Here I go again. Another new blog. Sitting in my lovely vintage tapestry wing chair, the color of a ripe Georgia peach, I am recovering from hip replacement surgery a month ago and am a bit stir crazy. Add that to my list of crazy - dog crazy, house crazy, blog crazy, and now, stir crazy. I have had much time to think about my next adventure in life once I am mended. I still dream of that old farmhouse on an acre or two of land in a small town an hour from Atlanta. The setting for my spicy novel Danger In Her Words was a farmhouse close to Athens that I wanted to buy, but someone else had an offer on it. Would I have bought it if the timing had been right? Who knows, but I still think about it. The one that got away.
It may be in the cards for me this year. If you know me, you know how long I have been talking about moving. In fact, my house was up for sale for a total of thirty days in October. Then I took it off the market. My hip made it impossible to do much, except have dinner with friends! The difference between then and now, in October I thought I'd move to Florida, and now I know my heart is in Georgia where I've lived most of my adult life.
My favorite pastime is killing time looking at houses on Zillow. I love all the small towns surrounding metro Atlanta. I want to live in one. Which one is still up for grabs. I am counting on the universe to guide me. But while I am looking it seemed appropriate to dedicate a blog to my favorite state and my state of mind!
Where is the perfect farmhouse? Which little town has the most to offer? Where are the most antique shops, diners, restaurants, fun things to see and do. A charming small community or a few acres of land in a rural setting? What towns would welcome my six-pack of hounds? One level or two stories? My hip surgery has made me wonder how many stairs do I really want to climb to go to bed at night. And then there are the dogs. Some can't climb stairs because of their short stubby legs. Rascal and little Chloe come to mind. They can't go up a winding staircase, although I am sure Chloe sees herself as Scarlett and would be up to the challenge . . . maybe, tomorrow!
While I am getting older (What! Did I admit that?) I don't want to downsize. It is time for me to live my fantasy. I wrote about a widow with six dogs moving to Cupid's Bow, a fictional town outside of Savannah, for a story in a romance anthology Finding Love's Magic, published by Gilded Dragonfly Books this past April. "Now or never," my character proclaimed. It is not easy finding a house in a historic area when you have a pack of dogs. She went outside of Savannah to find an old cottage with acreage . . .and a ghost, but that is another story!
I write about widows, houses, and dogs. Perhaps if I put enough words on paper the perfect ending will materialize for me! My Chinese fortune cookie in January summed it up . . . all your dreams will come true by the end of this year! Whatever . . . dreaming is fun and I am all about dreams.
A Facebook friend left a comment on a photo of an old house I posted on my timeline. "If you move there, prepare for your writer friends to come for a retreat!" That opened up even more possibilities. An old home that could also be a writing center with classes, book signings, and a lovely location for a getaway to pen a few words. In 2011 my shop in Old Town, Lilburn - The Little Shop Of Arts And Antiques - was a hub for such events. It lasted right under a year, but that is where I connected to so many of my writing folks. I still miss my nine months in Old Town!
While I can talk a mile a minute and fill plenty of space, I'd like to invite others to guest post here. Tell me about your favorite spots in Georgia and, if you are a Georgia writer, let's chat about that.
In the meantime, I have some houses to look at online. I will post some beauties here so we can all dream together!
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