Morning Glory in Wickford

One of the loveliest things to do in the morning is take a Yoga class in the Studio at Wickford Cove.

This charming and light-filled yoga studio is located right on Wickford Harbor in the waterfront room of the little shop, The Herb Wyfe.


Teachers Belle, Linda, Gail, Diane, and Christine offer classes for beginners to advanced. One recent morning I was the only one who showed up and I had a private class with Belle. What luxury! This is Belle – she is a wonderful instructor.


You really could easily miss this studio as hidden and tucked away as it is. It is really sweet and perfect. The sun shining off the water reflects the most beautiful patterns on the ceiling.


After the class, stay awhile and enjoy a cup of chai. You’ll feel a little calmer, think a little more clearly and be just a little bit happier. Can you ask for anything more?

Happy Birthday, Lina

I wanted to wish someone very special an Extra Happy Birthday. It is not everyday that you turn 8 years old.


This is an extraordinary child. She is so great at finding sea ice that she discovered an entire little beach on Wild Goose Point and we are always sure to add to our collection whenever we can. We like to keep it around the house – inside and out. It must be those big, blue eyes.


She also is very, very good at taking care of little dogs. She makes them feel safe, loved and comfy in their little beds. I don’t know what I would do without her help sometimes.


When Halloween rolls around, Lina is sure to come up with a great costume. She usually has 2 or 3 different looks up her sleeve and we never know until the big night which look she will choose. This past year she was an unbelievably convincing Senorita. Don’t you agree?


Lina has an artistic nature and she loves arts and crafts. Who else (besides Mia!) could make a huge, walking puppet of a dwarf hamster (named Daisy) out of an oversized leaf bag? She is also on the cutting edge of sidewalk art. She has a knack.



She is a great soccer player, swimmer, gymnast, fantastic reader and an all around excellent student. She is very hard to beat when we play the memory game. We have 2 – one is of old fashioned French tools and the other is of toys. You would think it is easy but believe me, it is not. She always beats me fair and square.


But most of all, she is my darling and I want to wish her an Extra Happy Birthday!

A Rising Tide

One of my favorite truisms is the phrase 'A rising tide raises all boats'.



Just think about it - if your neighbor has good fortune, be happy! because in the great scheme of things,
his good fortune will eventually reflect on you. Did your neighbor sell her house and yours is still on the market, how great! Our economy is getting better! Did your neighbor get a great job, and you are still unemployed, wonderful! Your turn will be up very soon.



There are many examples all around us of positive things happening in the world. Babies are being born, people are getting married,
people are buying houses they love, and life goes on. Spring is coming and if you look under the snow, like in my yard, you will see
the daffodils and tulips already making their way into the world just like they do every spring. How beautiful!






Don't give up - and a rising tide does raise all boats - because we really are all in this together.

Of Little Consequence

Sometimes I spend time thinking about things of little consequence but it bugs me a little so I keep thinking about it.

One thing is silly but I notice that some people insist on parking their cars facing our of the driveway - like, they have to back in so the cars are facing out.


I always drive in at night and then when I leave in the morning, I have to back out. I find that most people do this.


But there are those few people who always back in - and in the morning, I guess they save a few precious seconds and can zoom out, face first into the world, while I am slowly backing out, making sure I don't hit my fence, run over the hose or bend my mirrors in (at least not too often). By the way, the guy who invented the fold-in mirrors is a genius. I have bent mine in several times on the narrow streets of Newport. It is a bit of a shock - boing! - what just happened?? Oh, no problem, nothing damaged, my mirror just bent in. Phew! It's not broken and hanging by a wire and I did not hurt anyone else's property. Pop - it's out again.

But back to the driveway thing - I have noticed it is mostly men that do this. At least in my neighborhood. I think it makes them feel nice and orderly and in control. What a fantasy! but like John Lennon said, Whatever gets you through the night....


