So tired (of waiting)

For once, I'm counting my blessings that my blog is forever lagging behind the times and I've got a small stash of outfits and outings to fall back on it. If I hadn't, my blog would soon be coming to a grinding halt. What with the chronic lack of decent weather and our current self-isolating regime, nothing much of note has been happening in our lives lately. Plus, we are both tired. Tired of this waiting game which is putting our lives on hold, which in its turn, and combined with the continuing under-par weather, is making us physically tired and inclined to spend far too much time practising a bit of shut-eye on the sofa.

But enough already, as I'm sure you haven't come here to listen to my moaning. So, without further ado, let's have a dip in that stash of outfits and outings. Or, in this case: outing, singular!

February went off to a promising start by treating us to a sunny day on Saturday the 1st. After a frosty start, it eventually warmed up to around 6°C, making it the kind of day which was just begging us to go for a walk. 

Before we go though, why don't we step outside into the passageway and have a look at my outfit? Careful, though, as we're being watched ... the eagle-eyed among you might have noticed the feline photobomber casting a critical eye on proceedings from her perch on top of her scratching post. 

My blog tells me that this heavy-weight knit polyester dress was a charity shop find in October 2019.  In spite of its pinkish overall look, its pattern is actually red and white stripes and chevrons, with a tiny bit of grey thrown in the weave. 

I was wearing the wooden, flower painted brooch pinned to its bodice but it was mostly hidden beneath my sage green fluffy cardigan. It's from the Antwerp based fashion label Thelma & Louise but found its way into my wardrobe via the charity shops. The knitted flower corsage I enhanced it with was an old retail buy, as were both the green stretchy belt with its faux tortoiseshell buckle and the green beaded necklace.

The afternoon's outing took us to Middelheim once more. Spanning an impressive 30 hectares, with six different zones and no less than nine entrances to choose from, there's more than enough variation on offer to cater for frequent visits.

This time, we parked on the large car park near one of the entrances to Middelheim-Laag, the northern side of the park, taking in some of the familiar sculptures who live in the Human Nature zone. 

This part of the park also incorporates the formal Hortiflora, a former show garden where hedges, paths and lawns structured the landscape. Here, one of the tiny round ponds still bore its layer of ice provided by the overnight frost, trapping the leaves which had been swept into it by the ever-present wind.

We'd hardly walked through the gate when my eyes were drawn to a flash of yellow in the distance. Could it the Witch Hazel (Hammamelis) we first spotted here back in 2023? Tiptoeing closer, we saw that it was, and that we were weren't the only ones who were mesmerized by the sight of the shrub's spidery yellow, red-hearted flowers. A welcome sight indeed on a Winter's day.

I took my time taking photos, when I was joined by one of the park wardens, who helpfully pointed out the red-flowered variety in the back. It was too far away for a close-up, and as I wasn't allowed to step into the flower bed I was only able to admire it from afar.

The Mahonia on the bottom left was one of the other early flowering shrubs, proudly displaying its spiky blooms.

Instead of making our usual circuit of this part of the sculpture park, we walked right out of it by way of one of the other entrances and crossed the cobbled avenue running between Middelheim and its neighbouring park, Vogelzang. They are both part of the same cluster of parks collectively and delightfully called Nachtegalenpark (transl. Nightingale Park). 

Just before the avenue, we spotted the artwork on the bottom right. It hadn't been completely installed yet and was cordoned off by unsightly red and white tape, so that I was obliged to cut off its bottom part in my photo. It's called Tower of Silence (dating from 1960-63) and it's by the Chilean sculptor Marta Covin (1907-1995).

In 1952 Marta met Henry Moore, who encouraged her to look to the beauty of Chile and its rich heritage, which made her move away from a realistic approach to an abstract art of great expressive force. Her work was characterized by its commitment to American indigenous pre-Columbian cultures. 

We hadn't been to Vogelzang for a mind-boggling two years. This is actually the oldest of the cluster of parks which, apart from Middelheim, also comprises Den Brandt. There used to be a small castle here as early as 1457, but it was not until the 17th century that a park estate was added. The current park, laid out in typical English landscape style, dates from 1850, offering an alternation of sweeping lawns and parkland. 

