Generally it’s my policy not to purchase anything in a store that calls itself a “shoppe,” or attend an event that bills itself as a “faire.” But Laurel and I make an exception every October for the Sisters Harvest Faire, which fills several blocks of this charming central Oregon town with over 200 juried vendors of handcrafted quality arts and crafts.
Last year’s HinesSight posting about our visit focused on how little attention our dog, Serena, got from Faire visitors even given (1) her natural adorableness, and (2) the blue bandana that I had affixed to her neck to give her an extra artistic Faire flair. This year I tried to lower my expectations for “What a beautiful dog! Can I touch her?” exclamations.
Still, as noted in the October 2003 posting, I had a feeling that a spiffier bandana might do the trick. So Laurel managed to find a Western-themed bandana with cacti and donkeys, perfect for the Western-themed town of Sisters. In this photo Serena is bereft of admirers, but we had just gotten to the Faire and word hadn’t yet spread that the Dog of Dogs had hit town.
Laurel spent much time deeply contemplating one of her favorite wonders of life: earrings.
Serena seemed to like this “booth” most of all. When I saw her heading for a red fire hydrant, I feverishly grabbed my camera, hoping against hope that I’d be able to snap the perfect dog cliché. And though it isn’t entirely evident (Serena is a she, after all), she did it!
We didn’t have enough room in our house, or money in our bank account, to bring home a wooden sculpture of a rhinoceros or a bear playing golf, but I sure wish we did.
My big art purchase was a metal stepping stone with the Chinese ideogram for “Harmony.” When we get home I have big plans for it outside my office window. Green moss springing up in the cut outs? Or white pebbles?
The Tao will guide me. Along with a female voice which could well say: “You’re not planning to leave it there, are you?” Of course, perhaps the All-Wise and All-Powerful Tao is the female voice. So would Laurel have me believe, and so indeed it may be.
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