The cat that got the cream

For this episode of the lockdown diaries, I am taking you back to Friday last week.

It was Good Friday, not that you'd notice. There weren't even any Hot Cross buns for breakfast, just our usual weekday fruit and yoghurt.

Still, I'm looking for all the world like the cat that got the cream!

It was a sunny day for starters, but we've recently had a whole string of those, so that couldn't be the reason.  Nor was it the fact that I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn and go to the office. 

It might have been because I'd just rediscovered this gorgeous poppy dress in my wardrobe, but it wasn't. And no, neither my green belt, bird brooch, necklace and bracelet, nor my floral wooden bangle, were the source of all this giddiness!

I'm sure that by now you are all on the edge of your seats, so I'm not going to taunt you any longer and keep you in suspense.

Ta-da! 

Yes, I was finally able to lay my hands on some garden plants!

Although garden centres were not allowed to open(*) we'd found out that a chain of shops catering for the agricultural market, which were allowed since they were selling pet food and baking products, had received permission to open their plant department.

(*) As per yesterday's regulations update, garden centres will now be allowed to open starting the weekend, if they can comply with the usual safety measures.

So, we took our car and drove down to the nearest shop, which is in a neighbouring village and, while Jos waited in the car, I queued to get in.

Only twenty people were allowed in at the same time, but I only had to wait for about 10 minutes before it was my turn to get hold of a cart, which was sanitized after the previous customer handed it in.

I did go a bit wild and completely filled my cart with Spring and early Summer flowers, thyme, lavender and a pot of rhubarb.

There was no need to hurry, really, as we had the whole of the Easter weekend to allocate each of our purchases their rightful place in the garden.

Still, my hands were itching to get started, so I got stuck in immediately, only pausing to have soup and bread for lunch.

For starters, the tête-à-tête daffs and African daisies got the company of a pot of pinks and some more bulbs, which I planted in an old wicker basket I found hidden away in the potting shed. 

I left the pinks in their cheerfully coordinating pink plastic pot, which I put on top of our rusty garden scales, and added a couple of odds and ends which I found lying around to the display.

A terracotta pot of delicate, ruffled and pink edged Ranunculus joined the houseleeks and rusty weights on our windowsill, where they are kept company by Baby Gargoyle, whom we bought at Past Times when on holiday in the UK over twenty years ago. 

And look, I seem to have made a shelfie selfie :-)

The framed chickens used to be in our kitchen in its previous incarnation, when we had a bit of a chicken theme going on. It was another forgotten potting shed find. 

After lunch, I gave the "garden bathroom" a good clean as it was looking decidedly grotty.  

We've lost the jug, which was part of the vintage wash set, after we forgot to take it inside during a frosty period, and it inevitably cracked and fell into pieces.  Phoebe sometimes uses the basin as a drinking bowl, although we try to discourage her as the water trapped inside can get rather slimy.

At the end of the passage, which runs alongside our kitchen, is our dining room window, where I planted the window box with some pansies and primulas.

There's still quite a bit of work to be done here!

My final task of the day - before watering the plants, obviously - was cleaning the miniature greenhouse which was pining away in a border, and putting two lavender plants in it.

The same border also housed a redundant round metal garden table, which I asked Jos to move to the other end of the garden, next to our bench. 

Here, the lavender is enjoying the company of pink and yellow Argyranthemums, again in terracotta pots. We have quite a few of these in our potting shed, although not nearly as many as the few hundred Vix brought back from her parental home.

With that day's flurry of activity going on in her beloved garden, Her Majesty was definitely not amused!

Still work to be done in front of the bench as well, as we need to clean those tiles, which we rather grandly call the Roman Path.

In total contrast to Friday, I was feeling tired and lethargic on Saturday. 

I briefly ventured outside for a socially distant visit to the chocolate shop in our village to buy some Easter eggs, and spent the rest of the day reading and doing some gentle pottering.

I was wearing a mostly pink and green Spring outfit, built around a pink floral vintage frock from Think Twice and a charity shopped nautical style short-sleeved jumper.

