When I was a child we lived in Storrs, Connecticut. Both of my parents worked - Dad worked on campus at the University of Connecticut (called U-Conn locally) and Mom worked in the local town hall. My mother loved to visit old homes. Somehow through her job (we moved away at the beginning of my third grade year of school and she is no longer alive to get the correct details from) she always managed to have keys to estate homes.

She would pack me in the car and we would go out and see the inside of these homes. It was always a special treat, going through these homes full of furniture and decorated in different styles. I was always excited to participate on these excursions!

In addition to these trips, I got to tag along when she visited friends, friends of friends, friends of the family - it was as if she knew everyone in the village! Grandma had a house on the corner in the village center - a big house full of lots of rooms to explore - and Grandma knew everybody in town - so we went to a lot of homes and visited with a lot of old ladies -

There was a lady that lived in town that made the most beautiful flowers out of metal coat hangers and old stockings that she dyed varying colors. They were really beautiful! She was ANCIENT it appeared! Older than Grandma!!!

Those days of driving around and visiting all of these homes with my mother sparked an interest in seeing inside old buildings that never left!

When I lived in Europe I could not get enough of visiting old buildings and seeing inside! I took my kids everywhere once they were born! It was like an addiction - I could not get enough of it!

So it is really fitting that I am now in real estate - I guess I have come full circle! Mom would be pleased!