September continued

Apologies for having been MIA but I haven't exactly been well in the weeks after my published my last post. About two weeks ago, a nasty UTI added to the fatigue, mental as well as physical, that I've been dealing with following Jos's hospitalization and diagnosis early this year. His latest scan might have shown that things are stable for the moment, but that doesn't mean we're out of the woods, which is hard to get our heads around and keeps occupying our minds nearly 24/7.

But I'm sure that you didn't come here for my moaning, so let me rev the old time machine's engine and take you back to the second half of September.

My first week back at the grind was uneventful, and before I knew it Friday had come around again. No rest for the wicked though. We couldn't even sleep in as we were expected at the hospital at 9 am for Jos's CT scan. Never mind the early hour, we thought: based on experience, we'd be in and out in no time with the rest of the day to ourselves ... .

The ellipsis will probably have given the game away, as yes, things didn't quite go as planned. After about 15 minutes, Jos arrived back in the waiting room, looking all flustered, his head flushed a vivid tomato red. He was feeling a bit out of breath as well, so we sat down, waiting for whatever this was to subside. To cut a long story short, it turned out that he was having an allergic reaction to the contrast fluid! So, instead of going home, we ended up in A&E, by which time an angry red rash had spread all over his body. He was given an anti-histamine jab, got hooked up to a monitor and was required to stay under observation for six hours! 

Meanwhile, I took the bus home and to run some errands and have lunch, planning to return to the hospital in the afternoon. It was around 3 pm when Jos finally made it back home and he was absolutely starving: in spite of multiple requests he never got any lunch as apparently they completely forgot! Ugh!

A short note on my outfit before I continue. Apart from the belt, everything I was wearing was new-to-me. The blouse, which is by the Belgian Who's That Girl label, was a recent sales bargain from Think Twice. The fact that one of its snap buttons had lost part of its orange top coat didn't deter me as it only needed a little touch up with some orange nail polish.

Saturday the 19th of September dawned cloudy and moody but thankfully it didn't take long for the sun to break through the layer of grey, after which the mercury climbed to a mild 20°C.

For a day of catching up on household chores, I was wearing a lightweight bottle green pleated maxi skirt bought from a cheap-as-chips local bargain shop a couple of years ago. Its companion was a burgundy flower sprinkled blouse from Esprit by way of the charity shops. The latter also provided my brooch, necklace and ankle boots, while the stretchy belt was a recent sales bargain from high street shop Veritas.

Those pesky never-ending chores finished, I spent some of the afternoon in our little garden. It never fails to warm the cockles of my heart and soothe my soul when I'm a bundle of nerves.

At this in-between time of the year, some of our plants were starting to wear autumnal hues, while others, like the purple spotted toad lily (Tricyrtis hirta, top right) were only just coming into bloom. We were also delighted to see that, after having produced only one saucer-like flower back in July, our Clematis 'Guernsey Cream' had managed to develop two more buds this late in the season. Admittedly, the flowers weren't as big as they used to be, but still!

Sunday started with rain, which lasted well into the afternoon. It was a quiet day, in which we didn't do very much at all. In order to avoid getting cabin fever, we drove down to the garden centre after lunch, where I felt like a child in a toy shop selecting a basket full of Spring bulbs.

The skirt is a true wardrobe stalwart, charity shopped in September 2020. Looking back at its previous appearances on the blog, it seems I've always opted to pair it with pink, which is a bit of a no-brainer. This time, however, I picked up the tiny splashes of yellow in its print and wore it with a long-sleeved cotton Fabindia blouse I'd found at Think Twice for € 5 earlier that week.

Apart from my chunky turquoise ring, my accessories were all second-hand finds as well.

Fast forward to Thursday the 24th of September. Not having any holiday quota left for the rest of the year, I'd taken an unpaid day off to accompany Jos to the hospital for his scan results. As already informed in a previous post, we received some good news, so that we felt on top of the world for a couple of days.

I was wearing another skirt which feels like it has been in my wardrobe forever. It's a polyester jersey one which, if I remember correctly, was a pre-blog Think Twice find. The Zara blouse was charity shopped in Shrewsbury in June 2024. My accessories were a mix of new (ring and butterfly brooch) and new-to-me (necklace and belt). I'd completely forgotten about the floral trainers, which were a high street buy many years ago.

After lunch, Jos drove me to our local charity shop as I was in need of a long-overdue rummage, after which I walked home with a bagful of finds.

These included, from left to right, a sparkly King Louie blouse, a stripy skirt from the posh Belgian label Gigue and a groovilicious high necked blouse from high street shop Bel&Bo.

There were some chunky knits as well. The pink and orange jumper is from Vero Moda, while the funky crochet cardi shows every sign of having been handmade. I was actually thinking of Monica when I saw it although I'm sure it isn't a patch on her fabulous crochet creations.

Friday morning saw us driving down to a huge local garden centre. Not for a spot of shopping, mind you, but for drinks at its cafetaria with our friends Inneke and Maurice. 

No photos were taken, as we were far too busy chatting and catching up. Jos and Maurice might see each other almost weekly, it had been far too long since Inneke and I had met up. 

My outfit that day was built around this black floral King Louie frock which I found in the charity shop near my office at the end of August. I hid its elasticated waist with a charity shopped stretchy belt and wore the embroidered felt waistcoat - a Think Twice find last September - which had its first outing beginning of September (here). The brooch I pinned at the dress's neckline is actually a scarf clip which was a flea market find many years ago.

We might not have been at the garden centre for a browse, I still managed to have a look at their extensive range of Spring bulbs, picking up some I hadn't been able to find at our regular garden centre on Sunday. 

I woke up with a blocked nose and a tickly throat on Saturday, so nothing much was on the menu that day, apart from the inevitable chores. My journal also tells me that I wrote and published a blog post.

Oh, and the assistant and I made the effort to make some outfit photos, so that at least I've got a record of what I was wearing that day. 

The black and white patterned yellow maxi skirt, which is from a label called Collection Catarina, was charity shopped in Duffel in November 2022. The white striped aubergine Breton top came from a charity shop in Shrewsbury, white the pink-hued haori was a gift from my friend Inneke.

It had been a sunny day, so that our solar garden lights really came into their own that evening. So happy with our garden transformation!

Sunday the 27th was another sun-drenched day, with highs into the low twenties.

It was Jos's 79th birthday, which we celebrated by going for lunch at a favourite restaurant, 't Kasteeltje in nearby Boechout. I can't remember Jos's choice, but mine was linguine with marinated chicken, rocket, mushrooms and candied tomatoes in a mild curry sauce. Yummy!

The skirt was snaffled in one of Think Twice's sales back in August 2024. The green, black and white diamond patterned blouse with its tie neck started life as a mini dress from Forever 21 of all places. It had been languishing unworn in my wardrobe for years but I loved the pattern so much that I couldn't get myself to pass it on. Then I had the brainwave to shorten it into a blouse. With my limited sewing skills, it's best not to look too closely at the hem, which nobody sees anyway as I usually tuck it into my skirt!

Again, my accessories consisted of a mix of charity shop (brooch) and high street (belt and ring) finds.

My charity shopped green suede ankle boots are still in the naughty corner as after years of comfortable wear they suddenly started behaving badly. They were ok to wear to lunch, though.

Back at home, while birthday boy was having a rest, I made a start with planting out the Spring bulbs. 

Planting those is a true act of faith, isn't it? I can't wait to see the result next Spring!