Send me the pillow that you dream on

If in the past I've often been gobsmacked by the pace at which time was speeding by, lately it seems to have accelerated dramatically, the days whizzing by faster than the speed of light. There's hardly time to catch one's breath, let alone to stand and stare for too long.

Weekends in particular do seem to come and go in the blink of an eye. And then I'm lucky that mine have a glorious three days instead of just the customary two!

Nevertheless, as you're probably used to by now, my blog isn't quick enough of the mark to catch up with real life. So, while we're approaching February's half-way point, I've still got to tell you about January's final Sunday!

By then, we'd already enjoyed two days of sunny spells and no sign of showers, so it was nothing short of a miracle when Miss Sunshine was once again knocking on our windows on Sunday morning. Never mind the fact that she managed to highlight Dove Cottage's collection of dust bunnies, there was no way we were going to spend the day inside getting rid of them!

The dress I'd earmarked for the day is vintage and an old Think Twice find, its earliest reference in the blog dating from December 2017. With its groovilicious green, brown and orange pattern, it is definitely not one for the faint-hearted, but whenever there's colour and pattern, I'm game.

To accessorize it, I pinned my faux-Lea Stein cat brooch to the dress, added one of my stretchy belts and wore a semi-transluscent brown beaded necklace. 

At just 8°C, some layering was required, so I wore a chunky orange cardigan from posh Belgian label Pauline B. on top. It goes without saying that it was a charity shop find. There is no way I'd have paid its original +€ 100 price tag! A second brooch, a vintage bird matching my necklace, was pinned to the cardigan. 

I was reminded of this vintage swing coat when posting an old photo on Instagram where I'm doing a series called Flashback Friday, so I dragged it from my full-to-bursting coats cupboard to give it a long overdue outing. As both of its pockets had long ago sprung a leak - which I'd conveniently forgotten about - anything I shoved into them promptly disappeared inside the coat's lining. Two weeks on, and I still haven't done anything about it, although it's a relatively easy fix ...

My sage green beret, recently charity shopped purple scarf and my beloved mock croc boots completed the day's outerwear. The latter were of course exchanged for our walk!

The sun did one or two disappearing acts while we were having lunch, so we decided to stay close to home just in case the weather gods would change their minds. We needn't have feared, even if the clouds seemed to be ahead of the game by the time we'd parked our car near Park Den Brandt on the outskirts of Antwerp. It looked as if lots of people had had the same idea, as the car park was full and we were obliged to park in a quiet residential street near the park.

As usual we entered by way of the picking garden, at this time of year all but empty of produce apart from a few straggling herbs. As I was lagging behind taking photographs, I thought Jos had already climbed the steps leading up to the park itself, when his head suddenly appeared through one of the portholes in the garden wall.

I always walk up to the Gautam Buddha - a gift from the Ambassador of Nepal - to have a look at the offerings people have made. This time, apart from a handful of stones and a tealight, he seemed to have been given some daisies and berries, while a kindly soul had tied a pretty bracelet to one of his wrists.

Up the steps we went and after passing through an avenue of trees, we were faced with a reed edged marshy expanse to our right, a true piece of wilderness at the edge of the metropolis which is the city of Antwerp.

Half-hidden by the trees we caught a glimpse of the enchanting gingerbread cottage which is taking pride of place in the castle's English-style garden.

We took a shortcut by taking the grassy path bordering the marshy area complete with picturesque pond, where the castle itself, a romantic white wedding cake mansion renovated in the 1870s in late classical style, could be seen shimmering in the distance.

By a stroke of luck, the clouds parted, making way for a patch of blue sky and some itinerant sunshine just as Jos made this photo with his phone's camera.

We walked the park's length, until we reached a series of bunkers at its other end. These were built by the Germans in 1943 as headquarters for the Atlantikwall in Belgium. There's a choice of paths here, and you can either take the one running alongside the bunkers, or the one running on top of them. We decided to be reckless, throw caution to the wind and take the latter!

So, that was the weekend all wrapped up.

As if to make up for lost time, the weather gods treated us to another string of gloomy days and lots of rain in the first week of February. Even stuck at the office I love a bit of sunshine to get me through the days, particularly when work is rather slow, which it was that week due to Chinese New Year.

Meanwhile, back at Dove Cottage ...

In spite of the inclement weather, I made my escape from the office during lunch break, and I may even have snapped up a bargain in a high street shop, where prices were down to 70% off.

