A Day in Sisters September 1st

We had decided a few weeks ago when in Sisters with my parents that we would head back over to Sisters for our favorite artists 100th painting reveal. We left home around 10:30, packing my clock to take along to drop off at the repair shop over there. It was a beautiful day and a nice drive over.



We arrived in Sisters about noon, and stopped off at the clock shop, to find that the entire mechanism in the clock was worn. It needed a whole new movement to the tune of $300.00. This was one thing that we needed to think about. This was my bedroom school clock, not the main clock in the diningroom. We left with the clock, and headed over to Jennifer Lake's gallery for the unveiling.



Upon arrival to the gallery, Jennifer greeted both the kids, and told them how glad she was that they came, and that she had a gift for each of them. They headed to the back with her, where she gave them their gifts, and we put them aside for then as there were a lot of people and it was about time for the unveieling. After waiting for some key people and some words from Jennifer, she asked Ryan to help her unveil the painting. He was so proud, and excited! Bill ended up helping as well, because they needed his knife....he's that "always prepared boy scout"!!



We spent an hour or so there after the unveiling. We won a door prize as well as a prize for being in her 5 star club (which you get after you've spent a lot of your hard earned money!). By the time we left, we'd purchased the new painting, and with our discount for being a 5 star member, we purchased the Cape Blanco lighthouse (complete with my favorite keepers house--the Hughes House), which ended up being free with the discount. Don't get me wrong...we still spent enough that I could have had my clock fixed!! We left the paintings with the gallery and went to do some shopping and have lunch, hoping that things would slow down enough for Jennifer to sign them for us, and personalize them as she has our other paintings we've bought from her.



We spent a few hours shopping, and then went into The Galley to have lunch. As we were in line, there were many fire fighters in line as well. There was a large fire south of Sisters in the wilderness, started a few days prior by lightning. We ate among all these fire fighters and the realization of their dangers really sunk into us. Kristin worried and cried the rest of the afternoon about the fire fighters, and did a lot of praying that they would be safe. We left the diner, feeling a bit down, but knowing that prayers was all we could do.



We went back to Jennifer Lake's gallery, and it was empty, with the exception of her parents, her husband, and her gallery manager. She promptly got our prints out and went to work signing them. She put a picture of the lighthouse next to her signature, and these "extra's" along with the personalization, make them more valuable, as well as a treasure to us. Bill shared with them that I could have had my clock fixed and he laughed and told Jennifer that she should draw a clock on the bottom not a light house as we requested! We had a fun time visiting with her parents and husband, then Jennifer personalized a card to Bill's Mom, which we sent off to her as a surprise. We headed for Bend and then home.



As we were coming through the pass....we saw several helicopters passing back for the night, and coming from the fire with their empty buckets. We could only assume that they were done for the night, or had put out enough fire that they could land. Kristin again got upset, and we continued to pray for their safety. These firemen now had faces to us. We were thankful when we learned that on September 11th, the fire was contained, and on September 24th, it was considered, "Mopped up". This area had been devestated in 2002 with a much bigger fire, but the same areas had to be evacuated. We are thankful no homes, businesses or lives were lost.