Thursday 27 January 2022

The mists of time

The weather continued to be a mixed bag in January's second week, with temperatures not exceeding 5°C, and culminating in a fog cloaked day on Thursday the 13th. 

This was my view just minutes after arriving at the office.  Antwerp's cathedral should have been taking pride of place in the photo on the right, but the fog had obliterated it completely. Although quite disconcerting, the denseness of the fog meant that I didn't have to look at the scaffolding which has been disfiguring the cathedral tower for the better part of three years.



Sadly, the view from my office window is further marred by a tower crane and a building site, as the Art Deco skyscraper which faces it is undergoing major renovations. Accompanied by an almighty racket from morning until evening, I should add. But even the tower crane was hardly visible that morning, the halo of its floodlights joining the general cacophony of city lights.




The school holidays finished on both sides of the border, Antwerp was no longer under siege from an army of shoppers, so that I tentatively left the safety of the office during one lunch break. 

I even did some shopping of my own, snapping up a dress - one I'd previously lusted after - from a high street shop - at half price.




The fog persisted overnight and was still with us on Friday morning, although the sun would be making several attempts to find a chink in the armour. With the world outside reduced to greyscale, it was once again up to yours truly to provide a smidgen of colour. 

It had been a while since I last wore this wool and polyester blend dress, snapped up for € 4 in the Think Twice sales in December 2019. It was a lucky find, deadstock with its Made in Austria label still attached.



It was its pattern, featuring green, red and orange squiggles on a beige background, which attracted me in the first place, offering a plethora of accessorizing possibilities. 

This time, I took my lead from the green squiggles, using that colour for my necklace, belt, ring and birds-in-flight brooch. I was wearing green opaques as well, but they're not visible in any of the photos, not even a cheeky peek! 

I thought the outfit needed an extra dose of sunshine, so I opted for bright orangey yellow for my cardigan. Charity shopped back in November, it has proved to be surprisingly versatile. 



We did our weekly round of the charity shops that morning and finds were plentiful. If you'll bear with me, I'll show you some of them later in this post.

However, I was determined to stop off at the park in Duffel in between shops in order to go for a stroll and capture some of the day's misty magic.



The blanket of fog swaddling the park was opaque and almost impenetrable, the sun a mere pinprick reflected in the pond. 

The grassy field beyond the bridge, which is set alight by a fiery carpet of bald cypress leaves, suddenly appeared like a Fata Morgana, a sole splash of colour in a monochrome world. 




We walked along the towpath of the River Nete which runs next to the park. The fog was even denser here, the opposite bank of the river completely obscured from view. Not even any silhouettes were visible in the distance, so that it felt as if I was walking towards the end of the world. It was a truly otherworldly experience eliciting both claustrophobia and elation.



We descended from the towpath as we neared the castle ruin at the end of the park. 

Here, visibility was greatly improved, and there might even have been some hesitant rays of sunshine penetrating the fog. In hindsight, the sudden sunny outlook might have been greatly improved by the pools of yellow supplied by my scarf and woolly hat, which were a gift from my lovely and colourful blogging friend Monica!



We are always glad to see the picturesque castle ruin still standing. There has been talk of renovating this evocative piece of history, whose origins date back to the 12th Century, and indeed fortifications were duly erected on the inside a couple of years ago, so that at least the tallest of the towers, which was leaning precariously, is prevented from toppling over completely.



We were as captivated by the crooked skeleton trees jutting out above the castle walls and preening themselves in the water of the moat as we were by the fairy-tale like ruins themselves.

The trees on our side of the moat are reminiscent of ancient giants stretching out gnarled arms which, while offering dappled shade when fully clothed in Summer, now frame the castle ruin and lend it a haunted air.





In spite of the greyness of the day, our walk definitely put a spring in our steps. As the rest of the weekend would be a complete washout, we were glad we'd made the effort.

There wasn't even enough daylight to properly photograph our finds, so these are the best of the bunch. On the bright side, I did have a little helper at some point ...

There were clothes and jewellery too, but I'm keeping these for another post.





I was charmed by the wicker apple-shaped trinket box on the top left and bottom right. It hasn't found its purpose yet, but at € 1 it would have been silly to leave it behind.

Joining our collection of enamelware is the slightly battered old basin on the top right, its bottom proudly proclaiming that it was made in Belgium.

