Sasee Magazine - April 2023

April 2023 April 2023

“Love is the most important thing that makes a house a home”

Lilla P Oliphant Johnny Was

About the Cover Artist:

“I find inspiration in beautiful women and the human form in general, bringing this beauty into my paintings,” says Isaac Maimon. Born in Israel in 1951 to French-speaking parents, he attended the prestigious Avni Institute of Fine Art in Tel Aviv, where he captivated his initial interest in French painting styles, including Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Henri Matisse, while also being inspired by fellow Israeli artists of his era. Maimon’s work is known for its bold colors and masterful lines, evoking love for “la vie Francais”. His paintings create a sense of romantic fantasy, allowing art lovers to escape from everyday problems and feel connected with the scene. He has taught as a professor at Ben Gurion University and The Beer Sheva School of Visual Arts while also owning and managing a pub cafe, which inspired him to transfer an authentic “Boulevard Culture” atmosphere in his works. In the past 4 decades, his work has been featured in solo exhibitions and international art expositions throughout Israel, the U.S., and Europe, as his art is held in both private and public collections worldwide.

Facebook: Isaac Maimon Fine Art

Email: rina.bar3@gmail.com

• Instagram: maimon_isaac

The feng shui of my personal space has always fascinated me. Even growing up, when the only space I sort of had a say about was my bedroom, I sure had significant opinions about how it should look and feel. I would constantly move furniture around in my room whenever I was feeling stagnant. I suppose I unknowingly understood from a young age how much your surroundings can affect you. For a house to truly feel like home, both comfort and inspiration play significant roles.

During high school, I asked my parents if I could splatter paint my room for my birthday. On one hand, they knew this sounded a bit messy and ridiculous, but ultimately, they decided to allow me the opportunity to express my creativity. The walls were painted all black and then we splattered colors of lime green, turquoise blue, and hot pink. My best friends, Elise, Lizzie, Tori, and Abby helped and we sure made a party out of the process. The best part was the last step when we splattered the glow-in-the-dark paint so when I went to sleep, it looked like I was surrounded by stars. Although my parents’ worries came true about some of the colors accidentally ending up on the carpet, the ceiling, and even the fan, the room really did turn into a teenage Tumblr dream. Even more importantly, laughter was shared and memories were created with friends I still have to this day.

The saying goes, “A house is made of bricks and beams. A home is made of hopes and dreams.” I’m appreciative of the fact that I grew up in a home that condoned concepts such as dreams, imagination, and creativity. Because I was given the space to create and the grace to make a mess as a child, I truly believe it has enhanced my way of expressing myself now, whether it be within my home or even beyond.

Publisher

Delores Blount

Sales & Marketing Director

Susan Bryant

Editor

Sarah Elaine Hawkinson

Account Executives

Erica Schneider

Gay Stackhouse

Art Director

Patrick Sullivan

Contributing Photographer

Chasing the Light Photography

Web Developer

Scott Konradt

Accounting

Gail Knowles

Executive Publishers

Jim Creel

Bill Hennecy

Suzette Rogers

PO Box 1389, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576 fax 843-626-6452 • phone 843-626-8911 www.sasee.com • info@sasee.com

Sasee is a Strand Media Group, Inc. publication. Copyright

Pieces of Home

by Jessi Waugh

I have moved fifteen times. Military? No. Traveling circus troupe? Nope. Just the move-y sort, I suppose. I can’t blame it on my parents; they only account for three of those relocations. The rest were all me and a certain “the grass is greener on the other side” mentality. Sometimes it was. Certainly, it’s green here at the end. This is the end, right?

Funny thing is, I don’t really like to travel. I’m a homebody. I like nesting – rearranging the bookshelves, fluffing the couch pillows, gazing at how the sunlight filters through the windows and hits the wood floors just so. A well-tended house gives me a deeply peaceful feeling.

