Don't Miss This!

I live just outside the Village of Wickford, along the shore. It really has a lot going for it in all seasons. In the summer, we have the art festival, the air show, and fireworks just to name a few things.

But during the holidays, there are also a couple of outstanding events. One is the Festival of Lights. Santa arrives on a sailboat surrounded by kayakers, television crews are there to show the holiday windows and the winner of the best window is announced live on Channel 10, carolers stroll the streets, and you can even get a hay ride and some hot chocolate. Santa arrives Friday evening at 5:30 at the town dock. There are other activities all weekend.



The other thing not to miss, is the annual Little Picture Show at the Wickford Art Association on Beach Street. The members offer their smaller-sized art at very affordable prices. What a great gift! Original art is always appreciated. I make a point of buying myself something there every year along with a couple of gifts. The show runs through December 24.

Home Sweet Home

The life of a realtor is a busy one. My calendar is filled up with showings, client appointments, meeting appraisers, inspectors, the fire department, pick up a radon test. Office duty. A buyer’s parents are in town, can we show them the house? Can you meet me so I can measure for my furniture? My client would appreciate it if I could meet the furnace maintenance guy. Can I find a landscaper who can come do some work right away? Lots of things you would never even think of.


But every once in awhile, I look at my calendar, and there is a blank day. Open and all mine. This is so very rare. Even though people think the real estate market is quiet right now, it is exactly the opposite for most of us. Every deal takes more time, and people are understandably more anxious, so there are more steps involved to get to the final closing.


Today was one of those open days for me! I could work in the garden, finally, and get it cleaned up and ready for winter. My family is away – some at a lake house in Maine with friends, some in California. My friends have gone off on a weekend junket. I was pleased to have the luxury of an open day, all to myself.


Don’t get me wrong – I am so very grateful for being busy and having opportunities to work and make a living. But we all need some down time and today was going to be my day at home.

Then the phone calls start to come – a buyer who was coming in on Sunday wants to come today. Of course, I said ‘Yes.’ I must! It is my responsibility and I do want to sell this house. Then another – my out of state seller wants to know if I can meet her sister and give her the house keys so she can do some painting. ‘Sure thing’! Then I am blessed to get another offer on another property – go to the office, pick it up, meet with my seller.

All in all, I consider myself very lucky to be so busy, I must say. Thank you very much.

So when my day is finally done, I will come back to my sweet home and maybe read a book after finally getting some time in the garden. And then it will be time to make some snacks for my friends so we can watch the game together.


I sincerely hope that my clients and customers will all find much happiness in their homes, too. That’s what it’s all about!

If You're Driving Through Wickford

There is a little intersection in Wickford Village that really throws out-of towners for a loop. You can tell a person is unfamiliar with the road because they stop where there is no stop sign, don’t want to stop where there is a stop sign and aren’t quite sure what to do with the yield sign. Their heads start to swivel back and forth looking from one side to the other with a most bewildered look on the face.

You locals know where this is already, right? At the little bridge where Boston Neck Road, Brown and Phillips Streets all meet in this strange, triangular trap. Making it even more peculiar to the unsuspecting and uninformed driver are the three pedestrian crosswalks smack dab in the triangular intersection.
Brown Street (the street everyone refers to as ‘Main Street”) curves through the village and out over the bridge – there is no yield or stop sign there. The traffic is meant to flow smoothly through so as not to get backed up.

There is a stop sign on Phillips – that means STOP!! It is not fair that those folks have to wait a little bit longer but that is the design, so we live with it. You could actually sit there for quite a while in the summer. Newcomers assume it is like a 3-way stop intersection where everyone takes a turn – but no, not quite. Those people have a look like – Hey! When is it my turn!?? Sorry, you have to wait.

Then there is a yield sign at the end of Boston Neck (right across from Phillips) so you YIELD. If you want to turn right, proceed with caution. If you are trying to cross over to Phillips, TAKE EXTRA CARE. Watch out for the people sick of waiting to turn left onto Brown who could shoot out at you any second, and please, watch out for the pedestrians. They could be coming from literally 6 directions! And they are on vacation so probably a little bon vivant.

With the pedestrians added into the mix, pity the poor guy coming down Brown, uninformed about our quirks, and watch the head swiveling, deer in the headlights thing happen. He’ll stop – Is it my turn? – look around at everyone and then the guy in back of him will hit the horn! Go – you don’t have to stop!

There are actually very few accidents here, as far as I can tell. I think sometimes the unexpected actually makes people more cautious. It is a great little village and we love it just the way it is. Once you learn the rules of our quirky road, it is smooth sailing. And great shopping.