The Emilie Loring Collection

I’ve led a rather nomadic life the past few years, lugging my Emilie Loring materials from state to state, desk to desk, cubbyhole to cubbyhole. I love the places that I visit, but I must say, it felt good today to see my books, notebooks, photos, and memorabilia all in one place again. [Full disclosure: This isn’t all of it. I still have unpacking to do. 🙂 ]

This past week, my study got new, whitewashed, hardwood floors, crisp, white paint, and a new layout. Already, the space feels fresh and inspiring. When I hang artwork and add brightly-colored accents (I have my eye on a bright pink-and-white-striped rug), it’s going to be terrific!

I’ve had spaces on the brain for some weeks now. Last week, I wrote that I was looking for a place to rent this summer in Maine. Since then, I’ve narrowed my choices to just three… okay, four.

What do I go for? Views of Blue Hill Bay but limited privacy? An apartment smack-dab in the middle of the village, so I can walk to shops and the Blue Hill Public Library, then grab a lobster roll at the Fish Net? An historical home away from the water but with connections to Emilie Loring? Or a light-filled cottage right on the water but a fifteen-minute drive from town?

At the university, I studied the design of thinking spaces — places that inspire the imagination and cultivate better thinking. There are many parts to that, but I know that my best work happens in spaces with light, volume, and views. Blue Hill has those qualities in abundance, and I’ve been lucky to go there so many summers.

At one cottage, I could see Blue Hill’s inner bay without raising my head from the pillow.

More recently, I’ve been able to write outdoors, overlooking the outer bay and taking breaks to search for sea glass on the beach.

Sometimes, I imagine what it would be like to buy my own place in Blue Hill. I took the 2012 Blue Hill House Tour (see it here), because six of the eight homes on the tour had a connection to Emilie Loring. Oh my! They were wonderful!

This week, I browsed homes for sale there, and I found something special! Do you remember a post I wrote some time ago about the appearance of Emilie Loring’s guest cottage in her novel Gay Courage? Last summer, its owner was kind enough to give me and my husband a tour of the place. . . and now, it’s for sale!

Browse the current listing, and then go to my post about its history and look at the fireplace. I love that the stone sailboat.

Here is the listing: “Cottage” for sale”

And here is my post, showing photos of the original cottage: Traces of Gay Courage

Talk about light-filled! I see several places where I could happily sit down to pen a word or two–if I weren’t running outside to pick blueberries on my seven acres, that is.

I’m afraid it’s beyond my means, but think of the possibilities!

This could be the “Emilie Loring Bed & Breakfast Cottage,” a place for her fans to stay and others to discover her when they visit Blue Hill. Or maybe one of the Lorings would buy it, and the next generations could enjoy Blue Hill on their great-grandmother’s land.

Whoever lives there next, you can bet I’ll ring the bell and share the history of “The Ledges” with its new owners.

Oh, I wish…