My Back Room

It's been an exhausting and stressful week, so today I'm going into the back room of my cottage. This is the little study where no one disturbs me except the cat. I have a sweet, beautiful little orange tiger cat with white socks to whom I am not allergic. Her name is Taffy and she keeps my chair warm, but she magically does not shed so my clothes are never decorated in orange and white hair.

The fire is burning low in the fireplace to keep out the damp of this rainy summer day. It is a soft rain, gurgling in the gutters and dripping outside my diamond-paned windows. I have a comfortable sofa between the window and the fire, where I can curl up with a cup of tea or a book. My desk is in the corner, made of rosewood, as is the bookshelf covering one wall of the room. The low-beamed ceiling makes everything feel close and comfortable; oil paintings of landscapes decorate the walls and a copy of "The Shell Seekers" hangs over the fireplace. Outside is my garden, which I tend every day so there are no weeds at all. It is enclosed by a little white fence and behind the fence the land slopes up to an orchard covered-hill. On the other side of the hill is a pond where I can fish and beyond that, standing patient and watchful over the rest of the rolling countryside, are the distant mountains, though you couldn't see them today for the clouds.

I live in a wonderful neighborhood. All of the most delightful cottage dwellers are nearby. Mrs. Bloxby lives near the church and Agatha Raisin is just around the corner on Lilac Lane. Beatrix Potter's Hill Top Farm is visible from the top of my orchard. Miss Marple lives just around the corner in the other direction. Miss Seeton is across from the post office. James Herriott takes care of my cat. I can take the bus to Lochdubh as well.

Besides all this, I can go to the Shire and have a cup of tea with Sam and Rosie any time I wish.

It's really a lovely way to live.