Debbie Caffall (Russell)

I have lived in the country outside of Woodland for 28 years. Clearly I am much more stable than I expected. I also turned out to be both more ambitious and a better person. I married in my late 20's and divorced in my late 30's.  I gained two very nice daughters that I have essentially raised alone and who are the most important thing in my life. It saved a lot of arguments and this way I do get the credit for how well they turned out! We live in a large home on 2 1/2 acres with 2 dogs, 2 cats and my fiancé. We heat exclusively with wood and partly as a consequence I have not turned out to be a fat middle-aged woman. My Landscape Design business (Design Services), is the oldest design only firm in two counties. Teaching and public speaking are a regular part of my life. Plant collecting keeps me amused year round as do the 45 plus books I read annually. Cooking and entertaining fill the rest of the gaps. People who know me wonder how I do it all and I feel like I could do more. We live in controlled chaos, as do most of you who have kids at home and are two income families. We spend a tremendous amount of time in the garden. I test garden all sorts of plants and plant combinations: ornamental grasses, perennials, dwarf conifers, natives, drought tolerant materials, wet soil lovers, etc. We host a garden tour in July every year that is written up in all the local papers. I discovered I am driven, not to stay ahead of the competition, but to keep myself entertained. As an optimist I am frequently hooked into volunteer projects. Any of you who attend the Clark County Home & Garden Idea Fair will have seen my design and organizational skills many times over in the Washington Association of Landscape Professionals display garden. My 2000 Feng Shui Garden won three awards. I like my life. Naturally I can only follow convention to a certain extent, but I have lots of fun, enjoy the company regularly of other bright people, have a comfortable spiritual life, am thoroughly gratified by both my 'Mom' job and my professional one and best of all, I work from home and spend as little time on the freeway as possible!