A house full of moving boxes gives me exactly the opposite feeling. I’ll unpack without stopping all day, all night, until it’s done. I NEED the house to look like a home, and everything else can wait. The kitchen comes first, then bedrooms; wall art comes last. You need to know where the furniture will finally rest before you can hang pictures. In the last two moves, we added children to the packing list.

The first time, it was just a three-month-old, who was largely oblivious to the change. His world consisted of my arms and his play mat. Those could go anywhere. The first thing we set up in the new house was his changing table, with the mobile above that I’d made of driftwood and shiny ornaments. His first laugh had bubbled up while looking at that mobile; it was his happy place.

The second move, he was three years old, and his brother was one and a half. They noticed the change. The first thing we set up in the new house - besides the toddler bed, stuffed animals, changing table, changing table mobile, crib, crib mobile, play food, highchair, booster seat, busy board, double stroller, plastic easel, toddler table and chairs, sound machines, monitors, cabinet locks, rocking chair, black-out curtains, padded coffee table, and a bucket of trucks - was the sandbox. It was their happy place. My happy place? My home, all of it, and everything in it.

Each move brings a chain of choices – which items to keep, which to donate or throw away. All those moves mean that sets of furniture got broken up; matching pieces didn’t fit in

new houses. Once, we went from 3000 square feet to 1000 square feet. Goodbye, captain’s chest and peacock chair. You were beautiful but not multi-functional. We needed multifunctional.

Over time, the hodgepodge of pieces that survived fifteen moves and life changes have come to say “home” to me. A house full of coordinated and matching pieces looks foreign and unloved. Home is the accumulation of those items that have survived alongside me.

It’s the dresser from my childhood bedroom, the only piece of ivory-white little girl’s furniture left, with pictures of Victorian ladies on the drawer pulls. It’s the painting that hung over my grandfather’s bed when he could not move from it, depicting a weathered beach cottage and a darkclouded sky. It’s the narrow end table that came from my husband’s house, the only piece of his furniture that made its way into our combined home (sorry, dear).

It’s the stories these items tell and the people they bring to mind, especially those loved ones now gone. It’s also the stories yet to be told by the new people in my life. That’s my happy place, at the point where the two intersect.

The easiest part of moving? Saying, “We’re home.”

Jessi Waugh has a background in science and education. She currently lives on the North Carolina coast with her husband and two young boys where she teaches yoga and writes fiction.

The Home Place

by Mary Ann Crimi

At the end of her last visit, my daughter instructed me never to get rid of my old couch.

I had qualms about that sofa when we first moved here. It is full of cabbage roses. The cushions and pillows are plump and cushy and loud – pinks and purples on a background of mossy greens - all sure to clash with the lowkey motifs of the new décor.

Houses have voices, don’t they? The new sofa took the leadership role in our abode right away and set the ground rules: “Use a coaster and never eat chocolate anywhere near me.”

My rose sofa, tucked out of front-door sightlines, piped up, “Time for tea. Settle in with a good book. Where’s the cookies?”

No way the two of them would get along in the great room. I briefly considered Habit for Humanity, but I couldn’t, just couldn’t part with the old divan.

Now, after a few years and no comments from visitors about retro upholstery, my anxiety over the old couch has ceased. In fact, when company arrives, the flowered sofa is where they sit because there you can slouch, you can put your feet up under you – yoga style, you can say what’s on your mind.

The new sofa is still stiff. It requires decorum. Acquaintances sit there; friends prefer the roses. You would think, located near the beach, my new house would dress itself with starfish and boats and maybe a ceramic mermaid or two, but the rose sofa lobbies for memorabilia that tugs at my nostalgic heartstrings.

On a small table made of repurposed wood rests a pottery pie plate and cover with a red apple for a handle. For years that dish sat on my mom’s buffet. It was the home of postage stamps and return address labels.

Those shiny bird salt-and-pepper shakers on top of the stove? A gift from my sister for my twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. I begged her for nothing silver. Who wants to polish? And they look silver, anyway, don’t you think?

