tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13426263996300157482024-03-13T18:03:02.979+00:00Porcelina's WorldPorcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.comBlogger935125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-83324640546307678482021-03-28T13:06:00.005+01:002021-03-28T13:07:31.623+01:00Still Searching for the Perfect Black Trousers<p style="text-align: justify;">Well it's Spring, if only by the calendar and not by the weather (it's chucking it down out there today and is not very warm). That means I am thinking about getting my ankles out at some point in the near future. I am forever looking for classic trousers, with a pair of black slim cigarette style pants being top of the list. I buy several pairs a year and rarely keep any, they generally get sent straight back.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Today I have a comparison for you between two pairs of black high waisted trousers. I do need to point out that these photos were taken...last August. I know, I know. A lot happened, and it's only now that I am feeling in the mood to do a bit of a shopping post.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I tried the <a href="https://www.freddiesofpinewood.co.uk/product/wing-pants/" target="_blank">Wing pants by Freddies of Pinewood</a>, and the <a href="https://www.prettyretro.co.uk/bottoms/retro-50s-capri-pants-black" target="_blank">Retro 50s capri pants by Pretty Retro</a>. Here's how I got on.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jdSMY8l0IsQ/YGBr0pBeAdI/AAAAAAAAXZM/92gJvHIqG2QEqLYkqTOMCHMRfJfc47tLwCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/DSCF6760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jdSMY8l0IsQ/YGBr0pBeAdI/AAAAAAAAXZM/92gJvHIqG2QEqLYkqTOMCHMRfJfc47tLwCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF6760.JPG" /></a></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Firstly let's have a look at the Wing pants from Freddies of Pinewood (£60). The fabric is gorgeous, it feels far more expensive than the trousers cost. There are belt loops, pockets, and they just feel well designed. The waist was nicely fitted, and then there's a lot of room in the bum and hips. Very comfy actually, but I wasn't sure they were the most flattering on me. That didn't matter in the end, as there was another issue. The hem of these trousers hit my legs slightly higher than intended, which meant that when rolling up the winged cuff, it was actually quite tight and uncomfortable on my calves because of the thickness of the fabric. I realised that I am perhaps too tall at 5'9" for these trousers. Alas, I had to send them back.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aONabCvc6G8/YGBr4esO1GI/AAAAAAAAXZU/YnSwZFUUsQ8f4S7h8hOD0e6QJxEuiqz-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/DSCF6765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aONabCvc6G8/YGBr4esO1GI/AAAAAAAAXZU/YnSwZFUUsQ8f4S7h8hOD0e6QJxEuiqz-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF6765.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Above and below:</b> Freddies' Wing Pants</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TbITllkZ-kc/YGBsFJUFmBI/AAAAAAAAXZg/x3cSg-BFRGcXmK2z34A8mpYtpaRe2i3HwCLcBGAsYHQ/s803/DSCF6764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="803" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TbITllkZ-kc/YGBsFJUFmBI/AAAAAAAAXZg/x3cSg-BFRGcXmK2z34A8mpYtpaRe2i3HwCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF6764.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Next up, the 50s capri pants by Pretty Retro (£42). The fabric is a light bengaline type fabric, with plenty of stretch. No belt loops, no pockets, just a very streamlined trouser. I have to say that these fit like a second skin in my usual size. I loved the fit, they were flattering, but in a slightly breathe-in kind of way. These are the kind of trousers I would wear if I was going out, but as I go nowhere, these didn't really fit the bill of a comfy casual pair. I wasn't sure whether to get a pair in the next size up, but the thing with very stretchy trousers is that if they are not properly stretched, they can look a bit deflated and sad. So, I sent these back too.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VOOjEMJobeA/YGBr5PEseOI/AAAAAAAAXZc/d2MQ1HgKbGUIe0lbGedi2aRQIbkC3sdIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/DSCF6769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VOOjEMJobeA/YGBr5PEseOI/AAAAAAAAXZc/d2MQ1HgKbGUIe0lbGedi2aRQIbkC3sdIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF6769.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Above and below: </b>Pretty Retro capris</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xM97MdUvBQo/YGBsKrl6GoI/AAAAAAAAXZ0/dn5YZIiNr6gRG4-OQTVHpf-FAHdbxkSgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s803/DSCF6768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="803" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xM97MdUvBQo/YGBsKrl6GoI/AAAAAAAAXZ0/dn5YZIiNr6gRG4-OQTVHpf-FAHdbxkSgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF6768.JPG" /></a></div><br /><p>There you go anyway, I hope that is helpful to someone, somewhere. Here's hoping that it's ankle-baring weather sometime soon.</p>Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-6147638129470016242021-02-13T15:26:00.000+00:002021-02-13T15:26:04.195+00:00Is Winter Nearly Over Yet?<p style="text-align: justify;">Hello there from my little corner of the world. I hope this finds you well. Myself and my little family are all doing okay. Living quietly; which is what I need after last year. There really isn't much to report. We don't go anywhere or do anything. I roam the hillsides. I watch the birds in our garden. I am back at work, so my priorities have shifted. The precious little time I have that isn't working (from home), or caring for my one year old, is generally spent being restful or doing restorative things like yoga. 8pm is an acceptable bedtime.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LuXbbw58XVw/YCfnaeIlpoI/AAAAAAAAXW4/jCFv_3Fhhqsle8BLhZWZpviD_AGX5XORQCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/DSCF7404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LuXbbw58XVw/YCfnaeIlpoI/AAAAAAAAXW4/jCFv_3Fhhqsle8BLhZWZpviD_AGX5XORQCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF7404.JPG" /></a></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: justify;">When the first of the snows came, our valley was at its most beautiful. I like how quiet it is after the snowfall. Less traffic, and even footsteps are muffled. We took the little one out into the snow for the first time. He seemed a bit confused at first, and then decided the snow must be a bit like the bath water and tried to do a front crawl through it!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mRKH6h3DZik/YCfnxEvj9VI/AAAAAAAAXXA/m8QoOfBgSDUXAQVR_2Asji9-XjKTmF83wCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/DSCF7449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mRKH6h3DZik/YCfnxEvj9VI/AAAAAAAAXXA/m8QoOfBgSDUXAQVR_2Asji9-XjKTmF83wCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF7449.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Above: The valley at dawn, viewed from our house</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hn5RJ6RUl0Q/YCfo2kdmQQI/AAAAAAAAXXw/8JZ8BVOVgEgXQQxfCzGmEH0DZAqTwORIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/DSCF7435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hn5RJ6RUl0Q/YCfo2kdmQQI/AAAAAAAAXXw/8JZ8BVOVgEgXQQxfCzGmEH0DZAqTwORIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF7435.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Above: The trees in our front garden</div><p style="text-align: justify;">It hasn't warmed up for long at all. The odd day, and then it's back to freezing temperatures again. My tumble dryer is in the garage and won't work when it's this cold, so the laundry is mounting up. It is also getting increasingly difficult to entertain an inquisitive, adventurous 14 month old within the same four walls, day after day. It seems like the right time to let him run riot in a soft play centre, but of course nothing's open at the moment. He hasn't met any other children, so I do wonder how he will cope when we are eventually allowed to rejoin society! We do try and make sure he gets out of the house at least once a day. It has been icy weather even for a walk, but sometimes you just need to get out of the house.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sZqPn6yDtGo/YCfoA6oJqnI/AAAAAAAAXXU/wcLz-PudcPUbY2k2ZEZqgji0GdqlMXHpwCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/DSCF7497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sZqPn6yDtGo/YCfoA6oJqnI/AAAAAAAAXXU/wcLz-PudcPUbY2k2ZEZqgji0GdqlMXHpwCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF7497.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Above: icicles outside my kitchen window</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G5uP46-LmoM/YCfoA5RmUGI/AAAAAAAAXXY/AKNiK8o8xoUGpIkUN4Vg68S9j1-rrkVBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1423/DSCF7503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1423" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G5uP46-LmoM/YCfoA5RmUGI/AAAAAAAAXXY/AKNiK8o8xoUGpIkUN4Vg68S9j1-rrkVBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF7503.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Above: Dressed in a vintage sheepskin hat and vintage coat, with as many layers underneath as I could fit - tights, leggings, thermal top, two jumpers... I am not exaggerating the cold, all of the mountain streams had frozen and the wind chill was Baltic.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYsMfKI3kp8/YCfoA9kXTLI/AAAAAAAAXXQ/mH3O1v4iPKgt-2E8fXrHOVLm7REAKEtowCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/DSCF7506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYsMfKI3kp8/YCfoA9kXTLI/AAAAAAAAXXQ/mH3O1v4iPKgt-2E8fXrHOVLm7REAKEtowCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF7506.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Above: weird ice formations where the stream joined the lake</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CUMdHbifBAQ/YCfoBaVCnII/AAAAAAAAXXc/uV8_NeJ2M68ptmKjXN4HUsCKEIwT5cyggCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/DSCF7514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CUMdHbifBAQ/YCfoBaVCnII/AAAAAAAAXXc/uV8_NeJ2M68ptmKjXN4HUsCKEIwT5cyggCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSCF7514.JPG" /></a></div><br /><p>It's snowing again as I type this. The little one is napping, and I am trying to summon the energy to do something constructive like a quick yoga session or some housework. Somehow I will probably end up staring out of the window and drinking yet another cuppa.</p><p>Stay cosy!</p>Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-30844173182397105802020-05-11T11:49:00.000+01:002020-05-11T11:49:00.054+01:00Backyard BirthdayThis time last year I'd just returned from a long weekend in Devon with Chris to celebrate my 40th birthday, including a stay at the utterly fabulous <a href="http://www.porcelinasworld.com/2019/05/burgh-island.html" target="_blank">Burgh Island Hotel</a>. This year's celebration of turning 41 years old on Friday couldn't have been more different! A birthday in lockdown, in our back garden. And it was just right.<br />
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After my favourite breakfast - smoked salmon in scrambled eggs - we had a walk in our local forest again. No buzzard vs crow combat on this occasion, but we did hear a rather exuberant cuckoo. It's an area that's very quiet, with usually us encountering only a couple of other people on our hour's loop. You would think that being on top of a mountain with the horizon stretching out infinitely that this would make it easy to keep well over 2 metres away. We were astounded then, when at a fork in the track, an older couple coming from the other direction seemed intent on walking straight towards us, until Chris spoke to them. Honestly, some people seem oblivious!<br />
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On our return to the house, I decked the garden with floral bunting strung from the fruit trees. The baby was settled to sleep in the pram under the sun umbrella, we brought out some chairs, put on some music and spent a lovely afternoon enjoying the sunshine. We had a bit of an afternoon tea spread, with sandwiches, and a selection of homemade cakes. I'd baked another rhubarb cake and an orange and poppy seed cake, whilst Chris had made me a chocolate cheesecake. He's a novice baker so it was a great first attempt. I'd also made some rhubarb syrup from a River Cottage recipe, so made some rhubarb bellinis using that and some pink champagne. After eating, we cleared some space and played a game of boules. I won! The baby slept for hours, so it was actually a very relaxing afternoon for me.<br />
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Above: orange and poppy seed cake </div>
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Above: I added some velvet ribbon and a 1930s' belt buckle as a toggle to this battered old hat.</div>
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My birthday present from Chris was the pair of Freddies of Pinewood dungarees that I'm wearing in the photos. I've been wearing my men's '90s ones so much for gardening, that I wanted a smarter pair for when I'm not doing manual labour. I also bought myself a Freddies jumper in their sale, and finally got a tablet with some birthday money.<br />
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All around us the streets were decked in bunting for VE day, so I pretended that was all for my birthday too. I actually felt a bit uncomfortable this year about all of the VE celebrations. It's obviously right to mark the anniversary of the end of a world war and honour the contributions of so many, but especially in these times where nationalism has seen Britain's exit from the EU, I am not feeling particularly proud of being British. It seems that many people used the day as an excuse for a massive knees-up but couldn't care less about understanding the history. It was also a day where social distancing was completely ignored by many of the same people who are out there clapping every Thursday for the NHS. Our local healthboard has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wales per 100,000 population. Those claps are sounding hollow. Here in Wales, another 3 weeks of lockdown was announced on Thursday last week, so it's particularly astounding that literally the day after that, people still went ahead with their various celebrations.<br />
