In a few days...

We'll be travelling to our other place in Eureka, Nevada.  It's a twelve hour drive from Santa Barbara.  We take three dogs and a cat.  We used to take two cats but there wasn't enough super glue to put together all the things Joey broke.  He stays home now.  Beanie, Loquita, and the boys sleep most of the way unless Charley sees a cow.  Then, the whole car rocks and rolls until we hurry pass the herd.  Yes, we tried shaking pennies in a beer can when they were younger.  It didn't work.  Their primal nature kicks in. 

We discovered Eureka about twenty years ago while travelling around the back roads.  We were retracing a book, Blue Highways by William Leastheat Moon and chasing Ghost towns.  We were ready to stop for the night.  We pulled into the Sundowner, ate at the Owl Club and had beers down at the Keyhole.  Little did we know that we'd be doing the same thing every Christmas for twenty years. 

We stayed in Room 17.  The years zoomed by and the dogs grew bigger and meaner.  The beds got softer.  My back was starting to talk to me.  The husband said he'd go down to the lumber company and get a piece of plywood cut for underneath the mattress.  I told him where to put that piece of plywood.  Things were looking grim.  New Years Eve came around.  I'm the official photographer but was out of film.  A brother of a friend was going to Wal-Mart and said he'd pick up a roll. The next day, we drove up to his place.  On the way, we passed a corner house that had our names all over it.  We weren't really looking for a house but the Universe was kind to us.  Accept this serendipitous gift it whispered.  We inquired.  The house was waiting for us.  We purchased Isabel Kitchen's house and never looked back.  She was christened Isabel in  honor of the woman who built her and lived in her for over 60 years.  Isabel Kitchen was an artist, a gardener and a bird lover. 

It has been our home away from home for a few years now.  It's an arty place.  We paint a room now and then.  We honor the former owner by respecting her creations.  People gift us with her paintings and other things that once belonged to Isabel.  We cherish the gift.  Thank you, Isabel and thank you for reading this.  Salud.