Starting with the Past

Starting with the Past

The instinct to create the future by honoring the past dwells inside each of us. I recently toured The Whalehead Club (for the umpteenth time) and learned of a woman, a sage, who recognized the value of the house’s dozen or so Tiffany designed and lily-shaped, sconce globes and tucked them into the attic for…

Home of a Fictional Moment

Home of a Fictional Moment

This is it. The Monroeville Courthouse, the place that inspired Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird and the place where her own father, inspiration for the fictional character Atticus Finch, is said to have held court. Attitcus helped us understand the color of justice and holds a seminal place in our American literature as…

Jefferson's Second Home Poplar Forest

Jefferson’s Get-Away Place

On a recent visit to Thomas Jefferson’s second home, Poplar Forest, I was prepared to learn something interesting about Jefferson. I was expecting to feel at home here in this cozy get-away, so comfortable that I could envision hanging out with TJ here. I was not disappointed. Despite being a public figure, Jefferson was quite…

The View from Madison’s Desk

The View from Madison’s Desk

This is the view from James Madison’s desk in his home, Montpelier, located in Orange County, Virginia. This desk is in the middle of his second-floor library that houses over 1500 books. On my recent visit, I arrived at this room after visiting the dining room where the guide spoke of the many guests and…

A Moving Story

A Moving Story

Revision is a messy business. Then again, so is moving a house. This is our family cottage undergoing a significant revision. In 2005, we moved the cottage to a new location after twenty-three years in this location on Whalehead Beach, NC. The area around the cottage had become cluttered with houses more akin to mini-hotels,…