The majestic old trees lining this path must be from that era. Looking up, their canopies seemed almost to be touching the sky.

I was wearing a different coat for once, but unfortunately we forgot to make photos of my outerwear. Generally not a fan of Desigual, this coat nevertheless ticked all my boxes when I met it in a charity shop in March 2023. I'm shamelessly repeating the collage I posted at the time ...

We circuited the whale-shaped pond which is the park's focal point, then crossed it by way of a decorative white painted cast iron bridge. The latter's almost perfect reflection in the pond was slightly marred by the presence of a cormorant patiently waiting for its order of food.

Steering clear of the ever-popular children's playground at the heart of the park, we made our way back to Middelheim-Laag. 

Obviously, I couldn't possibly leave without trying to hitch a ride in Welsh artist Richard Deacon's spaceship called Never Mind.  Sadly, no seats were available that day. Oh well, never mind!

And look what we have here! It's Henry Moore's (1898-1986) King and Queen! Dating from 1952, the year he met and inspired Marta Covin, it was first exhibited at the Second Biennial for Sculpture at Middelheim Park in 1953 and was subsequently bought by the city of Antwerp for the museum. 

The sculpture was positively gleaming in the sunshine, looking as if it was recently polished.

Next day's weather (we were Sunday 2 February by now) was almost a carbon copy of Saturday's.

The household chores we'd been putting off were awaiting, so the morning was spent cleaning, while in the afternoon we drove down to the garden centre for bird food to feed the hungry masses flocking to the junkyard jungle.

I've nothing to show you but my outfit. The grey and pink floral velvet skirt was a charity shop find in February 2021. It's perfect in every way, as it even has pockets, my only gripe being that they're quite tiny!

I'm almost repeating its companions on its first outing four years ago when I wore it with the same green polo neck, one of my stretchy zig-zag belts and a1960s style silver tone necklace.

The brooch I was wearing is a different one, though, incidentally also charity shopped in February 2021. This heavy silver plated one by Sidney Carron, a contemporary Paris jeweller, set me back the princely sum of € 1,50.

I'm the first to admit I've been a bit remiss in visiting your blogs but I promise I'll be mending my ways soon. 

I just blame it on being 

I knew this pin would one day come in handy when I handed over € 0,10 for it on a flea market!

See you soon!

Dazed by the Winter sun

With sunny spells being few and far between of late, and any that suddenly materialize mostly doing so while I'm stuck in the office, our Vitamin D levels are most definitely at their lowest. 

So, when Mme. Soleil deigned to make an entree on Saturday 28 January, parting the curtains of grey to reveal a stage of brilliant blue sky, we wasted no time in stepping outside.

Before making our departure from Dove Cottage, however, some outfit photos were in order, so that I could show you the Betty Barclay dress I was wearing. With its cozy wool blend fabric and green and pink tartan pattern, it was yet another Think Twice find, and has been gracing my wardrobe since November 2021.

Instead of matching the candy pink stripes in the tartan pattern, I opted for a darker, berry shade for my opaques and the majority of my accessories. Both the necklace and the leather belt with its massive buckle are old charity shop buys. For the sake of variety, I pinned an enamelled green brooch decorated with a posy of different coloured pansies to the dress's yoke. I picked this one up from the indoor flea market back in December.

With highs of just 4°C, another layering exercise was of the essence. So, apart from the green long-sleeved t-shirt you can see peeking out from the dress's collar and sleeves, I added a pink, chunky knit, shawl collared cardigan. Some of you might remember it from my previous post, as I'd found it, new with tags, and together with its yellow twin, during Friday's charity shop trawl.

With both the dress and the cardigan being graced with these desirable features, I was definitely in pocket heaven that day!

Outfit photos done and dusted, we donned coats, scarves and hats and made for our front door. 

A backward glance towards Bess's climbing post in the dining room made me grab my camera - or actually, my phone - and snap this photo of her reclining, eyes ablaze, on the very top!