On my refrigerator, artwork by my granddaughter. She’s

talented, right? Peek into the bedroom and look at the bureau: my wedding picture, and my grandparents’ marriage portrait, circa 1920. Do you notice the family resemblance? Out in the yard, Rose of Sharon trees, cuttings from the home where my sister and I grew up. Almost everything here has a backstory, some sad but most happy, funny, and all worth remembering.

A few miles from my new house, out on the main highway, is a field, flat and empty except for a mysterious island of shrubs and trees. It’s the “homeplace” a local historian told me, the site of the house that sheltered the family who once farmed that land.

If I were brave enough to trespass, I would find the toppled foundation stones, maybe a rotting floorboard or bricks of a capsized chimney. If I brought along my archaeological tools, I might find a spoon or the top of an old tea kettle.

What happened to that family? They are somewhere. And I hope they took with them what truly makes home, Home: their memories.

That rosy sofa? Dear daughter, it’s a keeper because it will always remind me of you. It is yours any time you want it.

And not to worry, it goes with everything, especially me.

Mary Ann Crimi spends time on her back porch where she uses pen and paper to capture lovely moments spent with family and friends. She is a freelance writer and regular columnist for “Neighbors of Sunset Beach.”

Spruce Up For Spring

Better Living By deSign

Coastal

Coastal Luxe Interiors is known for full, custom design services, beautifully covering everything from floor to ceiling with their extensive in-stock items located within the 10,000-square-foot showroom in the heart of Myrtle Beach. Essentially, Coastal Luxe is a one-stop-shop store with extensive interior resources to build or remodel your home. The heart of the business is the staff of about 10 total employees including three senior designers who specialize in flooring and cabinetry and a fulltime seamstress.

The interior designers are versed to do space planning and will design and select all of their clients’ window treatments, furnishings, and accessories. Each design consultation includes a guided walk through the details of the space and the options available, including the durability level wanted, the scale of the furnishings, the height of the room, and the color palette, to name a few. Custom ordering items designed and selected to perfectly fill each and every space as unique as the project is typically a must to achieve the overall look and expectation for the client as well as the designer’s vision.

The talented and passionate team is renowned for putting its clients first and exceeding their expectations. From conception to completion (and every step in between), the Myrtle Beach-based Coastal Luxe Interiors is a master in the design industry and is known to be flawless for clients throughout Horry, Georgetown, and Brunswick counties.

with the future in Mind

With over 40 years of crafting landscapes in the Myrtle Beach and Murrells Inlet area, we at Creative Landscapes are dedicated to the creation of beautiful surroundings. We believe that every landscape is unique; therefore our job is to install a design created to emphasize architectural or natural features through careful selection and placement of plant materials. Our goal is your happiness and we will strive to develop a landscape that is aesthetically pleasing as well as functional.

Andy Schwartz and Sharon Turner are here to help you create your dream garden space. We can design and install patios, sitting walls, grill areas, fireplaces and pits, and yes, trees, shrubs and lawns.

Andy Schwartz & Sharon Turner

Established on September 19, 1947, Mabel & James Dew opened Dew Company on Main Street in what was then, Ocean Drive Beach. It was the epitome of the oldfashioned neighborhood store where everyone stopped by for a cup of coffee; got caught up on the local news and happenings; and checked-out the latest and greatest appliances and supplies.

Now operated by second generation owners, Teressa, Linley and Joe, DEWS continues to stand on the principles of trust, convenience, responsiveness and service after the sale. Through their friendly staff and helpful team of specialists, DEWS strives for personalized customer attention, quality and valueadded service. “We strive to return that personalized attention to the consumer that has taken a back seat to discount volume and corporate bottom lines,” says Teressa Dew. “It has been our way of life for 75 years!” Many of the original customers and their families still entrust their appliance needs to DEWS.

