Most of us have some dreams, secret things we wish we could have but think unlikely we ever will. This little home on the desert fulfilled one of mine from many years. It is in a place I always considered one of my spiritual homes-- Tucson, Arizona. Years ago, we lived there for a year, our kids grew up coming down on vacations, exp
loring the many fascinating places in the state; but the idea of a home there was a long way off until seven years ago, when we finally saw our way clear to buying something permanent.When I first saw this house, I knew it was it. It only had one flaw-- a swimming pool, but you never get everything and I have to admit when I am there in the summer, I do enjoy that pool but it's an expensive luxury that in general doesn't seem worth what it costs-- but oh that little piece of desert the home sits on, that's worth it. It is in a neighborhood and not far from a boulevard, but it doesn't seem that way when you look out the windows.
Some years I spend more time there than others as it's where I love to write, paint and sculpt with much there to prov
ide the inspiration. That's the plus side. On the downside, there is its distance from the Oregon home-- 1400 miles; there's the problem if you leave a vehicle, packrats eat through the wiring; there's something always seeming to come up here to
prevent getting there; and then when we do, it's a laundry list of things that went wrong-- that we knew needed fixing, that we didn't know needed fixing.All in all though, the joy the house brings, just knowing it is there in the desert sun, well it makes it worthwhile... most of the time.
I wanted to share a bit of the decor of the home because it is a product of all the earlier southwestern influences tha
t I have written about. Everything in it is inspired by the land in which it sets.I believe we are likewise a product of all we do and experience. It's something to think about when we choose our activities, friendships and purchases. Everything we experience goes into the house that is us.
9 comments:
Life is but a dream within a dream. :)
Most people spend WINTERS there, and come north for the SUMMER. why do you go in the summer? It is pretty though.
Nice thought, paul... I do have some great dreams now and then *s*
And mary lou, it does seem a little out of whack, doesn't it and not exactly as we thought it'd be either. but I love Tucson in August... June not so much although I have ended up there through quite a few Junes. I like the monsoons in the desert, the power, the excitement of the storms. It's a special season.
The other complication is with cows and sheep that need to be fed all winter and have their babies in the early spring or late winter, and then having little grandkids where you want to be there for the holidays, well it hasn't worked so good for winters down there. Plus my husband is a consultant and his work is not always easy to get breaks from-- for now. Maybe someday it'll change.
Would another reason for liking Tucson in August is that you and your husband and me and my husband, all of us first arrived in Tucson together August 1965? We saw specatacular displays of lightning and thunder. WE had a nice place to live with a swamp cooler. Our husbands studying hard in graduate school. What a great adventure and beginning we experienced.
That looks like a beautiful home. There is something about the desert. That air, the sky, the electricity. How fortunate that you are able to get there and have a lovely home waiting for you. It really looks inviting.
As I've told you before, I love your place. I know Oregon is beautiful, too, but how blessed you are to live in two worlds you love. Tucson is higher than Phoenix, but have lots of Phoenix relatives and I stay out of there in the summer, I'll admit. But a lot of people love the desert year round.
Thanks all for the comments and yes, it's a good place to go to and special in my mind even when I am not there but know it is.
Who knows, Parapluie, but for some reason I do love August there. Not June though. You spend that whole month building up to the monsoon season and it's humid, very hot and no storms to redeem it.
Before Casa Espiritu got a/c, I had only the swamp cooler for several Junes and it was miserable as I remember it being when I was in Tucson that year and heavily pregnant.
Up where I live here, I hardly ever see lightning storms and when I do it's mostly inner cloud; but I grew up in the Columbia River Gorge and it got some unbelievable ones. Now when I have one down there, I unplug the tv, phone and computer but usually also turn off the lights, sit or sometimes lie on the sofa and just watch it do its thing.
What a wonderful house, Rain. Love the decoration, each corner, each furniture, tapestries.... all is very charming! Love the patio and the vegetation! Beautiful! Very beautiful!
If you dream is anything like the reality of the house you have shown us, what a wonderful dream indeed! I am lucky to live near the oceanside which I love and will probably stay here (other than heading south in the winter) for the rest of my life. I believe Paul put it best with his quote.
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