Hello there!

Well, we're back from visiting my sisters in California.  We had a really nice time visiting, sightseeing and shopping.  We went to the zoo and we rode around and looked at the Christmas lights in the neighborhoods and had a pleasant time while we were there.

The resort where we stayed has just undergone a massive renovation so while it is the same resort that I have shared photos of before, they are somewhat different this year.

We got several early Christmas gifts, in addition to the trip itself, and one of those is a new camera.  Not knowing, of course, that I would be getting a new camera, some of the pictures are taken with my more basic camera and aren't quite as clear as I would like.

With all that being said, let's start off with a tour of the suite at the resort.

Instead of the usual fruit basket, we were greeted with a nice carafe of cool water and a bowl of fruit dried there at the resort.  I suppose that is what it was, as I had never seen grapes on the stem.  Peri and I laughingly commented that perhaps it was just an old bowl of fruit.  Seriously, the grapes were very tasty.  The rest of the dried fruit...not so much.

The sleeping quarters have been revamped with new mattresses, beds and bedding.

In addition to the new bedrooms, there was new furniture in the living area...

 as well as new wooden floors with new rugs and colorful pottery

For some reason someone seemed to think that a distressed leather chair would be an asset to the decor, but my slinky jersey blouses did not agree.

I immediately had to cover this crackly chair with a coverlet to keep from ruining my clothes.  Grrr.  The cabinet beneath the widescreen telly holds the fridge and espresso maker and such.

This is just the beginning of the five days that we were there, so I won't bore you with too many more photos this post, but I do want you to see this...

My sister, Peri, is a fan of the art of our friend Karin at Countryfolk Keepsakes and has a nice collection of her work displayed on her mantle.

 Karin's art is displayed in a lovely grouping, along with a self portrait that Peri did...

 and here we see Gracie, nestled among the little pillow doll that I crafted and the portrait of Zipper Cat, that I painted in pastels.

In this view you can see a portion of the beautiful, artisan crafted cabinets that hold some of their other works of art.

I'm quite honored to be included in the fine art that they have displayed.  There is another cabinet that holds the more whimsical art pieces, and even more of mine and hubby's sculptures are displayed there.  The gals have such lovely decorating tastes and we are honored to have our art showcased in their home.

Well, there is a lot more to come, but it does take time to decide what pictures to show.  I'll be back soon with more.

Take care and don't wear yourselves out shopping and baking.