Our English House- Part 4

One of Mama Kat's writing prompts this week was: "Friends are on their way over to your house for a coffee date.  What kind of afternoon can they expect with you?"  I thought this was an excellent way to marry the Writer's Workshop link-up with part 4 of my series on our house here in England.

I don't drink coffee, but I do drink tea.  Perfect for England, right?  So, assuming you are coming over to my house for tea, you will have to see my dining room which is less spectacular than the rest of the house, but quaint in it's own right.  Since it has not yet been revealed, this is the perfect opportunity for it.

Upon entering the back door, the dining room is immediately on your left. The print hanging over the fireplace is one of the original deeds to the house complete with a wax seal.  The landlord left it there and I think it is a nice touch.

The view from the back corner facing the dining room door (you can see the back door in the background):

The house has four fireplaces but they have all been sealed off.  All except the one in the dining room which was fitted with a wood burning stove.  It has been really cold lately, so when you arrive, I will have the fire going to keep you warm.

I got this tea set at a secondhand shop for £30.  It includes service for 5- 5 teacups and saucers, 5 dessert plates, the cake plate you see above with the biscuits (cookies) on it, sugar bowl and creamer.  I was lamenting the fact I didn't have a teapot to go with it when I remembered the little teapot DJ bought me on a trip to California last year.  It actually goes really well with the set!

Here is your seat with a cup of tea waiting- one lump or two?

And if you are having the kind of day where tea just doesn't hit the spot, the landlord also left a nice bottle and glass rack on the wall- I would be more than happy to pour you a glass of wine.

Cheers.


**If you missed the first three parts, let me catch you up.  In August, my family moved from New Jersey to England and are living in a charming English home built in 1812.  I am writing about and sharing it's quirks and rooms so my friends and family can experience this adventure along with us.  Part 1 shows you the outside of our house, the kitchen, the kids' bedrooms and our bedroom.  For Part 2, I give you some of the history of the house and take you around the back yard showing you the remains of an old cottage, the well and the furnace in the blacksmith's shop.  Part 3 explores my craft room I set up in one of the out buildings and then brings you back inside the house to see my favorite room- the office.

What Americans Can Learn from the English

I was on my way home from the grocery store last week and passed a golf course where three men were playing golf in the rain. It was raining pretty steadily for England (unlike that monotonous drizzle they tend to have most of the time) and my first thought was, "Wow!  Those are some devoted golf players!"

But then my very next thought was, "No!  Those guys planned an outing today and then didn't let something silly like the weather get in their way."

Back in New Jersey, the golf course on base was packed on a sunny day.  You would see a few people roaming on cloudy days, but on days like that one, the course was empty.  Not one person would be out there.

That's because Americans tend to wait for the perfect moment to do things.  They need the day/temperature/weather/moment to be just so.  And that perfect moment is just so few and far between, that they are often left disappointed and waiting.

Not the English.  They seize the moment. They don't let something small like rain get in the way of their plans.  In this country, if you waited for a sunny day, you would rarely get out of the house.  If you cancelled plans and stayed in because of the rain, you would be a hermit.  It makes for a miserable life- always chasing the perfect moment and missing the joy of living in the process.  Who says the perfect moment can't be wrapped in rain?

When the sun comes out, the Brits will alter their plans and go outside to enjoy it.  They have the ability to stop the incessant moving from which Americans are guilty.  Americans are perpetually in motion, but our English cousins can stop what they are doing, go outside in the sun, have a relaxing cup of tea (or a pint) and just be still.

So the next time you have plans but wake to a rainy forecast, consider keeping them.  Instead of groaning, think of it as an unexpected embellishment to your day.  Go ahead and play golf/go to the outdoor market/visit a historical property/take a hike.  You never know what joys await you when you seize the moment.

Even if that moment is wearing a slicker and wellies.

Our English House- Part 3

My last post about our house, I took you around the outside and told you some of the history associated with the various buildings and features in the back garden.  My craft shed was mentioned in one of the photos and you were able to see it from the outside.  This building was originally built by the landlord because he works from home several days a week and wanted an office separate from the house.  When I saw it, I knew it would be my craft room.  I mean, DJ gets a two car garage that we can't manage to swing our cars around the angle and into the bays, so he has the WHOLE garage, minus the back corner where I have my holiday decoration bins stacked, to himself!

