Sleeping outdoors

I did a story on outdoor rooms a couple of weeks ago and it made me want one for myself. Then when I ran into another little folding cot at a flea market on Saturday (just like the one I paid $10 for at a sale on Peone Prairie in April) and it was only $5, I was inspired.

The little cot was already painted a soft lilac color, so I put it on my patio and brought a mattress out of the camper. I draped a mosquito netting canopy over the bed and dressed it with a gold cotton spread and a few pillows covered in vintage fabric. Nothing fancy, but it was an instant outdoor room.

The children have been taking turns sleeping out on the cot since I set it up. I spent some time on it the first night, but I have to admit I slept with one eye open. I live in a neighborhood north of Spokane and in the five years we've been here we have had moose, deer, a young cougar and a black bear in our back yard.

I kept waking up listening for "company."