I told her she really shouldn't wear that red lipstick!

Since we've been home from SoCal, we've been anxiously awaiting our trip to Texas and planning our last few cities to tour in Germany when we are there in March.  But, we are back at the inn for about a week and I am gathering my Romantic Homes magazines, perusing my very dull wardrobe and trying to find the "girl" in me.  Sometimes that's really hard for me to do because I love my hiking boots, my "men's" long sleeve thermals and today, ...me with no make up! Avoiding mirrors today has been easy but every once in a while I catch that plain middle aged old woman staring at me.  When I say, "what are you looking at," she just smiles and goes on about her business.  It's such a good thing I have a great sense of humor!

I really haven't minded getting older and you can ask anyone, I really didn't whine when I turned 50 last July either.  I think I get that attitude from my paternal grandmother who seemed to take "life" in stride.  She never complained much, she lived simply and truly enjoyed whomever was around her.  And, lucky for me I got to spend a lot of time with her when she was alive and I learned so much just being in her presence.

I have also learned a lot from my mother too.  She taught me and is still teaching me how to be a "girl."  I'm not sure I'll ever grasp it fully but I can blame that on my dad who loved teaching us how to weed properly, mow the grass and change the oil in the car.  Oh, and change a flat tire too.  We were pretty proud of ourselves that we caught on so quickly and so was he.  He got his boys in the three daughters my mom tried to keep in dresses most of the time.  But, it was my grandmother again that probably has influenced me the most in my life.  My mom says she taught her so much too. She says she was a better mom, a better wife and overall a better person for knowing her mother-in-law.  But the most important thing my mom says she learned was to be sure to put a nice shade of lipstick on your lips first thing in the morning or immediately after you give birth.  It was important to my grandma to look kept and tidy.  So, if I could have picked anyone to write a book on etiquette in the recent past, it would have been my grandma.  I'm sure it would have been a good book!

That lipstick thing always had me wondering and wondering if it would really be the first thing a woman thinks about right after delivering a baby.  Well, it's not!  It wasn't for me anyways but things change over time and each generation finds out what's important to them and what's not I guess.  And the other thing about lipstick, it used to always crack me up to see older women in red lipstick and I don't mean just a light shade of red, I mean that Christmas candy shade of red.  However, I'm living proof that a nice bright shade of red can do wonders to fading hair color, skin changes and tired eyes.  No one will look at that other stuff when they have two stunning red lips to look at.  Why would they want to miss all that!

I will keep leaving those red marks on my coffee cup and they will be a reminder that I can wear red lipstick if I want to and that my friends... will make me smile!

The Vintage Roost... showing me the love!

We are so lucky to have these sweet places popping up in the Willamette Valley!

Please join Debbie Williams and her friends at The Vintage Roost beginning February 3rd!

The most darling pebble lane lined with a sweetness that makes you lose your breath with delight.  Your heart will melt at the sight and scents of the baked pies and cookies.  Become enamored with the jewels, bobbles, knitted items and every bit of joy after another.  

I love the "roost" and our inn is adorned with the beautiful things I have found here over the past five years.  Our guests love the cookies and pies I have brought home and my dear friends and family have enjoyed every bit the gifts I have given from The Vintage Roost!

Hope to see you in N. Albany beginning Friday, February 3rd!

Travel Oregon "Ask Oregon" Ambassador, Willamette Valley... a pretty sweet job!

This is  a response I sent to a potential tourist from Scotland wanting to visit Oregon this fall!  My job as an "Ask Oregon" Ambassador is to answer questions about the Willamette Valley via email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.  This guy likes jazz and country western and wanted to know what he should do as he travels around the entire state.  I could have rambled on paragraph after paragraph but I had to give my other "Ask Oregon" Ambassadors a chance to share what they love about their region!  So, Ted... hope you enjoy your trip this fall to the most beautiful place in the country and let us know if we can answer any more questions for you!

I'm Debbie Lusk the Travel Oregon "Ask Oregon" Ambassador for the Willamette Valley!  I love questions like yours because I get a chance to tell you everything I love about Oregon!  I will concentrate here on the Willamette Valley but believe me when I tell you that you will enjoy every minute you spend in this gorgeous state!

I am glad you will be exploring and that is my favorite thing to do.  However, I would like to entice you to spend as much time as you can allow in the Willamette Valley!  We are known for our rolling hills of green that are covered in vineyards.  In fact, you will be here in Oregon around harvest time.  Lucky you!!!  Have you ever stomped grapes, enjoyed barrel tasting, or strolled through a vineyard only to find the viticulturist that will love telling you about their wine?  That happens here in the valley and we have about 400 wineries so please, take your time!

What is great about our towns and villages in the Willamette Valley, is often you will find that "out of the way" spot where delicious food, decadent wine or the best brews can be enjoyed along with jazz or even that county western music you love.  I urge you to check out this website for some ideas on where to find our wineries and out of they way places to relax and enjoy!

http://www.oregonwinecountry.org/

on this website, you will also find a list of events that you can check on now and then while you are awaiting your visit here.

