The House by the Lake.

Today is a family day. Tim is off work and all I want to do is spend the rest of the day at home making baby food, tidying up and watching Downton Abbey which is a new British mini-series. Or just series...perhaps not mini. Anyways, it takes place in England which allows me to vicariously live out my past life via the scenery and is set during the twenties - an age of sophisticated fashion, manners and classic British aires.

Oddly enough, this afternoon offered the rare opportunity to be transported back to English soil... at least in spirit... when I visited a nearby estate that is up for sale with my dad and brother-in-law. Being close to the lake, many of the neighboring homes are vast in size and value, especially those that sit right on the water. This particular home, which is priced at just under one million dollars, felt straight out of the pages of the well preserved memory I keep of England. There was even a hint of London hanging in the clouds today - cool, gray and heavy with moisture.

All I could think of, as I excitedly bounced from one corner of the property to the next was, "I can't imagine what it's like to live in a place like this." Not just because of the wealth required (did I mention there are tennis courts, a guest house and a conservatory with a fountain in the middle?) ... but because of the possibility of being surrounded by grounds that seem enchanting even on a dreary day like today. The fact that the house has been vacant for three years gave it an extra sense of curiosity, like Lady Craven's garden in The Secret Garden. The view of the lake from the back of the property was pretty breathtaking too (sorry for the shaky camera work):