I have a little something to share with you today. Whilst wandering around on eBay, as you do, I came across some lovely vintage jewellery sellers. As I love bling so much (I am not one for restrained, neat, minimalist things), I looked through some listings of Swarovski and other crystal items and found this lovely brooch. I also made a massive wishlist with loads of gorgeous earrings on it. As I have decided to keep my hair short, I think that I might add to my earring collection as I have had most of the existing items for donkey’s years and I am getting rather bored with them.
Anyway, here is the brooch…
Crystal and gold plate brooch
Lovely, isn’t it? I like the Art Deco feel. It has aquamarine and sapphire blue crystals set into gold plate and is around 3/4 by 2 1/2 inches in size. I bought it to wear with my Lands’ End merino wool dresses in navy and cobalt…
Navy and cobalt merino wool knitted dresses – Lands’ End
I have been wearing some old brooches on the collar of these dresses and I thought that this one would work well. When I try it out I will take a photo and upload it to a blog post.
I have had mixed success with my book choices this week. Because I have been so ill, I have been struggling to concentrate so have rejected anything that hasn’t gripped me within the first 30 or 40 pages. Is that too harsh!
Cibola Burn by James S A Corey
My first book was #04 in The Expanse series: Cibola Burn by James S A Corey. Here is the blurb:
The gates have opened the way to thousands of habitable planets, and the land rush has begun. Settlers stream out from humanity’s home planets in a vast, poorly controlled flood, landing on a new world. Among them, the Rocinante, haunted by the vast, posthuman network of the protomolecule as they investigate what destroyed the great intergalactic society that built the gates and the protomolecule.
But Holden and his crew must also contend with the growing tensions between the settlers and the company which owns the official claim to the planet. Both sides will stop at nothing to defend what’s theirs, but soon a terrible disease strikes and only Holden – with help from the ghostly Detective Miller – can find the cure.
And this is the four star review which I wrote on Goodreads:
I am loving this series and have already requested the next two books after this one. They are now waiting at the Library for me to pick up and I can’t wait to read them. This story was based on one planet and its orbit, rather than huge sweeping journeys across space. Again, we are brought into conflicts between human beings and how they deal with fear, sudden change and imminent destruction. How people cope and create division into “tribes” so that they can face the thought of killing each other for some kind of higher purpose or for their own and their loved ones survival. Big questions, big events and a big, meaty read. Loved it 😍.
This book almost deserved five stars, but I reserve that accolade for my most favourite reads.
All Day and a Night by Alafair Burke
My next book was a solid three-star read: All Day and a Night by Alafair Burke, #05 in her Ellie Hatcher series. This is the blurb:
A murder case with ties to a convicted serial killer leads a young defense lawyer and an NYPD homicide detective into parallel investigations with explosive and deadly results in this superb mystery.
The latest story dominating the tabloids – the murder of psychotherapist Helen Brunswick-couldn’t be further from Carrie Blank’s world handling federal appeals at an elite Manhattan law firm. But then a hard-charging celebrity trial lawyer calls Carrie with an offer she can’t refuse: Anthony Amaro, the serial killer police blamed for the murder of Carrie’s older sister, Donna, has new evidence related to Brunswick’s murder that he believes can exonerate him. Determined to force the government to catch Donna’s real killer, Carrie takes on Amaro’s wrongful conviction claim.
On the other side of Amaro’s case is NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher, who, along with her partner, JJ Rogan, is tapped as the “fresh look” team to reassess the investigation that led to Amaro’s conviction. The case is personal for them, too: Ellie wonders whether they got the assignment because of her relationship with the lead prosecutor, and Rogan has his own reasons to distrust Amaro’s defense team.
As the NYPD and Amaro’s lawyers search for certainty among years of conflicting evidence, their investigations take them back to Carrie’s hometown and secrets left behind there. And when Carrie falls victim to a brutal attack, it becomes clear that the young attorney got too close to the truth.
And this is my short review:
Good, entertaining read. Although it is #05 in a series, I didn’t feel that this created any issue with enjoying the plot. I will definitely read others in the series if I come across them at the Library, although I won’t make any great effort to do so. Worth picking up.
In fact, I may pick up another book by Alafair Burke when I visit the Library this week 😊.
Perfect Remains by Helen Fields
A new ebook popped into my BorrowBox account, Perfect Remains by Helen Fields, #01 in her new DI Callanach series, so I turned to that next.
On a remote Highland mountain, the body of Elaine Buxton is burning. All that will be left to identify the respected lawyer are her teeth and a fragment of clothing.
