kipling and published in 1894. In the book and many of its screen adaptations, Kaa is an ally of protagonist Mowgli, acting as a friend alongside Bagheera the black panther and Baloo the bear.

Andrea's post definitely took me on a trip down memory lane! When I was six, Disney's 1967 version of Jungle Book was the very first film I saw in the cinema. I've only got the vaguest memories of it though, apart from my Dad taking me on the bus to Antwerp on a Sunday afternoon and taking our seats in the darkened cinema near the end of the previous screening.

Cashing in on the success of the film, coffee brand Rombouts issued a set of  felt animals which could be saved for by cutting coupons which came with their packets of coffee. My parents must have consumed a lot of coffee as I managed to collect them all! In hindsight, I guess they must have got some help from my grandparents.

They were displayed in my room, where they lived on the shelves of the desk unit built by my carpenter Dad. And there's Kaa! I added a yellow arrow to help you spot him!

Sadly, most of the animals haven't survived after being inherited by my much younger siblings, but when we were clearing the parental home after my Dad passed away in 2016, I managed to salvage the two remaining ones, one of them being Kaa! He's usually stored in tissue paper but he got a rare outing to feature on the blog.

After this brief trip in the time machine, let's go back to those final January days!

Mostly grey and often windy, with highs nudging 10°C, Monday the 27th was the only sunny exception.

After tackling the usual onslaught of emails awaiting me after my three-day weekends, I treated myself to a walk to Antwerp's Botanic Garden during lunch break.

Things were still a bit bare, but my heart made a little leap at spotting a clump of winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis) which looked as if they were just about to open their buttercup blooms.

And look, there were some Hellebores too.  How delightful is this double-flowered one!

Thursday was a dismal day with almost non-stop rain. To make matters worse, I was obliged to make use of public transport to get to the office, as Jos had a pre-op appointment at the hospital, followed by another catheter change.

We'd both been bundles of nerves for days but everything went well, all things considered. Still, it was a relief to get to the end of the day and the beginning of another weekend.

Friday was - you guessed it! - another day of endless grey skies, which did nothing to enhance the highs of 6 °C.

I pottered upstairs after breakfast and paid a visit to blogland while we were waiting for a technician to come and service our gas heaters. Then, after lunch, we did the weekly food shop, followed by more pottering and some reading.

For that day's outfit, I mixed different patterns in similar colours. In fact, for once, the outfit I'd created in my head turned out to be just as good in real life!

My black needlecord skirt with its cloud-like pattern was charity shopped last Spring. The heart-patterned cardigan worn as a jumper is Diane von Furstenberg. This too was a charity shop find. I snapped it up for a mere € 5,90 in December 2021.

The belt was picked up in a long-gone vintage shop, while both the turquoise plastic beads and the peacock brooch were yet again charity shop finds, the latter found on a whirlwind visit to Llangollen (Wales) in June 2019.

And now, how about some biscuits to go with your tea or coffee?

See you next time!