40 Winks

The not-at-all-boring boutique hotel I'd like to visit....

designed by owner David Carter.

Click here to see the slideshow from Met Home

Photo: Marc Rogoff

I now have a strange fascination for feathered African hats....

Tyler's coming

We've been hosting parties, friends and relatives all summer. On Saturday, we had our first party of the fall season when the High Desert Design Council came over for a BBQ.

Tomorrow my cousin Tyler is arriving. 

(Tyler with my sister, Cherise-2008) 

This will be his first visit to our desert home....sadly, rain and cool temperatures are expected this week. Puts a crimp in my scenic tour plans....

What to do to entertain a 31 year old for a couple days.....

Canyon shadows

Steelhead Falls-Deschutes River, Deschutes Canyon, Central Oregon

Hey Harriet's shadow shots

Click here for more shadows

Day's end

I never tire of looking at this...

"After a day of cloud and wind and rain 

Sometimes the setting sun breaks out again, 

And touching all the darksome woods with light, 

Smiles on the fields until they laugh and sing, 

Then like a ruby from the horizon's ring, 

Drops down into the night."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

High Desert sunsets...

Ramada

We finished the deck and ramada...this is how it looked before:

And after...

I like the curve against the straight line of the house.  

Next summer, we'll put in a flagstone patio.

Spent some time looking for comfortable furniture....found an ad on Craigslist for vintage cast iron chairs. They were very comfortable and I knew the white iron would help tie in the white vinyl windows.

After I paid for the chairs, the gentleman I bought them from asked me, "Would you like to know a little history about them?" I said, sure. He told me he had purchased them from Red Button's estate. 

If true, I now own a little bit of Hollywood history. 

How's that for a Craigslist bargain?

Balancing

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.”

~Thomas Merton

I'm still here, reflecting, balancing what is important to me right now.

What about you?