The Distancing Diaries - 10th & 11th March, 2021

The predicted high winds and showers had already taken a grip when I got up on Wednesday morning although it didn't bother the lads who took their time inspecting the garden when I let them out. I did my Wii Fit workout, caught up with blog reading and wrapped my eBay sales before joining Jon for breakfast.

We had a visitor! Dave the brickie popped round with his wheelbarrow to take away some of the bamboo Jon had dug up last week. We've got plans for planting most of it elsewhere but there's enough to share.

Wear:Sleep: Repeat continued with Tuesday's skirt, worn with a Banjara mirror work blouse and topped with my British Army camo jacket. For the first time in ages, I plaited my hair and wore it pinned up (inspired by a fashion photo of the Rodarte models Sheila had shared on her blog HERE).  Jon says I look like I should be off to a festival....in my dreams! Although a few have announced their intention to go ahead this Summer with the current standoff between the organisers and the government over cancellation insurance I'm not holding my breath.

The details: Afghan Kuchi earrings, Frye Campus boots (both eBay), vintage leather belt (charity shop) and a tangle of tribal bangles (from all over the place).

The Banjara top in the photo of the parcel Katy sent me last week. I'm often asked how I wash clothes like these. In all honesty, it's as little as possible. I spot clean any marks after I've worn them and always hang every garment I've worn up to air overnight before putting them back in the wardrobe. The colours on many traditional Indian textiles aren't colourfast so I wash them individually by hand in lukewarm water using liquid hand soap. As wringing might break the mirrorwork I'll only wash them on a day I can leave them to drip dry outside.

The parcel also contained a pretty pale blue Indian-made pure silk scarf but as it was starting to wear thin, I chopped it into rectangles and using some trimmings from my stash as drawstrings repurposed the scarf into jewellery pouches for the dowry coin necklaces I have listed on eBay. It took most of the day but with it lashing down outside and with 6Music for company it was most enjoyable.

Lunch was a Moroccan vegan pasty, comfort food for such a dismal blustery day, followed by a catch-up with Liz.

After I'd completed my sewing I had a bit of a tidy-up and after we'd both showered machine washed the bathroom rugs (labelled dry clean only) and hung them to dry in the utility room. 

Tea was roasted vegetables with halloumi and a bottle of pale ale.

Later we cracked open the rum, watched a documentary about the origins of Stonehenge and two episodes of Deutschland '89 (we're trying to ration ourselves, we don't want it to end!)

The galeforce winds we'd been warned about had made their presence felt overnight and it was still extremely rough outside when I got up on Thursday morning. I moved the kitchen windowsill plants into the utility room for a soak, did my Wii Fit workout and put the upstairs plants into the bathtub when I'd finished.

 Jon was most confused when he got up, I usually do this on a Saturday. He has a hard enough job remembering what day of the week it is at the best of times!

After breakfast I swept and mopped the floorboards upstairs and once Jon had finished with his admin and bill paying, we set off for a walk around the block via Johal's. The rain had stopped and it was gloriously sunny but it was ridiculously windy.

We spotted a few signs of Spring along the way.

We'd just got back in when Richard knocked on the door with the post. Remember me telling you that Linda emailed me for my address as she'd painted my portrait and, in an act of lockdown kindness, wanted to send it my way. Isn't she clever? Here's her IG page. 

Wear:Sleep: Repeat saw the return of Wednesday's British army jacket, worn with a vintage Alpnani kaftan (eBay) and me-made beer mittens and pompom hat.

The details: Hindu deity belt buckle (present from Liz), Mjus boots (charity shop), 1970s Italian-made deadstock sunglasses (vintage fair, 2014), malachite earrings (Rajasthan), Afghan headpiece worn as a choker (eBay)

After our noodles, we changed into our sturdy boots and did some work in the garden. 

I'd cut back and cleared the area where a lot of our ferns live on Saturday. It's a rare bit of the garden that gets some sun so Jon wants to put another of the raised beds we bought at the weekend here.

In a few months, they'll be this tall so we needed to act fast.

At the moment the pond area is a bit of wasted space as it's too shady to sit in (I want sun!) so we've moved the ferns, some bamboo and a few of the grasses that grow like mad elsewhere in the garden and planted them here. Hopefully, we'll have a lush green pond area by the beginning of the Summer.

Once we'd finished I went indoors and put the houseplants & the freshly laundered bathroom rugs back and Jon stayed in the garden as he needed to give his bike a once-over as he's got to cycle back from the garage when he takes Gilbert over for his MOT next week. He ended up staying outside longer than he'd intended due to a particularly violent hailstorm.

Tea was a salad with the rest of Ray's sourdough (we'd frozen half), my homemade potato salad (with chives from the garden) and Reine de glaces lettuce from the greenhouse.

Once I've sorted out what I'm re-wearing tomorrow we'll be settling down for a few hours in front of the TV and trying to resist the temptation to binge-watch the rest of Deutschland 89.

Stay safe, healthy and fabulous!