DEWS Appliance showcases a large variety of major appliances such as GE Appliances, Profile, Café,

DEWS Appliance services what they sell. The Service Department boasts over 150 years of combined experience in appliance repair. Their technicians are factory trained and designated by various manufacturers as their certified warranty service center.

DEWS Cooling and Heating installs Tempstar & Goodman Heating and Air Conditioning systems. Additionally, they service all other major brands. To ensure maximum comfort in your home, DEWS offers membership in their Comfort Club which automatically enrolls you in the DEWS Dollars Program. Other benefits include no overtime charges, 10% off parts and labor on any repairs and priority scheduling.

“We are here for the long haul. We want to be the best,” said Linley Dew. “We don’t want to just sell a customer something. We have and always will provide a customer with what they need. We’re DEW-ing it right today, tomorrow and for the next 75 plus years.”

DEWS

Monogram, Beko, Speed Queen, HotPoint, Haier, ULine, Scotsman and Coyote Outdoor.

unique deSignS & fLoorS gaLore

With a blend of textures such as metallic, high gloss tiles, and natural wood flooring in neutral colors, this kitchen embodies the top trends in kitchen and bath design of 2023. The professional team at Young Interiors Flooring Center works with you or your builder to select the perfect mix of materials that showcase your design style and day-to-day needs.

Young Interiors Flooring Center

1830 Hwy 9 East, North Myrle Beach (Longs) 843-399-6524

www.younginteriorsflooring.com

As a boutique custom home builder, we believe home design should be holistic. Focusing on all the elements of your home, both inside and out, and how they fit the natural surroundings of your homesite. We listen to you and deliver a home that expertly meets all your needs while mastering your views. CRG

849 82nd Parkway, Myrtle Beach

843-651-8460

www.CRGhomes.com

Light up your worLd!

by Marce Singleton

LaFaye’s at 79th offers a beautifully curated selection of lamps, shades, and accessories to update any room in your home. Whether your taste is traditional, eclectic, or minimalist, it is important to choose a lamp that you will enjoy looking at every day. Lamps are a worthy investment for your home and a well-chosen lamp will stand the test of time.

Besides creating ambiance in your space, lamps have other functions. Some are decorative, some add an accent, and some are used for task lighting. Lamps provide a finishing touch as well as the light that warms a room and makes it feel inviting. We can also help with light bulb selections. The “Shady Ladies” with their decades of experience specialize in helping select and properly fit a new shade to update your treasured lamps. Remember to always bring your lamp when shopping for a new shade. The “Lamp Doctor” makes repairs of all kinds and can even make you a unique lamp from (almost) anything you bring in.

LaFaye’s

7901 N Ocean Blvd

Myrtle Beach

843-626-9952

Facebook: LaFaye’s at 79th

Instagram: @LaFayes79th

Show off Shower

As you enter our beautiful showroom in Murrells Inlet, you will say “WOW” and may become overwhelmed initially by the in-depth tile and flooring options we display. Whether you are a homeowner, builder, or designer, our sales team is eager to assist you with bringing your vision to life. Custom showers add luxury to everyday life so this space should be unique.

The master shower pictured, designed by Robin Johnson Interiors, has a variety of features including a chevron tile in the shampoo niche, porcelain subway wall tile, a bench seat, and pebble tile flooring with an invisible drain.

Your shower is a highly functioning space where you can express your style with endless options.

Flooring Plus

3930 Highway 17 Bypass South

Murrells Inlet

843-651-3303

www.flooringplussc.com

This kitchen was done on a new construction waterfront home. We classify it as a “luxury custom” kitchen because of its high end custom cabinetry, built-in commercial appliances (Notice the concealed dishwasher to the right of the farmhouse sink!), and custom details throughout. The island has a 3” thick mitered edge quartz countertop, and the floors are large format porcelain plank tiles for durability at the beach!

quaLity CoMfort & Care

At Inlet Furniture and Mattress Gallery, teamwork and style go hand in hand. Our experienced design team works together with you (and your budget) to create beautiful spaces that let your personality and spirit SHINE! We aren’t happy until you are completely satisfied with the finished project, whether it is a complete remodel or a simple refresh. No job is too big or too small.

