Take me home country roads

Another road trip comes to an end. We arrived back in California from our other home in Idaho, in the wee hours of Friday morning. It's always good to see Scooter's family, but I'm always glad to be back in my home state too! We always try to make the trip about every four to six months, depending on how my brother-in-law is doing. He's very ill, and at this point, he can't breathe on his own, but we are hoping for a device to be implanted in his diaphragm in September, that will allow him to hopefully breathe on his own. Then, he can possibly get back on the liver transplant list, but that is pretty iffy right now. As with any long term illness, he has his good days along with the bad. Thankfully, he had all good days for the entire time of our visit. I even managed to make him smile and laugh at times. He was going to a respite care center for a few days so my sister-in-law could have a little time away to spend with her sister in Seattle, the same day we were leaving. He isn't crazy about the place (can't say I blame him!), but he's willing to do it for his wife. I kept referring to it as his "bed and breakfast inn", which got a smile and a chuckle. And that was good to see....

In Pocatello, I have a favorite store owned by friends of ours. Deb (funny we share the same name even) is coincidentally from Chico, near my home in northern California, and my husband grew up all his life with her husband Ron, in Pocatello. They live in a famous "castle" in town, and Deb's decorating skills really shine in their home as well as their shop. I'm always promised a visit every time we go, and am told the funds are unlimited, so shop to my heart's delight. We don't usually have a whole lot of extra space (hey, we take our fur babies with us), so I keep that in mind as well while browsing the store for certain treasures. Everything is pretty much 20's, 30's, and 40's flair, and so beautiful! This is also where we purchase our Lamp Berger lamps that I have posted about before. We also bring back our oil to burn in them from Deb's store. Funny side note: the oil is banned in California, because it's considered a hazardous material (alcohol). You can't even buy the lamps in California anymore. Thank you California Air Resources Board! Yet, I can go across the state line (two hours away) into Nevada and buy it all day long if I want. I love my home state, but geez, they sell all kinds of product here that contain alcohol, and that's all the oils are is alcohol mixed with essential oils. We have made our own before, but it's difficult to get the mixture right in order to have a clean burn as well as fragrance. Anyway, I purchased a few fantastic items, all with mostly the holidays in mind.

This beautiful decanter I bought with mostly Fall decor in mind, but I will be leaving it out year 'round. I absolutely love the glass beaded tassel hanging out of it, and Deb threw in the glitter butterfly along with the sparkly sprigs.

 

I just couldn't resist these two "steeple" (that's what I call them) lights, and the bases they sit on!! Talk about fantastic Christmas decorations, but again, I will be leaving these out all the time. They are perfect for the fireplace mantle, and are true mercury glass, which I love. Pure elegance!! They are battery operated, which is nice and means I don't have to have cords strung across the mantle, and they have a timer on them to turn on and off automatically. Cool, right?! We've been using them for night lights to try them out. At night, they are just exquisite!

 

The bases are solid brass with jewels in them...hard to see in these pics. I also got to finish up my set of Swarovski crystals that I've been collecting to hang in the transom window of our living room. I'm very pleased with my display and enjoy the prism rainbows on our walls in the mornings. So peaceful, but so colorful and fun at the same time!

 

My sister-in-law is one of the best decorators I know, and I draw a lot of inspiration from her. She has her own lavender growing business, and this time, she taught me how to cut the bushes back. I only have one plant, but that will be changing soon! She also has a massive greenhouse, and we spent time picking strawberries in there...a few of them might have been consumed along the way. The cutest thing that lives in her greenhouse though is a little hummingbird. She flits about from flower to flower (mostly roses), and no matter how many times Bobbie has tried to lure her out and keep her out, she insists on coming back in. It's the sweetest thing ever!
Once we finished cutting back several of her lavender bushes, maybe about 10 of them or so, we then laid newspaper out on the garage floor and spread the cuttings out to dry. They will then be used in arrangements, sachets, wreaths, and potpourri. She even tied a lovely bouquet of them up for me to bring home. I love it!!! I will be putting mine in a vase to serve as a memento of time being spent with someone I dearly love! My sister-in-law, my hero and mentor!

 

A little bit of knitting happened, mostly on the road while Chris drove. My sis-in-law is such a pillar of strength, I don't know how she does it. She gives my brother-in-law round the clock care, does every bit of the home maintenance on their five acres, she does it all. Yet, I know there are times she just wants to dissolve into a puddle of hysterics and tears. Who wouldn't? I was going to knit her a prayer shawl, but by the time the idea crossed my mind, I knew there wouldn't be enough time before she left for Seattle. So, I chose to knit her a "prayer cowl" instead. I delivered it with a great big hug, kiss, and "I love you", and she was over the moon with it! I was so glad...it was nice to see her smile and just snuggle it up around her neck. Even though it was about 100 degrees out, she wore it the whole time we trimmed the lavender. I've never seen someone so appreciative of receiving a hand knit item, so I'm pretty sure she will be receiving more.

 

This is the Hudson Lace Cowl, and was a very enjoyable knit! It's knit out of Swan's Island Organic Washable DK, in the color Verdigris, and I gotta tell you, this yarn is fantastic!! I will definitely be buying more of it for future projects, once I get my stash back under control.



All in all, it was a very good week, and we are looking forward to our next trip down the road in the Fall. We are just so fortunate to be close enough to be able to divide our time between two homes..we are truly blessed!!!

How is your summer going so far? I would love to hear about it!!