Don't forget about our coffee houses too!  We do have some awesome brews when it comes to coffee right here as well.  My fav is a McMenamins blend.  You can enjoy it at all of their restaurants or buy a bag or two to take back home with you.  It's best when enjoyed around a roaring outdoor fire with just a touch of cream floating on top.  There are several McMenamins restaurants and facilities to enjoy along with concert venues and outdoor enjoyment.  They are also fun places to find lodging as well.

Their link:  http://www.mcmenamins.com/

I hope all of this info helps and please stop by and say hello if you happen to be in Albany, Oregon.  We have an awesome carousel project that is being hand carved at this very time.  A 15 year project that has about 4 years left to go!  A stop worth making and be sure to bring your camera!

Thanks again for your question!

Debbie Lusk

"Ask Oregon" Ambassador, Willamette Valley

Chandelier Tours... Albany, Oregon

Things do get a little interesting here in Albany sometimes and I know... that's a shocker!  But... Albany has it's summer tour of historic homes and it's famous Christmas Parlour Tour, so... why not add an "ALBANY CHANDELIER TOUR???"

Open your curtains and let us walk through our historic districts with a guide book full of stories and history and ogle the chandeliers that adorn our homes through lit windows.  Many of them have amazing history, many are original to the home and some are just plain gaudy.

The previous owners of our 1908 Craftsman Bungalow left not only a ton of original sconces, they left the homes first chandelier!  It needs to be re-wired so we are on a mission to find someone to do that!

Let me know if you have a chandelier you want to show off and we'll see if we can't put together a little event.  Timing it with our awesome Cemetery tour/event put on by the Albany Regional Museum would be perfect!

I will let you know if this pans out and provide dates and times as things progress!

"What is my perfect crime? I break into Tiffany's at midnight. Do I go for the vault? No. I go for the chandelier. It's priceless. As I'm taking it down, a woman catches me. She tells me to stop. It's her father's business. She's Tiffany. I say no. We make love all night. In the morning cops come and I escape in one of their uniforms. I tell her to meet me in Mexico, but I go to Canada. I don't trust her. Besides, I like the cold. Thirty years later I get a postcard. I have a son, and he's the chief of police. This is where the story gets interesting: I tell Tiffany to meet me in Paris by the Trocadaro. She's been waiting for me all these years, she's never taken another lover. I don't care, I don't show up. I go to Berlin. That's where I stashed the chandelier."

...Dwight Schrute (The Office) 

Valentines Day in Oregon at The Pfeiffer Cottage Inn... he loves me!

He loves me!

  That is the theme for Valentines Day this year at the inn.  Tuesday, February 14th we will celebrate the day for "love" by adding a few extra goodies to your already romantic B & B stay.  A chilled bottle of Champagne or an Oregon Sparkling Wine, chocolates for two and roses all in your guest room and ready for your arrival!

Please be sure to make your dinner reservations soon too!  We recommend Sybaris, Sweet Red or Vault 244 for a romantic dinner for two!

Please reserve your room via our website on our "rooms and reservations" page...  http://www.thepfeiffercottageinn.com/The_Pfeiffer_Cottage_Inn/Rooms_and_Reservations.html

"Bianca's Vineyard" by: Teresa Neumann

It's not unusual to get a phone call from a local author and be asked to read their book.  It's happened a few times lately and I have to say, I feel pretty privileged to be asked in the first place then again when I have read the book.  My most recent read was "Bianca's Vineyard" by Teresa Neumann.  Teresa lives near us in the Willamette Valley and found out about our book club here at the inn and asked if she could give me her book to read.  I have to say, I have a huge pile of books to get through and wish at times that I could grab them all and read for a week solid! But, when I was asked to read Bianca's Vineyard, I put it on the top of that pile and vowed to finish it as soon as possible.

I had read a few chapters before my family came for the holidays and then set it aside.  No time for reading while they were here and when my head the pillow each night, I was out cold.  So, now it's time to regroup and things are slowing down so I grabbed the book again a few days ago and vowed to finish it by today, just in time for our January Chick Lit Book Club meeting.

I did finish it this afternoon and I haven't stopped thinking about since then.  I enjoyed sharing it at our meeting tonight but it's one of those books that is so intertwined with family, war, relationships, etc., that it must be read to thoroughly soak it up.  So, without giving too much away, I attempted a quick short version which apparently was quite impossible as evidenced by my frustration I felt trying to tell a story that was so perfectly written.  I finally stopped and told my friends that they would just have to read the book for themselves.  I didn't want to take anything away that they may discover on their own.

I am anxious for the others to read Bianca's Vineyard so we can discuss it completely.  And, I am excited to bring the author to our next meeting so perhaps she can share the story and encourage those who have not read it to do so.  The story is heartwarming, the characters endearing and the reality of war is apparent throughout.  I truly think that I will remember this book for a very long time and there is no doubt that whenever I pull the cork on a nice bottle of wine, drain a huge pot of pasta and pour a thick red marinara over it or even dredge a chunk of crusty bread through a bowl of olive oil and devour it, I will be thinking of Bianca's Vineyard.

Thank you Teresa!