Our 17,000 square foot showroom in Murrells Inlet allows you to see many of the product options before buying. Our extensive inventory of accessories, lighting and furniture are on display and available for immediate purchase. We have an exceptional furniture delivery team that provides white glove service for those larger purchases. Let us create a space you Love in the Place you Love! Come see us soon... Inlet

The Bowls are Here

by Suzanne Cushman

The bowls arrived yesterday. Lots of bowls. I’ve never counted – Fifty? Seventy-five?

Their sizes vary like watermelons, from big enough to hold spaghetti for 20 to small enough for a child’s Cheerios. Made in the Twenties, Thirties, and Forties, the once commonplace bowls range in colors that speak the language of the hills in late summer: every green imaginable and the dull yellows and browns of drying grasses. Then – here and there like wildflowers – a bold orange, yellow or blue.

Over the years, these bowls served up everything that came out of our kitchen, but food was only the beginning. They held rocks and driftwood and sand dollars from the beach at low tide. One was for mail still unopened; another for mail stamped and ready to go. The yellow one-minded keys to cars we barely remember. Side-by-side green ones held notes from me to my husband, and notes from him to me. This wasn’t the first life for our bowls. It was number two, or number three, or number four. I wish I had known the people who lived with them before us. These bowls have stories to tell.

Two people got me hooked on bowls. The first was my grandmother – the clever, hugging, say-it-straight-andadd-a-few-salty-words grandmother. When she died, I snapped up the colorful dishes she spread out on her yellow Formica table three times a day. The oval turquoise bowl for cucumbers and green onions, the ivory “nappy” for mashed potatoes with a glob of butter, the yellow gravy boat for whatever sauce she made up for supper that night.

The second was Carolyn, our Salmon Creek neighbor with bright blue eyes, dimples, and muddy work boots. Every Saturday night, we listened for the grinding gears of her old truck as it crept down Bean Avenue. Then, the two honks in front of our house before she backed into her dirt driveway next door. My husband and I would stop whatever we were doing, hurry out the back door, and hop over the low fence to see what treasures she’d found that day. It was a 20-year tradition.

Carolyn bought and sold collectibles, in the jargon of her trade. She got up early every Saturday morning to preview the latest warehouseful of used furniture and household goods on the block at Skips’s Auction House in the next County. Skip got the call when it came time to liquidate an estate. He’d divide the lifetime of acquisitions into manageable “lots” a dealer could haul away quickly when the auction ended.

Carolyn liked to put in a low bid on the smaller boxes of wellworn household items that barely escaped going to the dump before the auction house finished its job. Occasionally she’d spot a valuable find among the worthless pieces. Then she’d be as thrilled as a gold digger discovering a hefty nugget in his pan.

Carolyn had a sharp eye for the vintage bowls I love. Bauer, Brush McCoy, Fiesta, Red Wing, Weller, Hall, and many others. With luck, one of her “Magic Boxes” held an oversized yellow ware mixing bowl with the classic double red band –perfect for popcorn. Or maybe she’d found an 8-inch green Bauer Ringware bowl. That was the hardest size to find because over the years it was used most often and suffered the most life-ending falls to the kitchen floor.

With only a few exceptions, no two bowls look exactly alike. Even those made by the same company and marked as the same size look and feel different. The less alike the better, if you ask me. So much more interesting that way.

Bowls lived everywhere in our house, sometimes alone, sometimes in rows, sometimes in stacks. No one stayed put too long. Always a different windowsill to sit in.

Now the bowls have come to live in our new house. Last week we sold the house we built 30 years ago and bought a new one far away. We felt like visitors here.

The pile of brown packing paper filled the kitchen by the time we finished unpacking last night. We stayed up late retelling the stories the bowls brought with them. Even

though the stories were happy, it made us sad to tell them.

