A Time for Thanks

We’ve been in Bardmony about 4 months now, and we’ve finally started to settle into a rhythm. It has taken us a while to find our feet as we learn how to look after our lovely, quirky, somewhat wild property – lots of the little things you take for granted when you’re chugging along on an even keel have fallen by the wayside for us as we scrambled after the urgent maintenance and gardenwork the house so desperately needed when we moved in (exercise, healthy eating, keeping in touch with friends and family – I could go on…).

At times, it has felt impossible to keep up: at Bardmony, if you’re not actively moving forward, you’re sliding backwards (and quickly). We knew it would be that way before we took her on, but until you’re properly stuck in, it’s hard to imagine how overwhelming that can be. It’s clear that this house was never intended to be run by two people – never mind two people with full time occupations.

But, our hearts are in the work (and yes, that’s a quiet distance hug for my Carnegie Mellon crew…), and we’re thankful to have found a few pairs of helping hands in our friendly neighbours and a crunchy-outside/squishy-inside Scottish gardener called Colin (he gardens in TWEED!). We’re happy to report that we’re making progress and the house is coming back to life.

And now that we’re entering the colder, darker part of the year, things are naturally slowing down. The garden doesn’t feel like a scene from “The Day of the Triffids” (thanks, Colin!), and the unpacking is done. We’ve even started to do some of the renovation work (more on that to come soon…)!

Most importantly, this means I was able to slow down enough to have Thanksgiving. As an American transplant who hasn’t lived stateside since 2008, I have learned to do without a lot of American “bits” – but I always, always, always host Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving day so I can keep that tie to home and my family.

This year, Thanksgiving looked a little different for everyone. My friends and family back home were only able to celebrate in small household-only units, and we were in the same boat over here.

Normally we’d host 14-16 people, even in our last house, which was a LOT smaller (literally 10% of the size) – and I had so looked forward to inviting our new friends and family around to share our tradition with them.

Sadly, this year, that was not possible – we only had Christopher’s cousin with us (who is staying with us for some time to avoid lockdown in a London flat) – but you can’t stop Thanksgiving because you’re only a little pack 🙂

So I cooked, and cooked, and cooked some more. I had been nervous about managing Thanksgiving this year, as our kitchen only has a 45 year old 4 oven Aga and no “regular” oven or stove. The Aga and I have been slow to make friends, but Thanksgiving let me give her a proper whirl and OH. EM. GEE. I am a total convert. Friends, I was able to cook a RIDICULOUS amount of food in the Aga without any crowding, and then use the handy warming ovens/warming plate to keep everything warm and it was The Best. *chef’s kiss*

It was the first meal we’d eaten in the small dining room (truth be told, the small dining room spent the first three months of our occupancy as temporary storage for boxes I didn’t want to look at anymore). But now it’s a dining room again! Yay!

It was wonderful to be able to finally have mental space enough to be able to prep and put on Thanksgiving – especially when it’s been such an unusual, challenging year. Though we didn’t get to spend the day with loved ones, we’ve got so much to be thankful for, and our hearts were together even if our bodies were not.

Now, Mother Nature and I both agree it’s time to get on with Christmas work – look at this gorgeous frosty morning she sent us today:

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And, how cool is this? I’ve never seen a spider web do this before!

I hope all my American friends and family had a fabulous Thanksgiving, and hopefully next year, some of my English/Scottish friends and family will be able to join us in person!