The Kitchen Window


One of our kitchen windows used to be cottage back door. You still get the sense of this when you look at it, for the " level" of the top of the window doesn't feel quite right.
It is a window in which I cook and bake. I am baking apple pies today.
I went scrumping this morning and took a bucket load of apples from the last couple of orchard trees in the small field behind the cottage.
The little field used to belong to our cottage but was kept by the owners years back in order to be sold off for building. Decades later, the land remains empty and has been left to overgrow.......which is a shame....we always wanted to buy it in order to replace the old cottage garden and vegetable beds.
Hey ho!
The kitchen window looks out on the lane and the churchyard . In the spring, when the trees are lighter in leaf, you can watch people visiting for Sunday service  and most days there is always figures to be seen clutching bunches of flowers on their their way to the graveyard beyond.
In the afternoons  a white fantail hen often stands on top of the wall in between the gravestones waiting for tidbits to be thrown from the back door across the gap .
Today I'll put some pastry aside for her.
Hens go gaga over raw pastry.
Daily egg customers will get my attention by knocking lightly on the kitchen window and on a couple of occasions children have excited themselves silly by playing " knock and run"  on an evening.
A chorus of barks usually see any half hearted visitors off.
Scotty dog barks can be incredibly ferocious
Without an aga, the window has assumed the role of centre of the kitchen.


When we eventually get he kitchen upgraded , I want my Belfast sink under this window.
Washing up the dishes during The Archers  needs a nice view.... Even though the backdrop is of huge slate tombstones.

Apart from apple pies......there is little else to report.
I am putting off searching for the dead mouse which I am sure is under our bed. I heard Albert and
William throttling it last night after chris retired
Luckily he was fast asleep...dreaming his 2mg of diazepam sleep

71 comments:

  1. You are baking apple pies today? Can Beate and I come over??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll save you a piece each. Though don't German's make their own version of apple pie?

      Delete
  2. I have a mate who has a house in the middle of a graveyard. His kitchen window view is very similar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bet he doesn't have loads of dog shit stories?

      Delete
  3. How charming. I love this window and how you have put your personal touches there. :) My grandmother's little farmhouse had one similar where she would bake and watch to see who drove up the hill through her garden of holly-hocks. You really brought me back to a wonderful memory. Have a great day John and have a slice for me. Deb

    ReplyDelete
  4. HAHA! I must correct this. They did not drive through her holly-hocks...she would look through them to see the road.:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is nothing worse than a car through your hollyhocks

      Delete
  5. I love your cottage John ….. it has such a lovely, comfy feel about it and I think that any visitor would feel very at home and welcomed.
    HOWEVER !!!!!!! I feel that, as a lover of interiors,it is my duty to say that, when the kitchen gets updated,the lace curtains should go ! Just a suggestion ….. it's your cottage ! I'm sure that I've got things in my home that you wouldn't give houseroom ! I feel horrible now and my finger is hovering over the publish button …… oh heck, lets live dangerously !! XXXX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jac
      It's only there for privacy
      The lane lies right on the other side....I couldn't stand the amblers peeping through

      Delete
    2. That's fair enough …. I thought that it would be for privacy …. don't take any notice of me. What do I know ?!! XXXX

      Delete
    3. No you are right.... If possible I would remove the net, even though it's a pretty French design....

      Delete
    4. I actually love old lace curtains and have some myself …… I just think that your view is lovely and it's a shame to blot it out but, if people would be peering in, it is necessary. I take it all back !! XXXX

      Delete
  6. Anonymous11:49 am

    What lovely thick walls you have. How wonderful to have such a deep window ledge to display your treasures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was waiting for tom Stephenson to,comment about how you like my thick walls

      Delete
    2. Anonymous5:03 pm

      Let's hope he didn't notice.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous12:03 pm

    Apple pies are the only thing I can bake well. They take forever, though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really?
      Mind you......don't Americans make them very thick?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous1:47 am

      I'm not sure. I've never seen a British one, unless I overlooked yours.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous12:07 pm

    Given you work hard enough, do a lot for the community, cook and seem to be a good all round bloke, I think your kitchen reno should see the installation of an Aga. You owe yourself.

    But as Jacqueline suggests, ditch the lace. Who is going to want to perve on you in you in the kitchen, ah unless.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A girl needs her modesty curtain

      Delete
    2. You can add the shades that come up from the bottom. Style and privacy.

      cheers, parsnip

      Delete
  9. One specification in house hunting for me,the sink MUST be in front of a window.
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can think of nothing more pleasant than washing up to The Archers, and looking out over the village church. Add the aroma of baking apple pies, and you must be in heaven.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Chris has retired? I hope he's got a good pension to draw. Was there a retirement party? I expect his work colleagues bought him a record token.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I like the lace curtain - it softens the light while letting most of it through and is a lovely backdrop for the china.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wish I had a house husband like you. That nook of your kitchen looks very homely. Lovely reflection on life JG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you lived nearer, you could rent me for the day

      Delete
  14. You and Chris have a lovely space. Albert must be light on his feet to not trash all of your lovely china. The five monsters here would have a field day with that window!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I only show you the nice parts...... I won't show you the concrete floor or the small hole in the kitchen ceiling

      Delete
  15. How charming that the heart of your kitchen is that window. Not being domesticated anymore (I outgrew it in my late fifties!), I'd have my laptop in that window and type up a storm -er- story! John, for the first time in ages, yesterday I had a day similar to what you've had before concerning chickens and / or dogs and their demise. If you get a chance, do pop over and check out my post today. xxx Jo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry to hear your sad news...... Like I said ....been there fr too many times

      Delete
  16. When I was a kid, we played "knock and run" too, but we called it "knock on ginger."

