Hello and welcome to all of my friends and visitors! It is now four weeks since I was diagnosed with shingles and it has taken this long for me to even begin to feel better. There is still a long way to go, but I am going to try to resume my usual posting pattern.
I am stuck in bed, with both Lovely Husband and Elder Son waiting on me hand and foot as I am too weak to be able to go downstairs. Obviously, once the worst of the pain and itching have eased off a little further, I will need to make myself get up and do more, so that I can rebuild some of my strength. After all, I actually need to get dressed and wear some of my beautiful scarves!
Ebook reading has now resumed as I can concentrate much better, so I will restart the Reading Roundup posts on Wednesday with some of the books I have enjoyed. On Friday, I have a gorgeous purchase to show you, so I need to take some photos before then.
OK, that is all that I can manage to write for now, so I will leave you with this…
Screenshot from @met_greekroman – accessed 23/01/23
Hello friends and visitors! Unfortunately I am still too unwell to write a proper post. It is now three weeks since I first noticed the symptoms of Shingles. I am a little better than a week ago in that I can concentrate enough to read ebooks, but I am not yet able to write a post in my usual style.
So, I am extending this break by a further week and I hope that I improve enough to be able to compose a post about my latest arrival for next Monday. At the very least, I will try!
I leave you with this beautiful image from Twitter:
Screenshot from @ArysPan on Twitter – accessed 26/02/23
The sculpture must have been wonderful in its day! To have seen the full wings and the head would have been stunning, I am sure.
Today’s post is a quick update to keep my lovely visitors and friends informed.
I am unable to return to regular posting as I am still too ill to think clearly. Over two weeks ago, I noticed the symptoms of what has turned out to be a serious case of shingles on top of my usual long list of unpleasant medical conditions. This was confirmed by both a doctor and a paramedic who were called out on subsequent days as I became more ill.
Even now, I am in considerable pain and unable to concentrate. I really hope that all of the nasty stuff fades away as quickly as possible so that I can return to my normal pattern of posting. There is something lovely to show you!
You can tell how unwell I am because I cannot even read an ebook!
Anyway, that’s all I can manage to write for now. I hope that I am able to post properly very soon. Huge thanks are owed to Lovely Husband and Elder Son for looking after me.
Apologies, but I don’t have any idea when I will be able to post again. Unfortunately, I have yet another health issue that has hit me this week and I am very ill indeed.
The last few days have been fairly peaceful, which is just as well because I have been suffering from an extra helping of pain. Usually, my multiple conditions result in debilitating exhaustion and discomfort rather than outright pain, but, at the moment, I am really struggling with both excruciating acid reflux and awful back ache.
But, I shouldn’t moan and complain!
So, I will try not to.
Instead, I will post this which I found online and found really thought-provoking:
Facebook screenshot accessed 25/12/22
Now I am going to settle down with my book so that I have something to write about for Wednesday’s Reading Roundup!
During my time away from the blog, I decided to have a change from navy and grey and, instead, selected my gorgeous bright blue cashmere v-neck from John Lewis. This is such a lovely colour and I have several scarves that look wonderful with it. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get out of bed very often over the past week or so and I have just two photos to show you. I have worn other jumpers but looked too ill to photograph!
Here are the two images that are reasonably OK…
Outfit of the day 25/01/23 with Hermès’ BibliothèqueOutfit of the day 28/01/23 with Liberty of London’s Hera
Here are larger images of the scarves. This gallery looks rather misleading, I realise, as the Bibliothèque is a smaller 45x45cm size and the Hera is much larger at 90x90cm! I don’t have a high resolution image of the Hera.
Bibliothèque by Hermès Hera by Liberty of London
In addition, here are larger images of the lovely lapis lazuli necklace by Bill Skinner and the navy and teal double sided enamel scarf rings by MaTai:
Necklace by Bill SkinnerScarf rings by MaiTai
I will try to make an effort to wear more of my scarves over the next week and pair them with my cashmere or cotton sweaters, depending on the temperature. These beautiful accessories should be worn and not remain in their boxes!
Welcome to the first Reading Roundup post for February!
I have been struggling to read even ebooks over the last few weeks. My various health issues have been flaring up and these, together with difficult family matters, have resulted in a lack of ability to concentrate on reading books. I have been able to read online, but have found it too difficult to follow and remember complex plots and character names.
So, I only have one book to write about today. This is it…
Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Regular visitors to my Wednesday posts will know that I am a huge fan of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s books. So far, I have read most of his science fiction works and have praised them on here and Goodreads. A short time ago, I decided to try his earlier fantasy writing and Empire in Black and Gold, #01 Shadows of the Apt, was the book that I chose.
Here is the blurb:
“The days of peace are over . . .
The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace and prosperity for decades: bastions of civilization and sophistication. That peace is about to end.
In far-off corners, an ancient Empire has been conquering city after city with its highly trained armies and sophisticated warmaking . . . And now it’s set its sights on a new prize.
Only the ageing Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see the threat. It falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people – as soon a tide will sweep down over the Lowlands and burn away everything in its path.
But first he must stop himself from becoming the Empire’s latest victim.”
I finished reading the book a few minutes ago and wrote the following response on Goodreads with a rating of four out of five stars:
This was an enjoyable read that improved as the story unfolded. I struggled with it a bit at the beginning. Getting used to the strange insect/human crossovers was quite odd to start with, but the characters began to interest me more and more as the plot became increasingly exciting. As is usual with this brilliant author, his amazing imagination is fully on display in this book. I felt so drawn in to his world.