For the afternoon's outing, our chosen destination was the third of the cluster of parks comprising the delightfully named Nachtegalenpark (Nightingale Park) which lies to the south of Antwerp's city centre. The park, which is called Vogelzang (Birdsong) is the one we visit the least. In fact, this was only our third visit ever, after having accidentally stumbled upon it in December 2021.

There used to be a small castle here as early as 1457, but it was not until the 17th century that a park estate was added. The current park, laid out in typical English landscape style, dates from 1850, offering an alternation of sweeping lawns and parkland, with a whale-shaped pond at its heart.

Soon after veering off the main path, we came across this funny-faced tree, which Jos aptly christened the Muppet Tree. I could also discern a sad-looking face complete with big crocodile tear in the tree on the bottom right.

The final incarnation of the castle was demolished in the early 20th century and only its stable courtyard remains, with one of the outbuildings flanking it currently being occupied by a primary school.

On the grassy area in front of the courtyard is an impressive First World War memorial, which was unveiled in 1930. It was designed by Antwerp city architect Antoon De Mol (1891-1962) and sculptor Edouard Vereycken (1893-1967).

The monument is composed of a tall central column flanked by angled side pieces with bas-relief scenes.  There's an evocative sculpture of a uniformed soldier at both ends, his head slightly bowed and his hands folded over his rifle.

The central column is topped by a bronze statue of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, her arms triumphantly raised and carrying victory wreaths in both hands.

We briefly posed here, silently paying tribute to the fallen while basking in the soul-soothing rays of the weak yet convalescing Winter sun.

We continued our explorations by walking around the back of the school building, but found ourselves fenced in so that we had to retrace our steps. But not before making use of one the school playground's structures, which I might have mistaken for a catwalk!

Back on track, we crossed the decorative cast iron bridge you can see in the distance in the next collage. Some of the ducks who call this stretch of water their home weren't too pleased that we hadn't brought crumbs of bread to feed them and swam off in a huff. We watched the antics of a particularly forward pair for a moment, especially as one of them kept tipping upside down, showing off its dabbling skills.

Vogelzang is a real family park as, apart from its natural attractions, there is a petting zoo and a large, adventurous playground to keep children occupied. Not surprisingly on this rare sunny weekend day, the latter was very popular. As was the adjacent tavern, established in the estate's former dairy. We could have murdered a waffle washed down with a cappuccino, but alas, it was too crowded and noisy in there so, sympathizing with those poor ducks, we walked off in a huff.

Rather than return to our car, though, we decided to make the most of the glorious afternoon and turn left once we had reached the main avenue which separates Vogelzang with a seldom visited part of the sculpture park called Middelheim-Laag (transl. Middelheim-Low).

By then, Mme. Soleil had started taunting us, threatening her retreat. Clouds were gathering, and they weren't all of the innocent fluffy white kind. Gaps of blue sky were playing peek-a-boo with the increasing patchwork of grey.

Middelheim-Laag is home to some of the museum's modern art installations. At the far side of the pond which greeted us as we walked in we spied the marble sculptures called Bathers (above, bottom right), created by the Italian sculptor Luciano Fabro (1937-2007) and dating from 1994. 

At a junction of paths (above, top right) is a so-called site-specific intervention by Jessica Stockholder (United States, 1959). The intriguingly titled Born of Landscape Linoleum (1999) makes use of concrete, nylon, metal and box tree (Buxus), so apparently the box hedge in front of it is also part of the installation!

The lethal looking giant silver maces tied to some of the trees, brutally disrupting the peaceful atmosphere, are by Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere (1964). The installation is called Innocence can be Hell and dates from 1993.

Mme. Soleil made a brief comeback as we were on our way out, so we sat ourselves down on a bench to make the most of the moment, sighing with pleasure as her rays warmed our sun-starved faces.

Then we spotted a flash of yellow among the bare shrubs and trees beyond the path. Now what could it be? Tip-toeing closer, we were delighted to make the acquaintance with masses of spidery yellow, red-hearted Witch Hazel (Hammamelis) flowers. 

The shrub's common name refers to the forked twigs that were sometimes used for water-witching or dowsing to locate underground water.