So, once again, here is the craft shed from the outside:

 When you walk in the door, this is what you see:

 The black IKEA bookshelf along the back wall was in our entryway in the old house, but wouldn't fit in this one so it has been repurposed in the craft room.  The shelf hanging on the wall is an IKEA shelf too that used to be over our television in New Jersey.  It has special hanging brackets so it looks like it is floating, but those brackets were on the wall already, so I just set it on top.  Note the little space heater which is necessary because the building is not heated.

 The cabinet under the window was our tv cabinet, but there was no room for it here, so it is enjoying it's new home in the craft room as well.

 In New Jersey, I had some nice counters and cabinets that DJ built for me to use as a workspace.  I don't have that here, so my folding table is set up permanently as my workspace.  My sewing maching is in the corner over there and can be set up on my table as well.

 The view of the door from the back of the room:

Now, I just need to motivate myself to go out there and do something!

In my first post about our house, we explored a little bit of the inside and I promised you I would show you the office next.  I think this is my favorite room in the house- the landlords left it painted and that along with the chandelier and the other details of the room, make me love it so much!

 I also love the floors!  Those are the original floorboards.  It used to be covered by carpet and the landlord wanted to expose all the hardwood.  He started with this room and quickly realized it was going to be a lengthy project as the floors were not in great condition due to all the carpet tacks and required a lot of sanding and finishing.  So, this room is the only one with the exposed floorboards. The living room and upstairs are carpeted.  The kitchen, dining room, entryway and bathroom have laminate over the wood.  I think these floors are beautiful!

 See that chandelier?

 That door on the left is the half bathroom we have downstairs.

 We needed a chair for the desk and happened upon this little gem in an antique store for £16.

In the picture below, you can really see the dampness on the walls. The wall behind the chair and that built-in bookcase is one of the worst spots in the house.  I try to open the windows for a few minutes most days to cut down on the moisture.  The room directly above this one is our bedroom and this same corner of our bedroom is also very damp.  In fact, I just noticed mold on my bedroom window (which is directly above this window) this morning and had to clean it with bleach.  The windows are double pane, but when I put the blinds down at night, condensation collects on the inside of the windows.  I never put this blind in the office down, but I always put the one down in the bedroom.  It's just another English quirk.  In fact, as we sat Saturday and watched it rain outside the living room window, DJ remarked, "I truly think the moisture holds everything together in this country!  If they ever had a true and serious drought, I think everything would just turn to dust and blow away!"

 I really do just LOVE this room!

This past weekend, we bought a table for the entryway.  I need to find a large mirror to hang on the opposite wall in the entryway as there are still large screws in the wall from the mirror the landlord had there.  I need to cover those screws!  I need to find something for the walls in the upstairs bathroom as well because it just looks really bare right now.  The next piece of furniture we are going to purchase is hopefully a bed for the guest room and we are still looking for a small cabinet or shelf for the living room.

So- still left to see: living room, bathroom, entryway, dining room and guest bedroom.

Here is a little teaser of a future post- a picture of the table we bought for the entryway at an antique dealer this weekend:

Antiquing and How DJ is Totally Holding Me Back

I have always loved looking at antiques but have never been a buyer due to the fact that we lived in a very small 1980's rancher in New Jersey for the past seven years.  There was no room or need for antiques.

Now that I live in a bigger house, I find I am in need of some furniture- like a table for the entryway, a sideboard, some sort of cabinet or shelf for the living room, and other things that I would just like to have.  Since the house we live in is Georgian (built in 1812), I think it only appropriate to add some antiques to it to really highlight it's character.

So, we've become "antiquers".  We've been to several different antique stores/barns/warehouses over the last few weeks.  And one piece, I acquired through the Lakenheath for sale Facebook page.  Score.