In the concealed back room of a house in Edinburgh, the real Elaine Buxton screams into the darkness.
Detective Inspector Luc Callanach has barely set foot in his new office when Elaine’s missing persons case is escalated to a murder investigation. Having left behind a promising career at Interpol, he’s eager to prove himself to his new team. But Edinburgh, he discovers, is a long way from Lyon, and Elaine’s killer has covered his tracks with meticulous care.
It’s not long before another successful woman is abducted from her doorstep, and Callanach finds himself in a race against the clock. Or so he believes … The real fate of the women will prove more twisted than he could have ever imagined.
This was another book to which I gave three stars, rather than four. The review explains:
Read this all in one sitting. Ebook from the public library’s digital catalogue. Good, gripping and exciting crime novel. Interesting main characters with backgrounds to be further developed in the series, I hope. A bit different to most books in this genre in that we already know who the killer is right from the beginning, but that makes it interesting when the police get things wrong for a while. Would have been four stars except for two issues, which I cannot explain without spoilers, so I won’t!
And, no, I won’t explain that last sentence here either, as it would give too much away! The book is still worth reading even if a couple of issues raise my Radfem hackles – now that really is quite enough.
Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
The last two of my library book pile were both Young Adult. As some of you know, I have found it really difficult to read this genre since I retired from working as a school librarian. It feels almost painful, as I loved reading YA so much. Well, my tiny experiment in reintroducing myself was spectacularly unsuccessful. I tried to read Veronica Roth’s new book, Carve the Mark, but gave up after about 40 pages as I simply couldn’t carry on. I did write a short Goodreads review, but won’t copy if here as it was pretty uncomplimentary. I then tried to tackle another YA, but called things to a halt even more quickly. It was probably me, rather than the book, so I won’t say which one it was because that would be unfair.
So, as I have now finished all of the library books I chose a few weeks ago, and I am waiting until Friday when I will select my next batch, I will enjoy serendipitously wandering around the ebook catalogue and see what comes up.
As I have spent the day in bed, I don’t have an “Outfit of the day” to show you. My pyjamas and a woolly scarf aren’t very interesting! Instead, I will give you all something that I find very amusing. There is a thread on The Purse Forum called “Just Because it’s Designer Doesn’t Mean it’s Good – Post your WTH Finds!” that I find absolutely hilarious. Here are a few examples to start you off – remember these cost thousands of £££!! 😂🤣😂🤣😂
The designer DHL t-shirt deserves a KFC joke, but I can’t think of anything funny enough to beat what is actually happening. Anyway, it all goes to show that the old phrase “more money than sense” is still true!
I was a bit low both physically and mentally over the weekend. As I am spending so much time in bed these days, I am beginning to question why I am collecting so many scarves and other accessories, when I can’t go out wearing them. Mind you, in my small town I don’t think that anyone would really notice How I am dressed.
So, thinking it over once again, the questions really are:
(1) Who am I wearing these lovely (and often very expensive) items for?
(2) Do I really want complete strangers to know my scarf is Hermès or Ferragamo, or who designed my jewellery?
The answers to to these are:
(1) I wear them for myself, to help my confidence when my appearance has been badly affected by illness, and for my family – I plaster a smile on my face so that they don’t worry too much. And (2) not really, that would be showing off!
So, I think that I have talked myself out of this present malaise, at least for a while. Today, even though I knew we would be indoors all day, I decided to wear a lovely scarf and some of my favourite jewellery. Just for me, and also for Lovely Husband.
Today’s outfit:
Purple wool-mix jumper – Tommy Hilfiger.
Navy cotton v-neck base layer – Sainsbury’s. Image is of a similar item.
Navy cotton jogging pants – Cotton Traders.
Amethyst and silver stud earrings – Blue Nile.
Purple leather and gold wrap bracelet – Ferragamo.
Silk scarf, 90cm, in purple, fuchsia, green, teal, burgundy and shades of blue – L’Arbre du Vent – Hermès. Tied in an asymmetric wrap to show off the gorgeous contrast rolled hem.
Outfit of the day 19/02/18 with Hermès’ L’Arbre du Vent scarf
Just a very quick post today. I haven’t made a full collage with today’s outfit, but have put my selfie together with a photo of the scarf. This one is a gorgeous 140cm silk chiffon/mousseline by Leonard which has a design of feathers in grey, black, tan, cream, yellow and turquoise. It drapes wonderfully and is the softest scarf I own.
Today’s outfit:
Grey marl, acrylic and wool mix cable jumper – Klass.