    ReplyDelete
  17. Apple pie and custard so thick you can stand your spoon in.....or thick cream.......I want some NOW lol!
    Lovely kitchen anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Our view out of the kitchen window used to be a bit dreary - a crumbling garage and decrepit decking. We had them both replaced with lawn and shrubs and washing-up is now a much pleasanter job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whoever does the washing up invariably organized the kitchen window view

      Delete
  19. You paint such a beautiful pictures of cottage doors and windows, fresh apple pies, loved pets... and dead mice under the bed. But I guess it must be easier to find once it starts to stink.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They usually are mummified when I come across them

      Delete
  20. my inner goth would be more than happy to gaze out on to the gravestones

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not a goth... But I kind of like the peace of the graveyard

      Delete
  21. Hm...I didn't realize you were that close to the graveyard. Kind of comforting though, I would think. I do love your window! Apple pie sounds good about now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I aim to be buried in the graveyard... A few feet from my chickens

      Delete
  22. I listen on line when ever there is a free moment. Most of the time it is with my evening scotch when the house gone to sleep.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Although I hate scotch...that sounds like bliss

      Delete
  23. Ignore the lace haters….I think it makes your cottage look very " cottagey". Might not be going to visit your area soon, but will def check you out when we do!! I liked the comment about having you as a" house husband"…can I book you in here please?

    ReplyDelete
  24. I suppose a dead mouse under the bed is better than a living - or half living - mouse IN the bed.

    I love your kitchen work space and window. Our first house had the kitchen sink facing into a bare corner. Our first remodel to the house was to move the sink to an outside wall and put in a window. It was so much better!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Now then. I remember another time pastry tidbits were thrown across the gap. A nice lady in a 4x4 might too?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bloody hell you have a good memory
      The pastry lump on her side widow!

      Delete
  26. I have said many times that you do see life John = now I can truly say that you do see death too, looking over that graveyard as you do. I love the view - peaceful, very Gray's Elegy-ish. After all it is where the rude forefathers of your hamlet sleep. What could be more beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi John. The kitchen window looks cool. I buy flowers every Saturday. I wish for lots of things and one is to meet you like we said. You can tell me about your experiences in the psychi ward. I don't know anything about baking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me thinks your recollections would be more interesting! X

      Delete
  28. What a nice post. I baked an apple pie for Willy Dunne Wooters. I decided to try it yesterday and discovered he must have cut the pie with the same implements he used to slice onion for his burger. Yes, we have onion-flavored apple pie.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just smother it with custard.. No one will notice..that's what I do

      Delete
  29. Ah yes mice. The Nu (our cat) has just discovered the delights of hunting and eating mice; obviously this new joy must be shared, preferably by standing in the bedroom and shouting 'meiow' or 'hey get up, look at what I've found' very loudly and often followed up by leaping on the bed and standing on us. What she doesn't share is the cleaning up of the corpses in the morning. Oh no! that's our job. Stumble out of bed in the morning and try to remember not to step on the dead bodies - but at least we don't have to look under the bed for them.

    I love your kitchen - it looks so welcoming and comforting - and a little bit Downton Abbey. I can almost smell the apple pie :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol Downton Abbey.........
      Perhaps one of the staff quarters over the stables!

      Delete
  30. You 'paint' a very peaceful picture, John. Now time for a nap.....for me.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love that you always seem to have fresh flowers around the house, John. And I think the lace is perfect for that window...I like it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ever since I bought my first house ( 1989) I always promised myself I would have fresh flowers in it... And I always have

      Delete
  32. Flowers in the house are an essential. As is a kitchen window to look out and dream.
    I love yours and the view. And hope the pie was wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not one of my best... But passable...it's almost gone.....

      Delete
  33. Ahh...apple pie. So hot here we don't dare turn on the oven! Love the window view...peaceful.

    ReplyDelete
  34. wish I lived nearby for some fresh apple pie and a cozy kitchen in which to have tea!

    ReplyDelete
  35. A day in the life of John Gray, who has a way with words that sooth the heart and mind.

    ReplyDelete
  36. As long as you are on the other side of the cemetery wall, and baking apple pies, things are good.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Your cottage is charming, John. I can almost smell the pie baking.

    ReplyDelete
  38. That is too bad about the back yard. Sad that you have no way to add it back to your yard.
    Lovely story of your views, John.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I once lived next to a cemetery and found the well groomed lawns & shady trees pleasant to look out on. Dead people are quiet neighbors & they don't take all the parking spaces in front of your home.
    When I was shown the condo. I purchased, the viewing was very rushed & I somehow failed to notice that the kitchen had no windows - a detail that might have been a deal-breaker since I spend a lot of time in that room. Since the space above the kitchen sink was just an empty wall, I thought hanging a mirror might be a good way to reflect more light into the room. I found constantly glancing at my own reflection was not my cup of tea. In the end, I hung a A. Wyeth framed prints of a cat napping on a bed. At least the cat has a window in the room it's sleeping in. Lucky cat!
    Don't let the home decor police try to shame you into getting rid of your french lace curtains. Your home is your sanctuary, so only your opinion counts. Besides they are functional & the style goes with the style of the cottage. Most importantly, they please you.
    Apple pie would go perfect with my coffee right now.

    ReplyDelete
  40. That is an incredibly soothing picture you have posted and I wish I was able to pop on over for some apple pie and tea.

    ReplyDelete
  41. If I ever get really rich, I will buy you that plot of land. X

    ReplyDelete
  42. What's wrong with lace curtains? I've got them and I never knew they were not 'the done thing'. They are very useful especially as we have double-decker buses passing our bedroom window.

    ReplyDelete

I love all comments Except abusive ones from arseholes