Getting a little Christmasy

It is not a time of year I particularly like but as my house is in the centre of the village I have decided to start to add a little brightness to the towpath.

Towel Rail

I have finally found a towel rail that I think will do the job.  I found lots of lovely ones but most of them would have needed to go in front of the window and I didn't want that.  I eventually found something in Glasgow on the Internet which seems to work and will hold enough towels for me and any visitor I may have.

Lovely autumnal sunshine

There's been some lovely autumnal sunshine this year.  This afternoon I managed to get a picture of the poplar trees in Stoke Bruerne reflecting their autumn glory (although I think they may be a bit late in turning this year) with the museum, the four cottages and Sister Mary Ward's old house (now the Spice of Bruerne) reflecting the seeming warmth of a cold autumnal afternoon.

An update as most stuff is now completed

I have now arrived at the stage where I think most of the important work has now been completed on the house.  The original sales brochure is here.

This is the outside of the house taken from outside the Boat Inn - mine is the one with the bright red hanging baskets by the front door.

The kitchen - the kitchen is below the level of the towpath so although you see three floors there are in fact three floors and a basement.  There is a back door to the house in the kitchen.

The Sitting Room - the sitting room is at towpath level and has a front door leading out onto the towpath

 

The spare bedroom

 

The Bathroom

The top Bedroom

 

Wardrobes finally done

The fitter from Ikea came today to assemble and fit the new wardrobes.  I think they look good but did have a bit of an anxious time before the mirrored doors were fitted - that then brightened everything up.

Sadly one of the mirrored doors arrived broken (well broken when we opened the packaging) but as luck would have it the one spare bit I retained from an Ikea wardrobe from 10 years ago was a mirrored door - it is not exactly the same but it fits very well and will be fine until such time as Ikea can deliver a suitable replacement.

I am almost there with all the work

The new cupboards are on the left of the bed

I bought some doors for the Ikea bookcase which was a close (ish) match for the cupboards on the other side of the bed bearing in mind the costs!

I have ordered the wardrobes - I decided on standalone rather than built in as I think that is more in keeping with the age and style of the house.  Ikea also offer an assembly process so I have opted for that.

The wardrobes come tomorrow (Thursday) and the assembly man comes on Saturday so everything should be finished this weekend - that's something else off my mind!

More on curtains and a visit to the Parish Council

I now have curtains up in the sitting room which has made it so cosy in the evenings. Almost like home!  

I attended the Stoke Bruerne Parish Council meeting on Tuesday evening.  I found it very surprising and came away with a feeling that I could join the group and help.  I am lucky in that BA trained me (relentlessly) how  deal with meetings and the different personalities, and I must say that the one I attended on Tuesday evening just made me realise how lucky I have been in life.  A lot of meetings I have attended recently (even just 1:1 meetings with my bank) have left me feeling there was room for improvement perhaps.  Put your money where your mouth is I hear you say - I can't at the moment because I have to have lived in the village for 12 months before I can take part - I may well put myself forward but not until I understand Stoke Bruerne more intimately!

A season of mists and mellow fruitfulness - a picture taken from my doorstep this morning is below.