I was lucky enough to be invited to go to a local market with friends today. It was a treat on so many levels.

Being in a warm car, the company of friends, some exercise and a little bit of retail therapy . ( I had previously given up on retail therapy , but in the current circumstances it seemed like , why not! )

It was so cold!. Even with 4 layers plus jacket, and hat. North winds in Basilicata are brutal. ( relatively speaking)

Despite this I went straight to the second hand stall where most things are €2 and I like to feel I’m recycling.

Today I bought summer clothes. A lovely lightweight shirty thing, 2 black baggy tee shirts and a pair of flowery cotton, stretchy trousers.

I was looking for outsize summer dresses which I could theoretically convert into something resembling the loose long dresses I see advertised on facebook. Maybe next time.

And then I got trapped in my jacket. I pulled the zip further up as my neck was cold and the thingy on the end broke off. I tried to push and then pull it down again ,but it wouldn’t move. ( I was once trapped in a pair of jeans in a charity shop and ended up buying them as I couldn’t get them off.)

Luckily when we went into a bar for coffee a friend managed to free me by using the broken off bit as a lever.

I’ve now fixed the problem with a paperclip.

After my lovely night’s sleep, last night was not good. I seemed to spend the whole night half awake and then dreaming that I was drawing a soldier’s head with a cap and I couldn’t get it right however hard I tried.

It was a relief to get up.

This afternoon I finished the latest local scene by painting the edges. Then measured a frame to see how much wood I need to buy to make a canvas to fit.

But mostly I kept warm and felt grateful.

Cheers 🍷🍷