Alas, Mme. Soleil wasn't in for an encore on Sunday.

Although a modicum of sunshine had been forecasted for the early afternoon, it never appeared, so that I had to photograph Friday’s charity shop finds in light conditions which were far from ideal. The rest of the day was spent doing some gentle pottering, planning for our little getaway to Bruges and catching up with blogland.

My outfit that day was built around this vintage dress closing with a front zipper, its print a glorious mix of abstract stripes on an burgundy background. Although the stripes invite it to be accessorized with almost any colour you can think of, I often opt for aqua and turquoise.

Cue the turquoise opaques and ring, and the aqua beads, which are from H&M by way of a charity shop. 

The rest of my accessories were a fishy affair! The belt, with its dangling plastic fish, and the quirky shrimp brooch, were a charity shop and flea market find respectively. I'm always wearing them together as surely they are a match made in heaven!

I wore the outfit again on one of my office days later that week. Imagine my dismay when the fish suddenly made a bid for freedom and escaped from the chain linking it to the belt. As initially I could only find the main part, I thought it was the end of the poor little fishy. Then, many hours later, I located the missing part of its tail under my desk! It's currently waiting in the queue at Jos's repair shop, so that soon it will be able to join its friend the shrimp again!

Linking to Nancy's Fancy Friday Linkup party again!

We are nowhere and it's now

There was no improvement in the weather in the week after our visit to the crumbling castle. It was just one day after another of gloom and the temperature, which kept flitting around 5°C, was accompanied by a raw East wind. Weather conditions which didn't exactly tempt me to go out exploring during my lunch breaks. 

If I'm honest, the lack of daylight combined with the lack of perspective has been making me feel quite lethargic.

With nothing much apart from a day at the office to look forward to, dragging myself out of bed in the morning has become a bit of a struggle lately. It doesn't help that Bess often sneaks into bed with me minutes before I am supposed to get up, purring loudly as I stroke her belly. She's quite annoyed when eventually I have no choice but to leave the warmth of my bed and that of her snuggly feline body.

But look, I made it through another working week, as here I am on Friday the 10th of December. 

The corner of the kitchen outfit photos indicate that it was yet another one of those days on which daylight was almost non-existent. The rain was non-stop, too, and at just 4°C, it wasn't a day to be gallivanting about outside.

My vintage chocolate brown velvet midi skirt with its trails of cream lacy flowers was charity shopped last December. It is very strokable, but while ease of movement is aided by its lining, at the same time it is slitless which can be a bit of a hazard when walking at my usual brisk pace.

The blouse, with its funky yellow, green and brown pattern, is by Belgian retro label Wow To Go, and was another one of last year's charity shop finds. My green, short-sleeved cardigan is vintage and came from Think Twice. Accessories were a faux tortoiseshell necklace and a forest green leather belt, both courtesy of the charity shops, and an enamelled butterfly brooch which I believe was a flea market find.

My faux fur trimmed slippers were thrifted too. In fact, the only retail items in my outfit, apart from my underthings, were my ochre opaques. 

Is a selfie made of one's feet a feetie, I wonder :-)

Our weekly charity shopping trip had been a short one that day, as Jos was due for his booster jab in the early afternoon. A quick dash to our local charity shop that morning yielded a handful of things, brought to you by my faithful assistant Angelica. If you are wondering who the hell Cléo is, well that was Angelica's real name until she was adopted by us and called after my great-grandmother Angelica, better known as Zeleke, who was a dressmaker.

There was a lilac addition to my growing collection of long-line cardigans, and an argyle patterned V-neck jumper in shades of blue on a sandy background. OK, beige would probably be a better word for it but I'm loathe to use such an ugly word! I picked up the crochet flower brooch as well, and promptly pinned it to the green cardigan I was wearing.

While Jos was out for his jab, I kept myself busy by hand-washing a batch of face masks. Although I will never ever accept this as normal, this is yet another one of those things which have crept into our daily routines. 

The rest of the day was spent dutifully following in Bess's paw-steps, and although I didn't go as far as taking a cat-nap, I spent the afternoon reading and catching up with blogland.

