Easter in Benicia

It rained last night.  It was warm and partially sunny this morning.  So we decided to take a walk.  As usual, ended up at the harbor.  As usual, had to take a pic.

Shore

The tide was low that day, my friends.  Another beautiful day in Beautiful Benicia.

Is It Spring Yet?

Wellington's favorite season is, of course, spring.  He knows it's not spring YET.  But every year at about this time, it starts to feel like spring and he always asks me, Is it spring yet?  It isn't, Wellington.  But you go ahead and sprout your sprouts, burst your blossoms and leaf your leaves.  I'll take pics.  

The viburnum surprises me every year with its fragrance.  "What smells good?" we ask ourselves.  It's the viburnum.  And it doesn't get near enough recognition for it.  Well I'm recognizing you, viburnum.  Thank you.

The lighting was just perfect.  I couldn't quite capture it in this pic, but I'm leaving it in anyway because it reminds me of what the lighting was like.  Perfect.

 The hardenbergia says, Don't forget about me!  I never do.

I can't wait for my Lady Banks roses to pop open.  I have four now.  Three yellows, one white.  I'll keep you posted.

Here is my favorite husband doing some pruning.  He's my only husband.  Luckily.

Weird MLS

The winter of 2012-2013 has been an excellent time for collecting weird MLS photos.  It makes me giggle.

I'm assuming this is where someone had their bed.  I can't imagine sleeping under this.  Or taking a picture of it in order to sell a house.

 Would you buy this house based on this kitchen photo?

 Sprinklers?  Nice.

 I'm not so sure this photo would have benefited from being properly oriented.  We'll never know.

 This is probably the worst fireplace I've ever seen.

 Wine cellar.  Very cool

 This was apparently stencilled on the wall.

Above is a lovely backyard shot.  The photo below was the only photo in this listing.

At first glance, this looks like a fairly normal kitchen.  Keep looking.  There's some creepy guy lurking.

 Speaking of creepy.  The carpet and paneling are not the only creepy things in this room.

Harbor in January

 

Another still day at the harbor.

Christmas at Wellington 2012

This was our third Christmas at Wellington.  It was a bit quieter since The Dot has moved out.  The Little Boy was home from sleep-away school for a month, though.  And we had visitors for a few days right at Christmas, so it was a special year.  And The Dot did come home for quite a few days.  It was so nice having her sleeping in her bedroom where SHE BELONGS! 

 

Above is the glitter house for this year - the one on the right.  Below is a picture of me reclining in my library on my sofa in my tights with my medium-sized Christmas tree.  You can see a swatch of fabric I'm thinking of using to cover one of the pillows in this room.  I am still thinking about it.

 

 This is my littlest Christmas tree before it got its new ornament for the year.

 

This year I made Christmas cards.  They were a lot more work than I was counting on so I stopped after eight.  Ha!  This one shows a street scene with Wellington colored in.  That's the Fam.  On the left are the two turtles, Pica and Angrite, then The Little Boy, The Hub, Boo the guinea pig, The Dot, me and Hugo.  We had blue glitter all over the house for quite a while.  I think there is still some in the crevices of which Wellington has plenty.  The Hub sweeps the floors at least once a week.  I wouldn't want it to get boring for him.

Below are some pictures I took on a family Christmas walk around Benicia.

Someone was visiting relatives (or friends) on Anderson Way.  Don't feel sorry for this kitty.  She has the best view in Benicia.  At my back is the harbor.  Plus she looks pretty cozy.

A cute little bungalow, all decked out for Christmas. 

A typical Benicia street with some typical Benicians.

The harbor.

The Capitol.

St. Paul's.

Another Christmas house.  Or two.

 

Here is Wellington's Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

And here is the teeniest Christmas tree with its new ornament for 2012.  It's a quail!  (Pretend.)

The Christmas buns this year were edible!

Some of us were positively pooped.

Seriously? MLS

As I constantly have to remind you people, these photos are supposed to be SELLING REAL ESTATE.  They're from the MLS, for crying out loud.  I'm not kidding.

Regarding the pic above, I really don't know what to say.  There was no explanation.  The other photos were reasonably normal, then this.   I would say the same thing regarding the picture below, except I would add that I kind of like this one.  I don't know that it would prompt me to slap down half a million on the house to which it's attached, but it has a certain beauty to it. 

Although this bathroom appears to be tastefully updated, I can't help getting a curious feeling of vulnerability when I look at it.  It's the photographer's angle choice.  Is he trying to say you can keep an eye on your kids while taking care of things?  Or you won't miss any of the cocktail party conversation?  At any rate, it has no business in an MLS listing.

Yes, this photo was actually included in a 2012 listing.  I have a photo of my mother sitting on a sofa in a room a lot like this, but without the spinning wheel.  I think it was taken in 1959.

The caption, certainly provided by the homeowner, says, "A close up view of the fountain just below our front door" Why do we need this close up view? I felt sorry for the Listing Agent on this one. The other photos were good and the house was really nice. But if the borrower provides this photo and expects to see it in the listing, what are you going to do? What is that, anyway?

I just had to add this one.  There is often a dog lurking when you're photographing a house.  It's very important to keep dogs out of pictures on the MLS.  Sometimes they sneak into the corner of the shot and you have to reshoot.  Or use Photoshop to remove. No one wants to be thinking about pet odor when they're looking at houses.  There's no excuse for this shot being included in the listing.  Except that the Listing Agent is the owner of the house.  And the dog.

Wellington is getting ready for the Holidays.  Photos are forthcoming.  So are the kiddies.  And the BROTHER and his WIFE from NEW YORK.  Fa la la la laaaaaaaa, la la la la!