Sunday 4 April 2021

Spring Fever Blues

On Sunday the 21st of March, traditionally considered the first official day of Spring, the sun was conspicuous in her absence. Without the glow provided by her rays, the 9°C indicated by the thermometer felt decidedly chilly, making us feel especially thankful that we'd had the foresight to go for a ramble on Saturday. 

The day's gloom added to the Spring Fever Blues I'd woken up with, which in their turn had been kick-started by the doom and damnation our country was once again engulfed in as day by day the infection rate seemed to be creeping up to alarming heights.



Having no plans whatsoever, I got dressed with comfort in mind, selecting this navy houndstooth patterned vintage dress which hadn't seen the light of day since last February. It was during our Anniversary trip to Bruges - a far happier occasion - that it was granted its first outing.

Wearing red opaques with the dress is almost a given, and I kept to the same colour for my charity shopped beaded necklace and my vintage brooch - a posy of red plastic berry-like flowers growing from burnished gold stems and leaves - which was a flea market find in January 2019.



It was late afternoon when we realized we hadn't taken any outfit photos yet, so I quickly threw on the red slubbed Colours of the World jacket I found at Oxfam in February, pinning another vintage brooch on it for good measure. With its tiny turquoise beads nestling inside a gold-tone flower, this too was a flea market find, bought from the formidable Brooch Lady back in 2016.

I wasn't entirely happy with the photos we made rather hurriedly that day, which wasn't in the least helped by the fact that my hair was trying to do its own thing in spite of the fact that I'd just washed it.



The better part of that Sunday was spent reading on the couch. 

Who needs sunshine when Dove Cottage's sitting room, with its cheerful orange walls, provides its own all year around?



Monday was the start of another wonky working week. Now that I'm working additional Fridays, Mondays are the quietest days of the week, so that I was able to get through my tasks in no time. It wasn't quiet in the literal sense though, as a brand new fire security system is being installed in our building, accompanied by lots of noisy drilling. Hence, I escaped the office during lunch break and went for a walk, during which a gift box of cat toys happened to make its way into my basket.



Bess happily plays with all the toys we provide her with and in the few weeks she has been with us she has accumulated a toy collection to rival any child's. 

Both the terracotta tile and the wooden sign are UK holiday souvenirs from many years ago. The tile, which came from the family run Black Dog workshop in Wells - which google tells me has since moved to Bath - even pre-dates Phoebe. The very fine cat who lived at Dove Cottage at the time was our grey and white tabby cat Poesie, who was adopted by Jos and his youngest daughter An as a kitten. She lived to the age of 17 and we said goodbye to her in 2009, just under a month before Phoebe came into our lives.



Tuesday was a sunny day for once, with the temperature making its way into the low double figures.

The sunshine streaming in through Dove Cottage's windows showed up the accumulated dust and cat hair, so I swept the upstairs rooms, the dining room, the hallway and the front room, while Jos promised to do the kitchen and bathroom on Wednesday.

As you can probably deduce from the outfit photos' backdrop - the famous white painted brick wall of our garage building - we actually went on an outing that day.




I was wearing another one of my black floral frocks, a vintage handmade one scattered with poppy-esque flowers, I picked up both the pink and the green from its pattern for my accessories. These included a pale green fabric belt with a decorative metal buckle which used to belong to a dress I've long since let go, and a charity shopped pale green necklace. The colour pink was represented by my opaques and cardigan.

Among the poppies, the yellow of the ceramic daffodil brooch clearly stands out. This was another holiday souvenir, bought from a craft shop in Cardigan, Wales in June 2017.

And look, here are my moss green wedge ankle boots again!



My outerwear consisted of a Spring weight herringbone Dorothy Perkins coat - an old charity shop find - finished with my fluffy sugar pink scarf and purple beret.

We were off to the garden centre, where we were overjoyed to see that their outside space offering perennials, climbers, small shrubs and grasses, had re-opened after its Winter closure.



It was only natural that we made a bee-line for it, and a happy twenty minutes or so was spent browsing its treasures. Jos didn't think twice when he spotted pots of red hot pokers (Kniphofia uvaria) and, keeping in mind their apparent scarcity and elusiveness last Summer, bought two of them for good measure.

We also fell for Armeria maritima 'Floral Dreams', or Sea Thrift, which already had some early flowers although its usual flowering time is May. This is the only one I planted out immediately, leaving the rest for another day. After all, there will be plenty of time as long as I'm working at my current three day schedule.



Our final purchases were two kinds of Aquilegia, an unusual pom-pom flowered Achillea, a dark maroon Hollyhock (Alcea rosea 'Nigra') and Delphinium 'Black Knight'.

Oh, and we bought a new doormat as well, it's the blue, red and white patterned thing on the bottom left. 

Wednesday was the day of our government's emergency meeting, during which our current semi-lockdown was decided upon. While I was on the phone with my boss, and we agreed to continue with our reduced hours, my hairdresser left a message that he could fit me in on Friday, which was the last day before the new regulations would come into force. In spite of it all, I did a happy dance for these two positives counterbalancing the overall air of negativity.