The bargain in question was this burnt orange skirt in a very strokable faux suede fabric and equipped with two generous pockets. Of course, I already had to wear it for Friday's charity shop trawl!

I didn't have to think very long about its possible companion, as this recently shopped pussy-bow blouse was still hanging outside my wardrobe waiting for its maiden outing. Apart from its contrasting green, black and white, the blouse's geometric pattern also has the faintest whisper of orange, making the match even more perfect. Funnily enough, and quite unintentionally, the blouse's origins lie in the same shop as the skirt!

I struggled a bit finding a suitable cardigan to layer on top, until I spotted this striped one peeking out from the pile. Originally from H&M, it was charity shopped many years ago. 

Both my belt and my beloved green boots were charity shop finds as well, while the scarf clip I tamed the pussy-bow with as well as my brooch were picked up at various flea markets.

The purple mohair beret came from Think Twice, if I remember correctly. I kept it on for the photos as my hair wasn't looking its best.  As much as I love my berets, I'm finding it a bit of a struggle combining my longer bob with berets, glasses and face masks and still look okay-ish. 

As usual, we cherry-picked two shops which are easy to combine. Unfortunately, pickings were almost non-existent in the first shop we visited, where I only found the belt on the bottom left in the below collage.

My rummage in the second shop, however, was much more successful. 

The blue dress with its pink piping and ditto flower pattern is by Froy & Dind, a Belgian label which has been making sustainable fashion since 2011. 

Other finds included a pair of deadstock vintage orange knee socks, a flower patterned eternity scarf and a pair of funky tights. The latter were deadstock too and from a well-known Belgian haberdashery and accessories shop, where they retailed for € 12,95. The charity shop's price label said € 0,50: that's more like it!

The faux-tortoiseshell chain belt was in among the necklaces, and thus priced as such. 

The beaded brooch instantly caught my eye. It's quite rare to find brooches in charity shops here, and as we're still avoiding flea markets, my collection has somewhat come to a grinding halt.

The day's biggest surprise was the carved Bakelite bracelet for which, same as for the other items, I paid just € 1,50. 

As lunch time was fastly approaching, we had a car picnic before continuing to our next destination.

Our final and definitely most expensive purchase of the day were two new, state-of-the-art pillows. It was our 27th wedding anniversary and we decided to splash out. Mine is the butterfly shaped one on top, which is ideal for side sleepers, while Jos, who sleeps on his back, opted for the one on the bottom.

We've been using them ever since, and they have certainly made a huge difference. Still having weird dreams, though ...

Walking with giants

How fickle the weather was in January's final week! Sunny days alternated with gloomy ones, and the temperature dropped from 7°C on Monday to a mere 3°C on Wednesday. If on Thursday, in true yo-yo style, the mercury had jumped up to 6°C again, it felt decidedly cooler. On top of that, I'd woken up to a migraine which painkillers wouldn't be able to shift all day. To say I was glad to be on my way home is a bit of an understatement.

Strangely enough - or perhaps not! - there was no sign of any lingering headache on Friday when, after our customary fruit and yogurt breakfast, we were ready for our weekly trip to the charity shops.

What's more, there were sunshine and skies of blue to be spied outside. Jos's weather app said we'd get highs of 8°C, but I didn't want to take any chances and wore a jumper. Almost unthinkable a couple of years ago, I now find myself wearing jumpers regularly and not just when temperatures drop below freezing point. Surely this must be a sign that I've finally waved goodbye to the worst of the hot flushes! Phew!

The jumper in question is vintage C&A, a charity shop find earlier in January. I was drawn to its unusual collar, its purple and silvery grey plaid pattern and its vertical stripes of cable knit.

Its collar invited the addition of a brooch, for which I picked this one containing multi-coloured stones, a flea market find in Carmarthen, Wales, in June 2015. Its companion, which I pinned to the jumper's bodice, was a flea market find as well, but found much closer to home. It's by Miracle, the trade name of A. Hill & Company Ltd., who were originally located in Birmingham. They started manufacturing jewellery in 1946 and, although they are still in business today, they have since moved to Cornwall.

The black, grey and white plaid skirt is vintage Gor-Ray, and was charity shopped in December 2019, while a different charity shop supplied my beloved tall green boots around the same time. 

Both the purple suede belt and the cropped furry gilet were the result of recent charity shop rummages shown on the blog not all that long ago. In fact, the only visible item in my outfit which wasn't bought second hand is my ring with its pale green stone.

