One for the matchy matchy enthusiasts amongst us. Yellow shoes (suede) to bookend the yellow necklace by Lara Design. Marcella of Lara Design showed me her new creation and I borrowed it to feature in this blog post. She used my old face on her website to promote the necklace. I am flattered. I paired my black summer trousers with a green top and the yellow necklace, a combination which got Marcella’s approval. You saw the trousers a couple of months before.
Loes and I strolled through an old part of Haarlem (nearly every part is old haha) to do the photo shoot.
Below: We passed a lady who had created a sweet little terrace for herself outside her house. Sitting there in the morning sun, having your coffee must be bliss. Her doggy came to greet us.
Below: Further down the street sat this cat who didn’t move an inch when I approached it with the camera.
Below: The cat wasn’t scared at all, not even of the dog.
Below: And a bit cheeky. “What is in that bag? Anything interesting? Some food?” (I always just plonk my camera tote somewhere out of sight.)
Below: Normally the suspenders just hang down, but in the top photo I am wearing one up. The suede shoes are by Marks & Spencer, bought in Newcastle when I was there in 2019 with Nikki of Midlifechic (great weekend).
Below: Loes spotted these modern houses between the old houses. Hmmm…don’t know what I think of it.
Below: The Jansstraat is the street where we headed next. I so appreciate the city of Haarlem for putting in all these flower beds. It brightens up the streets.
Below: And not just one or two.
Below: In one of the side streets we discovered some flowers, planted there by the residents. I am staring at a gigantic spider. Well, it wasn’t that big but I have arachnophobia and although I was treated for that by a psychologist, it will never completely go away. Thanks to the therapy it is much better though.
Below: “Oh good, it is not attacking me” LOL.
Below: We were near a small courtyard with old houses. I have been here before in 2019. In that post I am wearing a blue and white striped dress. Obviously I was thinner in those days as I had to give the dress away for showing my belly. Or did it shrink?? Not likely. I measured my height the other day and I have shrunk by 4 centimetres. Which means my organs are pushed to the front giving me a belly and a bulge between the belly and the boobs. Such fun. On the other hand, the loss of beauty isn’t what makes getting older hard, at least not for me. It’s the ailments, especially the fact that you know they will only get worse. Now not only have I got arthrosis in my left knee, but also in my right hand. It isn’t bad…yet. Let’s live life to its fullest while we still can.
Below: We walked on to St Janskerk (kerk = church) which is appropriately in Jansstraat (straat = street). This is the entrance, the church itself and the former monastery is hidden behind the houses. It is no longer in use as a church or monastery. It now houses the archives of the province Noord-Holland. Read more about it here.
Below: It also has a good café at the side of the monastery/church. Great cappuccino, low prices. Yay, that’s what the Dutch love. We are a stingy sort.
Below: Close-up of the necklace by Lara Design. (This one is for you José-Maria.)
Below: Here is Loes in full glory. She knows I love colour, such a happy shirt.
Below: We passed this intriguing door in Jansstraat.
Below: The door led to this…garden? Courtyard? No idea what this is or what the building is, but it was a wild oasis.
Below: Going back I looked up and saw a door high up above the entrance. Why? To haul and store goods? Again, I have no idea.
Below: In the Janstraat this house was being renovated. Maintaining a house is an ongoing thing.
Below: Returning to the car, I photographed this building. Just for your sake.
Below: And the famous Saint Bavo church in the middle of Haarlem. Well, part of it. It is a big church.
And those are the outfit and buildings for this week.
What happened in my life this week
I met Helga who doesn’t live too far from me. She came to have a coffee with me. Helga has either just returned from a holiday or she is leaving shortly for a holiday. The girl knows how to live.
Below: I was wearing a polka dot dress by Essentiel Antwerp from 2020 I think. I used the belt as a sort of scarf and put a white brooch on it. The first time I wore it as a dress but it is really too short for me.
An update on the Pee Project
Tuesday I went to hospital for several checks and filling in questionnaires, all in the pursuit of ending the loss of pee drops. I had to keep a diary for two days, listing every amount of liquid I drank and every amount of pee that followed plus how many drops of pee I lost in those days and at which time.
Of course I didn’t lose drops on those days as I didn’t leave the house, so I’d be near a WC. I mean, you don’t take two jugs with you to measure what goes in and out while shopping, right?
The questionnaire was easy, just fill in what you know and what bothers you.
