You don't miss your water till your well runs dry

Although we are currently enjoying a couple of days away, in order not to get too far behind in posting I managed to squeeze in a quick blog post which is being brought to you through the magic of scheduled posting!

The weather didn't look too promising for our our little trip, but we won't let a minor detail like that spoil the fun. The only wrench is that we'll be missing this one terribly, wondering how she'll cope on her own, and what kind of welcome will be awaiting us upon our return.

Better not to get into that just yet!

For now, I'm taking you back to Saturday the 17th of July, when we were finally treated to a sunny Summer’s day on which the mercury climbed to about 25°C.

My journal tells me that I pottered around after breakfast and photographed the previous week's finds which already appeared in a previous post. Then I donned my ankle wellies and gardening apron for some well-needed deadheading and clearing up after all that rain.

My cotton floral frock in delicious shades of blue and green was a Think Twice find back in May and I thought this was the perfect day for its first outing.

I kept its accessories fairly neutral, adding an oatmeal woven belt at my waist and wearing pair of ridiculously comfortable rose gold Gabor sandals bought in the 2019 Summer sales. I forgot to photograph my cream floral vintage brooch, but it's not one you haven't seen before.

The millefiori glass heart pendant and both my bangle and bracelet were charity shop finds.

We were in need of some staking materials so off to the garden centre we went, stopping for outfit photos in front of the rusty gates of the museum garden a bit further down our street.

It's a kind of communal gardening project, which unfortunately isn't open to the general public, but here's a sneaky peek through the gate for you!

It was almost eerily quiet at the garden centre, quite a contrast to May and early June, when we wouldn't even have dreamed of going there on a Saturday. Needless to say, we took our time browsing, loading our trolley with a Zinnia, a Rudbeckia and a purple Nemesia. We also bought another perennial - gorgeous copper red Helenium Moerheim Beauty - which is yet to flower. 

We left the planting of all these treasures for Sunday, the Zinnia and Nemesia sharing a pot, while the Rudbeckia was lucky enough to get one all of its own. They have joined the curry plant, lavender and pink Pelargonium on the little table next to the bench. The marble plaque was presented to my paternal grandfather in the 1950s for his endeavours in allotment gardening!

At the garden centre, we searched in vain for decent sized plain terracotta pots, finding the shelves all but empty. Making inquiries, we were told they were completely sold out, and it was nigh on impossible to get hold of them. We were about to leave empty handed when we spied these grey ones which are made from eco-friendly bamboo!

On Sunday, the temperature climbed to an unheard of 27°C, the heat trapped in our little garden slightly cooled down by the gentlest of breezes.

My gardening attire that day consisted of my stripy jumpsuit, its batwing sleeves providing welcome ventilation. 

I kept it decent by pinning its plunging decolletage with a pink spotty flower corsage and added a yellow belt to give it some shape. Further accessories were a yellow wooden necklace, ditto bangle and multicoloured wooden bracelet.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky until we started that day's mammoth task of watering the patio pots and hanging baskets after dinner. Those of you who have been following my blog for a while might remember that we pump up water for the garden from an underground well by way of a handpump in our bathroom. Imagine our dismay when halfway through filling up our second watering can the watered stopped coming. 

At first we were stumped as in the 20 odd years we've been living here this has never happened before. Plus, we'd had more than our fair share of rain! But then it dawned on us that the culprit must be the construction site across the road, where groundwater is being drained 24/7!

We can only hope that balance is restored once the building work has been finished. This literally is a case of not missing your water until your well runs dry!

Monday was the start of another 4-day working week, although it being the 21st of July - Belgium's National Holiday - on Wednesday meant that I wouldn't be able to take my usual Friday off.

On the upside, the summery weather continued with the temperature hovering in the mid to high twenties. Not much fun though when one is stuck inside an office, especially since due to circumstances I had to forgo my lunch break on both Monday and Tuesday.

We only managed outfit photos on one of these days too. I think it was Monday when I was wearing this green floral frock, which rather than vintage was a sales bargain from a high street shop.

One of my stretchy chevron belts came out to play, while I used for my sandals and accessories.

Wednesday was another scorcher with temperatures reaching the high twenties.

Having a day off  meant a break from the alarm clock, so we slept in a bit. Then, after our usual fruit & yoghurt breakfast and getting dressed, Jos picked the remainder of the gooseberries, and we sat outside on the bench removing their tops and tails in preparation for another batch of jam.

I then continued with the seemingly never-ending deadheading and general garden TLC, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my back. 

I was wearing my recently charity shopped ethnic print skirt which is made from the lightest of cottons.

With so many colours to choose from, I opted for red, starting with a silky blouse which crossed my path in a Shropshire charity shop in 2019.

A stretchy green raffia belt, multicoloured beaded  necklace and yellow bird brooch pinned to my blouse completed my outfit.

Meanwhile, one of the new flower spikes in our Delphinium has opened its indigo blue flowers providing delight for us and an alternative source of nectar for the bees. And look, here's another Welsh poppy (bottom left), while a pink hue is slowly but surely appearing in the Phlox's buds.

We have reached Thursday the 22nd of July by now, and have nearly come to the end of this post.

Although my hair was in desperate need of a wash and thus wasn't looking its best, and I couldn't wait to get out of my slightly sweaty office day outfit, we made a couple of quick snaps in our garage.

If the skirt and blouse look familiar, it's because they were both recent charity shop finds. You'll recognize one of my stretchy belts and the birds in flight brooch, and I'm sure you've seen the beaded necklace before as well.

The yellow leather bag has accompanied me to the office ever since I picked it up in a charity shop last Autumn. On my feet, the rose gold sandals I mentioned earlier in this post.

I'm leaving you now with my latest find, picked up from Think Twice during lunch break.

Can you believe I dithered over this delightful 1950s handmade frock? Its pleated skirt was a nightmare to iron, though!

I will be back soon, and I can't wait to share our adventures with you!

As always, do stay safe, my dears!