Update 01/11/19 with something new and blue!

Posted on 01/11/2019 by The Librain

Hello to the new month! This year is hurtling by so quickly. It is now very nearly two months since my stroke – I can hardly believe it – and only a week until my birthday. So, next Friday I will be showing you my presents, assuming that I receive any – 😀.

Today there is a new purchase to show you…

Heritage sweater, cable cardigan – LL Bean

I have a long-term plan for my wardrobe as I replace items that are worn, or too small or unsuitable for my current lifestyle. This year I planned to buy a new heavy-weight cardigan in navy and I found this great cable knit version in a longer length. I have been watching the LL Bean site for some time to see what was on offer, alongside other sites, of course. The other week, they had an offer on their knitwear so I pounced. If I had waited until later in the season, I think they might have sold out of the more popular sizes. Anyway, I am really pleased with the cardigan and wore it today with a navy short sleeved top from Lands’ End, indigo jeans, navy shoes and this cute gavroche, Bibliothèque, from Hermès.

Here is the outfit…

Outfit of the day 01/11/19 with Hermès’ Bibliothèque gavroche

I must apologise for not making a collage, but I am really struggling with tiredness today. So, I will wish you all a great weekend and sign out. A lovely pot of tea awaits…

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Outfit of the day 29/10/19

Posted on 29/10/2019 by The Librain

I am really trying to get up every day, even if it’s just for a few hours. Lovely Husband and I watch TV and have lunch together and sometimes he comes to bed in the afternoon, to ease his back pain, and we chat and laugh and tell each other silly jokes. Today, we have struggled a bit. Both of us have had grey moods and it has been difficult to keep our spirits up. Perhaps we will manage better tomorrow.

Today I did put on some proper clothes, instead of lying around in my pyjamas…

Outfit of the day 29/10/19 with Liberty’s Ianthe shawl

Today’s outfit:

  • Navy, cashmere v-neck jumper – John Lewis.
  • Indigo stretch jeans – Klass.
  • Cobalt blue, copper and silver resin earrings.
  • Grey suede moccasin slippers – Lands’ End.
  • Blue, navy, black and white enamel and rose gold Ianthe bangle – Liberty of London.
  • Navy, turquoise, red and beige, varuna wool shawl in Ianthe – Liberty of London. Tied very casually. This is such a lovely warm shawl.

Oh, I do have some good news to tell you: this week I have managed to read part of an ebook! This was totally impossible only a few days ago, but I adjusted the font type and  size and read for several hours on two afternoons. It really helped that the book is part of one of my favourite series! Anyway, when I have finished I will write a proper Reading Roundup post again.

Of course the next step will be to read a paper book where only my glasses can enlarge the text, but at least this goal is getting closer. At last I feel optimistic that I will be able to finish that fabulous book I was reading before the stroke… and eventually read the rest of the series when the author finishes writing it!

I think that thinking about and writing this post has cheered really me up 😀.

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Update 25/10/19 about my stroke situation

Posted on 25/10/2019 by The Librain

I don’t have an Outfit of the Day to show you as I am currently sitting up in bed, wearing pyjamas and a large woolly wrap! Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph yesterday’s clothes. I woke up late and then had to rush to get ready for the hospital visit, so there wasn’t enough time to pose! There are three large hospitals in Leicester, and we had to drive to the farthest one for the appointment. It was also pouring with rain, so I am glad that I wore a les expensive scarf (still one of my favourites), rather than one of my Hermès’.

Anyway, here is the scarf…

Feminist at Heart by Karine Assaf

A Feminist at Heart by Karine Assaf

So, what did we find out from the consultant? It was all a bit complicated by the fact that my usual treatment is done by doctors/hospitals in Leicestershire, but I was taken over the county border when I had the stroke back in September. The consultant hadn’t received a copy of my MRI scan, so had to rely on notes and Lovely Husband’s and my testimony. It seems that I have made very good progress and that I may still have further improvements to my vision. All of my other physical symptoms have now returned to my “normal”. I also still have issues with short-term memory, but that may also improve. The general advice seems to be that I have to try to do the things that have been damaged – i.e. to read books, even though this is difficult, and to use my brain as much as I can etc.