Yet again, we visited two shops, which are about 7 kilometers apart. Our second shop that day was the three-storey one which is a stone's throw from the park, so there are no prices for guessing what we did afterwards. With the sun still out in full force, I changed into my old pair of boots which live in the boot of our car and we went for a stroll. It was warm enough to ditch the gilet! 

The constellation of yellow catkins against the bright blue sky made my heart leap for joy! As did the discovery of several species of Hellebore, which had popped up in the borders. They're quite a bit earlier than last year, but then again we spotted Snowdrops here in Mid-December!

The park's Brutalist fountain keeps showing signs of neglect, and has become quite overgrown in recent years. Nevertheless, I was charmed by its mossy green hairdo on this Springlike January day.

We walked into the direction of the castle, approaching it from a different direction than we did on our foggy walk two weeks previously. Soon, we were catching tantalizing views of its tallest tower through the branches of the skeleton trees. Once there, we circuited the moat and peered through the wrought iron gates barring the entrance to the bridge. All but hidden by encroaching ivy, its message only just readable, Jos discovered the sign on the bottom right in the undergrowth next to the path. Apparently, it's strictly forbidden to step on the ice on those rare occasions the moat has frozen over.

We sat down for a minute on a bench with a view of the castle, basking in the sunlight until clouds were starting to eclipse the sun. By the time we'd climbed up to the River Nete's towpath, we could see the fog making its way in, and it felt as if the temperature had dropped several degrees, making me regret the removal of my furry vest. This was just mere minutes after we'd been sunbathing on that bench! 

We drove home through increasing fog, but thankfully it had all but cleared up again by the time we reached our village. We jokingly said that it must have been due to the high altitude of the place we'd come from, which was in the foothills of the Vosberg (Fox Hill), all of 30 meters high.

There were sunny spells as well as cloudy ones on Saturday, and although at 12°C it was very mild for the time of year, there was quite a lot of wind.

I spent the morning doing some leisurely pottering and employing Angelica to model Friday's charity shop finds.

First up is this Norwegian style jumper by H&M which, drawn by its gorgeous green colour, I couldn't pounce upon fast enough. 

I was attracted by the nautical vibes of this three-quarter sleeved blue cotton top with its white and orange striped V-neck. In my mind's eye, I've already styled it with several of my Summer skirts.

The pink and grey cardigan with its bright pink buttons is by Paul Smith. This particular shop does not distinguish between labels, so I paid the going price for cardigans, which I think is about € 4,50.

The buttonless cardigan, which closes with a single hook and eye if required, is by the German Tom Tailor label.

These were all from the first shop we went to. Unusually, pickings were meagre in the second shop, where my only finds were a belt (not pictured but I'll be wearing it on the blog soon) and a vintage souvenir umbrella from Rome. Obviously, Bess needed to investigate this strange contraption!

 

Although the sun kept playing a game of tag with the clouds, we were champing at the bit to go for another walk. Striking the iron while it's hot, and all that. Discussing our options over lunch, it suddenly dawned on us that we hadn't gone to De Schorre, the provincial domain in nearby Boom, since time immemorial. Actually, make that March 2019, as that was the last time I blogged about it. 

Before we go, here's what I wore that day. 

In spite of this 1970s dress with its Art Deco-style pattern being one of my favourites, I think its last outing was pre-pandemic as well. Its final appearance on the blog dates from February 2020, when it joined me on our Silver Anniversary trip to Bruges.

The floral ceramic brooch rimmed by tiny pearls was a flea market find, although I can't remember where or when, and my necklace, with its plastic beads alternated with stacks of felt circles, was charity shopped. The belt with its unusual metal buckle came with a dress I no longer own.

A chunky long-line orange cardigan, with a pale green floral corsage pinned to it, was layered on top. The eagle-eyed may catch a glimpse of my green tights, and I was once again wearing my caramel mock croc boots, which were swiftly exchanged once we'd reached our destination.

De Schorre, a recreational domain and nature reserve established on the site of former clay pits, is renowned the world over because of  the legendary EDM festival Tomorrowland which is taking place during two weekends in Summer. The domain is closed off for casual visitors like us whenever the festival - or any other event - is taking place.

After parking our car, we took a muddy path sloping down to the deepest part of the domain, where a rusty old clay dredger reigns over an enchanting deep green pool.

A red metal sign spells the word Steen (transl. stone) and is part of an art installation which pays tribute to the area's brickmaking past.

