Since I’ve been a small girl, I’ve always imbued objects with magical properties. Perhaps it came from being raised as a very strict Catholic, whereas an inquisitive child it compelled you to suspend disbelief. Because of your faith, you had to believe the most incredible things were true. This tendency of mine appears to border on superstition, but it has made many dull moments and ordinary objects I’ve encountered in my life infinitely more exciting.
If you’ve read my blog for a while, you already know how I sometimes project my imaginative tendencies on articles of clothing. In my stories, they always become much more than they really are. You’ve read about how a perfume I stumbled upon during a trip to Paris was really about me committing to becoming a writer. Well, guess what? I’m doing it again, this time with my new house.
When we started physically going to look at houses, I knew I was not looking at the configuration of the house, what architectural style most engaged me or how many bathrooms there were. I was only looking for signs that this was the one. I tuned in to how the house was making me feel and seeing if I got that excited feeling I get when I know that something is potentially magical. Even when no one else can see it at first. When I saw the small tower attached to the house, I knew the room at the top would be like all the writer’s rooms I’ve always imagined whenever I passed a house with a tower.
When I walked in the door, the first thing I saw in the hall was a secretary exactly like the one my grandmother used in her home in Connecticut. Light streamed in from the tall windows in the formal dining room with sparkling china and silver place settings. A memory transported me back to the table manner lessons my grandmother also provided in her dining room free of charge. A slip-up meant the tap of a silver spoon on the back of your hand. I climbed the stairs and there it was my writer’s garret. Who cares that the master bedroom is small, or the kitchen needs an update and renovation? I already see my antique writing desk (which I have yet to acquire) in front of the windows, along with a comfortable pink velvet Eastlake chair. Maybe I’ll find a chaise to read on.
Outside in the back, I saw an expanse of green leading to nothing but towering trees cut in half by a meandering path. The skeleton of an English country garden and in my imagination I could already see the blooms. There were mature hydrangea and rhododendron bushes to get me started and morning glories already climbing the wall of the detached garage. It was like the ingredients for the beginning of a Secret Garden, my favorite childhood book. There behind the garage tucked in a corner was yet another sign, a statue of The Blessed Mother. Calvin and I later joked that if we were lucky enough to get our house within budget amid the most overheated real estate market, people have seen in years, that statue was staying.
The architectural style of the house was not immediately discernible as it seemed to be one of those both/and type of situations I always find myself attracted to and have spent much of my life living in. Described by realtors as a side hall Victorian with Arts and Crafts style, I discovered that this house was common in the early 1900s and called a transitional Victorian/Craftsman. Keeping some elements of a Victorian like the side hall feature and the tower; it was far less ornate and incorporated features from the Arts and Crafts style homes like the use of natural materials; wood, stucco, and brick. It has a low-pitched roof and deep bracketed overhangs. We could determine from the last time they did a survey that after 1967, someone enclosed the original open front porch. So they built our house during a transition time, making it just the right house for us right now. At a future date, I’ll do a whole other post about how the values of the Arts & Crafts Movement are another sign. Briefly, one writer said that movement could be synonymous with the Slow Living Movement of today.
So as you can see it’s already started, my house is becoming magical even before I’ve even lived there. I can’t wait to discover all the signs I didn’t see, and how they will make my imagination fly. I am so grateful to have this gift right now and to share a little of its magic with all of you. As soon as we close, which is before the end of the month, I’ll post a photo.
Do you have something in your life that has magical properties?
Life itself is magical. What is life? That is the question.
Best use of religion I’ve heard of!
loved this! You have a gift for writing as well. Unfortunately I’m the opposite I need help with my mind shift. It’s annoying really.
I loved your description of your new house and the elements that drew you to it. My yard has magical properties as it shows me each year what it wants in some area. Next spring thee will be a row of lavender plants. My prairie style home always calls me to do one more restoration. This time the woodwork is asking to be freed from the shiny varnish that has darkened to reddish brown. Its natural shade is so much prettier. As a Catholic, I have always appreciated how the walls of a church are seen as canvases — room for one more fresco, one more statue, one more painting.
