Benicia Bungalows

Here are a couple of bungalows I walked by recently.  They're both located on West K Street. 

Are they absolutely adorable?  Yes!  This is my favorite type of architecture right now.

I noticed this teeny little nest in someone's trellis.  It's empty now, but I bet it used to contain a black capped chickadee family.

Here is a house The Hub and I looked at when we were house-hunting.  I still think it's adorable.  I love the little separate house in the back.  And the basement you can't really see in this pic.  But it's on a busy street.  And the owners were selling the yard separately which sort of rubbed me the wrong way.  You couldn't just buy the house and let someone else own the yard.  That's just dumb.  We never even went inside.  But I still think it's a cute one.

We worked in the garden a bit today.  This is the time of year that I always wish was springier than it is.  We get a couple of warm days (64°) and I get all excited about gardening, but then it freezes up again, so don't be fooled!  I'm fooled every year.  That's okay.  It makes life interesting.

Photos on my Desktop

Like most people, I have all kinds of weird things lurking on my desktop.  The Little Boy, who is a tech guy, says I should clear it off now and then because it makes my computer run more slowly.  This evening I was going through the folders, creating shortcuts for important files and deleting things I didn't need.  Before I deleted these random photos, I thought I would shove them up her on the blog just for fun.

This first one is a local MLS photo I thought was funny.  I was planning to send it to my Mom so we could have a chuckle.  I never got around to it.

This is some Realtor's idea of an amenity.  I think a general rule of thumb is, don't take a photo of a toilet.  Sometimes a toilet sneaks into a photo, and that's fine.  Make sure the lid is down, and just try to ignore it.  But what is going on here?  Is that someone's purse?  And what amenity is this supposed to showcase?  Does this photo make you want to buy this house?  Me neither.

 Here is a photo I got off of some website I was looking at.  I can't remember which, or I would provide a link.  This photo just made me feel good, so I saved it.  I love that little pool house with its lower level.  I think it's some teeny little basement.  I don't know, but it tweaks my imagination, so I saved it and now I'm putting it here.

 Here is my cat.  She was sitting on my desk looking out the window, so I snapped a picture with my webcam and sent it to The Dot.

 Speaking of the kitty.  This morning it was cold, cold, COLD in Wellington.  I think it was about twenty something outside.  Inside it was 60 degrees!  That's cold for Northern California.  And it's cold for 17 year old kitties with old bones.  So once the heat came on, she decided she needed to cozy up to the heater.  Just for an hour or so.  Just to get the creaks out.

Interestingly I just realized these two photos are backwards.  Hmmm.

Here is another MLS photo for a local $3,000,000 house.  I just liked this little room.  It looks like a wedgey room you would find in some old house.  But this house was built in the early 2000s.  Cozy!  Much better marketing than a toilet w/purse.  Good job!

Okay, now I can delete these from my desktop.  When I need them again, I'll just come back here.  You can, too.

Point Reyes Light House

Less than 100 miles from Wellington is the Point Reyes Lighthouse.  We haven't gone there recently.  But I ran across these photos I took last time we went. 

You have to park about a mile from the lighthouse and walk down hundreds of steps.  Plus it's on the Northern California coast.  So unless you're really lucky, it's going to be foggy and cold.

It was foggy and cold.  But we still felt lucky because we were together and had a great time.  Everything was all grey, white and orange.  It was positively invigorating.

With little out buildings and rusty old fire hydrants.

Wellington is so beautifully situated, we can go from coastline to mountain peak.  Countryside to city.  We're spoiled, and I don't take it for granted.

Post Christmas Post and a Trip to The City

The Dot is toying with the idea of moving to San Francisco where she works.  Last week we took BART to the city to look at an apartment.  This isn't it.  But it was on this street.  It's a very old building, but has been updated.  It's really cute, but we like her at home.  Hopefully she'll wait a bit.  Her commute to The City isn't too bad right now.

Here's the city in question.  I didn't take this picture the day we went on BART, obviously.  Because BART goes under the bay.  Right before Christmas, The Fam drove to San Francisco (35 minutes) to see a production of A Christmas Carol.  It was very enjoyable.  No pics because they don't allow you to take pics once you're inside the theater. 

Here is one of the pictures I took inside the theater.  The other one is worse.

This is what BART looks like when it's approaching.  It was all very exciting. 

Here is another house on the same street as The Dot's apartment she's not getting.