So, I will go ahead and start with my favorite piece- the one I got from the yardsale page:

Regency Sideboard

I need a place to store the vintage china I am slowly acquiring.  I have decided I want a mismatched vintage china set and so when I go to a charity shop or antique store, I search for pieces I really like to add to my mismatched collection.  So far, I have only acquired two plates, but that is a work in progress.

We also found this little painted chair for only £16 and it went perfectly with the printer cover and the big chair in the office.  We were in need of a desk chair and this little gem fit the bill.

I found some pieces I really liked today, but I wanted to look around at some other stores first before purchasing, so hopefully, I will have more photos to show you soon.

Noah found a painting he wanted to buy today for his room, I told him if he wanted to spend his money, he could and we did the conversion rate.  It would be $45.  He insists he wants it, but I made him leave it behind (at the store I want to return to anyway) to think about it.  I didn't want it to be an impulse buy, I want to make sure he really wants it!  Zoe, on the other hand, found something she loved and was willing to spend £20 on.

This will house her jewelry and goes nicely in her room.

Now, there is one other item I found today that might possibly be my favorite find of all time, forever and infinity.  But my husband is just such a big ole meanie and insisted there was nowhere to put it.  It was only £99 and I already had it worked out in my mind where it would go.  But, he put his foot down and refused to let me get it.

I mean, wouldn't it be AWESOME to have my very own lectern?  Seriously!  It is even attached to a platform and I planned to attach wheels to it and keep it in the corner of the dining room.  I figure I could wheel it out every morning and climb on for my daily, "WHY do I have to tell you guys EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING. to put your breakfast plates away when you are done?  Seriously?  Why can't you remember this?  I tell you EVERY DAY!" 

Now wouldn't that be more effective from a lectern?  

We could have people over and when the topic got controversial, I could wheel my pulpit in here and climb aboard for my two cents!  And then I would charge others to use it.  I would wheel my little pulpit out the front door and lecture the kids that insists on opening my mail slot every morning and peering through it into my living room at me.  Or lecture their parents for letting them peer into someone else's mail slot every day!  

I could load it in the back of the Zafira and take it with me in case the occasion arose where I had something important to say.  Because, seriously, everyone is going to listen to the very authoritative person with their own lectern?  Right?  

This could be so much fun! And my husband is totally squashing my dreams!  

I could even promote myself.  "Have lectern, will travel."  I can bring my lectern and stand in YOUR home and lecture your kids for you.  Or, for a smaller fee, I can bring the lectern and let YOU lecture your children!

We could be sitting somewhere and hear someone say, "I mean, I think the concept of recycling is good, but it is just too much trouble."  and my kids and husband would groan and in the background you would hear, "ROLL, ROLL, ROLL, ROLL..." as I broke out my pulpit and went off on how much I believe in recycling.

"So, how do you feel about the fine arts in public schools?"  

*groan*

ROLL ROLL ROLL ROLL

" I don't bother to vote, my vote doesn't count anyway!"

*groan*

ROLL ROLL ROLL ROLL

"I hate how the election turned out, so I am going to move to another country!!"

ROLL ROLL ROLL ROLL

And then there are the topics that divide societies:

Like... "Edward or Jacob?"

"Coca Cola or Pepsi?"

Gryffendor or Ravenclaw?

NYC or San Francisco?

ET or Alf?

Ginger or Maryanne?

ROLL, ROLL, ROLL, ROLL

If ever there was a chance to have "The Gospel According to Jen", THIS IS IT!

WHO NEEDS A SOAP BOX WHEN YOU HAVE A PULPIT!?

Can I get an AMEN?

Alas, the world will never know.... 

...because my pulpit sits, unsold, in a rural antique store in East Anglia.

Our English House- Part 2

I was going to focus on the office area and my craft room for this post, but when taking pictures of the craft room, I realized there was so much more that needed to be addressed and so this post is going to focus on the outside and some of the history along with it.

As I mentioned in the first part of this series, this house was originally a blacksmith's home and shop. As you walk out my back door, there is a view of the little shed where my craft room is located (the landlord built it as an office for the days he works from home).

But as I walked out there, I realized there was so much more story to tell.  Here are the stairs leading up to the back part of the garden.

