Shhh! The Secret Fairy Society Newsletter is coming sooner than soon!

Please Visit...

Please visit me where I REALLY blog. I changed to Wordpress and kind of like it. Comments welcome.

The Spectral Dickinson

I have been reading two biographies about Emily Dickinson. The first, White Heat, is beautifully written. This book, which is a biography about the friendship between Emily and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, has many lovely passages, such as this one which describes the Homestead, Emily's home, now a museum, "The Homestead... is spare of furniture; the rooms are cold, and though the docents are helpful, the poet has fled."  I agree with Ms. Wineapple. The Homestead is indeed not haunted. But the same can not be said about The Evergreens, the house next door.  The Evergreens was built by Emily Dickinson's father for her brother Austin and his bride, Susan Gilbert as a sort of  bribe.  The elder Mr. Dickinson (Edward) was trying to convince Austin to remain in Amherst rather than go west to Chicago.

While The Homestead is decidedly ghost free, The Evergreens is not. The Evergreens ironically became a hub of Amherst society while Emily was steadily withdrawing from that same society.  Next door to Amherst's famous recluse, Emerson and Henry Ward Beecher were received and feted.  Today, the house is in a serious state of dilapidation, yet it retains most of the original contents. While dusty and seriously frayed, the chair Emerson is said to have occupied in the parlor looks as if he could emerge from another room and sit down once again, to engage in conversation about the lecture he completed at Amherst College a mere 142 years ago.  Yet, the house is eerie. When entering the dining room where Susan Dickinson entertained her guests, there is a noticeable drop in temperature (even in the summer).  A chill hangs in the air over the table which looks as though it is set for a spectral dinner party.  

But the downstairs isn't the creepiest part of the house, that honor belongs to the upstairs of The Evergreens. Ascending the creaky back servants stairs, the visitor is most acutely struck by the lingering souls of long dead Dickinson's. The nursery of Gib, Emily's  little nephew who died tragically of typhus at the age of seven, remains exactly as the Dickinson's left it after his death. Apparently, in her grief,  Sue just closed the door and NO ONE every went back in.  The feeling of voyeurism is palpable.

However, The Evergreens present a remarkable opportunity to look in on the past exactly as it was, not as a restoration or a recreation of a historical landmark, but as it actually looked (albeit with some deterioration) the last time the occupants left the rooms.  It sends chills up the spine.  It is just plain spooky.  The day I took the tour for the second time, by the time we reached the nursery, early winter darkness had decended and we gazed in upon the doomed little boys nursery by electric lamplight, the lamp swinging in the docent's hand, sending shafts of weak light into the poignantly charming, yet deathly stillroom. Emily's words echoed in my head, "I am out with lanterns looking for myself..."  The Evergreens  is the saddest museum in America.  If there are such things as ghosts, they surely walk at The Evergreens.

I read this article early this morning as I was drinking my coffee. I read it at 6:30 AM right before I had to climb my stairs and run my bath and get ready to go to my job where I make way, way less than six figures. Let's just say I take home a tad bit more than the national average. Now, I work for a brokerage firm, so I am not clueless as to how the rich live. As a matter of fact, I remember the moment I first realized the power of money as a nubile broker's assistant 26 years ago.  I felt like someone who had just been shown all of the secrets to a magician's trick. "Wow. That's how they do it." Because, you see, I had come from the middle, middle class. No one in my family got any money unless you went to a job, put in the time, and received your paycheck. 

Oh sure, there might have been some "savings." A Christmas Club or a "kitty" in the kitchen. But, there were no stocks, no bonds. Nothing except what my Dad earned. In fact, the tales of the Depression which my mother told made me think my Dad's job made us rich by Depression standards which, if you think about it, we were. We lived in a five bedroom house. We had a TV, although it was not a color TV. We had two cars. We received great Christmas presents. Life was good. 

So, when I grew up and started working at Merrill Lynch and realized how money worked, I was amazed. Money making money. People getting the money the money made. People buying automobiles OUTRIGHT. No payments. Not to mention houses and jewelry and TRIPS!!! It was truly miraculous. I understand all of this. I understand how the investors who were cruelly duped by Madoff lived.  But when I read this article, it made me mad. Especially this: 

  "I’ve lived a great and interesting life. I love beautiful things: high thread count sheets, old china, watches, jewelry, Hermes purses and Louboutin shoes. I like expensive French milled soap, good wines and white truffles. I have given extravagant gifts like diamond earrings. I traveled a lot. In this last year, I've been Laos, Cambodia, India, Russia, and Berlin for my first solo art show. Will I ever be able to explore exotic places again?" (sob – my editorial comment)

