No time to wallow in the mire

I have to admit that I've been feeling a bit off these last couple of days. There's nothing wrong, really, so don't worry, I'm just having a serious case of the blues which are putting my heartstrings out of tune.

In a world where everything was as it should be and the thought of a pandemic having the world in its vice sounded like pure science fiction, we would be in our cottage in Shropshire by now, after a day's journey which would have started in the early hours of this morning.

It's the first time in over twenty years that we won't be making it to the UK!

And I'm sorry, but even knowing that there are far worse things people have to deal with the world over, or that I'm just one of many whose holiday plans were cancelled, doesn't really help to ease the pain right now.

But I'm sure it will pass, and as I count my blessings - we are both in good health for starters - there really is no reason to wallow in self pity. And we have all the time in the world as well, to do almost anything we feel like doing - except going on that UK holiday - including doing nothing very much at all.

So, without further ado, I am retracing my steps to Friday before last. The sun was still conspicuous by her absence, and the day's overall gloominess was accompanied by temperatures barely into double figures.

I was in the mood for what Sheila would call a jammy dress, and this flower sprinkled chocolate brown one immediately sprang to mind. It's an old sales bargain from Zoë Loveborn, a label which doesn't seem to be around anymore. 

It's got three-quarter sleeves, which obviously aren't visible here, as it was far too chilly to step out into the garden without a cardigan. From its cheerful print I chose yellow for my belt and green for my necklace. And with the weather forecast being pretty dire, I obviously needed an umbrella!

The multiple outside projects I had lined up needed to take a back seat for now so, after cursing the weather's fickleness, I decided to continue with project dining room.

The wide window sill overlooking the passageway was in need of a good dusting so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to rearrange the objects on display. It might be hard to believe, but I didn't even put everything back! A minimalist I will never ever be.

The huge black phone was a gift from one of Jos's friends. It is a direct line desk phone, with a metal body and a Bakelite handle, dating from the 1950s. As you can see, it has a crank, and no dial.

The lamp, with its embellished brass Art Nouveau base, was found in a vintage shop, while the old glass pop bottles were picked up during various UK holidays.

The plaster girl and her two adorable, big Bambi-eyed pet deer was a charity shop find back in 2018. 

And then there's the typewriter ... It is a much loved heirloom, belonging to my paternal grandfather and dating from the late 1920s, early 1930s, and it used to be displayed in a more prominent position. If you're interested in its history - and my grandfather's - you can read all about it in this post.

But lately, it has fallen out of grace, which I'm sure needs no explanation. However, rather than banishing it to the basement, I moved it a bit further along the window sill ...

... and gave it a face mask!

Jos had a laughing fit when he saw what I'd done, and I'm hoping that it will make you smile at the very least.

Directly beneath the window sill, in what used to be a bit of a wasted space, is a low bookshelf custom made by my Dad, who used to be a joiner by trade.

Apart from an encyclopedia of the 20th Century and my vintage Barbie collecting books, the shelf is home to a large collection of gardening books.

These do come in all shapes and sizes including, obviously, those of a practical nature.

The vast majority are second-hand finds and there are some proper vintage ones as well.

Much to my delight, the well-thumbed copy of  the late Christopher Lloyd's The Well-Tempered Garden, contained the second one of the brass bookmarks from Past Times.  I knew there were two, but I didn't have the faintest idea where the second one had got to. 

There are gardening books of a more poetic nature too, as well as a volume of botanical prints and the December 1940 issue of My Garden, intriguingly subtitled as An Intimate Magazine for Garden Lovers!

All of a sudden, with an eardrum shattering noise, it starting pelting down, producing a watery curtain which soon turned our garden path into a minor river. 

It was brief but torrential and although everything had received a welcome soaking, no real damages seemed to have been caused.

Lunch was followed by our weekly visit to the garden centre. By then, it had turned chilly enough to wear a coat over my dress and cardigan. 

We bought some trellis for a pending garden project and some more plants, including six lavenders of the Hidcote variety. This is yet again a UK holiday reminder, as we visited Hidcote Gardens near Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire on a hot day in July 2006.

Our first job on Saturday, when it mercifully remained mainly dry, was planting up two window boxes with the six Hidcote lavenders. These boxes live on our bedroom's window ledge and had shamefully been harbouring only weeds for quite some time.

The lavender is only just coming into flower, and we are looking forward to waking up to the buzzing of bees in the months to come.

A gusty wind was blowing and making the clouds play a game of hide-and-seek with the sun. Although it wasn't too bad during the brief moments that the sun was ahead of the game, it was decidedly chilly when the clouds had once again gained the upper hand.

Long sleeves to the rescue! I accompanied my sky blue, orange and green floral skirt with a green, yellow and white flower strewn long-sleeved Diolen blouse. More flowers appeared in my brooch, while further accessories were my favourite orange belt and a pale blue beaded necklace.

Before going out into the garden, I pulled on the old blue cardigan I've got lying around, as I could definitely do with a double layer of long sleeves. 

Apart from the lavender, we also bought some patio plants, which I potted up and divided over the plant table next to the bench at the back of the garden and the table right outside the back door. They include, clockwise from top right, pink Garvinea, which is a hardy garden gerbera, blue yellow-hearted Felicia, and deep red Cosmos atrosanguineus, also know as chocolate cosmos, as the flowers have a distinct chocolate scent. We used to have them many years ago but I hadn't been able to find some since. With that in mind, I couldn't resist buying two.

The tempestuous weather continued on Sunday and the wind combined with the odd shower made for a day better spent inside.

I caught up with blogland, continued with my Victorian fashion book and listlessly pottered around the house, making a start with rearranging the book and cd shelves in the dining room.

I was in short sleeves again, but the dress I'd plucked from my wardrobe was a thick and lined Diolen one, so that I only needed the cardigan to go on my round of inspection in the garden.

The dress, with its sunny blue, white and yellow print, originally had belt loops, but they weren't where my waist is, so I removed them. The loops are an indication that the dress once had a belt, which it had lost by the time it came to me. I added a yellow vinyl one from my stash, wore a vintage yellow beaded necklace and pinned on a large plastic brooch featuring a lady wearing a generously decorated hat.

To the orange, yellow and blue checked cardigan - a charity shop find - I clipped three different flower corsages.

And what did I see on my round of inspection? 

Exactly! Lots of wildlife, some good and some bad. The bad being the snails, of course, who, with their army of friends and family, are lying in wait to decimate our garden plants.

They seem to have a particular penchant for the Tagetes, but aren't above eating holes into the Hollyhock leaves or leaving their slimy trails all over any Petunias which are planted low enough for them to reach. Now where did I put that pot of Vaseline, so that I can at least try and deter the voracious creatures from devouring those plants which are lucky enough to be planted in pots!