A Morning Surprise

Woke up this morning ready for the installation of the new propane stove in the conservatory but was surprised by the snow-covered ground outside. One day later would have made things perfect; the stove would have been installed and we would be watching the snowfall from the conservatory this morning.
We've always called this room a sunroom - but my husband was at my father's the other day and picked up a book about sunrooms. (My dad built a small greenhouse for his vegetable seedlings several years ago.) What we have seems to be called a conservatory because of the way it is connected to our house. This room is not heated, so the installation of a small propane stove has made it a more functional room. We move our geraniums in for the winter, and they continue to bloom beautiful reds, corals and pinks. Our hearty herbs also winter over in this room, and we continue to cut fresh mint, rosemary and chives all winter. Two very close friends gave us a pair of painted rockers that come in from the porch and winter over in the conservatory - with two big cushions they are comfortable and soothing to sit in. Cyclamen love the cooler temperatures and blossom throughout the winter, they remind me of one of my trips to Firenze in February with friends - I remember seeing cyclamen in almost every planter and ceramic pot on piazzas and outside restaurants and stores. Firenze, that's another story I'll have to talk about in another post. Out to dinner at the Tewksbury Inn tonight with two dear friends. Back to enjoying the snow!

• http://www.thetewksburyinn.com/