The Bright Side of Town- Hurrle Residence, Fruitland, ID

December 2 was an uneventful driving day.  I was very happy to meet Terry and Joni Hurrle at the hotel in Albany, OR, just over the line from their home in Fruitland, ID.  Their house was on the tour in 2010, and we've stayed in touch.  Recently, Joni made a beautiful cross stitched ornament of our departed dog, Buffy, sporting angel wings. It was a lovely, thoughtful thing to do and something I will cherish always.  So I had big hugs for Terry and Joni when I saw them!
We had pizza at the same place where Terry took me two years ago and the pizza was just as yummy as I remembered! Terry is a talker...boy can he talk!  I thought no one could talk as much as Philip and me until I met Terry! But he is so enthusiastic and excited about everything that it is fun to listen to him and I enjoy spending time with him very much. But poor Joni...she could hardly get a word in!

Dig that shirt!

I spent all of the next day catching up on work and laundry until it was time to head to Terry's for the show.  When I say "catching up on work" I mean answering emails, making calls, putting together orders...all the things I still have to do to keep my business running.  I found the post office and sent out a bunch of CDs. I was glad to have a day to try to get caught up.
Terry's display has undergone some upgrades since I last saw it.  He's created all new wireframes of Dave and The Chipmunks and Elvis and they look great.  He had new LED lights and stars and the whole thing looked fresh and fantastic !

 At the risk of repeating myself,  it is impressive how many hours the decorators put into their displays all year round just to put smiles on the faces of perfect strangers.     They're the nicest people in the world ... Incredibly creative and generous. My world has been improved so much by knowing these wonderful people and being accepted into their world.
There is a lady named Gloria...she doesn't know the Hurrles but she came to the 2010 concert at their place and since then has posted many encouraging and lovely messages on my Facebook pages. She was really happy that I was returning to Fruitland and arrived early with her two beautiful grandchildren. I was so happy to see her!  She is really a bright, shining spirit and I'm just blessed that she likes my music. Gloria, if you are reading this, I want you to know that it really meant a lot to me that you were able to come.
I was also really happy to see another decorator, Tyson Schmidt, who brought three of his kids up from Boise for the concert. All of the kids at the concert were dancing and having fun and making me smile and laugh.One of  Tyson's daughters has some very unique dance moves...I was cracking up while singing just from watching her! Tyson, thanks for bringing the kids all that way to see me. I hope they all conked out on the way home and you had a restful drive!

Santa was there, too... And I so enjoyed singing "Santa Whatcha Got" to him in person while he did a crazy dance with the kids, even though I look at little "out of it" in this picture!


I think it is safe to say that a jolly good time was had by all!! Thank you, Terry and Joni for hosting me once again...and for the pizza and the good company!  It was another memorable night I'll be thinking of in January when I'm back home and all the excitement is over.  These memories will keep me warm during the long New Hampshire winter.