Many small things

[decemberthirty]

Grey and cool today, with the promise of rain in the afternoon. Promise or threat? We had an intense storm over the weekend; rain fell for hours, cycling back with renewed force after each brief slackening, turning to thunder and lightening in the evening. I was suddenly very aware of the age of this house, as though I could feel the water searching with prying fingers for any crack where it could enter. I don't think I've ever felt so strongly that a house was being put to the test by the weather. We passed the test, mainly--a few drips here and there, but otherwise dry.



After the storm, I washed my kitchen windows, and I love how clear they are now. Even on a grey day I can see the difference. This is the sort of work I've been doing on the house lately: small projects, the sort I can finish in an afternoon. There are bigger project yet to be done, of course, but right now I like the feeling of completion I get from these tasks. Planting pansies in the window boxes, or doing a bit of deep cleaning, or painting a piece of furniture.





This mirror is another recent project. We made a little goal of not buying any newly-manufactured furniture when we moved into this house, so when we needed a full-length mirror we turned to craigslist and found this one. I planned to paint it from the beginning--you can't really tell in the photo, but the wood is pretty scratched up, and there are two big holes where someone must have screwed it directly into a wall--but it's been leaning against the wall unpainted for months. So this weekend I finally painted it.



The color is called Plum Raisin, but it mostly looks like a chocolatey brown with just a hint of a purple undertone. It's a paint sample that we bought when were trying to decide on colors for the dining room, and I'm happy to have gotten more use out of it. The mirror now hangs in the corner of my study, next to one of the bookshelves.



I'm almost done painting the other bookshelf in my study to match the mirror, but in the meantime there are stacks of books everywhere. I couldn't live with it this way for long, but I like the look.



Dinner last night: whole wheat penne with spring vegetables and herbs. Asparagus, peas, and leeks; parsley, green onions, and lemon zest. I'm glad that it stays light long enough now to take decent food photographs!



Just as the camellia fades, the azalea bursts into flower. I am mostly posting this photo because I am amazed at how much growth there has been since April 5th, when I last took some garden notes.



And look: the hawthorn tree has leaves on it now!



I continue to find all sorts of things coming up through the myrtle. Here are lilies of some kind and peonies. I can't wait for the peonies!



This lavender was left behind by the previous owners of our house. The lavender that I brought with me is shaped differently, more upright, more like a little shrub. But I like this one its unkempt look, the way it sprawls out of its old chipped pot.