Mom-Day at Gorge Park in Autumn Shades, and Kittens

Welcome back to Mom-Day! Today, Mom and I met up and strolled Gorge Park again, last visited - shockingly! - over a year ago, here in October 2024!

Let's go again when it's warmer - we're due for a spring visit here, maybe when the cherry blossoms are out? 

Outfit time, and then loads of pics from our walk - and yes, kitten pictures! 

I started with the boots, then the skirt, then the top. Boom! Outfit! 

• Cotton sweater - J. Crew, thrifted; last worn here in November 2024 with purple and a too-mini skirt
• Skirt - Soaked in Luxury, Dots; last seen here in July with a silk blazer and sandals
• Boots - Original Mittwoch, Fluevog; last worn here (2nd outfit) in September with pink and orange
• Leather trenchcoat (below) - vintage 70s, thrifted; last seen here in November

Mom's seen this skirt before. It's a favourite, and I wear it all year round.

I have a t-shirt under my cotton sweater for warmth. 

The skirt is nicely swooshy.

And all those colours! It goes with a lot in my closet. 

Just in case it rained, I wore my leather trenchcoat. 

Hooray, it did not! 

Done up, which is how most of the world saw me. 

I took the bus out to Tillicum Mall, misunderstanding Mom's directions. She found me and we drove over to Gorge Park. 

Accoutrements:

This scarf was a nice match to all the autumn shades in my outfit.

• Bucket hat - Picabo, vintage 90s, vintage fair
• Silk scarf - Jay Sutton, vintage 70s, thrifted
• Purse - Ted Lapidus, vintage 90s, vintage fair
• Suede gloves - Dots

The stuff: 

Comfy boots for buses and walking.

Brass bling: 

Mom spotted her cuff right away. 

• Brass/leather/plastic belt - Suzi Roher, thrifted
• Brass/leather cuff - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Stone bangle - consignment
• Stone ring - thrifted
• Feather ring - Fossil, thrifted
• Brass ring - vintage mall
• Bronze ring - P. Sarpaneva, Finland, vintage expo
• Brass/bone/wood necklace - consignment
• Brass/wood earrings - LA Express, 1994

Here's our stroll. 

We walked from the parking lot over to the area with the (closed for the season) Nature House. The weeping willow still had some yellow leaves, but most of the colour was provided by the red lamp posts that dot the walkway along the Gorge Waterway. 

Some of this area has been fenced off to allow some of the native plants and fauna to grow back. 

Although we did not walk right down to the water, we could have! This is salt water, as an arm of the ocean, a continuation of the Inner Harbour downtown, that leads out to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which connects to the Pacific Ocean. 

Four generations of our family have visited this spot and swum in this water. 

It was very still, although we could see the ripples from the tide going out. 

Rowers heading against the tide. 

I lived in that neighbourhood on the other side from birth to age 4. 

Such a showy tree. 

Love the pops of red! 

Mom laughing at a joke an elderly gent told to us.

A look at her pretty snowflake brooch on the faux suede jacket. 

There were squirrels everywhere, bounding around, looking for food. 

This one is used to people, and came over to see if we had anything. We did not, so she scampered off. 

More red lamp posts, glimpsed through the trees. 

Trees all the way down to the water. 

I recorded buffleheads (a pretty duck) and coots in my bird app, Merlin.

I also got the Bird of the Day (a crow, so easy). 

Looking across at the Gorge neighbourhood.

We watched a cormorant dive under, looking for fish. 

Postcard perfect. 

I like swinging the chains. 

I noticed tiny mushrooms! 

They're growing in the moss on the edge of the path. 

There's the bridge and the reversing falls. 

We rested on the bench on the far right for a while, taking selfies and chatting. 

It smelled cold and crisp and salty. 

Very peaceful. 

There's the cormorant, right in the centre.

She would dive, then come up much closer to the bridge, then fly back against the tide and repeat. 

Our view. 

So lovely! 

Time to head back - I'm hungry. 

What a wonderful day! I so appreciate the time Mom and I have together. 

Looking festive in your cabled sweater, Mom! 

I love you! 

And here are the kitten pictures. Barnabas sitting on me last night (L was out - he is the preferred sleeper-on-er). 

"I love you!"