The small blue bowl on the bottom left is a Fire King sugar bowl in a colour I believe to be Azurite. 

Fire King dinnerware and glassware products were produced by the Anchor Hocking Glass Corp. based in Lancaster, Ohio who, in 1942, began producing their now-famous line of ovenproof glassware products. 



Their most popular design must be their Mid-Century Jadeite range, made in a delightful jade green opaque milk glass. Although we do not collect these as such, we have picked up some Jadeite cups and saucers, as well as a sugar bowl and milk jug, over the years. I'd never seen any blue Fire King in real life before, and the Azurite sugar bowl will probably remain a one-off at Dove Cottage, but I'm sure you'll agree I needed to give it a loving home. Especially at the silly price of € 0,50!



Nor could I resist this pristine tapestry purse or the beaded clutch, which were both priced at € 1,50. It's been ages since I found anything decent in that direction in the charity shops.





That's all I've got time for now. I'll be back with more January tales and finds in a couple of days. 

In the meantime, I do hope that you are all staying safe! Who'd have thought we'd still be telling each other that after almost two years!



34 comments:

  1. uh the fog and this mystic landscape reminds me the TV series Inspektor Barnaby. I love it. I watch it every Monday evening on TV.
    This amazing glass bowls and this wonderful clutches had to go home with you. 😁😉 With a very huge hug Tina

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    1. I do think you mean Midsomer Murders, don't you? I love that series too! xxx

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  2. Oh Ann, I am lusting after your charity shop finds. That Fire King bowl is exquisite, as is your beaded bag. There are no rich pickings here lately, unfortunately - just a lot of cheaply made fast fashion. I shall have to venture further afield. Your fog photos are stunning and you must really brighten up the lives of Antwerp residents with your colourful outfits. Driving aside, I love fog. We've had flat white skies this week and I'm desperate for "something" to happen. xxx

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    1. Thank you Claire! Charity shopping can be quite hit or miss here, though. Lots of cheaply made fast fashion here too, generally. I do love fog, but indeed driving in it can be quite scary! xxx

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  3. fog makes for beautiful photos!!
    i´m glad the art deco building gets a renovation - 100 years of city smog might have caused some damage on the fassade i guess......
    i have the same white enamel bowl - without any marking - which is almost daily in use for kitchen duty. the old bowls have such a practical, perfect shape that modern ones lack!
    xxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate, I do agree about the fog!
      They're completely gutting that building and making it into posh apartments and the like. It'll take years just taking out the asbest! xxx

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  4. I'm loving your marvellously atmospheric Winter outdoor photos, Ann!
    Monica's yellow scarf and hat are the perfect accompaniment to that posh princess coat, sartorial sunshine.
    Your new dress is so you, I can't wait to see you wearing it.
    I sold an identical purse to your woven one at End of the Road festival last year! We have great taste! xxx

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    1. Thank you Vix! Fancy you selling the same purse, and yes, I think we do have great taste! xxx

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  5. We saw some sunshine today Ann! Perhaps you did too. The fog was so horrible, I don't like that at all, the world is so small then. Love those milkglasses, such delicate colors. And what a beautiful dress, the first one, also such a gorgeous combination of colors! Enjoy your weekend!

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    1. Indeed, we've had a bit of sunshine in the meantime, thankfully! I'm so behind with replying to my comments, so I don't really remember what the weather was like on January 28! xxx

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  6. Your yellow cardigan, scarf and beret are a welcome colourful tonic to the fog, which we are also wreathed in these days! I told you, we have very similar weather here! I greatly enjoyed your walk and the spooky pictures of the ruins. I hope that "they" retain the ruins intact and don't raze them down.

    That glassware is lovely - what a pretty bunch of colours. Could you store your...apples...in the wicker container? It's hard to tell what size it is.

    I like your high-street dress! That's such a classic cut. I'm pretty much shopped out (I know, what's wrong with me?) for the time being. L and I have our anniversary coming up in March, so now I'm saving up for a spendy time. :)

    Take care, my dear friend, and give Bess a snuggle for me.

