A Love Story

 A few weeks ago, our friend & Retreat Vintage Market vendor

photographer Elise Liptack of Elise Marie Photography
came to our farm on a sunny summer afternoon

and did a vintage-inspired photo shoot with Bob & I.

She's started a new blog about all things vintage,

and asked us to be one of the stories she will share there...

 we are so honored !!!

 She took some photos of us on our farm, 

for us to use in our Retreat marketing.

We also headed down the hill to our beach

for some Frankie & Annette/Gidget & Moondoggy-style fun!

And went over to Cama Beach for more seaside shots.

We love that place.... and we are beach kids,

so these were the perfect locations to capture us and our story.

 Elise has finally edited all of the MANY images she took 

and waded through the copious answers 

that I filled out on her story questionnaire...

and has a blog post about lil' old us up on Dreaming Vintage:
 http://iamdreamingvintage.blogspot.com/2011/07/retreat.html

I was really nervous about this.

I mean, Elise is a FAB photographer

but those beauties in her shots are all twenty-somethings!!!

 And we are decidedly NOT twenty-something. ;0)

But she managed to make two regular ol' middle-aged people

look like the glowing newlyweds we usually feel  like we are.

Bless her heart!

He's STILL my surfer boy, all these years later.....

And you should call Elise to schedule a vintage-inspired session!

Plays Well With Others

 Friends, I'm going to be honest and say that 

I've had a couple of REALLY CRAPPY DAYS lately. 

We have had to deal with some ICK and some SAD 

and some potentially devastating news for our family. 

 It feels a lot like being on the teeter-totter (or see-saw, if you will) at the playground

and having your end SLAM down to the ground suddenly.

Hurts like hell, doesn't it?

There were some bullies on the playground as kids that did that, remember?

I never stood up for myself, but always ran and hid, 

or left the playground for fear of being beat to a pulp.  

Even though we all were supposedly told by our parents to 'play nice',

some people just don't play well with others. At ALL.

One of those kinds of people has been pickin' on me again, 

and it made me MAD.

When my family starts falling apart, and my friends get attacked, 

and mean people start threatening me, well..... it ain't pretty. 

And I stop playing NICE.

 

{I have learned how to stand up for myself and others, btw.}

But then last night I got some GREAT news about the family 'thing', 

and today not one, not two, but THREE terrific opportunities for our business arrived

right on our doorstep.

So I am feeling like the teeter-totter of life is reaching a balance point...

and I know it's because the Big Guy came in and sat himself down over on the other end.

I think He figured out that Deb has had her limit.
(Not to mention that my butt is already sore from bein' kicked, 

and this slamdown just bruised me somethin' fierce.....)

The 'playground' of life is lookin' a whole lot more appealing now. 

How's YOUR teeter-totter doing? What do you need to help balance life right now?

Tell me.... share with others who sympathize with this predicament.  

Let's stop the bullies and the ICK and the SAD from pushing us to the ground.

Let's all send positive thoughts to one another. ;0)

We can call it the 'Plays Well With Others' project!

a mother's love

I am a very proud mother of four beautiful adult children...

Three girls and one boy. 

(shown at the youngest's wedding in '07)

All four are 'grown up' and married.

I can't tell you how much it HURTS to know that any one of them

is in pain, or hurt, or dealing with life's really BIG problems

and are feeling like their dreams are dead.

But I am a mom, and it literally hurts my heart.

It makes it hard to breathe. and sleep. and think.

As life can tend to do, 

it's kicking a couple of my kids' butts right now.

I really don't know a lot about what they are each facing...

but I don't need to.

I am not the least bit interested 

in hearing the details, or giving them advice

or telling them what to do, or fixing it for them.

Or in worrying about their situations.

And while I'd like to protect them from feeling any pain,

I know I can't.

nope.

I am really only interested in telling them

that I love them.

That whatever it is they are facing, 

they are not alone.

They have family who cares about them,

they have parents who are proud of them,

and they have a mom who loves them with all of her heart.

They have a mom who is not worrying. ;0)

They have a mom who is sending them lots of love and hope

and thoughts of happy endings.

Because if anyone deserves that, it's them. 

Rain, Rain, Go.... well, you know.....

 It's raining. Again.

I remember (fondly and somewhat hilariously) when we lived in California and LOVED rainy days. Of course, they are pretty RARE there, being that Cali is usually in a drought of one kind or another. And how we moved to the Northwest in 1994 thinking that we were soooooooo lucky to be moving to a place where we could enjoy MORE RAIN.

Well, that's exactly what we got. MORE RAIN. 

It's July. AFTER the 5th - that proverbial date when 'Summer' is supposed to arrive here. (nevermind that July 2nd was the most glorious sunny hot day we've seen in ages...)

Ah.... Mother Nature? Running a bit late, are we? I know, it's not NICE to fool with Mother Nature. But Mama is fooling with us, and it ain't pretty.

I keep TRYIN' to get my head back to those days long ago, when I yearned for the sound of raindrops on my roof and a covered front porch to sit on and enjoy a momentary summer rainshower whilst drinking something sweet and summery....

but I just can't seem to GET there when it's a freezing cold day and the rain is a never-ending heavy mist that is being blown and swirled in all directions simultaneously by a breeze that has no idea where it wants to go. Not the same at all.

I can't even hazard a guess as to what kind of drink goes with a day like this.

Any ideas?

Really, I could use one....