Basically the mantra is “use it or lose it”, particularly over the next few months. That is the crucial time period. I also need to keep an eye on my cholesterol level and try to get it lower. My blood pressure has always been on the low side and this is not, apparently, an issue. I am not allowed to drive either, until my eyesight improves, but I am not driving anyway because of the chronic cough. I will have to be tested by a doctor before I can resume driving. This leaves LH as the sole driver in the house as Younger Son lives in Wales (with my his car!) and Elder Son is very unlikely to learn.

Well, that all seemed to be fairly positive. I am more hopeful that I will be able to read books again. How soon that may be is not clear, but I feel more confident that the ability will come back. I am, however, still terrified of a recurrence – no-one is able to tell me, I fully understand why, but it is very frightening. We have to hope that the medication, which I will have to take for the rest of my life, does the trick!

OK, I had better stop there. I will try to post again on Tuesday, if it is possible. In the meantime, I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend.

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Outfit of the day 22/10/19

Posted on 22/10/2019 by The Librain

We have had a super day, so far. One of Lovely Husband’s nephews (he is lovely too) came to visit for a few hours, so it was great to see him and catch up with all of the family news. It also meant that LH had someone to talk to about sport for a change. All in all, we have had such a nice time and it has given us all a real boost.

As did Younger Son’s visit last week! It was so wonderful to spend time with him and just have him around. I miss him so much but, at the same time, I am happy that he lives in such a nice place and is making his own life. His visits also give me a real boost!

Outfit of the day 22/10/19 with Hermès’ Sweet Dreams scarf

Today’s outfit:

  • Silver grey v-neck cashmere jumper – Marks and Spencer.
  • Indigo jeans – Klass.
  • Cobalt blue crystal and silver earrings – Sonrisa Boutique.
  • Bluebell enamel and gold Chain bangle – Halcyon Days.
  • Cream enamel and gold Byzantine bangle – Halcyon Days.
  • Wool and silk scarf, 100cm, in blue, grey and white – Sweet Dreams – Hermès. Tied very casually using a mother-of-pearl scarf ring by MaiTai.

On Thursday I have my first hospital appointment to investigate the stroke. I will write about that, if I am able, on Friday and let you all know what is happening. I hope that I can give you positive news!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Outfits of the week 18/10/19 with a small treat!

Posted on 18/10/2019 by The Librain

I am having such a lovely week! Yes, I am still very ill and soooo tired, but I feel uplifted by the visit of Younger Son. For those of you who don’t already know: Younger Son is in his late twenties now and is highly intelligent, funny, supportive and very loving, like his older brother. He has had a week’s leave from work and came home to help us out with a few tasks that needed doing and also to sleep a lot! It is such a pleasure to spend time with him. The house feels happier and lighter with him here 😀.

My only passing sadness is that I have been unable to go out for a meal with him as I am still struggling since the stroke. But, that is balanced with the feeling that there has been a distinct improvement in my eyesight over the past few weeks. There are fewer “blind spots” and my vision is much clearer. My memory for recent events is still very poor, but I have got a hospital appointment for next week, so I hope that I will be given some positive news then.

Anyway, here are two outfits that I have worn this week:

Outfits of the week 14-18 October 2019

I am not going to list the clothes and jewellery for each outfit, but I did wear both my new grey jeans and my older dark blue jeans with this lovely grey cashmere v-neck from Marks and Spencer. Both of the silk scarves are from Hermès. The gavroche on the left is Baobab Cat and the 90cm carré on the right is Le Jardin de la Maharani, tied in a cowboy-cowl knot. Don’t both of these look great against a grey background? I think so!

Liberty of London Ianthe enamel bangle

As a kind of consolation prize for the Liberty Ianthe pyjamas that I returned this week, I bought a lovely Ianthe hinged bangle that I found on eBay. This scaled down version of my favourite pattern works so well and the colours (blue, navy, black and white) with rose gold will go with so much in my wardrobe. It also matches the Halcyon Days bangles and will compliment many of these too. I am so pleased with this purchase!

Well, that’s all for this week. I hope that you all have a great weekend and I will try to post next Tuesday.

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Update 15/10/19 with a sad disappointment!

