On the Issue of Decor

I had the pleasure of spending a weekend with my friend Dawn in Vermont this past weekend.   She lives in a small village called Post Mills (population ranging from 80 to 100 depending on what time of year you decide to count) near the New Hampshire border and on a rather large Lake (Fairlee) which this time of year, was frozen and buried under a foot of snow.   Much like the bright green landscape offsets the dreary gray of the rain soaked Pacific Northwest Winter, the brilliant sparkling white snow landscape of Post Mills and its resident lake offset the biting, freezing cold temperatures of this New England winter:

Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to wake up in subzero conditions, as the temperature bottomed out at three scant degrees above the zero bar.   Dawn lives in a house that was built in the 1930's as a fishing camp. Translated, this means no insulation, no foundation, and no luxuries.   A great deal of hard work has upgraded zero insulation to cozy insulation and other such necessities like winterizing the well so water continues to flow (for the most part) in the long cold winter months.   Freezing pipes notwithstanding, their home is now a warm, cozy place that spells Tranquility even during brutally cold winter days:

Dawn and her other half have managed to do with this former fishing camp what seems possible only in Better Homes & Gardens.   For example, I know of no one else in the known universe who has a deer head above the toilet paper holder:

and manages to get away with it in a decor where so much is chosen just perfectly to fit into this Vermont lakeside setting.   I do not have this talent for decorating, but I know when it is done right, as Dawn and John have done, I would much rather spend the weekend here than at the finest Hilton in New England.

And I say this even before I begin to factor in the value of our friendship and the time spent around the blazing warm fire.   What Hilton in the world could offer such perks?