Central Oregon

The STASH group went to Black Butte Ranch this week for our annual retreat. For quite a few years we have gone to the beach, but back when we first started "retreating" we went to Redmond, Oregon where my friend and one-time relative (she was once married to my cousin) Jeanine ran a fishing lodge on a bluff overlooking the Deschutes River. Jeanine is a trained chef and she fed us the most divine meals and the views from the great room and deck were spectacular. She and Dick, her husband, burned out on the lodging business and moved to The Dalles, so those wonderful retreats became a fond memory. While I enjoy the beach, I am, at heart, a mountain girl and thought it would be fun to head east again. The rest of the group was game and we easily located a house to rent at the Black Butte ranch resort.

We left the dark and stormy Willamette Valley hoping for better weather on the other side of the mountains.

At the top of the Santiam Pass we found snow. This area was burned in a huge forest fire several years ago, thus all the black trees. We arrived at the ranch in the late afternoon and found our little cottage in the woods.

Very pleasant and comfortable. Over the next two days we relaxed, did handwork, talked, laughed, read, ate, drank, savored the pine-scented air and filled our eyes with the beauty that surrounded us. On Thursday we drove into the little town of Sisters, visited the famous Stitchin' Post Quilt Shop, found ice cream and wandered the boardwalks of the kitschy, but certainly charming, wild west movie-set-like town.

The first evening we decided to walk the mile or so to the golf course restaurant. The weather was cloudy, but pleasant and it felt great to be outdoors. Gerrie took this picture of me taking pictures. Beth and Reva are up ahead.

I took pictures, but Gerrie took many more than I did, with her fancy new camera. She got some great photos that you can see on her Flickr site here.  Here are a few of my pictures.

It was a wonderful three days. I look forward to this time with my friends all year. I even got a little work done.

Hanging sleeves hand-sewn onto three quilts.