Settling in

Those first weeks were taken up with unpacking and settling into the house. We scrubbed mildew off the walls and ceilings, cleaned and polished and dusted until it felt just right. We chose which of the three bedrooms upstairs was to be ours, which we'd use as a guest room and I chose one in the front looking over the sea and mountains for my studio. All the beds were too short for Jack but we switched mattresses until we found one that was at least marginal. Jack got materials from Wilf to make a desk for his typewriter in one of the front parlors - now his office.

We were terribly lucky because the weather all that time was sunny and warm and beautiful. We took some time off from our labors and walked in the hills and went fishing with Wilf in his boat Annabelle. Sometimes porpoises would come and play around the boat, riding the bow wave - I was thrilled. We caught mackerel (it was impossible NOT to catch mackerel) which we ate fresh from the sea with mustard sauce, whiting ("will you walk a little faster said the whiting to the snail..."), and crab which were delicious hot from the shell or in a salad. Jack started helping the neighbors work sheep - a process fraught with greenhorn mishaps (see our book for details).

Wilf and Wendy Bell were our mentors and helped us in every way to settle in and feel at home. Bless them.