Such a sweet boy! 

Whateley flopped in front of the bathroom in protest of being locked out. 

"Keep the door open, or the toilet roll gets it!"

He did it again last night. We only forgot for a second! 

Two little monsters while I was getting ready in the morning. 

"I like that ball."     "I'll wrestle you for it."

And then wrestling ensued. 

After they've been fed, they are little angels again...for a while. 

"I like this spot. And these spots."

Whateley is much happier now that he has his own spot and be close to us as we write, and to Barnabas, who is crashed on his chair. 

"Wake me up when it's dinner time again."

I'm off now for the weekend, my friends! Please stop by on Sunday for tales of adventure! Thank you all so much for being here - I really appreciate it! 

A Hideous Sweater and Acid Mini

My colleague - who shall go unnamed - clearly thought this sweater was hideous. "OH!" they said, and turned away. What, you don't like water buffaloes? 

"I'm not sorry for the 5 rolls of toilet paper."

Whateley nearly made off with another roll this morning. Exasperating! 

• Wool sweater - Kensai O2 by Kensai Yamamoto, vintage 80s, consignment; first worn here (2nd outfit) with my Mondrian skirt for Urbanite at the Art Gallery in April
• Faux suede miniskirt - Twik, consignment; first seen here in June with massive sleeves
• Leather boots - Stuart Weisman, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) for brunch during Rifflandia weekend in September
• Coat (below) - L'Atiste, consignment, Vancouver; last seen here on Sunday

It doesn't bother me that someone disliked this amazing sweater - how boring if we all liked the same thing! 

That's a bird sitting on the water buffalo's shoulder. 

My other colleagues LOVED this sweater - I enjoyed telling them that the designer, Kensai Yamamoto, created some of David Bowie's most iconic looks. And he had a show at the V&A Museum (link here 'cause I love - you might recognize the black jumpsuit with the wide pants)!

Camille was delighted at the back. "It's a fin!" She also checked to see if the acid yellow mini was real suede (it's not, but it has pockets!). 

We had torrential downpours all day. I got soaked both ways. 

But only my outerwear! My hair, feet and clothes stayed dry (and yes, I walked to and from work in these boots). 

Barnabas was also lurking around while I set the timer on my camera. 

"Just open the bathroom door a crack..."         "I love cuddling!"

I arrived home to find their water fountain pulled apart, a bulb missing from a string of lights (Barnabas brought it to me) and a power bar shut off. What the heck, boys?

The stuff: 

I found myself wanted a warmer scarf as I walked home with rain and wind lashing in my face. Everything there is wet. 

• Silk scarf - Krizia, thrifted
• Wool beret - Parkhurst, consignment
• Wool gloves - Parkhurst
• Star pin - consignment

Bold bling: 

Nour loved my earrings and gasped when I pulled one off. I gave her some tips on how to loosen up too-tight clip-ons.

• Bakelite stretchy cuff - vintage 60s, vintage mall, gift from L
• Jasper cuff - thrifted
• Silver/green stone ring - thrifted
• Silver/jasper ring - thrifted
• Silver/lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Silver earrings - Brenda Schoenfeld, 1992, vintage mall

The boys were feeling playful after their destruction of the fountain and whatever they did with the power bar. 

"Soft while rolls for digging my claws into..."        "I'm chasing the orange ball!"

Mom-Day is back tomorrow! 

Two-Fer Catch-Up: Monday Neons, Tuesday Copper Backdrop, and Yes, Kittens

Let's get right to it - we have two for the price of one in this post! I was all wrote-out after Monday's massive post and Sunday's late night, so I'm jamming two outfits into this post.

Monday's outfit was planned on Saturday, so that I wouldn't have to do any thinking after being out at two theatre/live events on Sunday night. I am SO glad I did that.

All of these pieces are familiar as old friends - I didn't have to try anything on, and I knew exactly how it would look. 

• Vest - Religion, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in September for Winesday at Linda's
• Blouse - Rock & Republic, thrifted; last worn here in September with these very pants
• Trousers - Gorman, consignment; last seen here in September with this blouse!
• Shoes - Chanii B; last worn here in October with Diwali velvets
• Coat (below) - J. Crew, consignment; last seen here on Sunday! 

The colour does all the work! 

