Category: New Places

I’m excited to introduce you to the Prince, who only made a recent appearance in my story, but has poured so much joy and sunshine into my life I can’t imagine it without him!

Prince Andrew makes his fortune as a poet, writer and actor. He has a small castle in Midtown, Atlanta with old, nostalgic wood floors and antique glass doorknobs. From his bedroom window, you can see the stately houses and condos of Midtown, and past them, the skyline of Atlanta.

The Prince and I sit at his table by the window. Cold air leaks in around the window frame so we drink fresh-ground, French-pressed coffee from small clay mugs. His is always black. Mine is always heavily sugared and hopefully has some cream, too. As we talk and tell each other the worst jokes, my eye is drawn up above the table to the lovely art on the walls. There are so many prints, small ones, all different subjects, each richly framed and hung just so.

In the bedroom, my attention is always pulled to the overflowing bookcase. I stand in front of it, staring. “Do you want to read?” He always asks, watching me. “No,” I say. That’s not always true. I want to read, but I want to spend time with him just being in this sensory experience. Being in Prince Andrew’s castle feels like an art gallery started a coffee shop then invited a writer to live there.

Of course, his castle being right in Midtown, we can’t just stay there the whole time. Saturday we left to explore the neighborhood. We walked about five miles… A long walk, but so wonderful.

We saw parks where, though it was winter, the landscaping was still breathtaking and the colors were a seasonal palette I never knew existed. Streams flowed below sycamore trees hundreds of years old.

We walked street after long street of homes that had been loved for decades. They were often tiny, with miniature manicured lawns. There was no house without some detail to enjoy: a stone staircase here, ivy carefully cultivated there. Diamond lattice in the windows or perfect birch trees.

We ended the day walking to a hole-in-the-wall bar, a dark, quiet, cozy place in the early afternoon. We sat at the bar like real adults eating spinach and artichoke dip, watching the drinks poured and speculating about what the years might hold.

At the end of the day, our feet hurt, but neither of us complained. Who knew that the most perfect day of the year might be a misty, freezing January day in Midtown? Saturday I learned that every season has its own special loveliness. Thank you, Andrew you darling, for sharing your kingdom with me.

 

The landscape shifted as I drove from rural north Georgia to suburban Atlanta.  Fast-flowing highways replaced laid-back roads; hazy plains replaced forested foothills.  Sleek new Acuras and Mercedes replaced older-model Hondas and Toyotas.  Speed limits became irrelevant.  I glimpsed the beautiful skyline of Atlanta to the south before the highway curved and I shot north again, this time deep into the suburbs.

Down a tiny side-street, tucked away from the main thoroughfares, I found a row of well-groomed small castles of red brick.  Queen Jennie stood in a driveway waving to me with her good hand.  Her right hand, encased in a brace, suffers from a strange illness the doctors have still been unable to identify despite her weekly visits.   However strange and sad this malady, this Queen has a cheerful heart, loves company and has a gift for making guests feel like family… although, to be quite honest, I never turn down an invitation to make myself at home and usually end up doing so whether invited or not.

Although the houses line the street austerely, the house was warm on the inside with color: blue, yellow, red and bright wooden floors.  We dragged my suitcases down a twisting staircase.  I couldn’t wait to see where I would be staying.  As we rounded the corner, I couldn’t help smiling.  A touch-me lamp cast soft light over a bed with blue, purple, gold, and Sherpa covers, colors all strikingly deep and royal.  Carpet softened all footsteps. Beside the bed, an overstuffed sofa and TV invited relaxation.  I set up my little electric teakettle in the kitchenette.  It couldn’t have been more lovely.

Of course, I wasn’t alone while I moved in.  Besides the Queen, the happy golden retriever, Captain, and expressive boxer, Penelope, made sure I didn’t feel neglected.  These two might be my favorite part of living in this castle.  They are the official guardians of the house and the unofficial doorbells.  No opportunity to meet new friends eludes them.  No scrap of food escapes their notice.  Even better, they know instinctively that anyone on the couch needs snuggles, and if that person has a blanket or coffee, even more so.

Right now, I’m sitting curled up on the couch upstairs with this journal. Captain’s large, friendly dog-face is pushing closer and closer to my knee.  Coffee is brewing in the kitchen, drawing out the house’s other inhabitants, David, Hannah, and Jim.  They circle around making terrible puns and dry jokes at eachothers’ expense.  I joined their banter for a while but unfortunately lost all credibility when they discovered I had never watched Back to the Future.

I will be so at home here.  This castle is warm, lamplit, fully three stories and overflowing with good coffee, new books to read, oversized lap dogs and sharp, witty conversation.  I love this castle in Kennesaw.  I can’t wait to explore the suburbs.