Just Checking In

Hi folks!  I hope my friends and faithful readers of House at Forest Manor haven't forgotten me these last few weeks.  I would miss you all very much if you did. :)  I'm still here but just haven't had much time to blog.  I thought I would do a short, miscellaneous post just to play catch-up.

Is it hot enough for you?  Whew!  It was 86 degrees here yesterday -- hard to believe it's only May 2nd.  I have been following everyone on my blog roll but have had very little time to leave comments, and I apologize for that.  It looks like you've been extra busy and creative!

Our son came home from college for the summer yesterday evening.

We helped him move everything out of the dorm room and load it into our car and his.  Unfortunately, we had boxes from the kitchen stacked in his bedroom here at home, so we had to make a path for him to get in and out of his room.  He had to leave his stuff from school in boxes in the basement until we can get our stuff back in the kitchen.  Can you say "musical chairs"?

In other news, I haven't done any gardening yet -- haven't planted any flowers or anything.  One thing at a time right now.  Our beloved David Austin rose has black spot.

Can those of you who grow roses tell me the best way to get rid of it?  I know I need to get all the affected leaves off the stems and the ground around the rose bush and dispose of them.  But I'm not sure what's the best thing to spray on it afterwards.

I've spruced up our den and made a few seasonal changes for spring and summer.  I've been looking at lots of wonderful recipes online -- on your blogs and at recipe websites.  All in anticipation of cooking something yummy in our new kitchen.

And in addition to reading recipes, I've been re-reading the Brother Cadfael series, by Ellis Peters.  It's been years since I read these books, and I've really enjoyed them the second time around.  These are medieval murder mysteries (you know how bloodthirsty I am ;) ) but they're really so much more than that.  The books are fiction but have a lot of historical facts woven in.  The series portrays life in medieval England during the time of the civil war revolving around the rivalry for the throne between King Stephen and the Empress Maude.

Ellis Peters had a beautiful writing style, and I love her descriptions of the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, Brother Cadfael's wonderful herb garden, the medieval buildings and clothing, and the countryside around Shropshire (a county on the border of England and Wales).  PBS also did a series several years ago called "Cadfael," which was based on the books.  I'm thinking I might watch those again on Netflix this summer, while I'm waiting for the start of Season Three of "Downton Abbey."

We're scheduled to have our counter tops and sink installed tomorrow (Friday), so I'll have some more kitchen updates soon.  In the meantime, I can't wait to see what you're doing this weekend!  Have a great day...

Denise  

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