Your new house sounds like a perfect fit for you two! I am looking forward to more descriptions of the rooms and possibly photos too. I knew our house of over 20 years was the one for us when we saw it and I quickly called our real estate agent to put in an offer. It has provided the space we needed as our lives have evolved over the years and the space for our dogs to play in.
Sounds perfect!
This is my favorite blog post so far. I see magic in houses and Jones. Always have, hope your closing is magical too!
I can hardly wait to see a photo of your “magical” home!
We just purchased a 1951 bungalow. Not what I had planned, not what I had envisioned, but this was our house!! Kitchen needs an overhaul, but the arches, the wooded lot in the middle of town, there is definitely magic there. What a grand adventure.
We’ll have to compare notes on our kitchens.
So happy for you. I need some magic in my life now too
Let’s see what can be conjured up for you.
Exciting news, indeed! Can’t wait to see your photos! I have many magical properties as well. Too many to describe, but all memory-driven and inspiring!
I don’t know about magical properties but I can imagine myself living in some of the houses I have past by or visited by chance. Usually they are very modest in size and in architectural design but somehow had a beautiful garden or are painted in original colours. The inside is also modest but full of originality or at least with the potential of giving it some character. I always remember fondly the houses I rented or my students friends rented and they were full of thrifted furniture, of plants and of DIY art pieces. There was an amazing sense of youth, joie de vivre, freedom, laissez-faire that I would love to recapture…
That sounds magical to me!
I am so happy for you and share your excitement. Looking forward to a picture.
Thank you so much.
Loved your post as always! Choosing a home should be based on signs, feelings, synchronicity and magic 🙂 We committed to this apartment we’re living in now from an online post. Sight unseen. My intuition told me I would love it mostly based on its location and the email interaction I had with the manager. 7 years later we continue to love it here. I think when we rely 100% on our logical mind – how many bathrooms, how big is the kitchen, what direction does it face – we may miss out on that magical place called “Home”.
Beautifully said.
your 11/6/18 photo-it rather looks like your shirt is a wm morris-y print? and two years later, off you go to a new craftsman home on a doubtless leafy street where you can live happily ever after!
the secret garden enchanted me one pivotal summer as well-magical indeed.
I love how you justify the belief of magic to your catholic upbringing. I too was raised catholic, and I too find magic in certain places and objects such as rocks and trees, jewelry and even clothes! It’s never been something that I would admit to openly, but after reading this, I can better understand why! Thanks for the aha moment and a little chuckle.
We too live in a Victorian/Craftsman 1915 home. Fixing, remodeling and decorating it is our hobby!
Enjoy yours, and best of luck!
Love this. Absolutely spoke to me!
Yarn has magical properties for me. I squeeze it and think about the sheep, alpaca or yak that contributed their wool. I think about dyers that created the stunning co!ors. Best of all I imagine the sweater or wrap that I can create from the wondrous fiber and the magical time I can spend with a cup of tea listening to music while I k it a creation that is unique mine.
What a wonderful viewpoint of how to make a selection and know it was right for you! That is just so delicious on so m any levels. I wish you huge blessings in your new home . . . and look forward to your delighting us with how you make a home in magic! Blessings
Beautiful so delightful ! Congratulations for finding your inner self!
ooOOOoooo I so believe in magic and in serendipity and in faeiries and in intuition…. This house is calling you to make it yours… What fun!
Its magic will inspire you and warm you and quiet you from the noise!
Congratulations!!!!!!!!
I absolutely love that you share magical experiences with us! I love your new home already, just by the way it makes you feel. Very happy for you!