We had a nice day toodling around the City.  We took Muni which I thought was a bus, but it turns out to sometimes be a train.  It was pretty cool.  You can ride it for four hours for $2.  Unless you're a student - then it's only 75 cents.  We weren't.  The Dot used her "Clipper Card" which she just slid through this slot.  I had to fumble with money and sort of drop my bags and hold everything up.  But otherwise I pretty much looked like I knew what I was doing.  The seats were plastic which makes them more "hose"-able.  BART's seats are cloth and that always makes me wonder about germs.  But mostly I try not to think about it and just enjoy myself, for crying out loud.

We had lunch in Golden Gate Park.  It was very close to The Dot's non-apartment. 

I think I forgot to include these two desserts on the last post and I'm too lazy to go back and insert them.  This was a rum cake I made when we went to the family Christmas gathering.  Below is the Buche de Noel (French for "chocolate cake in the shape of a log") that The Dot made because some people don't eat rum cake and plus she's practically half French.  It was really good.

Below is my Creepy Santa collection.  Loyal readers will recall that I collect really creepy Santas.  It all started one year when I bought an old bag of "picks" from my favorite Thrift Store in Danville.  The whole bag cost $1 and inside were the three lovely little guys in front on the right.  I have since seen them in a Martha Stewart magazine as collectibles from Germany!  I like them because they're pretty creepy.  In former posts I had close-ups.  The one second from the right has a pretty scary expression and a very red face.  The one third from the right is holding a sharp skewer.  I think it used to have something Christmassy attached to it.  My newest one is second from the left in the back.

Here he is close-up.  Isn't he great?  I got him in March at the Benicia Pedlar's Faire.  I don't know why his eyeballs are so askew, but I'm glad they are.

Now I'm going to go make my New Year's Resolutions.  I won't say what they will probably be, but I think the theme will mostly likely be "consumption".  Either too much or too little, depending on the thing being consumed which may or may not be chocolate and water.

Christmas at Wellington 2011

Our second Christmas in Wellington was memorable in so many ways.  Regular readers will remember the pine cone bird saga.  On a walk with The Hub, I found this pine cone half buried in the dirt.  When I picked it up it was already shaped like a delightful bird, with the "beak" in front rather than on top, like a normal pine cone.  I flocked it and made some feet out of heavy gauge wire.  When The Little Boy came home from sleep away school he let me steal this tiny hat off of his caramel apple.  You know your son loves you if he doesn't make a fuss when you steal the tiny hat off of his caramel apple.  And now my pine cone bird has a friend!  The Dot's bird that she bought at Romancing the Home.  Are they a cute little pair?



Here is a little section of the Glitter House village.  That's mini Wellington on the far left.  The pink house in front was the first Glitter House I made.  The church on the right was purchased at an after-Christmas sale last year.  And I bought some teeny tree lights at Benicia Bay Company to light up my bristle trees.  It was really cute.  (There is one more purchased Glitter House not pictured that is on the left.)

Here is the view looking through the French Doors from the library.

This is how the Christmas Cake turned out this year.  I put it on this little Christmas platter then covered it with a glass bowl, to keep the dust off.  It looked like a huge snow globe.  I was very happy with it.  We brought it to The Hub's brother's house on Christmas and left it there for them to enjoy.  It's iced with a layer of marzipan, then royal icing.  (Seriously, it's good.  But we prefer ours bald.)

This is a present I got from my dear friend, Cindy.  It's so perfect for me because not only do I collect tea pots, but I love birds.  This teapot has a chickadee painted on the front, and on the tray below, plus it has a little chickadee handle.  Very cute!

Here is our Christmas dinner table that we enjoyed on Christmas Eve since we went to The Hub's brother's house for Christmas dinner.  Last year, The Dot bought these crackers and we each got two!  Mine smelled like crayons and when I opened it, it had crayons inside!  The Hub got a harmonica.  The Dot got a magic trick and The Little Boy got a metal ring puzzle.  I can't remember the rest, but they were fun.  We wore the paper hats too. 

People who have known me a while will recall that I make a new stocking for The Hub every year.  It all started in about 1984 or 1985 when I discovered that he didn't have a stocking of his own.  We were just dating then.  I made him a little stocking out of felt.  The next year I made him another stocking and a tradition was formed.  This year I think it's about the 26th or 27th stocking.  Plus I made one for each of the kids the year they were born.  The stocking above is this year's stocking.  It's reverse applique, white underneath.  The holly is attached with two red jingle bells - one tiny and one medium-tiny.  There's also a little Santa-shaped bell hanging from under the cuff on the right by the ribbon loop.  You can't see it too well in this picture.  It look like a little snowflake, but it's a Santa bell I bought when The Dot and I went to the Dickens Christmas Faire in San Francisco earlier this month.  Of course Santa filled this stocking to over-flowing.  The Hub is spoiled.

