Sunday 6 April 2014

WHAT DO YOU DO ON A DULL DAY & ALL YOUR CHORES ARE DONE?

This morning lots of that wet stuff fell from a dismal-looking sky, at which she smiled and said "good, damp soil into which to plant those new Roses" and swiftly banished all thought of going out to the allotments. 

We had a call from Cousin Bruce, who has threatened us with a visit! Gulp! Not this next week please dear cousin, please not, for there is nowhere for you to sleep, seeing as the bed is covered in baby seedlings!

The Solar House has yet to be built and little Shack faces the wrong way, it is not light enough for seedlings.

Anyway, back to today. She telephoned a very much beloved woman who used to do fabulous work for her, she is a seamstress but, really, to call Carolyn a steamstress is rather like describing a very rare Canary diamond as a hard yellow stone.

Which is grossly inadequate for she is truly a gem. 

She had been thinking about how Signor Armani makes such beautiful clothes and it reminded her that she has a short coat of his, the woollen fabric is by Loro Piana and the colour is a soft tangerine.

It is a very feminine, pretty coat, it 'lived' for many years in New York City for it was part of her American wardrobe that a friend was kind enough to look after. This made travelling to the States easy as all she had to take was hand luggage with cosmetics, fabric swatches and drawings.

Upon her retirement, the wardrobe was packed up and shipped home. Some items she has given away but this pretty Italian coat she loves and would like to duplicate.

She is passionate about fabrics and has a stash of 
them that would make any Fashionista's mouth water. Austrian Linens, double sided English Wool Crepe, this is what Jean Muir used, light-weight wool and silk blends and all packed away, most carefully, from mr.moth in heavy duty zip-lock bags with either a Cedar chip or a Lavender bag.

Hence the call to Carolyn, who was delighted to hear from her but who said "Don't come this week, we are expecting a new grandchild any day and the house is crazy!"

It was not just clothes that came back, boots and shoes came home as well, today she wore a pair of elegant shoes by Bruno Magli of Bologna. She has a small, quite narrow foot and finds it much easier to find the right fitting shoes in America. Why is it easier there, she wondered?

A shoe buyer from Bergdorf Goodman in New York explained that because the United States is made up of such a diverse mix of nationalities, all of whom have different shaped feet, that the shoe companies produce a much bigger range of widths for their American clientele

So there she was, dressed in pretty clothes. I, of course, wondered where she was off to and gave her one of 'those' looks but she smiled, stroked Beaky and said "no, I shan't be long, I am only going to change some library books and I will be back soon". And true to her word, she came home within a couple of hours. 

A late lunch was plated up, I had the rest of my soft boiled eggs, a slice of papaya, some rye bread.. a feast!

She was after pasta with garlic, parsley and oil, only to realise that she had finished her favourite pasta which is fusilli. Grrr. Into the cupboard, only to find no pasta! How stupid, a rummage brought to light a packet of weird looking stuff, wholemeal spelt macaroni, sigh, "it will have to do", she said.

It was not great, I could tell by the small bowl she ate. Well, she won't be buying that make again. But at least her stomach no longer thinks her throat has been slit.. think about it!

And with all chores done, what do YOU do on a wet and dismal day? Our favourite thing is to settle somewhere comfortable and read a book. 

What type of book depends on her mood and as she has just finished reading about the Cypriot problems, today she was in the mood for something of a different nature.

Smiley Librarian handed her a book to read, he said it made him chuckle from page one, so that was one of the books which came home with her.

'Lottery' by Patricia Wood is the name of the novel. It has indeed made her laugh, it reminds her of conversations with Linda. Linda was one of her lampshade makers who won a vast amount of money on the Lottery in the early part of the new century.

When Linda told her about the win, she asked her "What are you going to do with it?" and the answer was quite startling. (This was in the days when Banks actually gave savers more than 1% interest on savings accounts). 

"Nothing for a year and that interest will pay off my mortgage".. said Linda, who had the ability to make the smallest piece of fabric do something pretty and could make a 2pence piece squeak! 

Supper is Asparagus, sadly not ours, which is still fast asleep but saying that, she did pick one small, fat spear of it last week, it didn't make it home.

So that is what we have planned for the rest of the day, a cosy quiet time. I am sitting on her head whilst she taps iPad, so much easier to proof-read my Blog as it happens!

Tomorrow, she is off to a lecture at The British Library. I will report back upon the subject matter when she comes home and tells me all about it.

Staying indoors on dull afternoons with a funny book and a parrot on her head, she really is incredibly easy to please. PipPip Dear Readers, I hope that you are having as pleasant a time as well?

GeeGee Parrot.
April 6th, 2014.

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