You have the most fairy tale like writing style I could absolutely picture what you saw. Love following your blog. Whereeeeee did you get that blouse????? It’s fabulous
Show us your house! Or did I miss something
I do. I was borned and raised in a private museum. My father was an art collector. At some point in time, he owned the largest collection of Puertorrican art. So I was raised among the colors of the Afro Caribbean dancers, pirates, Flamboya trees, street of Old San Juan- exquisite characters, country life and stories full of happiness, sadness and prohibition. Art is still part of my life. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I feel comfortable, at peace and protected. Magical.
Good luck with the house! It obviously wants you, so you will get it.
Can’t wait to see the pictures of the house. I had for almost a decade a house in California (late 1970’s-early 1984) whose first impression was the backyard. It was the only yard on the block with no built-in pool so I had a large yard to enjoy instead. Sounds like you found your special space
Hi Lyn, always enjoy your writing and thoughts. Thank you. However now I want to comment on the white blouse you wearing. Simply stunning! You are so young and beautiful! Hanna
Thank you.
This is without doubt in my mind, and for me, the best you’ve written. And it reminds me of something I’d forgotten along the way…that magic exists wherever we make it so, and objects/people are magical when we decide to so imbue them.
Thank you so much for rekindling that in me.
Plenty of magic to go around even in times that are distressing.
Your house sounds truly magical. Can’t wait for a picture.
There is so much magic in the “right” home. We moved out of a lovely mid century house (built in 1946 in the desert SW) midway through the summer—the house where we raised our children! We had transformed the yard almost completely over the course of 31 years, and 6 years ago remodeled the kitchen completely…It was so hard to leave this wonderful home, but we had the opportunity to buy a beautiful condo right around the corner that suits our retired life. We have only just begun moving in less than a week ago. It is a huge project…and we will transform this dwelling and its spacious walled patio to make it fully ours, just as we did with our house you will do with your house.
Best of luck in your new home!
The perfume was about you becoming a writer. The question now is …. what is The Blessed Mother statue about you
becoming?
That’s a good one, I’ll have to ponder.
Thank you so much for your magical description of your soon to be home. My home and garden of 35 years also fills me with such an abundance of peace and delight. It’s filled with an assortment of blessings both inside and out. I am so fortunate. I’m so looking forward to seeing what you have discovered.
I love we are so many kindred spirits here.
When we first visited our current home, the woods called “welcome home” to me. It’s been the most transformative 5 years living here. Thank you for knowing and expressing this feeling.
Loved loved loved this post!
My home. It is not a classic Scottish stone house that I wanted but a 1960s ranch style with a flat roof and huge windows. We have adapted it and again and again it has provided us with what we have needed as a family. Over 30 years it has provided us with play space , teenage space!!!!! A space for my elderly Mum , space for children and their families to stay or visit and now a wonderful creative space and garden for us to feel safe in. I love it’s flexibility and it’s light and hopefulness ! I wish you joy in your new home.
I hope mine grows as my life expands too.
Oh how this touched a chord. From a similar upbringing to you Lyn, I have nurtured a vivid and fanciful imagination for more than 60 years. I began with two imaginary friends as a little preschooler. I have always created an instant backstory for people I see walking along the road. Sometimes I share this with my daughters, who all think I’m a little bit crazy. I was chatting to my 90 year old mum on the phone a few days ago, she’s as far away from me as you can get, in Scotland, when she commented à propos of nothing, that I’d always been a bit queer (her 90 year old expression). I replied I thought I was more creative. Isn’t it lovely, when you feel as though you march to a different drum from those around you, to be reminded that what some perceive as your oddities can be your gifts and your strengths.
I so relate to everything you say, I too had imaginary friends and no we are not crazy we are creative and I’m aginative!
I see each house -each room as a piece of art waiting to be designed. As I have grown n come out of the box with age so has my expression of art. I love to sit in my house or my yard and feel the beauty surrounding me!
That’s a wonderful way to think of it.
Nature and wilderness is magical to me.
I love this post, and your excitement about your new home, I can relate to those feelings ! Will you show us some pictures at some point ?
I have been following your posts on instagram and loving everything about the photographs: the depth, the sets, the poses and yes, even the clothing. But it is this blog entry that solidified my admiration of you.