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    1. Thank you Sheila, I am always surprised we are sharing weather. Storing apples into that wicker trinket box will be quite difficult, unless they are tiny toy ones :-) xxx

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  7. Hello Ann, how incredibly ambient your fog pictures are, and how spooky for the cathedral to disappear! You look so sunny and lovely in your yellow hat and scarf. Ol' Glass Eyed Mumrah would love the sugar bowls. I know she has a fair bit of 'milk' and 'vaseline' glass in her collection. Oooh, I would have snapped up that blue and white enamel bowl! And the purse. Great finds xXx

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    1. Thank you Lulu! I'm glad to hear you would have snapped up the enamel bowl too. It has a bigger sister, too, which we found on a demolition site ... xxx

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  8. Love your photos in the fog. I don't appreciate driving in it, but a walk is always enjoyable.
    I've never seen blue Fire King, what a beautiful colour. Monica has great taste and that hat and scarf are definitely you!

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    1. Thank you Goody, I'd never seen it too. It is indeed gorgeous although I'm still more partial to the Jadeite ones! xxx

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  9. Dear Anne, you totally rock yellow, it's so uplifting to see you wearing the yellow hat and scarf!, they make you pretty visible even in the foggiest landscape!.
    And I'm totally in love with your yellow-orange cardi and the touches of green with the beautiful dress, particularly the suede belt!. So fab!.
    And admiring your last purchases, the blue sugar bowl is adorable, and I've a weakness for enamel (totally understand you!). Both purses are really pieces of art, love them!
    Hoping that you're staying safe too, and hoping that we can stop caring about this soon and go out unconcernedly and spontaneously as we used to do.
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! I just needed to wear your yellow hat and scarf to make me stand out in the fog :-) xxx

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  10. The fog photos are beautiful! We had a rare really foggy night here a few years ago and I had to run out and take photos, it was beautiful! I've tried to take fog photos in the mornings too but it rarely happens - and when it is beautifully foggy I see all my neighbours out enjoying it now too which makes photo taking harder, I hate an audience, haha! I really like the bright yellow you accessorised your dress with and I look forward to seeing what else you bought - you got some great finds!

    Hope that you are having a wonderful weekend :)

    Away From The Blue

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    1. Thank you Mica! I am getting you, I do not like an audience either :-) xxx

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  11. Oh the foggy misty weather is so dreary! I must say the photographs of your walk looked very eerie and other worldly but isn't it great to get out for a walk despite the weather?

    What brilliant finds. I'd never heard of the oven to table table ware brand and I'm not sure I've seen anything like that before in the charity shops. I shall now be keeping an eye out for something similar. Loved the beaded bag and tapestry purse; I'd have snapped both of those up, too!

    I loved the green squiggley dress and the yellow cardi was a fab choice to go with it. You bought a NEW dress? It looks very elegant - hope to see you styling it soon.

    Have a great weekend
    xxx

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    1. Thank you, Vronni. I do find fog fascinating, somehow. Yes, I know, a NEW dress, isn't it shocking! xxx

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  12. Miss Ann, I've been enjoying your bright blog for sometime now, and doing so on an equally dreary day, thought it high time to finally say thank you and hello : ) Your finds are fab and your walks and sights are too - please don't stop sharing your world!

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    1. Thank you so much for your lovely and heart-warming comment, Elizabeth. I'm afraid I'm quite a bit behind with replying to comments, sorry about that! xxx

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  13. As I sit here on a very hot Summer day I am entranced by your eerie foggy photos.
    You always find the most interesting treasures in your charity shops be they clothing or homewares.
    May I say you wear yellow so beautifully . Hope you enjoy some sunny days soon. xx

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  14. Your thrifting year is off to a seriously cracking start, my dear friend! What a great selection of fabulously well priced treasures you two found on this excursion. The tapestry bag in particular had my vintage purse adoring heart skipping a beat or two.

    Autumn Zenith 🎃 Witchcrafted Life

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    1. Thank you Autumn! I am quite partial to tapestry! xxx

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  15. That beaded purse is gorgeous.
    The fog makes everything prettier even though a damper on the spirits.

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  16. The yellow hat and scarf are SO cheerful!!! I love them! The dress really do look skeletal! Excellent description!
    You did well on the household item front!!!x

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  17. And the bags. Those beaded ones always remind me of sweets!! I had a purse like that in the 80's which always made me hungry!

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    1. That's so funny that your purse made you hungry, although yes I agree those beads are reminiscent of sweets! xxx

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