A Work in Progress

I am one of the lucky people who usually remembers her dreams. Not all, but some – enough to keep me thinking. Very seldom do I have a nightmare, so I am lucky in that sense, too.

A lifelong theme of my dreams has been houses, buildings and rooms in houses. This has been going on since I have been an adult and certainly has nothing to do with the fact that I am a Realtor and very involved in houses of all sorts. I think it is coincidental that I sell houses for a living, but then again, who knows how we really end up on our own life path. It is a mystery. So much of what we do and where we are is a combination of luck, serendipity and purposeful determination.

In my dreams, I discover hidden rooms in houses I have long occupied and think I know inside out. Or, I stumble upon a house half constructed in the woods and it belongs to me! Whatever the particular theme, the feeling I have is one of awe, exhilaration and wonder. Also, the thrill of having additional living space and new rooms to decorate. I also discover antiques and artwork long forgotten but now mine! It is always good and exciting.


Obviously, I am looking for the undiscovered parts of my self. It keeps hitting me over the head, literally, in my dreams while I sleep. It is too easy to get in a comfort zone and discard the need to discover new things.

So, going forward, in this time of New Year’s Resolutions, I promise to seek out and discover these parts of myself I have yet to know. Who knows what I will find out about myself?

the relatively affordable price of happiness

Anybody who thinks that money can't buy happiness has obviously never shopped at Down Under Jewelry on Newport's Lower Thames Street. That little store has the most comprehensive selection of affordable happiness I've ever encountered - necklaces made up of chunks of yellow jade the color of marigolds, rings made out of brilliant fire-streaked antique glass buttons from Czechoslovakia, bracelets of watery aquamarines so clear and limpid that you can almost feel those hard knots in your soul start to dissolve...Everything in there is individually designed, hand made, unique, beautiful. Much of it is very affordably priced (under $200) and some of it is downright cheap (under $25).

My boyfriend calls me an shallow materialist & a shopaholic. You know what I tell him? SO WHAT. Why is it that everybody pretends to have so much contempt for THINGS? People forget that there's a power in beautiful, well-made things - be those objects jewels, paintings or houses - that verges on the supernatural. Beautiful things have the power to heal, to soothe, to bring joy and ease. These strike me as being no small achievements in this difficult world. But I suggest you go over to Down Under Jewelry and decide for yourself. Bring your wallet. Open it. And get happy!