At 65 years old, married to my younger man for 36 years, mother of 2 smart, sassy, successful daughters, Nonna to 2 grandchildren (girl, boy), I too believe in magic.
Keep writing for us, goddesses of wisdom and fantasy, there is much magic ahead and your words encourage the more to discover.
Thank you.
Thank you so much, it’s exciting to see how I’ll get renovated too
Yes, and like you our house that we moved into a few years ago is one. We saved it and the fireplace that runs up through the centre of it is it’s heart, that I would touch and comfort thru the renovations.
I love reading your posts I wish you well in your new home may your life be filled with secret garden towers of happiness and rooms of joy
Almost 50 years ago, my mother-in-law gave me the bottom of her old hutch which was made of Maple and had 3 drawers. I used it for the dressing table for my first son and his 2 brothers who followed. It became a dresser for young boys and even followed one or two to college and into young adulthood. It returned to me, a little beat up, but still able to pull on my heartstrings. It spent some time alone and tucked away in a closet until one day, it begged me to return it to a place where it could bring me joy each day. I painted it red and adorned it with white pulls. It now sits in my sunroom and greets me each morning with warm memories and a reminder of the many purposes there are for all of us.
Lovely, I can see it sitting there.
I am absolutely endeared to your new expression of yourelf in your written word! You are a perfect example of turning lemons into some good lemonade! Can’t wait to see your photo! I am sure we all have a picture of it in our minds! Magical!
Thank you so much.
I loved reading your story. I felt as though I was touring the home for the first time with you. It is wonderful how you knew it would be your “happy place”.
In answer to your question…….oh yes, my home as well. We downsized to a magical 1970’s townhouse that I call “My Hole In The Wall”. When our realtor brought me here, he commented, “Oh, this is going to be a quick walk through Cindy”. His impressions were the total opposite of mine. One whole wall of the unit is exposed brick, and all I see are beautiful woods in the back. There are floating stairs that are open to all three levels. We have been chipping away at remodeling. Our 1971 Life magazine covers of Paul & Linda McCartney are framed in the master bath. The best part is we live across the street from the library and four blocks from the main street. It makes me smile every day.
What a great look for a bathroom and a wonderful find for you.
I loved reading this and am so excited for you to be living in such a beautiful and magical house!
My house had been seen as a teenager while driving home from the Bridgewater County fair in Connecticut. I spied a beautiful cottage home with a large front porch and rolling green lawn. It was open and bright, airy yet grounded by the front porch steps leading to a colorful garden of hydrangeas. It beckoned me to it and I pleaded that my father turn around so I could see it. The photo I took of it- with my wind up film camera. I hung on many a refrigerator for 20 years. Through college, first jobs, then to my Madison, Connecticut home where we raised our young children. We had decided to move out of Connecticut to Charlottesville, VA. Our friends couldn’t understand it, but off we went. Our house sold in 20 days and left us scrambling. There was a house our realtor put off showing us several times because either the other realtor couldn’t make it and once the driveway had been washed out- which only intrigued me
more! I pushed the showing through. Don’t you know that once we made the first turn up on to a 9 acre field there at the top of the next incline was the house in my photo from 30 years ago? It even had the weeping willow on the left side of my porch. And the cherry on top were the 180 degree view of the Blue Ridge mountains. It was a powerfully magical process. A try manifestation of beauty. We didn’t even go inside- I said to my husband- “let’s do this!” Amd we did. Six years later I can honestly say, We love it here!!! And one of our best friends is looking for there English brick home here as well in the fields of Virginia. I found her fat Thelwell pony last night. He’ll be her house warming gift.
Shows how important actually visualizing what we want is.
It is nice to read how you already cherish your new home, it already has a story and that makes it exciting !!!!!
By nature I am also someone who has a story with some objects, in fact our entire home has a story … the furniture, works of art and also certain items of clothing who tells beautiful anecdotes when purchasing … this makes life beautiful !! !!