When we got up the next morning, there they all were. Bowls covered every inch of counter space in the kitchen. They huddled together with no room to breathe.

We spent the morning moving our old friends around, to the living room, to the bedroom – no, let’s try the bathroom. Is that bookshelf OK? Does this windowsill feel right? That blue one’s perfect for the mailbox key. We need one here for peaches. The more we moved the bowls around, the more settled they became. The more settled we became.

That’s just how they are, these old bowls. They’ve lived this story before and they’ll live it again, when new people fill them up with the bits and pieces of their lives.

Cushman was Northern born with a Southern heart. She embraces the beautiful imperfections of everyday life. Cooking with her husband and her daughter’s smile are 2 of her favorite things in the world!

Suzanne

32nd Annual Spring Show and Sale

32nd Annual Spring Show and Sale

Live With What You Love: Waterway Art Association

Spruce up your space with artwork from the Spring Art Exhibit and Sale. The Waterway Art Association is hosting its 32nd annual event from April 24th through April 29th at Sunset River Gallery in Calabash, North Carolina. The show is free and open to the public during regular business hours from 11 am to 5 pm.

The Spring Show is judged, with numerous prizes offered that exceed $2000. This year’s judge is Janice Castiglione, a watercolor artist and illustrator with national experience as an illustrator for American Greetings, Random House, Disney, and Fisher Price. She currently teaches at the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, North Carolina. The awards reception will take place on Friday, April 28th from 4 to 6 pm.

Mon, April 24 - Sat, April 29, 2023

11 AM to 5 PM

Monday April 24, to Saturday April 29, 2023

The annual spring show provides a place for members to exhibit and sell their work. It also supports an annual scholarship for graduating seniors of area high schools who wish to pursue the arts in their college curriculum. The NC Arts Council and Brunswick Art Council help support the many community outreach programs the Waterway Art Association provides.

Sunset River Gallery

11 AM to 5 PM

Sunset River Gallery

10283 Beach Drive SW, Calabash, NC

10283 Beach Drive SW, Calabash, NC

waterwayart.org

www.waterwayart.org

Raffle Proceeds Support

Brunswick County Schools

Art Scholarships

Established in 1991, this nonprofit’s mission is to encourage artistic awareness and the enjoyment of fine arts and to stimulate growth both on individual and community levels. The organization fulfills its mission with art exhibits and shows, workshops, demonstrations, indoor and outdoor painting sessions, as well as trips to regional art venues.

The Waterway Art Association invites all artists to join this active group of painters working in various mediums. The organization meets on Wednesday mornings to paint and offers free demonstrations monthly. By providing channels for networking and communication, Waterway Art Association members can experience a creative environment for learning, sharing, and building friendships.

Acrylic “Red Landscape” by Don Bashore

2022 First Place Winner

2022 First Place Winner Acrylic “Red Landscape” by Don Bashore

First

Dr. Eskridge is a board certified Ob/Gyn and has been practicing Obstetrics and Gynecology 26 years since her residency at Ochsner Foundation Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana.

She received a B.S in Nursing and worked as an RN for a short while before completing her medical training at LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. She then moved to Lancaster, SC where she practiced for 9 years.

She eventually moved to Charlotte, NC for the next 17 years. There she practiced high risk Obstetrics & Gynecology with a very busy practice.

She and her husband decided to return to SC and permanently settle in Pawleys Island as they had been coming here to vacation for years. In her free time, she enjoys running, reading, cooking and spending time with her two grandchildren.

She is looking forward to continuing her passion for women’s health by providing gynecological care to the women in the Pawleys area and is accepting new patients.

