Thursday 3 June 2021

Goodbye May

Hello June, first of the Summer months! Traditionally our holiday month, it always set our hearts aflutter whenever we turned the calendar's page. As obviously we will once again be unable to go on our usual UK holiday, there is a tinge of heartache instead. 

The good news is that the company we are renting our holiday cottage from - Sykes Cottages, which I'm linking as they've been most obliging -  in agreement with the cottage's owner, have consented to switching our two-week holiday, which was originally meant to happen in 2020, to next year. The owner has jokingly mentioned he's expecting a big box of Belgian chocolates, though!

In other news, my boss has decided that we'll continue working 3 days a week until the end of the month, which I can't say I mind very much. Au contraire! And oh, yes, before I forget: by this time tomorrow, I'll have received my first dose of Pfizer vaccine. Who'd have thought that getting a jab would be the cause of so much excitement? Perhaps it won't be such a bad June after all.



I'm sure it won't come as a surprise that my blog hasn't reached the month of June yet. Always lagging behind real life, I still need to tell you about the last week of May. 

So, without further ado, let's start with Tuesday the 25th of May, which was my first non-office day of that week. Any plans for spending time in the garden had to be shelved when we could hear the rain battering down the minute we opened our eyes. 

At barely 13°C, I dejectedly rescued one of my long-sleeved frocks from the pile I'd put aside for hibernation in the linen chest. 



Part of my Think Twice birthday haul back in September, this navy, flower infused dress came with a tie belt which, taking my lead from the pattern's daisy hearts, I replaced with a marigold yellow leather one. Then, browsing my drawers of brooches, my eyes alighted on this vintage Daisy pin, which matches the dress's daisies almost exactly.

Further accessories were my yellow, orange and white bubblegum necklace, a yellow cardi with red and white detail on one shoulder, a pair of sky blue opaques and a pair of cinnamon ankle boots.



We'd originally intended to go to the garden centre to pick up some more annuals, but as the day was too much of a washout to do some actual planting, we opted to go charity shopping instead.

Browsing the clothing basement of the three-storey charity shop in Duffel, I was about to give up and go home empty-handed when I noticed a rail of newly arrived skirts. From this, I selected a brick red denim skirt from Zara and a flouncy black viscose skirt printed with lemons and forget-me-nots. The latter has already been a blessing on a warm Summer's day at the time of writing.



I also managed to add to my collection of heart-patterned King Louie cardigans with this bright turquoise one. I now have these wonderful cardigans in seven different colours, all of them charity shopped over the years!

When I was dressing up Angelica in my new finds, it dawned on me that I forgot to show you two items from our previous shopping trip, as they were still in the laundry basket at the time.

First up is a pair of exotically patterned palazzo trousers, which I can't wait to give an outing. The other item is a sleeveless Diolen frock in a delicious flower pattern. In fact, I already have a frock in exactly the same pattern: this 1970s does 1940s one, which is a firm favourite. I also have a butterfly sleeved dress in an alternative colourway. 



A brief reprieve from the rain at the end of the day allowed us to take outfit photos and inspect the garden's progress. 

The dark maroon leaves of Heuchera 'Black Sea' and the Allium globes were saturated with raindrops but overall the garden seemed to thrive on all that heavenly moisture. 

I was delighted to see the first rose-like bud appearing in the Geum chiloense 'Mrs. Bradshaw' we planted back in April (bottom left) while the size of the saucer-like magenta flowers in Geranium 'Tiny Monster' (top left) took us quite by surprise! Not so tiny after all!



We think that the 'Tiny Monster' moniker would be far better suited to Bess! Her voyage of discovery has now lead her on top of the kitchen table, from where she is able to watch the wildlife visiting the passageway. Creepy crawlies, beware! 



Wednesday's weather was another mixed bag of sunshine and clouds, with some showers thrown in, the temperature making a tiny jump to 15°C. Not that I noticed much of this, as my workload at the office kept me fully occupied.

We'd been looking forward to Thursday, as the weather forecast looked rather promising, only to be disappointed as those bothersome weather people got it wrong again. Mercifully, we were spared another rainy day, but it was quite blustery, and only 14°C.