Posted on 15/10/2019 by The Librain

Since my mid-twenties, I have loved a particular pattern from Liberty of London. In fact “loved” is not quite the right word. “Adored” is much closer to the truth! My sister introduced me to Liberty when we both bought skirt lengths with scarves in Liberty Varuna wool back in the 1980s. On that occasion the pattern was the beautiful Hera with peacock feathers. In fact I still have the scarf and have photographed it for this blog, and I now have newer silk scarves, shawls and jewellery in the Hera pattern.

Outfit of the day with Liberty’s Hera shawl

Outfit of the day with Liberty’s Hera shawl

But my first Liberty love is the Ianthe design. I am fortunate to have a scarf, a shawl and also jewellery in Ianthe and have continued to watch the Liberty website in case further items should be available.

Ianthe silk scarf by Liberty of London

Ianthe silk scarf by Liberty of London

Liberty of London - Ianthe varuna wool shawl

Liberty of London – Ianthe varuna wool shawl

When I had the stroke I promised myself a treat – well, why not? Lovely Husband is trying to convince me that I have enough (enough!!!) scarves, so I decided to look on Liberty’s website and see what they had to offer.

And I found…

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O.M.G!!!

Sooooooo lovely, I thought. Well, the parcel arrived (I had bought the pyjamas in two sizes just in case), and…

Pyjamas in Ianthe by Liberty of London

I didn’t like them on me!

Somehow, although the fine cotton fabric was lovely, the scaled up pattern didn’t work on short, dumpy me. I was really upset as I had hoped that the pyjamas would be gorgeous. So they are going back!

(I might have bought myself a small consolation item…) I will show it to you as soon as it arrives 😀.

Younger Son is visiting us this week, so I may not be able to post again for a while. We shall see. I really must thank you for visiting my blog and give additional huge thanks to those who have commented!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Outfit of the day 08/10/19

Posted on 08/10/2019 by The Librain

I managed to go out today! It feels like a small miracle, to be honest. My health has been improving slowly – Lovely Husband realised that my vision was a little better this afternoon because I managed to read something on the TV that I wouldn’t have been able to see a week or so ago. I still have a lot of sight problems, but maybe things are a little clearer. Fingers crossed!

However, I have been really scared to go out of the house. I really tried during the last fortnight, but couldn’t bring myself to step outside. Anyway, today I geared myself up, put on a nice outfit, and we ran some errands in our local town. I couldn’t quite manage going for a cuppa, so we came home instead, but I do feel happy that I have been out.

Outfit of the day 08/10/19 with Hermès’ A L’Ombre des Pivoines scarf

Today’s outfit:

  • Pale grey cashmere, v-neck, jumper – Marks and Spencer.
  • Mid grey jeans – Lands’ End.
  • Navy suede ankle boots – Duo Boots.
  • Owl earrings – Sainsbury’s Tu.
  • Navy enamel and gold Agama bangle – Halcyon Days.
  • Silk scarf, 90cm, in glacier blue, grey, navy and red – A L’Ombre des Pivoines – Hermès. Tied in a cowboy cowl knot.

I will try to post again later in the week as I have some lovely items to show you! No hints, you will just have to wait!!!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Outfit of the day 02/10/19

Posted on 02/10/2019 by The Librain

I am sorry that this post is a day late. We had an extremely difficult and trying weekend and the issues spilled over into the beginning of the week. I won’t say much more, but, for once, they were not anything to do with my health but concerned Elder Son and Lovely Husband. We hope that things are now resolved, but, in this household, you never know for certain!

Anyway, I actually put on some proper clothes today, hoping that we would go out in the sunshine. That didn’t work out for a number of reasons, but I did manage to use the laptop computer this afternoon! It was very frustrating because I had forgotten how to use it. My post-stroke brain couldn’t remember for ages until my mental filing system finally began to work. Argh!

Well, I did get there in the end. Here is the outfit that I put on today – my hair is far too long – eek!

Outfit of the day 02/10/19 with Liberty’s Ianthe scarf

Today’s outfit:

  • Teal cotton, crew neck, short sleeved top – Lands’ End.
  • Teal cotton, crew neck cardigan – Lands’ End.
  • Navy jeans – Klass.
  • Blue topaz and silver earrings – Blue Nile.
  • Teal and gold, faux snake, leather wrap bracelet – Aspinal.
  • Silk scarf, 90cm, in blue, burgundy, green, orange and pink – Ianthe – Liberty of London. Tied in an asymmetric wrap.

