A free week , thanks to the May holiday , and the sun's shining !
And to ward off any chance of being at a loose end I'd arranged an assortment of things-to-do . There was more housepainting ( lots more housepainting , actually ) . There were recipes to try ..... lots of those too . The giant Queen's Day flea market to wander around . A bike ride to hunt for hares . A Day Out . Leisurely breakfasts with time to read the paper and drink big mugs of coffee in peace .... and a sewing project .
And it's all gone more or less to plan .
Hunting through the endless clutter on sale on Queen's Day was , as usual , fun and I found a pile of '70s craft magazines , full of hilarious black and white photos of ponchos and Interesting Things to make out of corks , melon seeds and pompoms .
Standing outside , up a ladder , painting high windows was character forming , given the arctic winds that blew and blew , at one point even blowing a large blob off the brush straight onto my sweater . But they do look better for it . As a neighbour commented , eyeing my less than professional finish , "At least that'll protect them " .
Deventer is such an elegant little town to visit and my Day Out was its usual mix of endless new corners to see , the game of "If I were to live here which house would I buy ? " or the alternative "if I lived in this house what would my life be like ? " , little shops to enjoy , friendly people to exchange a few words with ..... and train delays . ( I've come to the conclusion that I am to trains what Typhoid Mary was to caring for the sick ) .
When I've been there I always come back determined to be more of a Seasons Lady . Seasons , the lifestyle magazine par excellence for the reader of a certain age , is full of articles on little gifts to make for friends like these carafes of homemade spiced apple juice
decorated with little crab apple garlands from your own orchard . Even their readers' gardening clutter
looks delightful , unlike my pile of black plastic pots , leftovers from purchases at the garden center . A Seasons lady has swathes of wild flowers and heritage roses . I have three and a half pots out the back with chervil , tomatoes and a strawberry plant .
But when the train drew into Leeuwarden again in the evening , I saw this and remembered that I'm not really a country woman at heart and I'd miss the surprises a town has to offer .
Oh , and I must just show you my sewing project . Rattling On had very kindly sent me this fabulous crochet bag I'd admired when she'd blogged about it and my plan was to line it .
I abandoned the idea of carrying the lining on round the handles and settled on using bias binding instead . I've nearly finished and will be bringing home leeks in it tomorrow for Soupe Bonne Femme .( Leek and Potato Soup for Seasons ladies . No handmade garlands will be made though ...... there is a limit ! )
Hare expedition on Sunday if it's not too windy ....
9 comments:
I'm not sure I'm the sort of Lady who constructs miniature garlands to decorate her carafes of homemade juice either.
But I did do a bit of a Squeee! over that crochet bag.
Yes! It certainly is a squeal-inducing bag! My daughter knitted me the most gorgeous bag with Aran patterns worked in a few years ago, for my birthday. Eager to get my hands on it, I assured her that I would make a lining for it. That didn't happen so she kidnapped it a couple months ago and I will have it back [before I die, I hope] after SHE makes the lining.
We have an equivalent mag over here---Real Simple---that aims to show how elegant life is, and manages only to make me feel woefully inadequate!
I am always jealous of your flea market jaunts, I especially like the idea of the 70s magazines.
I, too, have aspirations to be a stylish and elegant lady of leisure (a la Seasons etc) but suspect it'll never happen. I just don't have it in me!
You might as well live back in England.
And now you're going hunting for hares? I don't believe it. Anyway, how can you shoot a gun while pedalling
and holding on to those Dutch handlebars?
They're useful,though, those lifestyle magazines - when you are having a slump into domestic squalor, flick through one of them, and suddenly the shame gets you up off the sofa and reaching for the hoover or paintbrush. The effect wears off, but sometimes it works for long enough to plump cushions or arrange a tea tray before slumping again....
It sounds as if you had a lovely time. I've never seen a hare; hope you spot some.
My daughter is currently buying off ebay sewing patterns from the 1970s, paying £3 for something that originally cost 6d (perhaps it was a bit more than that, I can't remember exactly but there was a big difference). It's a good job she can't visit your flea market or you'd be all spent out!
Does a Seasons Lady carry around one of those glorious crocheted bags? Because if that is the case, I should consider morphing into a Seasons Lady a life aim.
I was just looking at a 1970s photo of myself in a poncho! I look a right dork.
If you were a Seasons woman, S&S, you'd be boring as all get out and nobody would come here. Your imperfections and the black shadow you cast over train schedules are what make the rest of us feel like we're not nearly as useless as we thought. Did that come out wrong? Possibly, but you know what I mean.
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