Although once quite poetically likened to balloons flying up into the evening sky, it are actually stylized flowers which constitute this short-sleeved dress's pattern. It has graced my wardrobe ever since I laid eyes on it in a charity shop in March 2017. 

Again, it came with a self-fabric tie belt, which this time I replaced with a green stretchy fabric one. The latter was a charity shop find as well, sold separately although I expect it once belonged to a dress. One of my green beaded necklaces - I have them in several shades - kept the belt company.



I needed a large brooch to compete with the dress's busy pattern, and found the perfect one in my box of flower corsages. This blue felted flower with its bright pink heart fit the bill - and the dress - perfectly. The flower sprinkled cardigan is another recently charity shopped King Louie one.

First outing this year for my wicker panelled oatmeal ankle boots. Once bought as an emergency replacement pair after having a footwear incident at work, I liked them so much that I bought them twice. They are perfect for those not-quite-yet-Summer days.



After our usual fruit & yoghurt breakfast, we made that postponed trip to the gardening centre, picking up a box of selected annuals and bedding plants. These included two pots of coral Busy Lizzies to replace the spent pansies in the window box at the end of the passageway. Watched by Bess from her scratching post, which we'd moved in front of the window, I planted these on both sides of the box's permanent resident, Heuchera 'Can Can'.



My other garden accomplishment that day was finally planting up the Gaillardia we'd bought a couple of weeks ago. Its home for the Summer is a terracotta pot which fits nicely between the solar spotlight and the parking meter above the rock garden.

Meanwhile, the garden was showing lots of promise and potential, waiting to be fulfilled once the weather warms up. While the Aquilegias are still going strong, there are the first of the Sweet Peas and five big fat flower buds in the Oriental poppy!



This gorgeous yellow flower has got me stumped. Does this look orange to you? Not to me either. It's Trollius 'Orange Princess'. Or at least, that's what it said on the label! Apparently, there's a Trollius 'Lemon Queen' too, so they must have got their labels mixed up at the garden centre.



There was a considerable improvement in the weather on Friday, and by Saturday, we were able to finally enjoy a gloriously sunny day. The temperature soared to 21°C, and even the fact that the sun hid behind the clouds at regular intervals couldn't stop play.

The first of my 1970s vintage cotton skirts came out to play, joined by a vintage short-sleeved blouse. The latter's purple on white diagonals, dotted with magenta flowers, complimented the skirts's millefiori pattern. Again, my brooch collection came up trumps with the perfect flower brooch.



Trying on a handful of necklaces, nothing looked right until I hit upon this one, which is an old retail buy, from Accessorize. To tie in with its brown shades, I opted for a stretchy belt with a faux tortoiseshell buckle



Needless to say, the better part of the day was spent in the garden. 

I started by thinning out the ferns and cutting back some of the Winter Jasmine to give more space to the plants underneath, after which I planted up all the patiently waiting annuals.




The garden is at its exuberant best now, and the best part of not travelling in June is that we can enjoy it to the full and give it the care it deserves.

I'll be back, partly vaccinated, and with more garden and other sunny weather adventures, in a couple of days' time.

Stay happy and healthy, everyone!



36 comments:

  1. Hurrah for the good weather!

    Your outfits are, as always, beautifully coordinated and so wonderfully accessorised. The new shoes you picked up recently looked fab. Loved what you bought and Angelica looked very stylish indeed. My mind boggles at the idea of three floors of charity shopping! I've been looking for a replacement pair of black linen loose trousers - so far with no luck.

    Congratulations on your jab tomorrow - hope you don't have any side effects.
    xxx

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    1. Thank you Vronni! Most of our charity shops are much larger than the average high street UK one, but this one really tops it all. Needless to say, it's one of our favourites! xxx

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  2. I am sad about your holiday in UK Ann. But I hope you can travel soon. ... with a big pack of belgian chocolate. 😬
    You got your first vaccine! 🥳 Hope you are well.
    I love this outfit with the red skirt and I am looking forward you wearing it.
    Bess is so cute. Now she is the „ Straßenwart“ 😂
    with a very huge hug Tina

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    1. Thank you Tina! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can go back to the UK in 2022. I don't really want to travel abroad as long as tests and quarantine are involved, plus I'd be feeling much more confident once I'm fully vaccinated. xxx