Good luck with your new house!
Our ability to do that makes our lives infinitely more exciting.
What a great story and so timely. I, too, am going through change and challenge. For the first time in my long and wonderful life, I will be alone- alone with my thought and emotions- given space and time to be totally creative. To finish up projects long overdue, and to venture forth and the new. As I wander through this house ( after looking at so many prior to this day) I could invasion where each and every item would be placed. I saw my writer’s space enfold and the feeling was of home and happiness. I, at 71, am finally home.
I look forward to hearing more.
I too have always found magical properties in many places and things. Being raised Catholic myself, your comment about needing to suspend rational thought really struck a cord with me.
I have never sought to put the magic into things so much as I have always been open to discovering it. I will need to ponder whether my upbringing encouraged irrational or “magical” thinking or simply made me open to realms beyond my immediate understanding. I think the latter!
Now in our 60s , we are in our second magical home. My only nonnegotiable requirement was that I feel the magic. In both home shopping experiences we looked at several homes in many configurations and styles. Our second home is quite different from our first home. But, in both homes, I was nearly brought to tears upon entering the space and before being shown all of it. It was an instant embrace and knowing that it was my home.
I love your blog and can’t wait to see photos of your new home.
I felt the same way when I walked in mine, I felt very emotional.
I’m thinking of my grandmother’s Mission Oak dining room set, and how imperceptibly, the values that furniture embodied became central to me, became criteria for determining worth. From Mission Oak to my own childhood, which was full of Danish Modern furniture. The value of craftsmanship. The intrinsic merit of natural materials. No glitz, no unnecessary ornaments, nothing fussy. Elegant in a practical way. This sounds, now I’m realizing, like being raised by two generations of moralistic furniture, which was not the intent.
I think there is much to be found in the values you mention and I intend to implement many of the arts and crafts era values in thinking about my new lifestyle
Your house sounds wonderful, full of personal magic. Congratulations! It sounds like it might be near Beacon or Cold Spring, or the other side of the Hudson, Cornwall, Mountainville, Bear Mtn. Storm King. I lived there for a year post divorce. It’s so incredibly beautiful.
My magic house story. I used to walk past my house almost every day when it belonged to other stewards. It’s a c1850 horse stable behind a big house which used to own it. Friends knew the owners and I asked them to let them know I’d be interested in buying it if they decided to sell. I was told they’d lived there twenty years, adored the place, would never sell.
On a June morning seven years ago, one of the owners called and introduced himself. They were getting divorced, had listed the house with a local agent, staged it for the ad which was going to drop the next day. Thirty minutes after I hung up the phone, I was sitting in what is now my kitchen writing them a deposit check. That agent still gives me the stink eye when our paths cross.
The house has three rooms: the downstairs, which is open with three side by side stable doors, now palladium windows. The upstairs was the hayloft and now has a single dividing center wall. My bedroom is on one side, and my studio, which looks out the hayloft window, is on the other. In addition to magic, there is a formidable and prolific spider dynasty whose descendents I don’t mess with.
I moved here when I was sixty and I’m pretty sure it will be my last house. Then some new steward will come and enjoy the magic and the spiders as I have.
What a magical story, it was meant to be.
My backyard, in Iowa!
What a lovely post! Thank you for sharing your experience, it felt delightful to be with you in discovering your nest.
My house is chock-a-block with “holy” items that I imbue with magic. Most of them are just trinkets from around the world, picked up as souvenirs or given as gifts. But I love the idea of giving them personalities and jobs around the house.
At the last recession, I ended up making a major life change and selling almost everything I owned except for my art, some clothes, and my little magical friends. For me, they make every house I live in a home because they bring the energy and memories with them.
I have some magical trinkets too and they are definitely coming with me.
I totally can relate to your story and state of mind.
Happy that you could find a house or – as I like to say – the house found you.
I live in Hudson (Prov.ofQuébec, Canada) and that’s how I found mine. I called it LA PAISIBLE because it’s so quiet and serene with trees all around and leaves falling. A dream.