[image from layoutsparks.com]

Weekend Inspiration

 Visiting a farmer's market on Sunday was a visual treat

my weary body barely made it through the crowds, but it was worth it...

I found the perfect flowers for daughter Beth's birthday!

 Saturday was a sunny day in Kirkland, 

sharing RETREAT at the 'French street market' 

hosted by Haley's Cottage.

We met so many lovely people, who are now BIG vintage fans!
~

 I finally had a moment to grab the August issue of Romantic Homes on Sunday

and there we are...

our Retreat Vintage Market has been named to the 

'Top 50 Flea Markets in America'!

What an honor for us to be included with so many wonderful shows across the country...  due to the incredible vendors who bring their best to our show and make it FABulous!

Thank you to our Retreat Family and to Romantic Homes magazine 
~ 
For information about our upcoming show, 
visit RetreatVintageMarket.com 

a little french fete'

On Saturday, we'll be taking RETREAT to Kirkland, Washington!

Haley's Cottage, a lovely store located at 123 Park Lane,

 is hosting this French-inspired vintage flea market

Saturday July 9 from 10 AM to 7 PM. 

40 Vendors are bringing their best,

and we're one of them!

Here are a few sneak peeks

of our elegantly casual beach-style decor:

We'll have a lot of beautiful handcrafted furnishings & decor,

perfect for transforming your summer rooms into YOUR retreat. 

"Your home should be your Retreat... we can help you create it!"TM

Summer Camp!

Well, we may be a bit too old to go away to summer camp anymore, but this is the next best thing! Here's an inspiring, FUN, affordable creative business-building teleclass series to help you clarify your creative business vision, starting July 27 ONLINE.

Marney Makridakis from ArtellaLand.com created this fabulous resource, so don't miss it! It’s a fun jump-in-the-pool to explore your business vision, and so much s’more! :-) Learn more about M.A.I.N. Summer Camp here!

Dibs on the top bunk! ;0)

Happy, Shiny People

Living on an island has some great perks... especially on a Holiday weekend.

LOADS of Happy, Shiny People inhabit this place!

Sadly,  some of the people who live here never seem to see them.
Many of them consider the vacation homeowners and tourists who light here for the summer season a blight on the community and nothing but a nuisance. Sad.

Because that's not what I see.

Imagine, if you will, carloads of families driving up the highway, toward the shining Western sun, while the radio blares top-40 hits at full volume.

Kids are smiling as their bare feet hang out the back seat windows, the back of the Suburban is loaded with everything for summer fun, and even Dad - who's just driven several hours through traffic after a full workday - has a goofy smile on his face.

Crossing over that bridge, which is the 'gateway' to our island, 

brings huge smiles and cheers from the entire family.

I saw that today.

 Imagine an elderly couple, pruning and mowing and tidy-ing their yard, 

hauling the Weber barbeque out of the single-car garage, putting a red, white and blue tablecover on the old wood picnic table, readying their beach house for the weekend.

They work slowly, but happily, under their straw hats in the bright sunshine.

When a van pulls up and kids tumble out yelling 'Grandpa! Grandma!', the smiles on the couple's faces brings tears to my eyes. Reminds me of my own childhood visits to my grandparent's home in California.

I saw that today, too.

 Today on a few short errand runs, I saw more happy people arriving on our sweet island than I think I have ever seen before... 

From little sports cars with the convertible top down, big trucks loaded with bikes and motorcycles, hauling camping trailers, to vintage sedans driven by seniors, there were caravans of family cars winding down the roads toward the state park campgrounds, boat launches, and thousands of private vacation homes.

They are all arriving full of hopes and dreams and plans for summer fun

with friends and family... 

Yeah, I saw that today.

There will be reunions, and parties, and gatherings across the island over the weekend,

people coming together to celebrate not only our country's 'Birthday', but the ideas of freedom, liberty, life, and family that we all hold so dear. 

It's really all about tradition, isn't it?

The traditions we all remember and enjoy and try to perpetuate as we grow older...

keeping our families, friends, and communities rooted in the things we know are most valuable. I find it utterly wonderful that we are blessed to live in a place that people WANT to come to, enjoy being at, and dream about all of the days that they are NOT able to be here. 

Those people who live in a busy, noisy city, who work hard to earn a living, who commute in miserable traffic, who run businesses or are employees, who are raising families and being good neighbors. They work all year for the chance to come to this beautiful place for a weekend or a week or two of vacation. 

I can't begrudge them that... in fact, I respect them for it. 

They just come to enjoy all of the marvelous things about our island that WE love, too:

The eagles and the orcas and the herons and the deer and the canaries,

the beaches and the woods and the boating and camping and hiking, 

the quaint little corner stores and the friendly neighbors

and the community Fourth of July Parade on the beach.

The silent nights with skies so dark you can see zillions of stars.

Brilliant sunrises at 5 AM. Equally dazzling sunsets at 9:30 PM.

When they are here, they shop in our stores and buy gas and go to the movies 

and eat at the restaurants, and they pay taxes on their vacation homes, 

and support our local economy in a way that sometimes locals never even think to do.

So, welcome to Camano Island, summer season residents!

Have a great time... and enjoy this beautiful, wondrous place.

We all have SUCH good taste to choose it ;0)

And for all of you who are headed somewhere else this Holiday weekend,

or are staying at home to enjoy kickin' back,

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

[images mine]