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I have used the garden to stay calm in the face of such idiocy. I've been weeding like fury, planting more seeds, hardening seedlings, and having a general tidy up and washing up used pots etc. The peonies are out in full force, they look spectacular! We have several plants. Last year we divided one of the larger plants and it's worked very well, we now have even more plants dotted around the garden. The peonies have done so well that I bought a trio of varieties from Sarah Raven. The plants are small but doing okay, and next year they should flower for the first time, adding blooms of cream and pale pink to the crimson show we have now. The mouldy allium bulbs I found in the shed and planted anyway have fared less well - only one grew! But it would have been a shame to waste them.<br />
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Above: clockwise from top left, allium, hosta, peony, chives.</div>
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I've continued to tackle the mending pile. A job that's been on my list for at least a year is revamping an old Vivien of Holloway tea dress that I've had for about 10 years! The colour had faded, the piping was fraying, some buttons had signs of wear, and one of the darts had pulled through. It wasn't cheap at the time, I think I paid around £60, but those dresses are still around in an updated version on the VOH website for £99 upwards. To rescue mine, I mended the dart, took off the piping, and re-dyed the fabric using Dylon machine dye. I then found some vintage buttons in my stash and replaced the old ones. I'm pleased with the result, it's got a few more years of wear left in it again. I'm certainly getting my money's worth!<br />
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Above: wearing the dress in 2011 </div>
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Now that our birthdays are over I have to stop baking cakes. We haven't managed to eat all of the ones I've baked already, there's a lot of cake in our freezer! It's a good job there's much more manual labour to do in house and garden, we need to keep up the exercise.<br />
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No particular plans this week, more of the same domesticity I expect. I probably haven't conveyed here that 90% of my days are either looking after the baby, staring at the baby, showing family the baby via Facetime, or taking photos of the baby - these blog posts are about the remaining 10%!<br />
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Stay er, alert? Hmm... Stay home and safe all!<br />
<br />Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-87949410399089843132020-05-04T09:44:00.000+01:002020-05-04T09:44:03.680+01:00The Home FrontGood morning from the Rhondda valley! May has arrived, and with it there's usually a sense of celebration. It's a big month for birthdays among my family and friends. Generally the temperature has slightly improved by this point, the flowers are out in full force, and the festivals, vintage fairs, car boot sales and antiques shows are beginning. It's obviously a little more subdued than usual this year, less of a fanfare and more of a squeak. This week I've been mainly feeling tired to be honest, the night feeds are taking their toll! I think I've visibly aged. I took the opportunity therefore on 1st May, to wash my face in the early morning dew, a tradition passed on to me by my mother. If you've not heard of this custom, the dew is said to have 'magical' properties, and will keep you looking youthful. Chris was out there like a shot once I told him.<br />
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Most of this week has been a bit dark and moody, with me forlornly staring out of the windows at the rainy garden rather than being out in it. The goldfinches seemed happy enough in the rain. Still, I did manage a few quick jobs like staking the peonies, and weeding between the cracks on our paths.<br />
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Above: spot the goldfinch </div>
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Exorchorda 'The Bride', present from my Dad, grown from a cutting from a mature plant in his own garden.</div>
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Peonies are out!</div>
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I've been embracing loungewear on these indoor rainy days, and have made good use of some trousers that I made last year. I amended the pyjama bottom pattern from 'Love at First Stitch' by Tilly and the Buttons to create a higher waist, and added an elastic panel to the back waistband instead of having a drawstring (I prefer a neat front waistband). The fabric is vintage Viyella, a very fine wool paisley. It's called something like 'Shrivastana', but I can't find the photo I took of the name. I had to cut out the pattern very carefully to avoid some ancient tiny moth nibbles, but I took a chance on the fabric as it was only £1 from a charity shop. Money well spent!<br />
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The big event of the past week was Chris's birthday. The sun even came out. We took the opportunity for an hour's walk in the forest on top of the hill behind our house. Chris had Otis in the baby carrier, as the terrain is too rough for a pram. It was beautiful, and easy to keep our distance from the few dog walkers we encountered. We also witnessed a buzzard launch itself from the forest right above our heads, and watched in disbelief as two crows chased it in aerial combat!<br />
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Above: this landslide happened in the torrential rains earlier this year. You can't see from this photo, but there are actually houses in the bottom of the valley - fortunately far enough away to have escaped.</div>
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That afternoon back at home, Chris did a Facebook Live session. It was lovely to catch up with some friends and family who tuned in to watch. They were mainly there to see the baby though I suspect. He was very patient, he sat and listened to Chris for nearly a whole hour. I think he's getting used to the banjo! Once the baby was asleep that evening, we managed to have dinner, and we brought out the cheesecake I'd made. It was a New York baked cheesecake, and big enough to feed about 20 people. Chris loved it, so I was relieved. We then ended the evening with a few rounds of Connect 4 (I lost) and a game of Boggle (I won), while Chris sampled some of the whiskies he'd had. Alas, I had to go to bed at 9pm to get a little sleep before the baby woke up next. Not the most rock 'n roll birthday Chris has ever had, but he said that he had a really lovely day.<br />
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It's a bit overcast today but dry again, so I am desperate to get into the garden. Being indoors really does impact my mood. The baby is asleep right now, so it will be a challenge to see how much can I get done before he wakes up. As for the rest of the week, it will be my birthday on Friday, so another low key celebration will be in order. More rhubarb cake perhaps!<br />
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Hope you are all keeping your spirits up.<br />
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<br />Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-77450438875977737542020-04-25T21:06:00.000+01:002020-04-27T08:15:31.895+01:00From a DistanceAnother week in lockdown, and I am feeling conditioned to the situation. When restrictions are lifted, will I even want to leave my house again?! I made a mental list of the places I am missing most (not including seeing friends and family) - the coast, National Trust properties, garden centres, maybe the leisure centre? Chris added car boot sales. There's a lot I could do without. I am never short of things to occupy me.<br />
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<b>Wearing</b><br />
Before lockdown, I'd started back at my spin class, was going to mama yoga, and was clocking up the miles on walks pushing the pram. Instead, I have been doing a '90s barre class through Glowing Live on Instagram, have kept up yoga via Yoga With Adriene on YouTube, and have been furiously gardening. Lifting a baby is great for arm muscles. Keeping up the exercise happily means I now have more wardrobe options! I put together a summery 'character in a Poirot' inspired look based around some navy M&S trousers I can finally zip up again. I wore them to Burgh Island last May. That 1930s necklace was grabbed by little hands almost immediately and had to be taken off. It's only a soft rolled wire holding the beads in place, so Chris fixed it easily. Parasol was a souvenir from Thailand 20 years ago.<br />
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<b>Eating</b><br />
The rhubarb is suddenly huge! I've included baby and husband in the photo below to demonstrate the scale. I have been exploring rhubarb recipes. I made a rhubarb cake, that was quick and easy. The ingredients are pretty basic too - no need for fancy sugar or other ingredients you may not have (we can't get hold of some baking ingredients, everyone has gone baking mad!). I found the recipe <a href="https://theseasidebaker.com/quick-rhubarb-cake/" target="_blank">here</a>, but if you don't have rhubarb I think it would work well with plums, apples, or strawberries. Next on my list is a rhubarb and strawberry pie (thanks Gisela!). The other good recipe I discovered this week was a Jamie Oliver <a href="https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/mushroom-lentil-pappardelle-bolognese/" target="_blank">mushroom and lentil bolognese</a> (veggie). I find it fun playing 'Ready, Steady, Cook!' and finding use for the ingredients we already have rather than shopping specifically for a recipe.<br />
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<b>Make do and mend</b><br />
I made a cushion cover with that lovely vintage wool fabric I showed you in my last post. My first thought was to point out all its flaws. Instead, I am going to congratulate myself on getting a bit of sewing done. Better done, than perfect. The cushion looks much smarter, and compliments the vintage wool blanket hanging off the back of my armchair. I'm tempted to recover all the other cushions in the house with other nice fabrics from my stash now.<br />
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<b>Gardening</b><br />
We were given a lovely set of <a href="https://www.gracealexanderflowers.co.uk/" target="_blank">Grace Alexander</a> cut flower seeds from some friends earlier in the year. I was also very excited to get some seeds I'd ordered in the post. They are heritage seeds from '<a href="https://www.realseeds.co.uk/" target="_blank">Real Seeds</a>'. Some are rare, others have fallen out of favour, but all have a taste guarantee. I am particularly excited about the yellow beetroot, Touchstone Gold, and a squash variety from 1938, which I bought because it seemed appropriate to grow in the garden of our 1935 house. Not being able to resist, I also added dill and pea seeds to our supermarket order.<br />
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It's been hard going tidying up borders and preparing the veg patch, as the soil is so utterly dry. Chris has been neatening the lawn edging, where the borders were full of more lawn than plants, and discovered some buried breeze blocks. A bit of a sweaty job digging those up and hefting them out! There's a lot happening in the garden again this week in terms of flowers. Next week the peonies should be in full bloom and I'll share some photos.<br />
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Ranunculus</div>
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'Indian Prince' Marigold (edible flowers!) </div>
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Peonies (not sure what variety, they were already in the garden when we moved in) </div>
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Daisies popping up among the bluebells </div>
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Ammi Majus (Bishop's Weed) and Nigella (Love In a Mist), 'Miss Jekyll' </div>
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Cosmos 'Purity'</div>
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Post seems like a real treat at the moment. We had a lovely surprise package of gifts for Otis from some friends, and I had some gardening supplies delivered (garden wire, another small propagator, and some plant supports). Chris and I have our birthdays coming up in the next few weeks, so there are a few more packages to come. It definitely feels more exciting having to wait a week or two every time I want to buy something, rather than just nipping out to the shops.<br />
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Chris went to get some essentials in a physical shop and once again came back feeling really stressed. Some people are foolish. In a branch of a major supermarket, the security guard was standing in the middle of the exit. Chris asked him to step aside so that the 2 metre distance could be respected. The security guard responded "jog on". I have been in touch with the supermarket and they are rightly looking into it. Also this week, a house in our local area had a party with about 20 people! Not to mention the arsonists have continued setting fire to the hillsides.<br />
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It's a cool and cloudy day here, so I will be tackling some indoor jobs today. I'll be having a nap too, as Otis is still in his pattern of multiple feeds during the night. I did get another supermarket delivery slot for a fortnight's time at 4am today though, so that's a positive!<br />
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Stay safe and sane!<br />
<br />Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-60624447015242463652020-04-20T12:04:00.001+01:002020-07-24T13:29:25.083+01:00Groundhog DayI posted on Instgram about the wisdom of my (not so) little brother about lockdown being a bit like Groundhog Day, the 1993 film starring Bill Murray. Bill's character embraces the repetitive nature of his life firstly by being hedonistic, then he becomes depressed, before learning to find the positives and do some good - he learns new skills, and sets out to help others. I've been hearing a lot of positive lockdown stories from friends, family, and my social media hemisphere. People who have been meaning to 'get fit' for years are embracing online classes and making use of their daily allowed walk. Some people are throwing themselves into gardening for the first time, or learning to cook from scratch. There's also a lot of home maintenance and cleaning going on!<br />
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No two days are the same with a baby - always entertaining!</div>
