Yesterday afternoon, Lisa A. Watts delighted us with a reading from her book “Curb Appeal” at Scuppernong Books. The subtitle, “Forty years of falling for houses and finding home” provides insight into the premise for the book. Lisa, husband Bob, their two children and dogs have done their share of moving. As the book cover states, they’ve purchased fifteen houses in their forty years. They have lived in 5 different states, owning bungalows, Colonials, getaway houses, and an American foursquare.

Lisa’s talk yesterday was a sort of homecoming for Lisa as three of her houses have been in Greensboro, two in Durham and one in Minnesot Beach, NC. That situates 40% of the family’s houses in North Carolina (6), the most out of OH (3), RI (3), MA (2),CT (1). Lisa claims they are now in their “forever” home in Barrington, RI. This elicited a little chuckle out of former neighbors and friends in the audience. Lisa and Bob have always moved for a sense of adventure, for the excitement of new jobs and homes they knew they would love. The Matsuo Basho quote at the beginning “Curb Appeal” seems to capture Lisa’s philosophy. “Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”

Lisa’s writing style is engaging and will get you thinking about why you have ever moved, or why you stay put. Last we checked, Scuppernong Books still had a few copies.

Happy Monday!