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A Somewhat Mandatory Life Update

A photo of rose tea - loose leaves and petals

I’m happy to say I now feel ‘home’. There have been a few moments recently where I’ve walked through certain areas thinking ‘I love this’; I’m glad to come back after being out. The spring is showing a lot of potential – our living room, for example, gets a lot of light and it’s the perfect reading spot.

There have been many exciting developments in general, namely the finishing of repair work (at least we thought – it seems we may need more done), and the arrival of furniture. Yet I myself am most excited about the plants. We’ve a few flowers and some herbs and it’s going to be interesting seeing if we can keep them alive and extremely rewarding, I imagine, if we end up with a lot of colour and edible produce somewhere down the line. We’ve the usual rosemary, basil, thyme and so forth. A couple of stubborn lilies are determined to keep tipping over and we’ve a temperamental primrose but otherwise they seem to be doing well.

In addition to these we have some chilli shoots. We planted countless seeds in a bucket about three weeks ago and there are now 19 shoots growing with, I suspect, more on the way.

There are still no bookcases; my books remain in piles by my desk. I’m trying to ignore the dust and the fact that there are still a few ARCs lost amongst them. I’ve written a post about compiling books which I’ll likely publish later. We don’t have a television which is rather nice, even if I was disappointed about not being able to watch the Eurovision (something my family has watched together for many years).

The last note to share: I’ve discovered rose tea. I bought a variation several years ago but never actually tried it, and over the last few years I’ve regretted that and wondered if I could find some more (I’d bought it on holiday). Well I finally found some and after the initial worry that it might taste like perfume (I tried lavender tea once and it was like drinking bubble bath) I have to say it’s wonderful. Opening the container is like walking past a bowl of potpourri, and I’ve taken to having a cup every morning.

What wonders has spring brought to your home? What were you most happy about when you last moved home?

 
 

Christine @Buckling Bookshelves

May 14, 2014, 2:17 am

Glad to hear you’re settling in! Lavender tea sounds dubious, but I must say that baking with dried lavender is just lovely — particularly when paired with lemon :)

Jeanne

May 14, 2014, 2:03 pm

I still miss crepe myrtle and hydrangeas from where I grew up, but the consolation prize in the northern US is lilacs. The lilacs bloom best when there’s been a cold winter, and this past one certainly qualifies.

Vishy

May 14, 2014, 3:57 pm

Glad to know that you are settling down in your new home, Charlie. Hope the bookshelves arrive soon :) I have never tried rose tea – nice to know that it is wonderful. I have tried jasmine tea and hibiscus tea and they are quite nice. After reading your post, I am tempted to try rose tea sometime.

Literary Feline

May 14, 2014, 4:09 pm

I am glad you are settling in. The garden with the herbs and flowers sounds so lovely!

The weather where I live is so up and down. One minute we have perfectly nice spring weather and the next it feels more like summer. Tomorrow it is supposed to reach 102F (38C?) and the winds are quite strong. We are in high wind and fire warning status. Usual May weather.

I tried a rose candy the other day and it tasted just like rose. I am not sure I really liked it, to be honest. I am not a big tea drinker, but you have me curious about the tea.

Jenny @ Reading the End

May 14, 2014, 9:19 pm

Sounds like you are getting cozy! Once you have bookcases you will really be all set.

My favorite thing the last time I moved home (last November) was having my own apartment again. Oh how I love having my own apartment. I can talk to myself and play whatever records I want, and every room can have bookmarks, pens, and notebooks in it.

blodeuedd

May 14, 2014, 9:21 pm

I moved this time last year, horrid, took BF millions of years to unpack…so I did it for him and there are still things he should do

Violet

May 15, 2014, 2:00 am

Moving house is very stressful for everyone, so I’m glad that you’re starting to feel at ‘home’ in your new abode. I moved a lot before we bought the house where we live now and I’ve never really felt settled here. I don’t like the area and the house is a total money suck, but heigh ho, at least I have a roof over my head! Good luck with the plants.

VioletCrush

May 15, 2014, 4:11 am

Settling down in a new place can be exciting and tiring. I’m waiting for your bookshelves to come so that we can have a tour? :)

Alice

May 15, 2014, 8:44 am

Glad you’re finally feeling at home, Charlie! There is something about good weather that cheers up a place I think.

Rose tea sounds interesting, does it taste of Rose? I’ve recently discovered the wonders of a daily green tea myself.

Charlie

May 30, 2014, 5:52 pm

Christine: Interesting, I would never have thought that works! I might have to find some lavender cake…

Jeanne: Lilacs are lovely, though I didn’t know about winter influencing them, how interesting!

Vishy: Jasmine tea is lovely; I only heard about hibiscus tea a short while ago, but I may have to try it. The rose tea I have is rose and black tea – I hear you’ve got to be careful about pure rose petal tea in regards to digestion (to put it nicely).

Literary Feline: It is lovely, except for the recent addition of slugs… Our weather is similar only that it’s winter/spring rather than spring/summer. That’s one stereotype of Brits that is completely true, we talk about the weather a lot! Hope you’re okay in regards to fires, that sounds scary. That reminds me of the rose Turkish Delight I tried. Similarly I wasn’t sure if I liked it. It’s just so different. As I’ve said above to Vishy, there’s black tea with petals and just rose petals, so you could opt for the rose petals only. Though be careful about drinking too much at once, I think there’s an issue in that.

Jenny: Yes, that’s what I’m hoping. The bookcases should help a lot. Hehe, yes, it’s nice having your own space.

Blodeuedd: Eek, sounds like you need to leave the rest for him.

Violet: Yes, it’s good to have a place, but if you don’t like it, I hope it gets better or you can move somewhere else at some point.

VioletCrush: Yes, there will be a tour of some kind. I’ve just no idea when at the moment!

Alice: Yes, that’s very true. Yep, the tea tastes as it smells. Read my response to Literary Feline before you try it, though. I used to drink green tea a lot, it’s lovely. And a lot less caffeine, too!

Iris

May 31, 2014, 5:13 pm

I’m so glad to hear you’re settling in! I’m impatient for that feeling and I have yet to receive the key to the new house..

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