I wish you to be as happy in yours that I am in mine.
Be safe, be well.
Mia
Many thanks.
Thank you for the story of finding your house! As a Catholic woman of the same age, I can relate to the signs. Finding that house is like a picture that could have been on a vision board when you see it is familiar, even the flowers in the garden ready for a “May Crowning”. Enjoy, keep the posts coming.
Yes, I can have my very own May Procession.
Was it last fall that you asked, “What next?”
I’ve so enjoyed your search and am so happy that you’ve found such a wonder filled next.
Thank you for sharing.
Yes, it has been a year I will most certainly never forget.
You inspire me with your magical projections. Magic always sustained me throughout transitional difficulties during a somewhat traumatic adolescence. İt was a resource when I felt abandoned in my often lonely marriage and gave me guidance bringing up my children. Recently it has been difficult to access. Your story reminds me to search for the magnificent in the “ordinary ” of my daily life. Ever grateful
You inspire me with your magical projections. Magic sustained me throughout transitional difficulties during a somewhat traumatic adolescence. İt was a resource when I felt abandoned in my often lonely marriage and gave me guidance bringing up my children. Recently it has been difficult to access. Your story reminds me to search for the magnificent in the “ordinary ” of my daily life. Ever grateful
Magic makes even the worst of times a little more bearable.
I’m the same way. If it’s right, it’s because I feel it. If my home gets cluttered, which it rarely does, I feel it, and it doesn’t feel good. Whatever I wear has to feel right not just look good. And I can totally relate to feeling a magical impression when it comes to a home, as if the soul of the place is reaching out to connect to a beautiful energy source to continue illuminating nooks & crannies & sunlit spots & corners & gardens & garden paths.
What a beautiful way to put it.
I am a parent of 2 horses and 1 dog. They are blessings in my life. I know that they know things that I don’t, about not only the world we experience, but existence on other planes. They know where we came from, where we are going to, what we are made of, what we were made to do, how we are meant to communicate, how we are meant to use the world and interact with it. I get to touch that essence and knowledge is transported when I look into their eyes.
Every house I’ve ever purchased had something magical and compelling that drew me in. I guess some people call them “quirks” but to me it is the design surprise that makes a house more than walls, windows and doors. In one home it was original slate floors beneath an iron spiral staircase (a mid-century modern touch that apparently mortified many of the neighbours when it was installed). In another it was the mahogany siding and floor to ceiling windows, in another it was an unfinished attic providing the perfect setting for spooky halloween party treasure hunts until it was turned into a dream master suite. My favourite house of all captured my imagination with a cantilevered deck that overlooked a deep wooded ravine Once you see that special element and feel the energy it gives you,it’s possible to ignore all the little things you probably should. Logic leaves and the heart takes over.
So very true, I loved so much that my house is not perfect, just like me.
Now I know “What Now” might mean for you – a change of scenery and a magical place to live. I like the idea of objects and places holding magical powers. Making our house a home relies on being true to ourselves, as does deciding what to wear. I look forward to seeing photos of your new abode, as well as the outfits you will put together. Lyn, your writing is amazing and continues to inspire and enlighten me. Thank you.
Thank you for that, especially the writing, it’s so encouraging.
Look like shine ???
In my life, and it only becomes more acute as I age, all objects, animate and inanimate, have energy, and when it’s good energy I can feel it, as well as when it is not. Our first home was like that, and the father of my children still lives in it, and perhaps our son will raise his son in it. Also a Victorian/Craftsman transition, I felt its good energy immediately, and though funds were tight back then, we somehow outbid others by dollars to get it. I wish you many magical moments and years in your new home, whose magic your presence will only magnify.
Thanks for your good wishes!