Navy cotton joggers – Cotton Traders.
Diamond stud earrings – Blue Nile.
Silk chiffon scarf, 140cm, in grey, black, tan, cream, yellow and turquoise – Feathers – Leonard.
Outfit of the day 15/02/18 with Leonard’s Feather scarf
No romance books for me leading up to Valentine’s Day! Instead, I have been reading science fiction again and a kind of mix of both that and fantasy. One of my two books was very good and enjoyable, the other was far less successful.
Abaddon’s Gate by James S A Corey
I am continuing to read the books in The Expanse series whilst being sad that I missed the TV version when it was broadcast a few years ago. We don’t have Netflix so that I can catch up with it now. Mind you, maybe the changes that they always make would annoy me, as an admirer of the books. Anyway, this time it was the turn of #03 Abaddon’s Gate by James S A Corey and here is the blurb:
For generations, the solar system — Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt — was humanity’s great frontier. Until now. The alien artifact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has appeared in Uranus’s orbit, where it has built a massive gate that leads to a starless dark.
Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are part of a vast flotilla of scientific and military ships going out to examine the artifact. But behind the scenes, a complex plot is unfolding, with the destruction of Holden at its core. As the emissaries of the human race try to find whether the gate is an opportunity or a threat, the greatest danger is the one they brought with them.
These books are pretty long and and it takes me quite a while to finish each one as they also demand a good level of concentration. When I say a while, I mean three of four days, rather than one or two. This was my review on Goodreads for four stars:
Another great book in a great series. An interesting exploration of how humans, in the face of something too awful (in its original meaning) to fully comprehend, are often consumed by fear. They then react to that fear in a number of different ways. This book brings together differing religions, revenge, hubris, courage and the worst and best of human behaviour. A fantastic ride through space!
Diadem from the Stars by Jo Clayton
I did have the next book, #04 Cibola Burn, waiting in the pile, but decided to change direction a little and read an ebook which was waiting for me on my iPad: Diadem from the Stars by Jo Clayton. This is #01 of a very long series, The Diadem Saga. This is the blurb:
Raised, but never loved, by the barbarian valley people of Jaydugar, a planet of two suns, young Aleytys has always known she did not belong. Abandoned by her space-traveling mother and barely tolerated by a superstitious primitive tribe fearful of divine reprisals, Aleytys is forced to flee for her life following the catastrophic appearance of a fireball in the sky. Guided by her absent mother’s journals, the young outcast must now journey alone across an unfamiliar world of perils in search of an escape from this planet that holds no hope for her future.
But her pursuit of a spacecraft and the parent who inexplicably left her behind leads young Aleytys instead to the miraculous device that will determine her destiny. An object of unimaginable power—a magical technology stolen from a vengeful alien arachnid race determined to recover it at any cost—the Diadem instantly becomes an integral part of who and what Aleytys is and will be. Once its great energy is transferred to her she will never be free of it, and mastering the Diadem’s wonders is Aleytys’s only hope for survival now that she has become the most wanted woman in a dangerous universe.
I gave the book three stars and wrote this short review:
This book is more like fantasy with a bit of science fiction thrown in. It was interesting and kept my attention, but had very odd “jumps” between events. I think it was originally published in the 70s and that does show to some extent, particularly in the sexual relationships, with some strange moments. I will try the second book in the series as the first four are available as ebooks from the public library, but I am not sure how this will pan out in the long run.
Cibola Burn by James S A Corey
After that diversion, I have returned to the world of The Expanse and am currently a third of the way through James S A Corey’s Cibola Burn. I will let you know my thoughts next week. To give you a hint, I am about to request #05 from the Library just as soon as I finish this post!
It is Elder Son’s Birthday today – 28 – I cannot believe it! Time goes so fast and seems to speed up as you get older. He came into the bedroom this morning for a hug and I croaked Happy Birthday at him (I can’t sing properly any more because of the problems with my vocal cords). He has happily gone out with a friend for the day and I don’t suppose we will see him until late this evening. It is so amazing how independent he now is; anyone who knew him as a child would be shocked as he was so clingy to me for years.
Anyway, I have a reveal for you today. You may remember that Lovely Husband had a fit just after I bought the Hermès Jaguar Quetzal scarf. Basically, he totted up roughly what my small H scarf collection is worth and nearly fainted! People like us simply don’t “invest” that much money in “mere” accessories. My point of view is that I have a monthly allowance that is mine to spend how I wish. When I was still at work, the money went on a wide range of things, including meals and drinks out with friends, visits to the theatre or cinema, books, makeup, clothes etc. Now that I am retired and hardly ever go out, why shouldn’t I continue to spend my own cash on things that make me happy?
