Highway rest area with signs for “Free Coffee” intriqued us. We pulled into investigate. I spoke to the couple who were running a coffee and cookie stand. Well that was certainly a first! They are part of a group called the Shelton Moose Family Center. The government has a program where they allow selected charities to set up in the rest areas in exchange for donations from the public. Amazing! We helped the cause and grabbed some coffee and homemade cookies for the road.
As we entered the greater Seattle area, we saw these amazing cloud effects. And then the city was before us.
Seattle is a great city. While it has all the bustle and life of a big city one doesn’t loose sight of the beautiful surrounding countryside.
We visited our friends Berndt and Rena Mottl in the Sheepskin and Alpaca store they manage in the Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, Washington, at the north end of Seattle. I fell in love with the soft warmth of Alpaca and a beautiful wrap they had in their store. So we did a barter deal -- original paintings for Alpaca garments. You can see Bruce and I modeling our new wares in the store, which is filled with great sheepskin and alpaca gifts. Feel free to e-mail Berndt Mottl.
Rena then suggested we go to an Alpaca farm to see the real thing! This became one of the highlights of our Seattle area experience -- a visit to the Casa de Arboles Fine Fiber Farm, an Alpaca and Goat farm to the northeast of Seattle in Monroe, Washington. The owner of the farm, Maggie Di Ulio, is a creative and energetic woman. She runs the farm with her husband, Jim, a skilled veterinarian and an avid fisherman. In addition to Alpaca sales, Casa de Arboles also offers boarding and breeding services, training and mentoring in the Alpaca business, and even Juniper post and timber products. Maggie gave us a top-to-bottom tour of the property. Their custom built log cabin is spectacular, both inside and out, and we learned first-hand that Alpacas have individual personalities. They are dignified and curious creatures and each one is unique, even their hairstyles! Maggie has a great repoire with them as you can see from the photo where one of the Alpaca is giving her a kiss!
There are also goats at Casa de Arboles, including Billy Goats -- “The Colonel” and “Satan”, aptly named studs, are kept well away from the females... most of the time.
The experience inspired me to create “The Personality of Alpaca” painting which is now on display in Berndt’s and Rena’s store.
Maggie commissioned me to do a pen and watercolor painting of her home, which was enormously fun. I also created a painting from one of Maggie's favorite sunrise photos which she routinely captures from the balcony of her log cabin.
The day before we left I presented Maggie with her house portrait!
New places, new friends. We continue to meet creative, energetic people everywhere on our USA Tour, and we treasure each and every one of our new friendships. What makes life rich and rewarding, after all, is the people with whom we live and share it.
See you on the next leg of our trip...
Leisa
www.leisacollins.com
leisa@leisacollins.com
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