Today’s my last day teaching classes and living in Dalkeith House. I’m going to miss this place: the huge grounds with their 700-year-old oak trees, the 20-foot ceilings, the beautiful paintings, the marble floors and fireplaces.

The house is said to be haunted, but the larger-than-life statue of the Duke of Wellington in the Great Hall has kept us safe all semester:

Dalkeith House has over a hundred rooms, but the ones on the third floor are considerably less glamorous than the Great Hall. Polish soldiers were kept here during WWII, and the graffiti they left on the walls is still there:

Imposing statues are far too grand for me, and the soldiers’ graffiti are a little too rough. But my little room was just right, with oak panels, marble window seats, just enough room for my knitting, and a cozy feeling of home.