Oh, the view from hillsides around the Puget sound! We traveled very late from Bend, OR to our nest-way-from-nest at Catherine’s Seattle home. We were beyond exhausted and bleary-eyed – we had been driving and walking all day. Catherine cared quite a bit about our comfort, and was patiently waiting nearby to flag us down when we approached her home. She was a sight for sore eyes to weary travelers. She welcomed us with open arms as we walked through a wonderful inner sanctum garden. The garden is a lush, peaceful (almost Zen-like) place. Lots of soft green grass that beckons a good book reading on a beach towel, water sounds from a fountain, and countless fruits, veggies, and flowers in full bloom like the garden of Eden must have been. We took our bags (and my guitar) into the awesome basement apartment of the comfy cozy home. The home view from within the garden is organic. It is as though the house was growing out of a beautiful sweet oasis in the clamor of a big(ish) city. Much like the way Frank Lloyd Wright planned some of his homesites, the house, its garden, and the beautifully-maintained rock garden-and-walkway backside of the house are all as if they were always there, always in bloom, always green and lush. The basement studio/apartment accommodations are spacious and easy. There’s a home-y, almost Bag-End feel to the place, with a big open seating area, comfy and very (very) quiet bedrooms, a bathroom to die for (more later), and a fun kitchen that seems to have been transported from the days when my greatest desire in life was to have fun. We plopped down our things, bid goodnight, and proceeded to fold like a house of cards – weary from a scenic trek. As a lifelong spine pain sufferer, the shower was manna from heaven. It’s big enough and comfortable enough for two, or for one tall person like me who makes homage to a hot shower a few times a day for pain relief. The bathroom is a dream. It’s warm with separate heat control (cooled nicely with a window to the outside), this bathroom has lots of appeal: no hurry to get through the shower or to leave it. We converged on the bathroom a couple of times a day to refresh and kibbutz. I think we need to re-do our bathroom. Over the next few days, we wandered Seattle, (and Dusty Strings!!!!!! ). Always, we enjoyed slowly meandering through the garden upon our arrival “home.” As cat people, we were energized by the friendly cats who were very gracious about welcoming us to their garden. Nice. I composed no less than 7 new tunes while sitting on the view’s Adirondack chairs sipping wine. A more pleasant place to compose I haven't seen. We were greeted with some nice wine, pastries, fresh flowers and fruits, and a genuinely wonderful couple of people. They’re the best neighbors we haven’t ever had!