Well, that was the plan.
To be fair it was only myself and the dawg who seemed keen on a brisk countryside family walk yesterday - but being a dog she's not very hot with a camera, so I dragged the rest of the clan out too. We negotiated the monstrous, filthy muddy puddle at the start of the footpath into the woods - the dog drawn to foul water like a magnet. Ditto Ruby.
Both dog and Ruby were told in no uncertain terms, that wading through that particular puddle was not an option.
I'm all for jumping up and down in muddy puddles. Just not muddy puddles the size of Lake Windermere, and especially not 2 minutes into a family walk.
Just as I thought we were safely past the black, viscous puddle, Ruby slipped my hand, turned on her heel and pegged it like Usain Bolt. I was left standing there, screaming fishwife style "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...".
She took one final look over her shoulder, threw her head back in defiant and triumphant cackle...and flew, spectacularly, face down, full on belly flop into the mire.
I was furious beyond belief. Daddy ran over and peeled her out of the mud, and there she stood, like a bog monster, covered from head to toe, coughing and spluttering mud.
On another day, I may have found this funny. Yesterday I did not. I was raging.
She had ruined her brand new dress; obliterated a pair of tights; poor Charlie (the 2 day old Steiff teddy that Daddy had brought back from Germany as a present) was also in a very sorry state; her school coat looked like she'd been on an army assault course; Daddy hastily pulled his shirt out from his belt to wipe her face and promptly tore it seam from seam, and finally the dog was not best pleased at having her walk prematurely cut short.
We trudged home (well, they trudged, I stormed), stripped her off, put her in the bath with me muttering something about 'when is that girl ever going to listen and do as she's told'.
And that was the end of that.
Instead, I shall have to show you my coat on it's hanger.
A Windsmoor bouclé (is that the right word?) beauty. I love the shape of it, the buttons, the collar, the little turned back cuffs... everything. And it only cost £8.
It's now smelling much fresher than when I bought it in the charity shop too. I took it straight to the dry cleaners because it smelt particularly fusty-musty. They informed me that dry cleaning does not get rid of odours.
Seriously, I can't be the only one who is convinced that dry cleaners simply hang your garment on a clothes hanger, pop a plastic wrapper on it and charge you a tenner.
So the coat was £8, dry cleaning cost £8.50 and I used half a bottle of Fabreze followed by two days airing outside on the washing line. Still, £16.50 for a vintage Windsmoor is not bad methinks. Let's hope it has better luck on it's next outing.
What second-hand beauties have you unearthed this week? I'd love you to grab the badge and link-up. x
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Smiling wryly in recognition about that kind of family outing. The times I've had to go straight home with a squelching wailing child are too numerous to count! Mine also had a habit of standing in puddles too deep for their wellies and standing bemused as they filled up...
ReplyDeleteStill, your coat is marvellous, despite the lack of Boden-esque shots!
Thanks Lakota! x
ReplyDeleteNice coat, shame about the mud. I had a similar experience this week. I decided to embrace the rain and took my LO out to splash in puddles and try out her new umbrella (so I could get some cute photos), she decided to run through a massive puddle, lost her footing and ended up face first in the murky puddle water, bleugh. x
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris - these things never turn out that same as we imagine them in a perfect Enid Blyton world eh?
ReplyDeleteHahahahahaha and hahahahahaha some more, sorry but that brought back so many memories of when my two were small! In fact not much has changed when I think about it, they still seem to have an unnatural obsession with mud!!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love the coat, bet it's gorgeous on and such a bargain!! Ive picked up some real treasures in my local charity shops recently but can't find a decent coat for love nor money, the one thing I really need!
Kirsten x
ooooh noooooo ! I would have been the same. Best laid plans and all that. You sound just like me, I want to have the perfect family winter walks too and they always go wrong. Three boys do not make for a clean family day out.
ReplyDeleteYour coat though is fantastic. Agree about the dry cleaners ! grrrr . xx
What a gorgeous coat! Sorry you didn't manage to photograph it as planned, but it still looks fab.
ReplyDeleteOh I remember those kind of outings well - and I reacted in the same way as you !
ReplyDeleteYour coat is gorgeous. Kemcaflipflops is right - coats seem to be thin on the ground in charity shops at the moment so yours was a real find.
Lovely coat! I always like the idea of a country walk so much more than actually venturing outside. I'm definitely a city girl!
ReplyDeleteLol sorry i can't help but giggle kids + muddy puddles always lead to messy disasters but hey they're only kids for a short while bit of muck don't hurt ...... katie still gets covered in mud when we go down the woods for walks lol
ReplyDeleteAs for the coat i love it grt find ;)
I love the coat. It's weird that dry cleaning doesn't get rid of smells.
ReplyDeletehttp://kathrynscuriouslife.blogspot.com/
Your coat is perfect in every way. The fabric and the style is wonderful. What did we do before we they invented Febreze!
ReplyDeleteI thought my husband was the only person who used the description "bog monster", so I love seeing it in print. The best laid plans, and all that.
ReplyDeleteYep, we just pay for the plastic at the cleaners. Ha. Great find.
ReplyDeleteSorry but I did laugh at the puddle incident. Lovely coat though.
ReplyDeleteI'm dubious about dry cleaning too, I tend to hand wash and hope for the best!
That coat is gorgeous!!! Nice find indeed.
ReplyDeletebeautiful coat!!
ReplyDeleteI'd have loved to come across a coat that lovely, good eye!
ReplyDeleteShame about the mud!
Jem xXx
Lovely coat and I bet it really suits you. Can't believe one puddle jump could cause so much catastrophe! I bought a second-hand coat too, and was hoping to photograph it in pretty much the style you described this weekend too - but as Mr G asked if I'd like to go on a 'romantic' stroll on the beach I didn't think he'd be best pleased if I shoe-horned in a little photo op at the same time, so left the camera at home :( Hopefully be back with all you Magpies soon - I am shopping, but just no time to photo and blog!
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