The weather outside was delightful, if your taste runs to wet and wild.
But inside, it was cozier still.
In the parlour, there were wellies drying by a winter fire...
...and a hearth crackling with sweet-smelling logs of olive, almond and eucalyptus.
Breakfast was cooking on the Aga...
and a snug, warm corner yearned impatiently for someone to sink upon it...
...with a gripping read, a stack of paper-thin pancakes...
...and a steaming libation.
(Should tastes run a bit stronger, there were a myriad of concoctions waiting to be mixed, heated, jostled and stirred, depending on one's preferences.)
Of the two young creatures in the house, one was stirring...
...and the other -- who had earned some iPad time -- sat cross-legged in a joyous trance.
The rooms, though not overly large or grand, were full of calm and comfort.
And the lights, they twinkled.
I send all of you warm wishes for the merriest and most peaceful of holiday seasons and hopes for a prosperous 2011.
* * * * *
It is with a pang of regret that I must tell you I have decided to take a two-month sabbatical from this blog in order to explore some opportunities which have arisen; as much as I love to write "A Bloomsbury Life", there just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything. I shall miss your funny, wise comments and our wonderful dialogues about all and sundry. You have transformed my view of the world: it now feels to me like a great big rollicking dinner party welded together by friendship.
I hope to return to you in March refreshed, revitalized and ready to go full steam ahead.