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I read the results of a poll that reported less than 10% of us in the UK want things to return to 'normal' after the epidemic. Benefits of lockdown have included the environmental impact (cleaner air, more wildlife etc.), stronger communities and people eating more healthily thanks to home cooking. People are keeping in touch with friends and family more. Another survey showed that people's use of corner shops has increased by a quarter. Which of these changes are sustained, only time will tell.<br />
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What changes do I personally want to continue? I value the time not spent in shops, all of those "I'll just nip to the supermarket" for a single ingredient trips that add up and eat away at precious time. I think in future I'll order all of my basic store cupboard essentials to be delivered, as I'd rather have the time saved. I love getting in the garden every single day, even if it's 5 minutes, to deadhead some flowers or drink a cup of tea sat on our front porch. I'm more connected with family members, through video calls and more regular chats and messages. I'm even playing board games - virtually - with some family down in Sussex. I am also spending more time mending things, sorting through things I don't need, organising and tidying. It feels like time to get everything in order, and get back to basics. A refresh, a reboot - the most thorough Spring clean I've ever done!<br />
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Here's my weekly isolation diary then, with more garden pictures and even a few photos of me in a dress!<br />
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<b>Eating</b><br />
I managed to get another supermarket delivery slot, hallelujah. Chris tried to shop in person earlier in the week but the queues to get in store were very long, so he tried another day. Both other shoppers and - worryingly - staff members showed a blatant disregard for any social distancing. He got a decent shop done but found it really stressful. It does mean that we've continued to explore what is lurking at the bottom of the freezer. This has mainly proved to be endless packets of really hot chillies, but there have been some nice surprises like a punnet of blueberries and some rhubarb and orange puree. My favourite ready-steady-cook recipe this week was a sweet potato, spinach and chickpea curry found <a href="https://thevegan8.com/sweet-potato-chickpea-and-spinach-coconut-curry/" target="_blank">here</a> from the 'Oh She Glows' vegan cookbook. It was fantastic as the only real fresh ingredient is the sweet potato - everything else is store cupboard (tins, spices), or freezer (spinach, ginger, lime wedges). It was utterly delicious too, and we have leftovers for tonight.<br />
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I have been perfecting my Bara Brith, a traditional Welsh tea loaf. I made it for Sunday afternoon tea, using my mother in law's recipe, with a few twists added by me. I even set the table properly; ironed a table cloth, brought out the Wedgewood cups and saucers and the mid-century wooden knives, and put a dress on!<br />
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<i>This '70s dress was a fiver from a man with a lockup.</i></div>
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<b>Gardening</b><br />
Of course there's been more gardening, with this lovely sunshine making a return! One job I had been putting off was to dig out the strawberries. You're only meant to keep the plants for about four years, and we've had them over six. They also shouldn't be kept in the same area year after year. I selected the new plants that have popped up from runners, and any old plants with flowers on, and moved them elsewhere in the veg patch. For the first day or two they were limply sprawled, as if near death. I watered them, and they still didn't really improve. Lo and behold, we had a rainy day - and up they popped again, full of life! I'm not so sure about the peas. They were from a free packet given out at Ask Italian when I went for a meal last summer. They did really well indoors, but since I've put them in the veg patch, some of the leaves are looking a little scorched. I vaguely remember something on the packet about not liking full sun, which I promptly disregarded, as most peas like full sun and crop better in such a position. Only time will tell...<br />
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We also harvested the first of the rhubarb, it was lovely stewed with a bit of greek yoghurt. I definitely need some more rhubarb recipes, as we don't need any more rhubarb chutney after the masses I made last year (rhubarb and ginger, and rhubarb and orange - both excellent combinations).<br />
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Elsewhere the sunshine and rain has sparked a growth spurt in lots of different plants. The peony buds are getting ready to burst forth, the apple tree has a lot of blossom this year, and the irises are still going strong. I've started getting a bit cavalier with my gardening attire as well. I'm not doing any major lifting/digging or other dirty work presently, so I felt safe doing weeding in a white frilly blouse under my dungarees!<br />
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<b>Baby</b><br />
We don't have many toys for the baby yet, aside from a few kind gifts from friends and family. He's still too young to need a lot of toys, which is just as well, as our intention was to buy things from car boot sales and jumble sales and they won't be happening any time soon! His current favourite playthings are my face, my hair, muslins and blankets. A plastic measuring cup whilst I was tidying the kitchen entertained him for a whole ten minutes. I've ordered one of those play gyms, but goodness knows when it will arrive! I'm putting together a box full of sensory objects for him. So far it has scraps of different fabrics (shiny, see-through, stiff, soft etc.), a pink foam heart, and some small toys.<br />
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Chris finished the furniture, which he got free of charge from Facebook marketplace. He forgot to take any 'before' photos, but imagine a 'brown wood' looking set. It was solid pine underneath all of the varnish, but we have a bit too much pine in our house already and so he painted the sides and drawers in a nice Farrow and Ball ('Slipper Satin') and waxed the naked wood tops, handles and feet with a bit of Fiddes. It looks great!<br />
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Finally, I am thinking about doing some sewing. I have a large cushion that I made a cover for a couple of decades ago in the cheapest cotton I could find. It is not a great colour, and doesn't really 'go' with our living room. I've unearthed a lovely piece of vintage wool from my fabric stash, still with a tag on, and have washed it ready to start turning it into a new cushion cover. I don't know how old the fabric is, but judging from the cheap price it must be from some time ago!<br />
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What has your week been like?Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-68038811125201940872020-04-13T12:58:00.002+01:002020-07-24T13:30:42.146+01:00The Constant GardenerThe last week has felt like a 'staycation' with the beautiful weather. I've started each morning (after tending to the baby) with a walk around the garden whilst carrying my cup of tea. It cools quickly outside, and I've usually drunk it halfway around our little plot. The sun comes up over the mountain behind us and starts to touch the opposite side of the valley with colour. There's hardly any early morning traffic to drown out the birdsong at the moment. It all seems very peaceful. I make a mental note of jobs to be done, and what plants are emerging from their slumber; the rhubarb will be ready for picking soon, we never did paint that wall, the peonies will need staking, I still don't know what that climber actually is...<br />
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I grab free moments throughout the rest of the day to focus on the garden. I had an unheard of two hours the other day while the baby slept on Chris's lap, who used the chance to listen to two albums (by John Prine, a Nashville musician who passed away this week). I have continued to plant seeds, tidy borders, clear out the shed, and make future plans. I was struggling to get hold of some seeds from major retailers, thanks to the entire nation suddenly entertaining self-sufficiency ideas, when I came across a small company '<a href="https://www.realseeds.co.uk/" target="_blank">Real Seeds</a>' selling interesting heritage varieties. I've ordered seeds for courgette, summer squash, sorrel, radish and beetroot. The next challenge will be getting hold of some compost. We heard from a neighbour over the wall that one of our local supermarkets is offering the chance to buy garden items from a small stall outside rather than having to go into the store, so I may have to send Chris on a mission! I can't find any delivery for our area.<br />
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Grape hyacinth (Muscari) </div>
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Making do with whatever receptacles I can find to get seeds started! And yes, that one on the right is labelled 'knobbly' because I don't know what it is... </div>
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Spanish bluebells - in white! </div>
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My little Spring corner - the pale pink hyacinths smell amazing! </div>
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Pieris 'Forest Flame', and a tulip (don't know the variety)</div>
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The irises are doing much better after a bit of lift and separate last year (Monty Don's advice from Gardener's World!)</div>
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On a couple of afternoons I eschewed my chores and garden jobs and decamped to the back lawn. I set up the picnic mat in the shade of the house, and the camping chairs were dusted off. Chris chose a soundtrack - dub reggae - and the baby gurgled away happily on the mat before dropping off for a nap. I got to read an entire Harper's Bazaar magazine, for the first time since December! It was bliss.<br />
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I also found time to very quickly stitch down the turned-up cuffs on a polkadot '80s dress I bought from the car boot sale last summer. It proved very useful in pregnancy (elasticated waist, which I normally can't abide!) and is continuing to be useful now as I can feed the baby in it.<br />
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Lockdown is perhaps an ideal time for learning new skills on top of extra time for existing hobbies. I gave myself a fringe trim. I used tailoring scissors - the sharpest pair of scissors in the house - and watched a few instructional videos first. I was very pleased with my efforts. I had an audience, as Chris was convinced it was a really bad idea. I am happy to keep up the trims myself until I can book into the hairdressers as soon as it reopens. But it probably takes me 20 mins to do what they do in 5!<br />
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In the early evenings it's cooled down enough for me to sit on the porch with the baby. The light is beautiful at this time of year. Chris has an opposite bodyclock to me, so he enjoys getting into the garden in the early evening, whereas I'm a morning gardener. He's mowed and edged the lawns, and moved some plants around when it's cool enough. I can sit and supervise from my chair!<br />
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If this all sounds a bit too idyllic, it hasn't all been fun. The poor baby had his vaccinations (three at once, ouch!), and he was very unsettled, with a temperature for a couple of days. It was hard going. I also continue to inflict minor injuries on myself - last week it was my nose, this week a large bruise and cut on my arm from a door handle.<br />
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The weather is cooler now, but still sunny. A chance for more serious gardening rather than just sitting out - I am determined that there will be somewhat of a garden transformation by the end of this lockdown!<br />
<br />Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-75690913600150264292020-04-06T20:29:00.001+01:002020-07-24T13:31:37.328+01:00A New Kind of NormalThe days have been fairly unremarkable, which makes the remarkable news every day seem even more surreal. Each morning the baby wakes me with a combination of chatty vocal sounds, or slamming his legs down like a wrestler if he really wants to get my attention. I feed him in bed whilst Chris brings up cups of tea. We put the breakfast news on most days, but I don't watch it for long at the moment. I then tidy up and put a load of washing on, or perhaps do some yoga, while the boys have a cuddle. We eat brunch, rather than breakfast, as by the time we've bathed the baby and showered and dressed ourselves it's usually getting on a bit.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I like to get out in the garden in the morning, which I can manage whilst the baby naps and Chris keeps watch. I come back in for a lot more tea-drinking and baby cuddling then before it's time to make some lunch, sometimes squeezing in a quick online fitness class. In the afternoon Chris might do some DIY, gardening or banjo practice while I'm with the baby. I can perhaps make some video calls, type emails one-handed or watch an episode of the Antiques Roadshow (the episode at the National Botanic Garden of Wales has a glimpse of Chris - it's in the segment about the Startrite shoes. Let me know if you manage to spot him!). Chris then watches the baby while I do another tiny spurt in the garden, before it's the baby's evening fussy time, which means lots of feeds in a row, and time to start his bedtime routine. We eat our home-cooked dinner while the baby sleeps, and usually manage to watch an hour or so of something on Netflix before I can't keep my eyes open any longer.<br />
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That's the <i>ideal</i> day at least... Some days there is no gardening, no ability to get chores done, no time to write emails or do a fitness class. The baby doesn't nap, is not easily soothed, won't be put down, feeds non-stop, or maybe needs a complete outfit change over and over again, usually with an outfit change for myself thrown in. Maybe there are carpets, bedding or upholstery to be cleaned too. It's usually on days like that on which I hit myself in the face with the hoover (really happened), I have no clean pyjamas left, and every cup of tea goes cold before I manage to drink it.<br />
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Anyway, here's what I've been up to aside from motherly duties!<br />
