Sawrey House - Thursday, July 13, 2009

I can't post in order -- just can't. Certain days, places, photos, are insisting on their own presentation. Earlier, I posted a page from my travel journal -- a photo from a brochure, showing Sawrey House. Impressive, but I want you to SEE it, really SEE it. See it and then enter it. BE there, with me. Sawrey House is a small walk from Hilltop Farm, in Near Sawrey (there is also a Far Sawrey). Beatrix Potter regularly walked the streets, farms, pastures, barns, buildings, fells of both, sketched them, put many locations and characters into her children's books, memorized them, inhaled them -- you will surely see why now. Sawrey House. What do YOU feel, seeing this? Coming around the corner from the car park, turn, point, shoot. Ahhhhhhh .... Close. Imagine, can you? Sitting in such a turreted room, surely on a deeply-cushioned window bench (something velvety and floral, yes?), gazing through the green ivy glow at the view? Would you be transformed? Closer. Closest. [Ivy photos are mandatory - Double BB LOVES the stuff!] 'Scuse me, but is that a MERMAN I see? Put in new roll of film and scurry down stone terraced steps muy pronto for introductions! Oh my! Nice -- er -- abs, huh? Sirena (aka Toni) felt her tail twitching, true story! [Thank you, Kate, for this photo -- it's one of my favorites from the trip!] Refreshment. Jeeves (aka Klaus) and My Lovely Mother kindly butlered for us. Speaking of My Lovely Mother ... Cherry jam, clotted cream, scones, and I had Moroccan mint tea. Center table tile.
Can anyone say view? Panning to the far left of my chair. View directly in front of me, with chair. And just slightly to the right, and then as far as the eye can see. Deep exhalation. A moment of silence. Say 'ello to Dugan, a friendly Westie visiting from Cornwall, with his human. This was as close as I got to seeing any terriers, so I took Dugan's picture for Holly! He told me he'd had a close encounter with a goose that put him off fowl for life! Our terrace neighbors -- heavenly spot for tea! The dining room inside the extension. We opted to sit just outside, on the terrace, facing the view. Given the temperatures most days in Phoenix, eating outdoors has not been something I normally, or willingly, participate in -- but this was incredible! A mixed media piece on the INSIDE of the bathroom [oops! toilet!!] stall. I love the idea of it - want to try one of my own! Evidence of Beatrix Potter everywhere - a Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle statue. The night before we arrived, Ian spotted a hedgehog in his garden, and I stayed up late most nights looking for the wee critter but with no luck! Ian said such sightings are most rare. Hedgehogs have a particular sentimental relevance for me, a 'thang' between my Daddy-O and me. It would have been spectacular to see a real one! Repeat after me: "I have to go to the toilet." If you're American, doesn't that feel -- er -- RAW? No mistaking the signs, though!