Time of the Season

Whilst it's not my favourite season, I do love the colours of Autumn. The cobalt blues of the tradescantia, late cornflowers and salvia and the vibrant oranges of the calendula, marigolds and dahlias. Monday's outfit rendered me almost invisible when posing for a photo in the garden, so well did I blend in with my surroundings.

With the exception of the belt, my outfit is a combination of tried and tested favourites. A vintage Kate Beaver handprinted maxi dress found in a charity shop for the princely sum of 99p back in 2015, a 1970s felted wool hat bought in a charity shop at around the same time and a 1960s suede coat Cheryl gave me.

 

Today I'm colour coordinating with the ruby reds of the cyclamen & penstemons, the regal purples of the callicarpa and spent hydrangeas and the golden yellows of the kindly-faced violas I planted last week.

Nothing new to see here, just the Stella Forest silk maxi dress I'd bought from eBay in the summer layered beneath a vintage Anokhi blouse. 

In between garden tidying and leaf sweeping, I've mostly been repotting houseplants & cleaning and tidying. Jon's had a big wardrobe sort out and, getting into winter mode, he's fitted the plastic film to the downstairs windows (aka poor man's double glazing) and zipped Gilbert into his car cover. There are logs chopped and piled up next to the wood burner in readiness although, at 15°C, we won't be lighting the fire today.

Taking a leaf out of Jon's book, I've donated two pairs of boots, a couple of waistcoats, two coats and a dress to the Kinky Shed. My straw hats are out of the wardrobe & stowed away under the bed, replaced by sheepskin hats, cosy scarves and gloves. My boots are now on the rack and the peep-toe clogs and sandals are stashed away, ready for 2022.

Needless to say, we've also been charity shopping - just to keep the Kinky stockroom topped up. Mind you, sales will drop off pretty soon, now the Xmas madness has started. I hasten to add that none of that madness will be taking place within these four walls. Yesterday, a woman who works in one of our regular chazzas asked us if we'd got our tree up yet, when we told her that we don't do Xmas she looked at us in such a horrified fashion you'd have thought we'd confessed to being serial killers. I honestly don't think she'll ever speak to us again. 

Anyway, what did we find? There's a 1970s batik maxi skirt, a Nepali cotton grandad shirt, a 1980s chiffon midi dress by Selena, a 1980s Wallis trenchcoat, an Indian block printed tunic, a 1960s knitted shift dress, a 1950s worsted wool waistcoat, a 1980s pussy-bow blouse by Bickler and a 1980s Greek mythological print shirt by Louis Monk (including Achilles on his chariot).

Some vintage Western-style shoe-boots by Winchester, a 1970s suede skirt with snakeskin panels, some brand new Clarks' boots which Jon snaffled, another piece of Mid-Century art glass for our collection (a huge Italian Emploi Verdi vase in the seed pod design), a silk maxi dress/waistcoat by August Silk, a 1980s taffeta cocktail dress by Vivien Smith of York, a Greek teeshirt with the tags still attached (now in Jon's wardrobe), a 1970s Keynote fake fur-trimmed jacket and two leather belts for me - one by Solo & the other by Betty Jackson (which I've worn with both Monday & Tuesday's outfits).

Culture-wise, we've finished watching Wolf Hall and enjoyed Return to Wolf Hall, the BBC documentary about Hilary Mantel. I've read a few books by Emma Donaghue - and loved the film Room - based on her novel of the same name. My current read is Slammerkin, a gripping page-turner, based on the true story of Mary Saunders, a teenager who stumbled into a life of prostitution in 18th century London.

A week after we lost our seven-year-old precious baby boy, Frank, our friends Liz and Al had to say goodbye to their beautiful 15-year-old, Disco. RIP tiny girl, we'll miss you. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Stephen Squirrel rampages around Stonecroft, squawking, sharpening his claws on everything in sight and wanting to be let out and back in again a hundred times a day. 

Cats, they drive you daft and break your heart.

A bit of normality tomorrow, I'm spending the day with a friend I haven't seen in far too long. I've almost forgotten how to travel on trains, I haven't been on one since we were in Mumbai back in February, 2020!

See you soon!