BACK FROM SPAIN, shaking off jet lag, dealing with a balky Internet connection, and trying to readjust to a cedar-shingled cottage in the woods after a week spent among Moorish palaces and orange trees on the plains of Andalusia, which is considerably more exciting. I was planning to hike this morning in Montauk with the East Hampton Trail Preservation Society, which has a tempting schedule of free 3-10 mile hikes every Wednesday and Saturday morning, exploring every inch of woods and wetland around here, but waking up to snow on the ground put me off that idea.
I came home from Spain to find all in good order. My house, which I left at 55 degrees, warmed up quickly, and the shrubs were not deer-ravaged in my absence.
Now my thoughts are turning to what’s next around here. I got a good estimate from a carpenter to install a new window in the 2nd bedroom. About 7′ wide and 12′ long, with two small windows, it’s kind of like a monk’s cell. I have, believe it or not, just the right window to make that room special. I had it custom made years ago for the house upstate, but never used it, and it’s now sitting in my cellar here in East Hampton. So that’s added to the list. The same fellow will also install three new solid-wood panel doors to replace the hollow core and plastic ones leading to the bedrooms and bath.
I’m still waiting on the roofer to schedule me, and he says I shouldn’t do the parking court until he’s finished. But it’s all moving forward, bit by slow bit. Come June, I should have a house that is not only more livable, but rentable.
What really makes me happy is the thought that in a few weeks I’ll be gardening again. Meanwhile, I’ve got a stack of new garden and design books from the Amagansett Library, as well as Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra. Last night I was poring over Monet’s House: An Impressionist Interior, taking in the sunflower yellow dining room and red-and-white checkered floors, and reading about his unconventional life.
Inspirational images for the brain’s blender.
3 comments
Comments feed for this article
February 3, 2010 at 11:00 am
Harriet Bell
There’s no place like home. Welcome back.
February 3, 2010 at 2:32 pm
Mary-Liz
Did you get any inspiration in Spain for your own garden??
I like the sound of a deck instead of a patio…………more in keeping with the spirit of the place.
February 3, 2010 at 4:26 pm
cara
Can’t say I got much specific inspiration in Spain for my own garden. The gardens I saw there were so grand, and the climate so different. I suppose I related most, on an “I can do this” level, to the patios and courtyards of Seville and Cordoba, where people have the most common houseplants, like spider plants, in terra cotta pots. They use them architecturally, in multiples, marching up a flight of stairs or hung on an exterior brick wall, and they look fabulous. But they live outdoors all year round there — here I’d have to worry about what to do with them in winter!