Well, our first anniversary of sharing The Studio at Scurlock Farms with others will be next week. What a fun, enjoyable year it has been! We have met so many nice folks from around the country - from CA to FL and spots in between. Several have come from the snowy north to take in a little warmer weather in TX during the winter months.

We were having so much fun and success with The Studio, in March, 2011 I decided to do the same thing with Rocky Overlook, my parents home, or what we call "the big house". They lived in The Studio while building it and it sits across a ravine and around a curved rock walkway from The Studio. Privacy is afforded by shrubs, trees and the ravine. It is close enough for a group or family to use both houses.

Our first guests at Rocky Overlook were in late July, 2011 to a couple from San Franciso that were getting married in Georgetown. They rented both Rocky Overlook and The Studio so close family members would have a better option than staying in hotel rooms.

The bride's parents and brother were from Hong Kong and did not speak English. We very much enjoyed meeting them. Rocky Overlook was the first American home they had been in and they totally enjoyed their stay with us. It was very fascinating to watch Hym doing his exercises in the yard under the oaks or on the upper patio in back of the house.

My granddaughters were thrilled to see the comments Hym left in our Guest Book, written in Chinese! We still don't know what he said, but know it was something nice.

In October, we had two big events at Rocky Overlook and The Studio at Scurlock Farms. I volunteer for The Caring Place in Georgetown. We have a thrift store, Fabulous Finds, a vintage store, Refinds, and a boutique. All items that are donated are sold in our stores (all under one roof), and the proceeds go to help those in town and the county that are in need - clothing, food, rent, utilitis, our annual Coats for Kids,, and holiday meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We had a fundraising event at both Rocky Overlook and The Studio called The Gathering on the Gabriel. It was a huge success and raised $10,275 for The Caring Place Building Fund. Tours of both homes were available with my sisters acting as docents - Susan grew up there and Staci was born there. A delicious buffet lunch planned and prepared by another sister, Tanya, was served on the upper patio and guests sat at tables under the oaks. A live band played beautiful music for two hours, and then we finished off with a live auction of many works of art by Chuck DeHaan, C. P. Montague, Dennis Schmidt, Sheron Thweatt, and Dalhart Windberg, several pieces of jewelry from the Lia Sophia collection, and a set of antique Haviland china.

Gary Freedman, a fantastic auctioneer from Rockwall, held the auction for us. Gary has helped raise over $3.2 million for charities in the North TX area in the past 10 years. His wife, Deborah, was his spotter, and the two of them made the auction fun for all.

The next day, a beautiful wedding was held at the farm. Sara and Alan exchanged their vows on the lower patio as the guests looked on from the upper patio. The bride's father, Kurt, had cooked bar-b-que and a buffet dinner was served on the upper patio. Guests sat under the trees with Japanese lanterns and light wrapped trees providing lighting.

Photos of both events are posted at www.ScurlockFarms.com.

November is shaping up to be a busy month for both Rocky Overlook and The Studio at Scurlock Farms. We'd love to have you visit, too!