Hillbilly Houseparty

This is the tale of a man named Lorin
A guy who though his life was borin’
Then one day he was shopping for some food
And wheedled himself into a better hood.

Alpine, that is.
Swimming pools
Big ol’ hills

I went to visit my sister this weekend. She has finally realized her dream and is living in the big house on the hill. There’s only one problem. The big house isn’t hers. She is house sitting for a family friend.
She graduated from college with a degree in interior design and her husband is a painting contractor. Between raising five children she has helped her husband in his business, and for the last few years they have “flipped” several houses.
They currently “own” something like four pieces of property, but are essentially camping out in a very large house (I think I counted six bedrooms, I’m not really sure how many bathrooms it has) for free. But there’s a catch, they have to take care of the property and pay the power bills.
The weekend proved to be a weird kind of upscale camping. DH and I didn’t have to share a room with the DS’s which is a novelty when we travel. But mostly we hung out at the “cement pond” in the back yard.
The property has been sadly neglected. It has a lovely veranda, badly overgrown with wisteria. The showy stone fountain by the grand entrance is full of green slime. The kitchen looks out on a really outstanding yard and has an orchard behind it. But the kitchen itself is decorated in 1970s fake Spanish style.
My sister is in heaven.
I asked her what she likes most about the place and she said “the space.” Which is not too big of a surprise, she has been living in an old Victorian home in downtown Salt Lake City with her five children for many years.
The master bedroom in her new digs is probably larger than the footprint of her SLC house.
We were not the only ones visiting her. Her youngest daughter (who just graduated from high school and is currently living with her parents) a second daughter and three nephews were eating Sunday dinner when we arrived. One of the nephews left, but the other two spent the night ~ going to sleep in the game room at about 4 a.m. after working on a puzzle for most of the night.
No one was abroad when we woke up at our usual 7:30 a.m. So we went and bought breakfast sandwiches at a neighborhood store and ate them in the formal dining room while everyone slept.
Then the boys dressed and played in the Jacuzzi tub while DH took a nap and I sat in the shade working on some sketches. I really enjoyed this part of the trip. Everyone was happy, I was relaxed, and it was truly beautiful in my spot under three shade trees with the mountains behind me and the pool and house in front of me.
Eventually sis joined me, and DH came out for a swim, and I went for a swim, etc. We had lunch at about 2 p.m. and came home shortly thereafter.
As we were leaving sis was chopping watermelon and getting ready for her daughter and son-in-law who were going to visit that evening.
I convinced my sister and brother as well as their two daughters to pose for this spoof photo of “The Beverly Hillbillies.” I swear, every time I walked into a new room I thought I heard the banjo music arch do de do de do de do from the show.
But it was a nice change from the craziness of my house. The kids are a little sun burnt (In spite of application of SPF 45 waterproof sun block) and very, very tired. But they did have a good time.
Now it's time to say good-bye to J and all her kin She would like to thank you folks for kindly stopping in.

You're all invited back next week to this locality
to have a heaping helping of our hospitality,
Hillbilly that is.
Sit a spell.
Take your shoes off.
Y’all come back now, here?