(The photo above is from last year. I might have used it before, I’m not sure.)
This week has been school start week in Sweden. The weather is still summery, but at the same time there is an excitement of change and new beginnings in the air, both in nature and in city life. The buses are back on their normal time tables. The streets are buzzing with people. In the clothes shops there are signs with 50% off on summer sales prices, side by side with new items coming in every day. In supermarkets and bookshops there are special tables with everything you might need (or want) for school: pencils and erasers, writing pads and book jacket paper, stickers and whatnots.
It’s been many years since I was actively involved in school activities of any kind; and yet I’m still affected by that special atmosphere this time of year.
I’ve not been buying school supplies, but I still have quite a busy shopping week behind me.
“Calories: Tiny creatures that live in your closet and sew your clothes a little bit tighter every night.”
Because I banished the “calories” from my wardrobe this summer, I now have to do their job myself. Or buy new clothes.
We’ve had a long warm summer when I’ve mostly lived on “salad and strawberries” (take that with a pinch of salt, please!), while wearing loose-fitting clothes with elastic and/or drawstring waistbands, and staying away from the summer sales as well as the ice-cream.
When the weather began to grow slightly cooler again, and it was time to start thinking of getting back into clothes I hadn’t been wearing for three months (or more), I discovered that the same clothes I was thinking of getting rid of back in the spring because they were getting too small, now had to be either sewn in or thrown out because they’ve gotten too big!
After some not quite satisfactory experiments with the sewing machine, I decided last week that I probably needed to buy at least one pair of new jeans.
Trying on clothes in shops again was quite a disconcerting experience at first. Truly, it was really hard to get my head round the fact that I needed to go down not just one, but two sizes compared to just a couple of months ago.
After having made sure that my one new pair of jeans had not shrunk in the bag on the way home (sometimes clothes seems to do that, have you noticed?), I had a major wardrobe clear-out last weekend.
And this week it was back to the shops again…
Tough job, but someone’s gotta do it!
17 comments:
I absolutely hate trying on clothes, I would rather order online and hope it fits.
fantastic!!!! i need to go down two sizes... and if i did i would not mind shopping for new clothes although i do so hate to shop. the weight loss would be worth it. and yes, i have noticed the sizes change from store to home. once i bought jeans and i loved them in the store, but when i put them on and SAT DOWN, no so good.. as long as i stood they felt wonderful... congratulations
oops forgot to say i have not seen that photo before and i would remember it. the bee is so real i feel i could pluck him out of the photo
Congratulations!! You have lots of willpower!!! I bet you are quite stunning now. Your photo is breathtaking! The bee, along with the flower center, both look dark blue. His eyes, his short antenna, and his legs hanging down are all so spectacular!!! We have a saying, shop till you drop, and you sure deserve it. I had no idea you had been overweight! Funny, this week school started here, too!! It was two days ago.
Doing the happy dance for you....so glad that you have "taken off."
Shopping spree....YEAH!!! Wish I could go clothes shopping with you as well....enjoy.
Well done. I bet lots of the girls are envying you!
I don't recall that bee photo - it's brilliant.
I'm desperately trying to stay the same size because all my blue jeans are that size, except two pairs, one of which can only be worn here at the ranch. So congratulations on your efforts, a strawberry summer sounds really good. The photo is beautiful, are the bees in jeopardy in Sweden too?
I think you've done wonders Monica. Having gone up a size with upper middle age and stayed there and now come back down just one size (round the tummy at any rate) I admire your perseverance and success. Happy shopping.
This sounds like you are very healthy. Well done.
Janet, living as I do in a city with lots of shops I never order clothes online. (Except if there's something special I want that I can't buy in the shops.) I also don't trust sizes, I really need to try things on or at least hold them up in front of me. (If one does not want to try things on in the shop, most shops allow you to return items within a certain number of days, if you keep the receipt and don't take the labels off.)
Good point, Sandra. One rarely does sit down when trying on clothes in the shop, does one? Not even when there IS a stool or something in the changing room.
Ginny, compared to some of my girlfriends I have low stamina when it comes to shopping... I "drop" very quickly! ;) I prefer to visit just one or two shops at a time. Lucky for me I live so close to the city centre and can look in at my favourite clothes shops frequently, rather than have to spend whole (or half) days running through them all!
Virginia, there's no denying that it's a lot more fun to shop new clothes for the "right" reason :) (having lost unnecessary weight instead of gained it)
Thanks John. As for the bee photo, that is of course pure luck rather than skill... Usually moving insects become just a blur with my camera.
Inger, I think there has been some concern about the bees in Sweden too.
Thanks Graham. The warm summer this year has been helpful when it comes to getting into the habit of eating more vegetables and less "carbs". I've now got into the habit of preparing a big bowl of salad at lunchtime and saving half of it for dinner/supper (adding different things on the side). I really can't think why I haven't done that before. Sometimes habits are very strange and seem quite detached from common sense!
Well done, and congratulations on having the best reason for "having to" get new clothes :-)
The back-to-school atmosphere still affects me, too; for me, it is always the end of GamesCom that starts this part of the year. I do love stationery and for some years even seriously nursed the idea (with my first husband) to run a stationery shop. It has never come about and in all likelihood never will, but I still like the idea.
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