Heartsease Cottage

This weekend marked almost exactly a year since I first started my move to the mountains and my cottage is finally habitable, furnished, stocked with delicious edibles and wine, curtained, polished, serene, ready to welcome guests.

On a perfect night with the swelling moon rising in a clear, glittering winter sky, the mountain a vast shape in the darkness above, gathered faces of old friends and new were lit with firelight. Indoors, golden light, warmth, music. Moroccan lamb cooked with almonds, honey, apricots; couscous; excellent red wine; warm, creamy deserts; music unearthed at last from a box under twelve other boxes, dusted off and played after so long I'd forgotten I had some of it; the table laid with familiar crockery and cutlery, lights and candelabra ... home.

Friends from Jhb and Cape traveled down for the weekend. The holiday rolled out in the sweetest, bluest, sunniest days of rambles along golden cliffs and dusty farm roads followed by brilliantly starry, freezing nights; lazy meals with family and friends, stretching out in front of the evening fire and hearts ease at each day's end.

What sanity and peace to be at last in my own beautiful place. Every morning that I step outside on grass thick with white frost, or say goodnight to the incredible arc of stars, I count myself the most fortunate of people and am so grateful for this place, for the intense tempering I've had in the last few years and above all for the deep privilege of my fine, great-hearted family and for the love and friendship of wise, loving, accomplished, trueblue people.