We were treated to rays of sunshine on Saturday so, after lunch, we went for another cobweb clearing walk in one of Antwerp's cluster of parks.

At just 4°C, layering was required, particularly since my dress, by the Ein Fink Modell label, is unlined. Yet another one of last year's charity shop finds, I fell in love with its tiny pink flowers drifting down towards the hem. However, its lining had been partly removed by its previous owner, leaving only the top half which kept bunching up in such an annoying fashion that it had to be taken out completely.

Consequently, I'm wearing both a t-shirt and a slip underneath, as well as a chunky green cardigan on top. My choice of green for the latter, as well as for my belt and - another - enamelled butterfly brooch was prompted by the flower stalks in the dress's print.

I struggled a bit finding a necklace which was able to compete with the dress, eventually settling for a string of chunky wooden beads in multiple colours including pink and green.

Arriving at our destination, we parked our car in the designated car park on the avenue which separates the parks. Our initial idea had been to explore the part of the sculpture park called Middelheim-Low and the formal Hortiflora garden to its West.

However, upon entering the park, our feet veered off to the left instead of to the right, taking us towards the third of the parks, which is called Vogelzang (transl. Birdsong), the other two being Middelheim and Den Brandt.

This is actually the oldest of the three parks. There used to be a small castle here as early as 1457, but it was not until the 17th century that a park estate was added. The current park, laid out in typical English landscape style, dates from 1850. 

The castle itself was demolished in the early 20th century and only the orangery and stables remain to this day. 

I was tempted to do another statue impersonation here, but the soggy mass of leaves had made the bluestone plinth far too slippery to climb on top of it.

The park also contains an impressive First World War memorial, which was unveiled in 1930. 

The former dairy, or melkerij in Flemish, was preserved and turned into a tavern where, from 1920 onwards, milk, lemonade, beer and sandwiches were being sold to visitors and hikers. 

These weary hikers were glad to see that it was still in business and what's more, after whispering Open Sesame - or rather, scanning our CST's - we were allowed to enter and enjoy cups of cappuccino and huge waffles with oodles of whipped cream!

Thus fortified, we started our return journey which eventually found us making a short cut through Middelheim-Low after all. 

Here, we narrowly escaped being abducted by aliens, who seemed to have made an emergency landing in the middle of a lawn. Their spaceship is called Never Mind and is a work by the Welsh artist Richard Deacon.

Never mind the aliens, we made it home in one piece!

On Sunday, the rain returned with a vengeance, with dark clouds putting paid to the sun getting a look-in. The temperature, which has been yoyoing a bit lately, was now back to 11°C. 

Again, we only stepped outside for outfit photos. I was wearing the dress I'd found during our charity shopping trip the previous week. The lovely Lulu commented that its pattern reminded her of a Gustav Klimt painting, and you know what, I think she's right!

It was an absolute joy to wear, too. As I'd had a couple of things to tick off my domestic to-do-list, I kept my accessories simple, just adding some silvertone jewellery. The 1960s style necklace is modern and came from the high street, although I can't for the life of me remember which shop. The brooch, with its dangly little chains ending in tiny pearls, was a flea market find, and one of my very first vintage brooches.

My wine red opaques are a well-worn pair I'm keeping for chores around the house, and I only added the recently charity shopped cardigan and the burgundy boots for stepping out into the garden.

The afternoon was spent putting up and decorating this year's Christmas tree. Due to the arrival of a certain furry creature, we had to put it up in a different place, for which we needed a smaller faux fir.

In addition, using our beloved vintage and heirloom baubles was out of the question, so that our tree is looking quite a bit different this year. The decorations included felt icicles, fabric hearts and angels, fake apples, wooden bird houses, resin wrens and gingerbread men, all of which were already in our collection. Oh, and the same 150 LED lights we used in our big tree, so that it's looking quite flashy! The fabric hiding its base is a remnant of the 1960s tablecloth which used to grace my parents' table on Christmas day.

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas, whichever way you prefer to spend it. Or not!

Stay safe, everyone!