The Distancing Diaries - 3rd & 4th June, 2021

Another Oriental poppy had bloomed when I wandered around the garden on Thursday morning. I did a load of washing, pegged it out on the line and did my Wii Fit workout before catching up with blogland. I needed to close the executor's account I'd opened when I was dealing with Dad's estate so we headed into town so I could present my ID at the bank and sign some paperwork.

Expecting a day as hot as Wednesday, I'd optimistically worn the vintage Adini dress Helena had sent me but the sun stayed stubbornly behind the clouds until late in the afternoon.

WEARING: Vintage Adini sundress worn with 1970s Dolcis straw bag (charity shop), vintage Moroccan choker with semi-precious stones (eBay), Lotta from Stockholm clogs

Grown-up stuff done we had a wander around the charity shops & found a few bits, a pretty cotton floral kimono with the Japanese store tags still attached, a 1980s waistcoat (identical to one I'd sold earlier this week), a black leather belt with a gorgeous Art Nouveau buckle and a huge pompom trimmed basket.

After our noodles, we got changed and stuck into some work outside. I moved a few plants, weeded the patch we'd cleared the bamboo from earlier this year and staked my sunflowers whilst Jon assembled the barrier for outside the front gates. Leaving him shuffling the V Dubs around I spent the remainder of the afternoon on the lawn in my bikini reading. 

Tea was a salad with a feta cheese & spinach parcel and a vegetarian tartlet. Later we watched The Antiques Road Trip and the final episode of The Killing - I thought we'd got just one more to watch on Wednesday night but got it wrong. Later I retired to bed with my book whilst Jon made music in his room.

Friday morning was sunny and warm. After a wander around the garden, I did a load of washing and pegged it out on the line before doing my last Wii Fit workout and sweeping the downstairs rugs and stairs. I booked next week's National Trust visit, caught up with blogland and then joined Jon for breakfast. 

After playing around with the picture frames we'd bought from the charity shop on Sunday, we nipped over to one of our regular Black Country shopping towns (or at least it was regular, pre-pandemic) and had a mooch around the chazzas. I wore my Anokhi for East Artisan block-printed dress for the first time and several posh ladies stopped me to tell me how beautiful it was. 

WEARING: Anokhi for East Artisan midi dress and vintage West german Tropical sunglasses (both eBay), Copal beads and silver cuff (charity shop), Lotta from Stockholm clogs

We found a few treasures in amongst the dross - a hand-blown Mid-Century Scandanavian piece of art glass to add to my collection; some proper country gents mustard jumbo cords from posh British outfitters Pakeman, Catto & Carter (Eric Clapton is one of their brand ambassadors); a useful Betmar, New York foldable sunhat; some Pierre Cardin sandals adorned with bejewelled snakes and a candy-striped cotton leisure shirt by swanky Italian label, Etro. 

The most expensive purchase was the vase at £4.50! 

Back at home, a parcel was waiting, a gorgeous silver and turquoise Dilli Grey dress I'd scored off eBay over the bank holiday weekend (always the best time to hunt for bargains). 

The seller had included a freebie, an organic cotton slip to wear underneath, still with the tags attached. 

I googled Aspiga, it's a sustainable and ethical British brand with some truly gorgeous dresses. The slips are available online for a very reasonable £13.

I washed the new buys and hung them on the line to dry in the sunshine. After our noodles, Jon went food shopping while I got changed into my gardening gear and shredded the branches he'd lopped off the laurel bushes earlier this week. Leaving him tinkering with V Dubs, I spent the rest of the day snoozing and reading on the lawn, meeting up on the new bench for a chilled Corona beer with a wedge of lime at 5pm.

 

After watering the garden we tucked into beetroot felafels with sweet potato wedges (me), fish and chips (Jon) both served with mushy peas. Later we'll be drinking rum and watching Gardeners' World.

I'll leave you with this track which, since hearing it on 6Music a fortnight ago, I'm completely obsessed with.

Have a fabulous weekend!