Wellington Update

Before I get into the Wellington update, I have a few pics I took in Benicia this month (July 2012).

This first one is another evening walk down by the water.

This is one of the alleys near Wellington.  Someone in this alley loves wildlife.  There are bird feeders and squirrel feeders.  Occasionally there are birds and squirrels.

This is the new Bed and Breakfast right off First Street on the water.  It's called the Shorelight Inn.  If I didn't already live in WELLINGTON which sits in BENICIA, I would come here for VACATION.  But my life is a vacation, so I'll shove this pic on the blog and let everyone else try it out.

This house close to the water is for sale for $858,000.  It's about the same size as Wellington but it's 12 years older than the porch and 99 years older than the rest of Wellington

We often pass this house while on our morning and/or evening walks.  It looks old but it was actually built in the 1970s.  It's close to downtown.

Okay, now for the Wellington update.  I have recently divided Wellington's yard into 10 zones in order to keep track of all the plant tags and growth.  This is the porch with it's little Christmas tree.

  This is zone 1, with the crepe myrtle tree, and zone 2, with the oak tree and pittosporums.

Also zones 1 and 2.  You can see the pittosporum tree in the foreground, the other crepe myrtle on the right and the Forest Pansy Redbud in the center.

Zone 3.  The Lady Banks rose is getting large.

 Zone 4.  That's the bougenvillea growing up the porch wall.

Zone 5 with one of the few plants (the Japanese maple) that was here when we moved in.  It looks a lot healthier.  The abelia, to the right and up against the house, have just about reached the window.

 Zone 6 with the other Lady Banks.

 Zone 7 and 8.  This butterfly bush was here when we moved in, too.

Zone 7 with the little Granny Smith apple tree.  Six apples will soon be part of an apple tart I'm going to bake for my sweet little hubby next week.

Zone 8.  This area really looks great.  I love the sun which was a present from my mother in law.  The two turtles live in this raised bed.

Zone 9 is my favorite area.  This is the Arbor Walk which has grown in and is such a pleasant place to sit.  As the trees get larger, it will be even nicer.

Zone 10 has a lovely olive tree which will some day provide a nice shady area.  The bird bath sometimes attracts birds!

Wellington is looking so lovely.  And organized.  :)

Strange Real Estate Listings 2

I think many of these need no explanation from me.  But I can't help it.  I'm fairly certain that is a grave in the front yard of this home.  And it must be a special amenity, since the Realtor has gotten just the right angle in order to include it in this front shot of the house.

"THIS BEAUTIFUL HOME WITH A VEIW TO DIE FOR IS A MUST SEE AND YOU WOULD FALL IN LOVE WITH!"

And it's not just because of the drumset.

This one below was the Showcase photo of this listing.  Oh, there were other photos, but the Realtor thought this was the best of the bunch, so used it as the main photo. 

I think he was trying to show the view from the chicken coop.

This next photo was one of only three photos included in this listing.  There was also a front photo and a photo of the kitchen which was partially obscured by the Realtor's finger.

I know when I'm looking through listings, trying to find my new family home I always ask myself if it has a place for board meetings.

Nice.  I want it.

Huh?

Eat-in kitchen.

 Just in case you have flies hanging around.  Sometimes you do.

The Fourth at Wellington

To my delight, much of The Fourth was spent right here at Wellington.  We have lived in Wellington for two years, two months and two weeks.  Plus a day or so.  But through the magic of "calendars" it is our third Independence Day at Wellington.  Ever since we moved in I've been wanting to stay home during the fireworks display.  I was sure we would be able to see the fireworks from our upstairs balcony.

It all started on the 3rd, actually.  Benicia held its annual Torchlight Parade down 1st Street.  The Hub and I were home alone (but for the cat).

It was a beautiful evening and we decided to stay on the porch and watch from there.  Wellingon is a couple of blocks from 1st Street.  But we could hear the goings on.  And we had our own little parade.  People were parked up and down our street, so we had a steady flow of foot traffic.  As the parade ended, two blocks up, many of the cars, trucks and floats rounded the corner and drove in front of our house.  So we got to see as much of the parade as we wanted. 

On the 4th, we had the kids and a couple of friends for a barbecue.  We took walks around town.  The photo at the top of this post was a group of boats at the Marina, all linked together and sharing hors doeuvres prior to sailing out into the harbor to watch the fireworks.

