Finally I can wear the Kenzo top I bought in Paris (actually it was a present from my husband Ron). I loved the pattern but the sleeves were a bit too short for my liking. Now I am wearing a top underneath it with polka dot sleeves and voilà, problem solved. Well, this problem in any case.
For today’s background Loes and I found the archives of our province or better said, the premises of the archives which is an old and pretty building. (See more photos here.)
Below: We didn’t have enough distance to get the whole building in one shot but it gives you an idea.
Below: We started with the statue of Laurens Janszoon Coster, allegedly the inventor of the art of printing. I am wearing my lime duster coat which is great when the weather is fine but a little bit nippy.
Below: Loes in front of one of the outbuildings.
Below: Yes please, give me a green door any time. The golden bag is a gift from my friend Marianne. The sequinned sneakers are by Essentiel Antwerp (a few years ago). The blue with white striped trousers are quite old and by Marco Polo, which, I think, is a Dutch brand.
Below: The green door is part of this building.
Below: Through the gate we went in search of another location.
Below: We passed this front door with a beautiful tree of life on it and other ornaments.
Below: This house looked very nice and inviting.
Below: As I sat down on the bench, the daughter of the owner arrived and she had no objections to me sitting there. Nice woman.
Can you see that I had just ‘fluffed up my hair’? Bright, big and shiny it is again.
Below: We turned a corner and were surprised by all this gorgeous green in the street. The photo below shows another ‘problem’ with this top…it is rather short and thus revealing my little bum. Well, I have decided it is what it is, so I better accept it.
Below: “Take a photo of the front instead” I said to Loes haha.
Below: And in walked little kitty cat.
Below: She (or he) was clearly everyone’s friend.
Below: As we were taking this shot, an elderly lady stopped and we got talking. She had worked in the fashion industry decades ago for a lot of well-known Dutch designers. I love such unexpected chats.
Below: Checking the jewellery. Sometimes I am like a Christmas tree. I know it is not sophisticated to wear too much jewellery, but nah…I don’t care.
Below: Happy face. The eyebrows with permanent make-up are still very dark. I do hope they will become lighter soon.
Below: Loes and I on the terrace having a cappuccino.
Below: This was our view: the big market square. There is a lot more space between the tables now.
Below: And how about this little puppy? So adorable.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday. We went to my mum and took Indonesian food with us. As always, a nice visit.
Sunday. That was a quiet day but I did dress up as we went for a drink at Anja’s to say farewell. (Original post here.) Drank one glass too many. Had a lot of belly ache that night. Found out on Thursday what it was.
Monday: This was supposed to be a jolly day: my last check-up with the piercer and back to wearing my earrings again. Alas…I have to wait another 4 weeks. My earlobes are healing really well, but one of them is still ‘not quite there’. BUMMER.
As I returned from my visit to the piercer in Amsterdam, it had started to rain profusely which was not predicted. I had left my bike at the station and wasn’t wearing a coat. Ron to the rescue!! He picked me up with his car. The sweetheart.
In the afternoon I visited an ex-colleague, a lovely woman who lives not too far from me. Very chatty afternoon. We will do it again.
Tuesday. Ron dropped me off at the station and I got on my bike for some exercise and some shopping. When I got home I got really ill: belly ache, knee ache, back ache, headache and a little bit nauseous, so I went to bed with a pain killer. Felt really bad for a couple of hours and then suddenly everything was gone and I did ironing and sewing, being my old self again. Wore old clothes.
Wednesday. Woke up with the back ache and the belly ache. AAAggghhh, if this is what being retired means, I thank you kindly but no thank you. Thinking it was my back, I had booked a session with my physiotherapist early in the morning.
Then I just took another pain killer and went to meet my friend Katrien in Leiden (you saw this gorgeous town last week). Ron dropped me off at the station and later in the day picked me up again. Katrien took photos of me and I of her, so you will see them next week. She took me shopping and financially that was a bad idea. Came home with very nice items but I need to get a grip on my spending. I know I keep saying this but not putting my money where my mouth is (pun intended). Had the back ache all day.
Thursday. Had such a bad night, pain kept me awake. Saw the doctor in the morning: most likely it is a kidney stone. Oh brother. It was a horrendously painful day. I crawled more than walk. Even had to visit the hospital early evening to get stronger pain killers. Went to bed fearing a similar night as the one before.
Friday. Such a strange experience to wake up after a good night’s sleep and feeling no pain at all. Can you image my relief, my joy? Then my doctor called to ask me how I was doing. He told me that, yes, it could be that the kidney stone was gone, but it could also be that it wasn’t and that the pain would return. Again: oh brother. But let’s be positive though. The rest of the day I took it easy in very loose clothes.
Greetje
Oh, gosh, a kidney stone! I hope it’s better now, Greetje! That would have been so scary!
I love your Kenzo top – I have a few pieces by them that I’ve found, but you don’t see anything in the shops by them here. I agree, you have a nice little bum. 🙂
What a cute little kitty! I love the pictures with her. I also love that red trim on the house, and what a lovely way filled with greenery.
I hope you have a great weekend!
The kidney stones have nearly all passed. I just need one pain killer a day and then I am hunky dory. So it will disappear completely as there isn’t a stone hiding anywhere (echo proved that).
Glad you liked the post and all the goings-on. Haven’t seen anything from you in my mail. I’ll check.
classic Greetje that mixes the chic with the casual. That coat remains a stunner.
