Uppingham!

Yes, dear friends, we have finally moved and settled-in to our new home in the East Midlands and what a journey it has been!
It took forever to find a home to move to, and although we visited many wee towns and villages, it was difficult to find one with much availability - after all - who would want to leave such beautiful surroundings? But eventually we were successful in finding a place to live in charming Uppingham.
Would you like to learn more about it? Here is a video highlighting the county and Uppingham.

Our home is a modern built cottage that has kept its charm in being built to look like an older cottage. So we enjoy the energy efficiency found in new home construction with the period charm of an older home.

Lots has been unpacked but there is still a lot to do. We have moved from a home that had a lot of storage built-in to a home with very limited storage. So we have been busy filling the gap buying things we need to make our house a home.

I have found a chest of drawers to rework with some paining magic and an IKEA bookcase to transform into a linen closet. And more to come!

A view down the High Street from Market Square

Market Square at Night

We love being part of a small town and have begun getting to know some of our neighbours. In coming posts I will highlight some of them and their businesses in town.

We are just now beginning to tackle some of the outdoors with a concentration on the front garden.
Let's just say it is a 'natural' garden right now, filled with lovely wildflowers in the form of weeds, sharing the bit of earth with plants which no longer can be seen!
We are trying to get it weeded and then plan on planting lavender because it takes care of itself and comes up every year and looks and smells divine.
A bit of spring bulbs should also be planted as well as some hydrangea and peonies.
In the back garden, I would like to plant some lilacs and lily-of-the-valley.
If you know any good sources for any of these plants, please share!

So it is a happy post this time with many more to come.
Please leave a note to let me know you are still stopping by - and accept my apologises for the lack of posts in ever-so-long.
xxx
Maggie

Where Do I Begin?

Our Christmas tree 2009

My sister, Deborah, made the Stanley Terrier Ornament Other ornaments are vintage and collected over time

This one, or one like it (I collected them to give to my children and do not know which one of us has the original) has been on my tree since I was a little girl

Should I say, Merry Christmas or Happy New Year?
Do I go way back to mid December to try to catch up - or - perhaps way back to February 2009?
It has been one long and crazy year!

Angel Pyramide

First of all, I would like to say that I hope Santa brought you everything you wished for and that this year, 2010, is all you dream it will be filled with happiness, good health, lifelong friends, and all the joys of family.

Our holiday was lovely spent quietly with family and friends.

Our collection of antique and vintage tree toppers - some right from Germany!

Our daughter, Elizabeth and her husband, Joe could not be with us, nor could our son Jonathan and his fiancee, Stephanie. We missed them desperately and hope that this year will be one where we can all share the holiday together.

Some of you may know that my husband lost his job last February. The recession was in full swing and his company was losing business every day. More than half of the workers and management were made redundant and Jim was one of them. His new job was to look for work and apply for jobs, every single day - which he did without complaint. It did get very depressing some days as nothing seemed to come of all his hard work. He had a few scattered interviews over long periods of time, but nothing came of them and the word was that there were as many as 300 applicants for every 'real' advertised job. And the harsh reality was that most of the hundreds of jobs he was applying for didn't actually exist.

Finally, the week before Christmas we had the good news that Jim was hired at a company in the south of England.

Now we live in the middle of England, and Jim was born and raised here so this move will be both an adventure and a bit sad for him, too. But oh what it means to us right now!
Jim is living two lives: one here with me and our daughter, Katie, on the weekends, and another in the south five days a week.

Of course I worry about him all the time and this recent rash of terrible weather doesn't help matters! I thought I had left snow behind me in Buffalo, New York!

A view of our neighbour's garden right after the first round of heavy snow

We found a lovely cottage to share with some wonderful people, a cat and a dog, who we lovingly refer to as 'holiday pets' even though work is far from a holiday for Jim! So he is all set there, living about a city block away from the sea, with all the comforts of home.
He will continue this commute until we find a place to move and live.
And there is so much to do and to prepare!
And all the while I am reminded of a time we spent, not so very long ago, in a similar situation.

We married in 2005 but our first year of marriage was spent apart while I remained in America preparing and selling my house there and settling my affairs before moving here to the UK.
The Internet kept us close. It was a place to meet and chat and send messages and photographs.
We both subscribed to International phone services and talked everyday. Surely if we could do this for over a year, across 3500 miles, we will be up to it again with only 150 miles between us?
So while I am keeping the home fires burning, Jim is earning the money for fuel, and this year will surely run it course with excitement and new stories to share.
Keep a watch of this space . . .
xxx
Maggie