The belt, necklace, shoes and bangles were charity shopped as well, while the vintage brooch was a flea market find bought from the original Brooch Lady.  Well, I suppose that by now I am a bit of a Brooch Lady too!

Time to enjoy the results of my labour and yes ... still looking like the cat that got the cream!

Will be back soon. In the meantime, please do stay safe and sane, my dears!

Oh, and I almost forgot. I have added a follow by email gadget to my blog. It's on the top of the sidebar, for those who are interested. Thank you Nancy and Sheila for reminding me! 

Home is where the heart is

Easter has come and gone and so has the gorgeous Spring weather, the temperature having dropped considerably overnight. We woke up to grey skies and a bit of rain today, but although it has cleared up by now and the sun has resumed her shining, there's a definite chill in the air.

Time to write another blog post and let you know what I've been up to, starting with a week ago on Monday. Having to go back to work after 4 days of Sundays initially felt a bit weird, but I was feeling reasonably calm and rested and as there were quite a lot of things to catch up on at the office, the day whizzed by very swiftly.

On my way to the spot where Jos is picking me up in the car after work, I was passing one of a handful of shops that are still open, this one selling cheese and delicatessen. 

Much to my delight, there was a cart full of pots and small flower boxes, with a choice of hyacinths and daffodils, outside the shop, which is in a traffic free street, the owners clearly cashing in on the fact that garden centres and flower shops aren't allowed to open.

It was as if I had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so I bought myself a bright yellow flower box filled with Tête-à-tête daffs!

Back at home, they joined the orange-yellow African daisies left over from last year. Although these had become very leggy, I was overjoyed to see several flower buds making an appearance, one by one opening their sunny faces! All that yellow is such a cheerful sight in the recently spruced up little corner just outside our back door.

Tuesday being the in-between day book-ended by two working days, we slept a bit later and then had fruit and yoghurt for breakfast while still in our dressing gowns. Obviously, mine is vintage, colourful and with my trademark print of flowers!

We put in a load of washing consisting of a couple of quilted plaids and tablecloths and then walked into the village to get some fruit at the organic grocery shop, as we were starting to run out.

For lunch, we had the rest of the fresh mixed vegetable soup Jos had made during the weekend, accompanied by slices of the bread he'd bought from a local vending machine on Monday. Lately, all loafs of bread are packed in government sponsored bags outlining the COVID-19 safety measures. 

As the gorgeous Spring weather continued, and I had as yet to finish my wardrobe changeover, I trawled my temporary capsule wardrobe, opting for a skirt and blouse, both of which hadn't seen the light of day for quite some time.

I'm keeping both my short-sleeved and long-sleeved blouses out all year around, so that I had more than enough choice in that department. The skirt, on the other hand, was one I rescued from a box of items to be sold. And no, I have no idea why it ended up there in the first place!

There was nothing planned whatsoever about this outfit, it just seemed to have grown organically, which is one of the upsides of having more time at hand. I just loved how the shades of plum, purple, pink, orange, blue and white seemed to cooperate and interact most naturally.

How lush our garden has grown in the space of only a couple of days! Here's the view from our kitchen window towards the shed at the back, a tray of Sempervivums or houseleeks and a couple of rusty weights adorning the windowsill in the foreground.

And speaking of houseleeks, I'd completely forgotten that years ago, we put a couple of small ones on the corrugated roof of our potting shed, until Jos recently noticed that now there was a huge patch of them up there!

Here's a closer look at my accessories, which consisted of an ivory coloured bangle and brown and purple bracelet, a green plastic heart brooch and orange wooden beads and, finally, an elasticated belt with a round, multicoloured buckle.

Honestly, I did not set out to coordinate with our Honesty, which had opened the first of its many, delicately fragrant, purple flowers.

After Wednesday's far too quiet office day, I was ready for some domestic activity on Thursday. 

I'd initially thought I'd be slowly making my way through the house, tackling the jobs at hand one by one. However, it soon transpired it wasn't working that way.  Instead, I find myself doing the things I feel like doing, without any forward planning or ticking off of lists.