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<b>Gardening</b><br />
I have channeled my frustrations into some serious weeding. It's a big task, but I'm making slow and methodical progress. There are many other garden jobs, including tidying up all of the mess I should have tackled last year (cleaning out pots, mending gloves, oiling tools). I've also been sorting through all the seeds and bulbs in the shed. Some are very out of date (2012!), but I've decided that I'll be chucking them all in the garden somewhere. Let's see what happens!<br />
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Spot the robin in the curly hazel!</div>
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Rhubarb doing well</div>
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The camelia's first flowers</div>
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Propagating on the windowsill</div>
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Above and below, two varieties of aubretia</div>
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Potting on some pea seedlings</div>
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<b>Food</b><br />
Now that we can't just nip to the shops any time we fancy some chocolate, or need a particular ingredient, I find myself obsessing over food. I always was the kind of person that wants to know "what's for dinner?" at breakfast time, but it's reached a new level. Still, it's an opportunity to use up whatever is lurking at the back of the cupboards or in the bottom of the freezer. Things will have to be desperate before I touch the squid. This week we've made and eaten jambalaya, bolognese, curry, houmous, seaweed oven chips, focaccia, carrot and coriander soup, and some quinoa, pearled spelt and buckwheat salads. I was elated when I found a year's supply of chutney in the shed which we'd made last summer. We are also guilty of stockpiling stollen, bought after Christmas when it was 10p. We bought 12, but mysteriously only seem to have 1 left. This is a shame as the 'best before' was June, so I've perhaps been a bit frivolous with our resources there!<br />
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Shopping wise, we had a supermarket delivery but have been unable to get any further delivery slots. I've done a bit of top-up shopping from a local shop that delivers, but there have been a few issues - gone-off milk, substitutions I didn't want, being charged for items I didn't have, and some expensive items. The most amusing was being given a £5.30 pot of marmalade! It has rum in it, but even so...<br />
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This is what a £5.30 pot of marmalade looks like</div>
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<b>Taking photos</b><br />
My favourite activity this week was a bit of fun doing some arty photography. Rhondda-based photographic artist Lucy J Purrington has created <a href="https://www.lucypurrington.com/quarantine" target="_blank">a series of videos</a> on smartphone photography without using any professional equipment. Worth a watch, the techniques are easy to replicate, and she is also very funny! I fortunately had a model to help me out. Here are a couple of my efforts.<br />
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<i>I call this one "Trifle bowl"</i></div>
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<i>"Funnel"</i></div>
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Of course there are the obligatory photos that a parent takes every day with their baby. Mainly of me in my gardening clothes or yoga outfit, wearing the haggard expression of parenthood rather than any make-up. And with a swollen nose from the hoover incident. Ah well, the baby looks cute!<br />
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We're staying home, but are not entirely sure people in our area are doing the same. There still seem to be a lot of people out on the streets. Through my friends, family and local news I've heard of tradespeople visiting vulnerable over 70s in their homes for non-essential jobs, arsonists and joy riders, droves of cyclists and motorcyclists visiting the mountains, teenagers meeting up with their friends, children visiting elderly grandparents, and even a street party(!). What's the situation like where you live?<br />
<br />Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-32615620794998252612020-03-29T12:40:00.002+01:002020-04-20T12:07:25.837+01:00Lockdown DaysLockdown with a baby is never dull! I've really enjoyed reading other people's lockdown diaries, and so while it's nigh on impossible for me to find enough time to do a daily account, I have managed to frantically type a summary of the last week.<br />
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A week ago today, Mothering Sunday was a beautiful sunny day. I'd bought a new-to-me dress for the planned afternoon tea with my mum, and decided to wear it anyway around the house after our decision to postpone. I dressed the baby in a powder blue vintage style babygro that was a gift from one of my nieces. My dress was a mail order from Vintage Vixen of Newark, via their Instagram page. It went beautifully with my bright pink tights and headscarf. I think I'll get a fair bit of wear out of it - it fits all of my carefully considered Spring criteria: feeding access, Spring colours to fend off any lingering winter, long sleeves as it's never that warm in a British Spring, and short length as it's often wet or windy or both, and I can't abide soggy fabric flapping about my legs.<br />
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The fine weather continued over the past week, so Chris and I have got stuck into some gardening, mainly in shifts while the other entertains the baby. Last year, Chris did some major work, terracing a sloping area (entirely by hand!) and reclaiming our borders from grass and weeds. Of course, a winter and early Spring of doing no more work in it has set it back a little again. We are slowly introducing more plants to fill the spaces, but it will be a few months yet before it stops looking so bare. We also got a battered a bit by the storms and floods, so some waterlogged areas of lawn will need to be re-seeded or have fresh turf laid.<br />
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Last September</div>
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Now (March)</div>
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There are some small pockets of the garden that I've been attending to. There are some lovely Spring flowers, and I have worked hard on maintaining my herb garden. We have rosemary, sage, chives, marjoram, oregano, and three varieties of thyme (lemon, orange, and one with a decorative leaf). There is also tarragon waiting to burst up again after its winter hibernation, and a few dormant varieties of mint, including a chocolate mint (amazing for desserts) and 'eau de cologne' which is fantastic for putting in the bath, or making tea with.</div>
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My little herb garden</div>
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Another job for me has been sorting clothes. I went up the attic to retrieve some clothes from their pregnancy exile, and found the time whilst the baby napped to try them on. Most clothes need to go straight back up to the attic, but I found a dress and a pair of trousers that I can actually get into. I also managed to sort through some baby clothes, relegating the outgrown items to a box for the attic. To illustrate how much the baby has grown in the three and a half months since he was born, the photo below shows the slightly too-big babygro that he wore en route to hospital after the birth on the left, and his current size on the right. The tiny babygro actually makes me weep every time I see it.<br />
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Chris has been doing some DIY outside, refinishing some furniture for the baby's room. The furniture is solid wood but had a bit of an ugly varnish on, which he's removing. He's completed the chest of drawers, and is halfway through the bedside table. I'll post proper before and after pictures when it's fully done.<br />
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On fine days we've been wrapping the baby up snugly and taking him outside in his cot or chair to let him gaze up at the trees while we potter around. The light has been absolutely gorgeous. In the early evening we've been sitting on the porch in our rocking chairs, enjoying these little tranquil moments.<br />
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One of the perks of being up at all hours of the night with a baby is that I managed to get an elusive online delivery slot from the local supermarket. Our order arrived yesterday, on time, with no contact whatsoever from the delivery driver. Chris and I then wiped down everything with cleaning wipes before bringing it into the house. So, we are stocked up with nappies, phew!<br />
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We're certainly finding enough to fill our days. Feeding, changing, and entertaining the baby takes up most of my time, and when he naps there is no shortage of other things to do. I've done countless loads of laundry this week, baked a cake, reorganised some kitchen cupboards, popped some seeds in the windowsill propagator, and taken part in an Instagram live fitness class. We're also doing lots of video calls with my parents and Chris's mum, so that they can see Otis. We don't want them to miss out, as he's growing so fast and changing every day.<br />
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I hope you are all safe and well, and are finding ways to use your time positively!Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-76670258113575437272020-03-21T14:26:00.001+00:002020-03-21T14:26:56.444+00:00PerspectiveWhat a difference a week makes. This time last week I was enjoying a family outing to the seaside. We had a long walk along the clifftops and down through the lovely gardens to the pier, stopping for a picnic on a park bench.<br />
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I was very much looking forward to the weather picking up so that I could start enjoying more outings, after observing the 'fourth trimester' of mainly staying home snuggling up to baby. I recently started back to my spin class, went to some baby groups, and was planning the rest of the year. I envisaged spending my maternity leave having leisurely coffees and lunches with the new mum friends I was going to make, going on holidays, taking the baby to classes for swimming, baby massage and more. I was intending on spending as much time with my parents as possible for them to enjoy seeing their grandchild grow. I had bought my leisure centre membership for the year in advance, and was making a list of places to visit with my National Trust membership. We were looking forward to introducing the baby to his first music festival, and to hear his daddy play a gig for the first time.<br />
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Well, things are looking very different today aren't they?! We've made the decision to isolate our household for 14 days. This is because we have at-risk parents, who we don't want to miss out on seeing the baby if they are really to isolate for 12 weeks for their own safety. Fingers crossed, if at the end of the 14 days we're all symptomless, we will be able to meet up. We're lucky that we're able to do this, with myself being on maternity leave, and Chris working from home. If we can help the wider situation by not being out there, potentially spreading the virus, then we feel we <i>should</i>. We are also lucky to live in a semi-rural location, which means that it's easy for us to get out for some fresh air now and again whilst keeping a large distance between us and other people.</div>
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We're on day 4 of isolation now, and apart from a foolish oversight that means there's only half a bar of chocolate, we've enough provisions to see us through. It's a good time to use up everything in the freezer and then give it a defrost and clean! We'll have to order a couple of things like milk to be delivered, but luckily there are some local businesses responding to the situation by offering this service by telephone order, that I will use instead of an online delivery from the local massive supermarket. It wasn't easy getting hold of some of the baby items we needed before we went into isolation, thanks to some really thoughtless stockpilers who stripped the shelves of essentials like nappies. I'm so glad that I'm able to breastfeed my baby, because there have also been problems locally with people stockpiling baby formula, which must be incredibly distressing for mums. But while situations like this bring out the worst in some people, they bring out the best in others, and there's certainly a lot of community spirit.</div>
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Tomorrow is my first mother's day as a mother myself, and unfortunately the planned celebration afternoon tea with my own mother won't go ahead. Disappointing, but I'm trying to remain positive about it all. I think it helps that I'm trying to limit my consumption of the news and social media, and increase my contact (by phone/online) with friends and family for a bit of solidarity and humour! This is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and put it all in perspective, while I take a back seat and let all of those amazing key workers do their jobs and get us through this situation as best they can.</div>
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How are you all doing?<br />
<br />Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-16502571673516548542020-02-29T10:41:00.000+00:002020-07-24T13:32:59.270+01:00Stormy weatherTime flies with a baby. The little chap is 11 weeks old now, and has more than doubled in weight - and cuteness! The social smiles have started, and he had a proper chuckle for the first time. It's lovely to be able to be more interactive with him, though he still has a tendency to nap whenever we go anywhere. People keep asking me how much he sleeps. More than me. He wakes two to three times at night to feed, and that could be after 2 hours sleep or after 4, it's still variable. He slept for a whopping 6 hours the other night, from 8pm until 2am, Of course, I woke up far earlier, sat watching him intently, wondering if he was okay and waiting...<br />
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I've been making a big effort to get out and about more, and that's definitely helped me feel more energised. I'm still exhausted, but I'd rather be exhausted and out somewhere than exhausted sat at home. The hardest aspect was waiting 6 weeks after the birth before doing any proper exercise. I found that frustrating, as I felt fine physically after the birth, but knew that muscles, bones and ligaments all needed a bit of healing time and that if I rushed it, I could do more harm than good. Ideally I would have done a lot more gentle walking to ease myself back in, but the weather was so bad that I couldn't.<br />
