Birth announcement - GardenSpirit Guesthouse

Well, I did it.

I made my dream come true.

I just kept walking towards it and I'll be darned if it didn't just open up like a little flower and invite me to take a whiff.

OK, I will stop being oblique and get to it:

I bought retreat property! Ta-da!

My five-year dream has been to open a women's garden retreat center. The vision was really clear: Frank Lloyd Wright kind of simplicity, heart of pine paneling, secret gardens, hot tubs to soak in, a self-sustaining veggie garden, a communal room for workshops and yoga and gatherings, vining roses that drooped over the entrance to a charming little cottage.

That's the thing about dreams. They don't always show up in the package you envision.

My retreat house looks like an ordinary four-bedroom home (because that's what it is). It has no heart pine paneling (it has 1980s paneling that was painted white sometime). It has no roses, no hot tub and no secret garden. But it's a-gonna have all that and MORE.

It does have an incredible sunroom with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the deep and private forest in the back yard (that's it in the picture). It has a dining room that I am transforming into a cafe for afternoon tea and cozy breakfasts. It has a tree house that is big enough (and strong enough) for adults. And it has a path that leads directly to the brand new labyrinth, my (now overgrown) organic vegetable garden and the fish pond, black-eyed-Susans and wild ginger.

It WILL have a hot tub -- I am already negotiating for one that will hold as many as 10 people at a time. And I have already talked to a designer who has great ideas to convert this ordinary house into an extraordinary guesthouse (I have to call it that for zoning reasons).

As I make this transformation, I'll keep you posted on the progress. It's happening pretty fast since I have committed to a weekend workshop with an author/friend of mine called "ADHD and the Writing Mind - for Women." In case you're interested, it will be held the weekend of October 13-15....at GardenSpirit Guesthouse. Wow, it feels good to say that ...