I am teaching/lecturing for the Austin Quilt Guild beginning tomorrow. I came to Austin a day early to visit my friend, Dory. We met as freshman at the University of Oklahoma in 1974. How can it have been that long ago!?

Dory and her husband, Eric, moved from the Dallas area to an amazing place in the hill country west of Austin. It is built with the native stone that this area is known for.

From her back porch she can see the pool and down the hillside where much of their property lies.

You can't really tell from this photo but the land drops down just beyond the pool into a not-insignificant valley. Where it looks like the hill slopes up beyond the pool it is really the hill on the other side of the valley. Dory and Eric are about 15 minutes from great shopping but you'd never know it when you are at their house.

That's Chopper with Dory. I'm more of a cat person but I admit that Chopper is a cool dog. He's exceptionally well-behaved and has a great personality. And he doesn't smell like a dog.

Dory has done some great things with her house. For one thing, she made sure that all the colors in the house tie together. I like color so much I can have a tendency to flit from one to another which has made my house look a little disjointed in the past (it's better now). And she didn't forget to have a little fun with ceiling color.

Another thing they did was to spray paint all the light fixtures the same almost-black.

When they moved in, all the fixtures were white. Rather than spend a lot of money she chose to buy spray paint. So, so smart. They painted the outside fixtures too – something I don't think I would have thought to do:

They painted the ceiling fans. Every bit of the fans – the blades, motor housing, hardware and even the screws. Looks great!

And, last but not least, Dory helped me get a handle on my life. No small feat. I used to be a good list-maker. I was way organized. In the last few years I started carrying my to do list around in my head and it's not working any more. Dory is a management consultant – we consulted! I've got my list system going, I'm prioritizing, and it is my sincere hope that I can stick with it.

That said, it's time to move on to my next task…