July Goal Met...

Every year I have the same challenge.  To trim my Whooley Thyme at the pond where we have a flagstone patio for sitting and sipping.  Every year I let my Whooley Thyme grow and then blossom and the bees and moths have a feast.  By the time I need to trim I honestly cannot see the flagstones.  I forgot to take a before photo of the solid Whooley Thyme covering the flagstones

I have discovered by trial and error that my orange handled Fiskar scissors work the very best for me.  I wonder if anyone has ever made a small Dremel type edge trimmer?  I honestly need to begin cutting and then find the edges of the flagstone.  This takes me so many hours I have truly lost count.
When I began a few weeks ago, I made it my goal to complete this task by the end of July.  Ahh...with only one more day to fine tune some more areas I have completed my overwhelming task!
My hands and knees get lots of wear and tear...along with my back.

This area is underneath our chairs.  We used to have nice teak benches but they wore out in the many seasons and elements we have here.  I opted to get some very inexpensive chairs that are lightweight and easy to move and wash off.  They are surprisingly comfortable. 

This is the completed area that is at the pond.  I had a brief thought of letting the Whooley Thyme just go and cover everything but I just love this trim and neat look so I had to do my trimming.

This is my view when sitting in my chair.  I love to sit here and reflect on life and whatever else pops into my head.  I also love to turn on the water spray over the pond and watch the amazing Dragonfly parade.  Red, Blue, Gold, and Black and Yellow striped versions appear from seemingly nowhere.
Sitting here in the evening with a glass of wine is the perfect way to unwind from the day.  Our pond was built by Mr. C after he went to pond college and it is the most wonderful thing ever!!!  Thank you sweet Mr. C for your amazing engineering and building skills.

On the home front we have now gotten help with our lawn and we are bringing it up to snuff for the overall Home and Property offering.  An update for you my friends...No one, Nobody, Nada, Zero showings even after all our upgrades and new agent listing.  I feel we are being punished for living here in small town USA where there is next to no economic viability.  We need someone like us twenty years ago to bring their bank accounts and live the dream of Peace and Calm in Beauty of this Great Land. 
It is so hard to believe July 2017 is coming to an end.  I welcome August as it is my very most favorite month.  Heat and all!  We are in for at least another week of triple digit heat.  Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Daughter who has grown into an Amazing Woman. I am truly Blessed.
Summer Sunshine Smiles and Creative Bliss to each and every one of you my friends...<3

GGLC 2nd Annual BBQ...



 

 

This past weekend our local Sacramento chapter of the Golden Gate Lotus Club (GGLC) and our parent chapter from San Francisco Bay area met in Woodland at Van and Catherine's Historic 1868 Home and 80 acres of farm land in Woodland CA.  We spent the day enjoying a BBQ with lots of delicious foods.   Guests came and went depending on time allowances...after all it is busy Summer.

 



Home tours of this historic mansion were enjoyed by both men and women.  No photos of the inside out of respect for the privacy of the homeowners. Trust me it is amazing.

Indoor parking for four Lotus Esprits in the Barn.  Van actually owns five and there are two more parked in a double garage on the property.  The black Lotus is Wayne's and is being offered to a new owner if you are interested.

Here we have Wayne (aka Mr. C) getting ready to lead the club drive around the Country Roads.  I offered my seat to Joe who gladly jumped in for the ride. It is like an "E" ticket ride if any of you remember Disneyland in the early days. 

Here the cars are lined up ready to VROOM.  Yes, we allow daily drivers to also enjoy the run and scenery.  Not everyone has a Lotus that can make the trip or is street legal.

Our turn out wasn't huge but a nice number of people came and enjoyed.  After all it was about 101F. Thankfully we had a giant shade tree for very pleasant chatting and story telling.

Bubba Wayne (aka Mr. C) also did a Hay ride through the Sunflower and Tomato fields.  It was such fun and our youngest guest, 8 year old Sebastion, really enjoyed learning about farming. 

Afterwards Sebastion got to actually drive the tractor (with his dad helping).  I wish I had a better photo of Sebastion's huge smile.  I know he will remember this day for a very long time.  He will also become a Lotus owner and expert because his dad has a specialty shop and rentable Lotus track cars.
We are very grateful to our hosts Van and Catherine for this lovely day of fun and comaraderie.
Until next year...Keep the Shiny Side Up!!!

New Listing...Hooray!

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/fsba,fsbo,fore_lt/house_type/19449809_zpid/2-_beds/2-_baths/500000-800000_price/1865-2984_mp/2400-2800_size/2000-_built/globalrelevanceex_sort/39.296313,-120.938788,39.190356,-121.066161_rect/12_zm/?view=public


Well here it is July 2017 already. Mr. C and I have been tirelessly working non-stop to once again prep our home and property for sale.  Our new listing Broker has given us guidance and we have followed it.  The house and outbuildings all got repainted and there is no more blue.  We brightened the inside also.  Still editing and purging "stuff". Mr. C and I have lived here nineteen (19) years now.  Today is also our 19th wedding anniversary.  We are do-overs and even though we are complete opposites our togetherness works. 
We are ready for our final chapter and whatever it may offer us.
Please bring on the buyers now. 
May you each have a very Happy and Safe Fourth of July!  Time with family and friends is Priceless...<3

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/fsba,fsbo,fore_lt/house_type/19449809_zpid/2-_beds/2-_baths/500000-800000_price/1865-2984_mp/2400-2800_size/2000-_built/globalrelevanceex_sort/39.296313,-120.938788,39.190356,-121.066161_rect/12_zm/?view=public

Phase 3 Complete...

