The Distancing Diaries - 28th & 29th December, 2020

On Monday I looked outside and saw that the garden was blanketed with a thick layer of snow. The lads weren't happy, Frank hissed, took one step outside and ran back upstairs to bed while Stephen did a quick lap of the garden before retreating inside. 

I did my Wii Fit workout and discovered I'd lost 2 lbs since Xmas Day. I wrapped the latest eBay sales and joined Jon in the kitchen for our fruit & yogurt breakfast. Jon did a grocery top-up shop but failed with the Post Office run as neither of us had realised it was a bank holiday. Shopping sanitised & put away, we headed down to the clearance chazza for a rummage. It was so quiet in there that at one point Jon and I were the only customers.

With BoJo set to announce further restrictions on Wednesday we stocked up on books just in case we get locked down again and I snaffled a few other things, too. 

This 100% alpaca wool jumper stood out a mile from the bobbly acrylic dominating the rest of the rail. Spirit of the Andes knitwear is mega pricey (this one originally retailed at £259) and judging by the pristine label, hasn't seen any wear.  Alpaca wool is as warm and soft as cashmere and, unless you buy your cashmere secondhand, is more environmentally friendly and sustainable. 

I love a well worn leather cross-body bag and if I was going to India I'd be taking this beauty with me. I'd mistakenly assumed that Radley bags always had dogs emblazoned across them. I'm happy with a discrete logo on the back and a label on the inside. Not bad for £2.

Terrible photo, great price!

MONDAY: Vintage Afghan coat (eBay, 2018), patent leather Doc Martens and 1960s Crimplene maxi dress (both charity shop finds), Aran rainbow wool pom pom hat and wrist warmers (yarn from a charity shop, handmade by me!)

With the temperature hovering at zero °C I was so glad that 2020 was the year I'd finally taught myself to crochet hats and wrist-warmers. 

Lunch was roasted red pepper soup with a slice of bread. Jon noticed Morrisons had the cans on offer for 20p each before Xmas and thought they'd make a good cupboard staple. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up with blog reading. We had a curry for tea accompanied by a beer, sweet potato wedges and half a nan.

Later we watched a couple more episodes of Wasteland before I retired to bed with my hot water bottle to crack on with my latest read which has nothing to do with that chess series on Netflix the world and his wife keep banging on about.

Tuesday got off to another bitterly cold start with The Lads quickly doing their business and scuttling back indoors. After my Wii Fit workout I wrapped more parcels thanks to some eBay overnight sales and joined Jon for breakfast. Amazingly the weather forecast was spot on, with the snow arriving at just after 9am, exactly as predicted. A friend recently mentioned that Lush had good sales so I thought I'd have a look at their website and timed it perfectly, as they'd just slashed some of their goodies by 50% so bagged enough treats to see us through the dark days of Winter.

TUESDAY: 1970s Mongolian lamb jacket (inherited from Mum), vintage satin paisley print maxi skirt (gift from Helga back in 2010), Alpaca jumper, vintage knitted turban, 1960s vinyl & nylon gloves (all charity shopped), Doc Martens (Facebook selling page)

Another cold day! What good timing it was finding that Spirit of the Andes jumper yesterday. 

Eager for a trip out I joined Jon on the Post office run. Running low on logs we headed off to B&M Bargains which often has good deals on hardwood logs and were in luck, snaffling the last few they had in stock. Next stop was B&Q, the DIY superstore, as Jon needed some electrical bits for a rewiring project. Needless to say I couldn't resist scouring the clearance shelf for houseplants and was in luck, scoring a couple of Leopard Lillies for £2, perfect for shady rooms, ideal for our bathroom. I also bought some fertilising sticks which had been reduced by 50%.

Back at home I immersed the lillies in water in the utility room sink before repotting them. We had noodles for lunch and then I cut up the plant food sticks, stuck them in my pots and left them to slowly feed my plants over the next three months.`

Introducing new houseplants means moving stuff around to make space. I needed room on the hearth in the lounge so I photographed my Xmas presents before putting them away.

Liz and Al gave me this amazing vintage Indian block printed waistcoat, a wild bird feeder and some rather interesting looking toothpaste. There were also some cans of real ale for Jon and a packet of retro sweets (which have all gone).

Tony bought me the potted Bonsai tree, The Spice Sultan pack and the Green & Black's chocolate. Jon got a swanky torch, some cat socks and a fancy glass tumbler for his rum. Marcus bought us the box of craft ales (half of which we've already drunk) and some posh pretzels (now eaten). 

The hand poured candle and Snag tights in Beach Bum & Suffragette were from Liz & Adrian, the glass peacock feather coasters from Hazel and the fizz and catnip mouse from Rob, Morgan and Carlo, our nearest neighbours.

It's amazing how much time pottering around the house takes up. I had high hopes for some more crochet this afternoon but by the time I'd finished with my plants it was almost teatime, just long enough to squeeze in some blog reading.

Talking of food, this is what we ate,  Jon's nan bread pizza, topped with spiced butter beans, homemade pizza sauce, gherkins, homegrown basil, diced shallots, cheese and fresh tomatoes. This was accompanied by a half a can of Peanut Riot from Marcus's gift box, a delectable salted chocolate and nut porter.

Stay safe, happy and healthy and see you soon!