What follows is a wee story recounting how 'Sweetpea Path' came to be named ...
More years ago than I care to count, I snagged some seasonal employment with a retail outfit called 'The Nature Company' in Berkeley, California. Flexibility in work shifts was an important criteria for the job and since I was attending art college then and my classes & studio times were all over the map, this was perfect. I was also a night owl; late shifts into the hours right before dawn were no problem at all.
My job was Customer Service Representative in their Mail Order department. In other words, I answered telephone calls from folks all over the United States who wanted to place orders from our catalog. Hard to imagine now, but internet shopping was only in its fledgling stages back then; the options at the time were either phone, mail - with a postage stamp - a written order, or transmission via a fax machine order form.
Needless to say, that Christmas season we were hopping and I talked to A LOT of customers.
Overall, I found the task of dealing with so many different personalities, in so many different locales, to be a refreshing and quite fascinating enterprise. This was a job perfectly suited for an introvert and when I was lucky enough to get an especially friendly person on the other end, I recall having some lovely conversations.
But there is one conversation I remember distinctly - one particular call that has stuck with me all these many years later - from a sweet, elderly woman living in an idyllic rural location somewhere along the coast of Maine ...
After a pleasing & friendly exchange of questions and ordering information, I began to type in her shipping details and asked for her address. Now ... I don't remember this kind lady's name and I don't recall the name of her town, but this, oh yes, I most certainly do recall: she told me her street address was "Sweetpea Path ... no number, dear, just Sweetpea Path ... I'm the only one who lives down here." I responded that she had the most wonderful & evocative street name I'd ever heard in my life ... to which she replied she'd lived there "forever" and yes, it was as wonderful a place to be as I was imagining. When I asked if sweet peas [my favorite flower] actually grew there she answered, "Oh heavens, I grow them every year all along the old stone wall - they do beautifully."
In 2009 when I needed to choose a title & internet address for my new blog, 'Sweetpea Path' was the first name that came to mind. I'd wanted to "live" in such a spot for a very long time so this is where I set up housekeeping. Or more specifically, memory-keeping.
I'm very pleased you've stopped by for a visit. I hope you enjoy your time here.
Christi