 In just one very short and hectic month we have interviewed new Brokers, selected the one for us and worked his suggestions.  This is the new look.  No more blue!  We now have a very elegant and stately home that we will be relisting beginning July.  What is your first impression?  The real estate market here in rural small town Northern California is done mostly on the internet and we understand we have a mere 20-30 seconds to attract and keep a potential buyer interested enough to continue to view our photos and then come here to see in person what an excellent value this is.

 

This is the before.  Now there is no more blue.  This photo was one of the listing "professional" images.  More on this story later.  All the other photos in this post are my simple Canon Powershot SD880 IS digital Elph that I have had for many years now and still love.  I am not a professional photographer nor do I study photography like Mr. C does.  It is all too technical for me.  But I digress...

Here we are testing white and we know it will take some serious primer and two coats of paint to cover my beloved blue.  Mr. C hired a "colorist" and she helped us select the proper shades of colors.

She also helped us with where to end the white and begin the darker grey.  We always buy Benjamin Moore paint in the highest quality of product.  We selected Cloud White #OC-130 for the house trim.  Our house body is Cobblestone Path #1606.  The new decks and railings color is Englewood Cliffs #1607.  I love the new colors. No more blue and when I was whining to my daughter that I will never live down the blue and what we must spend to cover it up, she merely said, "Mother you still have the sky!".  Bless you my child! 

We are on such a short timeline and just a few days into painting our painter got sick.  Very sick with the Norovirus that is going around in the schools mostly.  Six days and I was worried our home would have this split personality...half blue and half white.  Thankfully Mr. Painter and his helpers were able to complete the job in record time.

No more blue...not even on outbuildings.  Make them all the body color to in essence disappear.

Even my bell tower got painted grey.

So this is once again the finished view.  We love the changes...yes even I love the new look.  After all I still have my blue sky!  New professional photography is next in order to re-list with our new Broker.  I'll share those with you as well.
We have been in triple digit heat for 8 days now and I can honestly say it is hot.  Mr. C and I had to work in the yards yesterday and it was miserable.  We both drank gallons of liquids and still had no relief.  Today we are doing indoor chores with the AC set at 80 and it never shuts off.
I do love Summer and hope to enjoy it once this home and property are once again offered to the perfect buyer we believe is out there.  Bring on the offers...
May you each be safe and doing what you love.  <3

Dark to Light Transformation...

Nineteen years ago we purchased this house with this blue Axminster carpet throughout the living areas.  I personally really liked it.  Because it was/is extremely expensive well made carpet it was still like brand new. The only issue we had was in the hallway where the pad did not last and it became more of a washboard look. We had experts come look to see if there was a remedy but because of all the curves it could not be stretched or relaid with new pad. We were advised to merely give a carpet allowance.  Story condensed, we are listening to our new broker.  Lots of time and money later we have this...

 



A very pretty neutral beige/grey cashmere carpet.  We decided to do the entire upstairs living quarters.  Approximately 160 square yards.  Two installers for two ten hour days and that took care of all the flat surfaces.

The old hall carpet.  Bye-bye.

The master bedroom was a pinkish beige when we bought and along the way we upgraded to this soft green when we remodeled the master bath with Travertine and Verdi Gris Granite. Of course we also carpeted the master closets...his and hers.

Huge improvement with the new cashmere soft neutral carpet.  It runs from room to room and the separate master closets.  I love the continuity now.  Mr. C and I have selected what potential buyers will hopefully like but more importantly we went with a very good quality so we will enjoy it if we must stay here.

Ahhh...the gorgeous curved stairs in our entry way.  Now we have a third installer who is an expert in stairs and wood floors.  He spent another day and a half just doing fifteen stairs.  The previous carpet was not installed correctly and it caused a lot of issues. 

Mr. C and I did discuss just leaving the Oak stairs bare but that would have involved a lot more work to fill and refinish them.  Then we would have noisy wood to clomp on and the better chance of slipping and falling.  Carpet it is!

From the entry door going up.  So soft and cushy and beautiful.  Bright and fresh and clean looking!

From the downstairs going up to the foyer and front door.   Of course we also had to make certain we selected carpet that went well with our new downstairs Porcelain tile we remodeled a year ago.  Win-Win!
We are so happy with the new changes and the brightened home we now live in.  While sitting and admiring all our new décor, we ask ourselves "Why did we wait so long to treat ourselves?!" 
Bring on the buyers!!!  Just a few more upgrades to share with you soon.  Hopefully we will be re-listing early July.  Whew!  We are exhausted and beyond tired.
We have had Winter again with very cold temps and some rain and a huge hail storm.  It snowed about 6 inches over Donner Summit and at several ski resorts.  Now it is to warm up and be Summer once again.  Crazy weather for sure.
Busy editing and purging more stuff.  Last weekend I delivered hundreds of books to our local Friends of the Library monthly sale.  Now I must re-visit my fabrics and trims again and edit those even further.  Not knowing what the future truly holds makes it all the more difficult for me.  I just have to keep in mind I have more stuff than I will ever be able to use up. I am blessed. 
Happy Summer and enJOYing everything you love...<3