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  3. Welcome to the jab club, Ann! Here's to travel in 2022 and a chance to meet up again. How lovely of Sykes Cottages to carry forward your booking, I bet you both can't wait to be back in the UK!
    Bess is looking so confident and pretty, she's s aturdy little thing, I'd be picking her up and cuddling her at every opportunity.
    The garden looks marvellous, my Little Monsters are out but I'm on the lookout for more colour, inspired by your blooms I've scribbled down a few names to look for when I'm in the garden centre next.
    fabulously put together outfits, that yellow cardi with the fancy shoulder is gorgeous and that lovely crisp cotton skirt with the new shoes is perfect! xxx

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    1. I can't wait to meet up again, and I'm sure it will be all the sweeter after such a long wait! Sykes Cottages have been more than decent! We try to avoid picking up Bess, but she's always up for cuddling. Who'd have thought! xxx

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  4. glad you got your first jab!!
    this is the post of wearing flowers on dark blue! and can´t believe you found the 3. dress in this pretty flower pattern..... must have being a best seller back then.
    the only planting i did the last weeks were the little boxes at the summer salon - the beds bursting with different greens and the first flowers - and more are on the way. gardening this days is cutting back the wild grow and watering the veggies!
    hugsies! xxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate, and yes, I seem to be wearing dark blue florals in all three outfits. I never even noticed at the time ... xxx

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  5. And how does it feel? The first jab? A bit more relaxed isn't it. Bess looks quite relaxed too, I love the looks they give you, totally trusting you. Aren't you and Jos considaring to go to the UK in Autumm? Lovely skirts especially the red one. And i love al the necklaces, such beautiful colors. Enjoy your weekend!

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    1. It does feel a bit more relaxed, but I'll still be glad when the wait is over and I've had my second one + two weeks. Going to the UK seems to be pretty complicated, we'll only consider going once no more testing and quarantine are involved! xxx

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  6. it's nice you could change your holiday around but even better you have your first vaccination! Still no idea here when we will be vaccinated. It's good that they have opened it up to more age groups - still the older ones though so only 40+, but there are many problems with the booking system so people are struggling to get vaccinated. I hope they are ironed out by the time we are eligible! It's so good that my parents have had their first does though - being older with pre existing conditions they got it relatively quickly (for Australian standards anyway!)

    I really like the print mixing in the last outfit but the first one is my favourite with the blue and yellow combo!

    Hope you have a great weekend ahead of you! It's a fun one here with kids birthday parties!

    Away From The Blue

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    1. I do hope the vaccination problems are ironed out soon, Mica! We had a slow start here in Belgium, but now where the number 1 in Europe! xxx

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  7. Such good news about your vaccine. I hope the second one is dispensed in a timely manner and you can get back to living your life without fear.
    The garden! Oh my, it is looking incredible. As always, you've found the best second hand items. Those cardigans are going to be a rainbow soon. They're so beautiful.
    Take care.

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    1. Thank you Goody! Three more weeks to my second jab! As for those cardigans, I'm sure it won't be the last one to catch my eye! xxx

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  8. I had an entry in my diary about you arriving Ann. I’ll have to move it to next year now haha. Let me have the link for where you are staying and I’ll see if we can find somewhere nearby.
    Great news about your vaccine. It does give us all a feeling of reassurance.
    The Plant Dude from Bacup market delivered our hanging baskets yesterday. They are mainly petunias and we are looking forward to seeing them grow and bloom over the coming weeks. Your garden is looking lush now.
    Have a lovely weekend you three xxx

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    1. Aww, Lynn! I'll be letting you know the dates and the link - same cottage as two years ago - by email. I can't wait for us to meet up. It's not too far from Montgomery, by the way ... xxx

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  9. Your garden is looking so pretty , I know you will miss your usual time in the UK but it will be lovely to enjoy the best of flower season. So pleased you have had your first vaccine , it is so re-assuring isn't it - had my first a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully next year will be a year of travel. xx

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    1. Thank you Jill, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for 2022. You're right about the garden, though. Also, I wouldn't be able to have so many patio pots, which need daily watering! xxx

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  10. No no, no one can ever joke about a large box of Belgian chocolate! ;) Your garden, just like your outfits, is not only colorful, but wonderfully detailed, Ann - you're the queen of tiniest nuances! I have that very same Heuchera I think, love them for growing through winters, I've had a few over the years, which are happy to grow in containers. Love the contrasting blue and yellow outfit, the red brick denim skirt that you paired so well with bluish green cardi. Congrats on your first shot! Soon you'll be traveling to all your favorite places. Much, much love!

