The Distancing Diaries - 18th & 19th February, 2021

 On Thursday, despite Stephen's best efforts to get me up at 5am, I managed to stay in bed till 6.30am. I put away the teatowels I'd washed the previous day, did my Wii Fit workout and after a blog comment catch up joined Jon for breakfast. Guilty about how Mrs Blackbird was staring at him through the kitchen window, Jon crumbled some out of date rice cakes and left them on the bird table, only for a cheeky squirrel to make off with most of them.

Our friendly MyHermes driver turned up bearing parcels, the Superdrug stuff I'd ordered the day before (speedy service!) and the tunic I'd bought from ebay on Monday morning. The description mentioned that the cuffs were a little loose so I sat at the kitchen table and replaced the elastic.

The indoor photos don't do this Alpnani top justice, the colours are more red than brown and the fabric is a heavyweight handloomed cotton, perfect for our climate.

Needless to say, I had to wear it immediately and, as luck would have it, Wednesday's suede coat was the perfect accompaniment and slotted into my Wear:Sleep:Repeat challenge seamlessly. The 1970s Ayesha Davar skirt and burgundy opaques (both eBay) have popped up previously. Check out the re-dyed roots, they were hidden under a hat when I was litter picking on Wednesday.

The details: You've seen the charity shopped River Island olive green boots before and the silver chain hoops from festival neighbours, Shilpa Silver. 

The vintage Christian Dior sunglasses were a present from Jon (via eBay) and last made an appearance in Crete back in September, in those heady days when travel wasn't an illegal activity. 

Whilst Jon took advantage of another mild, sunny day and scrubbed Gilbert's pop-top, I wrapped my ebay sales, ironed some menswear and photographed it in the garden (kilts were always popular at festivals). The bin crew emptied our wheelie bins and collected our litter picking sacks, giving us a thumbs up for our efforts.

After a break for a vegan sausage roll I uploaded the photos and posted my listings on ebay then Jon and I went for a walk around the block getting halfway round before the heavens opened. Back at home I spent an hour and a half with Harry Hole although I nodded off at one point, waking myself up when I dropped the book on the floor.

Tea was pasta with Jon's tomato sauce, grated Cheddar and some home grown basil. Despite being sixteen in May, Stephen Squirrel finds it impossible to sit still and races around like a kitten. Here's a rare moment of calm.

We still haven't got round to watching any of I Can't Get You Out of My Head, getting sucked into a three part Trump documentary, watching the second part the previous evening and the final tonight (I needed an hour of Pottery Throwdown to get him out of my head). In anticipation for Deutschland 89, which starts in a fortnight, we've decided to rewatch the previous two series, kicking off with Deutschland 83. If you haven't seen it then I can't recommend it highly enough, one of Walter Presents finest, a brilliant cold war drama, fantastic soundtrack and stunning cinematography.

On Friday, after my final Wii Fit workout of the week, I wrapped the overnight ebay sales before washing the vintage glass and scrubbing the fireplace in the lounge and sweeping and dusting the hallway.

After breakfast I did a load of washing and hung it up to dry in the utility room whilst Jon, after a quick stocktake of the larder, went on a post office & grocery run. Meanwhile I made a beer & olive loaf - resisting the temptation to drink the excess ale - and mopped the kitchen floor while it cooked.

Looking a bit wet and windswept, Richard the postman arrived with parcels, some wool for my next crocheting project (whatever that might be, it's always good to be prepared).....

And an unworn Anokhi indigo and gold block printed bolero I'd snaffled on eBay a couple of days ago (it'll look even better once I've ironed it!) I'm on a roll with eBay lately, I won an amazing Anokhi skirt earlier.

My beer and olive loaf turned out well, we shared the still-warm crust slathered in butter, before our lunchtime noodles.

When I went to the Kinky Shed I noticed that the rain that had plagued us for most of the day had stopped so I posed for a quick outfit photo.

I'm continuing to Wear:Sleep:Repeat in Thursday's Alpnani tunic, this time tucked into my 1970s Anokhi maxi skirt.

The details: Clarks' Orinocho Club Chelsea boots and vintage tooled leather belt (both charity shopped) and Turkoman earrings (eBay)

I spent the rest of the afternoon photographing and listing stock on ebay, today's theme being miscellaneous accessories. The Costa Brava beach bag was one of a pair I used to take to the swimming baths when I had post-operative hydrotherapy classes (another council initiative before austerity reared its ugly head), its lined with plastic so perfect for wet swimwear. The other is printed Benidorm,I must have sold it in a moment of madness, not that I've ever been, I just loved the TV series.

We've got halloumi for tea later, The Arctic Murders and more of Deutchland 83 to entertain us and rum for afters (it's ready and waiting for us in the lounge). 

Stay safe and see you soon!