In hospital I had to pee on a special toilet which collected the pee to measure it. I was ordered to drink 4 to 6 glasses of water in the two hours before the appointment and not go to the WC. Hahaha. Too risky. So, I went to the hospital an hour in advance and took a water bottle with me, which I refilled twice. My bladder was full at the right time.
Result: I pee how I should and there was nothing left in my bladder (which is good).
Next was a check by the gynaecologist to see whether that area was OK.
Result: In tip top shape, as it happened.
A bladder check wasn’t necessary anymore as I had had one the previous month.
More questions…I was lucky that all doctors and nurses were women, although I talk about these things easily, it still is more comfortable with women.
Final result? Live with it.
It appeared that the suggested operation whereby they put a little support underneath your urethra, would improve the problem from say 50% bother to 10%. But my “problem” is already only 10% thanks to all the pelvic floor exercises I did. It would be a total waste of time to operate me. Plus, such a support can have side effects like instead of peeing every 2 or 3 hours, you might have to pee every hour. Not to mention the fact that every operation is always a risk. After all, surgeons are human and humans make mistakes.
They gave me the advice to use Tena Lady pads when I go out (I can use the mini version). Or another brand which is specialised in this inconvenience. They might have less chemical stuff in them than normal daily pads, although the doctors didn’t see too many problems with the normal ones. And of course change a pad when it gets wet.
Oh well, I tried. I hope all this information is of help to some of you who might have the same issue. Isn’t getting older fun?
Below: To boost morale and because it got significantly colder that day, I wore my Big Bird outfit. (Link to original post.) The gynaecologist gave me a compliment and said I certainly didn’t look like 70.
Saw my friend Jeanne again (below). When we were young (about 16) she moved from the south of Holland up north with her family and joined my secondary school. They put her next to me in class and we have been friends since. It was a happy afternoon again.
Below: My outfit that day. It was cold, it rained and there were hailstones. This outfit with the leather jogging trousers and the two layers on top was exactly right for that day. (Link to original post.)
I picked up two gold bracelets from the jeweller, bracelets my mum gave me. They were made to fit my wrist which is smaller than mum’s. It was raining cats and dogs, which made me decide to visit a clothes shop across the road, being LAB, Women’s Clothing to wait out the sun. That was an expensive shelter. I bought two pairs of jeans (as if I don’t have any) and a very long winter coat, well more of an in-between-coat. Which means I now only have 1 purchase left for the rest of the year. And…no colour. Everything I bought is white or cream or black. The blush pink trousers are the only exception. I so love colour and I had sworn that the last 4 items were going to be bright colours. It feels like failing even if I make the challenge.
The owner of the camera shop taught me all sorts of things about my camera for an hour (you can book one-to-one lessons per half hour) and it was totally worth the money. Below one of the photos he took from me while teaching me different settings. After so much rain that day, my hair had given up.
Friday was babysitting day. In the evening our friends and neighbours Froukje and Petro took us to a restaurant for a meal. That was a great way to end the week.
Greetje
Great!!! I’ll definitely try this type of outfits
I am glad I could inspire you. Every week on Saturday (or Sunday when I am late) I publish a new post. The goal of my blog is to entertain you, make you smile or even laugh. Don’t know whether I am witty enough, but I try.
I just realized I did not comment on this post. Love it! Big Bird jacket! Yellow Jacket! yellow shoes! yellow necklace! Polka dot dress! Striped jumper! What great outfits. And of course, great scenery.
Thank you again for sharing the Pee Project. I really must get to my doctor and do something about my issues. So far it’s not bad, but I’m sure some physiotherapy would help.
You really are a positive role model.
I did well with my post then! Love that. Thanks for all your comments. Makes blogging so nice.
Bladder issues are one of those things they don’t tell women! Thank you for talking about it frankly, Greetje! I’ve been doing kegel exercises for many years, to ensure I prevent the inevitable for as long as possible.
I love your yellow bookends – that is a fab pic of your close-up face. Indeed, my dear, you do not look 70. Love your Big Bird coat!
Thank you for the amazing pictures of the architecture. What a beautiful place.
Applause for you, you wise woman. The earlier you start with those exercises the better.
Every time someone says to me “You do not look 70”, I reply with “There is nothing that plastic surgery cannot solve”. LOL
Most people think I am joking, but as you know, I did have “work done” on me. So I am cheating a bit. On the other hand, I have unlucky genes when it comes to skin.
