HAPPY BIRTHDAY WELLINGTON

 

As loyal readers of The Blog will recall, April 24 is Wellington's birthday.  Today he is two years old!

While technically he was already a house before we moved in, he wasn't Wellington, and he wasn't Our Wellington.  So we celebrate April 24 as his birthday.

We plan to mark the occasion by going to the gym, doing some work and maybe seeing The Dot tonight after a trip to Oyster Point.

Oysters sound good.

A Beautiful Spring Day in Benicia

It was absolutely gorgeous today.  Sunny with a little breeze.  It's been so cold and rainy lately that when The Hub and I decided to take a walk, we thought we would have to bundle up.  It turned out to be perfect walking weather.  This is the City Hall.

Here is Wellington.  With the Forest Pansy Red Bud blooming.

We just put in a couple of little boxes with herbs.  We have savory in one box (basil and thyme) and sweet in another (stevia and lemon balm).  I tasted a bit of the stevia when we got it.  It was sweet as can be, but seemed to cause my throat to sort of swell up and get sore. Am I allergic?  I decided to do a little experiment.  Last time The Dot was home, I snipped off a piece and said, "Here, taste this." and popped it in her mouth.  She didn't have time to think.  Luckily.  Because she's generally fairly careful.  I told her what it was and a few minutes later when her throat seemed to constrict I said, "I know.  I thought so.  Mine did that too."

It's supposed to be a good substitute for sugar in recipes.  I think I'll pass.  But it's pretty.

The Arbor Walk.

This gorgeous tree is my persimmon!  It has grown so much since we put it in less than a year ago.  It's close to seven feet tall now!   Not sure if we're going to get persimmons this year.  But it's a beautiful tree.

This aloe is going to bloom!  I'll keep you posted.  That's the itchy cat right there.  She's old.

 

Here's one last shot of the lamb's ear in the Arbor Walk.  It is beautiful and fragrant.  The Hub and I love to spend time out there reading.  Life's good.

Rats, Another Missed Opportunity

I finally realized what I wanted to do with my extra $36,152, but it seems that the company has gone out of business.  Built by a manufacturer in The Netherlands, which I like to refer to as "Holland", this lovely trailer never even made it to the United States.  Only a few were every built. It's like a little yacht on wheels.

Not only is it tiny, portable, luxurious, quaint, cozy and romantic, but now it is also a collectors item.

Read more here:  YSIN  (It's a cutie pie.)

Walking Around Town

I took these pics on a walk around town earlier in the month.  This pic below is a house near 1st Street that has been undergoing a major rehaul since before we moved into Wellington.  I love to see the progress.  There's a lot of work to go.

This place below used to be a church.  Then it was a spa.  Now it's for sale!

It was a beautiful day by the water!

 

 

Property for Sale in London!

One of my favorite blogs Susk and Banoo with an umlaut, features a delightful young woman and her husband.  I have blogged about them in the past.  When I first started peering into their lives, they were reno-ing the sweetest little quirky row house in London.  They're now selling it.  The picture above is one of their professional photos for marketing purposes.  I just love her taste.  And personality. 

The umlaut is over the U, not part of the title.

Speaking of which, I ran across this photo in the MLS today while I was diligently WORKING, something I do between chatting with The Dot, reading favorite blogs and planning trips to ITALY!  Do you think a man might live in this house?  This is the state of the real estate market these days.  So many of the listings are short sales.  The sellers have very little interest in actually selling and are mostly motivated by the desire to get the banks off their backs.  It makes for very interesting browsing.  This particular listing also featured a kitchen sink full of dishes.  Which I suppose is better than a bathroom sink full of dishes.  But less interesting.

Here's a marketing tip:  don't take a picture of the toilet.  I've mentioned this before.  But seriously, put the lid down if you do.  And the seat. 

Dotty's Apartment

Well she's gone and done it.  She found an apartment in San Francisco and the move is imminent.  I prefer not to think about it as "she's moving out" as much as "I'm getting a second home in San Francisco."

