Hunter Douglas Trip & More

What a wonderful trip! We were lucky enough to participate in an annual Hunter Douglas trip, this time to the Greek Isles in May. I took this photo at the Acropolis in Athens between a break in a rainy day. Before we got on the Royal Caribbean's ship, Splendour of the Seas in Venice,we spent a week in Rome. Believe it or not, I took over 980 photos and Walt has another 600 or 700 during our trip - what a job it will be to go through them and delete the bad ones. We also are lucky to have a disc of photos that our friend Bart, also on the trip, shared with us. The digital camera has changed the way we take photos for sure.

On the cruise we visited the site of the original Olympics in Olympia, also stopping at several other Greek islands that are very beautiful and of much historical significance. The last stop was at Split, Croatia - what a marvelous place. Would love to go back there and rent a place for a few months as the pace of life seemed to us to be a little more laid back than what we're used to.

Three weeks later we were lucky to take our two grand-daughters to Monterey for a week. Monterey, California is one of our favorite places to go to rest and relax. The girls had not been there before so we took them on a five hour whale watching cruise of the bay. What excitement! We saw a pod of Orca Whales, six in number, plus Humpback Whales, a Blue Porpoise, a group of Dolphins that I didn't know existed, thousands of birds that had flown all the way from Australia and an Otter floating on his back holding an up-side-down crab on its belly while it was eating it. Many Seals and Sea Lions rounded out the nature watch. This company had a marine biologist that told us what to look for and discribed each animal and its habits. We also spent a day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We've been to many aquariums throughout the world and this one stands out as one of the best. They have another new wing that focuses on Otters, plus there is an outstanding display of jelly fish. Whatever you do don't miss this aquarium, you can look it up at http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/

Now it's time to get back to work!

Summer Sale - Hunter Douglas Window Coverings

Hunter Douglas, the premier manufacturer of window coverings, has started its "first ever" summer sale in the form of rebates to consumers who purchase their products from June 1, 2007 through August 31, 2007. Hunter Douglas is recognized as the leader in the window coverings field and they have introduced many new and exciting products to the window covering market.

The rebates will be sent directly to the consumer after they send in the required rebate form and their proof of purchase to Hunter Douglas. The rebates include:

$100 rebates on every Duette and Duette Architella honeycomb shades with Vertiglide system
$75 rebates on every Luminette Privacy Sheer
$50 rebates on window fashions with the PowerRise system including Duette, Duette Architella, Vignette Modern Roman Shades, and Silhouette shades
$25 rebates on UltraGlide systems on Duette, Duette Architella, Silhouette, Nantucket and Vignette shades
$20 rebates on every standard Alouette and Duette Architella shade.

There are no minimum or maximum purchase but only one rebate per household. Rebates cannot be combined.

I have been working in this industry for almost 22 years and have never seen such a great rebate from any manufacturer. Now is the time to buy your shades and blinds to take advantage of this sale. We have working samples of their products at our showroom in Santa Rosa where you can actually see how the shades can be used at your home or office, or you can see their entire offering at http://www.hunterdouglas.com/.

Accent Furniture For The Kitchen - What's Hot

Accent furniture pieces for the kitchen are hot right now. The kitchen island table shown here is one that can be ordered in a wood finish or with a painted finish that can be made to look old. I bought one for my own kitchen remodel that has the unfinished natural wood cutting board top while the body of the table is "barn yard" black. The bottom shelf of my island now has three large baskets to store cookbooks. "Barn yard" means it has been distressed and the paint has been rubbed to show some of the wood tones below the paint, this makes the piece look old and worn giving it character. You can find many of these wonderful European accent pieces by looking at the website www.britishtraditions.com.

British Traditions only sell items to designers and furniture dealers for their stores. They are one of several companies that manufacture new furniture items that resemble antique furniture pieces. They have armoires, bookcases, kitchen islands, tables, chairs, chests, & etc. Take a look at their website and you will be able to look at their catalog. If you find something that you would like to have more information about, send me an email. If you need a colored accent piece anywhere in your home this is the place to find it.

Kitchen accent pieces can make your kitchen an even warmer place to be. People tend to gather in the kitchen for most of their meals even in homes that have a separate dining room. Built-in eating areas are popular in many kitchens. Portable kitchen islands can add flexibility while baker's racks can showcase cookbooks, cooking tools and plenty of other odds and ends. Ceiling hung iron pot holders can help make your kitchen look like a chef lives here.

The kitchen is the "hub" of today's home, it is a great area for casual entertaining. Parents cook while their children sit at the counter and do their homework. When we entertain everyone just naturally gravitates towards the kitchen. Food is a large part of interaction between friends and family so the kitchen becomes the most important room in our home. We spend a great deal of our time there; add a little color and some accent pieces to your kitchen, you will be surprised by the results.

Jet Lag - It's The Real Thing!

Phew! We just got back from a two week trip to Europe and the jet lag everyone hears about really has us under it's spell. Today will be our first day back to work.

We traveled to Rome, Italy where we had the pleasure of seeing so many wonderful historical places. Wasn't prepared, however, for the large crowds everywhere and the traffic in Rome was just unbelievable to a rural country girl from California. We were trained here in the USA as children to form a line and wait your turn; and this training by-and-large has translated to our driving as adults. This habit has obviously not been entrenched in Rome. Imagine five or six vehicles (buses, cars, taxis and motorbikes) merging into two lanes of traffic simultaneously at every corner. This results in an "every man for himself" challenge which results in pandemonium!

We were then guests of Hunter Douglas on a Royal Carribbean ship "Splendour of the Seas" which sailed out of Venice, Italy. The cruise went to Athens, Greece then up the coast to Split, Croatia stopping at several Greek Isles. We like to think that some of our historical sights in the USA are old....but wait until you see the sights in these areas. It is nothing to be looking at a 2,500+ year old landmark! As an example, we visited the site of the original Olympic Games in Olympia, which include some "modern Roman ruins", where the Games started about 2,600 years ago.

We have been lucky to attend these yearly trips and we have been even luckier to meet the best dealers of window coverings from all over the United States who attend them. Last year we were cruising down the Danube River together and next year, if we work hard, maybe we'll be able to be with the group sailing the Baltic Sea. All it takes is hard work and many satisfied window covering clients to do this. Thanks to all our clients for helping us make our sales goals last year to enjoy this trip!