The guests who arrived at the Lodge at the end of November, thinking they would be with us for 5 days while their new house became habitable, left yesterday for their home up the hill in Leyburn. It’s now really odd that the Lodge is empty – it was just like having proper neighbours rather than guests. They’re only a mile away so we’ll see them all the time, and it’s really lovely to think that we have met and made new friends entirely by accident.
Of course, the downside in all this is that I have completely got out of the habit of changeover days – all I’ve been doing is the washing and ironing. I’m sure we’ll get back into it…
Christmas brought us our new kitchen, finally. We love it. I’ll start running bread and cake courses at the end of February, so that will be fun. The sourdough starters have seen the outside of the fridge for the first time in months and are bubbling away nicely. Lionel – at Crakehall Water Mill where he mills all our stoneground flour – has delivered enough flour to feed an army, so I’m hoping for some hungry bakers!! There are lots of open days at the Mill during 2020, it’s well worth a visit.
I’ve been experimenting with dehydrating eggs. Don’t ask. The mess has been extraordinary.