Thursday December 24th 2020 - Christmas Eve has arrived, so it is now officially "Christmas". Presents under the tree, dinner eaten and tidied, the log burner murmuring away and the house dogs snoozing, after a late walk. Andrew is resting his eyelids. The Ranch is quiet. At last.
We have been here about 7 weeks, and it is most definitely home. There are two types of people that have visited, those that get it, and those that don't !!!. Some marvel at how inviting and spacious the cabin is. How it feels as if we have been living here for a long while, how the light glows golden and the view makes you draw breath, while some, ask twice, do you live here all the time ? It always makes us chuckle.
We first saw the Ranch in June. A beautiful warm summers day, with blue skies and a gentle breeze and we stood on the veranda and could only imagine sitting out late into the evenings whittling the hours away - those rose tinted glasses are something special...
The reality is we moved in at the beginning of November and so far we have had rain, rain, mud, rain, snow, mud, more mud, rain, rain and snow - oh and now more mud.
A never ending routine of sweeping and moping to keep most of the mud outside rather than inside. I have found myself googling " best mops for wooden floors" "best way to keep wooden floors clean" "best vaccum cleaner for wooden floors" .. and on, and on. Hot water, a soft mop and elbow grease work best. (Throw in a bit of Abba and some slidy socks and watch the calories burn, baby burn).
But we love it.
Back in June, I stood in the living room area and pondered how on earth it was going to work with our furniture. A mixed bag of styles and colours.
Again, back to the internet for mixed bag of suggestions - "interior log cabins" returned beautiful, but vast, American cabins, draped in furs and fires and sofa's that looked like they would suck you in never to be seen again. "Alpine living, log cabin" returned results showing, stunning glass fronted cabins with minimalist interiors and views of fjords and lakes or up in mountains overlooking cloud inversions.
The reality is a log cabin in Yorkshire on a working farm. But we love it.
I was very conscious that the log burner is in the wrong place, for interior design that is, and that if you laid out the living space in a traditional way, with the fire as the heart of the room, and sofa's along walls, you would be ignoring the one thing that makes this space exceptional - the view.
So, after drawing lots of different layouts and trying to think of the spaces we would need to live in, we decided on Back to Back Sofa's. This really didn't sit comfortably with me to begin with. Nothing against the walls, sofa's that didn't match but we have created, a sitting room with a view, a snug with a fire, a dining room and on and on ....
We love it.
I am sure as times move on, the layout will morph and furniture will come and go, but for now, we have Yorkshire, with the view, which is Andrews domain and you are invited for tea. And The Rest of the World, which is the big sofa in front of the fire with an eye on the kitchen - and you are welcome here any time.... for tea or coffee.
As the small Christmas gifts arrived in the post from family - one very small package drew my attention. My Mum, who will be reading this, and I, have over the last few years exchanged special baubles to hang on our tree's. I had duly dispatched Mums and knew, because she had said, that she could find one that was right but that a small something was on it's way. DONT OPEN IT UNTIL CHRISTMAS .. she said - she knows me better than that.
How utterly perfick is this....
A small china heart with such HUGE words on it. Words that totally sum up how life sometimes throws you a curve ball, you take a small step ... And never look back.
We wish you all a very Merry and Safe Christmas 2020, at the end of a year that most of us would rather forget, put your slippers on, give those that are close a hug, and those that can't be, a phone call or a "facetime" (one of the best things to come from 2020) - put the mince pie out , and who knows what might happen tomorrow.
xx