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    1. Absolutely :-) I have several Heucheras - all slightly different colours - in the garden. They's such useful plants, and as you mentioned, they're just perfect to provide some interest in Winter! xxx

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  11. Your colourful clothes are the sign of good weather. It must be back tomorrow I reckon. ;-) We had a lot of rain today, got soaked, but were warm again soon after the pour down. All good. The sky is showing patches of blue again. So hopefully, when I open my eyes tomorrow morning the sun shines.

    Good night! xxx

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    1. Thank you Regula! We're having a heatwave right now, but that is set to change again in a couple of days. A typical Belgian Summer, I guess. xxx

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  12. Hooray for your first jab, Ann! Such good news! Also that you will be staying at 3 days a week for a month - I suspect I'll be staying at my 3 days schedule until September or so, so now I'm really appreciating the quiet.

    Love all your colourful dresses and your wonderful garden, but you know I was getting my fix of Bess pics! I love the one with her reflection - she does look like she's full of mischief!

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    1. Thank you Sheila! Although we'll be back to working full time in July, I still have most of my holiday quota from last year, so I'll be working 4-day weeks until well into Autumn! xxx

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  13. What a beauty Bess is! I loved seeing her photos.
    Congrats on the first dose of vaccine. Now it's just one more dose for both of us.
    Great news about the cottage.
    As always, I love your fabulous vintage style. The yellow cardigan and the blue dress is my personal fav outfit this time but I also like the flowery one and the striped blouse paired with the skirt.

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    1. Thank you Ivana! I'm looking forward to being fully vaccinated. I hope you will get your second one soon. Mine is on July 9. xxx

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  14. Yay on getting your first dose of the vaccine. I was misty eyed when I got my first. Loving the prints on the dark fabrics as well as the flower brooch. We are very excited to be able to start travelling again.

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    1. Thank you Hena! I have to admit I was a bit misty eyed too, and I'm sure it'll be even worse when I get my second jab! xxx

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  15. I love the shoes with flowers and they look even better on.
    I hope you get to go on a local holiday this year. More distant travel isn't worth the uncertainty is it, and also reducing it will help stop the spread of new variants...I keep telling myself all this so I don't feel down about another year with no travel to exciting places! It's good that you've been able to postpone rather than cancel.
    Bess looks positively brimming with confidence now, you have obviously made her feel right at home. She's very photogenic. xxx

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    1. Thank you Sally! We'll be going on our usual local September holiday, and perhaps a couple of days away after I'm fully vaccinated. I agree that travelling abroad isn't worth the uncertainty ... xxx

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  16. It's nice to get inspiration from your wonderful clothes !! I love the King Luis cardigan and the Think Twice dress, illuminated by the yellow cardigan !! But they are all beautiful .. the other day I wore, to go out, a foulard that I thought you would like .. I smiled and sent you a hug with my thoughts ... Your garden is fantastic! Give the sweet kitty a kiss for me! I hug you!
    Carmela

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    1. Thank you Carmela, and I think I received your virtual hug when you wore that foulard. You'll have to show it on your blog some day! xxx

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  17. So true regarding the joy, elation even, over being able to get vaccinated. At long last, I'm set to receive mine this week on Wednesday. As soon as I became eligible to book my first vaccine, I lept on the first date and available time slot they had available. I'm no less excited for that to happen than I am for my b-day next month. Objectively, more so really. I've had 36 b-days already, but this is my first COVID vaccine. :)

    Autumn Zenith 🧡 Witchcrafted Life

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    1. Judging from your comment, you'll have received your fist jab in the meantime. I do hope all went well and you're not suffering from any side effects! xxx

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  18. It's lovely seeing how settled Bess is now. Such a happy girl!

    I've seen King Louie stuff online but never in shops over here - they do some great styles and prints. Your collection of cardigans sounds great.

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    1. Thank you Mim, Bess seems to be very happy indeed, and very affectionate too. I've just found another King Louie top in the charity shop this morning! xxx

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