I understand that there are ten books in the series, which will keep me going for a while! On the whole, I prefer Tchaikovsky’s science fiction writing, but, perhaps this series will win me over. After all, these are his earlier books.
As I read more books in the series, I will take a break now and then with other books, otherwise it might drive some of you lovely visitors away! I had better go and see what is waiting for me on the Library ebook app…
Welcome back everyone! This last week has flown by and I am now ready to resume the usual blogging schedule. The visit from Younger Son was very productive as well as generally lovely. All three of my “chaps” worked very hard to clear out accumulated clutter from the shed, house and garage. Unfortunately, the skip wasn’t quite big enough, so we will have to repeat the process later in the year. Still, it has been very good for us to clear away so much.
I wasn’t able to help to the extent I would have liked. Mind you, it was probably for the best! I find it so difficult to throw anything away. I get particularly sentimental about items from when my sons were children or from happier days when Lovely Husband and I were fitter and stronger. Strangely enough, I was pleased when several people asked to take things from the skip. At least those items will be used. It just means that the things that remain are truly unwanted and really rubbish!
Now, I will cheer myself up with a lovely image:
Screenshot of post by Archaeology and Art from Facebook – accessed 14/01/23
That carving is utterly amazing, isn’t it?
Back again on Wednesday for this week’s Reading Roundup post.
OK, I don’t usually post on a Tuesday, but I just want to inform regular visitors that I am taking a break from the blog until Monday 30/01/23. Younger Son is visiting to help us do a huge clearout of all the clutter we have accumulated in the shed, garage and house over the last few years. I also want to spend some time with him.
I will leave you with this…
Screenshot from @ArysPan on Twitter – accessed 31/12/22
Well, I don’t think that this has ever happened to me during my “romance” with Hermès scarves! I usually look carefully at the threads on the Purse Forum as a new season unfolds, watching for the first clear images of each design in all of its colourways. Then something seems to click for me. One or two scarves stay in my mind and I start to think of how I might wear them and with which clothing and jewellery. Eventually, my choice becomes clear and then I pounce.
At the beginning of the Autumn/Winter 2022 I did pounce! The scarf that I chose was Sous le Charme d’Orphée by Alice Shirley (see the Scarf of the Moment post), but another began to ease its way into my mind. I kept noticing the lovely modelling photos on tPF and occasionally checked the Hermès website to see the different colourways in stock. Then, just before the price increase hit the UK on January 1st, I placed my order for…
Robe Légère, designed by Théo de Gueltzl, 90cm, silk twill, colourway #05 rose hortensia/bleu/vert, Ref. H003904S 05.
Robe Légère by Théo de Gueltzl for Hermès
Description
The scarf is a beautiful floral design. Against a plain background, a magical horse made from flowers rears up proudly. The blooms fly away from its mane and hooves in colourful array. The horse’s body makes a strong diagonal across the background with blossoms in the blank spaces. On the smaller sizes, just the head is shown.
The background colour of my chosen colourway, #05, is a gorgeous soft pink with a contrast hem in a slightly darker shade. The flowers are in subtle, muted hues of a darker pink, blue, green, yellow and teal. The effect is very light, springlike and joyful.
The whole design is a contrast between energy, strength, excitement and beauty, whimsy, gaiety.
Colourways
These are the colourways for the Autumn/Winter 2022 silk twill 90cm scarves. I have added in the codes to help those of you who wish to purchase this scarf. Further down the post, you will find the colourways for the 45cm gavroche size and also the beautiful and special embroidered 45cm and 90cm versions. The cashmere/silk giant triangle colourways produced for the Spring/Summer 2025 season are at the end of this section.
Please note: as I have compiled this post very late in the scarf season, the images below have been taken from a variety of sources and, therefore, are not all of the same size. Do check the sizes written below each section.
Here are some closeups of my scarf in a slideshow format:
How I wear the scarf
As I have only just bought the scarf, I have not had much opportunity to wear it, however, I have made one collage. I think this will look great with my navy items and, perhaps, with silver grey. In addition, I was thrilled when I bought a pink jumper from Lands’ End and discovered that it toned beautifully with this scarf. What luck!
Outfit of the day 09/01/23 with Hermès’ Robe Légère
Scarf ties
I have tried on this scarf in a variety of ways. At the moment, as it is so new, the silk fabric is very crisp and stiff so doesn’t fall easily into soft folds. Anyway, you can get the general idea of how it looks when worn. The scarf rings are by MaiTai.
Robe Légère scarf ties
I honestly did try to take decent photos without my face showing! Unfortunately, I simply couldn’t get the light/colour balance right. Anyway, you can see the following tied, clockwise from the top left: asymmetric wrap, criss-cross knot, necklace knot, cowl knot, half bow knot, cowboy cowl knot, and simple bias fold.
Background information
There is some information about the designer of the scarf, Théo de Gueltzl:
Théo de Gueltzl https://www.theodegueltzl.com/ His official site, with plenty of his art works. I found this rather difficult to navigate!
It may also be worth looking at his Instagram posts. Théo de Gueltzl collaborated on the Hermès scarf A L’Ombre des Pivoines with Octave Marsal. I have written a Scarf of the Moment post about this scarf as I bought it a few years ago.
Here are a couple of videos about the Robe Légère design:
Watch this next one from 3.44 to see the Robe Légère 90cm size. This series of videos also has further sections about the design in other formats:
I hope readers have found this exploration of Robe Légère 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.
Love and best wishes,
Anne
Updated 06/12/24 to add information about the cashmere/silk giant triangle colourways.
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 Librain
The Librain......retired 
[…] If you would like to read more about this scarf, here is my Scarf of the Moment post with…