I kind of lost the argument, but then kind of won it again 😂.
One of my pastimes is wandering around eBay and reseller sites simply looking at the scarves on offer, not only Hermès but also those made by Liberty and others. I don’t really have a wish list of famous grail scarves in mind, but do have a kind of idea of what might interest me. I have often mentioned my love for the art and motifs from the Ancient World and this is what informs my search.
So, I was very excited when I saw a certain scarf on the Rennies website (link in the sidebar). Paul and Karen Rennie have a shop in Folkestone, Kent, and their website offers a range of scarves (H and others), handbags and other interesting vintage items. I mentioned the scarf to Lovely Husband, fully expecting a negative response. So, I was thrilled when he said that he would buy it for me in celebration of our wedding anniversary! It will be 30 years in April!
After a lovely email correspondence, this scarf found its way to me.
So, here goes…
First the famous orange box…
Opening the box to view the scarf carefully wrapped by Rennies…
The Rennies sticker in closeup…
The paper is right out of the way. Ah, what lovely colours… That red…
The carré folded…
The picture from the Rennies website…
The full scarf…
My first attempt at wearing it (the light was fading, but you can see how it ties)…
Persepolis by Hermès in an asymmetric wrap
Yes, this is Persepolis and this colourway is quite a departure for me. I don’t have any Hermès scarves in red and so this could be said to fill in a gap. It also rather breaks my wardrobe colourwheel. I bought it, however, because I didn’t think I would find another Persepolis at this price, in this perfect condition and in such gorgeous colours. In fact, it will fit into my wardrobe very well indeed because, as well as the beautiful red, the scarf also has shades of teal, blue and purple, which are on my colourwheel, as well as orange and yellow. I think the scarf will be fine with grey hair, although I will need to find a matching red lipstick. Any ideas?
I will write a Scarf of the Moment profile post at a later date, when I have had time to try out different scarf ties and wear it with a range of colours.
It has been really cold over the last few days and we had a sprinkling of snow overnight, although it has almost all melted away now. I have been struggling with illness all weekend, but did manage to get to the local hospital on Friday for a blood test and the Library to drop a couple of books back. One of them has a long waiting list, so I read it as fast as I could so that I could return it quickly.
As I have been in bed most of the day again, I don’t have much more to say except that there will be a nice reveal tomorrow!
Today’s outfit:
Bright navy cotton mix short sleeved top – Lands’ End.
Bright navy cotton mix cardigan – Lands’ End.
Indigo jeans – Cotton Traders.
Gold knot earrings.
Oxford Blue leather and rose gold wrap bracelet – Ferragamo.
Silk scarf, 90cm, in navy, blues, browns and green – Cornelia James.
Outfit of the day 12/02/18 with Cornelia James scarf
The scarf has a design of belts and gold chains against a pale blue background. The border is dark navy and there is a central square in leopard print. The maker is Cornelia James, which is better known for beautiful gloves. I used a bias fold for the scarf, wrapped it around my neck twice and then used a MaiTai horn scarf ring to hold it in place.
Tomorrow is Elder Son’s Birthday 🎁, so I hope that he comes home from work today in a good mood. Special days and events are often difficult for him as he likes routine, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that we all have a pleasant day tomorrow!
Jaguar Quetzal is another wonderful design by Alice Shirley for Hermès, this time for the Spring/Summer 2018 collection. I have nearly all of Shirley’s scarf designs for Hermès, with only a couple of exceptions, so there was no surprise that this one sang to me from the off!
Jaguar Quetzal by Alice Shirley for Hermès
Description
The scarf shows a cute jaguar curled up asleep, wearing a beautifully decorative feathered and bejewelled headdress, in a nest of exotic foliage. Butterflies flutter past and the feathers curve around the edge. The bottom two corners are particularly pretty and look great when the scarf is tied. The whole design goes right up to the edges of the scarf with no border and there is a lovely contrast hem.
Two different versions of the design are offered this season: a 90cm silk twill and a 140cm cashmere/silk. Mine is the 90cm carré in colourway #11 in mauve, violet, and jaune souffre. I had a really difficult time choosing the right colourway for me. I wanted to consider several things so that I would get this right: my clothing colour wheel, the colours of my existing scarf collection and the fact that my hair is growing out the grey. At first, I fancied colourway #06 with blues, greys and browns, but I decided that I already have a lot of blue scarves and I don’t think that the browns would be right for me in the future, even if they would have been lovely with my dyed hair. Although I do have some scarves in purple and lilac shades already, I felt that #11 would be different enough to fill a gap. When I opened the iconic orange box, I knew that I had made the correct choice!
