Enchanting Sisters

In yesterday's blog, I described how Tim and I, along with a great group of Habitat Care-A-Vanners, labored under less than ideal circumstances during the Milli wildfire to complete the exterior of a house in Sisters, Oregon.  If you read that post, you might conclude that the job was horrendous, not to mention, hazardous.  But it wasn't all work and no play.  The local Habitat affiliate in Sisters unrolled the welcome mat for us and showed us why their town is an enchanting tourist destination.

First of all, there's the magical downtown with its art galleries, antique stores and handicraft shops.  My favorite was the Stitchin' Post, a quilt shop where I lost myself in ideas for future projects.  Too bad we weren't here the second Saturday in July for the Sisters Quilt Show, the largest outdoor quilt show and sale in the world.  Over 10,000 people from across the United States as well as 27 foreign countries flocked to the town to attend workshops taught by master quilters and to view the hundreds of quilts on display.

Next, the town fed us!  Beginning with a potluck picnic on our very first night at Creekside Campground, the Habitat affiliate wrecked havoc with my diet.

There was a community cookout that segued into an awards ceremony for local Habitat volunteers before ending with a band concert on the Village Green.

Almost daily, the local ladies brought tasty home-cooked lunches to the job site.

On the day of the total eclipse, a brunch at the hillside home of Darleene, our construction manager, began with the distribution of safety glasses for viewing the spectacle.  As the moon passed before the sun, the sky grew darker and darker until at last there was a mesmerizing 34-second period of total darkness.

In addition, we had happy hours back at the campground until smoke from the Milli wildfire forced us to cancel these gatherings.

Finally, we went out to dinner both Friday nights we were there and sampled two of Sisters' top-rated restaurants.

Oh, my!  You'd think we would need larger sizes of clothing after all this wining and dining, but we worked it off on the job site.

And most importantly, we made great friends, friends that we hope to see again!  

So I guess you could say our stay in Sisters was spellbinding!