On the further reaches of the pool, which is actually a water-filled former clay pit, a strange creature was eyeing us from its perch between the reeds and trees.

This is Mikil, one of seven giant trolls installed in the summer of 2019 in honour of Tomorrowland's 15th anniversary. Apparently Mikil is scooping water from the pool with a bucket, but it was impossible to get close enough to him to ascertain the fact.

There's a total of seven trolls scattered around the domain, but there's no itinerary you can follow to find them. You have to actively go and search for them which can be quite tricky, particularly in the lush Summer months, as some of them are rumoured to be very well concealed.

From the green pool, we followed the boardwalk path meandering through the domain, noting its marshy conditions caused by the excessive rainfall of the last couple of months. 

Eventually the boardwalk ends and merges with the main path through the domain. This soon passes a ruined and graffitied brick building and some elevated tracks on tall brick pillars, another remnant of the area's industrious past.

We always stop for photographs here, but now we even had more reason to do so. Sitting at the back of the building and almost dwarfing it was Hannes, who loves making necklaces with wooden pearls he forages in the forest. Isn't he magnificent?

The trolls, by the way, are created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo using old pallets, recycled wood, broken branches and fallen trees. They vary in height between 7 and 18 meters.

We wandered somewhat at will, and only met three of the trolls. The final one, a creature named Arvid, was sitting astride the boardwalk we'd rejoined on our way out. Arvid, it seems, is a she, and she diligently looks for dead branches in the forest, with which she is making of works of art. Well, that's what it said on one of the Internet sources I used to research the trolls.

After waving goodbye to Arvid, it was time to rejoin our car, making use of the flight of steps on the top left to climb out of the domain. There's another flight of steps after this one. Definitely not for the less nimble or those with rickety knees!

Ghost train

While February got off to a flying start, with Storm Corrie's glacial winds followed by the usual succession of grey and rainy days, my blog is still catching up with what I've been doing in January.

Picking up where I left off in my previous post, we've made it to the 22nd of that month, and yes, you've guessed it, the weather gods were still stubbornly refusing to send some well-needed and long overdue sunshine our way. 

The bleakness of the day, which was accompanied by a measly 6°C, wasn't inviting us to engage in any outdoor activities. In order to make staying inside worth our while, though, I'd scribbled down a to-do list, fully intending to check off as much as I could.

However, before I tackle the first item on my list, which involves a stint of sewing, let me show what I was wearing. 

If you're wondering why it took me so long to wear my bargain of the century Diane Von Furstenberg cardigan, it's because I was looking for its perfect companion. I'd tried out and rejected a couple of likely candidates until I caught sight of this skirt, which was hanging at the side of my wardrobe awaiting its turn.  Putting the two together made for an eye-catching mix of patterns, the browns in the cardigan and the skirt instantly hitting it off. The skirt with its brown, black, grey and white chevron pattern was a Think Twice find back in October 2020. 

I wore the cardigan as a jumper, layering a black t-shirt underneath, and accented my waist with a tan leather belt. My necklace came from Accessorize who, back in the mists of time, used to have a shop near my office. With its mix of brown, black and white beads, it echoes the colours of the skirt.

As a courtesy to the white stripes I added more white in the form of a heart-shaped ceramic brooch - picked up in a crafts shop in Cardigan - and a white plastic ring.

My tan mock croc boots, which I was seduced into buying from a local shoe shop a couple of months ago, have fast become firm favourites. Apart from their obvious attraction, they are super comfortable and go with everything, so they are hardly off my feet. Here, I only wore them for the photos, as we didn't leave the confines of Dove Cottage all day.

Ok, let's crack on with that sewing project, shall we? No, wait, I think I'll procrastinate some more by joining Bess in watching the boisterous blue tits who flock to the feeder just outside our back door ...

I'd fallen in love with the swirly blue, white and purple pattern of this vintage dress during Friday's charity shop trawl but, as is often the case, I didn't like its buttons.  This, of course, was easily remedied by a rummage through my stash of vintage buttons, which yielded the perfect blue ones. They've even got a swirl of their own!

Here's the dress in question, modelled by Angelica. She was also eager to try on the second dress I found in the same shop. It's originally from a high street shop called LolaLiza, where I've been known to buy things brand new once in a blue moon. Case in point is the dress I bought in the sales the other week.

Photographing Friday's finds was next on my list. 