The Gingerbread House

by Rose Ann Sinay

My dream house: a large Victorian trimmed in ornate gingerbread and painted in a palette of earth tones. It would have too many nooks and crannies to count; sunshine would flood the turret windows brightening the rooms within its reach; and a wrap-around porch with trellises of ivy and climbing roses would have two wooden swings. The rambling rooms with flowery wallpaper, carved wood panels, and parquet floors would showcase horsehair sofas and chintz pillows. Lots of “stuff” would decorate the room: vases, pictures, gaudy trifles. Personal clutter which could make some people phobic is a thing of beauty to a borderline hoarder like me. The rightness of it all makes me feel like I was born in the wrong century.

When my husband and I began the search for our first DIY (cheap) home, my dream house faded to the back of my mind with a someday sign in the front yard instead of a for sale sign. I knew it wasn’t feasible. We didn’t have the time or money to take on such a large project, but I didn’t want a plain box structure, either. Fortunately, my husband was willing to try his hand at remodeling almost anything. Strong, fearless, and money challenged, we looked for potential. We couldn’t invest in a large, bottomless money pit, but we could work hard to create a unique space that we would be happy in. After a long, discouraging hunt, we found an older house rife with ugly, miss-mashed features and abandoned attempts at revision. The positive point was that it was redeemable – and we couldn’t make it any worse.

I was the “ideas” person. Terry would groan when he’d see me sketching out additions or built-ins on a piece of paper. Despite his protests, he was all in: one day there would be a wall between the kitchen and the dining room, and the next day it would be gone. We tore into the house like we were cleaning out an old refrigerator.

The dumpster was always full, the floors continually covered with the grit of sawdust, and a growing mountain of yard sale cabinets, tiles, and errant pieces of two-by-fours filled the spare bedroom. There was a headiness to having that kind of control. Of course, there were times, my ideas were not good ones, and a wall would reappear or a door replaced. One day, we realized we had a small, sparkling gem. Home.

Six houses have passed through our hands since we first began our soulful search. Each house has been bigger and better and brought with it the opportunity to reshape our lives. None of our homes were easy to leave. There’s more than a little blood and sweat in the walls left behind. The ceremonial last walk around each of our creations left us shaking our heads, wondering how we could leave it behind.

Our current house, and probably our last, is far from the grand Victorian dream. The kids left the nest years ago. The window of time for that idyllic fantasy has passed. There’s no need for large rooms and hiding spaces. Our requirements for this home did not require creative potential or structural changes. Unfortunately, habits run deep; we couldn’t help ourselves from moving and adding a few walls. Our small Tudor cottage with green shutters and a stone façade suits us. Pink and blue hydrangeas frame the windows, and peonies bloom at the corners of the house. I want a new kitchen, but I don’t need one. I’m contemplating new wood floors, but I’m content to just think about it.

There’s an amazing Victorian about ten minutes from where we live. It’s a beautiful period house with its fancy gingerbread woodwork and a foundation of rustycolored bricks. The owners have been working on it for years, and the restoration is far from finished. I think it might be a money pit. There’s a for sale sign in the

front yard. Sometimes, I drive in its direction just to look at the little castle. When I get there, I slow down to a crawl and crane my head as far as I can before I pull a muscle. I’ve thought about stopping in to look around and tell the owners how beautiful the house is, but I don’t. The outside is exactly how I pictured my dream. I don’t want to fill my head with their vision of the inside.

The idea of my dream house still resides in my brain, along with the tall, skinny version of myself, and a best-selling book with my name on it at the bookstore. The dream gave me the motivation to take risks and make changes. It led us to our cottage on the lake that fills my heart – flaws and all.

Rose Ann Sinay is a freelance writer newly relocated to Connecticut. She continues to write about moments worth remembering, graciously provided by family and friends.

LBYS Spring Concert Myrtle

The Planets

Featuring cellist William Laney MBHS

This iconic musical depiction of the solar system by 20th-century English composer Gustav Holst has served as inspiration for generations of composers, both in the concert hall and the cinema. In that same spirit, area composer Donald Sloan portrays the clash of different aspects of nature in a newly commissioned work. Plus, outstanding young cellist and Long Bay Youth Symphony alumnus, William Laney, returns home to perform a classic Romantic concerto.