September 23, 2008

summer's end

It seems so long now since I last sat down to post something..... these last two months have been a whirlwind, but now life is beginning to settle a little once again!

Those first few days and weeks of hectic craziness, of everything upside down, in boxes, uprooted and misplaced - like camping out, but without the bugs! - is now slowly being replaced by a steadier pace, as we start to organise, and 'pretty up' the house. I still have no kitchen to speak of, just a borrowed cooker stood next to a rickety unit in what will be the heart of the house, and an old linen cupboard for a makeshift crockery store... but we have dreams of what it will become!

We've come a long way since our first meal of take-out curry from our local Indian on a warm July evening. We didn't even notice the peeling wallpaper and bare boards through the excitement of finally being in our new 'old' house.

Since then it's given up a few of it's secrets while we've poked and prodded, stripped back and repaired; the fireplace in the bedroom, which was draped in a musty dark yellow paint, revealed some very beautiful and ornate victorian tiles.
The garden too, has had some treasures of it's own with three apple trees. All different, and all hung heavy with fruit.

So now, with the smell of Autumn heavy in the air, the dusky evenings giving way to starry skies and coal fires, it seemed right to collect the last of the Summer's bounty and bring it in to make crumbles and cakes.
Even with the floorboards still bare, and each room awaiting it's decided dressing, this feels like home; in from the deepening evening chill to good old- fashioned apple crumble, made with the first picking of apples from our garden, eaten in front of a roaring fire - albeit an open chimney breast and old fire-basket, while we still hunt for the perfect old fireplace to put back some of the splendour this old house once had!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great to hear you again! I agree this is such a busy time...

Emily said...

I've always wanted an apple tree...very jealous.