While having breakfast, I noticed that the glass sliding doors of one of our vintage kitchen cupboards were looking positively grubby. But rather than just wash them, I decided that now was as good a time as any to give the cupboard a thorough clean inside and out and reorganize its contents.

It truly has everything but the kitchen sink, including several vintage pieces of Sunlight soap and a 1970s cheeseboard I confess I'd nearly forgotten about.

I fully took advantage of the balmy temperatures by taking things outside and giving them a good polish while sitting at our garden table with the sun warming my back. I could get used to that, although I don't think I'll ever be known as a domestic goddess!

We found the little yellow, orange and green floral dishes and the matching serving platter in a charity shop many years ago, then happened upon the purple and olive ones on their rectangular orange tray at a flea market back in May 2018.

The wooden tray on the top right is modern. We've added the floral inlay, which is actually a piece of vintage wallpaper encased in a transparent L folder.

The Fry's Pure Cocoa add was found in a UK antique shop and the raffia trivets - exactly like the ones my parents had in the 1970s - were charity shop finds.

But I'm guessing that you would love to have a peek at what I was wearing, right?

It's officially Spring, and what better colour is there to personify Spring than green, symbolizing renewal and growth. 

Sprigs of delicate yellow and orange flowers and fresh green foliage are sprinkled liberally across a background of palest green.

I added more green in the form of my necklace, apple ring and bracelet, which is accompanied by a carved plastic orange bangle. 

Notice the lady on my brooch, who is wearing the most outrageous beribboned hat ...

As the time for berets has clearly passed, and my hair is getting out of control due to cancelled hairdresser's appointments, I might have to dig out some Summer hats soon. 

Of course, I might also take a leaf out of Veronica's book and start wearing fashionable headscarves.

It's a nuisance, that's for sure, especially with my short, asymmetrical haircut. Any suggestions are welcome!

Some days are better than others

There are days when I'm jumping out of bed, refreshed and impatient for the day to begin, mentally ticking things off my to-do list even before breakfast.

They come in leaps and bounds, these days, even in this strange time when I'm constantly teetering on the edge, my nerve ends frayed almost beyond repair.

Such days tend to be more frequent when the sun is there to greet me, so that I can join nature in pretending nothing's wrong among the fresh green foliage of our garden.

But there are days when even the fact that the sun is shining cannot get me going and a dark mood is threatening to descend any minute.

Still, I manage to get dressed and even find pleasure in choosing my outfit, piling on colour as if there's no tomorrow.

That almost forgotten midi skirt with its green plaid pattern is soon joined by a blue long-sleeved blouse, its colourful print of circles and flowers vying for attention. A navy leather belt is added, as well as a pair of fuchsia opaques. The final touches are provided by a pink beaded necklace and a brooch with a bouquet of blowsy flowers.

The bathroom awaits with its lotions and potions which promise to banish the bags under your eyes and wake up tired looking skin.

And hubby has made the usual Saturday breakfast of eggs, bacon and cherry tomatoes, accompanied by cups of strong of coffee to get the juices flowing.

There, that's better!

Wandering upstairs after breakfast, I started folding some woolly Winter skirts, ready for their annual sojourn in the linen chest, and tidied away a couple of books on the shelves in the spare room.

There, my eye was drawn by a sumptuous piece of pink and gold ribbon peeking out from a basket on the desk. Seeing this made me a bit teary-eyed again, as in its former life the ribbon was tied around a parcel of joy I got from Vix last June. Not being able to make holiday plans and arrange our yearly meet-up is one of the hardest things for me.

The basket also contained several notes and postcards from blogging friends, so then I had the brainwave of creating a memento by pinning the ribbon to the bookshelf and adding the notes and postcards with some tiny wooded clothes pegs I found lying around.

From top to bottom, there's a card from Vix, a photograph of Lynn, a postcard  Kezzie sent me when she was staying in Gent, a little note from Tina which accompanied a bar of soap I'd won on her blog, one of the cat brooches Goody sent me, and one of Lynn's delightful Doodly Birds.

