Ready for Winter.

It has been so warm that the thought of stacking logs for the Winter didn't seem very important. Now the temperature is dropping and so it was time to bring the logs down from the mountain where they have been seasoning for a couple of years.

Now they are safely stacked behind the house. The fuschia is flowering for the second time this year because it has been so sunny.

I love that feeling of getting ready for Winter. I like to have cupboards full of homemade jams and pickles and for some reason lentils, lots of lentils.
La Jovienne has central heating but I think the woodburning stove adds something else, everyone seems to like watching the flames.

The kitchen stove also has a wood fired oven and hob, really useful if there are power cuts and very toasty on the coldest days.

The stone archway is Medieval and prompted a complete redesign of the kitchen when it was discovered.
The next project is to polish the little barrow that was found beneath the old kitchen floor! I am going to clean it and was over the distressed paintwork. It will make a unique log 'basket'. It is beautifully worn and distressed and has lovely little extra touches like the twisted iron stays. The wheels are iron bound and made in exactly the same way as 19th Century cart wheels.

This photograph was taken in what is now my kitchen. I have just found it and can't believe how much this space has changed.