Glad you like the outfits. It is still a struggle to come up with a new outfit, but perhaps I will get better, now that I have to because of the 10 items challenge.
Thank you for showing us that vibrant, floral streetscape, it’s incredible – such civic pride in the Netherlands. I do love the ‘big bird’ outfit and those leather/pleather pants are divine.
Gathering from your comment, I did well with this blog post. I am pleased. The big bird outfit is a bit of an acquired taste but I often get compliments on it. The trousers worn with the big bird jacket are just jeans and the trousers with the multi coloured jacket are leather.
As always Greetje, beautiful outfits, scenery, friends – what a treat. I like the playfulness of one strap up on the black trousers.
I appreciate your sharing any physical info as you never know who you may help. I still smile at the memory of myself sitting in a cafe and hearing the women at the table beside me chatting about the menopause; and the dawning realization that THAT was what was going on with me! Obviously years before it became such a discussed topic!
It must have been such a revalation hearing them talk about menopause. Nobody talked about it. I knew from my mother it was coming and I knew about hot flashes and mood swings but there is a whole lot more to know about it. I was lucky though, 1 year of hot flashes during the day only and that was it. Some people do have all the luck, right?
More lovely Dutch scenery and more lovely outfit pics! I do appreciate your openness and honesty with the slight incontinence issues. As you say, ‘such fun’ getting older! I too have the problem of weight being carried around the mid-section. This has only happened since menopause. I would like extra weight on other parts of my body, but not my stomach! Some days I look like a mongoose that swallowed a python! Always a joy to read your blog posts. 🙂
I laughed when I read “some days I look like a mongoose that swallowed a python”. Such a funny comparison. The weight increase around my waist happened when I was 55. Seven centimetres in one year. I had it liposucted. Couldn’t live with it. Here I was trying to create a bit of shape by clinching in the waist and I was turned into an apple. The surgeon did suck it away and it never came back, only left and right don’t meet in the middle at the exact same height. So if I wear an elastic belt, I look lop-sided haha. Oh well.
Greetje, you are looking great in every photo. That is my opinion. And you have such lovely friends. How important our friends are. Thank you for sharing the lovely photos and thank you for the discussion on the “pee drops.”
p.s. That gray cat is beautiful!
p.s.s. I wear bracelets from my Mother too. Love them.
It feels as if we understand each other really well. No need to thank me though as I have just as much reason to thank you for reading the blog posts and for commenting.
Hi Greetje, I love the first picture and the last one. They are my favorites. Both are smashing outfits.
I have lost 3 inches from 6 feet tall to 5’9” and it is a challenge to find clothes that fit well, so casual, oversized but fashionable clothing is the answer for me. Other health issues have cropped up (at age 83), but our health care system here in the states, being very close to 2 world class teaching hospitals and great practitioners are keeping me doing well! Exercise, good food and a good humor are essential. You seem to be practicing it all. Thanks so much for your interesting, frank, and joyful blog. I look forward to it. Good luck and best wishes to you.
Thanks Claire. The last outfit was just a throw-on LOL.
Glad you find a way to dress yourself now that you are shorter. I didn’t get your sentence about the health care system in the US. “Being very close to 2 world class teaching etc.” Do you teach at hospitals and in doing so have access to medical care?
Love everything about the picture the camera shop owner took of you!
Funny. Here am I trying to give you lovely photos of a carefully created outfit with beautiful backgrounds, but you like the photo of me with flat hair and parked cars behind me. LOL
Yes I went through all that too at the urologists, to be told I must do my pelvic floor exercises everyday. I too won’t go down surgery route unless it has to be done. I have been lazy and need to start them up again. They do make a difference. You really look fab in that first outfit and the colours just make you glow.
I got so fed up with doing the pelvic floor exercises every day. First three times a day, then twice. But I did it as long as it worked. After 5 months I disillusioned. Now I only do them at night in bed, just before I go to sleep. They are like yoga exercises and make me switch off my brain and go to sleep. Win-win.
(And thanks for the outfit compliment.)
Hi Greetje, you worry needlessly about your hair but it is perfection in the first photos with the green top, just so you know. The last striped shirt photo is really lovely, would love to know that setting. Always look forward to your posts.
I backcomb my hair because otherwise my hair hangs flat, a bit droopy. So when I am out on a photo shoot, I check my hair regularly and backcomb it if necessary. Most of the times it looks like in the photo with the striped jumper.