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I don't mind going out in "a bit of rain" but I draw the line if it's also freezing cold or very windy. Or if there's flooding. The Rhondda valley was hit badly by Storm Dennis. Pontypridd high street was submerged, a landslide came down, and many homes in the village up the road were flooded twice in three days.<br />
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Anyway, I probably have about another 60 seconds before the baby wakes up, so here's a pictorial roundup of what I've been up to in the last few weeks!<br />
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<b>Baby's first trip to the seaside, on Penarth Pier</b></div>
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<b>Supporting Wales in the rugby</b></div>
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<b>A rainy walk around Roath Park in Cardiff</b></div>
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<b>Mastering breastfeeding in public!</b></div>
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<b>Unimpressed with the supermarket</b></div>
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<b>Testing out the baby carrier</b></div>
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<b>A walk in the calm after Storm Dennis</b></div>
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It turned out after I typed that last sentence that I actually only had 30 seconds before the baby woke up, so this post has taken yet another day to publish! Let's hope that March brings calmer weather and some sunshine for us all.<br />
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<i>I love this shot because it looks like Otis is the one holding the selfie stick!</i></div>
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Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-83088630556991370852020-01-22T10:52:00.003+00:002020-01-22T10:52:59.953+00:00Actually Leaving the HouseIt seems such a simple thing, leaving the house. Mornings now are a little slow to say the least, after waking every hour or two during the night to nurse. This is very alien to me as pre-baby I was a morning person and bounded out of bed and out the front door, ticking off 10 things from my to-do list by 9am. In the mornings now you'll find me groggily sat still in pyjamas, cuddling Otis and not getting to drink the tea I made. It's taken me days to find the time to write this blog post, in snatched moments in between feeds, nappies and cuddles. Newborn days skip by quickly, so I'm embracing this precious time.<br />
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We all need a bit of sunshine and fresh air though, so with the weekend's fine weather we thought it was about time we took Otis for his first visit to a National Trust property. We headed to local house, Dyffryn. It was a chance to put the pram's off-road capabilities to the test in the gardens.<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Expect to see me in this red coat for the forseeable future, nothing bloomin' fits anymore!</i></span></div>
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<br />What a glorious day it was, I was so happy to see some blue sky, after weeks of really wet and horrid weather that had left me with cabin fever. We had a good stroll around the gardens, and the pram was brilliant. It coped really well with muddy paths, boggy grass, hills and everything else we put it through. £40 well spent, bought through a local selling page (bargain - the current model is currently retailing for £900+ in <a href="https://www.johnlewis.com/uppababy-vista-puschair-and-carrycot-jordan/p3659458?sku=237552360&s_ppc=2dx92700046626661234&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=CjwKCAiA35rxBRAWEiwADqB37-6cKTY_880-VG4VKTUX0TYQa08hdlgLoG5kFgjCP4O16HHeYUFi2xoCM20QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank">John Lewis</a>!). Other than testing out the pram, I also wanted to try nursing in public for the first time. I thought a National Trust property is full of families and nobody would be likely to bat an eyelid - Otis had other ideas though and slept soundly through our entire visit. I ended up feeding in public for the first time in a supermarket cafe yesterday instead, which didn't have the same level of grandeur as feeding in a leather wing-back chair in an oak-panelled room at Dyffryn would have.</div>
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I can't believe he's 5 weeks' old already! I am biased, but look how gorgeous he is. I wish I could say that I dress him up in stylish and coordinated outfits every day but when he needs an outfit change after a poonami at 5am, after he's had me up every 2 hours through the night for feeding, I just grab the nearest clean onesie. The stylish outfits will come in time I'm sure. I'm hoping that the same goes for me - I am left with very little to wear that a) still fits, given my expansion in certain areas and b) is nursing friendly. No outfit posts here for some time folks!</div>
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Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-66250940287780827732019-12-26T16:58:00.002+00:002019-12-26T16:58:50.319+00:00Express Delivery for Christmas<div style="text-align: justify;">
Those of you on Instagram may have already seen that our baby arrived early! He was far too excited about Christmas to wait any longer. Welcome to the world, Otis Dylan Rees. Born at home (unexpectedly!) on 14th December at 5.52pm, weighing 5lbs 13oz.</div>
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Chris and I both had a feeling that the baby would come early, but we didn't anticipate just <i>how</i> early. I'd only finished work the week before, and we still had a long to-do list before baby was due, but we thought we had plenty of time (at least a couple of weeks). We shirked some baby-preparation responsibilities in favour of getting into the festive spirit instead and enjoying ourselves. The day before the birth, we'd been to our local heritage park, and in the evening I'd gone to my yoga class Christmas party at the local golf club.</div>
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The next day,<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> Chris and I were out and about for the day, ticking things
off our to-do lists. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">I felt restless all day and a strong urge to get back home as soon as possible, but I didn’t notice that I was actually in the early stage of labour! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">When we got home, I realised something was happening - but everything then unfolded so incredibly swiftly (in just over an hour) that we didn't have time to drive to the hospital. So that's how I ended up giving birth in our hallway at home. The baby </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">was
swiftly caught like a rugby ball by Chris in a towel (though I wish he hadn't used the 'best' towels).</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The paramedics and midwife arrived soon after that to look after us. </span>It was such a powerful and awe-inspiring experience, I felt like Superwoman, like a goddess! I feel so lucky that I experienced an instinctive, non-medicalised birth in my own home, which is what I'd really wanted from the start. (I know not everyone is interested in birth stories, so I won't go into more detail here, but I will post the full story on my Instagram at some point as I feel strongly about sharing positive stories rather than scare-mongering ones!)</div>
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Soon after giving birth to little Otis</div>
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Because Otis was early (a 'late pre-term' baby), we were then taken by ambulance to hospital, where we stayed for 4 nights for neonatal observations. The team that looked after us - doctors, midwives, nursery nurses, and breastfeeding experts - gave us such fantastic care while we were there. Obviously nobody wants to be in hospital, but it turned out to be a positive thing to make sure that Otis was okay, and to give us expert support with feeding (which is a bit more complicated with an early baby). We were so glad to be released home though from the windowless cubicle we inhabited!<br />
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As you can imagine, it was a very different kind of Christmas for us this year, but in the most wonderful way! Chris cooked a full Christmas lunch and we stayed at home just the three of us with no particular schedule (well, apart from feeding). Otis is doing well, we're fattening him up as much as possible before we take him outside in the cold or introduce him to many other people. I've surprised myself by really enjoying the hibernation that having a tiny newborn enforces, as it's also forcing me to take the time to rest, something I'm not naturally inclined to do.</div>
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I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas, however you chose to celebrate.</div>
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<br />Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-22641843403766180952019-12-09T17:38:00.000+00:002019-12-09T17:38:16.783+00:00Let the Hibernation Begin!<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have finished work! I am now a lady of leisure until the baby arrives. The last month demanded a lot of effort, to make sure that I could leave my projects in a fit state to be handed over. My colleagues were wonderfully supportive, and with a bit of flexible working around antenatal appointments and pregnancy-related ailments, they helped me over the finish line. I really love my new job, so it was with mixed emotions that I left on Friday, knowing that it could be up to a year until I return. Having said that, I won't miss the cramped train commute (with nobody offering a seat...), the leaving the house early on dark mornings, and having to find clothes that fit at this stage of pregnancy and look vaguely professional.</div>
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Today was a cold, crisp day, and I was glad of this lovely and warm cashmere blend coat, that was a summer car boot sale buy for a fiver. It's now straining at the buttons over my 36 week bump, I am not sure it will last another week. The gloves were also a car boot sale buy, an eagle-eyed spot by Chris who noticed the CC41 label, dating them to the 1940s. I paid 50p, and they've been such a wardrobe staple. They match the shade of brown in a few pairs of boots I own, including these new-to-me boots from Jones the Bootmaker, charity-shopped for £6.99.</div>
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It's not all been work. I have enjoyed catching up with friends over long lunches, and Chris and I went to see Elvis and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra (one of the oddest gigs I've ever been to!). I'm going to take a more relaxed pace now over the festive period - I'd like to do some arts and crafts, watch films, stay cosy in front of the woodburner, and generally make the most of Chris and I having time (and sleep) to ourselves. If this clear and sunny weather holds, I'm sure we will have some walks or National Trust visits too. I'll leave you for now with some snaps of winter in our garden. Winter may feel bleak, but it is still beautiful.</div>
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I realise there's not much outfit excitement in this post, so I will try and bring on the glamour a bit in my next. I have 3 Christmas parties to go to in the next week!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: start;">Linking up with: </span><a href="http://www.notdressedaslamb.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #21bba0; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">#iwillwearwhatilike</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: start;">, </span><a href="http://notdeadyetstyle.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #21bba0; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Visible Monday</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: start;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://nancysfashionstyle.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #21bba0; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Fancy Friday</a></div>
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Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-52228561585761751822019-11-17T18:00:00.000+00:002019-11-17T18:00:10.870+00:00BabymoonA 'babymoon' is a newfangled term for a relaxed getaway for expectant parents before the baby arrives. I am not sure our trip to Pembrokeshire last weekend entirely counts, as it was based around Chris's work, but it probably was the last time that we'll be away before the baby arrives. Some of it was relaxing, for me at least, but Chris may need another weekend to recover!<br />
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Our destination on the Friday was the pretty coastal town of St David's, home of a cathedral, and a decent live music scene thanks to some passionate locals. Chris was playing that night at the local RAFA club, so we arrived early enough for him to do sound-check, while I had a power nap at the B&B (I have got to the stage where I do need a nap if I'm expected to stay up past 9pm). We then had dinner with our lovely hosts Steve and Orla - who not only run the fabulous <a href="https://www.ty-boia.co.uk/" target="_blank">Ty Boia</a> B&B but also put on the music nights - and headed off to the venue. The main act was Nashville singer-songwriter <a href="https://www.erinraemusic.com/" target="_blank">Erin Rae</a>, who I hadn't listened to beforehand, but was very impressed with. Gorgeous voice! It was spellbinding in such a small venue. The evening was a success for everyone involved.<br />
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The next day, we took a short drive to Whitesands Bay. Don't be fooled by these pictures, it was blowing a gale and very cold.<br />
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We'd headed there deliberately to try and recreate a poster that we have at home from the Pembrokeshire tourist board (pictured below), with a couple standing overlooking the beach on a breezy yet balmy day. The first challenge occurred when I realised that the point at which the couple are standing was quite some way up from the beach along a steep path. Going uphill is a bit draining for me at the moment, so my heart sank, but the decision was made for me when it suddenly started raining, and I beat a hasty retreat to the car. Maybe we'll have another attempt in the summer next year.</div>
