Sunday 12 January 2014

To The Horizon Or As Far As The Eye Can See.

There would be quite a lot of water. It has rained rather a lot lately and this is the result
That is not a river running straight down this picture but one of the main roads into the city of Oxford.
and this is why I have been having a few problems getting into work (I commute by train) Would you believe they managed to keep the track open for most of the week running an hourly shuttle service with some poor bugger having to stand thigh deep in water manually changing the points! I know people like to slag off the train service in this country, and I'll be the first to complain about the astronomically high fares, but they do often have a lot to contend with when it comes to the weather in the U.K.

It never ceases to amaze me at how shocked some people in this country get when the water starts to rise, we even made the national news for 3 nights in a row!
Most locals know it is a hazard of choosing to live in this beautiful rural area. When you bear in mind 'Oxford' was derived from 'Oxen ford' meaning 'where the land is low enough to lead oxen across the river' and that it is in the 'Thames Valley' the clues are in the names as they say.
Villages get cut off but people prepare. My parents are currently stuck in their village, but they went out just before the worst and did a massive food shop so are snug and safe.

Having said that, the flooding of the city itself and many homes within it in recent years, only happens because they keep building more and more houses on the flood plains.
Those fields were called flood plains for a reason which the stupid greedy builders, and the stupid even greedier councilors like to forget.
They throw up hundreds of  houses and are long gone before any problems occur, the water has to go somewhere and now the fields are gone sadly that somewhere is straight into people's homes. Ironically it's not the new houses with the flood problem, but ones that have been there for decades up until now with no issues, that are suddenly under water. Can you tell I am not a fan of my local council??  Biggest bunch of crooks going!

Anyway on Friday the rain had stopped and the cold weather arrived with a vengeance so all that water froze. That meant definitely no trains so I worked from home. Another first in all of my 20 plus years of working and something I could get used to very quickly I think.
It was lovely to be wrapped up in a huge scruffy jumper, drinking tea and blaring music, and best of all no phone ringing nonstop!

This week has been an interesting one outfit-wise. I decided to take everything out of one of my wardrobes over the weekend. I had finally managed to get my hands on some Liquid Gold
as recommended by other vintage furniture loving bloggers for it's magical wood restorative powers. I must admit I was sceptical, but the wardrobe which I love (and was given by my Nan much to my Dad's chagrin as it had been his 21st birthday present so not her's to give away) had got some bad scratches (also something my Dad was very cross about as it was in immaculate condition before I got my mitts on it) so I figured there was nothing to loose. I will point out the scratches happened when we moved house and not due to my wanton neglect!

I'm very happy to report Liquid Gold is as good as it's reputation. All but the very worst scratches are completely gone, and those worst ones are hardly noticable at all now.
I'm thrilled and I'm sure my Dad will (begrudgingly) be too.

Anyway once the wardrobe had been treated I hung stuff back in and found various dresses that I'd either forgotten about or genuinely didn't know I had. I decided some could go but others I decided to wear and see if I liked them or not, thinking there must have been a reason I left them hidden at the back of the cupboard!
The green one below still had price tags on it for heaven's sake, what is that all about? I never usually buy something and then shove it in the wardrobe without even trying it on?!? I am firm about taking stuff back if it isn't right, so how did it slip through the net?
This picture shows most of them. I'm pleased to report that so far 3 are definitely keepers, (including the green one!) and one is in the 'maybe' pile.
The dress I wore on Monday was a £1.04 Ebay bargain that turned out to be much too big for me hence it languishing unloved in the wardrobe, but I stuck on a belt and put a cardigan over the top to try it out anyway. I got so many compliments that it went straight into the mending pile and last night I started putting darts in to make it fit better.
As it's in the mending pile no picture, but here is the one from Ebay when I bought it, and as you can see even the seller had put a belt on it to give it shape!

I've decided there is too much unloved clothing in my cupboards, I have been working my way through my other wardrobe wearing things and if they aren't quite right they go.

 I've been feeling kind of restless with my clothes for want of a better way of describing it. I end up circulating the same few outfits and the rest just sit there. This needs to change.

Mind you I undo all my good work by buying more, it was ever thus.

I shall leave you with a picture of my newest bargain sale purchase, Himself is not sure I can pull it off.
What does he know? What do I know? maybe he's right. we shall see.

Oh and here is my sock reindeer, I have called him Neville because I made him whilst watching Harry Potter on TV.
The kit was a Christmas present, it had the instructions but was missing it's pattern pieces so I decided to take a chance a wing it without them. I'm very pleased with the result.




8 comments:

  1. Your wardrobe looks in mint condition, no wonder you were so pleased...did you dance yourself dizzy? See what I did there?
    I love your newest sale bargain and of course you can pull it off...what does Himself know about frocks and accessorizing anyway? What a fab job you've made of your cute reindeer and without pattern pieces too, so clever.

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  2. Of course you can pull it off! You'll look delicious. Love it. Top job on the wardrobe, it looks great and dad-praiseworthy. Hurrah for Neville, he's fab. So is other HP Neville - a hero in a woolly pully.
    xxx
    Cheers Fiona..I have that song in my head now! And I know all the words.Arghhhh x

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  3. That frock is awesome; I can see why you would get so many compliments, it's quite classic!
    If it isn't rain and flooding, it's heat and fire or worse! Is it just me or are there more natural disasters than usual?
    XXX

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  4. Oh what a fantastic new dress.......just lovely.
    Oh dear sweet the flooding is terrible. Mad mad weather everywhere.
    wishing you a very happy new year......love v

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  5. Pull it off? You'll more than pull it off, Gisela - you'll rock it (and then it'll be Himself who wants to pull it off. The DRESS. I think I should stop now...)
    Mad weather and flooding and dreadfulness = ugh. Wardrobe reassessments (contents of) and renovations (externals of) = good. I'm trying to work my way through all my shit and decide what stays and what goes, but it's proving to be a loooong process.
    Neville's a cutie. And I'm singing the song now too! xxxx

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  6. The weather has been terrible but looks like you had a very bad time of it but nice to be able to stay home and get things sorted :-) I have never heard of that liquid gold can it be used on all wood? Im loving the reindeer he is well fab ;-) Happy new year, dee xx

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  7. Neville is awesome! And the new dress will look ace.

    I had a bit of a wardrobe reassessment late last year - like you I felt I was simply rotating a few outfits - and one thing I found really helpful was keeping a spreadsheet of what I wore each day, right down to perfume and accessories. It made me look really hard at my wardrobe, and I realised I was actually wearing more things than I'd thought, but it also made me try new combinations in order not to wear the exact same outfit twice. You could try something similar (or take a selfie a day, or whatever suits you). It's a good way to assess what items and styles you're wearing frequently.

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  8. My goodness, how terribly unpleasant for those in your area. Flooding is such a devastating menace. I really hope the water levels retreat soon for you, your parents and everyone there.

    Stay safe, warm and as dry as possible, dear lady,
    ♥ Jessica

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