With the weather too good to be wasted inside, we decided some exercise wouldn't go amiss so, closing the door behind us for the first time in days, we went for a little neighbourhood walk.

This took us to a park which is almost literally on our doorstep but which we hadn't visited in a long time.

The park is part of a domain which used to belong to an order of nuns, but which was taken over by the local council in the 1980s.

I grew up in the village we are now living in and, while the park itself was private property during my childhood, the adjacent large playground, opened in 1961, and run by the nuns, was a major attraction which put our drowsy village on the tourist map during the Summer months.

Nothing is left of the playground nowadays. It closed in 1986 and where once the cafeteria stood, where we were lured by ice cream and lemonade, an ugly concrete building  was erected to house the few remaining nuns.

Apart from a couple of joggers and one or two families and individuals out for a walk, the park was reasonably quiet, making social distancing relatively easy, the only problem being that some of the paths are quite narrow and required a bit of maneuvering.

But it was all worth it, even if only for the daintily nodding wood anemones which was carpeting the park. 

And true to ourselves, we even managed to get lost!

My spirits properly restored, I was feeling happier on Sunday. The weather did its best to cooperate, nudging the temperature towards a balmy 20° Celsius.

Time to ditch the long sleeves and bring out the first of the short-sleeved frocks! 

That day, the honour fell to this red vintage dress, its white polka dots joined by blue, red and white stripes at its hem, collar and cuffs.

I wore my Mum's navy, white buckled belt with it, and a turquoise necklace and ring. And look, the lady on my brooch is wearing white on red polka dots too!

And short sleeves just beg for bangles and bracelets, don't they?

Feeling more energetic, I tackled a kitchen drawer and cupboard for starters, then cleaned up the area just outside our back door, getting rid of a small mountain of dry leaves and other garden waste which had accumulated between the pots and underneath our cast iron boot scraper.

Here and there, the fuzzy little flowers of yellow dead-nettle were rearing their heads. They were inherited with the garden and, with their silver spotted leaves, they are always a welcome sight in Spring.

Another regular is Honesty, with its profusion of purple flowers, giving way to papery seed-heads looking like silver coins, and thus providing interest for several months.

It self-seeds freely around the garden, always turning up in the most unexpected of places, but welcome wherever it decides to grow.

I'll be returning with further home and garden adventures in my next post.

Until then, take care and stay safe!

Every day is like Sunday

After a three-day working week, it was with a sigh of relief that I closed the office door behind me last Wednesday. Knowing that I would only have to go back on Monday felt a bit strange yet strangely comforting at the same time. It was such a reassuring thought to know that we wouldn't have to leave Dove Cottage's cozy confines unless strictly necessary, locking out this perilous world we are currently inhabiting.

Sleeping just that little bit longer on Thursday, and taking our time over breakfast, were a luxury and in total contrast to our normal weekday regime.

As was not having to plan my outfit the night before, being able to stand in front of my wardrobe in the morning and letting inspiration flow instead. 

This vintage navy long-sleeved and empire waisted dress was begging me for an outing, and I knew resisting its joyful multi-coloured flower print was futile.

Piling on even more flowers seemed like the obvious thing to do so, instead of a brooch, I added three different coloured flower corsages. I also wore both an orange and a blue moulded plastic flower ring. Plastic rings seem to be the better option, what with all the hand washing, but I have to admit that nowadays I often do not wear any rings at all.

I tried many different necklaces, but none of them looked right, until I hit upon this 1960s style white metal one, a retail buy from at least ten years ago.

Sky blue opaques and an orange long cardigan, as it was sunny but rather chilly, completed my outfit. I also exchanged my indoor slippers for my burgundy boots for going out into the garden.

Positioning myself in the central, paved sunken area of our garden again, I had another attempt at trying to catch the attention of any passing spaceships. I'm here! Look, I'm wearing my brightest clothes, you idiots! Oh well, I'll trample that bloody virus to death instead!

