This Modern Life

The second of two homes presently for sale in our neighbor hood is, perhaps, the better of the two, but I can't — for the life of me — understand why someone would buy a dog and try to turn it into a cat… if you want a mission-style or "tuscan" home, buy one.

This home is much cleaner, but some obvious non-Eichler bits stand out. When I go into a house nowadays, I can't look at "potential", I immediately glom onto the things that are "wrong". Perhaps this is a "glass-half-empty" way to look at it, but the Eichler home has such a prescribed aesthetic that it's easier to point out the things that are not right nor original… to that point, some things we noticed:

• Colonial baseboards
• Louvered bi-fold closet doors
• Stucco-ed exterior (?!?) with questionable paint scheme
• Enclosed Atrium (although nicely done… looks like a 60's fix)
• Ceramic tile throughout (I counted 9 different types)
• Enclosed Bath Door (bummer)
• An enlarged kitchen (no multipurpose room)… which actually
  works in this model if you do want a huge kitchen more than a formal
  living room and den.
• Also, Wilson is a busy street — busier than you might imgine

However, it wasn't a toxic dump and the Realtor was actually quite cordial, which was a stark contrast to the house on Phoenix. And some good things:

• You could actualy move in without having to sanitize everything or rip any nastiness out
• The radiant heat seems like it's in working order
• Neighbors are great (Bret and Mary Peyton are the back-neighbors and John Paul and Hido live a few doors down)
• Back yard is a clean slate

However, at $395, it's higher than the other house and it's a flip (someone bought it 90 days ago for much, much less) — so there's some loan restrictions. There's some things here that would be hard to reverse (like removing all that tile and stucco) and you're potentialy paying for someone else's bad decisions… So, as much as it's weird to know that "Jeff sucks dick", the house on Phoenix might be a better buy, methinks…

Anyway, some pictures:

Kyle began the "official" Rancho Del Diablo site… check it out. And Greg put us on Facebook.

One of the things we like to do is to keep up with the real-estate trades in the neighborhood. It gives us the opportunity to meet other neighbors and check out a house we hadn't seen before. Presently, we have two bank-owned properties for sale in the neighborhood. We were very lucky — in the last bank-sale — to pick up a pair of great, new neighbors, Laura and Chris. We're certainly hoping for the best with these most recent for-sales.

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Oh My…Read More »

Today, we traded in our namesake truck under the Cash for Clunkers program.

As a clarification (and tribute), "Truck" was most certainly not a clunker, but instead a reliable friend for the past few years. I'm literally crying as I type this… yeah, weird.

But the AC was shot, the airbag was questionable, the horn didn't work and it smelled like old men — a few of them. So, it was time to let our faithful companion enjoy a second life as a toaster or a recycled countertop… so, who knows, hopefully we'll get a bit of him back one day in the form of another consumer product.

And, through the program, we got more than twice what we would have in resale (and not felt guilty about selling a potential hazard to someone else)… and combined with current Ford rebates, the new truck was over 25% off of the sticker (closer to half-price, really… but then you add sales tax and fees and…).

So, thanks and goodbye, old friend. You'll be remembered fondly and keep your rightful place in the banner above (and in our hearts)… you started every time (even when we didn't want to start, sometimes), you helped out neighbors and friends (and helped to turn neighbors into friends) and helped us through the most difficult two years of our life… thanks for that.

And, Bret… no, you can't borrow this one for a run to the dump.

Sniff (and Sob)…

Some folks have been inquiring about LGs Art Cool Minispit Air Conditioners. We installed the Cool/Heat units in the Summer of 2007 and have loved them. Aesthetics are a big part of our admiration as many of these are u.g.l.y. … however, with a sleek metallic-like finish and subtle construction, they don't look at all obtrusive… or not as obtrusive as they could otherwise.

When the work, the front and sides open up… and retract when off, of course.

We've started to form a sense of community here in Rancho Del Diablo — neighbors like Kyle (see the red-nosed trumpet player below) and Sarah are excellent catalysts to get out and meet new folks (note 8mo. pregnant woman on the bike below — that's Sarah. I think she ran a marathon at month-7, so she's got moxie)… They organized a neighborhood parade for the 4th. Pretty low-fi and impromptu, but high on the fun factor and it brought even more neighbors into the street.

Sara G. is our neighborhood photographer and has captured a lot of good images on her blog.

This weekend, Casie planted her succulent arrangements into a planter that we picked up months ago at American Modern Furniture in San Francisco. It was a shop that had a "going out of business" sale for about 2 years, but finally closed. They sold knock-off furniture and well as a few gems, including this planter made by semi-local craftsman and furniture maker, Ron Weaver. Ron shows up from time to time at the Alameda Flea Market, too… and you can email him directly at: mobeldesign@gmail.com.

I'm shelving this one under "This Modern Life" which is kind of sadly appropriate. It seems that we know more and more people battling cancer at young ages. And just when you think it couldn't happen to you…

This July, Casie is participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. It's a 2-day gig and pretty hard-core (a marathon and a 1/2 marathon over the 2-days).

Find a link to her "support me" page here.

Working for/with/on the house isn't always blood, sweat and tears (although it does often seem to be the case). Sometimes, a new-to-you (not-as-new-to-us-anymore) MCM house can mean fun with new furnishings…

Bedroom: We'd been without a dresser for some time and we knew that our older, walnut De La Espada stuff (bed and side table) would be tough (and/or insanely expensive) to match, if only because of the fading/patina of the wood, so we decided to go an entirely different route (somewhat). De La Espada makes a line called Atlantico and we picked up a "coordinating" (oak) dresser from John at AREA in San Francisco. There's a few places in town to find this line, but John is much more affable than most and an overall joy to work with. John is also a fellow Eichler owner in Marin.

Den: When we moved in, we knew we were going to need to get new "den" furniture. Our not-so-old pieces were just a bit too big for the space, although insanely comfortable.

So, we finally ordered and received our new "recliner and sofa" — in our case, a Papa-Bear chair and Split-Rail settee from Modernica — ordered through Emmett at Inside Modern in San Francisco.

So… anyone need a sofa and club-chair (ad to come)…