Before we go any further, let's step back inside the house a moment.  This is hanging above the wood burning stove in our dining room.  It is an old deed to the house and property.  I haven't tried to read it all, it is quite lengthy, but the landlord says that somewhere in the paperwork it mentions the well on our property and it's communal access to all the surrounding properties.  

The well has been filled in for safety purposes, but you can still see where it was, tucked up in the corner of the garden by the barn where the blacksmith had his furnace. It is the bricked off area in the picture below, right in front of the wood beams separating the trampoline.

This spot is the path that comes up the stairs and goes between the house and the blacksmith's shop which you can see in the above photo.  To my immediate left is a gate that enters this path from the drive going up to a cottage that is tucked on the other side of the blacksmith shop (barn).  That house used to be a bakery and the landlord says old photos of the properties show huge bread ovens in front of that house that are now gone.  The gate to my left (out of view of the photo) would be to the small cottage that used to stand on my immediate right.  When I pivot to the right, this is what I see.  

The craft shed. That area as well as the grassy green area used to be a cottage.  If you look closely at this picture, you can see the chalk wall in back and beside it.  These are original walls from the cottage being used as a divider between our garden and the home behind it.

Here is a closeup of the wall that runs beside the shed:

  Closeup of the shed with surrounding wall:

 The other side of the shed, with wall behind it:

This grinding stone was found with the ruins of the cottage- we were told most likely a gift to the cottage owner from the bakery which was just across the drive:

 Here is the barn/ old blacksmith shop.  The left half of it is used by the cottage behind it (the old bakery) for storage and the right half is ours.  Our landlord just has a bunch of old junk in it that he couldn't dispose of (it is hard to find places to dispose of things here- you can't put anything out for trash that doesn't fit in you bin- and the bin's are much smaller than in the US)

 Inside the blacksmith shop is the remains of the old furnace:

This is a little walled-off area (you can see the door that I opened on the right of the photo) that would have been the blacksmith's toilet.  The hole in the ground has been filled in as well.

In the play area, there is a swing set with slide, the buried trampoline you saw in the above photos and this adorable little playhouse that matches the shed.  Zoe loves it, but I can't get her to go outside and play in it!!

the view from the back of the garden back toward the house:

At the very back of our garden is another wall- on the other side is open area that belongs to someone else.  Currently, there are some very large geese residing back there.  They are SO LOUD it is unreal!  These are not the Canadian geese we saw so much in New Jersey, but the traditional (and very big and fat) white geese.  Although, they do have the Canadian geese here too. 

I took a video trying to get them making their noise.  They knew I was standing there, so they were being relatively quiet, but right towards the end, one of them can't stand it anymore and let's out one of the really loud "honks".  THAT is the noise I hear all the way in the house A LOT! (and FYI- I doubt I will upload another video to my blog anytime soon! This 39 second video took an hour to upload- gotta love the slooooow internet speed here)

I hope you enjoyed your tour of the outside and next time, I promise, we will go INSIDE the craft room and also take a look at our office back inside the main house.

The Post Where I Almost Have a Mid-Life Crisis Right in Front of Your Eyes, but then Don't

Three months ago, this very moment, I was on a plane with my family, probably filling out a landing card as we were nearing approach to London's Heathrow airport.  We had left the last twelve years' worth of memories, our home and our friends (that had become family) behind us in New Jersey to embark on a new an uncertain adventure.

The move was stressful.  The entire process was a comedy of errors and everything that could go wrong, did. There were many tears, fits, screaming, pants-peeing (and I am not even talking about the kids yet- haha- kidding-sort of) and a lot of uncertainty.  There was fear and indecision.

There still is.  But the good parts are starting to outweigh the bad parts and we are starting to settle into our life here in England.  Some days I would consider selling my soul for Elena's or Pei Wei, but I put it out of my mind and try to find an alternative.  I did find a recipe for one of the Pei Wei dishes I like and it is really good, but a huge pain in the rump to make!  So, that helps temper that craving- do I really want it bad enough to MAKE it?  No.

