It is funny how storms mean something a bit different now, living in an old house which we are slowly bringing back to life as a long-term family home. Our house has stood for coming on for 200 years as far as we can tell (a trip to the Archives to find out more is still pending), so on the one hand that is a very good thing. It has survived many, many more storms than I should see in my lifetime. On the other hand, it needs a lot of ongoing care and attention, and it is hard to know where this will next unexpectedly need to be focussed, diverting what plans and schemes we have made so far.
Fortunately, though, Storm Éowyn didn’t do any damage. She did let her feelings be known, but the winds didn’t much top 50km per hour (or at least didn’t when I was checking my phone). One of the windows in my study was rattling away all afternoon, but fortunately that didn’t come to anything. The back three rooms upstairs, part of the 1970s (as far as we have been told – research and confirmation pending) extension, are all up in the roof, with no attics. As a result, you really do hear the winds as they sweep across, especially as we’re at the top of the hill. Later in the day, we all sat together, cosy, in the sitting room (I am still very much enjoying actually having heating in there after ten months without!), listening to the noises outside. Auri’s school closed at lunchtime, so there was a general feeling of giddiness and excitement. It was great fun.
It was Auri’s birthday last week, which was also the first anniversary of getting the keys to our new home. And, on Sunday, we celebrated our first year of moving in – well, actually, we were all so exhausted from Auri’s birthday party earlier in the day, we just crashed out in the sitting room. We had put a bottle of champagne we’d been brought at Christmas in the fridge to chill, but it can wait until this weekend when we’ll raise a toast to our family home.
