Winter’s End

Daffodils coming up

I can't believe it's been a month since I have posted anything!

Most years, at this point in the calendar, I’d be chomping at the bit for spring to arrive. Yesterday, however, I saw the first green shoot of a bulb peeking through the leaves outside the front door of the cottage. I was surprised at my reaction. It was not joy, nor even eager expectation. It was wistfulness. I spent some time with these thoughts; and, upon reflection, I realized how much I have enjoyed spending the cold, dark months of winter in my new home. The wind is howling outside right now and the 10-day forecast reassures me that winter is not over yet. This makes me happy, because I am not quite ready to say good-bye to winter yet.

As much as I love being outside, I have a very pronounced nesting instinct when winter approaches. In most other years, that would mean a break from the physical work of gardening and the chance to spend time curled up with a good book or simply luxuriating in a long night’s sleep under the covers. Being on sabbatical, though, has changed things. There was no garden work this year from which to take a break. Yes, there are still good books to read (and much more time in which to do it) but living in the cottage has afforded me many new opportunities for indoor activity – most of which have been quite enjoyable. It is losing some of these experiences that has made me less eager to see winter depart.

Books on the bedside table

Having the cottage as “home” is the first time I have lived outside the monastery since I joined in 1976. Yes, there have been other extended stints when I have lived outside the monastery, primarily for studies; but these were always temporary. Most often, too, they were just another form of institutional living. This is the first time, however, that I have lived in a domestic setting since leaving my parents’ home. My other “domestic” experience was living in an apartment for my last two years of college – but that was over forty years ago. Returning to this style of living has been a pleasant change and it takes me out of my usual routine. In that regard, it does exactly what a sabbatical should do, but I still get to live “at home”.

Cosmas, the guard cat

The first few weeks in the cottage were all about making it my own. There were the practicalities of just figuring out where things were and how they worked. There were the quirks of the house to get used to – especially the noise of the heating system and the doors that wouldn’t stay shut. Then there were the new rhythms of each day – how early did I have to get up in order to make it to Matins? What was the best time to feed the cats? When should I program the heat to come on in the morning? Then there were the basic necessities. The previous tenants left the house reasonably well furnished with most things. Every now and then, however, I would discover that I lacked something essential. This gave rise to almost daily trips to one store or another. By the third week of December, I felt that I had most of what I needed. Then it was time for Christmas.

The cottage Christmas look

I’ve written about Christmas in some earlier blog entries, so I won’t say a whole lot more. In addition to decorating, Christmas was my first chance to use the kitchen in a major way. I did a substantial amount of baking before the big day. Most of the output was for gifts, but a few things were just to have around the house for guests. I finally got a dining room table and chairs just before Christmas. This was a very important step, because it meant I could entertain properly now. So, once Christmas was past I began to have guests for lunch and or dinner. 

Guests for dinner

This brought a new rhythm to my days. Now I threw myself into planning and preparing meals. The cottage was alive with the smells of food cooking and with all the attendant housework that comes with preparing for guests. When the weather was inclement or too cold, I was usually in the kitchen putting something together. Even without a schedule, my days were full and it seemed like I was always busy. The dark days of winter were passing quickly but pleasurably. The cottage is a wonderfully cozy place to entertain and my guests certainly seemed to enjoy it. In keeping with the Danish idea of “hygge”, I always had a few candles burning. I also left the two Christmas candles in the front windows.

Out with the old, in with the new

There was just one more major “improvement” that I wanted to make in the cottage – paint the living room and kitchen. The previous tenants had left a kind of cantaloupe colored paint on the side walls and trim. This alternated with white on the front and back walls. From the moment I moved in, I knew I wanted to change the color, but I never seemed to have the time to undertake such a big project. When February arrived, it meant I only had one more month before gardening season. I needed to get started. I began by looking at different colors. The online programs that allow you to see the colors in a virtual room can be a bit of a rabbit hole and I was a willing accomplice. It took me about a week to settle on a color scheme. Then I got to work. I knew that the existing color would be difficult to cover, so I applied a primer to all the spaces I intended to paint. This took a lot of time, but, in the end, it was worth it.

Finished

 The final coat went on effortlessly and the results were excellent. Now all the major changes were done in the cottage and I really felt that the house was “mine”. Now it was time to move on to the garden, but it also meant that this phase of “settling in” was ending. I have a great deal of satisfaction with the changes I have made, still I realize that the cozy days of hunkering down in the house are about to give way to more time spent outdoors. While I love being outside too, I will miss these days inside.