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The rain was showing no signs of letting up, so we abandoned any further attempts at coastal adventures and instead headed inland, stopping in the town of Haverfordwest to dart into the charity shops. We weren't doing very well, but then in the last shop Chris found a CC41 coat that fits him superbly, so it was worth it.<br />
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In the town of Wolfscastle we stopped for a pub lunch at Wolfe Inn. The place was packed, and we soon realised that everyone was there for their popular daytime menu, where every meal was under £7 and you got a free cup of tea or coffee with it. It was great value, and a cosy choice for such a cold day. Heading up the road, we checked in to the Wolfscastle Country Hotel. It was a bit of an odd mix of old and new, with rooms partly refurbished. Perfectly comfortable for the night. From our room, most of the view was obstructed by a roof, but standing on the window seat you could see over the top to local viewpoint Treffgarne Rocks.<br />
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<i>Wearing a nightgown from Kiss Me Deadly, that still fits! Bias cut is a saviour!</i></div>
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We had a change of pace planned for the afternoon, with some spa treatments booked in. I think this was what I had really needed all day. I had a pregnancy massage with mini facial, and Chris had a back massage. I came out of my treatment floating and glowing, it was really fabulous. Chris, however, looked a bit... pained. It turned out that he'd suffered in silence for most of a really strenuous Swedish massage before asking if it could be a bit more gentle. He'd then gone into the outdoor hot tub, but the gale force wind had returned, so while his submerged body was okay, his head was being bent sideways by the wind. Venturing next down to the sauna, he forgot to put his towel down first, and his thigh made contact with a protruding metal screwhead in the bench, causing a moment of alarm at the red hot contact. He'd found the whole experience anything but relaxing. At least he could have some wine afterwards!<br />
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The evening meal was then a bit of a let-down. The hotel has a good reputation for food, with two AA Rosettes. However, we were a bit put-off by the ultra modern refurbishment of the brasserie. It was such a dark and cold night, and the dining room seemed a bit stark, with cold blue LED lighting and a grey colour scheme. Very far removed from the cosy country hotel image that I had in mind. Somehow then - in what was in retrospect an error - we decided to go back down the road to the pub we'd been to earlier. Except that wasn't right either. The atmosphere was completely different from lunch, it had emptied out, there was no music, their lighting was a bit bright and they hadn't lit their fire. Too hungry by that point to change our minds yet again, we stayed. The food was a bit of a disappointment, being a bit more Sunday lunch rather than Saturday night. I also ordered a children's dessert by accident, which was all sweetness and no flavour... We didn't go to bed hungry, but we were a bit remorseful - not our finest decision-making!<br />
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The next day the weather had cleared up, so we drove to the nearest parking spot to Treffgarne Rocks and thought we'd have an autumnal stroll. To my dismay, we were greeted with a very, very steep hill. It's a bit exasperating for me, as while I am still going to my yoga and spin classes, and walk every day, I find steep hills and stairs really hard work. I admitted defeat. The rocks will have to wait for another time. It was time then to head off to one of my seaside favourites, the town of Tenby. I had plenty of time for a stroll around and a Pembrokeshire pasty while Chris got set up for his gigs, as part of the annual <a href="https://www.tenbyblues.co.uk/" target="_blank">Tenby Blues Festival</a>.<br />
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I did enjoy the little burst of seaside air, but it was a long day - especially for Chris who was lugging guitars, playing, and then doing all the driving - so when we finally got home that evening we both collapsed into bed.<br />
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So, is Chris getting any relaxation this weekend? Well not entirely, as he's been installing insulation under the bay window in our bedroom, so has been on his knees for the best part of two days hacking away old plaster. The food's better today though - on the menu is roast chicken with celeriac wedges, blitzed kale and a celery gratin. Who needs AA rosettes anyway?<br />
<br />Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-79300326139532649282019-10-25T13:00:00.000+01:002019-10-25T13:00:06.630+01:00Bun In The OvenAs if I hadn't packed enough in to 2019, the best is yet to come... Chris and I are excited to share with you that we're expecting a baby in early January!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The bump has emerged rapidly in the last few weeks, so I thought it was about time I said something before you all thought I'd made a head start on the mince pies in anticipation of Christmas. (I've resisted the mince pies, lebkuchen, and stollen so far, despite my new office being dangerously close to Lidl...)<br />
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Soon, the only vintage I will be able to squeeze into will be kaftans, so I'm enjoying the handful of vintage pieces that still fit me. This Frank Usher dress had always been a little big on me, something I'm really grateful for now! I used to wear it with a waist belt to cinch it in, when I had a waist, but I added a sash this time. This was the first time I'd left the house wearing something that obviously accentuated the bump, but I think I've reached the stage where I just have to embrace it. Not that I'm keen to start wearing 'bodycon' catsuits and revealing dresses, as worn by the young pregnant ladies in my local supermarket.<br />
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It's certainly going to be an adventure, but then having adventures is what life is all about!<br />
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Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-81223522575496791282019-10-20T08:56:00.004+01:002019-10-20T08:57:43.921+01:00The Party HouseI'm sure all of us at some point have thought about how nice it might be to have a holiday home. <i>Maybe if we win the lottery</i>. Back in 1952, the newly married Lord and Lady Iliffe bought <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/basildon-park/features/house-at-basildon-park" target="_blank">Basildon Park</a>, a Georgian mansion that none of us could dream of today as our main home, let alone a weekend party pad!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Chris and were en route to London, and rather than stop at the motorway services, I asked Chris to pick a National Trust property to break the journey up. He chose Basildon Park, just outside Reading. On arrival we were delighted to be told that the En Vogue fashion exhibition was running, with pieces on loan from the Fashion and Textile Museum in London.<br />
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As we toured the house we learnt more about Lady Iliffe. She loved a bargain, buying lots of antique furniture from estate sales. She loved a party, needing no excuse to throw one. And she loved clothes, dressing in beautiful gowns. Sounds like a lady I would have liked! Standing six foot tall, she featured in Vogue in July 1966, when the magazine visited Basildon Park as part of its exploration in that period of 'The Beautiful People'.<br />
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The exhibition is spread throughout the house, to give an impression of how the house would have been in its heyday, full of fabulously dressed (and fabulously wealthy) guests. Pieces included those by Pierre Cardin, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Dior, Valentino and Chanel. I wish the information given included the exact year of each piece, but the pieces were generally from the 1950s until the 1980s, and it was a fun guessing game trying to pin a year on them. I really loved the 1960s' pieces best, there were some stunners!<br />
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I was wearing some 1960s' items myself, my 'psychedelic eyeball dress', tassel necklace, and a really lovely coat, all charity shopped in the last couple of years. I've certainly had my money's worth (Lady Iliffe would perhaps have approved?). The hat is an M&S one, but has also been an indispensable wardrobe addition.<br />
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It was a very enjoyable pit stop to break up the long drive to the other side of London from Wales. As we were breaking up a journey, we only stayed for about an hour in the house before we had to continue on our way. The weather was very rainy that day, so it wasn't really the right time to explore the huge grounds - next time maybe!<br />
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Of course, change comes with upheaval. In my last job I was lucky to have had a huge office all to myself for a few years, and that meant I accumulated quite a bit of stuff. It was quite a mission clearing it out, wandering around the building with plastic jugs, teacup and saucer sets, uplighters, old books and unopened packets of green tea in undesirable flavours, seeing if my colleagues wanted them before I made a trip to the charity shop. My new office is open-plan, shared with colleagues, and there isn't as much space, so the clear-out really was necessary! I am still making trips between my old and new buildings, ferrying folders and such across.<br />
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Anyway, the change in jobs has meant that I've been making the most of my precious free time and spending it 'offline' as much as possible, either gardening, meeting friends, or seizing fine weather days to go for countryside walks. Today was the most gorgeous day, so Chris and I headed out to a favourite local spot to stretch our legs. The October light really was beautiful, there's a softness to it at this time of year.<br />
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Chris in his Autumn best: 'Super Regent' vintage boots by Sanders, Hollister jeans, Remus Uomo coat, Christy's cap.</div>
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Wearing my Christy's fedora, Bally bag, J Shoes boots, me-made dress, '60s necklace and '60s suede coat.</div>
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The final photo is an 'outtake' - I'd put my hand against the tree, only to recoil in horror when I withdrew it to find a mini slug on it! I shook it off - rather audibly and animatedly - only to find a minute later that it had simply moved to a different finger. My screams echoed around the forest... It seems that any outings to the countryside lately are not without these comedy moments!</div>
Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-21193456431553084202019-09-20T21:03:00.002+01:002019-09-20T21:03:50.075+01:00Adventures & MisadventuresFirstly, a pictorial whistle-stop tour of what we got up to on the rest of our trip to West Wales at the start of the month. We stayed again at our friend's caravan (the one we were in for <a href="http://www.porcelinasworld.com/2017/10/storm-brian.html" target="_blank">Storm Brian</a>).<br />
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Autumn had definitely arrived, marked by a sky filled with hundreds of migrating geese! I was able to catch only one on camera of the dozens of v-shaped flocks that passed us overhead.<br />
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No trip is complete without a visit to our favourite beach, Mwnt. It was a bit cold and very windy, but I still insisted that we eat ice-creams from the little kiosk at the top. What a contrast to <a href="http://www.porcelinasworld.com/2018/07/aberporth-adventure.html" target="_blank">last year's visit</a>, when it was gloriously warm and we climbed to the top of the hill and watched dolphins leaping in the sea beneath us. On this visit, we were literally the only people on the beach at one point.<br />
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Another favourite spot is the little village of Cenarth (where they make really <a href="https://www.cawscenarth.co.uk/" target="_blank">good cheese</a>!). We enjoyed a walk along the riverside, browsed the gift shops, and ate a picnic.<br />
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One of the beaches in walking distance of the caravan is Aberporth, a little bay that's fairly shallow and therefore popular with bathers. It was very windy and I was a bit cold, but when we got down to the bay, it was much more sheltered, and there were even people in bikinis. I hadn't brought mine.<br />
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It was our wedding anniversary when we returned from West Wales. As we weren't on holiday for it this year, we decided that we'd celebrate at home that evening by cooking a spectacular three-course meal. It was a beautiful day, and I was keen to get some fresh air first and go for a walk in the forest. There was a bit of a nip in the air when we set off, so we wore warm jackets and I even put on the first beret of Autumn. The skies were blue, and within minutes of being in the forest we spotted a bird of prey swooping close to us. It was easy to be absorbed in our lovely setting, and somehow, the short-ish walk became longer, and longer... until we weren't at all sure where we were, and hadn't seen another soul. We came across a dried-up reservoir, which felt a little eerie. Luckily a dog walker arrived at that point and directed us out of the forest.<br />
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I didn't look this composed when exiting the forest. We hadn't taken any water or snacks, intending such a short walk, but it was hours later that we emerged on to the mountain road, stripping off our warm jackets in the suddenly very warm temperatures. I was hungry, thirsty, and very tired! We trudged onwards, trying to find our starting point, and more importantly, the car... Like a mirage, a pub appeared on the horizon. We were saved! That first cold drink was most welcome. We each ate a huge lunch, and feeling restored, walked on a little further to retrieve the car. By the time we returned home, cooking a big fancy dinner had gone out of the window, so we made do with some snacks and a competitive game of Scrabble. It was one of the best anniversaries we've had, we certainly laughed about it for a week afterwards.<br />