On Thursday we were treated to the usual mixture of sunshine and clouds, which came accompanied by a fairly mild 13°C. 

Still somewhat knocked for six by the news of the impending semi-lockdown while trying to make sense of the usual maze of incomprehensible rules this inevitably goes hand-in-hand with, I was feeling a bit maudlin that day. Apart from a walk into town to get some toiletries and catching up with blogland, I didn't do very much at all that day.



A good portion of its morning was spent playing with my wardrobe and assembling the day's outfit.

The green and white plaid textured polyester skirt is an old Think Twice find and is just right to capture those hesitant first days of Spring. Nothing Springlike whatsoever about the explosion of Summer flowers adorning my Zara blouse, which was picked up in a charity shop last July.

Both the brown belt and the green vintage Dralon cardigan were charity shop finds as well, while the green butterfly brooch was a retail buy from a small, quirky shop near my office in Antwerp. My collection also contains its pink and blue sisters.

That just leaves my chocolate brown beaded necklace which, if memory serves me right, came from Think Twice.



I contemplated planting up the mass of Spring plants patiently awaiting their fate on the table right outside our back door, but I simply couldn't muster up the energy required.

With Spring having only just sprung, I was fairly sure they could wait another day or two.



Before I call it a day, though, why not leave you with some floral cheerfulness?

Pandemic or not, they don't seem to have a care in the world but to bloom to their heart's content.

Do stay happy and healthy, my dears!


32 comments:

  1. All that beautiful floral cheer is just what’s needed now Ann. The weather has turned cold again here and they are forecasting snow. I’d love to be snuggled up in the orange glow of Dove Cottage.
    Stay safe my colourful friend and stay warm xxx

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    1. Thank you Lynn! We've had snow here as well, what a difference with last April! xxx

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  2. pretty flowers indeed!
    here we will have to wait for them a few days more - but many of the bulbs i planted over the years pushed out the green already. and i can spot the tiny new leaves of the perennials and self seeding flowers in the frontgarden bed - yay!
    bess is spoiled indeed - lisbeth has only old vine corks and occasional a ball of scrap paper for playing....... and the mice in the garden of cause
    ;-D
    i like that coat!
    stay cosy! xxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate! Same as rediscovering one's Spring and Summer clothes, it's always a joy to see the old acquaintances in the garden. My first cats played with old wine corks too, but unfortunately neither of us drinks wine anymore, so no corks :-)) xxx

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  3. I'm sure the plants won't mind sitting a while longer in the pots. Hopefully, you will soon find the energy to put them into the ground. Enjoy the day! Regula

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    1. No I'm sure they won't. There's all the time in the world when it gets warmer! xxx

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  4. You are ahead of me on the gardening front Ann. I'm just waiting for the right day to get started out there. Our weather does sound similar though. As I write this however it's trying to snow! I love, love the tan belt. You can see it's fine quality. What a find xx

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    1. Oh, we did get our fair share of snow as well. I haven't done as much gardening as I did this time last year! xxx

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  5. Bess is one pampered cat, look at all her toys! Frank loves his toys, too.
    Your array of spring flowers is a sight for sore eyes 9as are your fabulously colourful outfits). We've had some snow today but I was happy to see signs of the nasturtiums poking through the earth! I've never had any luck with red hot pokers but if I see some going cheap on my travels I shall try again.
    Dove Cottage does look delightfully sunny! xxx

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    1. Oh, I agree she is, Vix. But she seems to appreciate everything we've bought for her, and truth be told, she really deserves being spoiled. She has so much to catch up on now that she's got her forever home. Jury's out on the red hot pokers ... xxx

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  6. Happy Easter Monday. Your garden is always beautiful, love these new flowers you added. I'm so happy to read that Bess is doing well and enjoying her toys. She is such a cute kitty. I'm sure she'll be fully at home in no time. The orange walls are beautiful and as you say a nice 'sunny' alternative when the sun is hiding. I do believe in colour therapy.
    Your outfits are always wonderful. I think my favourite is the dark floral dress worn with the pink cardigan and that fabulous coat. I also really like the outfit in green tones. I hope you have had a lovely Easter weekend.

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    1. Thank you Ivana! I can't wait to get my gardening tools out, but in the meantime I'm enjoying the sunny oranges of our sitting room :-) xxx

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  7. All those flowers make me so happy - their cheerful faces don't know about pandemics and lockdowns. Bess is really a lovely little cat - her sweet pose makes me smile!

    I love your outfits here, Ann. So much colour (a riot!) and such amazing patterns. I could spend hours going through your closet and not see everything, I suspect!

    We are in the midst of similar troubles over here. Despite vaccines rolling out to the 70+-year-olds, the numbers are getting higher and higher. The government is blaming it on the younger folks, who are partying and not having a care in the world, however, those are the same front-line retail and grocery shop worker demographic, so maybe they should be getting their jabs??

    I don't know...but at least we can look at sweet kitties, colourful blooms and your fabulous outfits!

