29 Sept 2010

Be it ever so humble...

We hit the ground with a bit of a thud on our return home last night, as together we surveyed the damage the recent flood had wrought on both our garden and the structure of our Peaceful Home. Dead plants and lawn, and large cracks up to a centimetre in width greeted us at every turn. Doors won't close, the hall arch is propped at an alarming angle and there are little piles of telltale dust everywhere. And no, our insurance does not cover flood damage, and yes, we have checked. There is not a room without injury, and great swathes of our garden will need to be replanted. Meh.

Still it is not all doom and gloom. The freesias are still scenting the front garden with their old fashioned perfume, and the bunch I gathered is freshening the sitting room. The two Lorraine Lee roses that smother the garage have begun flowering. The oranges are ripe and the bowlful on the kitchen table fills me with happy spring feelings. There are pots of pansies everywhere. And joy of joy, the pear trees are in wonderful exuberant abundant bloom. Oh how I do love pear blossom.

There is the wonderful smell of bread baking in the oven, an orange cake cooling on the counter, and Chicken Korma on the stove. There are freshly laundered sheets fluttering on the line, Colin McPhee's Tabuh-Tabuhan playing merrily on the iPod and piles of enticing new books on the coffee table. Audrey the poodle lies asleep on a zabuton in the sun, happy to be home. The colours of my ripply crochet blanket look much brighter in the spring sunshine, and there are fresh flowers in every room. Friends are on their way over to join us for the evening.

As I look around me I can't help but feel incredibly blessed and happy to be here.

It's so true, isn't it - be it ever so humble (and crumbly), there's no place like home.

11 comments:

  1. Welcome home, Jeanne! I'm sorry about the flooding mess, but glad about all the other graces: natural beauty and the comforts of a well-loved home. Blessings!

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  2. Too true ~ but a house is not a home without a cat ~ or two sprawled int he spring sunshine! ;

    Welcome home. You have been missed.

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  3. Beautiful sentiment Jeanne. So true, family and home matter most don't they. I hope the damage done by the flood can eventually be overcome with some hard work and ingenuity. Your garden is so beautiful..loving our pear blossom here too. Nice to have you back. x

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  4. So glad you're home safe and sound! I'm sorry to hear about your flood damage - but if anyone can make it all well again, it's you, Jeanne!

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  5. Welcome home Jeanne!
    "no place like home" that's for sure:)
    btw thanks for posting about your no knead bread! I am still working on getting a good loaf of bread from that blog post of yours before you left on holidays. Been trying the wholemeal one and so it's a bit harder getting it just right and how we like it!

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  6. btw, sorry also about the damage to your home. It just baffles me about insurance not covering flood damage! and oh, you were brave to leave it and go away on holidays, don't know that I could have!

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  7. well, for hitting the ground with a thud... it sure is a BEAUTIFUL post :)

    love to you,

    amy in peru

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  8. I'm glad you are all safe. I hope the repairs won't be too awful......

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  9. Welcome home. It is SUCH a blessing to feel good about being home.

    We have freesias here too, they ARE delightful.

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  10. Beautifully written Jeanne!

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  11. Jeanne - I hope it won't be to hard to fix up all the flood damage, jobs like that can be very daunting and stressful. The flowers intp the top photos smell beautiful, I have one in my garden, but I can't bring the flowers inside as my husband suffers from hay-fever.

    It is always wonderful to be home:). Your own little cave of peace and tranquility.

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