My home……. found it by looking at real estate ads in the paper. Looked like an unassuming ranch home, but when I went inside with my husband found gleaming cypress floors, a very open living area, it is in the woods with over an acre of land, lots of critters, a bay window in the front for all my plants, yew shrubs (which we both love) at the front, a man made lake very nearby that eagles frequent, the back of the home has a porch all the way across, the master bedroom faces east so we get the morning sun and the bay window faces west, so we get evening sun. I put up mirror balls and in the winter the sun is low enough to hit them and make sparkles all over our living area. Our cat loves to chase them if we spin them. It is tucked into the woods and you can barely see it from the road, which is nice as we love privacy.
Now that sounds magical!
I think this is my favourite of all your post. Thank you so much for your magical description of your soon to be home.
I finally saw the movie of The Secret Garden. It started off in black and white and in the end it change to technicolor and show how beautiful the garden was after they worked on it. I see your back yard like that.
Enjoy your new home.
My favorite book!
Your post really resonated with me! This last summer, a high school friend of 50+ years and I spent the greater part of a week expending energy wondering how people could be so mean to each other, how they could say or do things but not hold themselves accountable, how we were saddened by the state of our country, etc. We had worked ourselves into quite a funk. In the midst of one of our conversations, we decided to shift our thinking and decide what we could do to make a difference. Our brainstorming led us to the conclusion that we needed to do some independent research before we would talk and share our ideas the next week.
One of the books I started reading was Atomic Habits that one of my daughters had just gifted me. One of the take-home points was that visual cues are powerful habit triggers. This got me thinking about the communication tools I had developed 10+ years ago, which incorporate the use of visual reminders. I began to think about revitalizing my small business, Prioritize Relationships. Once I put that thought out into the universe, signs that I was headed in the right direction began to appear.
The magical properties that have manifested themselves and I have experienced while rejuvenating Prioritize Relationships have filled me with a sense of gratitude, purpose, and possibility. I wrote all of the signs down in a personal essay and there have been 20 to date. However, I’m now in the midst of my project, feeling confident I am doing what I am supposed to be doing right now. What a magical feeling!
What a wonderful story.
I look so forward to seeing it!
I love this picture of you and the blouse is lovely.
Thank you! Soon.
I am reading a very old book by May Sarton (written in 1968) called Plant Dreaming Deep and it is all about the home she made for herself in a house that she found (that found her) in Nelson, N.H. It’s giving me great comfort. And so this blog-post was particularly interesting to me. What perfume made you know you wanted to be a writer?! My favorite Parisian perfume is Bois Blonds by Atelier Cologne.
Thank you so much for sharing the May Sarton read. I love her and have not gotten to that one yet.
We just moved from Russia to America and were renting the apartment for a year.
But I couldn’t wait to see”real American houses”. So I decided to explore the market one year before buying the house.
So, we were driving around with real estate agent. She mentioned 2- story traditional house in good neighborhood. There was a beautiful half naked Italian girl in front.
I opened the door and I knew immediately- it is my house. It was all about fantastic energy and good vibes! Later on I noticed marble floors and terrific fireplace, patio with romantic lanterns…
I put coins everywhere and told the agent, I am buying it! She told me, it was her easiest sale in life!
Magic, intuition and I did the rest in my crazy beautiful house. So wanting to see your magic gem!
What a fabulous story.
What a joy filled life awaits you thank you for sharing the joy
Thank you!
LOVELY. I enjoyed this SO much perhaps because I’ve almost always allowed the magic of small and special places to divert the occasionally harshness of reality. Of course, once I was an adult, I sometimes had some ideas of how that “harsh” reality could be remade into magic. Some ugliness is not fixable – but reality can almost always be turned toward magic, at least a little bit. A totally flat, featureless back yard, for example, could host a small labyrinth created with all-season plants and herbs that have their own special meanings. 1970’s faux wood paneling can become a backdrop to a meaningful photo gallery (can you tell I have a flat featureless 1970’s style rental at the moment?). The past houses I’ve owned were either pre-recognition of magic as focused entirely on practicality, or post-affordability. Even in one case, a different kind of “magic” as it was haunted by a none too friendly spirit who made it difficult indeed to see any “white magic” — though the next owner seemed happy to find her own magic there, perhaps having made whatever peace is possible with a lost soul. Now, looking forward in the next two years to finding some wonderfully magical bare land and tackling the accumulated list of evocative appointments (built in everything, arched doorways with french doors, fanlights, bow windows, sun-filled sewing room, a for-real library, deep covered porches, and a covered heated walkway to the horse barn, plus the hopeful starts of an heirloom fruit orchard). All those come with a feeling something akin to nostalgia, as those are seldom seen these ugly days, and they hearken back for me to a childhood that was so much safer and full of hope than life today.
