Daily life at the cottage

Here is the massive Aga stove in the kitchen, with the menu for the day’s lunch and dinner on the board beside it. These stoves stay warm all the time, so the kitchen can be pretty hot when we are working in there doing the dishes and prep for meals. The lowest right hand oven is a warming oven for plates and bowls, the top right is the hottest, and bottom left is yet another different temperature. You can see the giant kettle there sitting between the two hobs; when it needs to be boiled, the cover on the left is lifted for the kettle to sit on there. It heats in a short time. Someone is always wanting a cup of tea, so the kettle is kept filled.

Yesterday, I was working for the afternoon until 8 in the evening. I did the clean up from lunch, made marmalade from canned Seville oranges (a first for me), baked some frozen bread, hung laundry, fixed trays for dinner to be served outside (photo above) and laid the breakfast tables with cutlery and dishes for the morning- and more things I can’t think of. There is a lot to running this big house with many comings and goings around the classes. It was a busy day of learning the ways of a well organized place. And I loved it! The students, who are all ages from 18 up to probably 75, are on a rota to help serve the meals, clear plates, and take orders for tea and coffee after meals. The Workaway helpers are also on a schedule for working, and we try to make the next person’s shift easier by prepping well (like breakfast table setting). The whole thing feels like a combination of working in a hotel/bed and breakfast, and a restaurant.

It was a gorgeous evening to eat outside.

Ellie, a student from Germany, decided to eat the nasturtium I used to decorate the cheese plate.

Another task I was asked to on the weekend was to cut and arrange flowers for the dining tables and some other places in the house. The gardens aren’t large, but offer a good variety of flowers to choose from. There is a newlywed couple here from Spain, so I made an extra special bouquet for their room.

After working hard all day Saturday with my Workaway colleagues doing the change over of rooms, laundry to hang out, etc, I went out to eat with 2 women students, 1 from Catalonia and 1 from Italy. We went to Ambleside where we shared a bottle of Prosecco with our meal and talked about all sorts of things.

Last night after work, I walked to the pub with my fellow worker Alle, who is from Italy, and two Dutch women who are here to improve their English. They’re sisters who wanted a holiday together while learning. We had the most interesting conversation about WWII, the books we have read about that time, and what we know of it from our parents’ or grandparents’ experiences. Alle and I sat outside when we got back, with cups of tea and biscuits, to watch the moon rise.

Excuse the flash on the photo- I forgot to turn it off.

I love the work and the people here. I’m part of a hard working team and having fun too. Everyone takes advantage of the natural beauty around us by walking or exploring historic sites, and people help each other figure out routes or ways to get somewhere. Today I knew I was settled in when I asked Sahara, the dog, to walk with me. We walked 3 mi around Rydal lake, with her stopping to check with me about which trail I wanted to take. The fog was just burning off of the hills nearby.

And a night heron kept watch for fish.