Had a wonderful dream last night. I had sold everything I owned and moved somewhere in France. I went through a rental brokerage, that found me a 600 sqft studio over a double garage that a retired couple wanted used not charging a lot of rent. The wife was using the garage as her artists studio. The apartment had a galley kitchen running through the back length of the apartment wall, with a large set of French Doors in the front of the apartment. There were gallery windows on either side, flooding the space with light.
After a few months savings, I bought another four post canopy bed with rails, but the local store accidently sold mine, so they upgraded the bed and gifted an upgraded mattress as well. I was upset at first but a gendarme took me out for a cafe and explained I came out ahead in the deal. We would have weekly cafe together going forward. I slept on used sheets, a high thread count I could never have afforded in the U.S. I saved another few months, having made friends with another salesman in a tailor shop, then a mechanic who wanted to take me out for dinners.
Looking at bolts of fabric, thinking of having drapes, curtains, valances and bed frame cover made, someone took me to a fabric remnant store. Way in the back of the clearance section, were enormous bolts of a print fabric, about six to ten large bolts. The fabric was a dark cream with stencils of skyscrapers, modern farm houses, cafe storefronts in a dark charcoal. The seller explained another customer had changed their ‘vision’ of something and no longer wanted the bolts. They sold me the entire lot for pennies on the ‘euro’!
I had large, sweeping French Door curtains made, having found a couple retired seamstresses who wanted something to do in retirement. They made the curtains, hanging down from the top of the wall, near the ceiling, puddling on the floor, with matching flats on the door windows, and hardwood valances for the side garden windows. From a used furniture store, they reupholstered a modern love seat and overly large sitting chair I could curl up on, with the stenciled fabric. They also made four post cover for the rails, the bed in the middle of the room, facing the front. In another store, there was a 1920’s floor lamp I had them make a barrel shade for with the fabric.
Then one of the gentlemen went to a hardware store for tools for their car or something, I wandered to the paint and wallpaper section. There was another bargain shelves where there was a somewhat matching print to the fabric! It was also an off-white with a light green tint, having stencils of abstract shapes in dark charcoal as well. I had wondered if the same designer left these behind after their ‘vision’ changed. Their loss was my gain! I bought the entire lot or rolls of paper and hired a small handyman company of 2 people to hang the wallpaper for me.
Living in France in my studio, with the three men kept offering to take me out for dates, I had a great time, feeling happy, light and loved, living my best life.
Brick ONeil 