The colours are lovely in this design. The jaguar has spots in navy blue against violet, the feathers are in denim blue, mauve and yellow and the rolled hem in blue. In the early days of my scarf buying, I tried to stick to more lifelike colourways, but as time has gone on, that idea has gone out of the window. I have read that other avid scarfies often have a similar experience.
Colourways
These are the colourways of the Jaguar Quetzal Spring/Summer 2018 silk twill 90cm:
And here are most of the colourways for the 140cm cashmere/silk shawl (I will add any others that I might have missed as I find them):
Twillies (added 03/09/18) have also been included in the collection for Autumn/Winter 2018:
There is also an amazing (and amazingly expensive) embroidered version, called Jaguar Quetzal Coloriage, in 140cm twill:
I would love to see this one in real life!
Design story
The “jaguar warriors” of the pre-Columbian Aztec civilisation inspired Alice Shirley to dream up this big cat and its superb headdress, which is loosely inspired by the famous Penacho conserved in the Museum of Ethnology, Vienna. Made of feathers and semi-precious stones, this enormous headdress owes its beauty to the brilliance of more than 400 quetzal feathers. The quetzal is a tropical bird that lives in Central and South America, whose Aztec name means “long green feathers”. The designer, who is passionate about the animal world, gives us a tender portrait: a sleeping jaguar “dreaming of freedom”.
Details
Here are some close-ups of my scarf in a slideshow format:
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How I wear the scarf
I haven’t had the scarf very long so have only worn it a couple of times, but I must say that it ties beautifully and it goes with a lot of my wardrobe.
Outfit of the day 08/05/18 with Hermès’ Jaguar Quetzal scarf
Here you can see it in a collage with my deep purple “blackberry” Lands’ End twin-set:
Outfit of the day 02/02/18 with Hermès’ Jaguar Quetzal scarf
I was so pleased when I realised that I still had this mauve cashmere jumper at the back of my wardrobe. The scarf looks as if it were made for it and I was thrilled with how much I enjoyed wearing the combination. I even put on some makeup for the occasion!
Outfit of the day 19/01/18 with Hermès’ Jaguar Quetzal scarf
So, as you can see, the scarf looks great with purple shades and I have plenty of purple and lilac accessories to wear with it. Some of you may also remember that I went a bit mad last Summer buying lavender and purple vests and a cardigan from Lands’ End, which will also be perfect with the scarf. You can see one of the vests in the first collage and I have bought another one since (added 03/09/18). I also think that some shades of blue, particular denim, will work well too.
Scarf ties
I went a bit over the top when I first opened the scarf box, trying out a range of scarf knots and ties. As you can see, the design is very versatile – I have even more photos on my iPad!
Jaguar Quetzal – scarf ties
1) Top row L to R: criss-cross knot, simple casual tie, cowboy cowl knot.
2) Middle row L to R: looped around the neck and held with a MaiTai horn ring (does anyone know the name for this?), bias fold drape, waterfall knot.
3) Bottom row L to R: casual loose tie, half bow knit, asymmetric knot.
There are loads more that would work!
Background information
As the main themes of the scarf are jaguars, the amazing quetzal feather headdress and the Aztec Empire, I have found some links and videos to give you more information if you are interested. Please let me know it you have any better links and I will add them to this page.
1) Jaguars
Wikipedia Jaguars
Very detailed and comprehensive article.
A-Z Animals Jaguar
Aimed at a young audience, so very clear information.
2) Quetzal birds
Wikipedia Quetzals
Very comprehensive article about this amazing bird.
03/09/18 to add in twilly colourways, another Outfit of the Day collage, and some links from The Purse Forum.
I hope readers have found this exploration of Jaguar Quetzal both interesting and useful. Once again, if you find any errors or have any additional information that I could add, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Former professional school librarian, now retired through chronic illness. Trying to keep cheerful by reading, drinking lots of tea, blogging my new life, and my love of bling!
The designer DHL t-shirt deserves a KFC joke, but I can’t think of anything funny enough to beat what is actually happening. Anyway, it all goes to show that the old phrase “more money than sense” is still true!
The Librain
The Librain......retired 
Anne, Happy belated Mother's Day! That tea looks delicious and who does not love cakes! I'm glad you had a…