Bittersweet September

Hello there! Are you ready for another trip in the time machine?

A little update before we embark, though: Jos is doing - and most importantly, feeling - great. We've been on a couple of short outings, I've been doing some vintage shopping, and we've resumed making outfit photos on my non-office days. We're not completely back to normal yet, but we're definitely getting there.

For now though, I'll be taking you back in time to Sunday the 15th of September, exactly two months ago to the day.

My journal tells me it was a day of sunny spells and highs of about 20°C, and that we went for walk in Solhof Park, in our neighbouring village of Aartselaar.

I was initially wearing my denim jacket, but that was quickly removed as it was more than warm enough to do without. Underneath, I wore a long-sleeved peasant-style blouse, originally from Zara but picked up in a charity shop in Shrewsbury back in June.

My green and white plaid textured polyester skirt was an old Think Twice find - and a firm favourite at that - while both the multi-coloured wooden beaded necklace and the sage green suede Mephisto boots were charity shopped. The fuchsia suede belt was a bargainous buy in the Summer sales last year.

Solhof Park was originally part of the pleasure grounds of a castle, laid out in Capability Brown inspired English landscape style. Now the municipal park, it is deliciously wild and unkempt, its compact size perfect for a Sunday afternoon stroll.

Those of you who have accompanied me here before might remember the gazebo built on top of an abandoned ice house. You can just catch the merest glimpse of it in the photo on the bottom left. As usual, I started making my way up towards the gazebo, but the narrow winding path spiralling up the mound was so overgrown with creeping bramble stems attempting to catch me unawares, that I gave up and returned to the safety of the woodland below.

The week that followed continued to be gorgeously warm and sunny, with highs into the low twenties, even if most days had a chilly start and it often took a while for the sun to show her face.

The perfect weather to squeeze in some of the items in my Summer wardrobe which had so far remained unworn. 

For some reason, however, the above dress - yet another vintage find from Think Twice - always seems to come out of hiding on balmy late Summer or early Autumn days. Perhaps it's the cornucopia of fruits (I detect apples, pears, cherries and grapes) among its floral print?

My favourite green suede ankle boots - in the running for best charity shop find ever - came out to play as well, although for some reason they were giving me gyp that day. Aaargh! 

Another day saw me taking the blue and orange white-trimmed King Louie blouse I'd charity shopped earlier that month for its first outing. It found its perfect companion in a floral vintage skirt which has been living in my wardrobe for many years. I can't for the life of me remember whether it was a charity shop or a Think Twice find.

Both the orange beaded necklace and white celluloid flower brooch were charity shopped, as were the denim blue Tamaris shoes, which I picked up back in August. Yet again, my belt was the only retail buy in my outfit.

It was near the end of that week that Jos started feeling unwell, losing his appetite and being generally down in the dumps and complaining of tiredness. 

At first we weren't unduly worried, as the same had happened to him about twelve years ago, at exactly the same time of year and under similar circumstances, so that we were convinced it would only be a matter of time until the episode passed of its own accord.

Nevertheless, that weekend was a quiet one. To take my mind off things, I indulged in some pottering, catching up with blogland and photographing my latest finds. In all honesty, I'd completely forgotten about these two until I started editing the photos for this post, as there wasn't even any mention of them in my journal.

The lilac woollen item is a tank top which I picked up at 70% off in the closing down sale of the Belgian Terre Bleue label which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. Even with 70% off it was a bit more than I would normally pay, but I couldn't resist its gorgeous colour. Plus, I've got a bit of a thing for tank tops lately ...

The green and peachy orange Diolen dress was found at Think Twice that same week. I'll have to schedule another wearing of it soon, so that I can show it to you properly and in more detail.

My actual outfit of that day - we were Friday the 20th of September by now - was built around this multi-hued millefiori patterned dress sprinkled with blowsy cream roses. You can see a close-up of the pattern here.

I also finished the Antonia Fraser memoir I'd started during our September holiday, after which I selected another memoir, by Everything But The Girl's Tracey Thorn from my reading pile. Both were picked up from National Trust second hand book shops in June. 

While I was working on a blog post on Saturday morning, my sister called me to ask if I was at home and if she could come around. Turned out she wanted to show me some photos her son had sent her from Scotland. They were of the place in the foothills of Ben Nevis where he'd scattered the remainder of my Dad's ashes. After planting a biodegradable urn with his ashes, which also contained seeds of a tree, on All Saints' Day in 2016, we kept some of his ashes behind in a miniature urn exactly for the purpose of scattering them in the place where he lost his heart many years ago. 

Even after all these years - he passed away eight years ago this August - I'm getting quite emotional just writing this, so that I'm staring at my computer screen through a veil of tears. 

Saturday's outfit was another Summery skirt and top combo and a mix of Think Twice, charity shop and flea market finds.

Grey, olive green, red and white floral skirt: Think Twice

Olive green t-shirt, red beaded necklace, red pleated belt and red Kiarflex shoes: charity shopped

Glass ring and vintage celluloid Scottie brooch: flea market 

Fast forward another week and, after struggling with his appetite all week and resorting to protein drinks to keep himself from going under, Jos suddenly started eating again. It would only a be short-lived relief, although thankfully we had no idea of what was to come at the time. We even booked a couple of nights at our favourite B&B in Beernem near Bruges for the last weekend of October.

The temperature had taken a dive from its Summery heights by Friday the 27the of September. A gloomy and very windy day, it felt much cooler than the 15°C shown on the thermometer.

I had a hairdresser's appointment that morning and ended up with goosebumps in spite of wearing a jumper. I even had to nip into the charity shop near the salon to buy a faux-fur gilet to wear on top.

The jumper in question is by Belgian designer Nathalie Vleesschouwer, charity shopped last Autumn, while the black floral Diolen skirt was a Think Twice find back in the mists of time. My mock-croc ankle boots, cat brooch and blue squishy belt with its square buckle were all retail buys.

I was a bit early for my appointment, but much to my delight the entrance gate to what is basically the the back garden of Antwerp's St. Paul's church was open, so I that I could nip inside for some local sightseeing.

I wasn't the only one visiting the Lourdes grotto, which dates from the beginning of the 20th Century, although I might have been the only who wasn't offering a prayer to the illuminated lady in her mock-rock cave. In hindsight, perhaps I should have followed suit.

The garden is located in the former orchard of a Dominican monastery which existed here from the13th Century until 1797, and whose romantic ruin is the focal point of this peaceful oasis in the city.

So, that was it for now. I'll be back with a final journey back to troubled times shortly. Hope to see you soon!