Living My Dreams

This morning, as so many other mornings, I walked over to River Cottage to water houseplants, sweep porches, and such. Lured by the serenity and simplicity there, I decided to make a pot of coffee and stay awhile.  Sitting at the kitchen island, one's view through the window is of the Cherry Mansion, the house where I grew up and where I now live with my own family.  Though it's not a mansion by anyone's standards, I was still captured by its beauty and timelessness.  I thought, "How lucky am I to have coffee in such a magic spot: sitting in my fun cottage gazing at my old home that I have loved so much and so long."

As a teacher of gifted and talented students for most of my professional career, my mantra has always been, "Follow your dreams. Be all you can be." Most of them did just that, and it's so rewarding and thrilling when they drop in for a visit and tell about their grownup lives as doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, accountants, archaeologists, fighter pilots, teachers, artists...Well, that list goes on and on.

How ironic then that my dreams led me right back to Savannah, Tennessee, where I grew up.  It was exactly the right decision for me and has allowed me to follow my own dreams and to be the person I think I was meant to be.  You see, my daddy left me a legacy, a responsibility - "Take care of the Cherry Mansion and share it with those who love its history." To some that would have felt like a dreary life sentence, a daunting task. To me it was, and has always been, a gift, a privilege, a passion.  Most days it is just "home", but sometimes I stop to remember its significance in the early history of our community, its steadfastness through good times and hard times, the families who have lived there and loved there, the soldiers who died there fighting for our young country.

It's becoming increasingly harder to keep the roof from leaking, the paint from peeling, the floors from sagging.  We prioritize and do the best we can.  We also try to honor my dad's wishes by opening the house for tours from time to time.  It's such a lot of trouble - hiding everyone's laundry, vacuuming away the pet  hairs, sticking magnolia leaves in all the empty vases.  I always think to myself, "Why did I ever agree to this?" Then the tour begins and the guests fall under the spell of the place. They listen attentively as I once again get carried away with my tales of parties, civil war spies, and dying generals. At the tour's end, they thank me profusely for welcoming them into our home, and I know that my dad was right.  It is a place to be saved, to be cherished, and to be shared.

A River Cottage Christmas

I thought that renovating River Cottage was the most fun I'd ever had.  Decorating the cottage for Christmas was equally exciting.  It was like starting with a blank slate--a chance to create new traditions. Since we had agreed to participate in the annual Christmas by the River home tour on December 3, the decorating process had to start early.  Believe it or not, the tree was fully decorated by Oct. 31, and other holiday touches soon followed.

The cottage was rented over the Thanksgiving weekend and also the weekend before Christmas.   Holiday touches were spread throughout the bedrooms, and our guests seemed to enjoy the festive atmosphere.

In between rentals, our family was able to enjoy several of our own Christmas events at the cottage.  My favorite was a craft morning spent with my cousins, Julie and Lee Ann, making boxwood wreaths and centerpieces.  Not only did we leave with decorations for our homes, but we also had the best time just catching up and spending time together.

I guess the neighbors are wondering when the outdoor decorations are going to come down.  I know it's time, but it just looks so cheerful.Maybe this weekend I will have the heart to say a final goodbye to my River Cottage Christmas.

Last Day

   I woke up this morning with that last-day-at-the-beach feeling. Anyone who makes an annual beach trip knows what I'm talking about.  It's that desperate feeling of needing to squeeze every favorite beach thing into your last few hours there before returning to the real world and your day-to-day life.
   Tomorrow I begin a new school year. My days and time will become structured again.  I will be surrounded by students and colleagues for most of each day.  Since River Cottage has been my "beach trip" this summer, this is my day to do all my favorite cottage things.  I was up bright and early to water flower beds, something I've enjoyed every morning this summer. Then I curled up in my favorite chair with a cup coffee and a new Potterybarn catalog for a few quiet minutes.  I spent some time emptying one more closet, trying on forgotten clothes, reconnecting with much-loved purses and shoes.  It was such fun. Late this afternoon I went from room to room lighting the best-smelling candles, trying out each bed, straightening pictures, rearranging pillows, feeling so amazed that this perfect little house is mine.
   I made the most of my "last day at the beach" and feel ready and excited to start another year doing something I still love after all this time. And best of all,  I don't have to leave my "beach" behind.  River Cottage will be here waiting for me at the end of each day.

A Dream Come True!

River Cottage, the dream, has finally become River Cottage, the reality! For you to know how special this really is, I should give you a bit of history on its evolution. In 1955, I was born to a wonderful family who lived in a magical house, the Cherry Mansion, circa 1831.  It isn't really a mansion by today's standards, or by any standards really, but it is a wonderful place. Growing up there was absolutely perfect...so perfect that when I finally left for college, I was miserably homesick for my house and for the river that it overlooked. The weekends didn't come fast enough for me.  I couldn't wait to get back to my special place, my home, my heart. 

Needless to say, when I graduated from college, I made a beeline for my hometown of Savannah, Tennessee, and for my beloved house.  I became a teacher in the elementary school that I had attended as a child. I married a hometown boy who understood my love of place, and we began to make plans for a house of our own on the grounds of the Cherry Mansion.  So in 1984, River Cottage was born. It didn't have a name back then, but it did have a young family who loved it very much and who felt so lucky to be there.  We started our family, had two perfect little boys and many beloved pets.  We could run next door to my parents' house several times a day and most nights where my mom cooked the BEST suppers. 

Of course, life marches on and times change.  My perfect little boys grew up, and my parents are no longer with us.  My husband, Anthony, and I moved into the Cherry Mansion, and the little house where we raised our family and made our memories suddenly sat empty.  And it began to fall into a state of disrepair. We had to make some serious decisions.  Should we sell the house? No way!  Should we simply rent it to a new family and let them begin to make their own memories? I didn't think I could stand that.  So, the final verdict was to let me do something I had always wanted to do anyway: create a perfect cottage to share with visitors who would come and go and enrich our lives along the way.

That's how River Cottage Guest House was born. Or, should I say, the idea of it was born.  The transformation actually took several months and many dollars. Along the way, we were so lucky to find an amazing carpenter (or should I say, ARTIST), some really neat painters, and a bricklayer who imagined the same sidewalk that I had imagined for over 20 years. My friends at Flower Friends Garden Center provided lots of advice, inspiration, and many lovely plants to revive the neglected flower beds that surrounded the house. And I had a great excuse to haunt the flea markets, junk and antique stores that I loved and look for just the right furnishings for River Cottage. The whole process was the most fun I've ever had!

Now River Cottage is ready to welcome guests. I hope everyone who visits will come to love it as much as I do.