Humdrum weeks

Back in April 2020, just a couple of weeks into Belgium's first lockdown, I decided to put down my thoughts, feelings and fears into a journal. Something which I hadn't done since my teenage years. Fast forward to today, and my journal is still going strong. Well, perhaps the latter is a bit of an exaggeration, but it is still alive, even if at times all I'm jotting down at the end of the day is a quick recap of what I've been up to.

Nevertheless, my journal has been a lifesaver when it comes to blogging. My working weeks tend to be a bit humdrum, particularly when the darkest days are upon us, with one week segueing into the next without much to distinguish one from the other. Without my daily journal entries they would all become a bit of a blur.

My entry for November's final Monday mentions that it was dark and rainy all day, the atrocious weather making it feel quite a bit colder than the 7°C the mercury had insisted on climbing to.

On my way home, the windows of the tram had misted up, the condensation conspiring with the rivulets of raindrops which kept streaming down them in blurring the view. I had to keep wiping them so that I wouldn't miss my stop, and then made a run for it to the car park where Jos was waiting for me. 

Once inside the car, I dried my glasses and removed the beret I was wearing, putting it in my lap. It was only the next morning that I noticed my beret - a lovely purple mohair one - was missing and realized that it must have dropped from my lap when I got out of the car. To cut a long story short, thankfully I got it back, although the poor thing was soaking wet and looking more than just a little dishevelled after having had to spend the night out on the street. 

Tuesday's weather was in total contrast to Monday's, deliciously sunny but cold, with highs of about 4°C.

Disaster struck at the office though, as we had to contend with techie problems - a major hiccup at the cloud service we are using - which lasted all day. While we could only guess at the amount of work which must have been piling up, we couldn't do a damn thing, and as we had no Internet or even Wi-Fi, I couldn't even catch up with blogland. 

In the end, I took a longer than usual lunch break and went for a walk, during which I somehow ended up at one of the Think Twice shops where I found this gorgeous Diolen C&A blouse!

On my way back to the office, I wandered into this tranquil courtyard complete with beautiful organic ponds in which sculptures are floating. Lying at the back of a renovated historic building with a couple of upmarket shops and five luxury lofts, they are part of a posh residential estate combining historical and contemporary architecture. It's alright for some!

Wednesday brought us a mixture of sunshine and showers, with the temperature stuck at Tuesday's 4°C.

But while at the office the techie problems had finally been resolved, I'd woken up with a sticky throat and hyperactive sinuses. Thankfully, apart from a runny nose and raspy voice I wasn't feeling too bad.

My lunchbreak walk took me to yet another Think Twice shop where a Nordic style jumper and an embroidered Kangol beret were waiting for me.

On the menu for Thursday 30 November: temperatures diving towards freezing point, a pea-souper fog, what would have been my Mum's 88th birthday and the news of the passing of Shane MacGowan. I got my favourite Pogues song, A Rainy Night in Soho, playing on repeat in my head ever since.

Fatigue had caught up with me on Friday - we were the First of December by now - but unfortunately I had to go into the office, even if it was only for half a day. Joined by Bess, I spent most of the afternoon reading and napping on the sofa.

This must have done the trick as I felt completely rejuvenated on Saturday, when the weather gods had sunshine and freezing temperatures in store for us. 

Time to dress in some Winter finery, which included a burnt orange faux suede skirt with generous pockets - last year's retail buy - and a charity shopped purple and silver C&A jumper. My faux fur gilet and burnt orange beret were charity shop finds as well.

The jumper's asymmetrical collar always invites the wearing of an extra brooch, so I pinned an orange and brown beaded one to it in addition to the fluffy orange one on the jumper itself.

Making the most of the sunny day, we walked into town to run a couple of errands, while the rest of the day was spent reading and doing some gentle pottering. 

Then, in search of a burgundy faux fur gilet which has been missing since last Winter, I had the brainwave of having a look in the suitcase on top of my wardrobe. It wasn't there but, much to my surprise, it was full of vintage clothes, presumably meant for selling on my flea market stall in July 2020. As that market obviously never happened, I apparently forgot all about them. There's more, but for now the dress, jumper and blouse below have ended up where they belong, which is back in my wardrobe!

Sunday was gloomy, with sub-zero temperatures and snow in afternoon.We only briefly braved the elements for outfit photos in the passageway: the things one does for blogging!

I'm sure you'll recognize the green and off-white striped polyester knit vintage dress I found at Think Twice the other week, but let me take you through the rest of my outfit.

There's a much neglected bottle green suede jacket, a tan belt with rectangular self-buckle, my orange tiled necklace, a yellow beret and a pair of green suede lace up ankle boots, which were all charity shopped over the years.

My orange perspex ring was last year's flea market find, while the orange opaques are the only retail buy in my outfit. 

Last but not least, the hand painted vintage brooch came from Rosie's vintage and antiques shop in Bishop's Castle, snapped up on the first day of our Shropshire holiday last June.

The weather was its usual mixed and mainly wet bag in the first week of December.

By Monday, we were back above freezing point, and any snow which had the dignity to lie down in the first place had disappeared completely overnight. 

On my way to the office that morning, I stopped to take a photo of the Xmas light display on the façade of Belgian chocolatier Pierre Marcolini's shop. The dark tower looming in the background is where I am heading: it's the Art Deco skyscraper opposite my office, whose ongoing renovations have been the bane of my office days for well over two years now.

I'm whizzing through the week before my proof-reader, Jos, tells me my post is a bit too long and winding.

Suffice it to say that it was start of the usual end of year madness at work. Oh, and I had a hairdresser's appointment during Wednesday's lunch break, hence my freshly cut short fringe!

So, let's skip the rest and go straight to Friday the 8th of December, my final Friday off of the year.

It might have been grey and rainy, but it was a good mail day!

You'll be pleased to know that I finally got the confirmation that I can start my 4-day weeks in April with an end of career time credit allowance from the government. I knew I was entitled to this but it's good to have it officially in writing! 

I was wearing some posh labels in celebration, all charity shopped obviously:

- Bottle green and off-white checked River Woods skirt, with pockets!

- Tan pleated leather belt by the Spanish Massimo Dutti label

- Orange waffle knit cardigan by Belgian label Pauline B.

- Tan lace-up ankle boots by No Stress

The dotty aubergine blouse is from Think Twice and my accessories are a mix of charity shop and flea market finds.

Tomorrow will be my last day at work before we close down for Christmas, and I'll be breathing a huge sigh of relief upon closing the office door behind me. Just the thought of not having to get up at the crack of dawn or share my commute with a horde of Xmas shopping zombies after work is pure bliss!

Now, before I sign off, here's what I found on that Friday's charity shopping spree.

The pinkish Tweed skirt is originally from Zara and a perfect companion for all three of the tops. The orange broderie anglaise blouse with its ruffled yoke is from Next, the maroon long-sleeved knit containing a generous touch of Lurex is by Only and, finally, the short-sleeved pink, green, grey and white striped jumper is from Vero Moda.

Would you believe I found two more handbags? 

It was impossible to pass up the tweed shoulder bag from the Scottish fair trade label Earth Squared for the ridiculous price of € 3,90. Similar bags are priced at £45.99 on their website. The mock croc bag with its tapestry panels came home with me as well. 

My final buy was the sage green fringed scarf, a colour which was still lacking from my collection.

I'm wishing all my friends and readers a wonderful Christmas, whichever way you choose to celebrate it (or not). See you on the other side!