You know what? I love beautiful things, too. This is not an emotion exclusive to rich people. You can find lovely sheets at Target and if you wash them enough, they start to feel like high thread count sheets. Old china? Believe it or not, us pleebs have old china, even if it was grandma's and has chips. Or, if you don't have grandma's china, it is amazing what one little antique cup and saucer purchased from a kitchy antique store will do to thrill you.  As for the French milled soap, well, Yardley's Lavendar soap (2 bars for a buck) is lovely.  I bet French milled soap will fade quickly from the memory, kind of like soap bubbles, pop, pop, pop. White truffles? Give me a break. Gifting diamond earrings? If you are an artist, how about something hand made? A pretty card? Get a solder gun and some microscope slides and make a necklace. Be creative. Hermes? What is it with Hermes and rich people? And - what in the world is a Louboutin shoe? See? Regular people do not know nor  do they care! No one will be any the wiser if you aren't wearing these special shoes. I have a beat up pair of sling backs I bought at Anne Taylor Loft people always exclaim over. They cost $36.00 and I have owned them for five years! As far as the travel goes, well, get over it and thank your lucky stars you have ever been anywhere. The vast majority of people take one special trip in a lifetime and then, they have to be herded around by the tour guide who is on a schedule that does not include their need to "explore." 

You will eventually sell your pricey digs. You will, trust me. And guess what? There are a lot of really nice, mid range houses or condos you can buy with part of the proceeds. If you move to North Carolina where I live, you can get a lot of house for your money. Look in the Blowing Rock area. Lots of artists live there. Then, my advice is (speaking as one who works in the financial industry), find a reputable broker (I work for two if you are interested) with a FIRM that has C-O-M-P-L-I-A-N-C-E and invest your money in sensible, sloggy stuff and be happy with as little as 3% per annum and thrilled with as much as 5%. Go to the locals schools and see if you can get a teaching job. That will free you up for semi-exotic travel in the summers. 

Even people without independent wealth love beautiful things.  I have lovely things scattered all through my house. I have a poster of a Bougereau painting,  "Young Girl at the Well" and I love looking at it. I know it is only a poster, but I love the picture nonetheless. I recently bought some hand creams from Lolilla. I bought a selection of  the little tiny $8.95 tubes rather than one tube for $24.95, so that I could experience a potpourri of sc ents. Losing your money is awful. Mr. Madoff is worse than awful. But, you have skills and abilities and it if you are more discerning this time around, do  your due diligence , you will be fine. Although, you might want to look into long term health care insurance. Welcome to the regular world. 

My Really Exceptional Stuffing (I made this up myself)

2 Boxes of Gourmet Seasoned Croutons - Crumble a bit with your BARE HANDS so they aren't so lumpy

3 Celery Stalks - chopped

1 Big Onion - finely chopped

1 Granny Smith Apple - chopped

1 Bulging handful of Golden raisins - (make sure they are dropping on the floor from your hand when you transfer them to the big bowl across the kitchen- that's how you know you have enough)

2 sticks of BUTTER (the better to kill you with!!!)

1/4 Cup Ice Water

3 Eggs - Beaten within an inch of their life

Melt Butter in an attractive, copper bottomed pan reminiscent of Julia Child. Throw the celery, onions, apple and raisins in the melted butter. Bubble around until the onions and celery are translucent. Taste them a lot. Beat the eggs during this interlude. Pour the celery, onions, apples and raisins over the crumbled croutons and stir and stir until mixed. Taste a lot before you add the eggs. Add the eggs. If you are feeling Russian Roulette-ish, taste again once the eggs are added. With a zig zag motion, pour the cold water over all and stir, stir, stir. STUFF THE TURKEY. Place left overs in a pretty casserole dish, choose the little one you received when you got married from a distant non relative friend of your mother who you called Aunt Patty, this type of casserole works best. If you do not have a non-relative named Aunt Patty who gave you a simple, yet pricey casserole dish, Pyrex works just as well. 

I LOVE MY STUFFING~~~~

It's Fun Being in the Peanut Gallery

I frequent a few blogs regularly. I think I have it whittled down to about five. Ann Althouse is one of my favorites. This is a public service announcement encouraging anyone reading here to look at her blog.

Some facts about Althouse: She is a law professor at U of Wis Madison. She is unbelievably open minded and fair. She took a vow of cruel neutrality during the election. She voted for Obama. She is very cool.

I make comments and occasionally - they show up in her blog posts - which is really fun.