Home Jerome!

It has been a long, long time since last I updated my blog! At first it was just the crazymad rush of working and packing to move to England and then I can blame my parents’ ridiculously slow dial-up which wouldn’t allow me to insert images and add new entries to my blog. I gave up! But now I have my laptop back in my possession and a very naughty connection to our neighbour’s unsecured wireless! There are no more excuses now!
So much has happened in the last while and if I’d had the chance, I’d have written so much I could’ve had enough material for a book – or two! And quite where I should now begin is a mystery…
Attached to our kitchen is a lovely, airy diningroom, the walls painted an unobtrusive but stylish shade --- almost white, but with the palest suggestion of warm sage. THANK GOODNESS it is not that damn Magnolia that adorned 97% of all the walls in England – from the Home Office loos to Jane Smith’s bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, livingroom, diningroom, lounge, blah blah blah. Nauseatingly boring. The floors have been newly laid with beech laminate, while the two windows have cotton blinds the colour of blood oranges, though not “bont” in hue. When I was packing (the second time!) my decision to discard unnecessary clothes in lieu of items of usefulness, meaning and irreplaceability, saw me packing little plastic bank bags of embroidery thread, scraps of silk in every colour I could lay my hungry hands on, books that never fail to inspire --- and, about two meters of fuschia pink satin ribbon dangling with bellydanceresque glass beads and sequins --- which I’ve since attached with pins to the bottoms of the orange blinds. (I’m still waiting for someone to nominate me for the Domestic Goddess Awards for 2008!)
Just got up to make myself a hot cup of the most fragrant tea: Rose Pouchong by Twinings. Apparently the smoked black Tibetan tea is layered with rose petals… All I need now is an unusual tea pot and some pretty glasses and mismatched tea cups from old tea sets that each must have their own story to tell. But these are little treasures that can only be discovered over a period of time – and are not to be purchased from any supermarket shelves or mail order catalogue. In the meantime, I’ll sip this delicious brew from the white porcelain mug that’s own history is just as special to me: while I was stuck very far away, Craig prepared our first real home for my arrival by purchasing every single thing he thought I might need – crockery, cutlery, towels, bedding, a toaster, a kettle --- even a garlic crusher he knows I would find it impossible to live without!
Though it is a Saturday, Craig’s been whisked off to coach his 7 year olds in what looks like a very wet and very cold cricket match, while my South African neighbour, Angela, is taking me shopping with her for some groceries…