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It might be a while until I wear cosy jackets again, it's not looking like beret weather any time soon. We've had another spell of dry sunshine which is supposed to peak tomorrow with temperatures of 25 degrees celsius. One last hurrah for the summer dresses and sandals - I intend to make the most of it!<br />
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<br />Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-59565890104956235982019-09-12T08:19:00.003+01:002019-09-12T08:19:38.661+01:00Capture the CastleWhere did the summer go? September always seems to arrive sooner that I anticipate. I've had a few weeks (well-deserved) time off work, and Chris and I headed to the coast of West Wales for a few days. On the list of things to do was a trip to <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cilgerran-castle" target="_blank">Cilgerran Castle</a>. It wasn't too far from our friend's caravan where we were staying, so we headed there armed only with a small picnic rather than medieval weaponry.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The two huge round towers remain, having stood watch since the 13th century when the castle was constructed. The rest of the castle is in considerable ruins, but the location on the side of a gorge overlooking the Teifi river is really rather spectactular. Chris and I perched ourselves on top of a wall to enjoy a rest after climbing the vertiginous spiral staircase - the view kept us there for some time.<div>
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<i>Wearing 1970s shirt, boots and leather jacket, vintage Polaroid sunglasses, Laura Ashley pinafore dress, Lucy K bag.</i></div>
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The shirt is from the 1970s, but new-to-me. It's a man's shirt, judging from the label (collar size in inches) and the way it buttons. At first glimpse of the subdued colours I was not enamoured, but Chris pointed out the voluminous cuffed sleeves and exaggerated collar, and persuaded me to try it on. Perfect fit! I had to keep it and admit my first instinct had been wrong (always annoying). I can see the shirt working with wide-leg trousers too for work, so although I'm always trying to slim down and refine my wardrobe, this looks like a keeper for a while.</div>
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I've definitely got that 'back to school' feeling now that our holiday is over. I'm moving departments within the university in a few weeks' time, so it's rather hectic, trying to tie up lots of loose ends and clear my office of over 7 years' stuff! I'll explain more about the partially new job in another post, as it's still not 100% clear at this point exactly what I'll be doing. I'm just grateful to have a contract extension, as it was only last week that my contract was finally processed to extend past 31st September for six months. It's just the way things work in academia, so that might sound stressful, but I'm used to things being a bit last minute now and I don't allow it to phase me. I suppose I'm optimistic too, and have faith that things will work out.</div>
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What's your autumn looking like? Do you have travel plans or is it all 'back to school'?</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Linking up with: </span><a href="http://www.notdressedaslamb.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #21bba0; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">#iwillwearwhatilike</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">, </span><a href="http://notdeadyetstyle.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #21bba0; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Visible Monday</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span><a href="http://nancysfashionstyle.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #21bba0; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Fancy Friday</a></div>
Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-58057034948072777022019-08-23T08:36:00.001+01:002019-08-23T08:36:49.953+01:00A Seaside Stay in CroydeAt the start of August some friends from London invited us to stay with them in Devon for the weekend at an Airbnb they'd rented. I know - Devon again! It was my third trip this year. It was a different area of Devon again though, this time the North Devon coast. Our base was the beautiful bay of Croyde. Our journey was slow thanks to Friday motorway traffic, but nothing compared to what our London friends had to endure, it took them the best part of 8 hours, and they have a 4 month old baby and a dog... Still, this is the beautiful sight that greeted us all when we eventually arrived.<br />
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The rental was perched halfway up the hillside, affording the most spectacular view. Here's a sneak peek inside the property. Very modern, very nice!<br />
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<i>Our lodge from further up the hill</i></div>
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We had an evening of relaxing and eating, and a good catch-up with our friends. Early next morning (I'm an early bird!) this was the beautiful sky. Croyde itself is lovely, there's a wide bay backed with dunes, with the small town beyond that. I had a wander into the town with our friends while Chris caught up on some sleep (he's a night owl!). It's a small place but very bustling in tourist season. We were lucky to have a warm and sunny day<br />
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The next day, Chris and I were up and out early on a mission to find a car boot sale. This was unfortunate for our neighbours, who had blocked our car in with about 4 of theirs (they had exceeded their allocated parking spaces drastically...) and I was forced to wake up their whole (hungover by the looks of it) household at 7am to ask them to move. This was after they'd done the same thing to us the day before and I'd specifically asked them not to block us in again... Oh the rage!! It didn't help that one of the drivers couldn't reverse (!) We were finally on our way after Chris did an Austin-Powers worthy 50 point turn in his Nissan Micra with no power steering.<br />
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We were unlucky in finding a car boot, but we did stop at Woolacombe on the way up the coast, and then visited the pretty harbour town of Ilfracombe.<br />
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<i> Woolacombe (above and below)</i></div>
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<i> Below: Ilfracombe</i></div>
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There are a couple of odd things in the otherwise picturesque Ilfracombe. Firstly, there is a weird double tower thing that turned out to be the Landmark Theatre, and nick-named locally as 'Madonna's Bra'. It looks like it could be a remnant of brutalist architecture from the '60s or '70s, but in fact was only built in 1998.<br />
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The other thing that stands out is 'Verity', a 66 foot tall bronze of a sword-wielding, partially dissected, pregnant woman by Damien Hirst that stands guard at the end of the harbour. It has been divisive of opinion, to say the least. I personally really liked it, to me it seemed much more 'real' than those earth-mother flowers-in-hair depictions of pregnancy. You can interpret it however you wish, but I saw it as symbolic of inequalities in healthcare (that mainly affect women, globally) and the ongoing fight for women's rights - something very topical at the moment with all of the right-wing nonsense going on in first world countries.<br />
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By the time we got back to our accommodation (to find a clear parking area, what joy!) our friends were ready to have an outing with their dog and baby, so we went to the National Trust site Baggy Point. This was the opposite end of Croyde bay to where we were staying, and there's a cliffside path that leads you to the rocky promontory. It said it was 'access friendly', including wheelchairs, so my friends took their baby in the pram. It was indeed flat, but it was a bit hairy in places, there's quite a drop from the path into the sea!<br />
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We were all ready for a pub lunch after our walk, so headed into Croyde to 'The Thatch'. It was decent enough, but prices were more London than Devon.<br />
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We had a quiet Sunday evening then with a game of Scrabble, getting ready to leave the next morning. It was a lovely break, I think the good weather really helped.<br />
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What a contrast to the weather in the following weekends! We've had torrential rain and gale force winds. One of our neighbour's tall skinny trees snapped in half and flopped into our garden, we have some blocked guttering that's giving a lovely fountain effect every time it rains in front of our lounge window, and we're keeping an eye on a small damp patch that appeared on our bedroom ceiling... Oh dear, lots to sort out before Autumn properly arrives! We just didn't expect such bad weather in August. Chris had a scary experience at Boomtown festival, where the roof partially blew off the tent in which he was playing, causing a foot long iron peg to fall into the audience, narrowly missing someone we know, whilst a section of the roof structure swung back and forth like a pendulum. The whole area had to be evacuated.<br />
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This weekend I have the great excitement of being 'Best Woman' at my friend's wedding. The weather is turning around again too, so we are expecting warmth and sunshine - phew, we're in a marquee, and I don't want any dramatic tent-related incidents!!<br />
<br />Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-88282021283820869132019-08-04T06:00:00.000+01:002019-08-04T06:00:03.639+01:00Old, With TagsMy obsession with vintage workwear continues. You might remember the fabulous his-and-hers <a href="http://www.porcelinasworld.com/2019/04/the-good-life.html" target="_blank">chore jackets</a> that Chris and I bought from a car boot sale. I'm not seeking this kind of thing out, it just seems to find me! A recent chance conversation with some regular sellers at our local car boot sale led to being able to visit their Aladdin's cave (warehouse), and I came away with some gems. The latest additions to my collection are a pair of "deadstock" (still with tags on) housecoats or aprons. Firstly is this fabulous 1960s mini length little housecoat, in eye-popping colours and a sweet daisy print, with ric-rac on the pockets. This one had no brand label, the tag was a plain paper one with 'Wx' (W for women? And x for large or freesize?) printed on it. Price £1.47 and 1/2p. That's equivalent to £28.23 of purchasing power today. I read in the Mary Quant exhibition that a Bazaar shop assistant earned under £7 a week. I wore this jazzy number for a day of chores around the house, including scraping wallpaper, sewing, cleaning, and picking some tiny but tasty plums from the trees in our front garden. I especially like the exaggerated sleeves, they stick out to give an American football player silhouette.<br />
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<i>I think these plum trees are 'Mirabelle' or cherry plums.</i></div>
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Next up is this wrap housecoat. It's quite a 'utility' style. I'm guessing late 1940s from the style and label. A little bit of internet research, and I've found that "Hercules" was a fabric brand manufactured by Joshua Hoyle & Sons of Manchester.<br />
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<i>I can't bear to take the label off yet!</i></div>
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Image source: <a href="https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Joshua_Hohercule_and_Sons" target="_blank">Grace's Guide </a></div>
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What will I find next to add to my collection? I'm happy to keep collecting - unlike ballgowns, this kind of garment certainly gets a lot of wear in my house!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Linking up with: </span><a href="http://www.notdressedaslamb.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #21bba0; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">#iwillwearwhatilike</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">, </span><a href="http://notdeadyetstyle.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #21bba0; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Visible Monday</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span><a href="http://nancysfashionstyle.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #21bba0; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Fancy Friday</a></div>
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Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-65791592282082688572019-07-29T20:27:00.000+01:002019-07-29T20:27:58.560+01:00Forest EscapeA day after my graduation, Chris and I packed up his car (I am still car-less) and we drove west into the Brechfa forest area of West Wales. I had booked a stay in a cottage on a textile farm, with no Wi-Fi, and only accessible by a very long and very bumpy farm track. Something different!<br />
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<i>This is just an outbuilding, not our accommodation!</i></div>
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We were fortunate to have a clear, sunny day, though not that warm, and so after we'd settled into our home-from-home we decided we would have a campfire in the garden. We had a roaring blaze as dusk fell, and were treated to bats circling overhead as we enjoyed a beverage. The forest noises certainly were abundant too - an owl hooting across the valley, and much furtive rustling in the bushes behind us. The highlight though was the partial lunar eclipse that night, just glimpsed through the trees. A magical evening.<br />
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The next morning I was up early as I'd booked a workshop in natural dyeing with the farm owner Pamela Newton, a textile artist. I spent a very pleasant morning learning about dyeing, starting with a trip to the flower beds to collect dyer's camomile flowers and nettles, amongst other plants. Dyeing naturally is slow dyeing. There was a lot of waiting while pots simmered away, which we filled with shibori stitching (a Japanese tie-dye method) and a natter about everything from sustainability, mental health and gardening. By the end I hadn't created a masterpiece, but came away armed with new knowledge and a collection of sample pieces to refer to in future. I was also given a little needlelace or "stump work" kit, which I look forward to having a go at one rainy Sunday.<br />