Such an eloquent way to think about magic as a way to soften not deny reality when it is harsh.
I love this! And I understand. I live life as magical too, looking for the signs and finding them. They both shape me and guide me. I look forward to seeing photos of your new magical home.
Thank you!
Should you have time, check out essay ‘How We Might Live’ by William Morris; indeed, anything he and other Arts&Crafts architects
had to say to support your magical thinking! When you get to the fun parts of renovation/preservation/restoration/adaption, please
refer to Roger Moss’ Century of Color for American Buildings 1820-1920, ISBN: 0-89257-051-2. I applaud your bravery in taking this
step.
Thank you, thank you I have actually been reading Morris and Ruskin. I will check out the book as well.
Excited to see photos of your new home! Relatively new reader, first time poster. I agree on the vibes a home gives off. When we were shopping for our vacation home (where we’re at now – a positive of the pandemic is that we can spend much more time here), I could just sense immediately it was a happy place. When we met the then-owners, during the inspection, it was clear why it was so – wonderful people, and my only regret is that we didn’t get a photo of the 4 of us together, to take pride of place here. They’d been here since 1978 – the year I was born – and this was 2015. Another place we looked at, it was like you could smell all the apple pies that had ever been baked there – apple specifically, the family favorite. The warmth and love was just baked into the cabin. Love always leaves its mark. Then it is just for us to add more.
This is so lovely.
Your words are magical. The moment is brought to life. Thank you, it’s a lovely piece. xok
Thank you!
So happy for your new house. It sounds perfect. Yes, I’ve had magical properties my entire life, starting with the 2-bedroom, one-bath tract house I grew up in, in a blue-collar neighborhood to my very first apartment in Houston, Texas, to the spacious home where I raised my sons to a small garage apartment by the bay to a 1941 bungalow, also on the bay. Just 940 square feet, its walls and ceiling were made of shiplap and the original oak hardwood floors were beautifully uneven. So, when you walked, it was almost like surfing. I loved its imperfections. I filled it with wicker furniture, white gauzy curtains, and potted plants. It had survived every single hurricane (and there had been many) until 2008, when Hurricane Ike came roaring into Galveston and the Houston Ship Channel destroying everything and anything along its path, including my tiny bungalow. I’d already evacuated to higher ground, but my husband was a crew boat captain at the time and was stranded in Louisiana. After we were allowed onto our property, not much was left. After a year of living in an apartment (lacking any form of magic) we rebuilt a new house 10 feet off the ground. That was 12 years ago, but the vibe from that bungalow is still on the ground and reminds me everyday that it hasn’t left me.
What an amazing story. I visited Galveston once and saw the water marks on the buildings, evidence of hurricanes past.
Loved this post. I found my modest little home two years ago. I isn’t what I am normally attracted to. I fell in love with the back yard which backs up to a small wooded area. My master bedroom window is only six feet from the woods. The sounds of the birds, the squirrels frolicking over the branches, frogs croaking, lightning bugs, and crickets all make it magical. I am an artist but also love decorating so I am finally settling into painting on a more consistent basis, again. It’s interesting how my last painting, inspired by a poem, and the one currently on my easel both are of woods with paths. I’ve seldom been drawn to this subject in the past. I don’t always read your posts in a timely manner but eventually get to them. So glad I found you.
Welcome!