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sam_tToday has been rather disjointed, but on the whole, satisfying. I have seen three houses (one definitely not, one probably not, one probably-not-with-regret), performed a minimum of household chores (some washing and some washing up), and bought the ingredients for and eaten two simple but delicious meals (not counting breakfast which was nice enough but the same as most of them). Not only that, but I have sat outside all evening until just now, perfectly warm and content, with a glass of wine and Emma Bull and Steven Brust's Freedom and Necessity, which promises to be rather good.
The first house was a perfectly unexceptionable magnolia all over, required nothing to be done on the inside and only a bit of paint and a new garage window on the outside, but suffered from having a garden not much bigger than the one I've got now and overlooked by about six houses at once (the reason it's small is because it's on a tight curve - the front garden was quite big but there's about one garden's space divided into five slices at the back). And the dining room was really the same room as the kitchen, which is a relatively minor point, but I would like to put books in as many rooms as possible.
Then I had time to cycle home, catch my breath and write down what I thought, and head out to the second house. This was the probably-not-with-regret: the house was a 1900-ish terrace, with lots of original features and in fairly good condition. The problem is that this house definitely comes down on the location side of the location - space see-saw. It would be handy for lots of places, but parking and possibly noise could be an issue, and I really would like enough space for a vegetable patch if at all possible. Still, I'm thinking hard about it. The location being what it was, I took the opportunity to cycle to a deli in town and provide myself with something for lunch.
Lunch, therefore, was some very good sunflower and honey bread, with some equally tasty smoked sheep's cheese, a couple of tomatoes (cut up, seasoned with salt and pepper, and left to rest for a bit), and some onion marmalade. Accompaniment: elderflower cordial.
The third house was larger than either of the other two, but somehow disappointing. On paper it had lots to recommend it, but everything that could be slightly awkward somehow was: the under-stairs cupboard opened into the garage (lots of houses had them on the outside, as coal stores, but most have been moved inside, especially if someone's bothered to build a garage round them), there was almost but not quite room for a table in the kitchen, there was no way of getting, say, ladders or bags of compost into the garden without going through the house, and so on.
Thence to a handy corner shop, and back to tease the cats and get dinner. The cats, by the way, have definitely been appreciating the sun - stretching luxuriously out on any flat surface in a sunbeam - but were annoyed to have been soundly barked at by a visiting dog next door. I was expecting them to run for the hills, but I think they're more affronted than scared. Dinner: tagliatelle with peas, spinach, lemon and pesto, followed by halva with pistachio nuts and more lemon. Accompaniment: a reasonable chianti, which wasn't the ideal wine but was at least tasty and non-clashing, and Freedom and Necessity.
And so to bed.
The first house was a perfectly unexceptionable magnolia all over, required nothing to be done on the inside and only a bit of paint and a new garage window on the outside, but suffered from having a garden not much bigger than the one I've got now and overlooked by about six houses at once (the reason it's small is because it's on a tight curve - the front garden was quite big but there's about one garden's space divided into five slices at the back). And the dining room was really the same room as the kitchen, which is a relatively minor point, but I would like to put books in as many rooms as possible.
Then I had time to cycle home, catch my breath and write down what I thought, and head out to the second house. This was the probably-not-with-regret: the house was a 1900-ish terrace, with lots of original features and in fairly good condition. The problem is that this house definitely comes down on the location side of the location - space see-saw. It would be handy for lots of places, but parking and possibly noise could be an issue, and I really would like enough space for a vegetable patch if at all possible. Still, I'm thinking hard about it. The location being what it was, I took the opportunity to cycle to a deli in town and provide myself with something for lunch.
Lunch, therefore, was some very good sunflower and honey bread, with some equally tasty smoked sheep's cheese, a couple of tomatoes (cut up, seasoned with salt and pepper, and left to rest for a bit), and some onion marmalade. Accompaniment: elderflower cordial.
The third house was larger than either of the other two, but somehow disappointing. On paper it had lots to recommend it, but everything that could be slightly awkward somehow was: the under-stairs cupboard opened into the garage (lots of houses had them on the outside, as coal stores, but most have been moved inside, especially if someone's bothered to build a garage round them), there was almost but not quite room for a table in the kitchen, there was no way of getting, say, ladders or bags of compost into the garden without going through the house, and so on.
Thence to a handy corner shop, and back to tease the cats and get dinner. The cats, by the way, have definitely been appreciating the sun - stretching luxuriously out on any flat surface in a sunbeam - but were annoyed to have been soundly barked at by a visiting dog next door. I was expecting them to run for the hills, but I think they're more affronted than scared. Dinner: tagliatelle with peas, spinach, lemon and pesto, followed by halva with pistachio nuts and more lemon. Accompaniment: a reasonable chianti, which wasn't the ideal wine but was at least tasty and non-clashing, and Freedom and Necessity.
And so to bed.
