No country British home is complete without its Mrs A. She cooks, helps with the laundry, and—most importantly my first few days here—keeps everyone warm.

“You just don’t see these in the States,” I said my first day, cozying up to her with a cup of tea.
“Not even in the countryside?” the other WWOOFer here asked, aghast.

Alas, no. My friends, allow me to introduce Mrs A.

(A is for Aga.)

You see that right. She has four ovens, two plates, and countless uses, not to mention as much of a cult following as Apple and Tesla.

Just a few of our Mrs A coasters.

She has a roasting oven, a baking oven, a simmering oven, and a plate-warming oven. She has a boiling plate and a simmering plate, both of which have insulated lids which, themselves, have different degrees of uses.

Nothing like warming up your socks on the stove.

Then there’s my personal favorite use of the plate-warming oven (bottom left).

Best of all, she’s on all the time, so a hot cuppa is only ever a moment away, and your hands have immediate relief when returning home from digging in a cold, wet ditch.

This kitchen even has a drying rack on a pulley system overhead so you can still dry your laundry on a rainy day.

Drying my sweater while making dinner.

The do sell Agas in the States. Not that I’ve looked or anything (…) . But I just don’t think it would be the same without the sound of sheep bleating outside, or roosters crowing, or the view of a rolling Scottish hillside out the window.