It only seems right

It’s nice to be back home in England, at West Cottage. That’s the name of our house, West Cottage. Here houses tend to have names rather than numbers and the Royal Mail is amazing because the mailmen tend to deliver to the correct house mostly all the time. Which is not easy when you have five Rose Cottages, three The Poplars and several Brook…something. Brook Farm, Brook House, Brook Lodge, Meadow Brook, you get the picture, in the same village. And, changing the name of your house when you move in is routine. I’m telling you, the mailmen deserve a lot of credit.

You know what’s so fantastic about Robert? He leaves some things right where I left them till I get back. He leaves these things for me on my return and for himself as a memory of me being here. I must confess I do the same thing in the Vancouver house, where the receipt for his last flight into Van is still on the side of the fridge right where he stuck it. (Don’t ask me about our spaghetti noodle tag game…lol…the noodles get stuck everywhere)

But some things are different. Theo the wonder cat has a new spot. R calls it “his plinth” and it’s actually a velvet cushion on top of some pillows on top of the radiator. Theo loves being there and warming his old bones. We love having him with us. Earlier today he ran outside and came back with a fat field mouse. He tried to drag it inside but got intercepted and told to take it outside. He loves to hunt but would rather eat his mice inside.

Today was the last village market before Christmas. I really wanted to go to catch up with our friends and also get some of the local mistletoe. We were lucky because most of our village friends were there and big hugs were shared all round.

I got my mistletoe, some homemade minced pies, a book from my friend Elaine who runs the charity book sales, and a commemorative plate made by Aston Pottery to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the village church. I also got some potted bulbs to bloom in the bleak mid-winter.

So simple and so lovely, don’t you think? I’m lucky that Lisa was selling them in these beautiful vintage pots. I bought a hyacinth and several daffodils.

I also hung up some bird feeders for our hungry cottage friends. Don’t you love the suet and seed coconut halves? This afternoon we had our first two birds inspecting them. Earlier I saw a woodpecker around and I hope he’ll be back and find the peanuts.

Also this afternoon, jet-lag is kicking in something rotten. R has built a fire in the fireplace and the cottage is nice and cozy but my eyes feel heavy. One more day and I should be just fine.