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Chris had entertained himself that morning by roaming the forest with his banjo, so we exchanged stories of our mornings over lunch, and then thought we'd head out to one of our favourite towns in the area, Llandeilo. We spent a pleasant afternoon at the large antiques centre, and visited an old school friend of Chris's who has a very swish new boutique for her jewellery label, and were treated to the full building tour (small business shout-out: do check out Mari Thomas and her contemporary designs on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/marithomasjewellery/?hl=en" target="_blank">Instagram</a>). After stocking up on a few edible supplies, we headed back to the cottage. Despite the rain drizzling on and off that afternoon, it had cleared up beautifully, and we walked to the fields to see the goats, before having supper and settling in front of the woodburner for the evening.<br />
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Our start to the next day was leisurely, with a full day out planned. First stop was another town, Lampeter, with a couple of antiques and charity shops to rummage in. I had no luck, so on we went to the very, very windy seaside town of Aberaeron. It's very quaint but there's not really much there. We had a walk and then treated ourselves to fish and chips, eaten by the harbour, and watched by seagulls.<br />
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<i>A very uninviting looking sea at Aberaeron. It was blowing a gale too!</i></div>
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Our final stop came from the chance spotting of a sign. Cae Hir gardens is a small, privately run garden built into 6 acres of Welsh hillside by one man. The gardens are now run by his daughter and son team. We had a good chat with the son and were impressed that he now maintains the gardens single-handedly - a full-time job, understandably. The sun came out again, it was lovely sat in the quiet corners we found, listening to the birdsong and making mental planting notes for our own garden. In fact, we had a lot of the same plants, which was encouraging. After a pleasant few hours, we headed back to the cottage for our final night.<br />
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<i> The fabulous dress is a Kati for Laura Phillips 1970s' number, picked up in a Barry charity shop some years ago.</i></div>
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On the Friday we woke up to quite a bit of rain. Hmm. I hadn't packed any wet weather gear. An error on any trip to West Wales! We were off to the Antiques Roadshow for the day, which was filming at the <a href="http://www.porcelinasworld.com/2018/10/antiquing-at-botanic-gardens.html" target="_blank">National Botanic Garden of Wales</a>, and so I stuck with my planned outfit of a vintage dress, rather than layering up in odd assortments of clothes - the only alternative I had with my limited holiday wardrobe. We said farewell to Pamela and her farm, and headed off. The rain seemed to have set in, and as we arrived at the garden I was already wishing I had packed a good pair of waterproof knee-high boots, or at least some wellies. The rest of my Antiques Roadshow experience was mainly spent queuing. A long, long queue for reception, so that they could tell you which other queue to join for a valuation. Then a much longer, much wetter queue waiting for the appropriate expert. I had thankfully brought a large umbrella, but I could feel myself getting colder and hungrier as the hours passed and the queue moved painfully slowly. The rain was very heavy at one point. A little bit soggy, I finally made it indoors to the room where the jewellery valuations were taking place. At that point, some bright spark decided that it would be much better for everyone if the queue was mainly indoors, and people were reshuffled until most of the queue snaked up and down the apothecary building. This stroke of genius came too late for my soggy ballet pumps. I eventually reached the jewellery expert, for it all to be over in 2 minutes. I know it's a long day for the experts, but I didn't even get eye contact or a hello, just a cursory look at the brooch I had brought, a vague stab at dating it (which was frankly less accurate and convincing than my own estimate), and a rough valuation. That was it, and that was the end of my patience! We left straight away, seeing little point in standing any further in the rain to see any filming taking place. I got changed in the car park into some dry clothes and it took a strong cup of tea when we called into Chris's mum's on the way home to make me feel anywhere near human again. What a wash-out! I was very disappointed with the whole experience. In future I shall just enjoy staying at home and watching it on TV.<br />
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<i>Presenter Fiona Bruce and the guy who does the glass.</i></div>
<br />So there we go, a rather soggy end to what was a good trip otherwise. I'm sure I'll be able to laugh about it one day, but right now I'm still sulking and the sound of the Antiques Roadshow theme is enough to make me reach for the 'off' button!Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-55060145750202738562019-07-21T10:23:00.002+01:002019-07-21T10:23:39.404+01:00The Fervors of JulyThis year is really hurtling along for me. In the past three weeks I've been to Devon on a hen weekend, to London on a work trip - oh, and I graduated from my PhD!<br />
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The trip to Devon was fun. I'd never been on a full 'hen weekend' before and was slightly nervous about whether I would survive the pace of activity and also survive being with nine other people for an entire weekend. We stayed at <a href="http://berridonfarm.co.uk/" target="_blank">Berridon Farm</a>, in two of their cabins. It is in a beautiful countryside spot, with five cabins in total spaced out in a large field. The first evening we made use of the farm's outside pizza oven, which was fun. We were lucky to have dry and warm weather, though in the evenings the temperature plummeted pretty quickly so my vintage dresses were swapped for thermals, jumpers and as many blankets as I could find. As it's a working farm, the field has pens of animals at the far side. We had fresh eggs for our breakfast the next morning, a real treat. <br />
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The hen, Marie, is the one in the striped blanket.</div>
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On the Saturday we took a minibus to the seaside town of Bude, where some of our party had a surfing session booked. Another group set up on the beach (it was a scorcher of a day) but being a bit beach-phobic I headed into the town instead. I had a browse in the local shops and charity shops, but was sad to see that a good vintage shop I'd visited on my <a href="http://www.porcelinasworld.com/2014/08/vintage-guide-to-bude-cornwall.html" target="_blank">last trip to Bude</a> must have closed down. We headed back to the farm, and to a Mexican themed Fiesta for our second and final night. After a full English breakfast the next morning (provided by the farm, in the 'party barn'), we said our goodbyes and headed home. I was utterly exhausted by the time I got home!<br />
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My next trip away was to London for work. I hardly ever travel for work, so this year has been unusual as this is the third time I've done so. The purpose of the trip was an early morning breakfast meeting, so I had to travel down the day before. This fortunately gave me time to fit in some tourism - I headed to the V&A and the Mary Quant exhibition. I highly recommend it. I was familiar with Quant's popular '60s designs, such as the rain macs and mini dresses, but I was surprised at just how much I liked some of the designs I was less familiar with. I particularly liked the menswear inspired range. I won't share many photos as I don't want to spoil the exhibition for those of you that might visit.<br />
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I would wear this outfit in a heartbeat! I'm wondering if my sewing skills would stretch to a recreation.</div>
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My Mum said she used to have some Quant items, including the tights. I will have to see if she has any photos, as the items themselves are long gone. I was staying near St Paul's Cathedral, which I'd never seen before, and it was an impressive sight in the evening light.<br />
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Last but by no means least, I had the graduation ceremony for my PhD last week. Held in St David's Hall in Cardiff, there was a lot of clapping and hand-shaking. I felt quite distinguished walking around in my scarlet robes and velvet Tudor bonnet! My parents had come to Cardiff for the ceremony, and along with my husband we went for a meal afterwards. It was the most perfect summer's day, though it did mean that the robes were a bit hot.<br />
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After all of that excitement, Chris and I went to West Wales for a few days for some peace and quiet in the forest. But that's another blog post for another time.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"The linden, in the fervors of July,<br />Hums with a louder concert. When the wind<br />Sweeps the broad forest in its summer prime,<br />As when some master-hand exulting sweeps<br />The keys of some great organ, ye give forth<br />The music of the woodland depths, a hymn<br />Of gladness and of thanks."<br />- William Cullen Bryant, <i>Among the Trees </i></span></div>
Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342626399630015748.post-60510306346814806382019-06-17T19:30:00.000+01:002019-06-17T19:30:03.480+01:00Working TouristThe last month has been very busy work-wise, which is why I was so behind in posting about my Devon adventures. I've traveled a little bit for work, and the bonus has been squeezing in a bit of tourism! First up, there was a National Trust double whammy. I was speaking at a conference in Brighton, and staying with one of my sisters. It made sense for me to drive (she's out in the Sussex countryside) so I thought that I'd make use of the National Trust membership to have some interesting stop-offs both there and on the way back.<br />
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On the way down, it was a decently warm and sunny day, so I stopped to see the gardens at <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hinton-ampner" target="_blank">Hinton Ampner</a>. Even though it was a Thursday, it was rather busy. Lots of older couples, and families with young babies. The gardens are big enough that you can find a quiet spot away from the masses, and I'd brought a picnic lunch to enjoy.<br />
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I started off following an 'ancient trees trail' around the grounds, but part of the walk headed into a field in which there were lots of cows. I'm not a fan. Then I spotted the cows were actually bulls because they had horns! I retreated back to the safety of the gardens rather hastily.<br />
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The weather wasn't as good on my return journey, but I was determined to see more sights. I took the long route home. I stopped off briefly in Arundel, a town brimming with antiques shops. Well worth a browse. There was also a very nice secondhand designer store, that had the most sumptuous set of 1960s Ferragamo luggage. I fell in love with it, but the price tag was over £1000! Some of the antiques shops had very reasonable vintage clothing and accessories, but I didn't see anything that made my heart leap as much as that luggage set.<br />
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Continuing my journey, I decided on another National Trust stop, <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mottisfont" target="_blank">Mottisfont</a>. There is a large house, set in extensive gardens. I had another solo picnic (hastily bought from Sainsbury's) under the trees before heading to the walled gardens.<br />
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The rose garden was full of inspiration, and they even had a specially created 'Rose' ice-cream by Jude's. It was the best rose ice-cream I've ever tasted, subtle and beautifully natural. After the gardens I headed into the house. One the things I enjoyed most about my visit was an art exhibition on the top floor of the house. There were some incredible botanical drawings, done with exceptional detail. I didn't take any photos indoors, so you'll just have to visit and see for yourself!<br />
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On a different work trip, I was invited to speak at an event at Cambridge University (long story!). This was a very long journey that I had to make by train, so there were no National Trust stop-offs this time. I did have a couple of hours free on a rainy Saturday morning though, and headed off armed with my umbrella to see the sights. The College I was staying at was a very short walk from the city centre, so I didn't have to go far before I encountered hoards of tourists, and herds of students on bicycles. I felt quite outnumbered. I had no idea that Cambridge was such a tourist attraction! The university buildings are beautiful, and there were some lovely shops. I managed to enjoy a long walk around despite the rain.<br />
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In other news, I sadly parted with my car. I'd had it for 15 years, and absolutely loved it, but it had got to the point where the cost of repairs was exceeding the value of the car. I sold it to a local scrap yard, and unfortunately this is right next to my local supermarket, so every time I do a food shop, I can gaze wistfully across to the yard and see my car, still where I parked it...<br />
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That's brought me reasonably up to date. There's another work trip on the horizon for a few weeks' time to London, and I'm hoping to tie in a visit to a gallery or museum to keep the work-fun balance in check.<br />
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Do you like to do solo sight-seeing? I'm an introvert and need quality time by myself, so I find it very relaxing and freeing!Porcelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02202283149145094340noreply@blogger.com12