I liked the long vest over it all - having extra pockets is always a bonus. 

The trousers are still fun for me.

The neon yellow goes so well with them. 

Well, of course, I was going to wear that coat again. 

I'd forgotten about my teal/turquoise accoutrements, which had been with my walking gear (I miss my Mental Health Walks, but without my extra Tuesday off - remember, I was reduced to 3 days a week for 18 months at the start of the pandemic - they are hard to fit in).  

The stuff: 

I tucked all of my hair into my beret walking to and from work - the rains have come and they are staying for a while! My stuff's still wet...but my hair

• Wool beret - Fairset, vintage 90s, thrifted
• Scarf - thrifted
• Down-filled fingerless gloves - consignment, Powell River
• Star pin - consignment
• Sparkle brooch - Eaton's, c. 1999

My shoes stayed dry in a waterproof bag in my backpack.

The stuff: 

I layered the necklace under the blouse's collar. 

• Belt - Madewell, consignment
• Silver/gold bracelet - JPL, vintage fair
• Silver/turquoise bangle - consignment
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes
• Silver chain ring - Mexican, consignment
• Plastic ring - thrifted
• Silver/onyx necklace - Mexican, consignment, Powell River
• Silver/turquoise earrings - Mexican, consignment

I allowed the kittens to come in the bathroom with me this morning. Are you boys suitably chastened? 

"I like chasin'!"           "I'll shred the toilet paper the second you turn your back."

And the bathroom door remains closed...until I forgot about it. Let's just say that the toilet paper was severely punished. 

And now we're at Tuesday, a day when there's a goodly number of people in the office. I also had our annual holiday lunch for  committee that I'm on, so I dressed up for my wonderful colleagues. 

Remember the skirt I wore with the funky tweed jacket (here), and I said I had two better skirts that already did the job of the lesser-quality one? This is one of the skirts. 

• Sweater - Dusia Knits for Gibson's, vintage 70s, thrifted; last worn here (3rd outfit) in January with a thorny pink skirt
• Skirt - Oska, consignment; last seen here in September with a sequined jacket
• Shoes - Vogettes Misty, Fluevog; last worn here in August with black and lime
• Eclipse coat (below) - Welsh, vintage 60s, consignment; last seen here in October

But first, my sparkly vintage disco sweater. My coworker Trisha was amazed that the store this was purchased from is visible from our office.

Back to the skirt! I think you all know this crinkly asymmetrical business is totally my vibe. 

When I look at the olive green pleats on the other skirt and then look at this one (which is admittedly a darker olive green), it's no contest. 

It's perma-crinkled and is so fun to wear - it's noisy and very swooshy. 

I anticipated another rainy day but missed it all! 

It's supposed to be 12 degrees tomorrow, so I'm going to have to rethink my outerwear.

The stuff: 

Colleague Lauren loved my shoes - she had her own pair of Fluevogs on! 

• Hat - Picabo, vintage 90s, vintage fair
• Fur scarf - Danier, thrifted
• Suede gloves - Dots
• Copper brooch - vintage 60s, thrifted

Copper bling: 

I wore fairly plain clothes so that I had a good backdrop for my copper. 

• Copper large cuff - vintage 50s, consignment, Sidney; purchased here for $15.00
• Small copper cuff - Renoir, vintage 50s, Grandma J's
• Copper enameled leaf brooch/earrings - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair
• Copper ring - consignment
• Amber ring - c. 1996
• Copper ball necklace - vintage 60s, vintage expo

Oops, missed these two rings. 

They both warm up and I can't feel them on.

• Stone ring - thrifted
• Bronze ring - P. Sarpaneva, Finland, vintage 70s, vintage expo

Whateley has been determined to Be On The Desk, so I thought I would make him a little snoozy spot to encourage him to stay in one place, at least. I folded up a giant cashmere scarf that I never wear, and that I was going to put in Limbo, and he laid down on it right away! 

"Hm, nice and soft, next to the Woman, and I can keep an eye on Barnabas."

Barnabas has established our extra chair as His, and likes to sleep there near us when we are writing.

"I sleep here a lot! It's my spot."

Are you actually going to use this little bed, Whateley, or are you just humouring me? 

"I haven't decided." 

Ha!