Apart from the two dresses, these included a green and turquoise wooden beaded necklace, a vintage seed-beaded brooch, a vintage Trevira scarf in a funky pattern and a moss green frilly woollen scarf.

And yes, I did find yet another faux fur gilet, this one in a a delightful blush pink. The peasant style blouse with its psychedelic pattern was Friday's final find.

The rest of that Saturday was filled with a string of mundane household chores which included doing a load of washing, changing the bed linen and sweeping the upstairs rooms. These were followed by the much more pleasurable pastimes of catching up with blogland and writing a blog post.

Oh, and I did some reading too. I'd just started The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton, a rediscovered American classic originally published in 1962, a family saga set in rural Missouri in the early 1900s. Although I haven't reached the end yet as I write, this is one that's going to end up on our shelves rather than being redonated.

It was the same dismal weather we woke up to on Sunday, but this time we were determined to go for a walk no matter what.

In order to get me in the mood, I wore all the colours! 

The multi-coloured cowl neck jumper is by posh Belgian label Caroline Biss and was a charity shop find this time last year. I combined it with a pinkish-red polyester and mohair blend skirt from Think Twice, which has the added benefit of being lined for extra warmth. 

Apart from the belt and ring, which were both retail buys, and the brooch, which came all the way from an antiques centre in Shrewsbury, all other components of my outfit were charity shopped.

After a morning of pottering and procrastination, we were more than ready for a breath of fresh air.

Casting around for a suitable place for a short walk, we suddenly remembered passing what looked like the entrance of a nature reserve when we returned from a charity shopping trip the other week. 

Although we'd noticed there was plenty of space for parking, this turned out to be quite a different story on a Sunday, so that we had to drive around a bit before settling for a space in the parking lot of a local youth club.

Here, I exchanged my lovely green boots for my pair of old brown ones reserved for walking, still caked with the muddy evidence of our last walk. Then we grabbed our walking sticks and went off.

The eternal rain had turned the woodland paths muddy but that didn't deter us. At least the mud wasn't of the icky sticky clay variety trying to suck you in and root you to the spot!

At first the wooded area which is called Hessepoelbos (bos is Flemish for wood) seemed rather small and not all that exciting, but then we came across a wooden gate-like structure giving access to a track weaving its way between a row of pollarded willows and the remains of a maize field. Mixed in with the dry stubble of the field we spotted early signs of Spring in the form of some clumps of pink dead nettle impatient to get things going.

A glance between the willows was rewarded with a view of the village of Waarloos and its church tower. The village borders ours and the two villages were officially merged in 1977. 

The path veered off and narrowed, until we came across a sign announcing a second nature reserve, called De Oude Spoorwegberm, which translates as the Old Railway Embankment.

Now, this one we had heard of before but, once again, we'd never visited. It has been established on a section of the former 25A railway line, which used to connect the towns of Mechelen and Wilrijk. It was opened in 1905 and carried travellers until 1959 and goods until 1970, after which the deep-lying track was filled in. 

Although we had no idea where it would lead us, we decided to investigate and follow the track. Here things only just managed not to go pear-shaped, as the mud increased in volume and intensity, and part of the track was flooded as a result of the swollen brook running next to it.

The reserve is a long, green nature corridor for many plants and animals. With its length of 5 kilometer and a width of only 20 to 50 meters, the Old Railway Embankment is one of the longest nature reserves in Flanders.

Between the thicket on our left, we kept spotting the church spire in the distance, so we knew that whenever the opportunity of a left turn arose, we would be able to take a shortcut back to where we'd left our car. 

We would do so eventually, but not before we came across some creepy moss-encrusted glasshouses which suddenly appeared right next to the track. 

After crossing a rickety wooden bridge, its slats wonky and out of shape, a dense thicket of conifers loomed, looking for all the world like they were hiding Sleeping Beauty's castle.

At last, the track crossed a tarmacked lane, which we took into the direction of the village, passing some atmospheric ivy-clad farmhouse buildings, which appeared to have several stork's nests built upon their roofs. We'll have to go back there in Spring and see if we can spot any actual storks!

Plans are already afoot for a return visit and further investigation of this enchanting reserve.

All that exertion and fresh air, however, had made us light-headed and sleepy, so once we got home we joined our furry creature for a nap. I promised Sheila another Bess photo, so here it is!

I'll be back with more walks, and - miracle of miracles - a bit of sunshine in my next post and hope you'll join me again then.