As for Elena's... well, there is just no replacing Elena's.  The food is good, but the atmosphere and memories are what makes it.  That was where I spend almost every Friday afternoon of my college years (and many times, other days as well).  We would go there after our Friday rehearsal and sorority meeting and sit and eat, gab, dream, enjoy, laugh and just be twenty-somethings with the whole world in front of us but only really caring about the chips and queso in front of us at that moment.

And this tangent that I am on brings me to a lot of reflection I am having lately.  I will turn forty in just two months.  Where has the time gone?  I remember being the first of my friends to turn twenty and a childhood friend, Kelly, gave me black balloons and an "over the hill" card as a joke at being the first to leave the "teens".  I swear that was just last week.

Forty.

I will be able to legitimately say, "Forty years ago...."  and know I was there.

In forty years, I have grown up, graduated high school, graduated college, married, had two children, lived overseas twice (in England both times), visited almost every lighthouse on the west coast and many on the east coast, spent Saint Patrick's Day with a pint of Guinness in Dublin, climbed the Spanish Steps and gazed upon the Trevi Fountain in Rome.  I have seen the Eiffel Tower,  walked in the footsteps of the ill-fated Pompeiians, stood in their town square while suspiciously eyeing Mount Vesuvius, smoking in the background.  I have been to shows in London and New York City.  I have carted around a crazy old Welsh hitchhiking lady through half of Wales, stood at the spot where St Thomas of Canterbury was murdered in his cathedral.

So, yes, "where has the time gone?"  It makes sense because, "time flies when you are having fun" and I was out having fun. I don't really need a bunch of cliches to tell me that I have led a very full life in forty years. And I can only hope the next forty are as fun and as full.  As long as I have my husband, my kids and my dearest friends by my side, how could they not be?

Here's to three months in England, the next three years here, the next twenty, thirty and forty years...

 "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"


L'chaim!! (to life)

Dodging the Draft

Okay, so the fun thing about living in an old home is that there are a lot of drafty places.  You have to get creative to cut down on those drafts.  Thankfully, the windows have been replaced with double pane windows, I cannot imagine how drafty it was before those were put in!

During the day, I open all the curtains to let the light in and warm up the rooms.  Most of the windows have thick curtains or roman shades that I can close/lower at night to keep the heat IN.

But, there are those pesky little areas where you have to get creative.  We have this adorable little cubby off of our living room with shelves and a window seat.  The kids have their books there and can sit in the window and read.

  Just above the window, though, is a vent to the outside.  I am not sure what it was originally used for, but it lets quite a bit of air in, especially when it is windy.  There is currently a piece of cardboard taped over it, but for some reason, the tape is coming off and we have been unable to get more tape to stick to the wall.  We are going to have to get some heavy duty sticky tape to try and adhere it back over that vent.

I told you before that our house has two front doors, because it used to contain a shop.  And also that one of the front doors, while still existing on the outside, is merely a built-in bookcase on the inside.  The mail slot is located in the faux door, so our mail comes in through our bookcase.  As does a very breezy little draft!  I keep a towel next to it and remove it during the day so the post man can deliver anything through the slot and then replace the towel in the evenings.

Our front and back doors are also very old and quite drafty.  I love them and wouldn't want them replaced, but, again, it takes some creativity to keep from losing heat and taking in cold air.  I bought two draft blockers, but the door sill is too high for the blocker to properly block it.  So, once again I had to get creative.  It isn't pretty, but it works!

front door

back door

 See how high the sill is?  This blocker is not high enough to block the draft which comes right between the white and black part.

my solution- not pretty, but it works!

front door

Lastly, I wanted to share a short video with you.  Most mornings, after putting the kids on the bus, I pass the church just as it is chiming the eight o'clock hour.  I don't know why, but I just love it!  It reminds me that I am living English village life- just like I wanted to do.  It just has the sound of days gone by- and reminds me that for hundreds of years, villagers have passed this very church and listened to those bells.  I have been trying to get a video of the clock chiming the hour for over a week now, but I never time my journey just right.  The kids' bus has to arrive exactly on time, and I have to "take big steps" as one of my college professors used to say, in order to be back up at the church when it chimes the hour.  This morning, I managed to get it.  You may not find it as charming as I do, but I wanted to share, because I love it so much.