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    1. Thank you Sheila! I'm glad the flowers are making you happy. They make me happy too, as does our little Bess, who is becoming lovelier by the minute. As for the vaccines, I guess it isn't easy trying to decide on who gets theirs first. Every age group has something to be said for them being first in line. I know I am chomping at the bit! xxx

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  8. Beautiful assortment of f lowers! I always look forward to seeing what you grow. I'm more of a veg gardener myself, so flowers intrigue me. You might have inspired me to visit a garden centre for a pot or two of something blooming.

    You know I gravitate to anything green and that skirt and cardigan have my eyes glued to them. Glad you were able to fit in a hairdresser's appointment. I am counting the days until I can do the same.
    Take care.

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    1. Thank you Goody! I'm a complete novice when it comes to veg gardening. Which is a shame really, as my grandfather ran a successful allotment. Perhaps when I'm (semi) retired? xxx

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  9. Orange walls! Love 'em. And dressing for comfort is the order of the day.

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    1. Thank you Ally! I'm not always putting comfort first when it comes to dressing, though. The ideal, of course, is the perfect balance between looks and comfort :-) xxx

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  10. I'm so tired. But I want you leave some greetings. Nice to see you and Bess and how beautiful are these pansies? !! 😁
    with a very huge hug Tina

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    1. Thank you for taking your time to comment, in spite of your hectic schedule! xxx

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  11. I like that first red and blue outfit a lot !I'm sorry you're back into semi-lockdown but it's nice you were able to get out to the garden centre and get some cheerful plants for your garden to help you smile with more time at home!

    We haven't vaccinated all our doctors and nurses yet so we have had a few outbreaks from hotel quarantine as the medical staff treat those people who bring covid into the country. We had a short lockdown before Easter as a result but thankfully it was lifted just before Easter. We had I think at one point 11 cases in the community outside of quarantine though which was scary but thankfully they got on top of it quickly! I was worried it would be a repeat of last year's long lockdown again, around the same time. It's a bit upsetting when that keeps happening but hopefully we will all be vaccinated and this will be over soon!

    Hope that you are having a good week! It's been a very rainy one so far here!

    Away From The Blue

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    1. Thank you Mica! I do think that the majority of medical workers have been vaccinated here by now. 11 cases outside of quarantine might sound scary to you, but it does looks impossibly low for us here! xxx

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  12. Do I spot a glass of wine there? I showed Gerben your sitting room because he loves that style. Also love your floral dress and blouse. Always when it is spring I want to wear floral prints. We also have a cat sign from England in our garden. It's a cat sitting with a bucket and the sign says, free bird seed. Ain't brittish humor the best.

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    1. No wine, I'm afraid, Nancy! We are both teetotallers :-) The glass you've spotted contains non-alcoholic beer! But yes, I do agree British humour is the best! xxx

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  13. I so enjoyed seeing your delightful Spring blooms and you have given me ideas as to planting the crocus bulbs I bought recently.I do like your dark floral dress and the `daffodil brooch is just wonderful.

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    1. Thank you Jill! I'm always looking forward to those short few weeks when wearing a daffodil brooch seems appropriate :-) xxx

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  14. Lovely houndstooth dress and lovely colour combo (you know I'm a huge fan of red tights!). I'm in in love with both brooches indeed!. You rock!.
    And totally agree that orange walls are cheerful (also agree about reading on the couch). Lovely that Bess is becoming a spoiled cat!
    Looking fab in your black floral dress with these pink and green matchy accents!, and so cute brooch!.
    Totally understand that you felt happy about good news (hairdresser appointment and keeping your timetable) even if things are not improving anyway. Also understand very well that all we have to deal with absurd regulations, different rules from one day to another, and sometimes even contradictions.
    Anyway, your outfit was fabulous, I love the green skirt and cardi and the floral shirt, and the always delightful accessories!.
    And a final wowww to these spring plants!, they look so fabulously colourful!, putting a smile on my face!
    besos

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    1. Thank you so much Monica! I'm glad that my outfits and spring flowers are putting a smile on your face!
      You're right, some of the restrictions are contradictory and some of them even absurd! xxx

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  15. What a marvelous array of blooms - both real and delivered in fashion form. While spring is, no two ways about it, inching out of hibernation here, our evenings continue to often drop below freezing and we had a light snowfall on Saturday. In other words, we're not quite into fresh blossom territory yet and that makes seeing the garden's worth of fab flowers in this wonderful post all the more of a treat.

    Autumn Zenith 🧡 Witchcrafted Life

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    1. Thank you Autumn! I'm chomping at the bit to buy the annuals which are already on offer at the garden centre, but it's best to wait until May when there's little or no chance of frost! xxx

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  16. Oh no, more lockdowns? I hope the rate drops where you are soon.

    I'd never heard of that tile company - aren't they splendid?

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    1. So do I, Mim. We actually bought the tile while on holiday in Cornwall. Later, when we stayed in a B&B in Croscombe, near Wells, we discovered that that the tiles originated from that neck of the woods! xxx

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