The settings of the photo with the striped jumper are: Aperture F10, Shuttertime 200, ISO 800.
Thanks for all the great pictures of places and outfits. Your posts always improve my Saturday mornings, although last week’s Ron Mueck sculptures gave me the creeps! Have a good week.
Hahaha…funny. Ron Mueck sculptures gave you the creeps. The blog is like a dish. You add a bit of this and the other time a bit of that. Not just following the recipe. And sometimes you don’t like an ingredient. I love his sculptures because he put so much time and detail into them, but I get your point. Glad I was able to improve your Saturday morning this week.
Very pretty green in the main outfit. I really like the polka dot dress as a tunic Greetje, and the blue bird jacket is divine. You are a poster girl for nearly 70! Take care.
I have always wanted to be a poster girl haha. Thank you very much for the compliment Lise. I just have a fascination for adorning myself. A mindless but innocent fascination.
Favorite outfit — the jeans and striped sweater. Chic!
Your bladder experience confirms why I don’t routinely go to doctors. Here in the States, we would have to pay thousands of dollars to get the final verdict: “Live with it.” I guess you bought some peace of mind.
When I read your comment I thought “Huh…jeans and striped sweater?? Did I wear that?” Had to check my own blog post to see what you meant haha.
Health care in the Netherlands is almost free of charge although an health insurance is obligarory for everyone. I don’t have to pay anything for this hospital visit, apart from my own risk amount (€385 per year and once that is used, everything else is for free). In my head I have added this amount to the health insurance fee (€2,094 per year).
I agree that with a few simple questions we could have skipped it, but that is not conscientious.
Very cute colour combination Greetje!
xxx
Thanks Yvonne. I am doing my best to create outfits and am often desperate haha. But I manage.
Dear Greetje, the big news is that my beautiful slender friend Jill has returned from a long stay in France with her new partner (the first she has been with since her beloved husband died 15 years ago), and she completely loves your blouse and looks marvellous in it. I’m so glad you sent it to me, and so glad I didn’t cut it up to re-purpsose it, as it is perfect on the right person.
The yellow necklace is spectacular on you, and especially with the green top. (Do you ever wear blue? I have a similar necklace from the Royal Academy which for some reason I’ve never worn as it never seems quite right. How I would love to send it to you, but must check in case blue is not your colour).
Haarlem:I love the flowers in the street, the fascinating angle of the cathedral, above all the opening with the high door. Don’t you think that a wagon could have gone under that arch, and the load could have been lifted conveniently from there? The Dutch are very good at lifting loads from barges on the Amsterdam canals, so this could be a land version.
I often photograph openings. They fascinate me. The secret courtyards too. Some of my favourite Dutch paintings! Openings mean more than that too, don’t they?
I believe some of your recent body changes may slowly lift and others will be a natural adjustment. Around the time of my mother’s death both these things happened for me, and I saw something similar in a male friend who had been a carer for his late wife.
It’s great that you could share about the pee-drops! I get them too. I’m hopeless at doing any kind of exercises, but any ‘incident’ usually scares me into doing the exercises again for a while.
My back too has shrunk with the unflattering results you mention — however I used to have an unusually long waist, so the upside is that I can now wear lots of suit jackets which used to be too short for me. That irksome ‘gap in the middle’ has vanished… it’s a bit of a bulge in the middle instead! I want to set up a bar so I can stretch my back a bit; in my old house I had one, but there never seems to be a suitable doorway here. Must try harder.
I am very pleased you found the right person for the multicoloured shirt. And you must send me a photo of her wearing it. I promise I won’t put it on my blog. Unless of course, she wouldn’t mind/she would appreciate that. No pressure.
Blue is a bit of a difficult colour for me. I can wear navy and dark blue but not baby blue. I don’t wear it often near my face unless the top underneath is f.i. yellow or bright pink. Why don’t you try a bit harder and find the right top for it, colour wise and shape wise.
Your assessment of the opening with the high door is a good one. You probably nailed it.
Opening can be used literally and figuratively.
My upper body is short and I have a very short waist. About 2 cm. We all have our problems haha.
Trying harder is good. You need discipline to exercise and it is so important to age well.
Fun! I really like the yellow necklace with the green top, and the suspender pants. I think I recognize some of those Haarlem streets, though there weren’t nearly as many flowers back in April. 😀
Yes, we did walk to the station through Jansstraat and indeed there weren’t any flowers in April. The city of Haarlem only put these flower beds in two months ago (I think).