There are a couple of homes where the cars are all lined up, grills facing out to the street. Is this a used car lot or a home? I don't like the way it looks. The focus is all wrong. For me, it is all about coming home. Maybe for others, it is all about getting the heck out as fast as you can.

I know it is silly for me to worry about it but it got me thinking about why someone would do this. One reason could be that they can't see around a bush or something. But that is the only reason that makes sense to me.

Like I said, inconsequential.

An Extraordinary Gift Amid the Day to Day

There is an annual phenomenon that occurs every year from mid to late summer along Route Scenic -1 A just outside of Wickford Village. The most beautiful water lily pond puts on a show for all the passersby to appreciate.

The natural beauty in an unexpected area literally stops people in their tracks. I can't tell you how many times I have seen cars whip around in a U-turn because the drivers cannot believe what they just saw.

Photographers, painters and people af all ages and types stand there and ooh and ahh over the little pond. Very small, and squeezed in along the side of the road, this sweet pond and its drop-dead gorgeous flowers have been gracing our world at least since the 1970s. How long before that and exactly what is its origin, I do not know but I intend to find out.

No one picks them, trods on them, or disturbs them in any way. It is if we know we are in the presence of something extraordinary and on some very deep level understand that it is a precious gift from nature. For once, we are able to look and not touch or disturb nature.

Don't they look like lotus blossoms? The gifts of the gods to mankind?

Lina is My Darling

The other day I was walking with my daughter, Jennifer, and her three children, Mia, Lina and Agostino.

My little Lina piped up with "Nana, it's going to rain because the leaves are turning inside out!'

I was absolutely thrilled. My daughter had passed on to her kids something I had passed on to her, and my Mom had passed on to me. These simple threads are the ties that bind.

My mother, Irene, told me things when I was a child that I believed. Then when i was a teenager, I scoffed at them. But when I had kids myslef, I was sure to tell them all these important things about our world. Things you might not learn in school. If you are observant, you will see that they are true.

Another one is 'When the cows lay down, it will rain". Check it out. It is true, too. I guess we talked a lot about the weather in my family.

Or how about when you are choking "Lift your arms striaght over your head". It really does work. I think it lifts your diaphragm or something. All I know is I did it, my kids did it, and now Mia, Lina and Gus do it, too. Obviously, I am a person who delights in simple pleasures.

I can't wait for my son to have kids to see if things stuck with him, too.

If you have any family pearls of wisdom, we woud love to hear them.

Smith's Castle

Talk about a treasure, hidden away and out of sight, and mostly out of mind. You may have seen as small sign along Post Road, on the outskirts of Wickford that reads "Smith's Castle"

Richard Smith built this home, the first so called "English house", in the area at the same time that Roger Williams came ashore and bought a parcel of land from the Narragansetts. A grand and gabled house, heavily fortified, soon enough it earned the nickname "Smith's Castle".

Eventually Smith purchased more land, including the land that Roger Williams originally purchased, and farmed the land as Cocumcussoc Plantation. Burned to the ground during King Philip's War in 1676, Richard Smith rebuilt 2 years later on the original foundation. This is the home, a saltbox, that still stands and is now a museum and open to the public.

Roger Williams preached to the Indians here. One of the first military burial grounds in the country is located here. A mass grave holding 40 colonists killed during the Great Swamp Battle of 1675 is located here. A tragic event of epic proportions, the Great Swamp Battle nearly annihiliated the Narragansetts and ended King Philip's War.

This truly Colonial home is remarkable for its location on the Wickford Cove, its recreated gardens using only plants that were originally grown and native to the area, and the volunteers who recreate life there in authentic, period dress. (Do not call them 'costumes' - I made that mistake once!) It is a wonderful place to take children. They will even show you how to make butter!

On Saturday, June 21 (rain date is Sunday, June 22) the annual Smith's Castle Strawberry Festival will take place from

12 noon - 4 pm.

Why not visit this treasure in your own back yard?

And don't forget the Wickford Art Festival on the weekend of July 12 & 13. I love living here - maybe you would like it, too!