Here is our Christmas tree.  It's beautiful!  It is very full with a kind of flat top that was perfect for our topper - a white metal rocking horse strung with white twinkly lights.  It used to be a table top decoration but one year The Hub strung lights through it and shoved it on top of the tree and there it has stayed, year after year.

And now I'm trying to learn all of my new electronics, which include an espresso maker (thanks Hub), a portable DVD player (thanks Sis) and a fabulous mp3 player (thanks Dot).  I'm always tempted to wing it when it comes to electronics, but it seems that they just get more and more complicated and I would miss out on all of their features if I didn't take the time to learn them.  So that is what I'm doing this week in between eating all the delicious food, trying to roll myself off the couch and sucking in my pot belly as The Hub walks by.  Luckily New Years Resolutions are right around the corner.

Christmas in Benicia

I have never lived in a place that does Christmas as well as Benicia.  Last weekend was the Christmas Tree Lighting which I would like to proclaim as a huge success.  Here are the pics to prove it.

Many of the shops on 1st Street had beautiful displays.  This is the Camelia Tea Room.

Here is the Blue Goose Antique Store.

Sailor Jack's.

The end of 1st Street where the palm trees along the water are decked out in twinklies.

The Depot with the holiday crowd.  You can't see it, but they're there.  The Youth Commission was treating everyone to cookies and cider.  You could buy wine if you wanted.

And the finale:  The Tree Lighting.  Accompanied by Kris Kringle and the Mistletoes.  They were very festive.  A good time was had by all.

Arbor Walk in Autumn, and the Santa Ana Winds

Some people may not believe it, but it's autumn in Benicia. It's December 2. Almost winter, even. But if you were in Benicia you would think it was May. It was 74° today. SEVENTY-FOUR. It's on account of what I like to call the Santa Ana Winds.

For those of you who don't live in California, Santa Ana Winds, according to the US National Weather Service are "Strong down slope winds that blow through the mountain passes in southern California. These winds, which can easily exceed 40 mph, are warm and dry and can severely exacerbate brush or forest fires, especially under drought conditions." They come from Southern California all the way up here to Northern California. Wednesday was cold, cold, cold. I got home from the gym and almost froze to death before I could change out of my damp clothes. It took me forever to warm up. I finally had to take a bath (rats) in Wellington's soaker tub. It's a jetless Jacuzzi. It's deep and contoured and I love it way too much.  My second favorite is the rain shower head.  Then, Wednesday night when I went outside, the winds had started up and they were warm.  It's probably 20° warmer today. And tomorrow will be 20° cooler.

But for now, we're reveling in the mild climate.  We're spending every possible moment outside.  Dot and I walked downtown (some of us bought some vintage ornaments, pics to follow), the cat is lying on the warm porch.  And later this evening is the Benicia Christmas Tree Lighting.  I'm thinking there will be a great turnout this year.  Last year, which was our first in Benicia, we went a little late.  We missed most of the ceremony.  Mostly what we got was rollicking hoodlums showing off for each other and forgetting that other people are trying to walk down the street, for crying out loud.
Fingers crossed that they've either learned better manners or they'll be busy elsewhere because Dot and I are going!

These are pictures of the Arbor Walk in Autumn.  As loyal readers will recall, this is the first autumn for the Arbor Walk and I'm happy to report that it is chock-full of autumnal beauty.

The persimmon tree was beautiful but was disappointingly leafless by the time I took the pictures.  All the reds in these photos come from the snowball bushes and the weeping Japanese Maples.

And what's up with this Daphne?  Blooming in December?  That aloe is from Morningsun Herb Farm and is very happy in this little succulent patch.

The magnolia is still very happy, even though it's no longer blooming.  He needs a rest now and then so he can grow big and tall.  Not too tall, though, since he's outside my kitchen window.

I'm going to go see if I can locate The Dot and drag her downtown for the tree lighting.  She's a little disappointed in the weather on account of being a stickler for weather acting the way it's supposed to.  She would like chilly and foggy.  I'd rather be comfortable and pretend it's winter at Wellington.