Below is a photo of the condos at the harbor.  There were a lot of parties going on on balconies.  I respected their privacy and didn't take their pictures.  But I took a picture of this one that The Mom and I went in about 15 years ago and again this year when it was for sale.  It's the bottom condo on the left.  Very cute two bedroom overlooking the harbor.  Neither one of us bought it, but we both thought about it.

A lot of people were downtown.  The new little market that opened up had many patrons.  It looked really quaint with the produce bins out front.  You can't really tell from this pic, but it did.

 In the park there was a festival.  Bands played, vendors sold and families barbecued.

There was even a climbing wall.  Most of us stayed on the ground on account of our fear of heights.

 A little "choo choo" took tikes around.  It wasn't really a train.  You can see the wheels underneath.

This is the yacht club.

 It was only early afternoon, but people were picnicking down by the water.  Staking out their spots for the fireworks.

Our spot for the fireworks was staked out two years, two months and two weeks ago.  Here is what it looked like from our balcony.  Only way better.  I couldn't believe how perfectly situated we were for the fireworks.  It's almost like they planned where to set them off so that we would have the best view right from Wellington.

You know fireworks never look as good in photos.  Especially photos with your phone camera.  But I needed proof that we could see them from our balcony, since all the kids walked downtown to see them at the water.

Overall it was a complete success with lots of food, friends and fun.  I think we'll do it again next year.

Strange Real Estate Listings

 I look at many real estate listings every day.  Generally they're fairly professional.  Occasionally really impressive.  And quite often absolutely appalling.

For instance, one listing stated "Neighbors on each side have a lake view ..."  What is this supposed to mean?  Are we supposed to be happy for the neighbors?  Are they implying the subject property has a view, and if so, why don't they just say so?  I really can't see how this is supposed to be an asset.

And what do we think of this:  "In the last year all the flooring in the house has been changed to commercial grade vinyl (looks and feels like laminate)."  Since when was laminate flooring something to aspire to?  Look, if you've replaced the flooring with commercial grade vinyl, don't advertise it.

Then there are people who not only can't spell, they can't be bothered to use spell check.  "This property sits in a quite, seculed area close to the end of the lane."  Seriously?

And what is up with these photos?  Look at this kitchen photo.  I think it needs no comment from me.

But I can't help myself.    Any good agent would take five minutes to sweep the trash off the countertop before taking a photo.  You can always put it back when you're done.  What is that guy DOING?  That's just creepy.

Yes, that is a spinning wheel on the back of the bathtub.

The caption under this, the only, photo is "Value is in the land,a must see."  What part is a must see, and why am I not seeing it?

It's worth a chuckle, anyway.

Wellington's Fruit Production

We could have gone to Europe on what it cost us to grow six lousy ears of corn.  I didn't make that up.  Neil Simon did.  And it's not corn, it's plums, peaches, apples and cherries.  And they didn't cost that much.  I would say about $18 total.  But still, a lot of effort went into Wellington's fruit crops this year with not much to show for it.  The peaches were fairly edible.  I got one cherry.  The plums and apples aren't ripe yet.

Actually when I think about it, not that much effort went in. The trees were planted one to two years ago. Then mostly we just watered and waited. So never mind.

This last tree is actually a Japanese Maple I grew from a little baby seed.  I gave it to my sister and it's in her backyard.  It's now about seven feet tall and six feet wide.  Just thought I'd shove it on the blog for safe keeping.  It's very happy.

The Neil Simon movie is Seems Like Old Times from 1980 which everyone knows is one of my favorites.  Unless you don't know me, then it still is but you didn't know.  It's okay.  I blame myself.

Hugo Update Plus Lemon Pie

Many of my loyal readers have been asking me about Hugo.  "How is Hugo?" they ask, "We haven't heard about her lately."  Well the truth is, there are other things in life besides kitty cats.  Although some of our children's friends would say that we're "obsessed" with this cat, I think my loyal readers will concur that there's just not near enough pictures of her up on the blog.  Especially lately.

So for all of you who feel Hugo-deprived, here is a little vignette.  She was taking a nap on her favorite of the Arbor Walk decks.  I crept up on her (good thing I wasn't a rhyno or a hippo or whatever it is that eats cats) and positioned my camera just in time for her to turn around and say "meow-lo." 

In other news, I baked a two-hour lemon pie.  It was delicious, so it looks like I have to find at least two more hours in the future sometime for an encore.  Also, the apple tree is adorable.