AN ARTIST'S HOUSE CONTINUED

Here is more of the house, or cabin as they call it, of Doris...











The original bar/dance hall portion of the cabin...



Swinging bar doors off of the old saloon leading into the bathroom...







More of General Custer's room...



Doris designed a fun set of stairs in their cabin...You have to alternate back and forth, with your left foot and then right...



Another set of stairs goes to the Secret Attic...Again, all of the paintings on the walls are her own...







The maiden at the top of the stairs is painted on the wall...Her flowers are silk ones, which are attached on the wall...A deck goes outside over looking the stream...



This young girl is a characature of one of Doris' grandaughters who used to babysit for us...



Looking out onto the deck from the Secret Attic...





Random shots...





This artist used to travel to different lands and paint the people...She has many portraits of Arabs, Indians, etc.







Needless to say, it was a wonderful setting for a wedding...

AN ARTIST'S HOUSE

The pictures herein are only a taste of experiencing the real thing, as pictures never really do tell the whole story with their lack of clarity and feeling...

However, please enjoy...



Chanielle sitting on one of the artist's (Doris) many decks...



Julian and Adrien on the hand-built bridge from her house to the clearing...



The area right in front is part of the main entry way, which was originally a saloon and dance hall. The continuation of it is to the right of the picture. That is all that was there when they purchased the property.



Looking down from the second-floor balcony...



A closet door in one of the many many guest rooms...She applied actual chicken wire...



Her Indian room. These are Indians that she painted and displayed in this particular room. In making the walls to look like leather, she enlisted the help of her grandchildren and some paper bags...



A children's theater scene from one wall of the Red Lady's room...



The Red Lady...She has a specific name, which I don't recall...This room has a large bed for mama and daddy and also a crib...Above the crib is a nursery window so that mother's can peak in on their children...This artist has a very large family with lots of grandkids, and she and her husband wanted all of the comforts to be available to them.



In Custer's room, there is a stairway ascending up the wall to a child's loft...



A painted door...



A waiting area with more of her paintings and books that only look like books...



Door of The Cowboy Room...Notice the real leather that is attached to the painting...



Another bedroom door...



A wall behind the toilet has painted leaves and flowers with some silk flowers added...



Closet door in same bathroom as above...



This flower room is where our bride-to-be was getting ready with her ladies in waiting...





Another painting in the flower room...It has an offical name, as all the rooms do, but I can't recall it...



Some of the cording/brass buttons are glued onto the door to blend in with this painting...



A view from the vaulted ceiling...



Another view from above...



Now this room is amazing! Note the real bird's nest by the window and real tree branches on the ceiling. Since this bedroom is on an upper floor, she had to drag the branches all through the house and up the stairs...



Another wall...Another nest...Notice the tree trunk attached to the wall...





Painted trees...With real leaves attached...Notice the face on the trunk...





Another painted door...This one with brass rings and ropes attached...



A light switch in the above room...



A bedroom closet door...



To be continued...

BABIES, PUPPIES, AND ICE CREAM

More than anything in life…I love babies...

Puppies…

And ice cream.



Much has been going on…Hmmm…the busy-ness of Summer.

Summer Fair...Strawberry Festival...Farmers’ Market...A divorce in the family...A split-up in the family...A summer cabin wedding...The start of my vintage group...A daughter’s move out of state...Puppy adoptions...And...Finding a friend after 22 long years.

Though I have LONG way to go…The older I get, the more I am able to enjoy our seasons…The more I am able to go with the flow of the Earth.

Thus, this Summer time of year, though infested with all manner of bug and spider, I am relishing in the delights and amusements thereof. At the very start of this summer stage, DD and I decidedly proclaimed that we would partake of the various offerings around our fair city…Enjoy and fulfill our time. We got out our calendars and, with the time table of events that our local gazette prints out, marked the dates and times of things that we wanted to attend.



The summer Famers’ Market is always such fun…Hutterites with their bounties of homemade noodles, baked bread, and garden produce are neatly arrayed. Bing cherries, blackberries, raspberries and the like are all hocked by their various venders. The streets are a maze of people, dogs, and children milling about with the excitement of the fresh goodness that the market offers.





DD #2 again moves to Salt Lake, making this her third time to venture to this fair city and again plant some roots. Wishing that they would have stayed in town…Nonetheless, we all wander where wandering will take us.

A nephew left today for a four-month-long expedition along the Appalachian trail…He and his dog and little else. A time of introspection…A life-changing journey, I am sure.



Twenty years of marriage comes to an end. I am--generally speaking--against divorce…In this case of despotism; however, I am quite glad to see it come to an end. My dear loved one may now find some peace.

And then... Yet another split, which entails much hurt, as it involves small children who once again won’t understand…Who once again will wonder why. Please pray for them.



On the site of beautiful artist’s cabin, a Summer wedding is held…Amongst the pines two are wed…With prayers for a God-centered marriage that will withstand the sometimes offensive surroundings through which we all must travel. Some lovely pictures will follow in a later post.

At long last, I have found a soul mate or two who share in my love of vintage. The Northwest often does not offer much in the way of history, re-enactments, or the like. We are starting out small with great hopes of budding into a flourishing company of active vintagers.



Off and on for 22 years I have searched and inquired about a childhood friend. She seemed to have evaporated for none of us could discover her where abouts. At long last, I was able to make online contact with her. How fun it will be to catch up after these decades of absence. How exciting it is…a small glimpse of what it will be like…Reuniting with loved ones beyond the veil.



And then…A very long tale condensed into abridgement…For more than one reason…I have had…My entire life…A canine companion.

Again, for reasons more than one…It has been these past five plus years…That I have had to go without. Still a remote distance off…The hope of a new pup with which to share my life.

Quite unexpectedly…Most likely by the hand of my Father…A new little guy has blessed my life once again. What a happy—albeit challenging—time this is.

I have…For the most part…Always had pure-bread dogs. I have…For the most part…Always had German Shepherds. These little guys…My husband’s and mine…Are rescue dogs. DH’s pup is a little Red Heeler/Terrier mix…My little man is German Shepherd/Heeler.

Not our customary large breeds…Not whole-heartedly relishing in the terrier breed’s yapping and hyperactivity. The latter will be a challenge. Nonetheless, my canine training certification and experience will once again be able to be put to use.

Middle-of-the-night potty breaks…Freshly-planted flowers and garden plots that are mowed down…Kitties that are having to share their kingdom…And puppy-proofing our house is a small price to pay for once again having my canine companion…A protector…A friend.



One hot Summer day not so long ago, I received a beautiful little message on my phone that went something like this…

“Maa-ma”, it said, “We wondered if you would like to go do somping like get a tweet or some I cweam with us. Ok, that’s all. Bye!”

Oh, what a blessing that was! My grandbabies wanted me to come with them on this sweltering day to share an ice cream cone. It had to have been near 100 as I drove home, and the thought of this temptation would not be ignored!

As we sat there enjoying our bit of coolness on this sun burnt day, I thought what a blessing it was to have these little people in my life. Gooey faces dripping with sweets…Sticky hands…Loving words.



Not unlike puppies, these little blessings from God…Love unconditionally…And…if we will let them…fill up our lives with joys untold.

More than anything in life…I love babies...



Puppies…



And ice cream.