I hope the pain doesn’t return and that you get this resolved soon. Wishing you lots of strength!
Thanks Sylvia, yep, that coat is here to stay.
I am nearly there with that kidney stone. Just some (but not much) after pain.
Ron may be getting tired of looking at beautiful buildings but I am not. You have such a variety of lovely locations for photos to choose from.
I’m sorry to hear you have been in pain – kidney stones are terrible, and I hope yours goes away on it’s own.
I am afraid that I am running out of lovely locations in Haarlem. Because my photographers, understandably, don’t want to travel far, we usually are here. But it is a small town.
When I have to cycle for exercise I am frantically on the look-out for new spots.
Tomorrow I will get an X-Ray and such, to see about the kidney stone as the pain is still not totally gone. A lot better thank god, but not gone.
I love how you find serendipity when you and your friends go on photo shoots. It is so interesting to see your photos, laugh a little at your comments, and just enjoy the whole blog. p.s. the lime duster is great on you.
It is not just serendipity, it is also a case of searching. But I agree, we often are surprised.
Thank you for your compliments, I will keep those posts coming for you to enjoy.
So sorry about the kidney stones; know from experience how painful. Hope it is all gone soon.
Love your architectural and garden photos as well as the clothes and people–unlike Ron, we don’t see them every day here in modern suburbia. Enjoy your blog so much.
Tomorrow X-Ray etc. so I hope to know more about the kidney stone then.
As for the architectural things I show.. why not? They are a prettier background than a blank wall. And if they bore you, just scroll passed them, right? Thanks for your compliment, always brings me great joy.
Love, love, love all the scenic locations you find! You wear the most interesting shoes, especially your sneakers. Reading your post each week is like a mini-holiday with all my favorite things: lovely old buildings, flowers, and great fashion!
Mission accomplished as far as you are concerned, meaning I have been able to entertain you.
Thank you for all the lovely compliments. I am pretty choosy as far as sneakers are concerned. I don’t like the fashionable bulky ones.
Wonderful architecture. Great yellow coat. perfect proportions.
Passing a kidney stone is no child’s play!! Morphine helps!! CBD aka marijuana helps as well. Hopefully, it shall pass quickly.
Thanks for the compliments and the tips. Haarlem, being an old town that survived a lot of wars, still has so many beautiful buildings from the past. Often dating back to 1600.
The perfect proportions compliment pleases me very much as that is a difficult subject for me.
Kidney stone: I have a pain killer with morphine in it. Marijuana I will not use anymore. Last time I did that, I was 21 or 22 and got paranoid. I was never a heavy user, quite the contrary, but after that one experience I stopped it all together. Besides, I stopped smoking cigarettes when I was 25, so no tobacco and the pure stuff is too much.
I just love this outfit on you! What a fun top! It was so nice to chat yesterday, and I hope your kidney stones are “history.” Beautiful locations, as always. I really like those red shutters.
No, the kidney stones are still leaving my body, but the pain is a hell of a lot less. If they aren’t gone in two days, I will get X-rayed.
And as far as the chat goes: ditto my dear.
Ron is getting fed up with my beautiful locations, but my readers aren’t. At least, not that I know of.
Prachtige vrouw om te zien bijdeze een compliment Greetje
Fijne avond !!
Dank je wel.
Hi Greetje
Hope that kidney stone has gone – poor you, frightening!
Love the printed shirt and jeans. The pearl necklace is rather gorgeous too.
Hope you feel better this week.
Lindax
Well, the excruciating pain is gone for which I am very, very thankful. I am left with a nagging pain in my back and sometimes stomach. But not all the time. If it isn’t gone in two days, I will get X-rayed and such. These things do happen and to all of us.
Glad you like my outfit. Thought of it myself this time (proud me). The pearl necklace is from a vintage fair.
Greetje – Hope you’re feeling better very soon. If it’s any consolation, your outfit at the beginning of the post is super cute and looks great on you – from front and back!
Take care.
Anne
That is very kind of you to say Anne. I know, we women are our own worst critics and that has got to stop. I am on that road otherwise I would never have worn it like this. But it is still a bit scary.
I love the print on your shirt. The match between your yellow jacket and your jeans is perfect. Precious photos of your country and precious photos of it. I love the close-up and the photo of you viewed from the back, where you can once again see that you and jeans are a perfect match.
I never would have thought you would like this outfit. But thank you.
As for my back…. I have a very little bum. I still remember your comment on my blog post of November 22, 2012 on those trousers with a dropped crotch and no bum whatsoever. You said: “the back of these pants is not very nice, perhaps you need a little more Greetje (I apologize)”. I thought that was SO funny. I still smile when I think about it.
Today I wasn’t thinking about your butt! 🤣🤣🤣
Whahahaha… Oh OK, now I understand what you mean. The way I read your comment was very funny.
Greetje, love your fluffy and bright hair. Pfffft to those hair extensions!
I know, my hair looks great… in this photo. But it is like a house of cards. So please don’t do ‘Pffftft’, as it might go down like a soufflé haha.
Greetje, you have a very nice little bum!
I love your blog stories when you travel round the picturesque corners of your locality, and seeing the interesting architecture.
Glad you told me that. My husband was getting tired with the sight of yet another beautiful building. But well, he lives here.
Special thank you for complimenting me on my ‘nice little bum’. I call it ‘my scrawny little arse’, but I am rude haha.