For those of you who don't know, San Francisco is a lovely city in Northern California.  The two photos above give you an idea of what it looks like when you're driving there from the East Bay on a cloudy day.

And the photo above will give you an idea of what it looks like to be inside a 1895 Victorian that your daughter will soon be calling Home.  Which is a less original name than Wellington if you ask me.  She'll have to work on that.

Those picture were taken on Wednesday when The Hub, The Dot and I went to measure spaces in order to plan the move.  And we met The Roommate who is a very sweet young woman.

Yesterday my friend and I hopped on BART and stalked the apartment in question.  First we met The Dot at her place of business and took her for a bite of sandwich.  After seeing her safely back to her office, we took off on foot towards the new apartment.  It's actually walkable, but took about 40 minutes.  It was worth it because look what we saw in one of the many gardens:

Guess what it is.  Go ahead.  You'll never guess.  I didn't.  Luckily my friend is a master gardener and knew right away that the plant above is a Poinsettia!!  I can't even keep mine alive over the holidays, and look at this ancient specimen!  It's all gnarly and woody and positively thriving!  It must like fog.

While we were stalking the apartment, we spent 30 minutes or so on the front steps.  Some of us had to lift the mail flap to see if we could actually see into the apartment.  We could!  So we snapped this picture of the hallway.  The door at the back is the roommate's bedroom.

And here is what it looks like when you peer into the side window into The Dot's room.  This is her desk alcove.  If you look up into the corner you can see this sort of gargoyle.  It's a face molded into the trim.  I need to do a little research and find out what these probably depicted.  The medallion on the ceiling has little cherub faces, I think.  But these faces, according to my wonderful Master Gardener friend, look like Sir Francis Drake.  The Dot concurs.  So for now, that's what we're going with. 

Cool?

This is what The Dot will see when she looks out her window.  The house to the left is probably about the same age as The Dot's, 1895.  The apartment building to the right was probably mid 1970s.  Functional but not beautiful.  Her actual neighborhood is really sweet with lots of trees and interesting eateries.  My favorite so far is a coffee house called Bean There.  But I"m just getting started, so I'll keep you posted as I become more ensconced in the local goings-on.

It is my second home now, after all.

Benicia Scenes (More Blip Rejects)

This boat is no longer functional.  But it's very interesting.  Home to many a barnacle.

Figgy's toes are wonderfully gnarly.

This is the cleanest cat we've ever owned.  Our first cat.  But still.  Clean.

A blustery day down by the water.

Some of you who read both of my blogs may recognize some of these.  But this one deserved another look.  It's a huge barge zipping along the strait at the end of 1st Street.

Sweetest little piglet trying to hide in a clump of vegetation.  That's her.  She's brown and white.  With fur.

Wellington!

That darn cat again.  She spends most of the day cleaning or snoozing.  It was a very warm day and she got awfully sleepy on the front steps.

Fresh cut lawn and a view of the topiary.

The Lady Banks is blooming!  It's been covered in buds for a week or so, and today they burst open!  Last year the show was disappointing.  This little rose is normally very impressive.  I'll keep you posted.

The turtles are having outings in the Arbor Walk lately.  Pica, the female, spends most of her time eating and relaxing (she is named after an eating disorder).  Angrite runs around angrily knocking over pots.  They're a good pair.  Today Angrite spent about 30 frantic seconds on his back after falling off a five inch cliff.  He managed to turn over all by himself. 

Here is the Fish-Riddel house on West K.  If I was a little braver I would have had a really good pic.  The gate was open, with the walk leading right to the front door which was also open.  Their dog was laying on the lawn.  But I'm a chicken so this will have to do.

I just really liked this chimney on this old house on the corner of West K and West 2nd. 

This is a fence in the alley behind our house.  That's the sun shining through the notch.  We've had a lot of it lately at Wellington.