I am feeling very excited because the sequel to Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments, is now available for me to download as an audiobook from my local library’s website. I think I will wait until the house is quiet before I begin. Can’t wait!

I hope to be able to post again on Friday – you never know, I might have an outing to tell you all about – fingers crossed!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Outfit of the week 27/09/18

Posted on 27/09/2019 by The Librain

Well, you have to laugh! I have worn only pyjamas all week, apart from yesterday, when I actually put on some proper clothes 😂. I thought that I would be able to go out for a while with Lovely Husband, but I felt too nervous to leave the house, so I have stayed indoors all week.

My days are very repetitive, since I had the stroke:

  • Wake up around 6.00 to 7.30 and quickly eat a banana (prevents me from being sick).
  • Breakfast about 8.00 – porridge and tea (gallons!).
  • Huge pile of meds 10.00.
  • Downstairs 11.00 to 11.30. Sit in lounge with LH and watch some recorded TV programmes.
  • Lunch 12.00 with another gallon of tea.
  • Try to do a little housework – very simple and easy stuff, then perhaps more TV.
  • Back to bed about 14.30. Read as best I can, watch TV on the iPad, listen to audiobooks and drink more tea.
  • Snack around 16.00 – more tea (really!) plus an apple and a small piece of cheese.
  • Dinner at 18.30-ish – in bed watching TV.
  • More meds at 21.00 and 22.00. And more tea… probably.
  • Return to iPad for further entertainment until bedtime at any time up to 12.00.

Of course, this is interspersed with visits to the bedroom from Elder Son (frequently, on his days off), who wants attention/entertainment/comfort; from LH for chats or an afternoon snooze (we are getting old!).

Let’s hope my eyesight improves and I feel safe enough to leave the house next week. In the meantime – thank goodness for my iPad!

Outfit of the day 27/09/19 with Liberty Hera scarf

For some reason, I put on some clothes yesterday in an attempt to feel more normal. This was the outfit:

  • Cobalt blue, v-neck, long sleeved, cotton top – Lands’ End.
  • Navy jeans – Klass.
  • Cobalt blue crystal earrings – Sonrisa Boutique.
  • Blue and white enamel and gold “Owl” bangle – Halcyon Days.
  • Blue, grey and white silk scarf – Hera – Liberty of London. Tied in a simple bias fold.

The top, one of two that I bought a month or so ago, is a lovely and versatile addition to my wardrobe. It will be useful between seasons and I will wear it both with and without an additional cardigan or jumper, or even in bed!

Anyway, that’s all for now. I hope that you have a great weekend and huge thanks to those of you who have left such lovely messages on this blog or on other sites. You are really helping to keep my spirits up (so I expect my husband and son are very grateful to you too!).

Love, thanks and best wishes!

Anne

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Update 24/09/19 with some new purchases

Posted on 24/09/2019 by The Librain

Well, health wise I am more or less the same as I described in my last post. I am getting a bit stronger and have managed to contribute to the household a little more. My eyes, however are about the same and it is difficult for me to read…

But that won’t stop me!

I am such a reading fanatic that I will try almost anything. A lot of websites are OK, such as Facebook, Mumsnet and The Purse Forum, so I read those. I am also amusing myself by watching TV with Lovely Husband and on my iPad. I can’t read books yet, but hopefully that will come.

(By the way, please excuse any repetition. My memory is badly affected by the stroke.)

Anyway, I thought I would show you some purchases that I have made in the last weeks:

1) New slippers – I somehow managed to lose my lovely well-worn navy Lands’ End ones in the hospital. It was all so confusing that I lost track of them. Almost as soon as I got back home, I searched the site for some new ones and found similar slippers in grey at a fraction of the price for their navy ones. So, grey it was!

Slippers in grey by Lands’ End

2) Grey jeans – somehow, we managed between us to return the jeans that I received just before my stroke and exchange for the next size up. It’s horrible to admit that I have to wear this size, but needs must. I really like the colour and they will be great with many items in my wardrobe and accessory drawers.

Mid-rise jeans in Imlay Grey by Lands’ End

Sorry, if these new items are not very exciting, but they are both useful additions for me and the jeans should encourage me to stop wearing pyjamas everyday!

I hope I am well enough to write another post later on in the week. I will try to post twice per week for the meantime, until I feel stronger and can read more clearly!

Best wishes,

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