My first day of relative freedom didn't exactly go to plan, to be honest. I had oodles of plans and endless imaginary lists of things to do, but I seemed to have mislaid my energy. These past few weeks have been quite traumatic, to say the least, and having to go to the office 5 days a week was getting more and more exhausting with each passing day.

I was feeling tired which made me a bit restless at first, but then I just gave in and just did what I felt like doing, which wasn't very much at all. In fact, I spent most of the day on the sofa reading my latest book.

From our backdoor, I watched some great tits rehearsing acrobatics in the garden, once in a while taking a breather on our garden wall. We've got a resident robin too, but he or she mainly presides over the "villa", which is our nickname for the wall mounted bird feeder house at the end of our garden.

Our potting shed (top left), decorated with rusty gardening tools, could probably do with a lick of paint, but I actually quite like its cracked and peeling paint, showing patches of an ancient green coat of paint underneath.

The angel bird bath bidding you welcome at our back door has been there forever. We probably picked it up at our local garden centre's bargain corner not long after we moved to Dove Cottage.

I felt a lot more energized on Friday, which we started by having fresh fruit and yoghurt for breakfast. Normally this is a hasty affair, with the fruit eaten straight from the plastic tub Jos has prepared the night before. The downside is that now I am the fruit peeler and cutter ... 

The dishes are Rambouillet by the Belgian Boch pottery, a very popular 1960s pattern and now selling like hot cakes in vintage shops.

After breakfast, Jos mopped the kitchen floor, but not before using our vintage washing equipment as musical instruments while singing along with the nostalgic tunes on the radio.

Meanwhile, I gave the bathroom a good clean, although I drew the line at taking everything off the top of our € 8 vintage bathroom cabinet for a dusting and deep clean. That'll be for another day.

Our tiny bathroom leads off the kitchen - you can just catch a glimpse of the door's cornice on the right in the above photo - and this is what's on the wall between the bathroom door and back door.

There are repro advertising signs for Cadbury's Cocoa and Sunlight Soap, then next to the latter is a slate Ty Bach sign. This is Welsh for toilet - it literally means "little house". 

Below that is our vintage 1970s kitchen roll holder from the German Emsa brand. 

The Cream Teas sign is modern and its row of wooden hooks holds kitchen towels and oven gloves.

The tiny shelf unit on its left, another Emsa product of the same design, is actually a spice rack. However, it was redundant, as we weren't using it as a spice rack at all. So, I had the brainwave of converting it into a display cabinet for small treasures. This was something I'd been planning to do for a while, but never had time for until now. 

There are vintage snuff tins, a figure from a popular Belgian comic, a tacky plastic Lourdes souvenir, egg cups, chocolate moulds, a tiny OXO tin, a set of miniature kitchen utensils, a small plastic M&M's figurine and a set of vintage weights.

Friday's outfit was all pinks and purples with a dash of black and white.

The pink dress, with lashings of purple and off-white flowers, came from a vintage per kilo shop in Antwerp. I accessorized it with a purple woven belt, a black and white beaded necklace and a brooch picked up at our last flea market, which has a tiny piece of lace on a black background.

To tie in with the black and white, I wore black opaques sprinkled with white polka dots.

Still a tiny bit too chilly to go it alone, I wore a mustard yellow cardigan on top. This has a lacy yoke, in its turn tying in with the lace on my brooch. It's from Vero Moda, but was charity shopped in April 2017 and it's so pretty I wonder why I'm not wearing it more. No, do not answer that. I know it's because I have too many clothes. No, scrap that, there's no such thing! And I'm actually grateful for my huge wardrobe, especially now.

Not having been outside at all, except for our handkerchief sized garden, I needed to stretch my legs so, armed with hand sanitizer, I donned coat, scarf and beret, and went for a brisk walk along the block, running an errand at the chemist at the same time.

The weather was definitely getting a spring in its step, but it felt very weird being out on the streets, even our reasonably quiet village ones.

Being at home all the time for days on end really does feel as if every day is like Sunday!

I will be back with last weekend's non-adventurous soon!